Chapter 355: A Sharp Turn
After the end of the fourth game, public opinion was boiling, the Lakers led 3:1, and the fourth game was a big win.
For the Lakers, the championship trophy is already in front of them, and Game 5 will be played in Stamps, which will be the best moment for the Lakers to win the cup.
4:1 to take away the defending champion, this is a result that no one would have expected before the start of the finals.
In particular, most media pundits are bullish on the Heat, who are younger, tougher defensively, and have a more fleshed out roster.
The Lakers are too old and have fewer people playing, and Kobe Bryant's performance in the Finals has always been worse than that of the West.
But the world is unpredictable, and a scene in 2011 is about to be repeated, and the Mavericks, who are considered old and weak, and are not worthy of the Big Three, killed the Heat.
The story of the old boy continues, only this time the Lakers' protagonist is no longer just the old boy, but also a 22-year-old.
For Chinese fans, happiness came too suddenly, and Li Liang completed a big leap from an unknown second-round show to a popular candidate for MVP in the finals in a year, which can only be said to be a miracle.
In fact, when he was drafted by the NBA, it was already a miracle.
After becoming an all-star is a miracle squared.
This finals is simply a miracle cubic of things.
Celebrations have already begun at the forum, and Li Liang's call for FMVP is getting louder and louder.
Of course, there are also those who think that his behavior of scoring in the fourth quarter is somewhat obvious.
But in the third quarter, his wave of three-pointers, the impression score was too high, and it didn't matter if he scored or something.
At that time, many Chinese fans were looking forward to Yao Ming winning a championship in the NBA and leading the Rockets to establish the "Ming Dynasty".
When the young fans have matured, grown up, and seen more, they realized that with the strength of Yao Ming and the Rockets, they are still too far from the championship, which can be seen from their playoff journey, not to mention the dynasty.
And Li Liang's sudden rise is almost to satisfy the fantasies of all fans, so the forums of all parties are unusually unified, and even the fans who didn't like the Lakers at the beginning are cheering for the Lakers.
The U.S. side is arguing over who can get the FMVP.
Some believe that this honor should be given to Kobe, after all, Kobe is the real core of the Lakers.
And Kobe, as a superstar of this era, has never won the honor of double MVP in the season, which is a pity.
Some think that this honor should be given to Li Liang, Kobe Bryant won the regular season MVP is controversial, "robbed" James's honor, and now wants to rob Bruce Lee?
Anyway, many people are arguing, completely ignoring that the championship has not yet been decided, and they have begun to divide FMVP.
There is no respect for the Heat fans at all.
Even if 1:3 backwardness has never occurred in history, history is used to create.
No team in the last playoff team made it to the tournament before the Black Eight, and in 1994 the Nuggets made an exception, and then the Knicks, Warriors, Grizzlies, and 76ers achieved this feat.
I believe that in the future NBA, as long as the league has always existed, many so-called records and laws will be broken one by one.
Game 5 between the Lakers and Heat is scheduled for June 16, with both teams having two days off.
To be on the safe side, the Lakers did not give the team a day off and continued to practice.
Although they took a 3-1 lead in the fourth game, if they lost the fifth game, they would have to go to Miami to compete for the championship.
The last home game must be well grasped.
To avoid disruptions, the team's training location was moved from the Toyota Sports Center to a gymnasium in Palm Springs.
Because there are too many reporters and fans waiting for Lakers players at Toyota Arena, asking all kinds of out-of-the-box questions about "FMVP ownership" and "championship speech".
These remarks will undoubtedly paralyze people's carelessness, and Mike Brown doesn't want a conflict between Li Liang and Kobe Bryant over the FMVP matter.
Needless to say, Kobe Bryant's temper is so generous now, Brown feels that it is already a manifestation of Jesus.
And Li Liang blatantly brushed the data, and after brushing the data, he let himself take the blame, everything was done very naturally and seamlessly, which made Brown feel that it was a matter of course.
What a strange man.
During the two days in Palm Springs, the Lakers had a normal amount of workouts.
After the training, Kobe Bryant and Li Liang stayed for additional training and one-on-one heads-up.
One step away from the championship, both of them were very excited.
Before the fifth game, there was a tireless bullfight for more than three hours.
Even so, on match day, the two were full of energy and fighting spirit.
For Kobe Bryant, he can win 6 championships, and finally Kobe Bryant is comparable to Jordan.
At this point, Kobe Bryant is still very cautious.
When O'Neal won the fourth championship before Kobe, it was in the Heat, which made Kobe quite angry.
Later, when he won his fifth championship, he could finally say to O'Neal, I have more rings than you.
