976. A Must-Win Game!
"Los Angeles Lakers beat New York Knicks away, countdown to winning the championship"
"One more win, the Los Angeles Lakers lead 3-0, there is no suspense about the sweep, and New York may get the first ten-game losing streak in the history of the Finals?"
"The great Los Angeles Lakers, Coach Z made good on his promise and they were able to keep winning"
"It's O'Neill again, maybe New York is stronger without O'Neill?"
"The two contributed 81 points, Marbury and Van Exel tonight are Jordan and Pippen, and O'Neal is most sorry for them"
Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New York Knicks away, whether it is a small away win or a big win, as long as it is a victory, the Los Angeles Lakers will get a match point, a 3-0 match point, for the NBA, although there are all kinds of magical records in this magical league, but there is no doubt that no team has completed the reversal in the case of 3-0 down, that is, now the Los Angeles Lakers have definitely defeated the New York Knicks, and the championship is only a matter of time.
It is precisely because of this that the day after the end of this game, almost all the media in the United States are congratulating Zhuang Fei and the Los Angeles Lakers in advance, which is not a matter of doubt, now even God may not be able to lead the New York Knicks to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, and what is more interesting is that at this time, Lakers fans in Los Angeles have begun to prepare for the championship celebration after this game, In fact, these people are still thinking about what kind of way to welcome Zhuang Fei and the Los Angeles Lakers in triumphant return.
In such a national atmosphere, the New York Knicks, the other team in the Finals, were all but forgotten, and this team had high hopes before the series began. Teams that think they can do the Lakers a lot of damage now seem like just the wishful thinking of the pundits. This team is playing badly. It's so bad that the experts who were optimistic about them not so long ago don't even want to mention them now.
Of course, many NBA experts don't want to mention the New York Knicks, a team that only disappointed them greatly, but these people have not forgotten the league's No. 1 center O'Neal, who performed the most deranged in this series, so to speak, after Marbury and Van Exel broke out in the third game to lead the New York Knicks to play the best game of the Finals, these people's accusations against O'Neal have reached an unprecedented level, and the former four centers and the current No. 1 center are almost criticized for not even having any value.
"O'Neill? I know he was one of the greatest players in the league. He is the youngest of the top 50 stars, he was also one of the best centers in history, he has created a lot of legends, but those are in the past, and now, this big man who was extremely brilliant in the past is now performing disgustingly, I believe that if the starting center of the New York Knicks is not O'Neal, but Yao Ming, the New York Knicks will definitely not win one of the three games. The first two games were not lost by nearly 60 points."
"This is a player who has left the NBA and his performance with the New York Knicks does not deserve his status. Look at the 2 years he has left on his contract, 2 years of 55 million, the highest annual salary in the league, which will make him the NBA's highest-paid imbecile player representative, his performance is not even worth 8 million now, he is an absolute cancer of this team, suppressing the ability of other players and having no way to show his ability"
This is the Los Angeles Times' second run bombardment of O'Neal after the end of this game, and the Los Angeles Times's point of view has also been recognized by most of the media, it can be said that this game will not long ago The trend of spitting on O'Neal by his full name has risen to a level again, if in the past, everyone scolded O'Neal just because he couldn't lead the team to win, he didn't show his strength, he didn't do what a leader should do, this is just his personal behavior, It has nothing to do with other people, and now, when these people judge O'Neal, it is no longer just a personal behavior of O'Neal, at least some of his teammates such as Marbury and Van Exel, and O'Neal has also risen from an unqualified leader to the level of a team cancer, which can be said to be too serious in degree.
Of course, no matter how the outside world criticizes O'Neal at this time, it has nothing to do with Zhuang Fei and the Lakers, Zhuang Fei and the Lakers don't care about these at this time, after all, the Lakers are actually very easy now, and the 3-0 score allows them to deposit their victory in the bank's safe, as long as they don't want to, no one can steal or take away their victory.
Therefore, after the end of the third game with the New York Knicks, these Lakers players also walked around New York, unlike San Antonio or Salt Lake City, in these two places, Zhuang Fei will prohibit his team from going to the street between games, if you want Jordan to be poisoned like Jordan in Salt Lake City, you can't find out, and in New York, Zhuang Fei doesn't stop it, especially in Manhattan, although Zhuang Fei can't go to the street himself, but Lakers players can still do it, The biggest characteristic of fans in big cities and fans in small cities is that they are equally crazy but moderate, and Zhuang Fei can also rest assured that these Lakers players will go out.
