NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 180 "The Pick-and-Roll Man" (5000-word chapter)
On the night of May 2000, 5, after Game 25 of the Eastern Conference Finals, during an interview at a press conference, Reggie Miller took the initiative to take responsibility.

Putting aside the third quarter, the Pacers played very well throughout the game. Four Knicks players committed five fouls, and everyone strictly implemented the game strategy.

"Maybe we lack some luck outside the three-point line, but when we return home, I will rebound strongly!"

Still wearing the beige formal suit, Reggie Miller made his promise with a serious face. Except for the reporters accompanying the Pacers, most people no longer paid attention.

Guarantees from Balloon Stars are of no use.

Played 37 minutes, made 15 of 6, 4 of 1 from beyond the three-point line, 8 of 6 free throws, 19 points and 1 rebound. Reggie Miller was out of form the entire game.

Next to him, Jaylen Rose showed a hint of fatigue. He played 48 minutes, shooting 19 of 7 and 12 of 10 free throws, scoring a team-high 24 points.

Except for failing to make a three-pointer, Jaylen Rose tried his best throughout the game.

The imagined situation of the media deliberately making things difficult for them did not appear. Reggie Miller suddenly realized that perhaps these people in the audience thought the series was over.
For the Knicks, Larry Johnson appeared at a press conference for the first time in a long time.

出场40分钟，17中10，三分线外5中1，罚球6中4，砍下25分7篮板2助攻1盖帽2失误。

The New York media were naturally flattering. Larry Johnson, who was wearing a black formal suit on the stage, smiled and touched his beard. He noticed that the camera was flashing, and suddenly a new idea popped up:

“Maybe I should get a haircut and shave for a different look!”

The Pacers ended their road trip and got three days of rest.

On the evening of the 27th, G3 of the Eastern Conference Finals will officially begin.

In the G2 game, 95:102, it was not easy for the Knicks to win, and they almost fell into a foul crisis.

Li You made 17 of 7 in the entire game, with a shooting percentage of over 13%. Although he sent [-] assists, the commentators would not be merciful the next day.

In addition, the two teams in the Western Conference finals also have three days of rest, which is just enough time to spend on star players.

The media in New York and Los Angeles were silent at this time. The former was because everyone was very satisfied with Li You's performance, while the latter was a miserable loss and could only deal with it in a low-key manner during this period.
O'Neal's 15:0 has been forgotten by Los Angeles fans. The Lakers' dominance does not seem to be as strong as imagined.

When Li You was working hard, the happiest people were the MSG staff responsible for filming the documentary.

On the morning of the 24th, young screenwriter Jason Hehir pulled Li You to shoot a few more scenes.

Since the two are only one year apart in age and both are young people, Jason Hehir usually speaks directly:

"Li, you need to show a sense of crisis!"

"Well, I mean, your performance is not good, the Knicks are going to lose, and this is our home court, I need the sense of crisis of losing at home!"

"I saw the footage shot yesterday. Your performance was too calm, and you didn't even have many emotional fluctuations. The audience definitely doesn't like to see such a plot."

Upon hearing these requests, Li You suddenly frowned, and finally joked:

"It's hard for me to show that sense of crisis. Reggie Miller opposite me is 35 years old. To be honest, I'm usually very confident when facing these veterans!"

Several MSG staff members laughed out loud. In 98, the Knicks defeated the old guy from the Bulls. Compared to the sense of oppression brought by McDuck, Reggie Miller was far behind.

After taking a few more shots, the staff could only laugh and joke:
"Lee, there is no need to force yourself. I don't think New York fans care about these details. As long as they can win, people will watch the documentary."

"On the contrary, if we lose the championship in the end, no matter how good the documentary is, no one will care."

"This is New York, and no one glorifies losers, not even the record industry, the film industry, Wall Street, and our newspapers only report on successful people."

Several people who have worked at MSG for many years will not forget how the New York media ridiculed Ewing in the past.

After reaching the finals and losing to the Rockets, Ewing and Starks were almost scolded and retired because of their crotch-stretching performance. New York fans would even boo their own players at home.

In comparison, the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden has been much better in recent years, with most of Li You pretending to be sexy here.

