harleyscars Chapter 599 The Mastermind Behind the King of War: Who Can Lead Him with Just One Phone Call?
Chapter 599 The Mastermind Behind the King of War: Who Can Lead Him with Just One Phone Call?
In the first half of the game, the Cavaliers managed to keep the score close thanks to Wade's absolute madness and aggressive play. However, in the third quarter, as Wade's energy waned and Billups targeted him, Hughes was completely shut down, and big men like Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Gooden were no match for Rasheed Wallace.
The Cavaliers' offense collapsed almost entirely!
比卢普斯更是在第三节的后半段连续扔进了3个3分，这3个3分一进，是一举将分差拉开到了20分以上！
The Pistons then completely took control of the game, and the Cavaliers were never able to turn the tide.
Wade, who scored 23 points in the first half, was completely contained in the second half and only managed 7 points. His contrasting performances in the first and second halves became the biggest reason for the Cavaliers' loss.
In the ensuing sixth game, the Pistons gave the Cavaliers no further chances. They once again maximized their defensive intensity, employing their strongest defensive stance and intensity, and from the very first second of the game, they steered it towards a muddy, half-court battle.
The Cavaliers were able to put up some resistance at first, and even tried to use the duo of Wade and Hughes to try and take the lead against the Pistons.
But clearly, they couldn't compete with the Pistons, a team full of seasoned veterans! In this game, the Cavaliers suffered a crushing defeat at home, and were forced to say goodbye to the playoffs.
4: 2!
Wade and his team were once again shut out of the conference finals, suffering a disappointing exit!
Despite being eliminated, Wade's demeanor at the post-game press conference wasn't bad; on the contrary, he seemed quite happy: "I'm very grateful to Lin! When I faced problems and doubts, I called him, and he supported me and gave me tremendous help."
"He is my mentor, and he is the player I respect most! I will continue to listen to his teachings and keep improving until I can face him head-on on the field!"
"I also wish the Pistons all the best; they won beautifully. It was my fault for not being good enough; I couldn't break through their solid defense. I accept the result, but if we meet again next year, I won't lose!"
Wade's words were powerful and neither arrogant nor humble, and his speech won the love and support of many fans. This series has really gained him a lot of fans.
But the problem was, the Pistons' press conference that followed went wrong.
"I spoke with Lin on the phone, and we talked about Wade. He gave me some advice, but honestly, it did nothing but make me angry and want to beat him up. He's a damn bastard."
In the post-match press conference, Billups also mentioned that he spoke with Lin Tian on the phone: "The desire to beat him again quickly took shape in my mind after that call. I couldn't wait; I wanted to crush him!"
"So, I improved in the last two games. I contained Wade, I played my best, and my only goal was to beat Lin and his team again!"
When Billups finished speaking, surprisingly, there was no applause or laughter from the audience. This surprised Billups a little. What was going on? Was my speech not interesting, funny, or humorous enough? Or was my act of actively declaring war on Lin Tian outdated and unable to arouse everyone's enthusiasm?
Billups, of course, had no idea that the reporters in the audience were thinking about something completely different.
When Wade encountered difficulties, he spoke to you, Lin Tian, and you encouraged him, saying you believed he could win.
When Billups encountered difficulties, he still called you, Lin Tian, and you encouraged him, saying that you believed he could win.
Good heavens, they're trying to profit from both sides!
So you really are impartial, right?
Then, the reporters suddenly remembered Lin Tian's past offense, about how he cursed the Timberwolves and Lakers to go to a Game 7 and then 20 overtimes...
That's just like him; he's still as shameless as ever.
Even now, journalists have begun their rapid analysis.
It's highly likely that Lin Tian initiated both of those calls! He definitely did!
With both sides cheering and providing motivation, they probably wish these two teams could go to a full seven games and then have ten overtime periods!
Old silver coins!
"Achoo! Achoo!" Lin Tian, who had already led his team to advance, inexplicably sneezed several times in his room.
"I wonder which girl is thinking of me." Lin Tian rubbed his nose, turned over, and went back to sleep. Their first game of the Eastern Conference Finals wouldn't start until the day after tomorrow! Before that, the entire Knicks team had already rested for four days.
They had a rest period of almost a week, and the team's physical strength and condition had reached their peak. They were just waiting for someone to step up and get beaten up!
Hmm... but no rush, that's for the day after tomorrow.
Before the Eastern Conference Finals began, the stars of the four remaining teams in the Western Conference were asked the same question almost simultaneously.
Did Lin call you?
The reporters were quite curious about how bad Lin Tian's character could be, and they wanted to test where Lin Tian's bottom line was.
They wanted to see if this guy was shameless enough to remotely instigate others to play like their lives depended on it from the Western Conference semifinals onwards.
Many reporters have already drafted their headlines!
One man dominates the league's situation; who is the mastermind behind the NBA?
The NBA's behind-the-scenes figure has been revealed! He could plunge the league into chaos with just a few phone calls!
