Pick Westbrook

Chapter 178 Two different levels of competition

"The Bucks are champions of the Eastern Conference."

Zen master Phil Jackson watched the scene of Artest lifting the Eastern Conference championship trophy on the TV, was silent for a while, and then decisively turned off the TV.

As early as the day before yesterday, the Lakers eliminated the Suns 4:1, and as everyone expected, they easily reached the finals.

Because of the early elimination of the Spurs and Mavericks, the Lakers didn't even have a viable opponent in the entire playoffs.

This year's trip to the playoffs even in the eyes of Zen Master Phil Jackson is the easiest time in his entire coaching career.

Originally, Zen Master had been expecting the Celtics in the East to stand out from the tight encirclement and join them in the finals. He was also ready to avenge the defeat of the Celtics in 08 and win the championship. Great resentment.

But it never occurred to me that the Celtics, who were comparable to the Lakers in terms of lineup and experience, would stop in the semifinals, and even after the season ended, their general manager Angie was very dissatisfied in his words.

Zen Master is thinking that if the Celtics announce the disintegration and reconstruction of the Big Three this summer, the Lakers will lose a real opponent, which will inevitably make him feel overwhelmed and alone.

"If the Celtics become our opponent, they will probably be able to open 4:6 with the Lakers. Of course we are 6, and they are 4!"

"If it's the Cavaliers that make it to the Finals, then we have a 100 percent chance of winning the championship."

"As for the Bucks"

Zen master suddenly paused at this time, remembering that the Lakers lost to the Bucks in the opening game, and he was deeply impressed by the team's passing and cutting tactics.

Of course, later this team also developed an eye-catching elevator door tactic, in short, it is a good opponent.

At this time, the Zen master suddenly closed his eyes, and after thinking for a long time, he opened his eyes and said, "90%!"

"The Lakers are fighting the Bucks, and the probability of us winning the championship is 90%!"

Milwaukee.

All the Bucks fans were crazy about celebrating the Eastern Conference championship. People took to the streets and believed that the Bucks would continue to play very exciting games on the stage of the Finals.

"It's lucky for Li Laina to play as a crotch kid, and he was brought into the finals by Westbrook and Curry."

"This is probably the greatest honor in this bastard's life."

"There are also our assistant coaches Tyronn Lue and Marshall. Which of these two is not a head coach level alone?"

"With the help of these two people, you can see that guy Li Lai is just watching the game on the court. He is so comfortable."

Naturally, the people of Milwaukee could not avoid ridiculing Li Lai at any time.

When the young fans or women on the side heard people talking about Li Lai, they couldn't help but smile knowingly.

In the past two years, teasing the head coach of the Bucks, Li Lai, has become a necessary activity after they eat, sleep and play cards.

It's just that the local sports newspaper Big Antlers is incompatible with the entire city of Milwaukee.

After the Bucks won the Eastern Conference championship, they were not optimistic about the Bucks' next championship journey, and even admitted that the Bucks would be directly swept by the Lakers and Kobe 4:0 to win the game.

At this time, all Milwaukee people unconsciously remembered two years ago, when Bucks owner Herbert Cole died and Lee came to take over as the head of the Bucks, the newspaper encouraged all the fans Go to the street to demonstrate and force Li to sell the team.

"Actually, that bastard Li Lai hasn't done a bad job in the past two years."

"Yeah, yeah, although I still look like I'm just waiting to die, but I finally know who is capable and who is not."

"No, he won Westbrook, Curry, Dragic, and George Hill. He also managed to keep Yi Jianlian and Villanueva. Sid Wallace, O'Neal and Iverson"

"There are also our two top assistant coaches in the league, Tyronn Lue and Marshall."

"Although Li Lai has no skills, he has a good eye."

"What's more, we're in the Finals now."

The fans in Milwaukee have become more and more satisfied with the Bucks. Although they have been cursing Li Lai non-stop, they still have some approval from the bottom of their hearts.

