On April 25, 2001, the NBA announced the best managers of the season:

The Sacramento Kings' Jeff Petrie managed to win the award.

Although the Kings had a flurry during the regular season due to injuries, being able to make it to the top half of the conference and even lead the Western Conference for a while has shown that the team has been very successful.

Unlike the Eastern Conference welfare schedule, Western Conference teams are more rolled, and they need to win around 50 to get a playoff ticket, and in this case, the Kings' results seem to be more valuable.

In last night's game, both the Knicks and Jazz won comfortably.

At 91:116, the Knicks were all on the lineup, and the downwind broke the Pacers;

At 98:109, the Jazz suppressed the Mavericks throughout the whole process and also got the match point.

In 28 minutes of play, Lee Woo was 10-of-17, 2-of-5 from beyond the three-point line, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line, with a mediocre double-double of 26 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers.

In the Mavericks game, which was highly anticipated by the Chinese media, Wang Zhizhi still failed to get playing time, which made many people complain about old Nelson:

"As long as Dazhi is given time, the game may be completely different."

“.”

Playing 47 minutes, Nowitzki was 3-of-11, 1-of-5 from beyond the three-point line, and relied on free throws to score 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers.

The Mavericks rotated almost five players, with the most minutes played by guard Maxwell on the bench.

Karl Malone, who is about to turn 38, broke up his opponents, scoring 34 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field, and he is in excellent form, and there is no sign of decline in statistics.

The Chinese media complained that the old Nelson was stubborn in employing people, which is the norm in the NBA playoffs, and there are not many teams in the league that can do this with a large rotation like the Knicks.

On the other side of the ocean, Chinese fans who have just come into contact with the NBA are not in a beautiful mood, no matter how bad Wang Zhizhi is, he is at the level of Nowitzki, for some reports, everyone agrees:

"Don't use Wang Zhizhi, the Mavericks deserve to be swept away!"

Many teams have already won match points, and there seems to be no suspense in the first round.

Due to the more than 3 days of rest time in G3, on the morning of the 27th, the Knicks flew to Polis City, preparing to send their old rivals directly to fish tomorrow.

The team has begun to prepare for the MVP award ceremony for Li You, and there is no suspense in the selection, and Li You, who broke the PER and won the first record in the league, is destined to win this heavyweight award.

After checking in in the afternoon, no one cares about tomorrow's opponent, although they can't go out to have fun, but there is no limit to playing cards and entertainment coaching staff.

In the evening, Ewing misses his old friend Kaplan a little.

The scene of the airlift girl coming over to the collective silver party seemed to be just yesterday, and the gorilla suddenly remembered the days of chic indulgence in the club:

"I don't know how Kaplan is being investigated, it's rare to have a good place, and I don't want him to close early."

Most of the heavy-tasting nightclubs in New York have not been open for a long time, mainly because of the involvement of leaves, etc., and some newly opened nightclubs are getting lighter and lighter, which is naturally disliked by old-fashioned people like Ewing.

Grant Hill and the Knicks are unclear, and Li You, who is looking at the cards, simply reminded:

"It's going to be seized, Pat, you have to be careful, and at this point, don't go over there again."

Ewing doesn't care, so many people have done it, and there is no shortage of him:

"I go to the club and it never costs money, it's my personal friendship with Kaplan, and don't forget, he's a huge Knicks fan!"

The gorilla white prostitute said it with a straight face, and Li You almost laughed, but it seems that the FBI has not yet found out about the Gold Club, and the other party does have a chance to escape sanctions

"Mr. Good" Grant Hill was stunned when he heard it, originally he just heard about the Knicks' collective silver party, but this time it was a real hammer.

Artest showed a yearning look, and couldn't help but whisper:

"I'd try it when I have the chance, I've heard it's the most distinctive strip club in Atlanta!"

Many people in the atmosphere group also chuckled, and everyone hoped that the Golden Club would continue to be open.

On the morning of the 28th, ball commentators began to discuss the strength of the 76ers again.

