The China Power of NBA

The 1993-1994 finals are still praised by people, because this is the last collision between superstars inside the NBA. After that, the NBA finals became the world of forwards, and the center only became a supporting role. .This year happened to be Olajuwon's tenth year in the industry. After ten years of hard work, Olajuwon's skills on both ends of the offense and defense have already reached the peak, but because of Jordan, he has no one in his hands so far. Ewing, who entered the industry a year later, established the position of the No. [-] center in the Eastern Conference with his absolute dominance of defense, and led the team to the playoffs consecutively. It was also because of Jordan that Ewing did not have a ring on his finger. , At this time, both teams are standing on the most dazzling stage in the NBA. Only the strongest of the strongest can be worthy of this ring!
The New York Knicks first eliminated Coleman's Nets 3-1 in the playoffs, then sent the Bulls home without Michael Jordan after seven games, and then another Game 1994, Ewing hated Reggie Miller's Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals again, so Houston and New York, the Rockets and the Knicks, Olajuwon and Ewing stood on the highest stage of the NBA in [-].

The Rockets played against the Knicks. There is no doubt that the match between Olajuwon and Ewing is the key to victory for the two teams. Technically speaking, the two are very similar. Olajuwon recalled this time many years later and said frankly that he and Ewing's matchup is like facing up against himself in the mirror. First of all, both of them are the defensive pillars of their respective teams. Olajuwon is good at supplementary defense, while Ewing is better at standing. On the offensive end, the left waist position is the area where the competition is fiercest. If these two people get the ball in this position, there is almost no way to prevent them from scoring except for fouls. Olajuwon is good at footwork. His footwork is unique in the league, and Ewing only has two moves, either a strong hook shot against the defender, or a mid-range shot after breaking through a jump. At best, there will be one more shot. False moves, but these two moves are extremely lethal, with accurate shots and good health, almost no one can defend them.

In the first game of the finals, the two teams played a suffocating defense at the championship level. The strong defensive ability made the shooting percentage of the players on both sides not very high. Still defeated the Knicks 85:78 and got a good start. The matchup between Olajuwon and Ewing was very exciting. The former scored 22 points and 10 rebounds on 28 of 10 shots, while the latter's data was 26 of 10 shots. Scored 23 points and 9 rebounds. The shooting percentages of the other players of the two teams were appalling. Maxwell was 16 of 4, Horry was 10 of 3, Kenny Smith was 4 of 1, and the Knicks' second master, Stark Smith was even worse, with an ultra-low shooting rate of 18 of 3. Others Hubble was 10 of 3, Mason Jr. was 5 of 1, Hubert Davis was 6 of 1, and the Rockets' big substitute Carl Herrera He became the hero of the team's victory. He played 20 minutes and scored 6 points on 5 of 10 shots.

In the second game, the Knicks were all soldiers. Six players scored in double figures.Ewing scored 52 points on 19 of 7 shots, 16 rebounds, and 13 blocks. The team's perimeter became the key to victory. With rebounds and 6 steals, Derek Harper used his strong defense to disturb the Rockets' perimeter. He scored 11 points and 6 assists on 19 of 9 shots, while Kenny Smith made 5 shots. 3, only scored 11 points!Although the Rockets had Olajuwon who scored 7 points and 18 rebounds on 7 of 6 shots, his shooting percentage for two consecutive games was less than 1%!This kind of performance is obviously not enough to win, and the Rockets' big score was tied at 2:21.

