So I am the god of basketball?

The Lakers eliminated the Trail Blazers 4-0.

而东部决赛也打完了系列赛的第三场比赛，回到主场的费城76人调整了状态，以98比90，8分优势将大比分改写成了2-1！

It can be seen from this game that the Heat need all players to perform better in order to win the game.

After all, Shaquille O'Neal no longer has the ability to shrink the Philadelphia 76ers' defense.

Tim Duncan and Mutombo's "rotational battle" can limit his destructive power.

The Heat's perimeter players have to rely on themselves.

But with Dikembe Mutombo and Tim Duncan in the paint, the Heat players can't attack the basket every game like they did in Game 76. After the Philadelphia ers paid more attention to shrinking in this game, it became difficult for the Heat to score at the basket.

In the last game, they had already scored 22 points at the end of the third quarter. In this game, the number was reduced to 12 points...

The score from this part alone exceeded the point difference they lost in this game.

The Heat must have extremely high accuracy from the outside to win the game.

Although the "small ball era" has proved that shooting can also win championships.

However, in the "small ball era", most of the shots are from mismatches, open positions, and counterattacks after successful defense after teammates pull the formation. These are all opportunities that can be seized.

And now?

Not only could the Heat's formation not be disrupted, how could they have any chance of counterattacking and scoring?

Most of them are chance shots that test the players' shooting ability.

Compared to them, on the Philadelphia side, Tim Duncan's one-on-one plays under the basket and Allen Iverson's outside breakthroughs can both attract double-teaming, which results in more open shooting opportunities for the Philadelphia 76ers.

They lost the last game because of their poor three-point shooting, but in this game they returned to their normal level beyond the three-point line.

The competition was also won.

And, as long as they want to maintain this state in the fourth game, it won’t be difficult...

After the third game, Bill Walton even thought that the Philadelphia 76ers had found their "championship model": "I know that Dream and the Lakers should never be underestimated, but I also see the possibility of the Philadelphia 76ers winning the championship... This will be the season with the most suspense in the past three years, although this season is full of too many off-court factors..."

Whether the Philadelphia 76ers can win the championship as he said is still unknown, but in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Philadelphia 76ers, who continued to play at home, really continued their winning streak and the score came to 3-1!

Then they had three match points...

The whole of Philadelphia has begun to create the atmosphere of the finals.

Shaquille O'Neal naturally would not allow the Heat to be underestimated like this, and he would not want the team to lose like this.

In the fifth game of the series, the team returned to their home court. Shaquille O'Neal performed in great form, scoring a "big double-double" of 5 points and 43 rebounds, leading the team to defend the home court.

In this game, the "Big Shark" seemed to have the power to devour everything. Neither Tim Duncan nor Mutombo could stop him from scoring.

"Last season, we made it to the finals through a comeback. Our path is there. Except for the 0-3 deficit, we have experienced all the adversities, but we held on to the end. We have that experience, so we will never lose so easily!" Shaquille O'Neal said after the game that he would definitely take the Heat back to their home court, then defeat the Philadelphia 76ers and enter the finals again.

When he said this, his eyes were firm.

But there is a problem:
Breathing too loudly!

His energy was severely depleted tonight.

At this time, Shaquille O'Neal's weight had reached over 150kg.

He has a low endurance, and after a "breakout night", he often has an extra "weakness buff", just like when he scored 01 points on his "birthday night" in 60, and chose to rest in the next game.

Scoring 45 points in the playoffs, facing "inside monsters" like Tim Duncan and Mutombo, is the same as scoring 60 points in the regular season.

Just 6 minutes before the start of Game 10 of the series, he still felt his legs going weak.

This means that he has not rested enough. ——At the same time, there is also the impact of the "shortened season".

The consecutive "back-to-back" games in the regular season caused his physical energy to be over-consumed.

But the shortened season means he has to fight hard in every game, and he can't take a rest to take risks.

The Lakers did not win the championship in the 98-99 season when he was with the Lakers. In addition to the fact that Phil Jackson had not yet arrived, this was probably also a reason.

It is worth mentioning that the team that eliminated him was the Spurs with Tim Duncan.

And, in addition to Tim Duncan, the Spurs also have David Robinson…

The Philadelphia 76ers' inside lineup, in terms of defense alone, has reached a new level in dealing with Shaquille O'Neal.

In that series, the Spurs eliminated the Lakers 4-0.

Although there were some minor obstacles this time.

After all, the Heat was the team with the most luxurious lineup in the league in the 98-99 season.

But after Shaquille O'Neal's explosive performance entered a period of weakness, the Philadelphia 76ers eventually eliminated them with a score of 4-2.

Philadelphia, in the second year of Tim Duncan and the third year of Allen Iverson, fought its way out of the East, which was full of strong teams, and headed for the Finals. This "Finals Trip" was 16 years after the last one.

In the 82-83 season, they brought in Moses Malone to build the most luxurious lineup at the time, successfully made it to the finals, and became the champions with a record of 12 wins and 1 loss at the time.

This was also the last glory of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 80s and 90s.

Now, in the last year of the 90s, with the "double No. pick" combination and Mutombo, they returned to the finals stage again.

After the game, excited Philadelphia fans took to the streets to celebrate the long-lost atmosphere of the Finals.

As for Shaquille O'Neal and other Heat players, they gave post-match interviews with grim looks on their faces.

For them, this season should have been the one in which they won the trophy.

The media has been hyping up this atmosphere.

They themselves also think that this is as it should be.

But in the end, they didn't even make it to the finals.

The saddest thing is that the Heat no longer have the salary to maintain their current roster.

