am i proud?

Chapter 278 Little O'Neal is not my opponent!
The 2003-2004 season NBA Finals has not yet started, and various news about the master-student duel between Carlisle and Wang Dalin have been heated up.

Some unscrupulous media deliberately wrote articles to discredit Carlisle and Wang Dalin, describing them as a pair of enemies... Of course, no one believed such nonsense, after all, the reason why Wang Dalin left the Pistons last year was well known.

If it wasn't for the sake of arguing against Carlisle, why would Wang Dalin break up with Pistons owner Bill Davidson?
Wang Dalin didn't care what kind of bullshit articles these media wrote, but Carlisle quickly called him.

"Hey Darling, how are you doing?"

"Oh, it's Coach Rick. I've already made it to the finals. Can I live well? How about you, you should be very proud recently, right?"

"You mean I killed the Piston?"

"Hahaha, that's right... It's a pity that I'm not in the East now, otherwise I would definitely teach Larry Brown a lesson!"

"Hahaha, you kid really loves to hold grudges!"

"By the way, why did you call me?"

"Oh, that's it... The news about the two of us outside these two days is a bit outrageous, don't mind it!"

"Hehe, those reporters are all idiots, why would I mind? Coach Rick, you didn't call me just for such a trivial matter, did you?"

"Hehe, you guessed it as expected... Well, I'll just say it straight! Listen to me clearly, boy, we will win the finals with a score of 4:2. This year's championship is destined to miss you!"

"Hey... Coach Rick, you're being a little unkind. You actually spoke harsh words to me before the game?"

"Hehe, just think I'm speaking harshly... Anyway, you are doomed to lose!"

"Hmph! The game hasn't been played yet, let's wait and see!"

……

After hanging up the phone, Wang Dalin frowned slightly.

If someone else said such a thing, he might think it was a joke, but Carlisle would never do that.

Wang Dalin has played under Carlisle for two full years, and he really knows this famous coach at the NBA's historical level...Since he dared to make such a bold statement, he feels that he has full confidence!
But what strategy did he come up with?

The Clippers now have a neat lineup, and since Wang Dalin played the center, their offensive power has become more and more terrifying. Even the extremely powerful Lakers have been defeated by them. How can the Pacers restrain them?

It's not that Wang Dalin looked down on the Pacers, he really felt that the strength of this team is not very strong... Let alone the Lakers, even the Western Conference powerhouses such as the Spurs, Kings and Mavericks should be slightly better than the Pacers.

The current Pacers starting lineup should be like this - center Jeff Foster, power forward Jermaine O'Neal, small forward Corey Maggette, shooting guard Reggie Miller, point guard Jamal Tinsley.

Al Harrington played the most minutes on the bench, followed by Anthony Johnson, Fred Jones and Austin Croshere.

Among these people, Jermaine O'Neal is the only one who can truly be called the league's top star.

In the playoffs that have ended, O'Neal averaged 20.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game, and his shooting percentage was only 42.3%... Well, it was mainly because the series against the Pistons lowered his shooting percentage, which was still above 48% before.

From these data, it can be seen that O'Neal is indeed very powerful.

Among all the No. [-] stars in the league, he is slightly inferior to Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, and is absolutely on the same level as Chris Webber and Dirk Nowitzki.

去年12月初交易过去的科里.马盖蒂倒是也不错，本赛季常规赛时打出了场均20.7分5.2篮板2.9助攻1.1抢断0.7盖帽的数据，不过他在季后赛中场均数据稍微掉了点，不过也有19+5+2的水准。

And Reggie Miller, although this old guy is about to turn 39 years old, his three-point shooting percentage is still as high as 40.1%... He is still a legendary shooter that all opponents dare not ignore!
此外，艾尔.哈灵顿也发挥不错，本赛季常规赛他场均轰出了13.3分6.4篮板1.7助攻1抢断0.3盖帽。

His performance on the defensive end is indeed average, but his offensive power is quite good. Without him, the offensive firepower of the Pacers' bench lineup is estimated to be reduced by half.

