Standing pretty old

Chapter 481 The Importance of the Championship

"Is it another consecutive away game this time?" Han Meimei asked while helping Erniu pack their luggage.

Ruan Erniu shook his head and said, "No, I'll come back after going to Indiana for a game, so I don't need to pack too much for a change of clothes."

……

The Pacers played at Conseco Arena, and the Eagles arrived at their destination smoothly.

Ruan Erniu was doing a routine warm-up before the game. Unexpectedly, the general manager of the Pacers, Larry Bird, the old fox, walked over at some point.

After all, he is a senior in the league, a top 50 superstar, and Ruan Erniu didn't dare to neglect him, so he took the initiative to say hello to him.

After a brief greeting, Er Niu said, "Larry, so you recruited me to the Pacers again?"

Bird shook his head and said, "No, I want to say, you need a Hall of Fame recommender in the future, how about me?"

Ruan Erniu smiled and said, "Because I just scored 65 points?"

"No, because you were the champion last season!" Bird said with a smile.

It is difficult for people who are not in the American basketball circle to understand NBA players' desire for a championship.

If it's a role player, it's fine. For a superstar, if he doesn't have a championship in his life, it can almost be said to be the biggest regret in his life.

The dream team that participated in the Barcelona Olympics in history had the so-called "super circle", and there were only three people in this circle: Bird, Magician, and Jordan.

From 1984 to 1992, the NBA's annual MVP trophy for 9 consecutive seasons was won by Bird, Magic, and Jordan, three for each.

So the three of them constitute the supreme special group of the dream team, and they can say anything to anyone.

When the dream team had just assembled in San Diego, California, "Newsweek" magazine wanted to invite Jordan and Magician to be on the cover. Jordan and Magician said, "It won't be on without Larry."

As a result, Bird also joined the "Newsweek" cover photo shoot.

Bird didn't like to play cards or open his mouth to engage in discussions easily, but in Barcelona, ​​in the family room of the Ambassador Hotel, three people from the "super circle" got together late one night and had a long conversation. The main debate is two questions: Which is the best team in NBA history?Which is the best player?
Speaking of the team, Magic's answer was: "Obviously one of our Lakers, we've won five championships, more than any of you."

Jordan had only two championships in hand at the time, and he had something to say: "You haven't seen the best NBA team in history, I'm just getting started, and I'm going to win more championships than you."

Ewing and Barkley tried to join. Ewing suggested that the Celtics in the era of Bill Russell were the best in history. Barkley asked Jordan not to forget him. Barkley said: "Michael, I will learn from you Steal at least one championship." At that time, Barkley had left Philadelphia as he wished and was traded to the Suns.

Bird has never been as flamboyant as Jordan and Magic, but he has a more ruthless heart.As soon as Barkley said that, Bird blocked him: "You haven't got anything, Charles."

Barkley quickly retreated with his tail between his legs.

There is no championship, and the words are not tough.

From this point of view, instead of being ridiculed when you are old, it might not be a wise choice to team up to win the championship when you are young.

Ruan Erniu is undoubtedly lucky. He won his first championship ring in his rookie season, so his career will be much smoother in the future, because he does not have huge pressure to win the championship.

Casually teased a few words with Bird, and Er Niuyou continued his pre-match warm-up.

This season's Pacers and last season's lineup have undergone a lot of changes. The aging O'Neal was sent away, and TJ * Ford was traded from the Raptors.

I wanted to do a big job, but the team's main force Mike Dunleavy and rookie Roy Hibbert both suffered injuries, so the record so far this season is only 4 wins and 5 losses.

Their starting lineup for tonight is:

C Rasu Nesterovic
PF Troy Murphy
SF Danny Granger

SG Marquez Daniels
PGTJ*Ford
Woodson guessed that the opponent would go high on the inside. In order to ensure the strength of the team, he removed Chris Anderson again today and replaced him with Zaza Pachulia.

Ruan Erniu and Murphy stood in the middle circle to jump the ball, and the more explosive Erniu got the basketball first.

Bibby dribbled the ball across half court and sent it to Jon Jonson.

囧囧sen feinted with the ball, made a false shot, and after passing Daniels, he went inside to face Nesterovi to complete the throw and hit!

On the offensive end of the Pacers, Granger holds the ball from the outside, and after breaking through Salmons' defense, he chooses to make a jump shot, but misses it!
Er Niu took the backcourt rebound and immediately dribbled through.

Just at halftime, he sent a penetrating pass to the ground, and the ball reached Salmons who made an empty cut to the basket.

Salmon shook off the defender and made an easy layup.

TJ* Ford broke through with the ball, passed Bibby, attracted the Eagles defense, and sent the ball to Nesterovic, who leaned on Pachulia for a dunk.

On the offensive end of the Eagles, Ruan Erniu missed a mid-range jumper. Murphy got the backcourt rebound and switched offense and defense. The ball was in the hands of Neslovic again. Layup.

In the ensuing game, Nesterovi seemed to have found the feeling of his peak, and scored consecutively on Pachulia's head.

Nesterovic made 6 of 5 shots in a single quarter and scored a Pacers-high 10 points and 2 rebounds.

But the troubles encountered by the Eagles in the interior are far more than these. In the second half of the first quarter, the tough guy Jeff Foster, who came off the bench, also showed a very good competitive state. He actually made three shots in this quarter, including one The ball was a hook shot by Ruan Erniu, and another goal was a three-pointer at the buzzer against Birdman's defense.

The Pacers' inside line today showed the toughness of the old Pacers (the accurate translation of the Pacers). Although Erniu's performance on the offensive end is not bad, it is still slightly insufficient compared with the opponent's strong performance.

Jon Jonsen was the best player of the Eagles in the first quarter. He made 5 of 4 shots in a single quarter, 2 of 2 three-pointers, scored 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.

If it weren't for Jon Jonson's outstanding performance, the Eagles would probably fall behind their opponents by a big score in the first quarter.

At 27:32, the Eagles trailed the home team by 5 points in the first quarter, and Larry Bird in the stands was quite calm.Although the Pacers are still not a strong team in the league, it is enough for him to be able to suppress the defending champion when the main player is injured.

Some people are satisfied, some people feel quite dissatisfied, he is the head coach of the Hawks-Mike Woodson.

"Are you kidding? This is a game, not a place for you to relax! Watch your defenders, don't let me see you sleepwalking on the court again, remember, this is game time!"

Woodson took a grease pen to the tactical board and pointed out that, in fact, he did not arrange any special defensive tactics.

Egghead is too aware of the peeing nature of his group of players. It's just that he feels that the opponent is too weak, so he can't cheer up.

These three days off not only didn't help them recover their physical strength, but also let them rest themselves to death!
Needless to say, these guys must be in every nightclub in Atlanta.

The defending champion is digging a big hole for himself!
(End of this chapter)