NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 298 The Consequences of “Clumsy” (7400-word chapter)

On June 2003, 6, New York Times columnist Richard Sandmere launched an indiscriminate rant with a one-word headline:

"CLOWN!"

"The San Antonio Spurs are a joke. They showed all the fans how low they really are and they ruined the Finals."

"The ABC broadcasters are as stupid as the Spurs. Brad Nessler is not qualified to commentate on sports!"

"Nesler lacked rhythm and enthusiasm during the game, rarely interacted with his partners, ignored the score and even ignored Li's wonderful performance!"

"The entire broadcast team ignored that intentional tiptoe after the game. Bruce Bowen didn't want to hurt anyone? It's not April Fools' Day yet!"

"The fact is that God has been favoring Lee, God loves the city of New York, and those who go against God's will will not end well."

"."

The first half of the article will also analyze how Li You cracked the Spurs' zone defense and how the Knicks used mismatched offense to create opportunities;

But in the later paragraphs of the article, the style of painting suddenly changed and began to be output continuously.

In order to attract attention, the New York Post came up with more conspiracy theories:

"Murderer!"

The article quoted Popovich's words during the game, and by the way, it described the process of the Spurs planning to harm the Knicks for four years.

Several mainstream newspapers in New York began to attach greater importance to this foul. In addition to gossiping about the internal conflicts of the Lakers, the Los Angeles Times also became energetic at this time.

The reporter accompanying the Lakers vowed after last night’s game:

"Bruce Bowen is the dirtiest defender!"

"The Spurs used this kind of defense to intimidate our players. We didn't lose to the opponent, but to the referee's connivance."

"The Lakers should have reached the Finals, we should have defended our title!"

Breaking the zone defense and stretching the hips, the Lakers shot from the outside. It only took one night for everyone to find another "decent rhetoric."

Lakers fans who "deceive themselves" think the Los Angeles Times is right. How could the OK team lose to the Spurs?

The finals are all about abuse, the Knicks won every game, and the Lakers will never lose to such an opponent!

The Los Angeles sports media seemed to have suffered from collective amnesia the next day, jumping up and down to find excuses for the Lakers and "kick the Spurs hard" at the same time.

After last night's game, the most exciting thing was not the process of the game, but Popovich's change of expression after the game.

During the game, Duncan fell to the ground. Popovich was so angry that his face turned red and his neck was thick, and he angrily yelled at Kurt Thomas. However, in an interview after the game, he suffered from amnesia:

"Unfortunately, it was just an accident. Bruce is a great defender and he didn't want to hurt anyone!"

"We looked back at that round. Lee jumped too high, there was a physical confrontation between the three, and Bruce hit the two of them, which is why such a tragedy happened."

"Bruce will be 32 years old soon. He is also a veteran. He can't close his feet in time. He is just a little clumsy."

"He was just selected to the All-Defensive Second Team this year. San Antonio fans love him. Off the court, he has been serving the community. Bruce is a kind man!"

"."

Just ask him about his on-court performance, and Popovich will answer the other side of Bruce Bowen's life.

As a united team, Popovich and Duncan, as the leaders of the team, naturally understand Bowen's defense.

The entire team is a beneficiary, so everyone naturally wants to stick together at this time and resolutely refuse to admit that this is intentional.

Tim Duncan was unable to be interviewed due to injury. Other Spurs players stood up for their teammates. Everyone had a unified view:

"It was just an accident! Bruce is a good guy!"

There was no suspense in the finals, and the New York media quickly broke the news. Although the Nets next door were eliminated, this year the New Jersey Devils made it to the finals.

The night of the 9th happened to be Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals (NHL). Before the start of the game between the New Jersey Devils and the Anaheim Ducks, players from both teams began calling on more people to watch the game.

ESPN and ABC will also broadcast this ice hockey game. When chief commentator Gary Thorne talked about last night's NBA Finals, he also mocked:

"I appreciate Nesler's promotion of tonight's game, but I still want to say that this year's NBA Finals is too boring."

"Without those records from Lee, I wouldn't even be paying attention to this series."

"When a series that impresses people is when a core player is injured, it is undoubtedly a failure. This is not how competitive sports should be!"

There is more than two days of rest between G3 and G4 of the Finals. Although sports reporters want to dig out more gossip, the Spurs are a united team and they have a strict tone.

On the morning of the 10th, the Spurs officially announced Tim Duncan’s injury:

"Second degree sprain of left ankle."

Such an injury requires at least more than a week's rest. The Spurs have confirmed that Tim Duncan will miss Game 4 of the Finals.

