NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 623 Basketball makes people "full of tears". (Daily chapter)
Wednesday, March 2009, 3 is a memorable day for fans of Allen Iverson!
Iverson, who returned to the Eastern Conference, suffered his 47th career defeat at the Palace of Auburn Hills. From entering the league in 96 to the present, Li You has never lost when the two met.

The only encouraging thing about this game was that Iverson, who was injured, rose to the challenge, did not make any excuses, was beaten cleanly and led the team to direct defeat.

116:101, in back-to-back away games, the Knicks successfully avoided losing streak, with a record of 56 wins and 8 losses, still ranking first in the league.

At the end of the game, some fans in the Palace of Auburn Hills had already left early, but there were still many people booing.

Rasheed Wallace, dressed in a black suit, looked at Iverson with a numb expression as he sat dejectedly in the middle of the court. The son of Philadelphia covered his face with his hands. He failed to prove himself, and his "shaving his head to show his determination" did not play any role.

At the end of the season, like many teams, the Pistons suffered a wave of injuries. Hamilton, Wilson Chandler and Rodney Stuckey supported the team's offense, but the defense declined sharply.

The inside line of rookie Jason Maxiell and veteran Antonio McDyess also failed to show "iron-blooded defense". Starting with the collapse of the outside line, the two also had big problems in protecting the basket.

On the ESPN commentary booth, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were unable to comment too much when they saw the Knicks' rebounding number of 59 in the technical statistics.

The score difference was not big, but the Pistons were suppressed throughout the game and lost 20 rebounds. Looking back to the time when Larry Brown coached this team, this gap was really unimaginable.

"If Lee can play for more than 6 minutes in the fourth quarter of every game, maybe he can get more triple-doubles!"

"He grabbed five offensive rebounds tonight. Lee's prediction of where the ball would land was incredible. I don't mean to blame Iverson, but on the defensive end, he obviously needs more help."

After looking at the technical statistics, Mark Jackson started a new round of blowing X. Too many frontcourt rebounds led to the Knicks having 92 possessions in this game.

而李佑出场36分钟，22中15，三分线外11中7，罚球11中10，轰下47分10篮板12助攻4抢断2盖帽2失误三双数据。

活塞队难得地全美直播，结果伤愈复出的艾弗森19中6，三分线外5中0，罚球8中5，仅贡献17分2篮板6助攻2抢断5失误
Although this is Iverson's normal performance, the son of Philadelphia looks particularly bad compared to Li You.

The Knicks' tactics are not complicated. With the departure of Artest and David Lee, three-pointers and hand-offs have begun to decrease, but the violent transition offense and high-intensity rotation defense make up for the shortcomings.

Relying on a lineup of one big and four small players, the Pistons made a strong effort in the second half and were overwhelmed. If it weren't for Iverson's persistence, the game would have ended earlier in the fourth quarter.

Seeing Iverson sitting on the floor for a long time without getting up, Van Gundy shook his head slightly, a trace of regret in his eyes, and finally made a conclusion:

"I respect Iverson's performance, but both the game and the advanced data show a result. He is no longer the scoring champion."

"Coach Michael Curry made the right choice by trying to use him as a substitute. He is not suitable to play against Lee. It was like this in the past, and it is even worse now!"

"You can understand, Mark, that competition in the NBA is sometimes cruel. Some fans may not want to face the facts, but Lee once again tells them who the real ruler is."

"."

The injury caused Iverson to lose a lot of explosive power. Coupled with some bad defensive habits, Li You, who had missed a shot in the previous game, successfully regained his touch. The Son of Philadelphia became autistic on the spot.

Walking towards the player tunnel dejectedly, without saying hello to his opponent, Iverson's eyes turned red again amid the boos from the audience. He worked so hard, but ended up being humiliated.
"47! 47!."

There were obviously some fun-loving fans on both sides. As soon as Iverson approached, everyone started shouting. With 32 wins and 31 losses, the Pistons have a record that is expected to make the playoffs, but Detroit fans would rather the team play badly.

"F**k! Shut your filthy mouth."

Iverson, who broke through the defense, fought back at the fans with red eyes. Soon, debris was thrown down and the security personnel had to intervene and escorted the big star back to the passage.

Mark Jackson, who noticed the commotion, didn't know how to comment on the situation, but when he thought about the possibility that the Pistons could get the 8th place, he felt a little gloating for a moment:

"If the Pistons meet the Knicks again in the playoffs, this may be Iverson's last chance!"

