Legendary star

Chapter 786 One step away

"In today's game, we played very hard. Every player did his best, and their performance was beyond reproach, but the goddess of luck did not favor us."

"About Paul, I don't want to express some opinions that question the league and referees, but you don't think that a player will receive a foul for less than 2 minutes on the court, and the core of a team only plays ten minutes in a game. In a few minutes, six fouls are off, is this too abnormal?"

"Everyone of us often emphasizes that the players should decide the outcome of a game by themselves, not relying on the referee's whistle!"

"Are you questioning the referee's penalty? What do you think? Do you think it's normal for Paul to only play for more than ten minutes in a game? If it wasn't because Paul has been called fouls all the time and could only sit on the sidelines, today's game is absolutely There will be another ending."

At around 2008 o'clock in the evening on June 6, 11, at the post-match press conference of the fourth game of the Finals, as the loser, Phil Jackson, who was present at the press conference, seemed very restless. , and getting more and more excited, Phil Jackson couldn't help being excited, a game that could reverse the situation of the entire finals as long as an equalizer was lost in the end, after losing this game, the big score The 11 to 1 Lakers are completely standing on the edge of a cliff, which still makes Phil Jackson calm down.

Because in Phil Jackson's view, the reason why the Lakers lost was because Paul Gasol was restricted by fouls and could not play. , and there will be no situation where Kobe is alone, and Kobe will not continue to play singles with the ball because of the lack of helpers. In the fourth quarter, Kobe only made 13 of 3 shots. It's hard to beat the Pacers.

So in the press conference after the game, Phil Jackson always talked about Paul Gasol's foul, although Phil Jackson also knew that every foul of Paul Gasol was not wronged, But Phil Jackson still chose to criticize the referee in order to divert the embarrassing situation of his team's loss. Losing today's game will inevitably deal a heavy blow to the confidence and fighting spirit of the Lakers, so Phil Jackson seems to transfer the cause of the loss to the referee, thereby creating a non-war crime The atmosphere, so that the Lakers still maintain fighting spirit.

"The last game, what is the last game? We are only 1 to 3 behind. The finals are not over yet, and 1 to 3 doesn't mean anything." As the questions raised by the reporters on the scene became more and more excessive, Phil - Jackson was obviously irritated by these unscrupulous guys. After loudly scolding the reporter who asked him if he would give up the last game, Phil Jackson left the press conference directly. .

"I have nothing to say. Phil is right. Our current score doesn't mean anything. There are still three games before the end of the finals, so all we can do is to play every game well." After Phil Jackson left, Rick Carlisle became the sole focus of the press conference, but now Rick Carlisle is not the "NC card" and "Carlisle howitzer" of previous seasons. Provoking and belittling the opponent, or bombarding the referee when the victory is only one step away, is not only a matter of losing one's identity, but also a very unwise move.

As long as they win another game, the Pacers can win three consecutive championships again and complete the second three consecutive championships in club history, but when there is only one step left from this supreme glory, I don’t know why, Rick Carlisle But I can't feel any joy of victory.

After looking at the reporters at the scene and focusing the interview on Kwame Brown who attended the press conference with him, Rick Carlisle suddenly felt a trance in front of his eyes, as if all this now seemed to be like a dream.

While the press conference after the game was still going on, Kobe, who had already returned to the locker room, did not go to take a shower and change clothes, but sat quietly in front of his locker, his mind was full of Meng Xu The sentence I said to myself at the beginning of the fourth quarter: Even the best you can't beat me.

In today's game, Kobe's state is indeed very good. In addition, without the restrictions of Phil Jackson, Kobe can show off his offensive methods and scoring methods wantonly on the court, and even in a certain period of time, Kobe himself can I felt that I was omnipotent and unstoppable, but Kobe still lost in the end, not only lost the duel with Meng Xu, but also lost this crucial game, and the result of this game was undoubtedly a blow to Kobe It's very big, just like what Meng Xu said, no matter how hard I try, no matter how strong I become, can I really be unable to defeat him?

"Kobe, go back and rest early, we still have the rest of the game to play." After Phil Jackson returned to the locker room, he saw Kobe sitting there in a daze, and after shaking his head helplessly, Phil- Jackson walked up to Kobe and sat down, ready to enlighten Kobe a few words.

"Phil, do you think I'm really not as good as him?" After repeated failures, Kobe really doubted his ability now, so after seeing Phil Jackson, Kobe subconsciously asked Phil Jackson said, I want to find an answer that can convince myself from Phil Jackson.

"Kobe, you and him are two completely different types of players. He has a comprehensive style of play and can do everything, but you are a natural killer, just like Michael, so you don't have to belittle yourself at all. Compare yourself with him." Kobe's question, Phil Jackson is really difficult to answer, tell Kobe honestly, is he really inferior to Meng Xu?That was simply cutting the way out, so after a moment of contemplation, Phil Jackson used coaxing and beating around the bush in an attempt to muddle through and keep Kobe's fighting spirit and competitive spirit. For Phil Jackson , is undoubtedly very important.

"Kobe, there has been a saying in the current NBA that Meng Xu determines the lower limit of a team, and Michael determines the upper limit of a team. I think this is very reasonable, and you are a player similar to Michael. He is not necessarily better than what he did, and you will not be worse than him, so don’t doubt yourself, forget about today’s game, the finals are not over, we have three more We're going to play a game." When Phil Jackson finished the last paragraph, he found that Kobe was still looking at him, so Phil Jackson had a blah blah blah, and even coaxed and lied to enlighten Kobe. How to make the players happy, how to adjust their mentality, is also what Phil Jackson is best at.

"Well, I see." Kobe, who was just a little confused and self-doubting, after Phil Jackson said so much, most of the boredom in his heart went away, so he and Phil Jackson hugged each other After a moment, Kobe went straight into the bathroom.

"Hey." After watching Kobe walk into the bathroom, Phil Jackson, who was still smiling just now, immediately darkened, and after a sigh, Phil Jackson walked out of the dressing room, leaving nothing but an empty room. The dressing room, and the sound of rushing water from the bathroom.

(End of this chapter)