Legendary star

Chapter 368 Eastern Conference Finals
"Guys, are you all ready?" On the afternoon of May 2002, 5, the home of the Pacers, the home locker room of the Bankers Life Arena, all the Pacers players had gathered in the locker room for today's Preparations for the first round of the Eastern Conference Finals that started at night. After arranging the team's tactics, Larry Bird, who was standing at the door of the locker room, also let go of his serious expression and smiled for the first time today.

"Ready!"

"I can't wait to play."

. . . . . .

The atmosphere in the locker room immediately became active, especially the team's two rookies Jamal Tinsley and Bobby Simmons. The two stood up immediately, screaming excitedly. For them Said that it is undoubtedly a very proud thing to be able to reach the conference finals with the team in the first year of his career.

Compared with the rookies, Lorenzen White, James Posey, Jermaine O'Neal and others who have been in the league for many years are obviously much better. It's an old fritter who has been in the league for many seasons, and he won't lose control of his excitement just because he reached the conference finals.On the side, Reggie Miller, who had experienced the baptism of the finals, and Jeff Foster, and even Meng Xu, who had already won the championship ring, seemed very calm.

"Very good." Looking at the high-spirited players, Larry Bird stretched out his palm and patted it twice.In this round of the series, facing the Nets who have just finished the tiebreaker with the Pistons, the Pacers have a considerable advantage in both the team's lineup and physical strength.The inside combination of Jermaine O'Neal and Lorenzen White also clearly has the upper hand when facing the Nets, especially Jermaine O'Neal, after experiencing the baptism of the Celtics series, his The ability has obviously improved a lot. In the two games of G3G4, Jermaine O'Neal scored 36 points and 14 rebounds in one game, and 28 points, 18 rebounds, and 7 blocks in one game. There is no doubt that Jermaine O'Neal is now He has already ranked among the top insiders in the league.As for the Pacers' perimeter, the combination of Meng Xu and Reggie Miller, it is no exaggeration to say that the Pacers have an advantage against the perimeters of all the other 28 teams in the league.

The only thing that worries Larry Bird is the position of point guard. Jason Kidd restrains Jamal Tinsley very much. In the four regular season games, except for the last game, Jamal Tinsley performed slightly The better one, the rest of the games were horrible.And now, compared to the regular season, Kidd in the playoffs has further released his desire to attack, and at the same time, he has not slackened the slightest slack in connecting teams. Defense is the top priority.

Therefore, Larry Bird also walked directly in front of Jamal Tinsley, and said: "Jamal, the restrictions on Kidd are the key to whether we can win today, so in this game, you have to give [-]% Energy, go defend him."

"Don't worry, coach, I don't have any problems." Facing the worried eyes of the coach and teammates, Jamal Tinsley nodded heavily. After resting for more than a week, Jamal Tinsley is now Physical strength is very abundant, and now Jamal Tinsley is no longer afraid of confrontation with Kidd. In Jamal Tinsley's mind, this round of the series is a stage to prove himself.At the same time, this round of the series, for everyone including Jamal Tinsley, is also related to whether to go back to fish early or to enter the round of the NBA's highest stage, so for everyone, it will not If you have any reservations, you will go all out to win this round of the series.

"Guys, I won't say more if I have to say anything superfluous. We must win today's game." Larry Bird looked around the locker room and saw the faces of almost all the players on the court. After everyone was full of high fighting spirit, Larry Bird nodded very satisfied.

At the same time, in the locker room of the visiting team, the head coach of the Nets, Byron Scott, was also making the final arrangements before the opening. Compared with the energetic Pacers, the players of the Nets obviously I was a little tired, because the Western Conference Finals had already started, the Nets had just finished the seven-game battle with the Pistons, and after only one day of rest, the whole team rushed to Indiana to start the series against the Pacers.

As the head coach of the team, Byron Scott is also worried at this time. Now Byron Scott is full of thoughts on how to deal with Meng Xu, and of course Jermaine O'Neal and Reggie Miller .

"Kenyon, Keith and Richard are going to double-team Meng Xu in this game, so you have to face the two insiders of the Pacers alone, so you have to make enough mental preparations in advance, understand? Of course, if you can't You can give up the defense against Lorenzen White and focus on Jermaine O’Neal.” Since the team’s interior line is obviously in a slight position, Byron Scott simply broke the defense in this game. The jar broke, replaced the team's main center Todd McClochy, pushed Kenyon Martin to the center position, and sent Keith Van Horn and Richard Jefferson at the same time. A small forward, ready to double-team the Pacers' offensive and defensive core Meng Xu.

"Understood, coach."

"And you, Corey, in this game, you must keep an eye on Reggie Miller. That old guy can hardly run now. As long as you can keep up with him closely, don't let him have enough room to shoot. , he will not pose any threat to us, and when necessary, you have to cooperate with Keith and Richard to double-team Meng Xu."

"Finally, Jason, I'll leave the rookie on the other side to you. Beat him up and ravage him. Whether we can win this match depends on your performance."

In the locker room of the Nets, Byron Scott arranged the team's offensive and defensive tactics with a serious face. Scott also nodded seriously to the players he had arranged and requested.

. . . . . .

"Hey, Reggie, why do you look so excited like those Jamals?" When the Pacers walked out of the tunnel and waved to the fans, Meng Xu, who was about to warm up on the field, saw Reggie Miller, who was taking off his coat, was probably too excited. He couldn't take off his coat twice. It turned out that this guy's calm expression in the locker room just now was all fake.

"No, you are talking nonsense." As Reggie Miller, who has reached the Eastern Conference finals for three consecutive years and even reached the finals, it stands to reason that he should have adapted to this kind of scene long ago, but he has experienced countless big scenes. Reggie Miller was also infected by the almost crazy cheers of the audience. Although Reggie Miller kept saying no, the excited look on his face could not be concealed. of.

After experiencing the failure of last season, in Reggie Miller's heart, the Pacers, who entered the rebuilding period this season, can avoid being reduced to a belly, and it is already a miracle to reach the playoffs, but the Pacers not only did not After being reduced to a belly, he completed the revival, won the first place in the regular season in the Eastern Conference, and with a record of 7 wins and 0 losses. After a year, he reached the finals of the Eastern Conference again. This is undoubtedly a miracle. Not only that, as long as If they can eliminate the Nets, the Pacers will complete the feat of reaching the Finals twice in three years.

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(End of this chapter)