Chapter 657: The Ghost at Four in the Morning

On May 31, 2014, the last day of May, LeBron James woke up from his sleep.

The room was dark, and he opened his phone on the bedside to look at it, it was only 4 o'clock in the morning.

"Shet, why did I wake up so early?" James felt a little groggy in his head.

He hadn't gone to bed early last night, and the night in Brooklyn was so noisy that he couldn't sleep.

I don't know when I fell asleep in a daze, I thought I could sleep well, but I didn't expect to wake up so early.

James lay on the bed and wanted to sleep a little longer, but he couldn't sleep anymore, and his mind was full of thoughts about what had happened recently.

Nightmares, all nightmares.

It was as if it was back in 2012, and June of that year was an indelible shadow over James' career.

For two years, he tried to get rid of that shadow in various ways, and he even invited a tarot soothsayer to come to his house to divinate for him.

But it didn't work, everything happened to him again, like fate.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, with a 2-0 lead, they were pulled in 3 games in a row, and once again came to the sixth game of life and death.

It's like going back to 2012, when he went to Boston after falling behind 2:3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and he carried it.

He thought he had a new lease on life and that he would win the Finals with the spirit of a king, only to be beaten by the Clippers in four consecutive games.

The blow was so deadly, how could James sleep when it was possible to strike it again?

He got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower to calm himself down and sober up.

The water flowed through his immensely strong body, a gift from God without which he would not have been where he is today.

Sometimes he will look at himself in the mirror narcissistically, and the misty water on the mirror will cover his face, and the body will look quite perfect without looking at the face.

Next year James will be 30 years old, 30 years old, a man should achieve something.

For him, wealth, honor, status, in ten years, he has gained many, many things.

Although he was missing a damn ring, in fact, his life was also good.

At least much better than most ordinary people, and much better than those fellow blacks who are struggling in the slums.

However, one is not satisfied with what has been achieved, especially without that damn ring, which is a maggot-like curse for James.

In the past, the "Chosen One" was a compliment to him, but now that acclaim has turned into a vicious irony.

If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight, but James, who wore the crown too early, could not sit on the supreme throne for a long time, then the crown is no longer a crown, but a clown's hat.

It's not just the championship that's the problem, it's his commercial value, and now Stephen Curry is the darling of Nike, and he's got two championships and two FMVPs in hand.

He also won the regular season MVP this year, and in the media vote, he defeated Kevin Durant by a landslide, in fact, in terms of statistics, Durant is superior.

In terms of record, the Thunder's 59 wins are also top-notch, not much worse than the Clippers' 62 wins, but there is no way, everyone thinks Curry should get an MVP.

Sometimes the evaluation of MVP is like this, objective conditions and subjective will are indispensable, some people obviously have enough strength and record, but the media doesn't want to see it, and they don't think he can get it, then he just can't get it.

Like LeBron James, he already belongs to the kind of player that the media "doesn't think he can take again", and James is still one of the best players in the league in terms of record and strength data.

The Cavaliers are first in the East, and James's statistics are all around Curry, but in the MVP prediction, no one ranks James in the top three, and he is not even as good as Kobe.

Because the full name of MVP is "Most Valuable Player", not "Strongest Player", the evaluation of "value" itself is very subtle.

In short, James knows he's lost the value of being named MVP, and unless he leads a team to a history-making regular season record like 72 wins, the media won't consider him anymore.

This loss of value is unacceptable for James, who aims to surpass Jordan and create a business empire.

But what to do, the championship seems to be becoming more and more distant, especially the Los Angeles Clippers, like a huge shadow hanging over him, as well as other NBA teams and stars.

Just three days ago, the Clippers completely defeated the Warriors in Game 5 with a huge advantage of 123:93 and 30 points at home, easily won the Western Conference championship and reached the Finals.

The Clippers, and the Clippers, even if they reach the Finals, who can beat the Clippers?

Thinking of this, James turned off the faucet.

After taking a shower, James felt a little more relaxed, but he couldn't sleep anymore, so he could only get dressed and get up to go to the hotel's gym for activities.

It was not yet dawn at this time, the gym of this hotel was open 24 hours, he swiped his card to enter the gym, it was brightly lit, but there was no one empty.

Rows of treadmills and fitness equipment, James chose one at random, put on headphones and started jogging, to wake up his body and drive away the cluttered thoughts in his mind.

After running for a while, his body was sweating slightly, and dynamic music was playing in his headphones, but he suddenly heard someone on the other side of the gym shouting at him, "You'll never win the championship, LeBron!" ”

James subconsciously turned his head to look in the direction of the source of the sound, and it turned out that the gym was still empty, brightly lit, with rows of treadmills and fitness equipment, but no one else was there.