Of course, compared with the current ease of the Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Knicks are a little less relaxed, at least at this time in the New York Knicks' head coach's office, the head coach of this team, Phil Jackson, is not so good-looking now, or the head coach of the New York Knicks is always worried about the next Finals.
After all, for anyone in New York, the next game can not be lost, if the next game is swept away, then the New York Knicks will become a team that has been swept in the Finals twice in a row, and it is also a team that has lost 10 consecutive games in the Finals, such a shame Phil Jackson can't bear it, and similarly, this old opponent of Zhuang Fei is not willing to Zhuang Fei to win the championship trophy on his own turf, Although before the series began, he said that one of his most fulfilling things was at Staples Arena, in the whole court; The Los Angeles Lakers fans booed New York to the top of the NBA. But if Zhuang Fei also does this. So. This is not the greatest sense of accomplishment for him, but the greatest shame.
"Now no matter what, I'm going to have to win two games in a row."
Thinking of this, the head coach of the New York Knicks also gritted his teeth, for him, this year is an extremely important year in his career, after all, this is the second time he has led the team to the Finals for two consecutive years since he left the Bulls, although it has become a fact that he has led the team to the runner-up for two consecutive years, but he will never allow himself to be swept for the first time in the Finals. Coupled with the Bulls' 6 finals and the Lakers' 2 finals, he has entered the NBA's final finals a total of 9 times, won six championships and 2 runners-up in the first 8 times, but none of them were swept, and now the ninth, although the most difficult one, he will never allow such a thing to happen.
Although Phil Jackson doesn't want to contribute his first Finals sweep to Zhuang Fei this year, it is really difficult to beat Zhuang Fei this year, after all, this old rival has lost a total of 4 games with the Lakers in the regular season and playoffs this year, which is an incredible record. For such a team and an opponent, Phil Jackson knows. Even if his team is at its peak, he may not be able to beat them, let alone the current internal and external troubles, but no matter what, he must win the next game, and what he is counting on now is that O'Neill can find himself again, which is the only hope that he can win
"Stephen, what's that big bag you're holding?"
In the hotel where Zhuang Fei and the Los Angeles Lakers stayed, Zhuang Fei looked at the hotel TV with great interest, at this time he was not watching the game video, the performance of the New York Knicks in the last few games has no value in watching their game video at all, in fact, for the next game, Zhuang Fei does not need to have too much preparation, as long as the Los Angeles Lakers can play normally, the winner of the next game is basically no suspense.
It's just that just when Zhuang Fei felt a little bored watching TV, his assistant walked in with a few big bags of things, which also made Zhuang Fei stunned.
"What gift?" Today, the Lakers players have been shopping outside for a long time, and it is not a big fuss to bring him some things back, but looking at these big bags of things in Green's hand is not a small gift.
"It's all some clothes and jewelry, there is a fashion week in Manhattan today" After Green finished speaking, he also smiled and carefully put these things in his hand on Zhuang Fei's bed, and Zhuang Fei smiled helplessly after listening to his assistant's answer, New York is not only a world-famous financial city, but also a world-famous fashion capital, where there is a fashion week near Broadway almost every month, and various brands of brand-name clothing from all over the world can be bought here.
It's just that for Zhuang Fei, aren't these players of his making fun of him for not knowing how to dress up? In fact, Zhuang Fei absolutely does not agree with the fashion taste of these black players, although whether it is Hill or Szebiak or Hardaway and Webb or even Paul and Kobe Bryant in the Lakers team, they are all fashionable men, but the style they like is really not what Zhuang Fei likes, and it was the same when he was in the Timberwolves or the Celtics, most of the players under Zhuang Fei felt that Zhuang Fei was too earthy, and even very beautiful, and the media criticized Zhuang Fei in the newspaper for this, As the top coach of the NBA, he has no awareness of the top coach at all.
"Coach, they are also for your good, you are dressed like this is indeed like an old man in the forties and fifties of the last century, although you and Popovich Pat Riley are the top coaches in the NBA, but you don't forget that you are twenty or thirty years younger than them, you are still a young man" Green was unwilling to 'teach' Zhuang Fei when he showed Zhuang Fei the clothes given to him by these Lakers players, Zhuang Fei could teach him a lesson in other aspects, but in this regard he thought he was qualified to teach Zhuang Fei.
It's just that what the Lakers assistant coach didn't know at this time was that Zhuang Fei wanted to vomit when he saw him dressed at this time, with colorful and black-framed glasses, Zhuang Fei didn't want such a taste, and what was even more devastating was that the assistant coach of the Lakers still had all kinds of gold chains hanging around his neck, wrists and even waist. It's like an explosive household. Zhuang Fei strongly disagrees with the black people's habit of getting tattoos and hanging jewelry all over their bodies.
