NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 184 Monster-level physical fitness

On June 2000, 6, the American sports media continued to report on G8 of the finals that ended last night.

The viewership of the 98 Eastern Conference Finals peaked at over 3000 million. However, by the finals, the viewership dropped by half.
The Jazz really don't have much appeal, and most of the people who choose to watch the game are going to the Knicks.

It was even worse in 99. Due to the impact of the shortened season and the lack of appeal of the Spurs, even with Tim Duncan and David Robinson, the number of viewers did not reach 1500 million.

After the first game of this year's finals, the NBA league was completely comfortable.

In the big market matchup, the media on both sides made a lot of noise before the game. Coupled with the explosive data, the popularity was heightened and the expectations were directly raised.

In the end, G1 seemed to have a big point difference, but during the game, the Lakers chased points several times and almost took the lead. The game was fierce, and the number of viewers once again exceeded 2000 million.

The same headline appeared on the front pages of USA Today and the New York Times:

"Superman!"

This title used to belong to O'Neal, but after last night's game, it became used to describe Li You.

G1的比赛，湖人队全队三分球12中2，而李佑一人14中6！

The number of shots attempted and the number of three-pointers made exceeded the entire Lakers team.

It’s true that one person can support a team!
In the finals, the last person to take crazy shots from beyond the three-point line was Li You.

In G98 in 4, they made 17 of 9 three-pointers. This was not the first time this happened. Therefore, the Lakers lost and Phil Jackson and the coaching staff were forced to take the blame after the game.

In the 232 schedule, the Knicks won an away game, the Lakers lost the initiative, and there was no room for failure in the next home game.

Refreshed his personal playoff scoring record, scoring 2+ in the finals for the second time in his career.

In team history, Li You has completely surpassed team legend Willis Reed and became the first player to score 2+ points twice in the finals.

Scoring 40 points in the Finals is never an easy task, so even if O'Neal lost, a bunch of people would follow suit after the game:
"The Lakers lost, the Sharks didn't!"

During one day of rest, it was difficult for Phil Jackson and the coaching staff to make effective adjustments.

In the training session on the afternoon of the 8th, Phil Jackson was relieved to see that O'Neal was still full of energy. Without the Sharks, the Lakers were immediately in despair.

Throughout the playoffs in the Western Conference, O'Neal's playing time was mostly 40+.

In G1 of the Finals, after being tormented by pick-and-rolls for the whole game, O'Neal did not overdraw, but became full of motivation.
This situation not only dumbfounded the Lakers coaching staff, but also confused all the teammates.

The Knicks did not conduct any training at all today, all focusing on stretching and recovery.

Ewing, Oakley, Ben Wallace and Kurt Thomas all have muscle soreness.

Defending O'Neal is a physical job, with plenty of strength and flexibility. He has a soft touch when finishing near the basket, and he can follow the fast break with his body. You can't relax on the defensive end at all times.

"Having played more than 40 minutes in so many consecutive games and absorbing so much ball rights, you should be tired, right?"

Ben Wallace was completely beaten by O'Neal. One-on-one defense was useless. There was a big difference in size between the two, and O'Neal had more experience in the game.

After the stretched "Little Ben" muttered this sentence, Oakley touched his chin and said in an uncertain tone:
"There should be a lot of consumption. In the second half, most of the rounds were guarded near the three-point line. This should be a big consumption for him."

Ewing doesn't know what state O'Neal is in, but as for his body, Gorilla has been in a state of soreness since he woke up. He hasn't played so many confrontational games for a long time:

"We still have a chance to win another game. As long as O'Neal doesn't perform well, the remaining players are no match for us!"

Ewing comforted himself and kept encouraging himself. Kurt Thomas agreed with this and nodded immediately.

The four people took turns defending, but they were unable to restrain O'Neal, and the opponent still hit a very high shooting rate.

At this time, Jeff Van Gundy was still in a state of winning and smiling. According to the game plan formulated before the game, he won an away victory and achieved the team's expected goal.

For tomorrow night's G2, the coaching staff did not make too many arrangements and still left the game to the players.

Larry Johnson was secretly stunned after looking at the technical statistics of G1. In his impression, the entire Knicks team participated in defense, but O'Neal still shot [-]% from the field.
"Isn't this guy tired? Just taking 30 shots has already consumed a lot of energy. On the defensive end, he still has to protect the basket. I don't believe he can always be so efficient."

Alan Houston, who was doing free throw practice, was not so surprised when he heard "Auntie":
"Maybe this is talent, this is the ability God gave him!"

"."

Looking at his teammate who suddenly became a sage, Larry Johnson was immediately speechless and wanted to complain about God's favoritism. Considering that the man in front of him was a devout believer, he swallowed the words that came to his lips.

Li You was still being interviewed by NBC on the other side at this time.

Jim Gray has been in charge of the Knicks in the past few years. During the Finals, news about the Knicks was basically broken from his side.

Noticing that Li You did not lie down like several veterans, and still did basic exercises as usual in the afternoon training session, Jim Gray nodded secretly in his heart and asked the question with a smile:

"After you get a road win, you will have a chance to end the series at home when you return to New York."