"I'm not expecting them to beat the defending champions. I think many fans, like me, want to see Iverson show his strength in front of Lee."

The Knicks will have five consecutive away games starting on Sunday and will have to spend the whole week on planes and in hotels. However, Li You, who was being interviewed, did not look tired at all and instead seemed full of energy after the game.

We lost unexpectedly in Milwaukee, but we always find extra motivation against our old rivals.
Doris Burke began to participate in ESPN's interviews. The New York-born female reporter felt that if Iverson could play 82 games, perhaps the home team would have won all the games. She witnessed Li You's bad taste:
"Lee, we noticed that we completely suppressed our opponent in rebounding in this game. Is this a new game strategy?"

The noisy gym did not affect Li You's good mood. When he heard this question, he even joked with his opponent:
"Tyson grabbed 22 rebounds by himself, which is more than half of the opponent. We did start to pay attention to offensive rebounds, but this game was more of a personal suppression in my opinion."

"We are faster, more agile and stronger physically, which will give us a huge advantage when the game of basketball returns to its most primitive confrontation."

"We were leading by 20 rebounds but only won by 15 points. The consecutive away games still affected everyone's condition."

"."

With a smile on her face, Doris Burke nodded, she also felt that she had won too little.

In the game that ended earlier, the Heat defeated the Celtics 92:102. Artest and Pierce both missed shots. After the game, the champion forward once again spoke wildly:

"I took care of that wimp, and someone let the other team get 27 points. I don't need any training."

Ray Allen performed extremely efficiently, but Wade was also in good shape, making 20 of 9 shots and contributing 32 points. He and David Lee had a better cooperation, but they couldn't shut up the championship forward.

When Doris Burke brought up this topic, Li You just raised his eyebrows. The Heat had been on TV shows and in newspapers every day recently, and the discussion was even higher than that of the Lakers. He naturally saw the fun in this:
"I know Mehta, he is very focused during the game, that's how he plays, Wade needs to keep communicating!"

"In terms of finals experience alone, Mehta surpasses 90% of the players in the league. Wade can ask him for advice. I believe these championship experiences will definitely help the Heat."

"."

In the visiting team's locker room, all the Knicks players were fist-bumping with Chandler to celebrate. Although he has been physically tired this season, the "Boxing King" has been in good shape, stimulated by the statistics.

As the regular season is about to end, Chandler is still leading Howard in rebounding. He feels that the rebounding title is waving at him. Unfortunately, he may not catch up with him in the DPOY selection.

Chalmers, who was helping to distribute the data tables, saw that everyone was in a good mood, and he started to flatter them again:
"Tyson is the one who can effectively defend and protect the rim, while some people can only show off their blocks!"

"Like Kobe, only look at the defensive stats, this guy sucks, the sports media only look at the highlights"

Chandler didn't exaggerate. He and Howard had played against each other directly and had been teammates on the national team. He was very familiar with Meng Xin's physical condition. In terms of physical fitness, he was indeed not as good as the other player: "This guy's physical fitness has improved too much. It is really completely different from the past few seasons."

"The Celtics have been losing lately, maybe this year we'll meet the Cavaliers in the conference finals."

Tough guy Garnett has a high probability of missing the playoffs. Chandler breathed a sigh of relief but was also a little worried. Although Gazuric, who is in the normal rotation, is healthy, the team will not put the twin towers in the starting lineup.

The coaching staff also provided a contingency plan for the Cavaliers' height advantage, but Gasol, who is with the team, has been unlucky recently. First, he sprained his ankle, then he developed back pain, and his knee inflammation problem has not been resolved.

"At the end of May, I think I can get back on the court."

Gasol, who was wearing a formal suit and exercising in the locker room, said that his knee has gotten much better, which made Thaddeus Young, who was handing him water, look conflicted. He also wanted to get more playing time.

Since the next two away games are against the Timberwolves and Bobcats, the former has already dived for the No. 1 pick, and the latter is not strong enough and the schedule pressure is not great, everyone started discussing the issue of the playoffs.

Dior has lost weight successfully recently. After the Frenchman felt a sense of crisis, he did work harder. When talking about the problem of rebounding, he immediately boasted confidently:

"It should be a headache for the opponent. We rarely attack in the low post. Frontcourt rebounds rely more on prediction. I can play the No. 4 position!"

"."

Rondo shook his head and seriously threw out the Cavaliers' data. The opponent's low-post attack ratio began to climb after the All-Star Weekend. Howard's good condition won the trust of the coaching staff:

"We can't let this guy get easy passes in the post"

The conversation went off topic, and Marion stared at the topic. The other Eastern Conference teams were ignored at this moment:

"Maybe we should think about our first-round opponent."

