"Anna, why do I feel like the manager is a little different since the playoffs." On May 27, 2001, just before the start of the fourth game of the Lakers and Spurs series, Meng Xu entered the system space, and after using a bottle of magic potion, Meng Xu found Anna, hoping that Anna could solve the doubts in his heart.

"What do you think is different about him?" Anna, who was holding a poke of popcorn, sat on the edge of the training ground and watched Meng Xu seize the time to practice mid-distance shooting in the training ground.

"Mentality, I think the coach has been very tense during this time, he is not like this in the regular season, although he looks strict in the game, but in private he still often jokes with us, and even tells some yellow jokes, and the coach is now in terms of tactical flexibility, obviously not as good as in the regular season, the Spurs' tactics in the playoffs look very rigid and lack of change." Meng Xu put away the basketball, walked to Anna's side and sat down, Meng Xu still saw the change in Popovich now.

"In the words of your homeland, Popovich now wants to win but is afraid of losing. Although he can be considered a successful coach now, he is not great, and this season is likely to be the season from success to greatness, so he must be very tangled in his heart right now. This is also a problem that everyone will face, most people are only one step away from success, there will be a mentality of gain and loss, that is, the so-called heart demon, and as long as you cross this heart demon, then the sky will naturally be high in the future, the sea is wide and the fish will jump, but once you fail, the mentality is likely to be very hit, so at this time, Popovich will definitely choose his own better and more confident way of playing, he does not want to change, but from the heart of the fear of failure mentality, so that he can't change it, and this is more common among players, and maybe you'll experience it soon. After Anna finished smiling, she grabbed another popcorn and put it in her mouth, and then looked at Meng Xu with deep meaning.

"Will I meet it again in the future?" Looking at Anna's affirmative look, Meng Xu shook his head, as long as he did his best, winning or losing can actually be less important, although he also hates failure, but just like Magic Johnson said, it is better to do it vigorously than to lose with all his might.

"Don't believe it, once you become the core of a team in the future, then you will definitely encounter this kind of problem in the future, even Jordan can't avoid it, let alone you, let's experience it." After Anna finished speaking, she got up and left, but before Anna disappeared, she said another sentence that made Meng Xu angry: "Forget it, with your current state of mind and state, you can't experience this feeling." ”

At around 6 p.m., in the away locker room at the Staples Center, Duncan, who had just finished hanging up the water, was still a little tired sitting on a chair in front of the closet, holding a psychology book and flipping through it.

And Meng Xu was sitting calmly on a chair adjacent to Duncan, because of the use of the magic potion just now, Meng Xu's face now looked a little flushed, Meng Xu until now, the words that Anna said to him kept echoing in his mind.

Now in the locker room of the Spurs, although the atmosphere seems to be very calm, everyone is watching Popovich and Steve Kerr explain tactics with a serious face, and everyone can see that under this calm atmosphere, there is still a trace of tension and weirdness. Tonight's game is only the fourth game of the series between the Spurs and the Lakers, but now almost everyone knows that this game is actually no different from the battle of Tianwang Mountain, once the Lakers keep this home court, then the Lakers will have a score of 3-1 to get the match point of the whole series. If the Spurs win, the Spurs will also save the home advantage while equalizing the big score, and the next game between the two sides will be played at the home of the Spurs.

The same current Popovich, while explaining the tactics, his expression is also extremely dignified, the importance of this game is self-evident, if you lose, everything will be over, and if you win, the Spurs still retain the hope of eliminating the Lakers. And, as Anna said, this season's playoffs are undoubtedly the most important year in Popovich's coaching career, as long as the Spurs win this season's championship, then Popovich will realize his long-held dream of becoming one of the greatest coaches in the entire league, on the contrary, if he loses, then Popovich will continue to work hard for several years, or longer.