At 94:89, the 76ers became the first team to advance to the semifinals.

In a life-and-death battle, McGrady played 44 minutes, 10 of 26, and scored 25 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals;

Iverson played 47 minutes, scoring 33 points on 10-of-29 shooting.

After the game, the two cherished each other again, and there was another wave of business blowing each other.

"It's a pleasure to play against Tracy, he's the most talented player I've ever had!"

With a smile on his face and a lack of efficiency against his opponents, Iverson was in a particularly good mood after the game.

Despite being swept out of the tournament and stopped in the first round, McGrady was also pleased with the team's results, and he also boasted:

"I believe the 76ers can win a championship, they're underrated, Iverson is definitely an MVP-caliber player, he's so good!"

“.”

The two seem to have become confidants and friends after the game.

Critics also began to open their eyes and talk nonsense, once again emphasizing the dominance of the 76ers, bringing out a bunch of awards, which looked really bluffing.

In the first two games, 90:116, the Kings beat the Suns by a wide margin.

Despite the big win, both the Kings and the Knicks are currently labeled as unstable.

On a night with a poor hand, getting a score of 80+ is considered the norm, and once it reaches a tailwind, it is also possible to blast out 110+.

This state of affairs has also turned many ball critics into a wall.

As for head coach Isaiah Thomas, he only feels that the Knicks' offense is becoming more and more stable, and he really can't empathize with the ball critics.

In the afternoon, at the Conceco Arena, when the Pacers warmed up, Isaiah Thomas returned to his usual "elegant and easy-going" state in an interview:

"The team still has a lot to learn from the defending champions, and this playoff is also a valuable experience for the young players."

"We're still going to defend our home stadium and the nearly 20,000 fans tonight are our sixth man!"

The surrounding sports media found that Isaiah Thomas seemed to be about to throw in the towel, and it was not easy for everyone to continue to fall for such a result.

The head coach is not confident, and the Pacers players are naturally not in high spirits.

During the regular season, he averaged 92.6 points per game, and at present, it is considered a normal performance, even if he is mentally prepared, many players still feel hopeless.

Maybe for the Western team, the Knicks' offense has a lot of moisture, but in the Eastern Conference, that's real dominance!

Reggie Miller, who is about to turn 36, is useless when he keeps encouraging his teammates in the locker room.

In basketball games, it is still dependent on the ball to speak, and everyone knows that Big Brother can't restrict the Knicks backcourt on the defensive end, and the offensive end will explode, and it will languish in the 4th quarter.

Counting on Reggie Miller to raise the ceiling, he can't be relied on at the moment, even if he has the fighting spirit and loses every game, he is completely numb at this time.

Out of respect for the veteran, TNT's reporter finally interviewed Reggie Miller on a routine basis, and in front of the camera, the veteran still showed a fighting spirit that would not admit defeat:

"I don't care if the opponent gets the match point, the series is not over yet, as long as we protect the next two home games, the two sides will be back on the same page."

"Maybe you all think the Pacers are going to lose tonight, but basketball is round, anything is possible!"

“.”

For this kind of abusive game, Li You was really too lazy to blow X before the game, and none of the people who were opposite him were all-star players, and he didn't have much sense of accomplishment when he won the game.

On the contrary, Ewing especially likes to be interviewed, although he has very little playing time, he still does not delay the confidence to blow X:

"Yes, the Knicks can make it to the semifinals tonight!"

"I don't like what the pundits say about us, this season, the Miami Heat were the best on the defensive end, but they're going to be eliminated."

"Just looking at the data, you can't evaluate the real strength of a team, the Knicks are the defending champions, we've seen too many big scenes, that's our advantage!"

The "mellow" Ewing is very confident when talking about the team's strength, and sports reporters are not easy to refute, after all, the Knicks did play an offensive performance that broke the gear.

Kick-off officially at 21 o'clock that night, before the start of the game, the Pacers fans who came to the Conseco Arena were still expecting, but as the offense was dumb in the second quarter, the arena quieted down.