In the third game, Olajuwon's performance was not satisfactory again. He scored 20 points on 8 of 21 shots, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 blocks. Ewing was even more exaggerated. He only hit 29 goals in 9 shots and scored 18 points. With 13 rebounds and 7 blocks, Hubble once again suppressed Kenny Smith with a strong defense. The latter made 6 of 3 shots and only scored 7 points and 1 assist. His contribution was negligible, while Hubble scored 10 points , 10 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals all-round data, but the final result is that the Rockets won, because the Rockets not only have Smith as a point guard, but the extremely ugly guy wearing the No. Like a rookie, the Rockets led the Knicks 10:65 in the first three quarters, but in the fourth quarter, the situation on the field changed suddenly, and the Rockets could not score for nearly 62 minutes!But the Rockets used his strong defensive ability to make it difficult for the Knicks to score. 8 seconds before the end of the game, the Knicks led 32:88, but the ball belonged to the Rockets. At the critical moment, Olajuwon Singles Ewing, using his standard fantasy footsteps to shake continuously, but Ewing was not moved at all, did not give Olajuwon a chance, everyone on the court watched the duel between the two of them, but !Olajuwon noticed Cassel, who was ambushing outside the three-point line on the left, and passed the ball with one hand. The latter did not hesitate at all, and opened his hand to shoot!Accompanied by the clear sound of swiping the net, a three-point hit!The Rockets lead by one point!In this game, Cassel's performance from beyond the three-point line was 86 of 3 shots!With only 3 seconds left, the Knicks decided to use a foul tactic. The Rockets executed this key free throw. It was none other than Cassel. The latter made four free throws from the free throw line and made all of them steadily. The only away victory in seven games, Kassel's performance was 22 of 6 shots and scored 4 points!
Before the fourth game, the New York Rangers had the last laugh in the tiebreaker of the American Hockey League Finals. They won the championship first than the Knicks, and the whole city was crazy about it. The team is united, and they played with great confidence. Although Olajuwon came back, he hit 20 goals in 14 shots and scored 32 points and 8 rebounds. However, Maxwell scored the most points with 12 points. Still made 13 of 5 shots... The Rockets lost 82:91 to their opponents. Ewing's shooting rate was once again horrible. He scored 28 points and 8 rebounds on 16 of 15 shots. Individuals scored a total of 41 points, shooting 26 of 13 shots.

Before the fifth game, an earth-shattering event happened in the United States. The NFL Hall of Fame superstar OJ Simpson was suspected of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her lover Ron Goldman. The crime was extremely cruel. Brown's head was almost cut off, and Goldman was hacked more than 20 times. When the police announced that Brown's ex-wife, Simpson, was the suspect, the latter was the first to flee in a Ford Mustang. The police learned the news and spent 100 Multiple police cars, three hours to hunt down Simpson!This unexpected incident caused the three major TV stations in the United States to stop broadcasting all programs, and the channel was switched to the road battle between the police and Simpson-at this time, the battle of Tianwangshan in the finals was in full swing!

This sudden incident made the players in the game confused. During the game break, some players even watched the road chase shown on the sideline TV. In the end, it was the Knicks who had the last laugh. They defeated the Rockets 91:84 At this time, Ewing was only one game away from the championship. Although Olajuwon made 21 of 12 shots and scored 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 turnovers, the team's outside line The performance was still poor, Horry made 14 of 2 shots, Maxwell made 11 of 3 shots, and Knicks Ewing came back and played the game with the highest shooting percentage in seven games! 21 shots made 11 goals, scored 25 points, 12 rebounds and 8 blocks. Starks scored 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Substitute Anthony Mason broke out and scored 17 points, 9 rebound.

At this time, the big score was 3:2, the Knicks were leading, and they were only one game away from the championship. No one thought that it was not Olajuwon, not Ewing, but Stark that decided the trend of the next two games. s.The latter is a three-point shooter, with a career three-point shooting rate of 34.5%. At the same time, he is also a violent dunker. As long as he rushes up, no one can stop him. In last year's Eastern Conference Finals, Starks scored against Jordan. A dunk over the head was selected as the top ten goals of the season.

The sixth game between the two teams can be called a classic battle, which is still talked about by countless fans. At 3 minutes and 18 seconds before the end of the game, Kenny Smith, who was closely watching a series by Hubble, hit a shot. Remember the key three-pointer and help the team lead the Knicks by 84 points 77:7. The overall situation is set?No!At this moment, Starks suddenly exploded!He hit consecutive three-pointers from beyond the three-point line and scored 27 points in the game, 16 of which came in the last quarter. Starks single-handedly pulled the Knicks back from the cliff. 5.5 seconds before the end of the game, the Rockets 86:84 leading by only 2 points, the Knicks got the ball, Oakley served from the border, and passed it to Starks outside the three-point line on the left. At this time, Starks' performance outside the three-point line was On 8 of 5 shots, Knicks head coach Parker Riley set up a very complicated pick-and-roll tactic. Ewing blocked Maxwell, but Harper did not use this pick-and-roll, but gave the opportunity to the fiery Stanley. Starks, who took advantage of the pick-and-roll, and after Starks passed, Ewing strode to the free throw line-this is where he made the most accurate shots!

Olajuwon stood in front of Ewing, pass or not pass!Starks immediately gave the answer. He took off with full strength from outside the three-point line, raised the ball above his head, and shot a three-pointer. Just like his first eight shots, the basketball had left his palm and went straight to the basket. And go!Suddenly, a red figure shot out from the slanting stab!I opened my arm and touched the ball spinning in the air with one finger!The game ended here, and the Rockets won the sixth game in a thrilling manner.

