From sparring to superstar

Chapter 331 329. We don’t have to bring the finals back to Los Angeles, right?
The home and away games alternate, and the Clippers and Magic get two days of rest.

On the afternoon of the 10th, the Clippers rested all morning and left for Orlando early.

Orlando is the home base of Disney and is full of childlike fun. Ballmer felt that going there in advance might alleviate the pressure of losing the home court advantage.

On the plane, Li Ao decided to stop playing cards after losing 50 US dollars, and stayed in the back row to watch the video of last night.

As expected, he was sworn in with gambling and drugs.

Jordan also had bad luck today. After losing 9 games in a row, he slammed the table and left. His teammates were accustomed to the bad temper of the basketball god and continued to play their games.

Jordan came to Li Ao's side, glanced at the screen, let out a sigh, and said, "Don't watch it if you can't see it. You've already watched it twice at the airport. We already have ways to deal with them. You Just help me create opportunities honestly."

Li Ao was speechless. He didn't pay attention last night. When he was watching the news this morning, he saw it - when he shouted "I will definitely come back" that was popular in the sports world today, Jordan next to him had already opened his mouth, as if Say something.

No need to guess. Judging from the expression on Jordan's face, he was definitely trying to show off, but ended up being cut off by his Spider-Man, and he's still unhappy now.

Li Ao responded decisively: "Then you have to seize the opportunity. Creating opportunities is too simple for me."

"I can do things like seize opportunities with my eyes closed!"

At the age of 40, he became a crucial part of the tactics in the finals. Even Jordan felt very excited and a bit nervous.

After a round of exchanges of words, Jordan also focused his attention on the screen and watched the video clips together.

Although he is disgusted with his mouth, his body is still very honest.

After reading it again, Jordan frowned and said: "I couldn't be sure before last night's game, but now I am sure. The way we played last night is indeed our best choice now."

"The advantage of the way we played last night is that even if the Magic knew that we were going to do that, it would be difficult for the Magic to disrupt our plan through tactical adjustments, but the shortcomings are also obvious. You and I must open up the offense, and Mike must grasp the key ball. Live...it would be nice if we could think of a more secure way."

"You always want to be the most perfect. It's not that easy. I won three consecutive championships twice. Five times I played six games. There were times when I was still unstable even after playing the first four games. Twice. The championship game was won by only 5 point.

This is the finals. It is impossible to have an absolute advantage like last season every time. It is already good to have a plan with clear hope of winning.

To win the championship, we don't need to crush our opponents, we just need to perform better than our opponents. "

"That's right... but Alvin is so brave. He can even think of such a plan. He almost uses the strengths of me, you, and others to the extreme. There is no room left. If it doesn't work, he will fall behind 0 to 2. , he should be scolded."

"Head coaches who win championships are naturally different."

"How to say?"

"Winning a championship is valuable experience for a team's head coach and assistant coaches. Otherwise, why would the assistant coaches of every championship team receive high-paying offers from other teams?
Now Alvin already knows what he is going to do in the finals, and he is not afraid of failure. He has already led the team to a championship and is a meritorious coach. The team cannot do anything to him after a defeat.

With the confidence of the championship trophy, he can execute his plan more boldly. He reminds me of Phil Jackson.

When I played in the Finals for the first time, Phil didn't do a good job with the command. We had a better record than the Lakers and had home court advantage, but we lost the first game because of Phil's panicked command. He was worried about this. Well, the tactical adjustment was a mess.

Fortunately, our assistant coach at that time was Tyrese Winter, yes, the one who invented the triangle offense. In the second game, he began to lead tactical adjustments, and we showed our true strength and won 4 consecutive games to defeat the Lakers. .

After winning the championship, Phil's whole person changed and he became very confident. By the second year of the finals, he responded to the situation and completely crushed Adelman and became the best coach.

By the way, what a coincidence. The triangle offense was a tactic that Tyrese Winter came up with when he was studying sports management at the University of Southern California. But your school didn't have the vision at that time. He wanted to stay with the Trojans after graduating from college. The coaching staff job was turned down, and he later went to the University of Kansas, where he helped the Wildcats lay the foundation for a traditional powerhouse..."