"Shet, who is it?" James was very annoyed, he just managed to run out of distractions, and when he was shouted by this person, his brain was messed up again.

He stopped the treadmill, took off his headphones, and listened carefully for a while, but there was no one else in the gym.

James put his headphones back on, turned on the treadmill, and continued to run, calming himself with music and exercise to get ready for the evening.

He remembered the semi-final in 2012, in Boston, where he had also faced Garnett and Pierce, and he had survived.

In that game, he seemed to have entered the realm of the gods, his shooting was like a god's help, he was no longer hesitant, he was not afraid, he dared to shoot, because he was confident to shoot every shot.

However, this situation is not normal, sometimes in the game he still lacks confidence in his shot, he needs to adjust repeatedly, he needs to develop his touch.

Only once in 12 years was he so determined, so unstoppable, that he really wanted to bring that feeling back and help him get through the difficult times in front of him.

"LeBron, you're never going to win a championship!"

The voice sounded in his ears again, and James was furious all of a sudden, and he immediately removed his headphones and looked back, shouting angrily: "Who! Who is it! ”

James' roar echoed through the gym, but it was empty, and there was no one.

James strode in the direction of the source of the sound, and the man must have been hiding behind the bench press.

No, no one, James walked around the gym and there was no one.

"Come out! You come out for me! James shouted twice more and called the gym management.

"Uh... Mr. James, is there something going on? The manager, who knew James, asked politely.

"Did someone just come in?"

"No, it's only past four o'clock, and no one has come in except you."

"Are you sure? I heard someone talking to me just now, someone harassing me! ”

"Uh... I'm sure, I've been at the front desk, and if anyone comes, they will definitely register. ”

The front desk staff said sincerely, and James looked at him with a look in his eyes, but he felt as if there was mockery in it.

James suddenly asked, "Are you a basketball fan?" Do you watch the NBA? ”

The front desk replied, "Oh, of course, I'm a basketball fan, and I know you, Mr. James." I also watch the NBA. ”

"Whose fan are you?"

"Me? Belch... I'm a Nets fan, of course, but my dad is a Knicks fan. ”

"You support the Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals."

"Uh... That's of course Mr. James. I also like Kobe. ”

James shook his head and said, "I'm going to see your surveillance here, I'm sure someone was yelling at me in the gym just now." ”

"Mr. James, I'm sure no one has ever been here, but you..."

"I want to see the surveillance! Call your supervisor, I want to see the surveillance! ”

The front desk had no choice but to call the supervisor over to explain the situation, and the supervisor saw that it was a celebrity like James, so he agreed to check the surveillance.

In the NBA, it is common for hotels to interfere with the state of the away players' games, such as pulling the fire alarm in the middle of the night, knocking on the door and pretending to be a surprise inspection, etc., which is to engage in the mentality of away players.

James suspected that someone was playing with his mentality, so he insisted on watching the surveillance and finding out the ghost.

As a result, in the monitoring room, James watched the ten-minute surveillance video from the time he came in to the time he came out to inquire about the situation, and no one except him entered the gym again.

Surveillance inside the gym also showed that James was running alone, and no one came out to harass him.

"You see Mr. James, there really is no one else, you may have misheard, or there is some misunderstanding."

The Director explained to James that he was sincere, but to James, there seemed to be a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Forget it, forget it, I'm leaving."

James left the gym, went back to his room, took another shower, and sat on the bed for a while.

He couldn't sleep at all, but the phrase kept echoing in his head, "LeBron, you're never going to win a championship!" ”

Who said that? It felt familiar, but I just couldn't remember who it was.

My brain was very messy, so I went to the hotel for breakfast and followed the team to the training center in Brooklyn in the morning for a simple shooting drill.

The atmosphere of the Cavaliers is a bit dull, everyone doesn't talk much, and the series is 2-0 but the opponent has won three games in a row, who can laugh at such a situation?

Especially since everyone has experienced the terrible comeback in 2012, and the atmosphere within the team is actually on the verge of collapse.

Kyrie Irving got into an argument with his own substitute Jack in Game 4.

Because at the time of the rotation, Irving didn't want to get off the court, so Jack, who had already warmed up, sat back on the bench.

When Owen came out of the game, Jack bumped into Owen, and the two had some verbal altercations.

By halftime in the locker room, it was said that a bigger clash broke out between Owen and Jack.

James tried to settle the dispute, but Irving didn't hang him at all, and the locker room got worse as a result.

