Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 254 254. The finals that are not taken seriously, put your mind on the operation of the offseason in advance!Van Gundy: Then I go?
The Magic won the battle of Tianwangshan in the away game, rewriting the total score of the series to 3:2, making the eastern finals matchup even more mysterious.

At present, the Grizzlies have taken a long break after defeating the Lakers. The matchup between the Magic and the Celtics will directly affect which team the Grizzlies will face in the finals.

With the sixth game of the series, Pierce and Ray Allen scored 62 points together. The Celtics beat the Magic away by three points and successfully dragged the series into the tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, the Celtics had the home court advantage, which is obviously a bad thing for the Magic in an away game.

But being able to force the Celtics, who are sitting on the Big Four, to what they are now, the Magic this season is enough to surprise fans.

After all, before the start of the new season, no one thought that the Magic would become the team that would meet the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

And once pushed the Celtics to the edge of the cliff, the entire series firmly gained the upper hand.

If it weren't for the referee's partiality on the whistle, I'm afraid the Magic would have eliminated the Celtics with a big score of 4:2, returning to the stage of the finals again after many years.

In the seventh game of the series, the Celtics played at home with all their strength. Even the "big shark" O'Neal, who had been at a disadvantage throughout the series, gritted his teeth and ushered in a recovery.

However, Howard, who is strong and strong, is gradually reaching the peak, even though O'Neal has worked very hard in the penalty area to stop Howard's performance.

Howard, who is more mobile and more agile, can still beat O'Neal to death in a variety of ways.

To make matters worse, "Mr. Billion" Lewis ushered in an explosion in this tiebreaker.

Since signing the next salary contract of over [-] million yuan with the Magic during the offseason, Lewis has been abused and insulted by fans from the outside world.

Even Orlando fans feel that the Magic management may have lost their minds and signed such a player who is clearly going to be a garbage contract.

However, with the help of Lewis, the Magic made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals and successfully reached the tiebreaker with the Celtics. The outside world's doubts about Lewis have obviously decreased a lot.

Even if this contract is still unreasonable for Lewis, Lewis is using his actual actions to tell the outside world that "Mr. Billionaire" naturally has a reason for "Mr. Billionaire"!

In the tiebreaker, the Celtics' zone defense did form a very good limit on Howard's personal performance.

At the end of the first half, Howard, who averaged 25+16 per game in the series, only scored 9 points and 7 rebounds.

However, the personal outburst of "Mr. Billionaire" Lewis dragged the Celtics from the abyss of Howard to another abyss.

With 24 points and five three-pointers in the half, Lewis's performance in the tiebreaker surprised Orlando fans and drove the city of Orlando into a frenzy.

Since the disintegration of "Shark" O'Neal and "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic have never reached the finals stage.

The Celtics' series of reinforcements during the offseason this year also made the Magic management no longer have expectations. After all, no one has the confidence to defeat the Celtics of the Big Four.

In particular, the Celtics ranked second in the league in the regular season, which almost made the other seven teams in the East feel desperate for the playoffs.

As a result, no one thought that the Magic emerged from the playoffs like a dark horse.

The team first easily defeated the Detroit Pistons in the semifinals, which led to the resignation of Pistons head coach Saunders Sr.

After entering the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic upset and slaughtered the Celtics in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, shocking the league in one fell swoop.

The Magic and the Celtics scored the tiebreaker, which was something no one could believe before the start of this round of the series.

But what makes the fans even more unbelievable now is that the Magic have always suppressed the Celtics in the tiebreaker, and it seems that they are only one step away from advancing.

At the end of the three quarters, the Celtics are still 8 points behind the Magic at home.

The disadvantage in the score made Celtics head coach Rivers become more and more panicked, and the sweat on his forehead slipped down like a bath.

Rivers, who is normally sanctimonious, didn't care about his personal image at this time, and roared loudly at the players on the court. He was so excited that he almost changed into his jersey and went to the court to compete with the Magic.

Losing to the league's No. [-] Grizzlies in the Finals is something Rivers can accept, and it's also something the Celtics management can accept.

But if you can't even get the tickets to the finals, then Rivers' end will definitely be miserable, even more miserable than the "big shark" O'Neal whose performance in the playoffs failed.

How can I say that O'Neal has earned enough money in his playing career, and fans will use age to excuse O'Neal for his performance in the playoffs this year.