Jason Hehir touched his chin and felt that this made sense, and finally made another suggestion:
"Next time when I'm shooting material, I'll take more shots of Pat. I can see the sense of crisis on his face!"

Li You certainly noticed the troubled expression on the gorilla's face, but he always felt that Ewing was worried about the tour.

The Knicks took another 83 shots last night. The game was played at a fast pace and Ewing only got 21 minutes of playing time.

The New York media who like to read Excel discovered that there was a slight problem with the plus-minus value of the Gorillas in this round, so they kept silent about this data to save face for Ewing.
The Knicks are about to get the match point and are one step closer to the championship, which makes more reporters squatting at the Tarrytown Training Center.

As the Lakers' dominance in the playoffs declined, many people turned their attention back to the Knicks.

Jeff Van Gundy, who is busy posing every day, also received more attention.

If the Knicks succeed in winning the championship, Jeff Van Gundy will become the youngest head coach in NBA history to win three consecutive championships.

With this achievement, I won’t have to worry about work for the rest of my life!
After the training session ended on the afternoon of the 25th, the Knicks were about to fly to Polis. Jeff Van Gundy remained confident as always in an interview:
"We will end the series as early as possible, which will help the veterans recover their physical condition."

"On the offensive end, no one in the league can match Lee, I never doubt that!"

"I won't worry about Lee's shooting problem, because as long as he can play, he can help the team win!"

"."

Most of the dark circles under the bald young coach's eyes have disappeared recently. Everyone can see that as the series progresses, Jeff Van Gundy becomes more and more confident.

Some Los Angeles media were fed up with the flattery of the star, but were unable to refute it. Among the current players, leaving aside the outdated Olajuwon, Li You's achievements are far ahead!
On the night of the 26th, at 93:91, the Trail Blazers returned home and unfortunately lost.

At the last moment, Steve Smith completed the steal, but the Trail Blazers' last attack was strained.

Old Sabonis finally had no choice but to take over, but was blocked by Kobe Bryant.
Harper's jumper with 29 seconds left helped the Lakers win the game.

Phil Jackson is no different from other coaches in key games and continues to fight against the main force!
出场48分钟，17中10，罚球12中6，奥尼尔砍下26分12篮板3助攻1抢断3盖帽3失误；

出场47分钟，科比18中11，砍下25分7篮板7助攻2抢断1盖帽3失误。

The Lakers' duo is stretched to its limit.

The Trail Blazers' performance was not bad, but they lacked a player who could make the final decision. Scottie Pippen was not Michael Jordan, who made the most money and took the blame after the game.

On the night of the 27th, before the start of G3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, a large number of Pacers fans held up whiteboards "Miller Moment" to express their support for the home team and Reggie Miller.

The feud between the two teams can be traced back to the early 90s, when under the leadership of famous coach Larry Brown, the Pacers also reached the conference finals for two consecutive years.

As a result, they fell to the Knicks once and lost to the Magic again.

Thinking back to the situation of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last year, the feeling of deja vu makes Pacers fans uneasy.

After the game started, more than 8000 Pacers fans began to cheer loudly for the home team.

In the battle of life and death, head coach Larry Bird also did not play tricks. At 3 minutes and 15 seconds of the first quarter, the starting five players were still on the court.

In contrast, the Knicks have already replaced Kurt Thomas and Ben Wallace. Jeff Van Gundy still made the substitutions, but kept Larry Johnson, who was in good shape and changed his appearance.

In the last round, Rick Schmitz received a breakthrough ball from Jaylen Rose at the right elbow of the free throw line and hit a mid-range jumper.

The Knicks were not affected in any way, and Li You accelerated the advance again.

Mark Jackson misplaced his defense against Larry Johnson at the beginning and was easily singled out. In the second half of the game, he pursued and defended Li You again.

The two came to the left wing. Mark Jackson glanced behind Ben Wallace and moved forward again, cursing in his heart.

Compared to the previous few times when he stood firmly on the screen, Ben Wallace hung up for a moment and immediately moved down quickly.

Rick Schmitz was too late to return to defense, and Mark Jackson immediately chased behind Ben Wallace and cut off the passing route.