After the introduction of Eddie Jones, Tim Hardaway, P.J. Brown and Mashburn, whose contracts are about to expire this summer, are destined to not all stay.

And these are the main players of the Heat.

Their departure means that the Heat's combat power will suffer irreparable loss.

The New York Times believes that the Heat missed a great opportunity to win the championship. It can only be said that the Heat's first championship really has to wait for that "big-cheeked guy" to enter the league.

As the Heat's "supermarket" is about to open, many media believe that this summer will be extremely chaotic.

As far as we know now...

The turmoil of the Pistons has affected the players. Many Detroiters took to the streets to protest and demanded that the team trade the current Pistons players. There are at least 3 All-Stars in the team!
These two "supermarkets" alone are enough to give the league another strong team.

But before that, all eyes are on the upcoming game between the Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The core of the Philadelphia 76ers is extremely young, which makes this year's finals a popular "newcomers take over" finals.

Of course, Meng Lang is still very young. Even if he loses this finals, it will not shake his status, and the media will not feel that he is going downhill. Everyone knows that even if the Lakers really lose the finals, Meng Lang will definitely hand in a performance and data that will leave everyone speechless. Then say: "This is mine!"

He never shirks from taking responsibility for failure.

But it is said that failure is the main theme of an athlete's career.

Meng Lang was singing the chorus all the time.

Before the game, the reporter interviewed Tim Duncan and asked him to express his views on this finals. Tim Duncan said something intriguing: "I am also 25 years old this year!"

And Meng Lang is actually only 26 years old...

Everyone says they are a young team.

But he and Meng Lang are only one year apart!
He entered Wake Forest in 93, just one year later than Meng Lang in the NCAA, but stayed in the NCAA for three years longer than him.

They don't look like players from the same era, but in fact...

If Tim Duncan fails to seize the current chance to win the championship, he may not have another chance when the Lakers make a comeback.

All media know that this is the weakest time the Lakers lineup has been in three years.

But Meng Lang still brought it into the finals.

This is Meng Lang's ability to lead a team.

Tim Duncan is talking about an "underdog mentality."

as well as……

This must be considered as the last trip to the finals in your career.

He is not the only one who has such determination, Allen Iverson does the same.

His most famous quote, besides "I don't want to be the next so-and-so, I just want to be the first Allen Iverson", is "I will play every game as if it were the last game of my career!"

This is the attitude of the Philadelphia 76ers facing the finals.

Such teams are often the most difficult to deal with.

As for Meng Lang, he seemed much calmer when facing his fifth finals trip in his career: "When you reach the finals five times in the first six years of your career and win the trophy four times, the finals become a subconscious habit just like eating lunch every day or putting on more clothes when it's cold. It's the same for me. This time of year is the day of the finals for me. I am the symbol of the finals!"

What is the ultimate pretentiousness?

You say some words so casually, but they are so true and shocking.

This is what Meng Lang is like now.

Reaching the finals five times in six years and winning the trophy four times, is there anything more impressive than this?
But the reporters also knew that Meng Lang was qualified to do so.

He hasn't even said that his four Finals MVPs and two regular season MVPs are considered very restrained.

"But different opponents can always inspire my fighting spirit. I don't mind winning four more championships. Of course, I don't know how many more I can win. I just hope that when I look back on everything I have experienced at the end of my career, I will find that I have the most NBA championship trophies. This is my goal and what motivates me!"

When Meng Lang said this, the reporter who interviewed him was stunned.

Bill Russell, the "Lord of the Rings" of the NBA, has the most championship rings in the NBA with 11.

Meng Lang and Jordan are said to have dominated the 90s, but the number of rings they have combined is not as many as his.

But that was a special era. It was not enough that there were few NBA teams, but the "Cardinal" had disciples all over the league. He could get any player he wanted. Such an "eight consecutive championships" is really not something that ordinary teams can break.

Likewise, the 11 championships he won are not something that ordinary people can challenge.

Now Meng Lang suddenly threw out such a "big bomb"-like declaration, how could it not be surprising?
Of course, the biggest surprise must be the Los Angeles media and Lakers fans.

because……

Meng Lang is a player of the Lakers.

If we count his current four championships, even if he is on par with Bill Russell, he still needs to win seven championship trophies to fulfill his words.

If the Lakers had seven more championship banners...

I'm a darling!
Then what can the Celtics use to compete for the position of the league's top powerhouse?
Although this is a difficult goal to achieve, because the person who proposed this goal is Meng Lang, and since he is already the greatest player in the first six years of his NBA career, they believe that he can also achieve this seemingly difficult goal...

On June 6, the first game of the finals kicked off in Philadelphia.

The home fans of Philadelphia were already on high alert, waiting for the Lakers players to enter the field so that they could boo them as soon as possible.

Kobe's face became even more serious as he listened to the boos from the audience.

Every time he comes to Philadelphia, the boos from the audience are extra motivation for him.

However, this motivation did not give him a good start.

Philadelphia got the first attack of the opening.

Chuck Daly gave Kobe the responsibility of defending Allen Iverson.

Kobe was very focused. Allen Iverson kept his position no matter how he moved. Unfortunately, when Allen Iverson turned around, he got rid of him. He broke into the basket and scored a goal through the channel blocked by Tim Duncan.

Entering the third season of his career, Allen Iverson's offensive state has reached the standard of "scoring champion".

He is actually the embodiment of a standard "small ball era" player.

You say he is inefficient, but he takes a lot of shots!

But don't think it's easy to make more moves.

Just because you have "unlimited firing rights" in front of you doesn't mean that anyone can attack at the same frequency as "unlimited firing rights"...

Otherwise, how can Gatling look so good, ugh, so cool? (End of this chapter)