But Rivers' coaching career has just started, and he finally got a little bit of improvement, but suddenly he was about to be beaten back to his original form by the Magic, which made Rivers feel crazy.

"Defend! Defend! You bastards! How can you be as weak as a bitch on the field!"

"Substitute! Substitute! Shaq! What are you looking at? Are your two eyes used to vent your anger?!"

Hearing Rivers' endless roar off the court, O'Neal, who was already angry because of the game, couldn't help his emotions.

"Shut your mouth, you're just yelling useless nonsense from the sidelines!"

"I've never seen a coach like you, you're a useless piece of shit!"

"If you have the time, you'd better think about your future, and don't leave this alliance with your tail between your legs."

O'Neill's angry swearing, coupled with merciless sarcasm, made Rivers' face flush.

But this time is the critical stage for the Celtics to chase points. Even if Rivers hates O'Neal, he dare not take the Sharks off the court.

After all, after the "Big Shark" is off, the entire Celtics have no second trustworthy center.

Frustrated that there was no place to spread the fire, Rivers gritted his teeth secretly, "Okay Shaq! Wait for me! I'm going to ruin your reputation!"

As the Celtics joined forces to launch a counterattack in the fourth quarter, the pressure on the Magic's side suddenly increased.

Especially "Warcraft" Howard, who made frequent mistakes in the low post, was seized by the Celtics and quickly approached the score.

At his peak, Howard used his body to crush most of the league's inside centers, but Howard's inside skills caused Stan Van Gundy a headache.

The turnaround behind the back was ridiculed by fans as being as stiff as throwing a discus, which also made it difficult for Howard to become a superstar player in the league.

Playing depends entirely on his body, which makes it difficult for Howard to use his personal ability to kill the game at critical moments. Frequent mistakes make the Magic more and more passive.

But at the last moment, when Howard made frequent mistakes and Lewis was targeted, "Turkish magician" Turkoglu became the God who saved Orlando.

I saw Turkoglu first hit a three-pointer at a 45-degree angle on the left, and then made a three-pointer against Paul Pierce's defensive arc.

The two consecutive three-pointers in the offensive phase directly caught the Celtics by surprise, and the momentum of chasing points that the Celtics had finally gathered was instantly extinguished.

As the whistle sounded for the end of the game, the Orlando Magic finally beat the Celtics by 6 points in an away game, and won the ticket to the finals in the tie-break.

…………

The promotion of the Magic to the finals has become a big news report from the outside world, which means that the Grizzlies will start the final matchup between the two teams of the [-]-[-] season with the Magic.

The Celtics' upset out surprised many fans, but it still made Boston fans angry.

The calls for Rivers' dismissal directly shattered the sky. If there is no accident, Rivers' dismissal is inevitable, and it is even very likely that he will disappear completely in the league.

In addition, although the Magic have worked hard all the way and successfully reached the stage of the finals, the tenacity shown by the entire team deserves the respect of fans.

But it is precisely because of the promotion of the Magic that the outside world feels sorry for this year's finals.

After all, compared with the Grizzlies, the Magic's disadvantage is too obvious.

Leaving aside the fact that the Magic lost to the Grizzlies by 47 points in two games during the regular season, just say that Stan Van Gundy and Luke are put together. No one in the outside world is optimistic that Stan Van Gundy can lead the team to this victory.

When coaching the Heat back then, Stan Van Gundy proved to the outside world more than once that he was not Luke's opponent at all.

Luke's ability to adapt to changes made Stan Van Gundy unable to keep up with the former's brain circuit at all, and could only follow his own tactical play to execute it mechanically step by step.

What makes Stan Van Gundy great is the cultivation of center players. In his previous life, Drummond was able to play his worth in the Pistons, and Stan Van Gundy can be said to have contributed a lot.

And "Warcraft" Howard has improved significantly in the past two seasons. In addition to his explosive physical fitness, he also has an inseparable relationship with the tactical system arranged by Stan Van Gundy.

It's a pity that Luke is definitely the most powerful coach for the core team in the league.

The Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs are a very good example.

Yao Ming's low-post offense is more threatening than "Warcraft" Howard, but under the overall defense of the Grizzlies, Yao Ming can only watch the team be swept by the Grizzlies 4:0, and lose nearly 30 points to the Grizzlies every game points difference.

Even Yao Ming, who overwhelmed Howard to be selected to the best team, could only end sadly. The outside world is not optimistic about the scene where Howard can show his power.