So no matter how despised the Bucks and Li Lai by the Antlers newspaper at this time, these fans are still satisfied with everything the team has shown in the past two years.

The day after the East and West finals, the NBA headquarters announced the upcoming finals schedule.

——On June 6, the NBA1-2009 season finals officially started.

ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBATV and other broadcast channels successively launched programs about the discussion and analysis of this year's finals.

Barkley shines on the show, with well-founded gags overwhelmingly getting all the other guests to agree with him.

"The Bucks are a very good offensive team. They are different from the Suns when their shooting percentage and court deterrence decline in the playoffs. Ruyi, even stronger in the playoffs."

"Curry's sudden play with the ball in the playoffs requires special attention from the Lakers. The Celtics died under this tactical play."

"At the same time, Artest and Rasheed Wallace are the two strongest defensive points of the Bucks. They will definitely cause Kobe Bryant great trouble in the finals."

"Particular attention should be paid to the depth of the Bucks' bench. They have Shaquille O'Neal, Iverson, Dragic, George Hill, Villanueva and many other capable players in the team."

"To put it into a point of view that Kenny Smith and I shared, the most critical point for the Cavaliers to be defeated by the Bucks is the depth of the bench. If the Cavaliers can still have a strong scoring point, the Eastern Conference Finals series will not It ended so early."

After finishing these series in a row, Barkley took a long sip of water and concluded: "The Lakers are champions!"

Magic Johnson on the side really wanted to slap Barkley in the face. For a long time, you talked so much about how great the Bucks are, and finally came up with the Lakers championship. The key is that I am the Lakers camp!what do i say now
Magic Johnson could only follow the other party's words: "You support the Lakers so much, I really want to know why."

Barkley smiled and said frankly, "Because of Kobe, Gasol, Odom, Bynum, old fish Fisher, Ariza."

"In terms of average height, the Lakers are way ahead of the Bucks."

"Certainly, the Bucks showed in the regular season that they're a team that's not afraid to excel with length talent."

"But this is the playoffs. Whether they are facing the Bobcats, Celtics or Cavaliers, they have never encountered a big man of this level like the Lakers."

"Gasol, Odom and Bynum, the three will beat the Bucks inside!"

Magic Johnson nodded at this time, agreeing with Barkley's point of view very much.

At least from ancient times to the present, teams with big men have indeed had an advantage in competition.

This also reminded the magician of the last time they were talking about the Bucks. Can this team that is incompatible with the entire NBA really win the championship with three points?
"If the Bucks can really win the championship, then they will completely break the NBA's game style formed over the years!"

Milwaukee.

Bucks training camp.

Reggie Miller was originally invited by TNT to participate in the topic discussion before the championship game, but he politely declined.

From TNT's point of view, this famous trash talker during his player days is still the Bucks' shooting trainer at this time. If he can come to participate in the discussion, he will definitely be able to compete with Barkley and others for a long time.

Reggie Miller has bigger things to do.

"Shoot more steadily!"

"Especially when catching and shooting while on the move, don't rush to shoot, slow down the rhythm first."

"Just like when you break through for a layup, you will choose to slow down and make steady shots. There is no need to rush this game."

Under the guidance of Reggie Miller, the Bucks players practiced three-point shooting in an orderly manner. Li Lai set the goal for the team. All players except O'Neal must complete 100 three-pointers before continuing to the next round. train.

At this time, Reggie Miller also saw Li Lai who was carefully watching the players' training from the sidelines, walked over and said.

"coach."

Li looked at Reggie Miller and nodded, and said, "Reggie, I heard that TNT invited you, why don't you go?"

Reggie Miller said: "At the moment when the team is in the finals, I want to fight side by side with the team no matter what. I don't have the heart to care about those things."

Li Lai was satisfied with Reggie Miller's professional attitude.

When signing the contract with Reggie Miller, the two also agreed that Reggie Miller does not need to be on the team all the time, but only needs a certain time to help the players train on the team.