The Spurs no longer have a real leg, the series is completely without suspense, and the honor battle is gone.

NBA Commissioner David Stern and league staff also flew to San Antonio. They will present the award to the Knicks tomorrow night, and everyone has to rehearse in advance.

ABC took over the first awards ceremony of the finals, and both parties attached great importance to it.

David Stern looked ugly during the interview. His view on NBC not renewing its contract with the league was:

"The NBA is in decline, and we are losing money year by year!"

This year's finals ratings have declined. Although ABC and ESPN have worked hard to promote it, the effect is still not very good.

G4 knows the result of the game without playing, and some fans are destined to give up watching the game.

In the past two days, the league has been promoting Li You's 12th 40-point performance in the finals. Apart from these records, the selling points of this year's finals are very few.

When asked about Tim Duncan's injury, David Stern simply stated his position in front of the media:

"The league doesn't want to see any players get injured. Injuries have always been the natural enemy of players."

"Lee's suggestion is very good. During the offseason we will discuss adding some rules to protect our players. The league hopes that fans can enjoy the most exciting basketball events!"

"."

Although TNT was not able to broadcast the finals, it has been making crazy headlines in the past two days.

Yesterday, there was still discussion about whether Tim Duncan could "return as a hero" and whether the Spurs could reverse the series;

After getting the exact news, the trio on the show also began to discuss the impact of Bruce Bowen.

Charles Barkley looked down on such a small gesture, and when talking about this topic, he curled his lips and said:

"We've been in the league for a lot of years and a lot of teams have some special moves."

"But I don't like these. If I want to improve my defensive deterrence and face a small man like Lee, I will just knock him to the floor."

"Or provoke him into a man-on-man fight and get both kicked out. That's easy, isn't it?"

"Spurs can kid themselves with excuses, but we all know what's going on!"

The three people in the studio were all wearing formal attire. At this time, Kenny Smith suddenly opened his chair, pulled his partner down, gestured with his hands, and then joked:

"I think Li is as tall as you! He is not a small man. In fact, small guards cannot defend him at all, and the same is true for strikers when they meet Li!"

"Hey! I'm referring to his style of play. Lee won't compete with big men in the low post like me. Height doesn't matter."

Charles Barkley doesn't like his old partner making fun of his height. Many people have said that as long as he was 10 centimeters taller, he might win the championship.

Ernie Johnson watched the two of them return to their seats with a smile, and he didn't mind chatting about this sensitive topic:

"Coach Popovich believes that this stepping down was just an accident. He believes that Bruce Bowen did not actively harm any players. What do you think about this?"

Kenny Smith raised his eyebrows and quickly gave an example:

"In fact, Bowen is a bad guy. He relied on this kind of defense to get a contract in the league."

"I don't want to comment on this way of living, but he has hurt a lot of players."

"If I remember correctly, in the 2000 regular season, when the Heat played against the Raptors, Bowen once stepped on Vince Carter. This injury caused Carter to rest for a week."

"As for his flying kick to Brent Barry of the SuperSonics, some fans may have forgotten the matter of kicking Szczerbiak of the Timberwolves."

"That was not a normal landing action. We all knew what he wanted to do."

After hearing the question, Charles Barkley began to rehash old scores:

"This situation is very common in the league. Chuck Daly is a great coach, but when he coached the Pistons, he was really a jerk!"

"The Spurs should be comfortable admitting that this culture is not a big deal."

Ernie Johnson glanced at the big mouth next to him. Once he said this, they would definitely be complained by San Antonio fans again.

6月11号，当晚20:30，SBC中心球馆将迎来总决赛的G4。

Bowen's clumsy accidental injury took three days to simmer and surpass the game.

Everyone has seen the situation of hurting the opponent's star player, but this is the first time for many people to overthrow their boss.

In order to protect the players, Popovich has avoided allowing Bowen to be interviewed. It was not until the afternoon warm-up that Bowen, who was at the center of public opinion, officially expressed his position:

"I've never actively harmed any players, and I don't want to harm anyone."

"I feel more sad about Tim's injury than anyone else!"

Repeatedly reiterating that "he is a good person," Bowen expressed his guilt to the sports media who interviewed him with a sincere face, just as he showed his innocence to the referee every time he completed a step.

As a victim, Tim Duncan also appeared in the arena. Although he was wearing Spurs training clothes, he sat on the sidelines during the warm-up.

