The NBA in 2000 was very different from the future, there was no sibling basketball, no thigh-hugging shooting.

This season, the NBA league has always created more grievances for fans.

The Knicks and Lakers have very few stories, and geographically, one is in the east and the other is in the west.

Being in different leagues allows the two teams to only play each other twice a year, and the Knicks have been silent when the Lakers have been in their glory days.

By the time the Knicks ushered in Pat Riley and began to enter the era of iron-blooded basketball, the Lakers were sluggish again.

However, after '96, both teams have embarked on the same path of rise.

After O'Neal's journey to the west, although he experienced another sweep, after Phil Jackson joined the Lakers, the team rose again.

After Li You joined the Knicks, he also experienced failures, and with the improvement of his personal ability and the success of the team's run-in, the two consecutive championships opened the era of New York.

Both sides had nearly two years of MVPs and rookies in the class of '96, with Phil Jackson losing in '98 and Jeff Van Gundy stepping on a championship head to set a record.

After the end of G3 in the finals, through the deliberate publicity of the media, all of the above situations finally became the biggest grievance in recent years.

Losing G3, the Lakers' celebrities couldn't sit still after the game, and the all-time scoring champion Abdul-Jabbar complained about the referee's blowing scale in an interview with NBC:

"I don't want to talk too much about the free throws, but the Lakers should have made more free throws, and the Knicks' cover was a bit of a puzzle for me."

"I didn't like Lee's movements either, but what made me even more angry was the reaction of the Lakers players, who just watched their teammates being straddled with their mouths wide open!"

"If it were me, I would immediately rush forward and have a real battle between men!"

“.”

Although the Knicks won, Walter Frazier, who was interviewed after the game, did not show mercy:

"The referee was obviously conniving at O'Neill, just smashing the ball at Lee in front of the baseline referee, not talking about the result, and such actions alone should be punished."

"Look at how many free throws he made tonight, knowing this is on the Knicks' home court!"

"I liked Lee's performance, scoring and assisting at a critical moment in the game, and O'Neal, who is also an MVP-caliber player, missed two free throws at a critical moment."

"The Lakers have no reason to complain, there is a gap between MVPs, and they should accept that reality."

“.”

In the huge show of the finals, the roles of the two sides were clear and more and more dedicated.

WCW (World Champion Wrestling) has not been doing well recently, and in order to gain popularity, it is also shouting in front of the media:

"We are willing to give Lee and Kobe Bryant a chance to compete between men, and now we are officially extending an invitation to them!"

Fans who didn't think it was a big deal to watch the excitement even began to discuss who would win in a real wrestling duel between the two sides, and finally Li You's beautiful muscles were recognized by Yahoo Sports reporters:

"Lee is a heavyweight, and he has a good chance of bringing Kobe Bryant to the ground in this matchup."

Playing in New York, in addition to encountering iron-blooded defense, you also have to endure fancy ridicule from the media, and the more the Lakers resist, the more energetic the reporters who like to watch fun ridicule each other.

In the New York media article in the past two days, Jeff Van Gundy has surpassed Phil Jackson by virtue of the championship won by loan.

The clay man also has a three-point fire, and during the two days of rest, the fire in the hearts of the Lakers players is getting bigger and bigger.

As a championship coach, Phil Jackson knows too well the maneuvers of this old rival of the Knicks, and after the players were furious, this one entered the state of "Zen master".

On the morning of June 13th, Phil Jackson did not have a video lesson, but dragged the Lakers to meditate in the hotel.

The players sat quietly, closed their eyes and pondered, and as for whether it would work, only God would know.

Several members of the coaching staff were speechless, and Phil Jackson asked softly after everyone sat in silence for a few minutes:

"Don't let anger get hold of your emotions, now tell me, what do you desire?"

Kobe Bryant was very involved, honestly meditated quietly according to Phil Jackson's request, and was the first to answer aloud after hearing the question:

"Victory! I want to win the game! ”

Soon the others began to respond loudly, and Phil Jackson nodded in satisfaction and whispered again:

"Now, focus on the game, think about what we've been through this season, and think back to how we came back against the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals!"

'Nobody is our opponent, forget the outside voices, they're afraid, they're scared, they're afraid we're winning away from home.

"Tomorrow night, take out our desire for the title and show our talent!"

