On May 31, 2000, fans who bought newspapers in the morning were comfortable after reading the New York Post news:

“Knicks in Four！”

Compared to last season's playoff trip, this year's Knicks have an 11-0 record.

The opponents they met were all swept out of the tournament, and before the playoffs began, they were despised by a large number of sports media, and all the ball critics followed the Lakers, and New York fans became a little unconfident.

But after three rounds of the playoffs, the familiar feeling returned, and while NBC was warming up for the Finals and going to New York to shoot footage, some inflated fans didn't forget to shout into the camera:

“We are the champion！”

“Fuck＊！”

Falk Los Angeles is a way for New York fans to express their confidence.

The Lakers, who have been blowing for a season, really scared the fans, and they also chanted incredible when they saw O'Neal's 60+20.

It's just that after seeing the Lakers' playoff performance, no one blows about the dominance anymore, and for New York fans, O'Neal has also become a paper tiger

The main reason for the inflated fans is that the Lakers lost again.

On the night of the 30th, the Lakers, who got the match point and returned to their home court, failed to end the series.

At 96:88, the Trail Blazers tied the score at 2:3, and G6 will return to Portland.

In 46 minutes, O'Neal was 12-of-20 from the field, 7-of-12 from the free-throw line, with 31 points, 21 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 5 turnovers.

The stats look scary, but as long as you watch the game, fans will realize one thing:

"O'Neal will also make mistakes when he is trapped."

Whenever the Sharks receive the ball inside, the Trail Blazers usually choose a four-man team.

The Lakers had an opportunity from the outside, but they made 6 of 27 three-pointers, and the crotch-pulling projection allowed them to continue to play G6.

In the division finals, the 1:3 deficit was reversed, and the Los Angeles media is no longer a poisonous milk team, and the dominance is not important, as long as it can reach the finals.

From a pundit point of view, the Lakers didn't play any triangle offense at all in many rounds.

The guard line is all tool people, O'Neal basically can't block and dismantle, and it is all up to his teammates to squeeze through the cover to complete the pursuit.

Ask for the ball in the low post, the opponent will wrap it, O'Neal will share the ball, and the sharks will be in a good mood in individual rounds, and they will do a block and dismantle, and the defense will also work harder.

All the Knicks who returned to New York had to do in the past two days was to complete interviews with NBC and warm up for the Finals.

This process is not unfamiliar to everyone who has reached the finals for two consecutive years, and it is enough to interview and blow X, and express your wishes by the way.

James Dolan has some regrets, most of these interviews are for players and managers, and the team owner doesn't have many scenes, and he feels a little uncomfortable that he can't draw the pie.

On the morning of the 31st, Li You was also interviewed by Jim Gray at the Tarrytown Training Center, and he had the most scenes compared to other players.

The Finals are the show of the year, and the NBA takes the packaging of star players very seriously.

This year's theme is not only the Knicks' three-in-a-row championship, but also the matchup between MVPs.

Jim Gray interviewed Lee You for two years in a row, and the two have become very familiar with each other.

Black vest and blue training pants, Li You did not change his clothes, as long as it is not a fancy dress, the league will not restrict what players wear.

After completing the set, the staff began to light, Li You looked at the black background cloth behind him, and joked after sitting down:

"It's like that every year, so why not change the color and add some post-processing, young fans don't like to see these cookie-cutter backgrounds."

"Actually, we don't have enough budget!"

Jim Gray also made a joke, and after the two laughed, the staff motioned to start, and then asked Zhengse:

"At the age of 22, the youngest scoring champion, assist champion, MVP, and FMVP in NBA history!"

"You've broken almost all of Magic Johnson's records, and now, you're leading the Knicks to the Finals again."

"If you win the championship again, does that mean you've surpassed the Magic to become the best point guard of all time?"

Hearing this hot topic recently discussed by ball critics, Li You just smiled and shook his head:

"Five championships, three MVPs, three FMVPs, I'm good at math, and I'm still a lot short of a legend like Magic Johnson."

"I know how difficult it is to win the title and behind these accolades is a huge commitment from the players.

"The all-time best is still too far away for me, after all, I'm only 22 years old and I want to keep winning."

Although the Lakers are likely to be overturned, most commentators have tacitly accepted the Knicks' opponent in the Finals.

Magic Johnson has recently been pulled out to make frequent comparisons, chasing history, and fans also like to watch it.

When he heard the math problem, Jim Gray and the staff around him laughed too.

The simple and crude comparison also showed Li You's self-confidence, and soon Jim Gray asked the question that he asks every year:

"Lee, let's talk about the expectations for the Finals, you were not favored until the playoffs began, but after 11-0, the Knicks once again showed the dominance of the championship."