"I Want to Fight, and You Must Fight! Ares' Human Form: Lin Tian!"
"Can one hand control the heavens, or can Fu Yu manipulate the clouds? Who truly holds the greatest power in this alliance?"
The King of War is Born! The Prince of New York Remotely Commands the Alliance into Chaos!
……
Honestly, the reporters had prepared all sorts of articles, but to their disappointment, there were none!
None of the guys in the west received a call from Lin Tian. Almost all of them spread their hands in confusion, saying: "No, I didn't receive a call from Lin. We haven't been in touch for a long time."
Well, not everyone looks confused; there are exceptions.
For example, Kobe's expression was full of something indescribable. At first, the reporters didn't understand what Kobe's strange expression meant.
Later, Kobe asked, "So, who did Lin call?"
Good guy!
The reporters realized that this guy was obviously jealous, or rather, not necessarily jealous; he was simply competitive.
Lin called other people, why couldn't he call me? Am I not standing high enough?
Kobe's reaction, coupled with the rumors surrounding the Lakers before the season, immediately prompted many reporters to start writing.
Kobe Bryant longs to team up with Lin Tian! He believes a dual backcourt is the strongest combination!
Rumor has it that Kobe Bryant was fed up with the boring half-court game and wanted to run!
Is the aging Shaq being rejected? Rumors suggest the Lakers offered Shaquille O'Neal for Lin Tian, but were turned down!
Of course, this guy's reaction and the reckless reporting by those unscrupulous journalists are isolated cases.
Most reporters came up empty-handed, and most players simply shook their heads to indicate that nothing of the sort happened, adding that it was quite clever of Lin Tian to cheer on Billups and Wade respectively!
One disappointed reporter even said directly: "Lin Tian! Why did you only reach out so little? Couldn't you have helped us make a few more calls?"
Lin Tian: Oh no, I forgot! Damn it, I'm still too kind-hearted!
Kindness is often taken advantage of, and a kind heart often leads to being wronged and scapegoated!
Next season, I, Lin, will not make this mistake again. I will call the other stars in every round of the game and tell them to cheer up, play hard, and see you in the finals!
We must start a fire, stir up the water, and beat these bastards until their brains are so rotten they're edible!
This is what joyful basketball is all about!
Let's keep in touch, stay connected, and have fun together!
We're all family, we're all brothers.
Of course, the Western Conference stars can't just accept one interview and be done with it; their Western Conference semifinals aren't over yet!
The Spurs vs. Suns matchup can be described as a head-on clash between a liberal system and a tightly integrated tactical approach!
The Spurs, with their methodical, machine-like movements, faced off against the free-spirited, constantly running Suns!
Given the salary situation and current player composition of these two teams, many people believe that these two teams will be championship contenders for many years to come, and their rivalry will definitely continue to unfold in the coming years!
After the first four matches, each side won one game, resulting in a 2-2 tie, and the match once again became a crucial battle.
The Spurs had the upper hand in this game!
Despite playing away from home, they successfully took the initiative thanks to the performance of their two top stars!
James recorded a triple-double of 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists in just three quarters. In the crucial fourth quarter, although James only scored 5 points, McGrady, who had only scored 13 points in the first three quarters, took over and scored 17 points in the quarter, including a personal show where he scored 9 points in the last 5 minutes!
The two star players' outstanding performances secured a crucial victory for the Spurs on the road! The upcoming Game 6 will be held in San Antonio, and without a doubt, the Spurs have a fantastic opportunity to advance to the Western Conference Finals!
But the sixth game took another dramatic turn. That night, the Suns still couldn't stop the Spurs' duo, with James and McGrady combining for a super stat line of 75 points, 19 rebounds, and 17 assists.
But even the Spurs couldn't stop them!
他们的三分彻底爆发，纳什9中7，马里昂4中4，迪奥5中3，巴博萨4中2，贝尔7中3！
The team's five sharpshooters combined for 19 three-pointers with a 66% success rate! Their three-point barrage tore apart the Spurs' defense.
What made the Spurs even more desperate was that when the Spurs' defense expanded in the fourth quarter to focus on guarding the Suns' shooting, Nash's terrifying passing ability and the finishing ability of the number one draft pick "Monster" Martin began to shine!
Martin scored 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting in the quarter, completely dismantling the Spurs' interior defense. All 7 of those baskets came from Nash's passes!
The inside-outside connection between these two completely ripped apart the Spurs, tearing their once-proud defense and system to shreds tonight.
这个晚上的太阳队，纳什拿下23分21次助攻，马丁20分24个篮板！内外两名主要核心球员一起拿下双20的数据！
This explosive and highly efficient shooting performance, which makes one wonder if it was due to the combined effect of high shooting percentages from playing NBA LIVE, allows the Spurs to hold on until the fourth quarter before losing, which actually proves just how resilient and strong they are!