As soon as the words fell, the locker room was filled with a joyful atmosphere. The old players laughed happily, and Gazuric even grinned and laughed at the teams in the lower half:

"The Pistons? The Bulls? The 76ers? Man, these teams aren't competitive at all. They can't even win 50 games!"

"In my opinion, maybe the 8th place can't even get 40 wins! Welcome to the Eastern Conference playoffs. We have already secured a spot in the conference finals."

Recently the coaching staff started updating the video course content. Marion thought it was too early, but after hearing everyone's discussions, he suddenly felt that it made a lot of sense.

There is a high possibility that we will not face a 50-win team in the first round and semifinals. Compared with the competition in the Western Conference, the polarization is more serious.

After advancing to the conference finals, Marion once again felt the charm of the championship team. As long as he could defeat the hot Cavaliers, the door to the finals would be open to him:

“Basketball is so simple?”

There were only two games on Thursday, the 12th. Duncan's visit to San Antonio again attracted much attention. His old teammates returned from injury, and the former trio collided for the first time this season.

The other game is the Cavaliers away challenge to the Suns. Currently, LeBron James is still ranked second in the MVP rankings, but after winning the Player of the Month award again, he knows that he has no chance of winning the trophy.

The league seems to have made compensation in advance, and James is still working hard on this, with 52 wins and 11 losses, which is the best record he has led the team.

As the broadcaster of this game, TNT naturally had to warm up in advance. Due to the decline in ratings, Garnett was connected to the program, and the trio first focused on the Celtics who were losing streak.

In the video call, Garnett seemed very lonely. He basically said goodbye to the playoffs, unless the Celtics can make it to the finals, but this possibility is very small. He doesn't want to deceive himself:
"I want to say sorry to the fans. We had a perfect start and the team was in good shape, but I failed to live up to everyone's expectations."

"I'm about to turn 33, and every playoff is extremely important to me. I want to bring a championship to the Celtics."

Garnett, who had refused to be interviewed after his injury, revealed his true feelings this time and was choked up for a moment. Whenever he saw the news reporting on Li You, he felt despair.

The "Big Four" ultimately missed the finals. Garnett couldn't hold back at the thought of this happening. This was also the reason for the team's losing streak, and many players lost confidence.

In the studio, Ernie Johnson didn't expect Garnett to react so strongly to his playoff expectations, but he still had to ask the right questions:
"Kevin, this is your second season in the Eastern Conference. We all want to hear your opinion on the competitive environment here. Recently, the New York newspapers have been discussing the issue of the conference finals."

Boston is very close to New York. The playoffs haven't even started yet, but people next door are expecting Li You to beat up Iverson, beat up Wade, and finally teach the Cleveland duo a lesson.

The Celtics were simply ignored because they were no match for the Cavaliers.
"The competition in the top half was much more intense, which I would have laughed at in the past, but every team was playing hard, and Lee just destroyed everything."

"Here, you must have a strong heart. They will constantly attack you, laugh at you, and even humiliate you!"

"After coming to Boston, I've experienced more bad situations. Maybe you've seen Perkins and Glen Davis cry after losing, but they are real tough guys!"

"I respect Lee, but he should stand up for us sometimes instead of letting the media laugh at us."

Perhaps thinking about the consequences of losing this year, Garnett's eyes turned red again. Eastern Conference basketball made him feel painful!
Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith looked at each other. They didn't expect tough guy Garnett to "complain". New York's "saturation attack" did hurt them.

But when they thought about the scene of New York laughing at Los Angeles a few years ago, they felt that Garnett was actually treated quite well, at least he did not become a "clown."

During the nationwide live broadcast that night, the Lakers demonstrated their dominance, beating their opponents in less than three quarters. After the win, their record reached 52 wins and 13 losses, ranking third in the league.

At the end of the game, the camera was focused on Duncan and Popovich who was sitting in the front row. It was the first time the old man came to watch the game after being discharged from the hospital.

"Shhh!!"

Amid the boos, Duncan, wearing the Lakers' purple and gold training suit, kept hugging and greeting his former teammates. With 30 wins and 33 losses, it is difficult for the Spurs to make the playoffs.

When the camera was pointed at Popovich, the old man patted Duncan's shoulder hard, his eyes red. The Spurs had declined like this, and both of them felt a little uncomfortable:
"Tim, you're still welcome home!"

"."

(End of this chapter)