With 3 minutes left in the half, watching Reggie Miller's step-by-step breakthrough on the right flank and being tackled directly by Li You face-to-face, the boos at the scene were mostly smaller.

Accelerating along the left sideline, Lee Woo instantly broke free from Reggie Miller's pursuit, rushing faster and faster, leaving most of the Pacers' defenders behind.

At this time, only the young Krohill desperately returned to the position of the paint area, and in the face of Li You, who strode into the basket and went straight to the basket, he subconsciously began to adjust the center of gravity of his body.

With a 45-degree cut on the left side, holding the ball in his right hand, Li You's speed was extremely fast, and he came to the paint area, facing the slowing down Crohill, and his body shook to the right while striding with his right foot.

Taking advantage of the opposite direction to slide to the left, Li You suddenly changed direction during the march and took a step forward to the left with his left foot.

A large European step, let Crohill stand under the basket and watch Li You grab the ball with his left hand, and the basket can easily pick up the basket at the bottom left!

At 43:35, most of the game passed, and the Pacers currently only scored 11 points, and the fans at the scene were silent.

Li You's fast-break speed has improved a lot compared to previous seasons, and Mav Albert is the most impressed, and at this time he kept praising it:

"From a functional guard who was thin and relied on three-point shooting when he first entered the league, to now a core player who supports the Knicks on both offensive and defensive ends."

"Lee's progress is obvious, he has never relaxed when it comes to polishing his technique and body!"

On the commentary bench, Hubby Brown knew that the game was going to end when he saw the Pacers' dumb fire, and at this time he could only follow the topic:

"Behind the MVP, it takes a lot of effort from the players, and Lee has set a good example for the young players and it's great to see him grow."

After Li You retreated, he gave Lewis a gesture again, reminding the other party that there was a high probability that it would be Crosil's turn to pinch the soft persimmon in this round.

Grant Hill watched Jalen Rose in front of him stand still on the left flank, and immediately noticed the change in the opponent's mentality, and for a while the defense was more active.

Best was led by Lee Yoo in the half, and on the right flank, he wanted to give the ball to O'Neal Jr., but Ben Wallace's half-winding defense was too distracted to send the ball.

In desperation, he played the old routine again, quickly moving the ball on the line, Jalen Rose came to the top of the arc to respond, moved to the left wing, and hoisted the ball to Crohill.

In the face of Lewis's defense, Crohill once again simply and rudely put the ball with his left hand and forced the basket.

Only this time it didn't cause a foul, and the interfering layup was ridiculously off, as if he was playing a board pass to Ben Wallace on the other end.

Isaiah Thomas, who was on the sidelines, saw this and glared at his players again, and then shouted a warning to step back.

Li You, who received the ball, was not in a hurry to attack, slowly dribbling across the middle line, and the defensive shouts in the stadium became smaller and smaller:

“Defense！.”

Ben Wallace quickly came to the three-point line to make a high block, and Li You, who was holding the ball in his right hand, was not guarded, quickly pushed the ball to change direction, and immediately dribbled the ball under the crotch after switching to his left hand.

Although Best successfully predicted, he was briefly delayed when he slid to the left, and Li You, who grabbed half a position, pressed his shoulder to break through.

Little O'Neill could only follow the slide to delay, but when he saw Li You pushing the ball again and changing direction, he could only adjust his center of gravity.

At this time, Li You fished the ball with his left hand and almost hit Little O'Neill's arms, and after the two collided with each other, Li You leaned on the defense and continued to accelerate.

Little O'Neal, who raised his right hand, could only follow and slide to the right back, trying to completely cover Li You with his body.

In the exclamation of the fans at the scene, soon the two came to the paint area, and Li You suddenly exerted force during the march, crashing into the other party and retreating sharply to the right.

After O'Neal Jr. was hit, he couldn't keep up with Li You's rhythm for a while, close to the basket, and tried to jump and block, but he could only watch Li You, who drifted to the right behind, calmly jump and shoot!

