basketball boulder

Chapter 389 2:2 Flat

"We lost to the next Michael!"

After the game, Popovich commented on Li Lei in this way.

And this evaluation directly pushed Li Lei to the forefront.

In itself, Li Lei's honor is impeccable, and he has won many honors in just four years of professional career.

A regular season MVP, the youngest MVP in history.

Two-time finals MVP, the youngest FMVP in history.

One DPOY, the youngest best defensive player in history.

Two NBA championships.

A scoring champion.

Three-time steals king.

Four best defensive teams, all of which are first defenses.

Three best lineups: once for the first team, once for the second team, and once for the third team.

Four All-Star starts, three consecutive All-Star ticket champions, three consecutive three-pointer contest champions, and one All-Star Game MVP.

The youngest Mr. 60 points in history.

The youngest Mr. 50 points in history.

The youngest player in history to score 50 points in the playoffs.

The youngest player in history to score 40 points in the playoffs.

……

Li Lei can be said to have infinite scenery and peerless elegance.

But if the opponent is Jordan, Li Lei is still not comparable.

Not to mention that the fans didn't agree, Li Lei himself didn't dare to think so.

Michael Jordan = NBA.

Michael Jordan = the sport of basketball.

I still remember that "Magic" Johnson knelt down and begged Jordan to come back.

I still remember that after the 911/[-] incident, the NBA was depressed and on the verge of bankruptcy. David Stern and the President of the United States begged Jordan to come back for the second time.

I still remember that when Jordan went to play FIBA, the opponents lined up to ask him for autographs, all of them were his fans.

I still remember that the peak "Big Bird" Bird hailed the second-year Jordan as God wearing the No. 23 jersey.

……

Jordan is not just a basketball player, he represents the sport of basketball, as well as the spirit of challenging the impossible and never giving up.

He is already a symbol, a symbol, a greatness.

Sure enough, after Popovich's evaluation of Li Lei was reported, both Popovich and Li Lei were sprayed.

"Popovich, if you can't speak, don't speak."

"You're nothing without Duncan."

"Only you are qualified to comment on Jordan?"

"Li Lei=Jordan, Popovich, are you blind?"

"And Li Lei, if you want to surpass Jordan, let's talk about it in 100 years!"

"There is no player in this world who surpasses Jordan, and it won't work if anyone comes. I said this, it won't work if Jesus comes."

……

Because of this incident, many reporters approached Li Lei.

This is really a disaster.

These words were obviously said by Popovich, but Li Lei suffered a wave of blows.

But Li Lei was very calm.

"I feel very happy, but also very scared."

"It's an honor for me to be mentioned in the same sentence as Jordan."

"But comparing me with Jordan makes me very scared. I can only say that there is no second Michael Jordan in this world. He is the eternal black Jesus, the god of basketball!"

Li Lei's attitude quickly appeased the excited Jordan fans, and even a large number of fans turned black fans and road fans.

Come to think of it, Li Lei has always been humble and polite, and has never touched any star.

And this controversial statement comes from Popovich, so what does it have to do with Li Lei?

After the fans calmed down, things seemed to be over.

but……

No one expected that Jordan stood up by himself.

"I want to say that Stone is really the best young player I have ever seen. I have been paying attention to him for a long time. Now, his skills, talent, and overall situation are not as good, but his fighting spirit is already at the top. . I believe that he will become the top basketball player."

Jordan personally stood for Li Lei.

The thing was lit again.

"Michael is optimistic about Li Lei, so I am optimistic about him."

"Michael is right, Stone is worse now, but he is still young, he has unlimited future."

"In fact, if you look carefully at what Li Lei has achieved, Li Lei in the same period is actually better than Jordan."

……

The direction of the wind suddenly changed. It turned out that those who criticized Li Lei were more and more standing behind Li Lei.

And that's Jordan's influence.

Li Lei was a little baffled. He and Jordan were actually not familiar, they just exchanged greetings in some public places.

It stands to reason that Jordan would not help him like this.

But since Jordan helped, Li Lei is still grateful.

Li Lei intends to find an opportunity to thank Jordan.

……

It's here that things really seem to be over.

but……

When Li Lei recalled afterwards, he realized that all of this was Popovich's "conspiracy".

While Li Lei was being overwhelmed by Popovich's words, Popovich was secretly researching ways to deal with Li Lei.

Known: No player on the Spurs can defend Li Lei one-on-one.In addition, Li Lei cannot be double-teamed.

Solution: How should the Spurs deal with Li Lei.

Popovich's answer is: wheel battle.

In G4, Popovich adjusted his tactics again and put Finley on the bench.

In the first 6 minutes, Bowen defended Li Lei one-on-one.

Six minutes later, Finley, who was full of energy, came on the field and defended Li Lei one-on-one.

And then, there's Barry.

The Spurs used Bowen, Finley, and Barry to deal with Li Lei in turn, consuming Li Lei's physical strength.

This tactic is actually flawed.

Because if it is Li Lei who is in 100% condition, what fear is there in the wheel battle?
Bowen, Finley, and Barry are three old miscellaneous fishes, so what if they go together?
But the problem is that Li Lei's condition is not good.

The schedule of the series is very tight, basically one game will be played every other day.

Moreover, the intensity of the first round of the playoffs, the Western Conference semifinals, and the Western Conference finals is increasing round by round, and each game is more intense, which is not the same as the regular season.

In addition, Li Lei's playing time is also very long.

In the first three games of the Western Conference finals, Li Lei played the longest time among the players of both sides, averaging 43.3 minutes per game.

Duncan, who played the most minutes for the Spurs, only played 40.6 minutes.

This playing time far exceeds the regular season.

不过这就是季后赛，更加依赖球星。一般的球队到了季后赛都会从9到10人的轮换缩减到7到8人，牲口一点的主教练甚至会排出6人轮换。

Therefore, by the fourth game, Li Lei already had physical problems, and his condition was not as good as before.

Popovich took out the wheel tactic in a timely manner to consume Li Lei's physical strength.

李磊这一场打得很不好，全场22投8中，命中率才36.3%，只拿了19分6篮板3助攻2抢断2盖帽。

But Li Lei didn't play well, and the Grizzlies lost their competitiveness in an instant.

The Spurs beat the Grizzlies 108:90 and tied the score 2:2.

……

It is also worth mentioning that in the fourth game of the Eastern Conference finals, the 76ers defeated the Magic again, swept the Magic 4:0, and entered the finals strongly.

(End of this chapter)