As the winner of the best sixth man award this season, Harrington can definitely be called the league's top super sixth man.

After thinking about it, Wang Dalin felt that Carlisle should be trying to work hard on the second team... After all, the Clippers' second team does not have a super sixth man like Harrington.

If Carlisle really intends to do so, Wang Dalin is not too worried. The big deal is that he will fight as much as possible...In this era of "fucking the main force" is common, who hasn't done the thing of breaking the liver for 40 minutes in a single game?
Last season, even Jordan, who was over 46 years old, played 45 minutes in a single game. Wang Dalin is so young and has good physical strength, so what happened to playing [-] minutes in the finals?
In this way, even if the Clippers enter the rotation stage, it doesn't matter. Anyway, there is always a superstar Wang Dalin on the court. It is not easy for the Pacers to grab points during this period.

Moreover, Wang Dalin's defense is already at the top of the league. If he were to defend Harrington, it is estimated that the performance of the new best sixth man will be quite dismal.

However, Wang Dalin thought that Carlisle's strategy should not be so simple, but he really couldn't think of other possibilities.

……

On the evening of June 6, the NBA Finals finally started. The G6 game between the two sides was held at the Pacers' home court "Conseco Arena".

More than 40 minutes before the start of the game, the 18345 seats in the arena were already full, and the fans who came to the scene were uniformly wearing Pacers home jerseys, and the whole scene was a sea of ​​yellow.

When the players from both sides entered the court to warm up, Wang Dalin took the initiative to come to the Pacers bench and hugged Carlisle warmly, which can be regarded as a slap in the face of those reporters who discredited the relationship between the two.

Carlisle's suit and leather shoes are still so elegant, but Wang Dalin always feels that his face is full of joy... If he is not so like Jim Carrey, he may look a little more serious.

For the Pacers, Maggette was the former Clippers' second-in-command no matter what, and his relationship with Wang Dalin and others has always been very good, so he also took the initiative to say hello to these former teammates.

Uh, Artest also went over to say hello to O'Neal and others... Although this guy often makes some moths on the court in later generations, his EQ is really not low.

The game started quickly, and the Clippers' starting lineup was center Wang Dalin, power forward Ron Artest, small forward Kyle Korver, shooting guard Quentin Richardson, and point guard Eddie House.

This lineup played a very strong offensive power in the Western Conference Finals. Although Korver and Richardson's defense was a little weaker, since there are two top defensive champions Wang Dalin and Artest on the court, the Clippers' defense cannot be poor.

As soon as the Pacers' first five tigers made their appearance, Wang Dalin was immediately surprised.

It turned out that they let O'Neal go directly to the fifth position, and then Harrington was at the fourth position.

Wang Dalin took a deep look at Carlisle. He really didn't understand what kind of medicine Carlisle sold in his gourd... He directly mentioned Harrington, the sixth man, to the starting lineup. Could it be that he wanted to give up the second team?
O'Neal and Wang Dalin executed the jump ball. They were almost the same height, but Wang Dalin still got the ball by virtue of his bounce and wingspan.

After receiving the ball, Artest dribbled a little transition, and then passed the ball to House.

House came to the frontcourt to observe the positions of his teammates for a while, and then gestured to call for a pick-and-roll.

Wang Dalin quickly raised the high position from the inside to help him block Tinsley. House was extremely fast and rushed into the Pacers' inside line in a flash.

But the Pacers had O'Neal guarding the basket, and House didn't dare to make trouble in front of this baby-faced guy. He looked back at the moon in the three-second zone and passed the ball back to Wang Dalin.

After the pick-and-roll, the defender next to Wang Dalin has been replaced by Tinsley. With his height of 191 cm, Wang Dalin didn't hesitate, he just pulled it up and scored a three-pointer...the ball is here!
If Jermaine O'Neal defends him, even if he is confident in his jumping, it is still too much for him to pull up in front of Jermaine O'Neal... At least he has to break through a little bit, if he doesn't open up a little space, even with Wang Dalin's level of skill, it is very likely that he will suffer a big blow.