Maybe it's because of his age, but Jordan loves to reminisce about the past this season.

Fortunately, there are many stories about his legendary basketball career, and Li Ao is willing to listen.

...

After a night's rest in Orlando and a day of preparation training,

On June 6th, the third match day of the finals arrived.

At 7:40 pm, the Clippers and Magic entered the court one after another at the TD Waterhouse Center Stadium.

After the lights came on, Li Ao saw a row of fans behind the technical stage, each holding a super long slogan spelled out with a word - "Thank you for coming to our championship award ceremony, and I wish you a smooth journey home."

Li Ao nodded and commented: "This year's Magic fans are more educated in their trash talk. Next time we will do the same. Jermaine, when we go back, let the fans raise the question 'Duncan, do you think you are worth [-] million?' OK?" ?”

O'Neal:!!!∑(Дノ)ノ

If you really want to kill me, just say so!

Offending two of the best centers in the world with just one sentence?
Although I have offended him countless times...

Before the game, the Magic still looked calm, while the Clippers' hostility increased. The difference between the two teams was reflected in this small matter.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, G3 started.

Both teams attach great importance to this game. If the Magic win, they can turn the home court advantage they have gained into a real advantage. They lead with a big score of 2 to 1. As long as they can win one of the next two home games, they can Entering match point, the Clippers naturally don't want to see such a situation.

The Clippers continued their style of play in the second game, and Li Ao started with a fierce attack!

Although Li Ao didn't find a better way in terms of team strategy, his personal playing style has improved compared to the previous battle!
In the last game, he had 9-10 minutes in each quarter and could do his best on both offense and defense. He caught the Magic team off guard and he was very excited.

In the last game, he actually just accepted Gentry's suggestion and tried to change his playing time.

In the past, he had been trying to reduce physical exertion as much as possible. For example, when a strong scorer was on the court, he would paddle on the offensive end to contain him and increase the time he stayed on the court.

As the first contact point for each lineup, he is the team's No. 3 ball-handling offensive player after Bibby and Jordan. This choice is definitely the right one. His "daily paddling" on the offensive end allows Jordan and Bibby to The Clippers quickly became a championship contender thanks to their ability to play ball-handling offense, and the steady growth of Odom and O'Neal.

By this season, the situation has changed a little bit - as his physical strength has improved, his physical strength has gradually exceeded the standard for his style of play.

Other young players are prone to situations where their physical strength is not enough to support the demands of their playing style, but with him, his playing style consumes too much physical strength!
Gentry didn't notice this before. He must be happy that his disciple can play the whole game when necessary. It means that they can use their tactics throughout the game.

But when it came time to face the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, he was shocked - his beloved disciple could barely hold on against Kobe!

This is not about scoring or strength, but physical exertion.

Although Li Ao didn't wear out Kobe, he didn't make Kobe feel better either!

After G1, Gentry thought hard for a long time, and discussed with Li Ao the next day to let Li Ao play 2-3 minutes less in each quarter. No matter what the score or the situation, he would do this to concentrate his energy on output.

Don't underestimate the two or three minutes less in each quarter. This has greatly improved the continuity of his offensive and defensive performance!

His physical strength has surpassed the top and reached 95. If he is asked to play 48 minutes like Kobe and Iverson and still look energetic, he can't do it. But if he plays for 40 minutes and maintains an integrated offense and defense, interspersed with rest periods, he It can be done!

Since he wasn't sure whether he could do it in the last game, he didn't prepare much. He spent all his time studying the Magic's team defense and was ready to switch back to his previous style of play at any time.

This time was different, he was more fully prepared in the details of the main attack!
首节李敖打了10分55秒，出手7次，没有G2多，但同样进了3球！加上2中2的罚球，拿到8分1板1助攻！

Under the leadership of Li Ao, the Clippers scored 20 points during this period, 16 points ahead of the Magic, which scored 4 points!
Li Ao may have a better offense this time, and the Magic team has already expected it.

G2 Magic players have all noticed that Li Ao's game is too simple and direct, too focused on maintaining the threat of shots, and lacks some changes. However, Li Ao's increasingly comprehensive mid-range shooting skills have the ability to do more.But even if it was expected, it would be difficult for the Magic to defend further.