Unfortunately, they couldn't hold on, and the Suns won the game, forcing a Game 7 in the series!
In the crucial Game 7, both sides once again engaged in a high-scoring battle!
At this critical moment, Nash once again stepped up to the role of leader!
He racked up a perfect stat line of 44 points, 12 assists and 0 turnovers throughout the game. In the fourth quarter, Nash even hit 5 three-pointers and scored 21 points, explaining to everyone why he was last year's MVP and why he was able to lead the Suns to a qualitative change!
However, the Spurs' star duo failed to continue their excellent performance from the first two games tonight. Perhaps Marion and Bell, two excellent defenders, finally found the key to dealing with them, or perhaps the level of competition made them a little uncomfortable.
In short, when Nash was dominating, especially in the fourth quarter, neither McGrady nor James could provide a sufficient response or offer the team the help of a top-tier star.
The Spurs lost!
They squandered a winning position, taking a crucial game on the road and having a chance to end the series at home. After many years, they returned to the Western Conference Finals, but they couldn't hold on and were defeated by the Suns in two straight games, resulting in their elimination!
The Suns, on the other hand, have made it to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row!
As for their opponents?
The top-ranked Mavericks in the West faced off against the fourth-ranked Lakers.
The Mavericks' first place this season is well-deserved. Nowitzki had the best year of his career, and players like Terry around him are becoming more and more mature. The hot-tempered "Little General" Johnson is also showing more and more of the demeanor of a top coach.
Their first-place ranking in the West is a well-deserved achievement!
But the Lakers are different; they got their fifth place by deliberately losing.
Shaquille O'Neal is 35 years old this season. No matter how hard he tries to avoid injuries and extend his career and maintain his form for the championship, his aging is inevitably showing.
In last season's Finals, facing the double-teaming and high-intensity competition from the two Wallaces, O'Neal still had a 53% field goal percentage, but his average stats had dropped to 23 points and 11 rebounds.
This data is still quite excellent; 90% of centers never achieve this level of performance in their entire careers. However, for O'Neal, this represents a decline, a decline that is clearly visible to the naked eye.
This is a far cry from his previous monster-level stats of 35+13.
His dominance began to decline rapidly.
At the same time, Kobe became more and more mature, his offensive skills became more and more comprehensive and deadly, and he could do more and more. Before anyone knew it, Kobe's strength had surpassed that of Shaq.
And more importantly: Buss lost patience, and Los Angeles lost patience too! The Lakers' OK duo was very strong, but they couldn't win a single championship. In the past few years, they were either runners-up in the Finals or runners-up in the Western Conference. Their performance was consistently good, but they just couldn't get that damn championship trophy!
For other teams, this is an honor, but for the Lakers, it is a disgrace.
They are the Lakers, and their only goal has always been the championship. They want to surpass the Celtics and become the greatest franchise in history.
So during the offseason, the Lakers considered simply breaking up the team, but under the insistence of Jackson and West, owner Buss agreed to try for another year, but this would be the last year. If it still didn't work, he would choose to break up the team ahead of schedule!
It was for this reason that Jackson and West made up their minds after a secret discussion during the offseason.
It's appropriate to forgo the regular season altogether; as long as the team achieves a decent ranking, that's enough. They can use the regular season to rest and recuperate!
For this reason, O'Neal played only about 40 games in this year's regular season without suffering any injuries, Kobe also rested for 12 games, and other key rotation players such as Kirilenko, Fisher, and Prince also got a lot of rest time.
Despite this, the Lakers still managed to win 53 games and entered the playoffs in almost full strength!
In the first round, they easily defeated their arch-rivals, the Timberwolves, without much effort. In the second round, they also dominated the top-ranked Mavericks in the West!
Apart from being defeated in the first game by Nowitzki, who scored 33 points, and Terry, who scored 29 points, the Lakers won four consecutive games!
They easily won four straight games, eliminating the top-ranked Mavericks in the West with a score of 4-1, and successfully advancing to the Western Conference Finals!
If the first-round victory against the Timberwolves, who were without Garnett, was considered an unfair win, then in this round, the Lakers demonstrated absolute strength and unparalleled unity!
Shaquille O'Neal displayed his perfect physique and terrifying explosiveness after missing most of the season. He averaged 33 points and 13 rebounds in 5 games with a field goal percentage of 59%! O'Neal showed bravery and ferocity in this series.
He's telling everyone that the all-powerful Shaq is back!
Kobe, who won the scoring title in the regular season, was willing to relinquish ball possession at this time. He averaged only 27 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in the series. In this series, he showed his versatility and selflessness!
Kobe is also telling everyone: he is willing to give up everything for the championship!
These two partners, who had been teaming up for a full 10 years without winning a single championship, finally demonstrated perfect teamwork and absolute selflessness in their final year.
They will fight with all their might for their first championship!
In the Western Conference Finals, facing the Suns, the team they eliminated last year, the Lakers are ready to unleash their power! (End of Chapter)