"Expected? After the playoffs began, I took Shaq's words seriously and I accepted the challenge! ”

Hearing Li You's words, the MSG staff who were filming on the side burst into laughter, O'Neal Boomerang slapped him in the face, and Li You still had a chance to reach 15:0.

After the staff around him stopped coaxing, Li You replied seriously:

"No matter who the opponent is, the Knicks will win the Finals, and the lesson we learned from the Bulls in '98 is that basketball is five-man."

'Coach Van Gundy has been controlling our minutes and our rotation has been fantastic.

"We believe in each other, and the team works together better than we did two years ago."

"I don't like to lose, and the Knicks will keep winning!"

“.”

Some of the interview tidbits won't be fully aired on NBC, but MSG can show them in their own documentary.

Li You's interview mostly expressed his desire for the championship and the pursuit of victory, but Ewing is different, the gorilla forcibly raised himself to a high level:

"Winning a championship means a lot, and I hope that through my performance, I can inspire more children to go onto the basketball court."

"Hold on to your dreams, God never forgets hard-working children!"

Looking at Ewing talking eloquently in front of the camera, Jim Gray felt a little helpless, there were not so many scenes in the balloon star

The Knicks entered the promotional phase of the Finals early and didn't have much of a role on NBC, but James Dolan could make some points through his own MSG.

Pulling up the team's all-time legends, James Dolan's "show time" has indeed attracted the attention of many young fans.

Jeff Van Gundy frowns every time he hears the big boss's point of view, and it sounds beautiful to go all-in and defend, but the team's configuration can't meet such requirements.

After a day of interviews and training sessions, the bald young marshal had to continue watching the game footage with the coaching staff.

Assistant coach Don Channey is more confident about the upcoming finals, while Thibodeau is particularly cautious.

"We have a core guard that is unique in the league, and no one can limit us, and no matter who the opponent is, they have to change their perimeter defense strategy."

After Don Chaney watched the Lakers and Trail Blazers G5, he was more confident, and when he heard such a point of view, Thibodeau frowned and responded:

"But we can't predict the state of the players, but the closer you get to the basket, the higher the shooting percentage, and it's more reliable to stop O'Neal than to foul."

When it came to the finals, Jeff Van Gundy didn't plan to change the team's tactical play, and after hearing the discussion of several people, he finally said simply:

"Adjust everyone's physical condition, hand over the game to the players, and when it comes to the finals, all we have to do is believe in ourselves!"

Thibodeau didn't expect Jeff Van Gundy to lie flat again, he was very worried about the defense on the inside, but after thinking about it, he still didn't say much.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that even if he arranged a bunch of eggs, it was still useless, and O'Neal blew up the Knicks' interior in the regular season.

Jeff Van Gundy always maintained a confident smile on his face, constantly delivering chicken soup to several people, and there was no trace of worry at all.

Several members of the coaching staff suddenly felt that not only the players had grown, but the head coach also seemed to be more reliable.

The Knicks' coaching staff predicted that the Lakers would end the game in G6 with the match point, but the Trail Blazers were more tenacious than expected.

On the evening of June 2, the two teams coincidentally chose to fight the main team.

At 15:26, the Trail Blazers' starting five did not rest for a minute, and the game took an 11-point lead in the first quarter.

At half-time, the Lakers failed to climb the pit, and in the end, they lost helplessly.

At 93:103, the Trail Blazers went to the next city, and the series score came to 3:3, and the two sides will have a tie-break.

O'Neal and Bryant played 48 minutes again, while Sabonis Sr. and Scottie Pippen only rested for less than a minute.

Pippen was 1-of-6 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line for nine points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal, two blocks and one turnover.

Putting too much into defense, the data does look like it is stretching, but considering that the Trail Blazers can still win in this situation, the ball critics have become a wall for a while.

Bunch Wells scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting off the bench for the Trail Blazers and became the key to the team's victory.

On the Lakers' side, Bryant was 12-of-24 from the field and 6-of-9 from beyond the three-point line, scoring a team-high 33 points.

Everything is possible in the tie-breaker, the Los Angeles media has lost their voice again, this is going to be overturned, then it will be nailed to the pillar of shame!

New York fans are hoping that the Trail Blazers can win so that the Knicks can regain home-court advantage.

Jeff Van Gundy was also in a good mood to see the Lakers lose, even if the opponent won the tiebreaker, but there was not much time to rest.

On the evening of the 3rd, while Milinda was finally busy with her graduation, Li You also entertained at Taridun's house.