"Li, can you talk about the team's plans for the future? Will there be more adjustments in subsequent games?"

After boasting too much last night, Li You was much more low-key in this interview:

"We all hope to win the championship at home. That would be the most ideal situation." "As for tactical adjustments, maybe it is what the Lakers should do. We will still start from the pick-and-roll. Tomorrow night, everyone will try our best to win!"

Secretly taking note of Li You's physical condition, Jim Gray asked a few daily questions and then blessed with a smile:
"Come on, Li! Many people are expecting you to achieve three consecutive championships!"

"."

On the morning of June 6, the TNT program was still discussing the G9 game and was also warming up for tonight's G1.

As a member of the coaching circle, Mike Fratello did not follow the trend in criticizing Phil Jackson's tactical choices:

"As I said before, throughout the Western Conference playoffs, the Lakers have never faced an MVP-level core guard."

"Jason Kidd and Anfernee Hardaway are also superstars, but currently they are unable to match Lee's offensive dominance."

"O'Neal takes on a lot of the scoring load on the offensive end, so the Lakers have to lighten the load on him on the defensive end."

"There is no problem with the Lakers' game strategy, it's just Lee's response. This is the MVP!"

Role player Bang Bang struck iron. Kenny Smith didn't talk much about this issue, but pointed out O'Neal's flaws:
"Whenever the Lakers are close to a lead and are about to complete a comeback, Shaq's free throws will have problems."

"This gives the Knicks too many opportunities. Free throws and physical fitness will be the key to this year's finals!"

"Unfortunately, the Knicks have the advantage in these two points. In the Eastern Conference playoffs, they swept all their opponents and got a lot of rest time before the finals."

"I'm optimistic the Knicks will defend their title!"

When Ernie Johnson saw that Mike Fratello on the other side did not refute, he knew that the other party had also lost some confidence in the Lakers, and finally concluded:

"This should be a long series. At present, the Knicks only have some advantages. I am looking forward to the Lakers' response tonight."

"."

After losing the game, there were questions everywhere. Before kick-off at 19:30 that night, Phil Jackson was annoyed by these idle questions. In the end, he simply showed off his cards and said:
"The team won't make too many adjustments. We'll still get the ball to Shaq, and the role players will respond."

"Tonight's game, we will put the ball into the basket time and time again, and this is the Lakers' response!"

The Staples Center was filled with excitement once again as Lakers fans entered the stadium.

For tonight's game, the Lakers are bound to win. After the game started, O'Neal showed his aggressiveness and kept attacking the basket.

Glenn Rice, who went 1 for 8 in G1, finally found his shooting touch and responded from the three-point line.

At 50:52, the Lakers failed to widen the point difference at halftime and only led by 2 points.

However, the Knicks also had their own troubles. Ewing received three fouls in two quarters.

O'Neal made 14 of 5 free throws at halftime. Although he only scored 15 points, the Lakers showed a trend of flourishing.

After the third quarter, the score difference between the two sides was still only 3 points, and in the final quarter, O'Neal once again showed his dominance.

单节4中4，罚球12中6，奥尼尔在最后一节高效砍下14分！
Ewing and Oakley were both fouled out one after the other with 5 minutes and 17 seconds left in the game.
100:106. In the end, the Lakers successfully protected a home court and achieved their expected goal.

出场45分钟，奥尼尔20中12，罚球30中13，37分17篮板3助攻2盖帽两失误，鲨鱼再次交出无解数据。

30 free throws really made Jeff Van Gundy stupid.

After the game, when he saw O'Neal's playing time in the technical statistics, the bald young coach couldn't help but secretly complained:
"Simple and crude tactics, monster-like physical strength"

Played 41 minutes, made 16 of 7, 20 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 turnovers, and won his first career finals victory. When Kobe was interviewed after the game, he immediately put the defeat in Game 1 behind him:
"This is the true strength of the Lakers. We play for each other and Shaq dominates the game!"

"Although there are three consecutive away games next, we are all confident of regaining the initiative."

"The Lakers were the better team tonight!"

Facing the camera, Kobe talked freely and his excitement was palpable. When he walked towards the player tunnel, he kept waving to the fans on both sides.

At the post-game press conference, Jeff Van Gundy still couldn't hold it back and complained twice to the media reporters in the audience:

"Ewing got two fouls very quickly after the opening, and then Charles also ran into trouble."

"There is no problem with our offense, but we can't work hard on the defensive end. I don't like the scale of the whistleblower tonight."

The New York media in the audience had put this defeat behind them and continued to ask questions in an inflated manner:

"Jeff, we have the opportunity to end the series at home, can you talk a little bit more about the status of our players?"

The schedule is indeed more favorable, but Jeff Van Gundy still did not bloat, and just answered in a normal manner:
"The team has had a long break, and everyone's state will not be affected by the loss. Our outside players still performed very efficiently tonight."

"As for ending the series at home, we haven't considered those things yet. You know, the playoffs are going to be one game at a time!"

"But it is indeed a wonderful thing to win the championship trophy in Madison Square Garden, and we will work hard towards this goal!"

"."

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(End of this chapter)