Basketball UFO

Chapter 54 The Bull's Rivalry

(Ask for support!)
Phillips Field, home of the Atlanta Hawks.

The first round of the 1996-97 season playoffs, the last game.

The Nets played against the Hawks, halftime had already passed, the two sides tied at 48, and walked into the locker room.

The score is the same, both sides are under a lot of pressure.

"Guys, there's still half a game, we can't relax." Cassell helped Carter come out and shouted, "Vince is carrying the pressure, and we must share this pressure."

Carter scored 16 points in the first half, also sent 3 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds.

Although the score is not high, it still accounts for one-third of the team.We were heavily guarded today, and every attack was painful.Steve Smith and Tyrone Corbin took turns to struggle on the outside, and Mutombo was on the inside to help defend. They have been knocked down 4 times.

But there were only 2 free throws, and there were almost no penalties for common fouls.

The scale is quite large.

"Today's game is not easy to play, we must be tougher." Carter glanced at the others. Kendall Gill played very average today and missed several mid-range shots, causing all the Eagles' defenses to rush to Carter. "From the defensive end Let’s start by not giving the opponent an easy chance to score. I will solve the problem of offense first.”

He shouldered the responsibility, and the others stood on defense first, and then considered other things.

This game is not easy to play, and neither side has room to retreat.Calipari took out the tactical board and instilled ideas with the players again. In the last half, he had never played such an exciting moment.

Dikembe Mutombo was panting, and he was hit hard today. Just now Carter dunked and the two confronted in the air.Carter's powerful strength made Uncle Wood very uncomfortable, "Vince is very powerful, you all pay attention, he is full of fighting power today."

"It's so scary, my ankle is almost broken." Tyrone Corbin was deeply affected by it and couldn't help but swear, "Everyone defend together, otherwise I will be beaten."

Even if you don't want to admit it, it's the truth.

[Whether the last team to enter the second round is the Atlanta Hawks or the New Jersey Nets depends on the performance of both sides in the second half] TNT's commentary is full of passion, and the nationally broadcast games have high ratings. Carter's appeal is evident. .

[The two sides tied at 48 at halftime, and they were at the same starting line in the second half, and the support rates of both sides were similar.But I feel that Carter will be the X factor of the game. If the Hawks can't guard him, they may fall. 】

[The Eagles are at home, so the chances of winning are bigger.The second round should be the Bulls vs. Eagles] The host of TNT is optimistic about the home team.According to the league's habit, the team playing at home has certain advantages.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Carter's style changed again, becoming more aggressive.

"Double team, otherwise I will break through." Facing Tyrone Corbin, Carter proactively reminded, "Watch it..."

Break through in one step and cut directly into the inside line.Dikembe Mutombo came out to help again, Carter flew in the air, and then passed the ball behind Tubber.Rashid catches the ball and dunks in one go.

"Hey, I knew Carter could see my position." Rasheed dunked again, very excited, and yelled at Jason Williams, so that he wouldn't get a technical offender, "I will know how to open up the space in a while, understand ?"

"I still need you to remind me, I will blow up the Eagles inside in a while."

After hearing this, Leitner felt uncomfortable. Williams' little moves became more and more excessive, and he did it when the referee couldn't see it.The lower back is all black.

Mutombo didn't know what the two were thinking, so he stretched the space and gave Carter more opportunities to cut inside.

Lanny Wilkens is also familiar with the Nets' style of play. It is very simple. Carter or others break through with the ball, and then get opportunities while running.The Nets' main strategy revolves around Carter's breakthrough.

Steve Smith controlled the ball and wanted to pass it inside. Unexpectedly, Rashid suddenly came forward and it was difficult for Tongbo to catch the ball.

In a sudden move, Carter suddenly made a steal, squeezed Smith and rushed to the frontcourt.

He was about to dunk, but found Kendall Gill running behind him, threw him back without looking, and rushed to the bottom of the basket.

Kendall Gill jumped up and dunked!
Ignite the passion of the fans and finally let the Nets take a 4-point lead.

"Nice dunk, Kendall, you're getting better and better as a guy."

Just now Kendall defended Tyrone Corbin, and he was able to rush out of the space in the confrontation. His physical strength is very high.No wonder you can be a boxer.