"Huh!" The two-pointer hit the ball steadily.

At 45:35, the difference came to 10 points.

"Shh

Completely uncontrollable, the Pacers fans booed violently, with the team's current state, such a point difference is desperate.

is no longer brainless, but was suddenly turned into a sieve by Li You from the beginning, and the slightly depressed O'Neal subconsciously looked at the head coach, only to find that Isaiah Thomas had sat back on the bench with a calm expression.

Reggie Miller tried to wake up his teammates, but the offensive end was back and forth, and in the end he took the blame

On the contrary, the Knicks completely relaxed, and for several rounds in a row, Grant Hill cut to the basket after a simple reverse run, and let Lee You's assists start to rise.

Reggie Miller, who had just hit both free throws, was still directing his teammates to get into position, and Alan Houston suddenly accelerated his cut on the right wing.

Lee Woo had just blocked Lewis in the left elbow area, briefly escaped Best's entanglement, flicked his left wrist, and hit the ground pass to the basket.

Alan Houston immediately stopped and shook after receiving the ball, deceived Reggie Miller at the bottom right of the basket, and leaned on the opponent to hit the board and put the basket!

"Squeak!" The whistle blows and the ball goes in.

"Ahh

Successfully responding, Alan Houston stood under the basket and yelled at Reggie Miller, then smiled and high-fived Lee in celebration.

Extremely simple cooperation, but let the Knicks score efficiently, Hubby Brown felt the quieter and quieter atmosphere, and once again briefly commented:

"The Pacers should stick to the G2 game strategy, and they had a lot of communication problems on the defensive end tonight."

Mav Albert only felt that the game was decided, and noticed that the managers of both sides were back on the bench, and could only say euphemistically:

"Hopefully the young players of the Pacers can grow quickly!"

In the final minute or so, the Pacers still struggled to score, and could only rely on free throws to score.

At 56:41, at the end of the half, the Conceco Arena seemed to be turned into a "library".

Ewing, who was smiling, laughed and hugged Li You's shoulder, and everyone walked towards the players' tunnel with a smile.

There were no boos, no shouting, and Pacers fans seemed used to falling on old rivals for years in a row.

In the second half of the game, perhaps because he couldn't stand O'Neal's "soft egg" performance, Isaiah Thomas simply put on the "five small" lineup.

Al Harrington was ordered to hit the offensive end and burst out on the defensive end.

Grant Hill, who held the ball in his left hand, dribbled under his crotch on the left wing, quickly changed direction in front of him, grabbed half of his body and went straight to the basket, causing Harrington to foul and send the ball to the basket

Jalen Rose crossed his hips, Harrington looked straight under the basket, and Isaiah Thomas showed a pained expression again.

After playing less than 3 minutes, he immediately replaced Harrington, and took advantage of Hill's free throws, and the Pacers took veteran Derrick McKay again.

Mav-Albert felt that this was a gambling substitution, and it was not good to comment, so he could only change the topic and say:

"If they win this game, the Knicks will get another week or so of rest, which is definitely good news for them."

Looking at the schedule, Hubby Brown also added with a smile:

"You can use this time to grind in the lineup again, Grant Hill has played too few games this year."

McKay, a veteran with a slower traversal speed, came on the court, first spit out the cake under the basket, and then retreated to face the high block, but could not delay in time.

At the top of the arc, McKay watched Lee Woo, who was holding the ball in his left hand at the three-point line, took advantage of Ben Wallace's cover to get rid of the defense, dribbled a big step and made a pull-up jump shot.

"Huh!" Three-point shot hollow into the net!

On the Knicks' bench, the atmosphere team shouted happily that victory was close at hand.

Reggie Miller, who had regained his touch, quickly made a strong shot on the left flank, but after a few rounds, the margin widened again as the response ball missed.

In the same tactic as the Pacers, Lee Yoo, who quickly slipped from left to right, used Ben Wallace's cover in the right elbow area, and when he received a pass from Grant Hill, the veteran McKay hurriedly delayed.