As the leader of the team, Tim Duncan is naturally not a White Lotus. Perhaps this is not his intention, but the beneficiary of the "stepping" is the Spurs.

If he moves his little foot and wins the championship, then Duncan, who won the FMVP, will only be praised for defeating a 73-win team!

In competitive sports, only the champions are worth remembering, and the losers only deserve "IF".

A large number of media reporters gathered around Duncan, everyone wanted to hear what this man would say.

In the past two days, San Antonio sports media continued to call for Popovich to be fired.

After being swept out of the finals, David Robinson's championship dream was shattered. Everyone attributed all the reasons to the head coach. Popovich once again became the scapegoat!

Tim Duncan briefly introduced his injury situation. When asked about Bowen's related questions, Duncan also maintained the same view as Popovich:

"It was just an accident! There were four players under the basket at the time, and I just accidentally stepped on my teammate's foot."

"Bruce is a good guy, and off the field, he's always helping our community."

"Everyone likes him and I think he doesn't want to hurt any players. Now we just want to focus on tonight's game. The series is not over yet!"

Looking at Tim Duncan with a calm expression, the New York Times reporter suddenly smiled and asked:

"Duncan, how many points do you think the Spurs will lose tonight?"

"."

Looking at Duncan who was silent for a moment and then started talking about the situation again, some New York reporters began to laugh. Everyone is here to witness the award ceremony tonight and enjoy the Spurs' defeat by the way.

Starting yesterday, NBA league staff and ABC broadcasters began rehearsing the awards ceremony. Seeing such a scene, everyone in the Spurs automatically entered a state of "post-game silence."

James Dolan fired the map cannon after the G3 game:

“I know Texas, like there are human smuggling cases here, they always like to challenge the rules!”

Boss Curly's words are like poking a hornet's nest. A bad smuggling case just happened in this city not long ago, but San Antonio's geographical location is considered a transit point, and this city is just taking the blame.

This sense of superiority also made Spurs fans particularly angry.

Before the game started, a large number of sports media gathered around Li You in the visiting team's locker room.

There is no need to loan the championship at this time. Everyone knows that Li You will officially enter the discussion of the best player in history this year.

ESPN reporters couldn’t wait to push Li You to the “altar”:

"Li, data expert Hollinger believes that your performance this year has surpassed all players in NBA history. He thinks you are already the best in history."

"After winning the fifth championship in your career, do you agree with this view?" Reporters gathered in a large circle and quickly moved the recording equipment in front of Li You.

Li You was already prepared for this commonplace topic and answered calmly:

"Different eras have different rules, and different rules will produce different stars."

"Now the league has reasonable collision zones, three seconds of defense, and allows zone defense. The changes brought about by these rules are visible to the naked eye!"

"The background of each era is different. I prefer to call myself the best player of this era."

Although Li You also acquiesced in his answer that he would win his fifth championship tonight, everyone had no objections. This was a natural result.

"16 wins and 0 losses, the best record in the history of the playoffs. Lee, congratulations on setting a new record again!"

"Can you talk about the Knicks' performance this year? It's incredible."

Li You also smiled when he heard this question. He had fulfilled his promise. He didn't want to be slapped in the face by a boomerang:

"Coach D'Antoni has added new tactical ideas to us, and the coaching staff has done a lot of preparation for every game!"

"We have experienced a lot this season. The training sessions are actually very boring. There are still rookie players in the team. Everyone has worked together and made great efforts."

"As for the new record set in the playoffs, I think this is the reward everyone deserves!"

"Look at our bench. Knight can control the team's offensive rhythm. Everyone has seen how good Jackson is."

"Although Prince looks thin in his first year as a rookie, he is a tough guy. If you try to use a guard to confront him, you will definitely be punished!"

"Amar'e Stoudemire is a beast, he won Rookie of the Year, and he can destroy any defense in the paint."

"Wright's numbers don't reflect his role. He is the defensive core of the rotation. He is an underrated rim protector."

"The excellent rotation allowed us to get through the regular season healthy. This season is a victory for the team. After experiencing a loss in the Finals, I hope the fans who support the Knicks will like this gift!"

Li You began to summarize the series, and the surrounding sports media didn't think anything was wrong. Anyway, tonight's game was definitely won, and it was good to get some information in advance.

Everyone in the Knicks team was interviewed in the locker room. Everyone was smiling. The uniform team had prepared the championship "skin" and the champagne was also ready!

The newcomers who experienced such a scene for the first time were naturally very excited. Even if they will leave the team in less than two years, many players in the atmosphere group are still enjoying the process.