Facing the defense of the big man, Li Youn, who held the ball with his left hand, had been protecting the ball sideways and pulling the defense.

He noticed that Rick Schmitz stood with his feet open, raised his left hand high, and tried to lower his center of gravity. While the opponent was moving upward, Li You suddenly sent the ball forward with his left hand, and the basketball passed directly under Rick Schmitz's crotch. "oh!"

Huge exclamations suddenly echoed through the arena. Before Rick Schmitz could react, Li You in front of him had already squeezed past him.

Turning his head subconsciously, Rick Schmitz saw Li You fishing for the ball with his right hand. He immediately stopped at the left elbow area. With no one in front of him to defend him, he took a mid-range jump shot!
"Shua!" The two-pointer went into the net hollowly.

Seeing Rick Schmitz being shown off as a wooden stake, and then seeing Li You retreating with a smile and the Knicks jumping up and down, the Pacers fans at the scene could only boo and yell.

At 24:17, seeing the score difference widening again, the two people in the NBC commentary box could only exclaim:

"Extraordinarily beautiful! Lee can always score points easily when faced with defense from big players."

"Mark Jackson made the wrong defensive choice, and coach Larry Bird might consider bringing Crohill on."

Doug Collins had been expecting the Pacers to go smaller, but Rick Schmitz was in great shape after the start and Larry Bird stuck with the Dutch big man.

Noticing that Jaylen Rose rushed to the basket from the right elbow and was interfered by Ben Wallace who was chasing him, Bob Costas could only speak about the situation:
"The Pacers' perimeter players have to step up and score in a timely manner."

Looking at Ben Wallace grabbing the rebound, Conseco Arena suddenly became quieter.

"Defense!."

The DJ on the scene was still trying to arouse the fans' emotions, and the defensive shouts gradually started again.

Jaylen Rose immediately led the defense to Li You, who was responding. The Knicks didn't even look at the situation in the backcourt, and they all quickly ran to the half court.

Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, also accelerated and rushed forward, dribbling across the center line. After an emergency stop, he quickly dribbled the ball behind his back. After switching to his right hand, he protected the ball sideways and made tactical gestures.

Ben Wallace immediately came to the three-point line to provide a high screen, and Jaylen Rose squeezed through to continue the pursuit.

However, after encountering Kurt Thomas's second screen on the right wing, Jaylen Rose failed to squeeze through in time and lost his defensive position.

Dale Davis immediately switched defense in front of Li You, and then continuously slid to the left.

As the wing approached the three-point line, Li You suddenly jumped to dribble. While stopping suddenly, he lowered his center of gravity, pretended to connect the ball with his left hand, and looked up at the basket.

Dale Davis, who was sliding continuously, subconsciously moved forward, adjusted his body's center of gravity, and prepared to block the shot.

As soon as his feet moved, Dale Davis saw Li You's extremely fast in and out, swaying left and right, accelerating to cut in.

He wanted to continue to slide to catch up, but Dale-Davis found that Li You was holding his thigh with his left hand. With the help of the force, he was unable to exert his full strength for a while and was simply stuck in place.

The Pacers fans who couldn't see the details just thought that Dell Davis was stupid when Li You raised his head, and subconsciously booed.

Before Mark Jackson and Reggie Miller in the left and right corners could react, Li You had already broken through to the paint area, rushed up in three strides, grabbed the ball with his right hand and jumped into the air, performing a powerful one-handed dunk!

"Shhh!!"

Huge boos resounded throughout the arena. From the double screen on the line to Li You completing the breakthrough, the whole process was too fast, too fast for many Pacers fans to accept.

After completing the dunk, looking at Reggie Miller who had just chased to the basket, Li You was in a good mood and grinned:

"Hey! Man, I will continue to use pick-and-rolls to win the game tonight!"

"."

Already trailing by 9 points, Reggie Miller, who was anxious, just wanted to send the baseline ball quickly.

Li You was not in a hurry, and continued to stay in the half court, preparing to lead the defense. He approached the opponent and joked:
"Don't forget to check the technical statistics during the break to see how many points I scored using pick-and-rolls!"

"Get off his grandma!"

Mark Jackson, who came to catch the ball, couldn't help shouting, and at the same time stepped forward to push Li You, but he failed to push.