And the sixth, which means that he is equal to Jordan in the number of championships, is also a big achievement for Kobe.
And the six championships will also surpass Magic Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, and George McCann to become the player with the most championships in the history of the Lakers. (Those who have played for the Lakers and won championships on other teams do not count, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Bucks championship and Hawley.) )
So, for Kobe, the weight of this championship is very, very heavy.
As for whether it is FMVP or not, it doesn't matter anymore.
Whether he takes it or not, Jordan can't surpass it anyway, and Wade behind him can't catch up, at most, he will be used as a gun when he is salivaed in the future, and he doesn't care about how to make Kobe Bryant at all.
Kobe doesn't care, but Li Liang does.
Lao Tzu just wants to take FMVP! If you don't have a chance, forget it, why don't you take it if you have a chance?
Of course, it is impossible for Li Liang to take the initiative to say to Kobe Bryant "I want to win FMVP", of course, this kind of honor must compete freely, what is mine is mine, not my impossible to seek.
On the night of June 16th, the Stamp Center was bustling with activity.
In order to witness the Los Angeles Lakers win the championship at home, Hollywood celebrities are all present, and they really make the people on the sidelines bigger than the players on the court.
David Stern is on the scene with the O'Brien Cup, and as long as the Lakers win this victory, they will lift the cup again.
Before the start of the game, the Lakers' locker room was tense and solemn.
For Howard and Nash, this should be the most important game of their careers so far.
Nash, in particular, couldn't sleep well in the past two days, and the championship had been bothering him for too long.
There are also O'Neal Jr. and Jamison, for whom this should be the best chance of their careers to win the championship.
The Lakers entered the arena with high morale and determination to win, and Stamp had already been in the limelight.
Li Liang warmed up as usual normally, chatting with his teammates and joking with Mike Brown, and he was not nervous at all.
The game started at half past seven in the evening.
Once again, Howard won the ball, and Bosh never won in a scrum.
As soon as it opened, the Lakers played the Heat 7:0, Li Liang a three-pointer, Kobe Bryant a mid-range, and Nash assisted Howard to score a dunk.
Perfect start, perfect.
The Heat called a timeout, and everything was heading in the perfect direction.
But just halfway through the first quarter, the Lakers led the Heat by 6 points at 16:10, and Kobe Bryant held the ball and was about to kill inside, when an accident happened.
Bryant slipped during the breakaway, and then fell to the ground holding his calf in pain.
The entire Stamp arena was stunned, as were the Lakers players and the Heat players.
Because Kobe's expression was so painful, he kept pushing his ankle with his hand.
The Lakers players all surrounded him, and the team doctor immediately stepped forward to check on the situation.
The audience at the scene had a worried look on their faces.
Everything happened in an instant, a break, no problem with Wade's defensive moves, it was clean.
In slow-motion replay, Kobe Bryant slipped on his own.
Li Liang immediately stepped forward and was concerned about Kobe's situation.
"Kobe, boss, what's the matter with you? What's going on? ”
This kind of critical game, if Kobe Bryant is injured, the series is really difficult to say.
It's only the first quarter, the advantage hasn't been fully established, and the Heat have plenty of time to chase points.
"It's broken, it's broken."
Kobe Bryant said, beads of sweat on his face, I don't know if it was sweating from exercise or sweating from pain.
Looking at Kobe Bryant holding his ankle, Li Liang knew that Kobe Bryant had a ruptured Achilles tendon nine times out of ten.
This can be a devastating injury for an athlete.
Kobe Bryant has played high-intensity games for more than ten years and is covered in injuries, but this is the first time that he has suffered a major injury like an Achilles tendon rupture.
Theoretically, this is the accumulation of long-term fatigue and is inevitable to a certain extent.
It's a miracle that he's survived until now.
But why is it this time?
At a time when the championship is just one step away?
Kobe Bryant was unwilling, he kept supporting his ankle with his hand, hoping that it was not broken, but just a small tear or some other problem that could reset it.
But the effort was in vain, because Kobe himself heard the sound of a "gunshot", which was the terrible sound of a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Doctor Vitti figured out the situation, and he knew that Kobe Bryant couldn't play on the court anymore.
Not to mention the finals, it's a question of when I'll be able to play next season.
In the end, with the support of Li Liang and Ci Shiping, Kobe limped off the field.
The audience burst into long-lasting applause, but there was uneasiness in this applause.
Without Kobe, can the Lakers beat the Heat and win the championship?
3:1 lead, but if this one is lost, the next two home courts are Heat.
It's hard to say.
The situation has taken a turn for the worse.