For many people, the championship is an unattainable goal, and they cannot experience such a moment in their entire career.

D'Antoni specially styled his hair. The exquisite three-quarter length and black striped formal suit made the mustache look several years younger.

The coaching staff are all dressed in black formal suits and red scarves. The 73-win championship is worth remembering. This is definitely a historical moment, and it may be mentioned repeatedly in another 20 years!

In the entire locker room, the coaching staff no longer discussed tactical arrangements. At this time, everyone was chatting happily with the staff. Everyone was dressed up and waiting for the game to end to take photos.

Unlike D'Antoni who hugged everyone and strolled around, although the mellow Ewing also dressed himself up to be smooth and smooth, he did not forget to remind the Knicks team at this time:

"Let them look good tonight! That little French man should be the main scorer of the Spurs now, teach him a lesson!"

Ewing smiled wickedly, and Artest seemed to remember the game of bullying Allen Iverson, and laughed along with him:

"I wonder how many rounds this little French guy can last!"

Kurt Thomas also laughed. Without Tim Duncan, it's everyone's turn to hit hard tonight!

Before the game started, in the ABC commentary box, Nesler, who had a slicked back hair, was very depressed. He did not expect that the New York media would even criticize him.

He had indeed never commented on a sports game before, so his on-the-spot reaction was a bit slow.

Compared with when Groom Albert was commenting on Li You's game, he knew that his fancy X-playing ability was not enough, but during the commentary process, he was really trying to mobilize his emotions.

Even though he worked hard like this, he was still criticized. Nesler felt that he had suffered an unreasonable disaster. After introducing the Spurs' starting lineup before the game, he secretly complained:

"Bruce Bowen ruined the series!"

The Spurs' interior combination tonight is Malik Rose and David Robinson.

Due to injuries, "The General" won't have much playing time, and substitute center Kevin Willis will get more playing time.

In the Spurs' starting lineup, Parker and Ginobili are both new players. The three frontcourt players are old and weak. The pre-game predictions are naturally one-sided.

In the commentary box, Bill Walton did not talk about the outcome of this game, but was discussing Li You's performance in this series:

"This year's finals should be the easiest series Li has ever encountered!"

"In previous games with the Lakers, Derek Fisher was unable to restrict Lee, but he definitely provided enough physical confrontation in defense."

"Tony Parker did neither of these things. He was very fast, but his confrontation was so poor that it did not affect Lee's performance at all."

Tolbert also felt that this year's finals were less exciting, and at this time he lamented the Lakers:

"Compared to Bowen, Kobe Bryant did a better job guarding Lee!"

"Although they were unable to limit Lee's scoring, Kobe was still able to keep up with Lee's offensive rhythm."

"The Spurs may be able to limit the Lakers with zone defense, but there is nothing they can do against the Knicks' three-pointers."

"From this point of view, it is expected that the Lakers will lose. After entering the playoffs, their outside shooting is really bad!"

The two chatted blindly in the commentary box, and Nesler waited until his partner had finished talking before speaking:

“The Knicks coaching staff seemed ready and the staff seemed to be dressed up tonight.”

"This is definitely a difficult moment for Spurs fans, who will be witnessing another championship for their opponent in the new arena!"

Nessler couldn't stop talking about this topic, and he was destined to be complained by San Antonio fans after the game.

“Go spurs go!.”

When the players from both sides came to the center of the field, the Spurs fans at the scene were still shouting loudly, Battle of Honor. Everyone just wanted to see the home team win.

After the game officially started, the Knicks launched a "V-shaped" offense in the first round.

After Li You used Gasol's screen to easily break through David Robinson's basket and score, the cheers suddenly died down by half.

When the Spurs attacked, faced with the Knicks' aggressive defense from the outside, Parker felt a little dazed for a while.

With the help of David Robinson's screen, Parker did not choose to make a pull-up jump shot, but broke to the basket and continued to circle.

After the outside ball was passed ineffectively, the basketball finally returned to Parker's hands.

Under Li You's defense, Parker was unable to get rid of the pursuit. Finally, he stopped near the free throw line, feinted and shot a jumper against the block!

"state!"

Almost 24 seconds later, it was still a strike. On the Spurs bench, Tim Duncan stared at the situation on the court with his eyes wide open.

Popovich was the most excited on the sidelines. He seemed dissatisfied with Parker's defensive choices and shouted loudly on the sidelines:

"Follow up and defend, don't give up on defense!"

Less than three minutes into the first quarter, the Knicks started to coordinate their tactics step by step, and the Spurs found themselves in a scoring drought.