After three years of training and reaching the finals twice, Li Ao's off-ball movement has become extremely superb.

He doesn't aim to get out of the open space, he just wants to get space to catch the ball and get a more comfortable shooting rhythm after catching the ball. His goal is not that high, and he doesn't even think about avoiding defensive interference. This kind of detail is to the extreme. It will be difficult for the Magic to limit further.

Even if it can be done, it will consume more energy, affect the continuity of stability, and the gain outweighs the loss.

In the final analysis, Li Ao still takes the path of relying on touch. No matter how well he grasps the details, he still relies on touch and cannot shake the Magic's team defense.

It’s just that Li Ao felt really good tonight. He used fewer shots to score the same score as in the first quarter of G2. The physical consumption on the offensive end was also reduced due to better details. The playing time was 1 minute longer than the previous game... ...Bibby, Odom and Yalic who came on the rotation took full advantage of the threat posed by Li Ao, and the team's offense was even better than in the past two games.

In the last 1 minute and 05 seconds, the two teams each scored two points. After the first quarter, the Clippers held on to a 4-point lead, leading the Magic 22-18!
The situation opened up, and things went smoothly for the Clippers. In the second quarter, the Clippers and the Magic tied 21 to 22, maintaining a weak 3-point lead into the halftime break.

Stern burst into tears when he saw this score. It was not easy. Both teams finally scored over 40 points at halftime. The fierce battle between the Knicks and the Heat was not so difficult.

In the third quarter, the Magic strengthened their offensive and defensive output. Cassell and McGrady took turns launching pick-and-roll attacks with Clifford Robinson. Together with Duncan's singles, they started a duel with the Clippers' strongest lineup.

It is known that the Clippers' goal is to let Jordan, who has unparalleled singles ability, harvest the game in the third quarter, so the Magic are naturally prepared.

In the first half of the quarter, both teams scored 13 points, and the stars of the two teams played an inseparable duel.

After the official hiatus, the X factor emerges!

Bibby hit two consecutive pick-and-roll three-pointers to break the balance!

In a tug-of-war with the four major stars Cassel, Tracy McGrady, Clifford Robinson, and Duncan who are ready, Li Ao and Jordan will have Bibby, Matt Halprin, O'Neal Jr., and Odom in rotation. The assistance is still extremely difficult.

The two of them always have fluctuations in their status, but the opponent is like a well-tuned machine, continuing to output at a high level. When the official timeout was taken, neither of them felt confident. At this time, the front was like a 'ball distribution machine' without much. The presence of the white devil suddenly burst out, resolving their immediate needs!
Not only that, the lead increased from 3 points to 9 points, and the Clippers really took the initiative!
At this moment, in such an unfavorable situation, the TT combination all looked at Cassel.

Two superstars pinned their hopes on a 33-year-old veteran... The veteran himself didn't feel any pressure.

Although he was not taken seriously by the team in the past, he has been doing such things and carrying the team forward.

McGrady and Duncan made the safest choice, focusing on defense and leaving the offense to Cassell.

Cassel did not disappoint the two of them, leading the team to score 12 points in the second half. The TT combination did not let Cassell's efforts go in vain. They led the team to defend the Clippers and only scored 9 points in the second half. The Clippers continue to expand their advantage.

After three quarters, the Magic chased the score to 65-71, narrowing the point difference to 6 points!
Unable to further widen the point difference, Gentry smiled.

In this half quarter, it seemed that the Magic had gained momentum. If not for Bibby's two three-pointers, the Magic would have tied the score.

No!Not only that, without Bibby's two three-pointers to boost morale, the Clippers, whose strongest lineup was suppressed by the opponent, would most likely collapse in the second half. It would not be as simple as being tied with the score. The Magic even Possibly a clear lead in one fell swoop.

But Bibby made those two three-pointers, and the Clippers withstood the Magic's counterattack and held on to a 6-point lead. The balance of victory was already tilted!