Jermaine O'Neal averaged 2.6 blocks per game this season, almost on par with Wang Dalin, and his blocking skills are definitely at the top of the league.

Even if he is not blocked, with O'Neal's height and wingspan, Wang Dalin's shooting is bound to be seriously disturbed, and his shooting percentage will not be high.

To deal with such fierce men, of course the most ideal way to attack is to lean back...Wang Dalin doesn't believe how much interference O'Neal can have on his "Golden Rooster Independence".

This can be seen from the matchup between O'Neal and Nowitzki throughout their careers. They have faced off in a total of 28 games, of which Nowitzki's Mavericks won 17 games.

而且“老司机”场均可以轰出21.9分7.3篮板2.3助攻0.8抢断1盖帽，而小奥尼尔场均仅有12.3分6.8篮板0.9助攻0.3抢断1.7盖帽。

Judging from these data, Nowitzki can finish off O'Neal, and his biggest reliance is his unique skill "Golden Rooster Independence".

Wang Dalin's height is almost the same as Nowitzki's, his wingspan is even better, and his jumping is better. His "Golden Rooster Independence" is three points stronger than Nowitzki's original version.

Even those as strong as Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett have nothing to do with his move, let alone O'Neal... So Wang Dalin finds it hard to believe that Carlisle can limit himself in any way. How did he get his confidence?

……

The game passed minute by minute, and the scores of the two sides kept rising alternately.

Except for Maggette, the other main players of the Pacers have played together for several years, and their overall cooperation is indeed very tacit.

So even though the Clippers played a very terrifying offensive firepower, they still couldn't open the score in a short time.

Seeing that the game was in a stalemate, Wang Dalin decisively mentioned the top position of the three-point arc, and once again played the routine of high-position card dealing.

Under his needlework, Korver and Richardson, the two outside long guns, finally began to show their power. In the first quarter alone, they each scored 2 three-pointers.

But the Pacers also have a three-point shooter... Reggie Miller, an old guy, is not willing to let two juniors make fun of him. He also made two three-pointers in the first quarter.

And Tinsley...he also scored 2 three-pointers, and I don't know how House defended it!

In fact, Wang Dalin also knew that House could not be entirely blamed. After all, his height was only 185 cm, and the opponent was 6 cm taller than him. This is already a poor grade on the basketball court.

After a short inter-section break, the two sides immediately launched the second quarter contest.

In the first quarter, Wang Dalin only took a break for about 1 minute in the final stage. He appeared on the court again at the beginning of the second quarter. Carlisle frowned slightly. It seemed that this situation was a bit tricky.

Sure enough, there was one of his strategies, which was to let Harrington grab points in the transition period... Well, although Harrington started the game, he only played for a total of about 6 minutes in the first quarter and rested for almost half of the quarter.

During this period of time, the center of the Clippers was Mourning, and Wang Dalin returned to the fourth position, so he happened to be facing Harrington on the defensive end.

One can imagine how badly Harrington was defended by him!
Carlisle immediately replaced O'Neal.

Then Mourning and Wang Dalin switched defenses decisively. Mourning swung to the fourth position to face Harrington, and Wang Dalin faced O'Neal.

This set of matchups is quite interesting, because Mourning's slow footsteps obviously cannot keep up with Harrington, but O'Neal is also completely restricted by Wang Dalin in the paint.

If the two sides continue to fight like this, it is really uncertain who will win and who will lose, but how can old Deng Levy be willing to continue like this?
He immediately replaced Artest, and let him mark Harrington, and the situation changed immediately... On the Pacers side, Jr. O'Neal couldn't beat Wang Dalin in the paint, and Harrington was heavily guarded by Artest. They could only rely on Maggette and Sr. Miller to attack.

However, Artest and Wang Dalin are not only excellent in single defense, they are also the top defense masters in the league today. Maggette's breakthrough style of play is very limited. Only the old Miller can throw a few from beyond the three-point line.

At the end of the first half, the Clippers had already led by 58 points at 49:9, almost leading by double digits...

(End of this chapter)