Li You, who dribbled horizontally, only took a big step and threw the ball to the basket, and Ben Wallace, who quickly went down, jumped high, and after catching the ball in the air, he poured the basket with both hands!

"Boom!" Empty catch the storm dunk!

McKay, who was still sliding, could only watch the Knicks laugh and celebrate.

There was no timeout, and the Pacers fans in the stadium could only watch the home team score on and off, and the Knicks would come back from time to time.

By the end of the third quarter, the noise had completely disappeared.

29:18 in the first quarter, 87:59 in the third quarter, like the first two games, the fourth quarter was garbage time again.

In the battle of life and death, Reggie Miller did not rest, but in the face of Artest's entanglement in the last quarter, he felt nothing.

Repeated runs can still get a shot from the outside, but too much physical confrontation under the pull, Reggie Miller's three-pointers continue to hit iron.

Watching Billups score a three-pointer in the transition offense, Isaiah Thomas on the sidelines crossed his arms and was expressionless, still not asking for a timeout.

It wasn't until the half-quarter was over and the rookies pecked each other that the Pacers called a timeout.

Li You also changed into a training uniform at this time, and there was still an 18-point difference, so he didn't have to play anymore.

On the commentary seat, the two also saw Li You change his clothes, and Mav-Albert noticed that Reggie Miller was back on the stage, and sighed helplessly:

"For a veteran, Reggie Miller has given it his all, but this season, they have to leave with regret."

Hubby Brown also noticed that Ewing was still sitting firmly on the bench, and simply sent his blessing:

"The veterans deserve respect, Ewing's perseverance has waited for the team to rise, and hopefully Reggie Miller can also win the championship at the end of his career."

With 1:02 left in the game, Reggie Miller was substituted, and he was naturally unwilling to say goodbye to the season in this way.

2-of-9, 1-of-6 from beyond the three-point line, 2-of-2 from the free throw line, crazy shots, and only scored 7 points in the fourth quarter.

On the Knicks bench, Grant Hill was the happiest.

Although he only played 22 minutes in this game, scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but breaking through the first round still made Hill smile.

Alan Houston looked at his old teammates who were in a good mood, and also chuckled and said:

"The playoffs have just begun, and there's a good chance we'll be able to reach the finals this year."

After many years of silence with the Pistons, Grant Hill has completely experienced the happiness of Alan Houston at this time:

"The finals? Very much looking forward to it! ”

The two whispered in their seats, and on the other side, Ewing saw Reggie Miller covering his head and grinned again:

"I have no regrets about seeing Miller out like this, and I have no regrets in this year's playoffs!"

Li You could only shake his head slightly when he heard Ewing's whispering, he missed the stunner that year, Reggie Miller taunted Ewing after the game, and the gorilla held a grudge for many years

At the end of the game, at 109:86, the Knicks swept the Pacers 3:0 and easily advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Conseco arena became noisy again, and some young Pacers fans seemed unable to accept the result and began to boo incompetently.

Coach Isaiah Thomas was gracious, reverting to his signature smile and shaking hands with Jeff Van Gundy in front of the technical desk.

The bald young marshal who hung up didn't say much, he understood the difficulty of the rookie coach:

"Next season, the Pacers will be back on the rise, and I see your talent."

As if remembering the "clumsy performance" of O'Neal Jr.'s series, Isaiah Thomas raised his eyebrows, calmed down his emotions and said the scene:

"Great series, I'm sure the Knicks have a chance to win another championship!"

“.”

After the game, it seemed that he didn't want to see Lee Woo and Ewing, and Reggie Miller, who was draped in a towel, shook hands and walked away quickly.

O'Neal Jr., who didn't get playing time in the second half of the game, kept hugging and greeting everyone on the Knicks.

For the young player who has just picked up the starting position, being able to make the playoffs may be satisfied.

