NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 655: Historical Status Declines Again? (Daily Chapter)

On Monday, June 2009, 6, early in the morning, ESPN's Sports Center program began to preview the Lakers' "life-and-death battle."

This happens almost every year. When the visiting team comes to New York, it won't take long for them to enter a life-and-death battle and a battle of honor.

The Knicks had a thrilling Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals this year, but they didn't encounter any difficulties in other games. The same was true in the Finals, where the Lakers suffered a crushing defeat in both games.

In the studio, Hannah Storm continued to review the Lakers' post-game rhetoric for the fans in front of the TV, and also released the two head coaches' views on the upcoming game.

"Phil Jackson believes that the Lakers are lost on the road and the team has completely lost its rhythm. He firmly believes that this is not the true level of the players."

As soon as the voice fell, the director also turned the camera to the post-match interview last night. Phil Jackson did not deny that there was a problem with the game strategy. When talking about the crucial G3, the old man was still very confident:

"Superstars can't be contained. There's no doubt that we will bounce back strongly at home!"

"The coaching staff also has a lot of work to do, and we will proactively adjust our defensive strategies."

"I don't think the Knicks played better. Their victory was based on Lee's absolute personal ability. We played more united and we still have great opportunities in the subsequent games."

When talking about the players' individual abilities, Phil Jackson's expression was not very good. They were overwhelmed by three-pointers in the third quarter, and even responding with 2 points in time was of no avail.

Although the championship coach was very confident in front of the camera, most basketball commentators did not buy it and called the Lakers' game "basketball of the last century."

Kevin Negandhi, the co-host, is a die-hard Philadelphia fan. He doesn't like Li You very much, but with Excel's blessing, he has to say good things about him. His comments on Game 2 are a disguised mockery of Kobe:

"I think a lot of people are like me, and they're still not optimistic about the Lakers right now."

"When discussing defense, don't forget offense. The Lakers only scored 98 points as a team. Maybe this is a good performance in the Western Conference, but compared with the defending champions, the gap is still too big."

"We can listen to coach D'Antoni's point of view."

The director cut the camera back to D'Antoni, who was surrounded by sports reporters last night. There were microphones in front of the mustache. He did not show any anxiety when answering the questions, but said slowly and logically:
"Defense? We don't need to discuss this issue now. When we can score 120 points in a game, I don't think any team in the league will be our opponent."

D'Antoni was a little inflated. He was naturally in a good mood when he heard the praise. The flattery worked. When answering questions about the next game, he returned to his usual humble appearance:
"We won't let up. In fact, no one in the league knows how to win the finals better than Lee!"

“The coaching staff never worries about the dressing room and under Lee’s leadership, the boys are well prepared.”

Neither of the two head coaches talked about tactical issues. G2 was a typical individual crushing. Li You's shooting was so good that the mentality of the Lakers team collapsed.

The show is still going on, and the grand event in which New York fans celebrated their 7th consecutive championship in advance after the game last night was also reported. Los Angeles is too far away to witness the trophy moment on site, so everyone decided to celebrate at home.

98:121, the Lakers recovered in the second half, but were still crushed. In the eyes of New York fans, the series was settled.

ESPN's program continued until noon, and the situation of the Knicks team members leaving for Los Angeles was also reported in real time. No one on the team brought too many belongings, and all members traveled in simple clothing.

Li You didn't even have a bag. He wore sunglasses and a gray casual suit. He even posed when getting on the plane. He looked like he was going on vacation.

After the live news, Hannah Storm announced another good news to the fans when reporting on the Lakers:

"The Lakers have not updated the injury situation. Kobe Bryant will not miss the crucial game of G3."

"."

The Lakers encountered some minor problems after returning to Los Angeles, and Kobe once again had disagreements with the coaching staff.

Mamba was fed up with the role players' style of play, but Phil Jackson believed that this was the most suitable tactical arrangement for the team.

Under the triangle offense system, Duncan's data has some shadows of O'Neal. Although his "output" is somewhat insufficient, he performs better in organization.

Odom is also a beneficiary. The two partners in the interior have developed a tacit understanding, breaking through and shooting from inside and outside, instigating offense. With the arrival of Kardashian, Odom has a "second spring" and has outstanding performances in both games.

After the core three players took up most of the ball, the role players performed mediocrely, with the three-point shooting percentage in the two away games being less than 30%. This led to everyone practicing three-pointers during the afternoon training.