The Magic concentrated their firepower in the third quarter and maintained a high level of performance throughout the quarter. Despite Bibby's two unexpected three-pointers, the Magic defeated the Clippers 25-22 in the regular star battle, but the Magic The third quarter started soaring, but there will be no power to explode again in the fourth quarter!
Gentry's confident smile was captured by the camera. If he is eventually overturned, this smile will definitely make headlines.

Fortunately, his prediction was correct, and the headline might still be his smile. The headline of a certain wave sports - Jin Shuai smiled slightly, victory is within control!

In the final quarter, the Magic team switched back to a steady style of play. The TT combination was unwilling to be still 6 points behind, but they still chose to continue to implement the established strategy.

The rampage in the third quarter was also part of their stability. Rivers' ability in the preparation stage belongs to the league's first echelon.

Facing the Magic's stable and powerful play style, the Clippers did not have an easy time in the final quarter, but relying on Li Ao's regular scoring, the impact of young players, team defense, and Bibby's goal at the critical moment... they will take the lead. Keep the advantage until the end!
At 10:26 p.m., Odom caught the ball and threw it into the air, and the final buzzer sounded.

邓肯17投8中，加上7中4的罚球，拿到20分14板2助攻1抢断3盖帽，表现已经稳定下来。

麦迪拿到15分7板3助攻2抢断2盖帽，表现出色的二当家。

Cassel had 18 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal. He is getting stronger with age.

But still lost to the Clippers!

首节8分、第二节6分、第三节5分、第四节5分，李敖出场39分钟，19投9中，其中三分球5中2，加上5中4的罚球，拿到24分7板4助攻2抢断4盖帽！

乔丹17分4板2助攻、毕比20分6助攻。

末节比分21比22，快船队最终以92比87力克魔术队，抢回主场优势，大比分2比1领先！

After the final whistle sounded, Li Ao and his teammates celebrated excitedly.

Classmate Q, who was now blindfolded, shouted at the surrounding cameras: "We will bring the finals back to Los Angeles, Spider-Man said it! If he said it, we will do it immediately!"

Li Ao, who was ready to show off, felt what Jordan felt last night... Gan!

Moreover, what I said is that the Clippers can't finish the Finals directly on the road?
...

Clippers fans don’t have to worry about not being able to return to Los Angeles for the Finals. Big Q roared their wishes.

After regaining the home court advantage, even if we lose the next two games, it will only be 2-3 and we will not be eliminated!

If we really fall behind 2-3, it will still be very dangerous, but that will happen later, and now the biggest crisis has been overcome.

After breathing a sigh of relief, the Clippers fans became more active. They had the same idea as Li Ao - why can't they finish the finals directly on the road?

It’s not like we have to bring the finals back to Los Angeles, right?
This ambitious idea was quickly shattered...

One day later, on June 6, the Magic defeated the Clippers 14-86 at home, tying the score at 79-2 and avoiding the crisis of losing three games in a row.

邓肯打了43分钟，23投11中，加上3中2的罚球，拿到24分11板1助攻5盖帽。

麦迪20分6板4助攻、卡塞尔15分3板7助攻、迈克-米勒12分、克利福德-罗宾逊2分6板3助攻1抢断1盖帽。

李敖今晚得分下滑，21投仅8中，两次三分出手全铁，加上7中5的罚球，拿到21分7板2助攻2抢断3盖帽。

加上乔丹的14分2助攻、毕比的15分4助攻、小奥尼尔的10分10板，也不是魔术队的对手。

The Magic's style of play tonight is still the same as in the past three games, unbeatable and stable.

The Clippers' all-or-nothing style of play failed tonight.

The Clippers' strategic plan is intertwined. First, Li Ao has to open up the situation before it can proceed smoothly. He did not do a good job tonight. He neither maintained a large number of shots like G2 nor achieved the shooting rate of G3.

Gentry thought the Magic might fluctuate after losing two games in a row, just like they did after the first two games of the Finals last season.

Once the Magic give up being solid, the Clippers have a better chance of winning.

Although he thinks the possibility is low, Gentry still looks forward to taking advantage of the situation to take away the Magic.

But tonight, not only did the Magic not waver, Gentry even clearly felt how determined the Magic players were!

(End of this chapter)