Grant Hill missed a three-pointer from the right corner, and the rebound was collected by Ginobili, who immediately accelerated the breakthrough after receiving the ball.

Accelerating along the middle, noticing Artest's delay, Ginobili in the middle immediately distributed the ball to Parker near the right sideline.

Immediately after catching the ball, he released the ball with his right hand. Facing Li You's defense, Parker wanted to use his speed to complete the "overtaking on the outside", but the physical confrontation from his side made him feel a little overwhelmed.

Being squeezed closer and closer to the sideline, Parker still couldn't get rid of Li You's pursuit. After barely passing the half court, he was quickly attacked by a double team.

Being blocked on the right sideline and covered by Li You and Artest, Parker felt like there were arms all around him.

In the end, he failed to complete the pass. The basketball in his arms was hugged by Artest. Although Parker fought hard to grab it, he still lost control of the ball.

After completing the steal, Artest took the ball and rushed forward. Noticing that the Spurs did not retreat, he rushed into the paint and made a big windmill dunk!

"Shh!"

Spurs fans booed loudly, and Artest beat his chest and shouted after completing the dunk.

8:0, after several rounds, the Knicks easily launched a wave of offense.

As the game progressed, Popovich's shouts became less and less. At the end of the first quarter, on the Spurs bench, the atmosphere team all bowed their heads and everyone was silent.

Duncan looked directly at everyone on the court. This was completely different from what he expected in the finals.

David Robinson, who was substituted, patted Duncan on the shoulder and encouraged him:

"It doesn't matter, Duncan! You are still young and still have a lot of time to pursue a championship."

"."

Still didn't speak. The loan champion had heard too much, and Duncan was already immune.

The Knicks rotated the lineup early, and Tony Parker finally enjoyed core treatment.

Breaking to the basket for a throw, falling to the floor;

Breaking through along the baseline, the bottom of the basket was knocked out of the baseline and hit the street again;

Encountered a double team, the right wing failed to release the ball in time and sent a low-quality cross pass, which was intercepted and knocked down by Li You.

Despite the referee's whistle, the Knicks rotated a lot of players, and everyone took turns taking care of the Spurs' new core tonight

Bowen couldn't help at this time, and his poor ball-holding breakthrough also prevented him from helping the team.

At the end of the first quarter, Tony Parker broke through the lower right side of the basket for a layup and was blocked by Kurt Thomas.

The big block hit his arm completely. Parker lost his center of gravity and fell directly into the baseline camera.

"Shh!"

The boos resounded throughout the arena. Parker fell down five times in one game and lay on the floor with a painful expression.

When he was pulled up by his teammates, he saw several people from the Knicks smiling maliciously at him.

Allen Iverson showed his tough guy attributes at the beginning, constantly hitting the basket despite injuries, and persisted for three quarters.

Tony Parker grinned and took a deep breath. When he stood at the free throw line, he felt a little scared.

At 30:16, the first quarter ended, Parker made two free throws to help the Spurs narrow the point difference.

"Shh!"

In the SBC Center Arena, the Spurs fans were still booing incompetently. Back on the bench, several people from the Knicks team were gloating:

"This kid is tough, I bet he can last three quarters!"

Kurt Thomas sat in his seat, stretched out five fingers, and made a bet. On the other side, Stephen Jackson shook his head disdainfully, seeming to look down on the little Frenchman:

"In the second quarter, he didn't dare to break through to the basket. I bet this guy will choose to pass the ball in the following games!"

Li You, who was substituted early, sat in his seat and listened to everyone laughing and discussing in low voices. Ewing noticed that D'Antoni started to lean back tactically again, and couldn't help but whisper:

"This should be the easiest championship we have ever experienced! Maybe some people will question the value of this year's championship in the future."

"Pat! A champion is a champion! In the face of doubts, we can raise our hands in the future."

Li You smiled and raised his right hand to make a gesture, and the gorilla also smiled proudly. There were 5 rings on his palm!

On the Spurs bench, no one said a word. Only Popovich kept roaring and cheering for Tony Parker, the core player tonight:

"We still have a lot of time, Tony, think about the San Antonio fans, we need a win!"

Sitting in his seat, Parker rubbed his painful left knee, widened his eyes and pretended to listen, but in his heart he had no feelings for the head coach's chicken soup:

"I'm French, why do I fight so hard when I'm destined to lose?"

"."

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　　There will be more tonight, and I will continue to make up the word count in the near future~

　　

　

(End of this chapter)