The atmosphere in the training hall was a bit dull, and Kobe was not with everyone. Barnes was a little dissatisfied with this. He thought that Mamba was blaming everyone:
"He wants to be a hero alone? We are protecting him! At least he won't need a psychiatrist like Iverson did."

Fisher shrugged his shoulders when he heard his friend's words, looked around, and found that everyone was shooting quietly, with only the assistant coach reminding and shouting from time to time. This atmosphere was much worse than the previous few days:

"That's how Kobe is. I understand him. He just wants to win back respect instead of being laughed at like he is now."

"Don't take it personally, Bro. He'll adjust."

Kobe's mental breakdown was also inseparable from the help of the old shark. He shouted "brotherhood" but after the game he and Li You were laughing together.

Not only that, O'Neal also announced that he would appear in TNT's Atlanta studio for Game 3 and commentate on the game with the trio. It goes without saying that the old shark would take the lead in the "meeting."

If the Lakers lose the finals again this year, there is a high possibility that Kobe and Duncan's historical status will decline. More and more "Old Dengs" will begin to criticize the two of them, and no one will sympathize with the losing Lakers.

Ariza, who is back in form, doesn't mind Kobe taking over the game. He even felt a sense of gloating after the Mamba was beaten in Game 2:

"If I can't do it, you can't do it either."

However, in order to stay in Los Angeles, Ariza is not stupid enough to complain in person at this time. He actively demonstrated his value in the team. For tomorrow night's game, he specially found assistant coach Rambis:
"I can continue to defend Lee, Kobe can't do it at all. We all know that. The coach is right. You can talk to him."

How to persuade Mamba to give up the matchup is also a difficult problem. The Knicks' No. 3 will not take on too many offensive tasks, which is a good thing for defensive players.

The old man from KFC hoped that Kobe could save his energy on the defensive end, so the matchup was changed in G1. But after one game, Mamba was "kidnapped" by the media, and now he's back to the old problem.

"Phil will make the arrangements. Don't worry. Kobe will definitely make the right choice in the end."

Rambis, wearing black-framed glasses, patted Ariza on the shoulder and said nothing more. The coaching staff actually pinned their hopes on the Knicks role players' shooting percentages on the road would drop, which was the most important thing.

Duncan, who was practicing free throws silently, did not participate in the debate. He did not express his opinion on the bus last night. In his opinion, it is impossible to defeat the old rival by relying on so-called defense. Many years ago, some people mentioned that defense won the championship, but in recent years, this statement suddenly disappeared. The commentators collectively suffered from amnesia, and offensive basketball became the answer.

Anyone can see that Gasol has not been able to return to his best form on the defensive end after returning from injury, and Li You doesn't want to lead the team on defense anymore.

After the training session, when everyone returned to the locker room, Duncan took the initiative to speak again, looking at the unhappy Kobe and suggested:

"We have to play better on the offensive end. There is something wrong with the refereeing standards at Madison Square Garden. Forget about these two games."

"You need to find yourself, Bro. We all know you can do it. Tomorrow night is our home game."

The Cavaliers can be taken care of, so the Lakers can naturally enjoy the same treatment. This is the home court advantage. Everyone looked at Kobe, who spread his hands slightly, then stood up and said seriously:
"Danger, Tim! Don't worry about my condition, I know what to do!"

"."

Odom secretly curled his lips as he watched the two people communicating. He compromised with Kobe every time. He didn't like such an arrangement. In this year's matchup, he thought he had more advantages on his side, but in the end no one assisted him.

Vujacic seemed to understand his teammates' thoughts, but he was not interested in participating in the discussion. With nearly 8 players rotating, he had no chance to perform.

Due to the distance, it is difficult for the Knicks to start training immediately after flying here. This is an opportunity for the Lakers, as the old rivals' game status is likely to fluctuate.

Phil Jackson did not give the players too much time to discuss freely. After entering the locker room, he clapped his hands repeatedly, then looked at everyone and said seriously:

"You are not rookies anymore. Be smart in tomorrow night's game. I don't want to see anyone complaining to the referee. Remember, this is our home court."

The little-known Sun Yue was secretly shocked when he heard the term "home-court advantage" again. This was somewhat different from what he had imagined about the NBA. It turned out that everyone relied on the whistle. He was looking forward to tomorrow night's game.

On Tuesday, June 6th, at 9 p.m. tonight, the life-and-death battle G20 will officially begin.