Li You looked down at the opponent, smiled and said nothing. After Reggie Miller took the baseline kick, he heard the referee's whistle just after running across the half court, and Mark Jackson fell to the ground in pain.

Li You, who was leading the defense, suddenly cut the ball fiercely and accidentally gave an elbow to Mark Jackson, who was protecting the ball.

On the bench, Oakley leaned back in his chair, covered his face with a towel, and almost laughed out loud. The referee blew the whistle, and the Knicks atmosphere team stood up and spread their hands to complain.
As a veteran, Mark Jackson lay on the floor for a while and found that the referee didn't say much, so he immediately stood up.

The penalty scale for tonight's game was very broad. After Mark Jackson realized this, he also began to increase physical confrontation in the last few minutes.

It's just that his 35-year-old body still can't compete with Li You, and Mark Jackson, whose lateral movement speed has declined, can no longer bear too many pursuit and defense tasks.

The Knicks were still scoring when Alan Houston broke through from the left wing and caused a foul on Reggie Miller, getting to the free throw line.

Larry Johnson faced Mark Jackson's defense and stormed to the basket to score again.

In the last 2 minutes, the Pacers fans at the scene could only watch the home team players playing iron. At the end of the first quarter, Dale Davis' second rebound and tip-in barely saved some face.

30:19, the Pacers fans at the scene were extremely disappointed.

第1节比赛打了10分钟的里克-施密茨表现出色，10中6，一人砍下12分。

Jaylen Rose, who took on too many defensive tasks, slumped again, shooting 4 for 0 and scoring zero points.
Li You, who was walking to the bench, did not forget to remind his opponent and pointed at Reggie Miller's eyes.

Reggie Miller, who cursed a few times, forced himself to calm down. The double-digit point difference no longer allowed him to make any more mistakes.

After playing the first quarter, Li You scored 7 of 5, 2 of 2 free throws, 12 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists in the paint.

Doug Collins believed that there was a problem with the Pacers' rotation. Taking advantage of the break, he complained a few words:
"Rick Schmitz is in very good condition on the offensive end. He attacks the basket hard and makes mid-range jumpers after pick-and-rolls to help the team continue to score points."

"But he played too much time. In many rounds, Lee passed the pick-and-roll and scored easily from him."

"Coach Larry Bird should consider replacing the big man early."

Bob Costas also didn’t expect that after returning to the home court, the Pacers still failed to open up their perimeter offense:

"Some people on the outside are in poor condition, and Mark Jackson's shooting percentage in the paint has been very low in this series."

"Obviously, facing the younger Li, too much physical confrontation still affected the veteran.

After the game started in the second quarter, the two people in the commentary box noticed that Jaylen Rose was still on the court, and they were speechless for a while.

He played 48 minutes in the last game. In tonight's life-and-death battle, Jaylen Rose will most likely not rest.

The Pacers replaced Mark Jackson and Rick Schmitz and made simple matchup substitutions.

Reggie Miller, who only rested for 1 minute in the first quarter, was still on the court. In the crucial game, Larry Bird couldn't sit still anymore. He stood on the sidelines and kept loudly reminding his teammates to focus.

On the Knicks bench, everyone looked relaxed. Only Ewing was a little depressed and was substituted after 5 minutes of play.

Both Alan Houston and Larry Johnson performed very efficiently in the first quarter, communicating with Li You in low voices. By this time, they had entered a state of winning and smiling.

Oakley had long noticed his old friend's low mood in the Eastern Conference finals. Although he didn't read Excel, he read the newspaper every day.

The mainstream print media in New York can be regarded as supporting Ewing, while some tabloids, in order to gain attention, did not say good things about the gorilla and clung to the positive and negative values.
"Pat, don't worry about the comments of those boring media, the team needs you!"

Oakley, who had already put on his jersey, whispered a word of comfort, but Ewing was still not happy.

After playing basketball for most of his life, he has long discovered that opponents will speed up when they encounter him. This season, the Knicks have been accommodating his statistics.

Ewing just punched Oakley, put on a smile, and then looked straight at the energetic rotation lineup fighting and charging on the court:

"Can I still maintain two pairs?"

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(End of this chapter)