"I'm already strong." Kendall couldn't help but retort. After thinking about it calmly, what Carter really meant was to let him increase his hit rate.

Sure enough, Kendall Gill was under pressure, hit the shot, and finally refreshed his touch.

"Oops, the space for the Nets has opened up." Mutombo was very sensitive, and immediately found that something was wrong.

Originally, only Carter could get in, then Kendall Gill, and then he couldn't stop it.Both inside and outside are working hard, and the Nets' rhythm is faster than the Eagles.

The Eagles are very balanced inside and outside, but neither is top-notch.As long as the outside rhythm is taken away, it will be difficult for the Eagles to win inside.

There are no explosive scoring players.

"Beautiful..." Carter pointed his finger at Cassel and smiled, "Today's second three-pointer at the top of the arc, let's do it again."

"no problem!"

Cassel played with confidence and gradually gained the upper hand in the confrontation with Mookie Blaylock.

The Nets started to lead, from 4 points to 6 points, and then to 8 points.

By the middle of the fourth quarter, the Nets' lead was hovering around 8 points.It's hard to pull away without getting caught up.There is only one reason, the Eagles have no absolute strength here.

Although Mutombo is the eagle's defensive core, his offensive end is lackluster and it is difficult to play explosively.Not to mention other players, it is difficult for Steve Smith to play beautiful data in the face of Carter and Kendall Gill, two defensive champions.

Mucci-Blaylock also had no way to break through Cassel's defense, and the two almost exploded each other on the defensive end.

The TNT commentator began to predict the trend of the game and changed his thinking at halftime, "Now the Hawks are behind by 6 points. The Nets have the advantage, and the Hawks must respond, otherwise the series will be over."

David Stern paid close attention to the trend of the game. He refrained from reminding the referee and let the game play itself.Really exciting, Carter did not let Stern down, is still in the lead.

"Vince Carter, a rising star, if he grows up smoothly, he will be a top player in the future. There are also more mature Grant Hill and Anfernee Hardaway. I hope they will support the league's box office first."

David Stern has already arranged the future for the league. Jordan is expected to retire at the end of next season. As the president of the league, he must consider the future of the league in advance.

"The Spurs should choose Tim Duncan. Without going to a big city, Tim Duncan is destined to be difficult to become the signature of the league." David Stern thought of this year's No. [-] pick.

The Spurs became the No. 76 pick and defeated the Celtics, Nuggets, Grizzlies, and [-]ers to successfully qualify.In the same direction as the parallel time and space, after the Celtics missed the No. [-] pick, Cardinal Auerbach directly announced his retirement.Tired, can't love anymore.

The Celtics only got the No. 76 pick, which is of no use to them.In addition, the [-]ers got the second pick, and they will also choose an inside player to partner with Iverson.

The structure of the league is changing, the Bulls are still strong, and other strong teams are gradually rising.

Tim Duncan was also watching the game, calm in his heart, "Vince should win the game. The Eagles started fouling him, and Vince's free throws have been very accurate."

Duncan's free throws are not particularly accurate, and his free throw shooting rate in his career is only over 70%.Of course, as an insider, his free throw shooting rate is normal, which is much better than that of O'Neal, Howard, Antetokounmpo and others.It cannot be compared with Yao Ming, whose touch is unique among inside players.

Carter walked to the free throw line again and took a deep breath.Looking at Mutombo, he provocatively said, "Hey, the rookie is going to make free throws again."

Mutombo looked away, regardless of Carter.The heart prayer card is specially entered.

Unfortunately, another two free throws were made.

Carter relied on free throws to score 6 points at the last moment. His personal score has reached 36 points. He scored a full 20 points in the second half and 14 points in the fourth quarter.And there are 9 assists and 5 rebounds.

"Damn rookie, I can't bear it." Mu Tongbo wanted to score a goal, but was directly destroyed by Massenberg.

"Old bird is going to make a free throw?" Carter stimulated Mutombo.

boom!Missed the first free throw.

Tongbo took the pressure and made another free throw.Breathed a sigh of relief.

The score is still 7 points, unable to catch up. With only the last 15 seconds left, the Nets have secured the victory.

The Eagles fans at the scene were quiet.The team really couldn't break out and no one could lead the team to victory.