Many years later, some fans asked Olajuwon why he rushed to block the shot so resolutely at that time. If Starks gave the ball to Ewing, the latter would be a completely open space, and that Position, exactly what Ewing is about, Olajuwon said with a smile, because I studied Starks, when he catches the ball with his left hand or when he stops the ball, if the ball is in his left hand, then He's definitely going to take the shot.

Kenny Smith, as a person who came through that round of the series, has the most intuitive impression of the changes that have taken place in Olajuwon. Kenny Smith once said that when he first came to the Rockets, Olajuwon was not a player. A person who likes to communicate with others very much. When he takes the bus to play away games, he always stays alone in the last row of the car, reading books and listening to music quietly. The leader is like this, and so is everyone else. In short, the Rockets at that time The team’s bus is always quiet, but before the 1994 finals, Olajuwon seemed to be a different person, often pulling him, Thorpe, Maxwell, Herrera, Horry Waiting for others to discuss how to limit Ewing, they "conspired" a lot of tactics together, from off the ball to around the front, from cutting the ball to high lobs, etc., Ewing averaged 18.9 games in the finals. With 12.4 points and 1.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 4.3 steals and 36.3 blocks, his shooting percentage is [-]%. Is this low?He didn't think it was low at all. Smith felt that in terms of the tactics they designed for Ewing, Ewing didn't deserve a single point!

火箭86：84两分分差带走了胜利，尤因20投6中拿下17分，15个篮板球和4次封盖，奥拉朱旺21投11中轰下30分10个篮板和4次封盖，大龙套卡尔-埃雷拉突然爆发，6投6中拿下12分，这竟然是仅次于奥拉朱旺30分的第二高分！

至关重要的抢七大战，尤因17投7中，拿下17分10个篮板球，德里克-哈勃16投8中拿下23分，火箭奥拉朱旺25投10中，拿下25分10篮板球和7次助攻，麦克斯韦尔终于爆发，11投6中拿下21分，替补萨姆-卡塞尔登场18分钟，6投4中拿下13分。

It is still Starks who decides the trend of the game. The lore goal in the last game was blocked by Olajuwon, which made the picky New York fans very dissatisfied. Starks can even feel it when he walks on the street. Given the hostility from passers-by, Starks didn't play in Game [-], the final game of the season—or rather, his body remained on the field, but his soul escaped from his body. Body, he kept repeating one thing throughout the game, that is, shot-dang, shot-dang
In the shot - when!Starks was sleepwalking throughout the game. He took 18 shots and only hit 2 goals, including 11 for 0 shots from outside the three-point line. Booing and cursing, this is their true portrayal of Starks' game.

The final score was fixed at 84:90, and the Rockets won the tiebreaker. If Starks was normal, even if he only hit 11 goals in 2 three-pointers, the result would not be like this, but this is basketball, the game has no If, after the game, Olajuwon and Ewing embraced each other tightly, the outcome will be decided. The two key players, Olajuwon, averaged 26.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. 3.9 blocks, 50% shooting, and Ewing's data is 18.9 points and 12.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 4.3 blocks, shooting 36.3%
After the game, Olajuwon told the media, "In this series, it's not that I beat Ewing, it's just that the Rockets beat the Knicks."

The so-called heroes cherish heroes, probably so.

"This is the biggest mistake I've ever made." This is what Riley told the New York Daily News in 2006. After the game, no one hugged Starks and left early with tears in his eyes. Years later, Riley admitted , was trying to take Starks off when he was 10 for 1 and never let him in, but in the end, love won over reason, and his preference for Starks cost him .

In this way, Olajuwon won the first championship in his career, won the FMVP, and ascended to the No.1 throne in the league, but there will always be people talking behind Olajuwon's back, the composition of this ring Insufficient, because without Jordan's participation, the championship without Jordan can't prove himself, so what about the championship with Jordan!

On March 1995, 3, the "God of Basketball" Michael Jordan, who had not achieved much on the baseball field, still felt that he was more suitable for basketball. At noon, the three major television networks in the United States simultaneously cut off all TV programs and all TV screens All that appeared were shots of Jordan flying and dunking. An hour later, Jordan's agent, Falk, brought Jordan's original words on TV with a trembling voice,

""I'm back! "