Now, there is an extremely strange state in the Cavaliers, everyone has their own agendas and plans.

Everyone knows that James will expire this year, Battier, Miller, Green and others will all expire, and Kyrie Irving will face new contract extension negotiations.

In short, if the Cavaliers can win the championship, the young players in the core squad may still be able to stay, and once the championship fails, it is inevitable that it will fall apart.

At noon, James went back to the hotel for dinner, went to the room to rest for a while, he wanted to try to talk to Owen, so he picked up the phone and dialed Owen's room.

As a result, Owen's room phone was not answered, and after the phone rang many times, James had to hang up.

James recalled the third game, the Cavaliers still led by 10 points in the second half, and they were sure to enter the Finals after winning this game.

But Kobe didn't know what to say in Irving's ear, and the two chatted crookedly for a while, and then Irving made irrational choices in several offenses.

The Nets took the opportunity to play a wave of counter-attacking climax to tie the score, and the situation began to develop in a direction that went against the Cavaliers.

James tried to communicate with Irving during the timeout what was wrong, but Irving didn't say anything and continued to go his own way, holding the ball for too long.

As a result, the Cavaliers were reversed by the Nets and missed the opportunity to lead the Nets 3-0.

After the game, James harshly criticized Irving in the locker room, but he didn't expect Irving to work against James instead, which caught James off guard.

Irving didn't even take him, the boss of the team, the king of the Cavaliers, seriously?

But Irving really didn't pay attention to it, he quarreled with Jack in the fourth game, and in the most critical Tianwang Mountain in the fifth game, Irving hit three points and layups at the critical moment, and the Cavaliers almost saw the dawn of victory.

Then Kobe Bryant scored, Pierce scored, the Nets overtook the game, and when the game was 30 seconds away, Irving still took the ball and rushed inside, but at the last moment he passed it to James on the outside.

What can James do, the shooting rhythm is not good, he can only pass again, and finally Danny Green misses the shot, causing the Cavaliers to lose the game by 1 point.

After Irving took away James' possession, James completely lost the feeling of the game at the critical moment, and even Steve Kerr couldn't do anything with Irving.

Communication with him was completely ineffective, and I don't know what was going on in his head.

James was helpless, he thought that Owen would be his good helper, he was indeed very talented, but why did he become the way he is?

In the afternoon, James finally slept for a while, and his spirits were somewhat restored, but the noon sleep was certainly not as deep as the night, and he had several dreams, all of which were not very good dreams, but when he woke up, he could not remember what the dream was.

By 7:30 p.m., the Barclays Center, Game 6 between the Nets and the Cavaliers, was overcrowded, and this game was crucial for the Nets.

If they can beat the Cavaliers, the Nets will reach the Finals for the first time in 12 years and attack for the first championship trophy in team history.

James changed the fans in the locker room, and in the player tunnel, the Cavaliers players still formed a circle, shouting slogans around James.

“Let's Go，cavaliers！”

James shouted slogans in hopes of boosting the morale of his teammates.

But Owen was absent-minded, he didn't jump or shout, his misty eyes fluttering, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

James once had great hopes for Irving, believing that he would be his successor, his successor, and lead the Cavaliers on the championship path with him, and let him be his own Pippen.

But he doesn't seem to care and be very satisfied with the positioning of "Pippen".

Entering the arena, after the warm-up and opening ceremony, the game is about to begin.

The Nets' starters are Kobe Bryant, Pierce, Turner, Garnett plus Plumlee.

This is a lineup change made by the Nets after the first two losses, and Kobe Bryant went to play the No. 1 position, which was surprisingly good.

Blatche, a forward with a weak offense and defense, was put on the bench as the sixth man, and Plumlee, a rookie starter, had a very good effect.

James is skeptical that someone else has given guidance to allow the Nets to change their lineup in this way.

In contrast, Kerr never gave a good way to deal with it - in fact, Kerr did, but James couldn't, and Irving didn't cooperate at all.

The Barclays Center was noisy, but James was used to it, and he went to the sidelines to sprinkle magnesium powder before the game, which was booed by the fans.

At the same time, Garnett also came to the sidelines to shoot magnesium powder on the technical table, and the fans cheered, after all, this is the home court of the Nets.

The game is about to begin, and James is ready to cut down a high score and bring the series back to Cleveland!

"LeBron, you're never going to win a championship!" He suddenly heard someone say this behind his back.

James jerked his head back, and he finally heard whose voice it was.

It's Kobe Bryant.

The ghost at four o'clock in the morning.

(End of chapter)