At the post-match press conference, Grant Hill, who reached the semi-finals for the first time, kept a smile on his face throughout the whole time, constantly praising the team:

"It's great to be on a bigger stage, thanks to the Knicks!"

"It's a good feeling to play with Lee, a lot of times I just have to run to the basket to score, he's an MVP and it's a wonderful thing to play with the best players in the league!"

Jeff Van Gundy on the side also smiled from ear to ear, the Heat was counterattacked by the Raptors, and the opponent in the next round seemed to be more relaxed.

In the face of many reporters in the audience, Jeff Van Gundy simply confidently stated:

"This year we are confident that we will reach the finals again and the whole team is ready!"

“.”

In the game that was played at the same time, the Bucks also completed the promotion and swept the Hornets 3:0.

In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Bucks will face the 76ers, and both sides will do their best to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the Western Conference, the Timberwolves and Mavericks who returned to their home court both pulled one back.

Nowitzki, who played the whole game, rebounded strongly, shooting 9-of-19 for a double-double of 33 points and 10 rebounds.

Nelson's persistence paid off, and the Chinese media could only sigh secretly that Wang Zhizhi had not been able to get playing time.

On April 29, the NBA announced this season's sportsmanship awards:

The Spurs' David Robinson managed to win the award.

Coupled with the recently announced Rookie of the Year - Mike Miller of the Magic team, all major awards have been awarded.

Returning to New York, Lee Woo also began to prepare for the MVP press conference later, and the New York media couldn't wait.

That night, at 79:89, the Raptors completed a counterattack and successfully eliminated the Heat on the following grams.

On May 6, the Eastern Conference Semifinals G1 will be played at Madison Square Garden.

As the clock ticked for May, General Manager Grenfield began to prepare for this year's draw.

Although the Knicks' own first-round pick is destined to be the 29th pick, the Bulls' first-round protection period has passed, and everyone is looking forward to it!

In 2001, the year of the draft, the hottest players were three big men from high school.

Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddie Curry.

All three are 2.10+ meters of big men, with outstanding talents, high school players have successively made a name for themselves in the league, and high school rookies are also accepted by everyone.

The New York fans were grinning, but the Chicago fans were about to break the defense.

Eddie Curry, who grew up on Chicago's South Side, was beloved by fans, and they had the opportunity to draft the hometown big man, but now they could only watch the Knicks pick up their first-round pick

On the morning of the 1st, at the Tarytown Training Center, after the video session, Jeff Van Gundy, who returned to the office, also looked at the scouting report in his hand.

The Gorilla retired just in time for a draft year, which is very important for the Knicks, who desperately need the next Ewing.

Looking at the information of the three high school students in his hand, Jeff Van Gundy nodded secretly, he was talented!

There is a high probability that the champion will not be able to get it, but the top 5 picks should not be a problem.

The Knicks' scouts highlighted Tyson Chandler, who showed more talent on the defensive end than the other two high school students.

The bald young marshal became more and more satisfied, and in three seasons, he was confident that he would train the 2.16-meter-tall man into an interior defensive gate.

Assistant coach Thibodeau is also very happy with Tyson Chandler, who is the perfect fit for the Knicks when it comes to big men who are tasked with defending and rebounding!

Several members of the coaching staff were discussing in low voices, and when General Manager Grenfield came to the office, he handed Van Gundy a copy of the information:

"Jeff, look at the rookie, he's been doing really well in the Spanish league as well."

Jeff Van Gundy frowned when he saw Pau Gasol's profile, which was excellent, but not in line with his team-building ideas:

"We need big men who are good defensively, and with Lee, Houston, and Grant, the interior players are not destined to get too many opportunities."

"Maybe he's good, but it takes a while for a big European man to adapt to the NBA, and that's not what the team is looking for."

The bald young marshal politely refused, and the general manager Grunfield shook his head helplessly, and simply reminded in a loud voice:

"Gasol is doing well in the Spanish league on the offensive end, the management likes this big man, he's a handsome guy!"

“.”

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(End of chapter)