Of course. Although Zhuang Fei has always looked down on the dressing of these black people, there is no need for Zhuang Fei to say it to sweep away Green's interest, after all, they are all for their own good, but it is obvious that after returning home, Zhuang Fei must have loosened this big bag of things outside, in the past, Zhuang Fei would give these things that he didn't need to Director Li of the blue tube center most of the time, and this time it is estimated that this is still the case. After all, Zhuang Fei really can't give it to others.
At this time, Zhuang Fei's mental activity was very intense, and at this time, Green, who was helping Zhuang Fei sort out these things, would not know what Zhuang Fei was thinking, after following Zhuang Fei for more than 10 years, he admired Zhuang Fei in all aspects, and all aspects of Zhuang Fei were perfect in his opinion, but this was a little too sloppy, although he had been trying to change Zhuang Fei's taste over the years, but the effect was not very great, which also made the assistant coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and the disciple of Zhuang Fei very helpless.
So every time this happens to something like this. This student of Zhuang Fei will basically count down Zhuang Fei for half a day, and he will not stop until Zhuang Fei promises to change next time.
Of course. At this time, because the results of the finals have been extremely clear, and the ease of the Lakers did not make Zhuang Fei feel that there was anything wrong, for most teams in the NBA, after 3-0, basically the fourth game is a direct collapse of the game, after all, for most people, who will continue to fight hard in a war that has no possibility of winning? Even if there is a reason to be desperate, it is also a question of how much confidence and how much energy can be played, and in this case, there is really no need for the Los Angeles Lakers and Zhuang Fei to care about the next game
At seven o'clock in the evening on June 16, 2005, Madison Garden Plaza, New York, the fourth game of the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks in the finals of this season, in the last game, the New York Knicks lost to the Lakers at home with their home court advantage and tenacious fighting spirit in the absence of O'Neal, which also made many New York Knicks fans extremely pleased, so in this game, the fans who were expected to come to the scene should not be so crazy, but the game has not yet started, The fans here did not watch the team lose to the Lakers again, as everyone expected, and finally watched the Lakers win the championship in front of them.
For New York Knicks fans, this may be the last time they will see their team's performance in the Finals this year, maybe for them, the team's three consecutive defeats have made the ambitious them as painful as Dowland, but there is no doubt that the fighting spirit of the New York Knicks in the last game makes these fans have no way to give up this team, at least this team still has hope now, no matter what O'Neal is doing now, don't they still have Marbury, don't they still have Van Exel? So they still have a reason to cheer and go crazy in this game, and they also have a reason to expect a miracle from the team
"Fei'er, it looks like you're going to be swept by me this year, I think this should be your first time in the finals."
Zhuang Fei looked at the head coach of the New York Knicks in front of him, who was also his opponent in the finals last year, and said with a smile, and after Zhuang Fei finished talking with a smile, the head coach of the New York Knicks' face also changed.
"Hmph, don't be happy too early, I don't know who wins and who loses now" Although he knew that Zhuang Fei was deliberately provoking him, but seeing Zhuang Fei's face at this time, Phil Jackson was still angry, after all, with the relationship between these two people, for Phil Jackson, any sentence of Zhuang Fei would make Phil Jackson overinterpret.
So Zhuang Fei sometimes likes to say something that angers Phil Jackson, after all, the effect is very good every time, but to Zhuang Fei's slight surprise, this time Phil Jackson is still very angry after his provocative play, but soon the New York Knicks head coach calmed down.
"Hmph, what if you beat me again this year? I'm still one more championship than you, and I've created a dynasty on a team to win championships, and you don't have me yet."
The head coach of the New York Knicks did not lose his square inch because of Zhuang Fei's anger, but instead angered Zhuang Fei, which also made Zhuang Fei a little stunned, and thought that the person he met was not Phil Jackson.
"This guy is a little different today."
Finally, when Zhuang Fei woke up and looked at the back of Phil Jackson leaving, he also thought with a smile.
Before the game started, Zhuang Fei and Phil Jackson began to fight, and like Zhuang Fei and Phil Jackson, O'Neal and Kobe, who were hot on the court at this time, are now far more hostile than these two head coaches.
Especially when the two looked at each other, the hostility of wanting to pick up a shotgun and kill each other made the other players on both sides of the team a little frightened.
"I won this game"
Almost at the same time, O'Neal and Kobe's hearts rang with this sentence as they looked at each other. (To be continued......)