"Actually, there is only one reason. The Nets have Carter, but we don't."

"If you can't defend your opponent, you won't win. Mutombo and Laettner are really disappointing." Eagles fans are very depressed.

Countless Nets fans are already going crazy. After years of silence, they are finally proud and proud this season.People took to the streets of New Jersey to celebrate in unison as the Nets advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

"Beep!"

The referee blows the whistle to end the game.

99:94, with only a 5-point difference in the end, the Nets took away the victory from the away game.

Calipari shook his fist, roared loudly, hugged the players, and celebrated the hard-won victory.

"Vince, we succeeded, we advanced to the second round." Rasheed hugged Carter, and the stone on his shoulders was lifted.If it weren't for his mistakes, the team would have eliminated the Hawks in four games and would not have delayed the decisive battle.

Because of Carter, Rasheed got rid of the burden in his heart.

"Brother, next season will be the time to fight. We are not the Bulls' opponents now. Whatever record we can play, we will play the best data." Carter is willing to make data for his teammates so that they can get better contracts.

At the press conference, Carter followed Calipari.The most important game must be Carter facing the reporters.

"This game was a difficult victory. We fought to the last drop of sweat." Calipari first concluded, "The Eagles are a strong team. They have a strong defense and almost won the game. Fortunately, Carter beat the competition. He's a super player."

Carter smiled slightly and touched the wound on his forehead. It has recovered without leaving a scar. "The Eagles have been stimulating my performance on the court, and then I defeated them."

"Now I have forgotten the past, and the next time we meet, I will beat Tyrone Corbin, it's that simple." Carter still remembers who deliberately hit his wound, and the wooden barrel is a normal confrontation, and Tyrone Corbin is Deliberately playing bad, Carter doesn't mind teaching him, "but now I look forward and prepare for the next game."

The reporter also got excited, "Do you have the confidence to beat the Bulls?"

"The Bulls will become the championship this season. Their strength is not comparable to the current Nets." Carter is very calm. No matter what others say, he will be a prophet.

"How many games can the Nets win?"

"It's hard to say. The result of the game hasn't been announced yet, so we can only continue to fight." Calipari left suspense. His goal was actually not to be swept.

The Bulls have already swept the Magic. If the Nets face the Magic, they will have a hard time. After all, they are about the same strength.But facing the bull, there is no need to struggle. The strength is too different, just lie flat.Maybe, we can win another game.

"Boss, we've been waiting for you for a long time." The strong Williams said cutely.

"Yeah, today's reporter's interview time is over." Robert Parker also answered.

Carter had a puzzled look on his face and counted each player there one by one. "Why are you still here? Didn't you see Mucci? I asked him to arrange it a long time ago. Gold club, top VIP enjoyment."

"Oh... no wonder we didn't notice when Mucci greeted us just now." Williams was frustrated, "Okay, I'll go there now. Is there anyone driving with us?"

"Take a taxi there, safety first." Cassel reminded, "Guys, let's go together."

Then looking at Carter, Carter shrugged, "I have other arrangements, you guys enjoy your life. All expenses are covered by me."

The Gold Club was investigated in 2001, and by 2004 the list of "identity" who had enjoyed the service was published, including Bill Gates, media tycoon Turner, Jordan, Ewing, Rodman, Miller, Mu Tongbo, etc. , on the list.

The service is not bad, first dancing performance, undressing, then nucleic acid collection, and finally...

There is a service process, which is more professional.

Carter has other plans besides being worried about being announced as a roster spot in the future.Jennifer Connelly was eager to meet Carter. It was said that she didn't succeed last time and wanted to do it again.

Her reason is very good, there are several collections that are quite unique, and she wants to let Carter taste them.

Carter, who played a little investment, happily went.

…………

"Zen Master" Phil Jackson called the players, "One more day off, don't worry about training."

In the eyes of the Bulls, the Nets are better than the Eagles.To deal with the strong inside of the Eagles, the Bulls may play very hard, and then win within 6 games. Facing the Nets, Jackson intends to win within 5 games.

"Just let the opponent sell tickets for two games." Jordan also thought the same way, "Carter is still young, and I only let him play one game."

(End of this chapter)