“.”

The ritual effect of traditional chicken soup and meditation is very good, at least Kobe Bryant was full of vitality from milk, and O'Neill also felt that he was in a much better mood after this operation.

Completely regained his composure, thinking that he could get back the initiative as long as he got an away win, and at the end of the meditation, O'Neill, who had not spoken for the past two days, took the initiative to speak:

"As long as I win one away game, I swear that I will take everyone to the championship!"

Hearing the boss's deep assurance, everyone gathered around and shouted:

"Oh!"

On the morning of June 14, at the Tarrytown Training Center, the Knicks still didn't have much training, and after a simple video lesson, they still focused on the recovery training of veterans.

How Phil Jackson boils chicken soup Jeff Van Gundy is not clear, and the bald young marshal encourages the players without any tricks, and he is about to get the match point, and the chicken soup of the past two days can be summed up as:

"That's it!"

The offensive end was thoroughly hosted, and on the defensive end Jeff Van Gundy and the coaching staff couldn't have asked for more.

G3 Ewing played for 40 minutes, and the gorilla could still scream excitedly after the game, and on the second day, he was sore and completely lying on his stomach.

After two days of rest, Ewing recovered a little, and this season, he rarely played 40 minutes, and in the final quarter of the game, he ran on the court completely on willpower.

Oakley has repeatedly complained about O'Neal's playing time in the past two days, and this kind of employment method is the first time the old guy has seen it.

Unlike outside players, O'Neal is full of flesh, such a tall body, and plays the whole game almost every game, which breaks everyone's perception.

"That's it for the donkey of the production team!"

Li You also made such an exclamation in his heart more than once, although O'Neal will also fish on the defensive end, it is not easy for an interior player on the offensive end to catch the ball.

Thinking of Tyronn Lue, who was just drafted by the Lakers in last year's draft, Lee Woo also understands why the head coach always uses the strongest tactics.

Larry Johnson was on par with Glen Rice on the other side in these games, and both of them were in a similar situation with 4-of-10 and 3-of-9.

The only difference is that Glenn Rice G2 had a dumpling, and Larry Johnson hasn't completely found his touch.

"The referees are always targeting us, they never try to hold the opponent in the first place, the league is really getting softer!"

Larry Johnson, who was stretching, complained about his treatment again, there is no place for heroes!

"Big Mom" always wants to provoke O'Neill, and as long as he can take the shark away, the game will be won.

Artest kept nodding his head from the sidelines, and his fouls were a bit quick in both games, and he very much agreed with Big Brother.

On the other side, assistant coach Don Channey is still delivering chicken soup to Lewis:

"Don't worry about missing shots, when you get a great opportunity, all you have to do is make a decisive shot!"

"Whether it's shooting, or breaking through with the ball, don't hesitate, the opponent may react in a second, this is the stage of the finals, as long as you win the game, no one will pay attention to the data!"

"Victory will give you everything, Rassad, you should understand that."

Lewis, who is a second-round pick, has a very low salary and a guaranteed contract, so after hearing this, he naturally understands what the assistant coach means.

If you want to gain a foothold in the NBA, you have to play to your strengths and avoid weaknesses and show your excellent qualities, Lewis nodded vigorously.

On the biggest stage, showing himself, Lewis is hungry for a bigger contract.

After noticing Ewing's declining physical condition and realizing that there might be a mistake on the defensive end, the coaching staff has been sending chicken soup to several people in the rotation for the past two days.

If you can't prevent it, you can find it back on the offensive end, which is the only way that everyone can think of.

Li You also simply moved his body and did some free throw training with Alan Houston.

Noticing that Ewing and Oakley were still discussing O'Neal's playing time, Li You also came up and joked:

"I don't believe he's going to play the whole game, and once the Lakers' round count drops to around 77, it means that O'Neal is tired too."

"Unless he really mutates, in the next games, the efficiency will definitely drop, and Pat's defense has already begun to work!"

Ewing heard Li You's words, and his heart suddenly felt comfortable.

The defense worked hard, but still couldn't limit the opponent's scoring, and the gorilla didn't say anything, but he still felt like he had lost face.

The Trail Blazers' interior group has also limited O'Neal, and so far in the series, the Sharks have completely blown up the Knicks' interior.