But in fact, Reggie Miller has almost become a group with the players. Except for away games, Reggie Miller will accompany the players to complete shooting training in all home games or in Indiana.

In the playoffs, he even stays with the team completely, and will accompany all the training.

"Honestly, I never thought the Bucks would get to where they are today."

"Reaching the finals, the most successful record of the Pacers I led that year was this."

Reggie Miller said suddenly.

Li Lai knew there was something in the other party's words, and echoed, "The Pacers you led lost to the Lakers 2:4 back then. Coincidentally, we are playing the Lakers now."

"And your opponent was still on that team, Black Mamba Kobe Bryant."

Reggie Miller was lost in thought.

He is still worried about Kobe's matchup with him back then, and he clearly remembers that Kobe came back from a foot injury in the fourth game. He scored 4 points by shooting 27 of 14 shots, without a single free throw in the game. The moment O'Neal was sent off, Kobe said to Reggie Miller: "It's my turn to perform."

At the last moment, Kobe scored consecutively and made a tip-up with 5 seconds left in overtime, helping the Lakers win by two points.

It was that crucial game that completely fixed the situation of the two teams, and the Pacers also unfortunately lost the series.

Reggie Miller always came back from the memories, gritted his teeth at this time and said: "Kobe is a very strong opponent, maybe the James we met in the Eastern Conference Finals is equally strong, but the two have completely different playing styles .”

"James can bring a mediocre team to the Eastern Conference Finals or even the Finals, but Kobe can make a championship team stand out among all teams of the same level!"

"He's a killer!"

After hearing these words, Li Lai finally understood what Reggie Miller wanted to tell him when he came to him at this time.

He naturally agreed with the other party's statement. These days, Li Lai is also thinking about how to defend Kobe and limit the Lakers' triangle offense.

When defending the Cavaliers and James, he dared to firmly choose not to double-team James, but to defend Kobe with double-team or not?
Reggie Miller looked at Li Lai and continued: "Actually, I am already satisfied that you can lead this Bucks team to the Finals."

"Now more and more players, coaches, and celebrities have begun to pay attention to three-pointers, including Magic Johnson and Big Mouth Barkley, who agree with this offensive method."

"So that's enough. The Pacers failed to win the championship with three-pointers, and now the Bucks are completely unnecessary."

Li Lai interrupted suddenly: "Reggie!"

Reggie Miller was startled, then looked at Li Lai and put his arms around his shoulders and said with a smile.

"You think we'll lose too."

Reggie Miller blushed.

Not only him, who in the United States would believe that the Bucks can beat the Lakers?

That is the twin tower combination of Gasol and Bynum, any one of them can cause great damage to the inside of the Bucks.

Gasol and Bynum are not like Elvis Presley - Gerald Wallace is not considered the top of the league in terms of breakthroughs or finishing at the basket, nor are they like Garnett and Pierce who are better at mid-range shots. Unlike the Cavaliers, only James can bomb the basket.

Gasol and Bynum are both solid inside players, and the two will put unprecedented pressure on the Bucks' inside line, something that none of the Bucks' previous opponents could bring.

Li Lai also felt great pressure on the Lakers. He didn't think that defeating the opponent once in the regular season would be enough to defeat the opponent in the playoffs. These are basically two different levels of competition.

What's more, the Lakers still have Kobe, who is now No.1 in the league.

Li Lai said seriously: "But I promised you that I will bring you a championship trophy and a championship ring."

"I will definitely do it."

"Even if it doesn't work this time, there will be next time, next time."

"One day, I will prove that three-pointers can also rule the court. Reggie Miller was just born in the wrong era."

Reggie Miller was stunned for a while, then suddenly let out a wry smile.

In the 99-00 season, the Pacers met the Lakers in the Finals. Reggie Miller proved that three-pointers cannot win the championship.

In the 09-10 season, exactly ten years later, Reggie Miller became the Bucks' shooting trainer and met the Lakers again in the Finals.

"This time, Li Lai and Curry, can you prove that three points can win the championship?"

(End of this chapter)