Ivana, who returned to New York during the summer vacation, recommended a chef who was good at cooking Italian food, which solved the hassle of cooking at home.

Kim noticed that the chef was Mexican and quickly chatted with the chubby cook.

Milinda circled around Ivana, blinking with big eyes, and kept looking at the fat blonde white rabbit

Ivana, who was already a little uncomfortable with her figure, was involuntarily touched her face when she saw it, and subconsciously patted the dog's head to relieve the embarrassing atmosphere.

Husky Happy hasn't been drilled for a month, and has been fed fat by a few people, thinking that there is something to eat, and after being touched on the head, he showed "wisdom" eyes.

"What's life like at Georgetown? I've only been to Washington once! ”

The lively Milinda has the attribute of self-cooking, and it doesn't take long for Ivana to relax.

Noticing that Li You finished talking on the phone, Milinda chuckled and turned her head and said:

"Ms. Ginsburg was invited to the law school's graduation ceremony today, and you should really come and see it, and a lot of alumni have participated in this event."

Most of the notable alumni of Connecticut Law School are people in the Connecticut judicial system.

Throwing away the phone, Li You sat on the sofa and said casually:

"There's still a chance, isn't it? By the time I graduate, perhaps the justice will receive an invitation from the Academy. ”

Catching up with the 2000 White House event, the recent graduation ceremony has turned into a political gathering, and Lee Woo has a bulging wallet, but he doesn't want to get involved in these things.

Regardless of the faction, everyone will buy shoes, and Mark Parker has long warned Li You not to show obvious intentions, and the brain circuits of some consumers are sometimes difficult to figure out.

On Sunday, June 4th, before the start of the Western Conference Finals tiebreaker, TNT warmed up for the game and discussed an interesting topic in the morning's program:

"Why didn't the Trail Blazers insist on attacking O'Neal with pick-and-rolls?"

In the studio, Mike Fratello gave his opinion from a manager's point of view:

"Damon Stoudemire isn't Lee, or rather, no other defender in the league has Lee's ability to block and carry the ball."

"When the perimeter can't hit those three-pointers with the ball, Shaq responds on the offensive end."

"It's a math problem, and no coach is going to bet on the shooting feel of an outside player that night."

On paper, Mike Fratello even took the opportunity to analyze the offensive level of the league's backcourt players, and finally came to an obvious conclusion:

"Li You's three-point production with the ball is high, his shooting is accurate, and he is far ahead of all the players in the backcourt."

As a championship defender, Kenny Smith gives his opinion from a player's point of view:

"In the face of high-pressure outside defense, the vast majority of backcourt players can't attack calmly and independently."

"I know how to defend a small scorer, the easiest thing is to give a confrontation and then the vast majority of players will keep playing iron."

"It's hard to target the Lakers with pick-and-rolls, and I don't think Damon Stoudemire will get as many chances tonight as he did in the last game."

Seeing that both men had rejected this tactic and agreed on the point of view, Ernnie Johnson simply asked about the outcome of the two men's predictions:

"Will the Lakers win at home?"

Mike Flatello did not give an affirmative reply, but said kindly:

"If the Trail Blazers can continue the defense of the last game, maybe they can turn the series around!"

“.”

By the time it came to the tiebreaker, commentators had lost confidence in the Lakers, and that night's game, at the end of the third quarter, 71:58, the Trail Blazers led by 13 points.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the Lakers were going out, but in the fourth quarter of the game, it was the Trail Blazers who were counterattacked.

At 13:31 in the single quarter, the Lakers successfully won the game and entered the finals again after 9 years!

This reversal method made the Staples Arena completely boil, and O'Neal and Kobe Bryant hugged each other after the game.

Bryant shook Pippen and sent O'Neal a shot of the aerial relay, which was repeated by ESPN that night.

The NBA league is comfortable, the Knicks vs the Lakers, New York and Los Angeles, this is the best script!

On the morning of June 5, the Knicks boarded a plane to Los Angeles to the cheers of New York fans.

Ewing has been in a good mood these days, and Jeff Van Gundy has made it clear that the finals will increase the gorilla's playing time.

Larry Johnson looked at the gorilla's smiling face, it was really hard to say too much, touched his bare head, and finally could only whisper two sentences to Li You:

"Pat can't limit his opponent, he's not as fit as I am!"

Li You is very optimistic about this, although the newly acquired talent is not useful, but he still confidently clames fists with "Big Mom" and says:

"As long as we can consume the opponent, whether we can win the game or not depends on our shooting touch."

“..”

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(End of chapter)