Therefore, today's game, whether it is for Popovich or for Spurs, is a game that must be won: "I won't say anything else, I hope everyone can forget about the previous game, in this game, play our tactics and tough defense, this game, we must win." "As the best defensive team this season, the Spurs allowed the Lakers to average 99 points per game in three games against the Lakers.

"Victory, victory, victory。。。。。。" When Popovich shouted the slogan of victory, Meng Xu was the first to stand up from his seat, waving his arms, and cooperating with Popovich to shout the slogan of victory, and the rest of the Spurs players also shouted after Meng Xu.

"In this game, I don't know if Popovich will make tactical changes, although Duncan was affected by a cold and was a little out of shape, but in these games with the Lakers, the Spurs played too rigidly, and compared with the changeable Spurs in the regular season, they were completely two teams." When Meng Xu was the first to walk out of the players' tunnel, greeted the boos and waved to the Staples fans, Magic Johnson was smiling and at the same time, he was also a little worried about the state of the Spurs. Although Magic is a famous legend for the Lakers, Magic is now ABC's signing commentary, so from the perspective of ABC and even the league, the Spurs and Lakers are naturally fighting as fiercely as possible, if possible, the two teams will fight 7 games, which is the best result, but at present, the two sides are likely to end this round of the series within 6 games.

"In today's game, the atmosphere of the fans at the scene is very high." Unlike Magic Johnson's focus, Michaels' focus today is all on the fans at the scene, and such a key game will naturally not lack Hollywood big names who come to gain popularity. At the same time, because they haven't tasted the championship for too long, in today's game, facing the biggest opponent in front of them, the Lakers fans who have always prided themselves on being noble, today also greeted the Spurs players who took the lead with warm boos like ordinary team fans.

"Phil, will Popovich make a tactical change this game?" Looking at the players of both teams who have begun to warm up, Lakers assistant coach Kurt? Rambis asked head coach Phil Jackson with some concern. Before the start of this game, Phil Jackson did not make any changes to the tactics of the previous game, but instructed the players to continue to play according to the arrangement in the previous game. Rambises is very worried, after all, Popovich is also a top manager, and at the same time a scheming guy.

"Don't worry, Kurt. From what I know about him, Popovich won't make any changes in this game, and he can't change it now. Speaking of this, Phil Jackson also showed a smile, Popovich's current mentality and what he is experiencing, Phil Jackson has experienced, so Phil Jackson can now figure out Popovich's mind more accurately than ever before.

Looking at a confident Phil Jackson, Kurt? Rambis didn't continue to speak, but Phil Jackson's smile didn't rule out Kurt? The concern in Rambis's heart is that the Lakers have been waiting for this championship for too long, and this year is no matter what.

"In this game, the Spurs' changes are very small, Derrick Anderson sat on the bench again today after replacing Mario Ely to play a starter, and several of the Spurs' starters are still the organization guard Meng Xu, the scoring guard Mario Ely, the small forward Sean Elliott, and the two interior linemen Tim Duncan and David Robinson." After reading the Spurs' starting lineup list, Magic Johnson also regretted that the change he expected did not appear, and the Spurs will continue to stick to their defense and fight with the Lakers to the end in this game.

On the Lakers' side, nothing has changed, the starting center is still O'Neal, power forward Hores Grant, small forward Rick Fox, scoring guard Kobe Bryant, and playmaking guard Ron Haber. And in this game, Isiah Ryder also appeared on the Lakers' bench, as for whether he can play, it depends on Phil Jackson's next arrangement. After Magic Johnson read the Spurs' starting list, Michaels announced the Lakers' starting lineup right after.

"Erwin, in fact, the series has played so far, and the two teams have no room for adjustment, and in the past few seasons, the Spurs and Lakers have played each other more than 20 times, so the two teams are actually very familiar with each other, and there is no hole card that can be hidden from each other." After seeing that the change that Magic Johnson was expecting didn't happen, Michaels said after a moment of contemplation.

However, after hearing Michaels's words, Magic Johnson shook his head and did not speak.