"Finals, here we come!"

"Tyshawn, we're in the finals, we're in the finals!"

On June 6, 2003, in the center of the court at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey, the Pacers players all rushed to the court to celebrate after the game, especially the team's two rookies NN Hilario and Tyshawn Prince, don't look at the two people who usually look mature and steady, but the Pacers eliminated the Nets and reached the Finals for two consecutive seasons, and the two of them also entered the Finals with the team in their rookie season. Now I'm excited and incoherent.

Because the game was over after the end of the third quarter, the Nets had already gone away, so many spectators at the scene had already left the court at that time, but there were still a few diehard Nets fans who had been accompanying their favorite team until the end of the game, and even after the game was over, they were still stunned to see everything in front of them, watching the Pacers who were celebrating wildly on the court, watching or sitting on the sidelines, or sitting under the basket, full of frustrated and helpless Nets players.

"Alas, this year is still a little worse!" After the end of the sixth game of the Nets and Pacers series, Jason Kidd, the big man of the Nets, leaned on the billboard on the sidelines, quietly looked at the Pacers players who were celebrating on the court, his face was full of unwillingness and regret, and reached the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive years, but lost to the same opponent twice in a row, this result has made Jason Kidd a little tired.

In this season's Eastern Conference semifinals, the Pacers eliminated the Pistons 4-1, and the Nets swept the Celtics 4-0, so the Nets and Pacers met in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, and will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals again this season, although compared with the last Eastern Conference Finals, this group of young people in the Nets team has improved a lot, and the team's tactics are more stable and more mature, but in the face of the Pacers, who are also much stronger than last season, the Nets are still defeated after 6 games, and the score of 4-2 does not seem to be a big gap, But Kidd knows in his heart that the Pacers have not yet used all their energy, especially Meng Xu, except for the one in Tianwang Mountain, the other games are all playing in the end, making balls for his teammates as much as possible, compared to this round of the series has not yet started, Meng Xu is already thinking about the finals.

"Maybe we should make some changes, too!" The Nets tried their best, but they couldn't even win a Pacer who had reservations in the game, this result, while making Kidd feel frustrated, also began to reflect, compared to the Pacers, the Nets now undoubtedly have a lot of shortcomings, the interior is not as good as the Pacers, the rotation lineup is slightly inferior to the Pacers, and a very important point is that the team's head coach, in the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive seasons, Byron Scott was completely blown up by Larry Bird both at the tactical level and on the spot. In the crucial battle of Tianwang Mountain, Byron Scott showed timidity and made a series of on-the-spot command errors.

In this year's playoffs, the Nets swept the 76ers in the first round and the Celtics in the second round, showing strong dominance on both offensive and defensive ends, especially the team's two young players, Kenyon Martin, a third-year player, averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds per game this season, and soared to 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks per game in the playoffs. And the sophomore Richard Jefferson's progress this season is also very obvious, averaging 14+6+3 per game in the regular season, and various statistics have also been greatly improved in the playoffs, especially in the series with the Celtics, averaging 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, not only providing the team with strong firepower on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end, in the opposite position with Antoine Walker, the All-Star forward defense is a big loss, and Antoine Walker, who can contribute 22 points per game in the regular season, in this round of the series, With only 14 points per game, a shooting rate as low as 34%, and a 3-point shooting rate of only 20%, it can be said that Richard Jefferson's successful limitation of Antoine Walker was also a key factor in the Nets' sweep of the Celtics.

In this case, the Nets were ready to make a big play, but they were beaten by the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Richard Jefferson, who successfully locked Antoine Walker, still seems a little deficient in the face of Meng Xu, although Meng Xu's average score per game is only 26 points in 6 games, but Meng Xu's shooting rate is as high as 58%, and the 3-point shooting rate has also reached 43%, in addition to contributing 8 rebounds per game, 9.5 assists per game, the key battle of the king, Meng Xu scored 48 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists of the big triple-double, it can be said that Richard Jefferson's defense of Meng Xu is very unsuccessful. And Kenyon Martin, under the joint strangulation of Mutombo and Jermaine O'Neal, performed even more substandard, completely lacking the majesty of the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Just when the Pacers players on the court were still celebrating wildly, Meng Xu, who had calmed down, quietly walked to the sidelines, stood on the edge of the Pacers' bench, and looked at Kidd who was leaning on the billboard in a daze not far away. Maybe Kidd also noticed that Meng Xu was staring at him, turned his head, and looked at each other, just a moment later, Kidd quickly turned around again, maybe after losing to Meng Xu in a row, Kidd didn't know what kind of mood to face Meng Xu now.

"Boss, let's go!" The Pacers players who celebrated wildly at the Nets' home court naturally attracted the dissatisfaction of the Nets fans, although only a few fans insisted on not leaving the court until now, but they gave these Pacers players a boo gift package, in the booing of the sky, the Pacers players finally stopped celebrating, and began to return to the locker room one after another.

On the third day after the Pacers defeated the Nets, the Pacers' finals opponent was also released, after six big battles, the Lakers finally eliminated the Mavericks, and the Pacers met the finals again, due to the many giants in the West, the Lakers' road to promotion is much more difficult than the Pacers, the first round against the Timberwolves, the finals against the Mavericks, are six big battles to determine the winner, and the Spurs' Western Conference semifinals, it is a big battle of seven games, after a tragic tie-break to finally divide the winner.