During the pre-game show, O'Neal appeared in the TNT studio. Like the other three, the old Shark was dressed in a black suit and acted as a basketball commentator in a serious manner.

When discussing just the first question, the scene was filled with a joyful atmosphere, and O'Neal once again sent his blessings to his little brother:

"You know, I witnessed Lee's great performance on the spot, and when the New York fans kept cheering, I realized that Lee scored 50 points under Kobe's defense."

"Lee was more dominant than me in scoring and I just want to wish my little brother good luck and hope God is there to see his efforts!"

23中16，三分线外14中9，罚球9中9，50分7篮板7助攻2抢断1失误，李佑只用了36分钟，就贡献了这份数据。

18中7，三分线外6中2，罚球8中8，24分4篮板5助攻1抢断3失误，科比在下半场迎来爆发，交出了一份体面数据。

The director once again compared the two's statistics. When Charles Barkley heard the word "effort", he turned his head and retorted:

"Why do you always emphasize this? We have all won MVP awards. For players like us, working hard to stay in physical condition is something we have to do every day."

"The problem with Kobe is that he is overrated. He shouldn't be in the same discussion as Lee. When we discuss those great players, no one talks about hard work."

"Honors and statistics are what should be mentioned. After seeing this year's finals, I think Kobe should no longer be included in the discussion of great players."

O'Neal was already smiling in his heart. The worse his little brother's life was, the happier he was. However, on the surface, he still pretended to disagree and emphasized again:
"Kobe and I won championships. He is a championship guard. He deserves to be in the discussion of the top 20 in history."

"Even though he has been losing since I left the Lakers, it's not just his problem."

Kenny Smith on the other side tried hard to control his expression. The two of them sang the same tune and kept belittling Kobe. It was difficult for him to refute this. After all, Mamba's performance in the two games was really not good:
"We got the news that the Lakers are very likely to change their defensive matchup. The attempt in G2 completely failed. Shaq, what do you think about this?"

O'Neal was a little unhappy to hear that Kobe would no longer play against Li You. Apparently, this was arranged by the old man at KFC. He didn't want to see his little brother "show off" at home:
"I don't think this is a good choice. Kobe is the best perimeter defender on the team and he shouldn't give this task to Trevor Ariza."

"."

Such an unobjective conclusion almost made Ernie Johnson, who was sitting in the middle, speechless. Kobe was beaten in single defense, but he still faced the challenge? The old Shark obviously wanted to have fun:

"I'm more looking forward to the Lakers' three-point shooting getting back to normal! The Knicks' bench lineup performed very well, and the passing of Boris Diaw and Rajon Rondo was impressive."

"Shaq, who do you think is going to be the X-factor for the Lakers tonight?"

Really not wanting to see his little brother win the crucial game, the petty O'Neal started to speak in a sarcastic tone and gave his answer in a suggestive way:
"As a team leader, I never pin my hopes of winning on a sudden explosion from my teammates."

"Tim Duncan has done his job well. He showed in the game why he will be the tactical core of the Lakers. The MVP has done his best to show himself."

"If we want to win at home, Kobe must become the X factor. I hope he can perform better under Lee's defense."

Charles Barkley began to shake his head again. He firmly believed that the Lakers would soon usher in the battle of honor. He stopped discussing Kobe and mentioned Duncan's situation again:
"Tim Duncan had a chance to be in the discussion of great players, but now it seems he made the wrong choice."

"The combination of him and Kobe cannot win the championship. After watching the Game 2, I even have a feeling that the Lakers are lagging behind in all aspects from tactical play to lineup depth."

"If he loses the finals again, Duncan could consider playing in New York at the end of his career"

Such an outrageous view caused three people in the studio to laugh and curse. Duncan has the opportunity to create a new record after losing all six finals!
With one hour left before the game started, in the visiting team's locker room at Staples Center, many reporters gathered around Li You, who had just finished warming up. In the past two days, there has been more and more discussion about Duncan losing.

"Lee, if the Lakers lose, do you think this year's Finals defeat will affect Duncan's historical status?"

Duncan, who is one year older than Li You, is also a veteran. At the end of his career, basketball commentators have begun to discuss the topic of historical rankings again.

The ESPN reporter wanted to make some fun of the game, but belittling the opponent would easily affect the "gold content of the championship", so Li You just smiled and responded:
"Failure is also worth celebrating. Whether it's Duncan or Kobe, they are both great players of this era."

"Young fans in the future will not forget our rivalry!"

(End of this chapter)