Considering the course of the series, Ewing confidently encouraged while moving his body:

"Once O'Neal is inefficient, the Lakers lose! But we need to end the series as soon as possible, and I don't want to play in Los Angeles anymore! ”

Everyone responded loudly, everyone looked at Ewing's fat face, and they all knew in their hearts the gorilla's physical condition, and the longer the game dragged on, the more the defensive end pulled the hips.

In the Knicks, Ewing is also a qualified leader in the locker room, and although he has more time to fish this season, the gorillas are still very hard working in key games.

G4 officially started at 19:30 that night, and before the game began, Doug Collins also talked about the performance of the gorilla in front of the camera:

"The stats don't show Ewing's role on the defensive end, and at the age of 38, Ewing is still better than most centers in the league!"

"The combination of him and Ben Wallace is very intimidating on the defensive end, but Wallace needs to be careful about fouls, and getting a third foul too early can affect the rotation of the team."

'There will be some problems when the two are on the pitch at the same time, Lee will be more likely to be trapped, but overall, the defensive system that Van Gundy has created has worked very well.

After-hours fans can head straight to the arena, and with 40 minutes to go, Madison Square Garden is already noisy.

Bob Costas heard his partner's comments and also expressed his opinion to the camera:

"There was something wrong with the Lakers' offense, and in the G3 game, they were average in the first and fourth quarters and couldn't respond in time."

O'Neal propped up the Lakers' offense, but Lee also responded on the offensive end.

"So far in the Finals, the two MVPs have shown different dominance! Tonight's game is bound to be very anxious, and the Lakers won't let the Knicks get a match point easily. ”

“.”

NBC's pre-game analysis was rarely correct, and after the game began, the Lakers, who had rested for two days, finally didn't start digging holes.

Phil Jackson also stopped pretending to be X, and as soon as he saw signs of momentum on the Knicks, he immediately called a timeout to interrupt the offensive rhythm.

Perhaps under the influence of meditative chicken soup, in the face of the boos of the audience, several people on the Lakers bench are also getting braver.

The two sides alternated leads, and by the end of the half, the noise at Madison Square Garden was almost over the roof.

55:52, although the margin was not large, the Lakers led by 3 points at halftime.

At halftime, players from both sides walked to the dressing room with serious expressions, and on the commentary bench, Doug Collins first glanced at O'Neal's playing time before commenting:

"In 22 minutes played, O'Neal was 5-of-11, 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, 13 points and eight rebounds, and the Lakers' role players took on more scoring duties tonight."

'It's been a fantastic momentum and obviously Phil Jackson has made a targeted change as well.

In the bench lineup, Fisher was activated again, and the Lakers rotated 9 players tonight, changing the tactics of constantly letting O'Neal attack.

Seeing that some New York fans couldn't sit still anymore, Bob Costas smiled and commented:

"Lee was also very good, scoring 14 points and diching out six assists on 5-of-13 shooting in the half!"

'Both teams were in very good form tonight and it was going to be a long game.

“.”

At halftime, in the Knicks locker room, Ewing was still gasping for air, and the Lakers also increased their pick-and-roll, and O'Neal was uncharacteristically and frequently raised to cover his teammates.

This change has exhausted the gorilla enough, and he can't keep up with the defenders in the pick-and-roll, while O'Neal's big body cover quality is very good, and Ewing has also been targeted.

Jeff Van Gundy frowned when he returned to the locker room, he didn't use Ben Wallace too much, and in his opinion, the Knicks needed to attack more:

"Hold on! The opponent will get tired too, so be patient on the offensive end and we did a really good job of rebounding! ”

“.”

Loudly encouraging everyone, the series has now been carried out, there is nothing to adjust, Jeff Van Gundy knows that Li You's three-point shot is iron in the half, and at this time he continued to encourage:

"If there is an opportunity to continue shooting, Lee, believe in your own feel, you will always hit the next shot!"

Everyone in the locker room looked at Li You, and everyone knew that in the second half of the game, the team's defensive quality would decline, and if you want to win, you have to play back on the offensive end.

Li You put down the kettle, and his half-time performance was average, and at this time he still responded confidently:

"Trust me, we're going to win the game and we're going to get match point at home tonight!"

“.”

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(End of chapter)