Even though the Magic's players in other positions are much better than the Rockets' lineup, in any case, the Magic is a mid-core team with Howard as the absolute core.

Wanting to win the Grizzlies, who were selected to the best defensive team Marc Gasol in their rookie season, is undoubtedly a bit of a dream.

Unless "Mr. Billionaire" Lewis can continue to perform in the finals in the Eastern Conference tiebreaker and carry the banner of the Magic's offense on his own shoulders, it will not surprise the outside world even if the Magic is swept by the Grizzlies .

But even if he is as strong as Lewis, he also encountered the fear of being ruled by Luke during the supersonic period.

The shooting team headed by Ray Allen and Lewis back then was almost collapsed by Luke's infinite switching defenses.

Now that the two meet again, whether Lewis will retreat in his heart, I am afraid that only he knows.

Sharp-eyed fans discovered that not only "Warcraft" Howard was restrained by the Grizzlies, but even the head coach Stan Van Gundy and "Mr. Billion" Lewis were both Luke's defeats.

This discovery has attracted many fans to ridicule on the Internet, and at the same time, more and more fans are optimistic about the Grizzlies winning the championship.

The finals haven’t started yet, but judging from the online reviews, the Grizzlies seem to have pre-booked the championship trophy, and even if the Magic make it all the way to the finals, they can only become the background ball Team.

Facing the one-sided comments from the outside world, "Warcraft" Howard, who reached the finals for the first time in his career, was very dissatisfied.

"I don't think we've been treated with the respect we deserve, the game hasn't started yet, it's too early to talk about everything."

"The Magic has never been a team that can be slaughtered. Whether it is facing the Pistons in the semifinals or facing the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, we have played incredible performances."

"Facing the Grizzlies in the finals is a very big challenge, but the team will definitely go all out to let the outsiders who look down on us know how stupid the current thinking is."

"I have never questioned that Lu is an excellent basketball coach, but Coach Stan's coaching ability is definitely not as bad as the outside world says."

"It is very difficult to win the championship, but this year's championship must belong to the Magic."

"Warcraft" Howard's confident remarks not only did not get the support of outside fans, but also made more people participate in the ridicule.

"Did I hear you right? What did he say, he said that this year's championship must belong to the Magic?"

"It's true that a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers. When will a star who can't even make the best team dare to speak such wild words."

"Isn't anyone really thinking that Howard is better than Yao Ming?"

The ironic ridicule of the fans made the magicians who were preparing for the finals a little bit frustrated.

Howard, who has always been childish, even turned into a keyboard man on the Internet, and directly started sparring with his fans on social media.

"You must be a very unsatisfactory moth in life, and you have no place to speak here!"

"Looking at the brainless remarks you said, you must be a person who has difficulty even eating in life."

"The best team? What is that? Isn't that the secret operation of the league to open up the Chinese market?"

Howard's series of rants made many neutral fans hate this guy.

Although the Grizzlies coached by Luke are also annoying, no matter how ironic the outside world is, the Grizzlies will never openly question fans online.

Howard's approach undoubtedly made the fans who are a little bit more supportive of the Grizzlies.

Seeing his disciple Howard being collectively attacked on the Internet, and the overall momentum of the Magic is also very sluggish. As the head coach, Stan Van Gundy can only bite the bullet and stand up to the media before the start of the series.

"The strength of the Magic is definitely not as weak as the fans imagined. The Magic this season is the best team I have ever coached."

"With the best center in the league, a lot of character players, the Magic are clearly growing into one of the best teams in the league."

"As for the past, I did lead the team to lose to Luke in the finals, but this is the case in competitive sports. No one can guarantee that he can always lead the team to victory in his coaching career."

"A long time has passed, people will always grow, and this Magic is not the Heat I coached back then. This is a better team than the Heat."

"Everyone on the team is looking forward to the upcoming finals, because that is the place that leads to the championship."

Stan Van Gundy's attitude was modest when he was interviewed by the media.

Probably because of Luke's terrifying personal strength, Stan Van Gundy didn't dare to talk too much before the game.

Even though his brother Jeff Van Gundy faced unemployment in the NBA because of Luke's relationship, he had to switch careers to serve as a commentator.

But Stan Van Gundy had already suffered a big loss in this regard. Before the Magic really defeated the Grizzlies, Stan Van Gundy just wanted to keep a low profile as much as possible.

However, Stan Van Gundy's statement that this Magic team is better than the Heat team back then still caused some people's dissatisfaction.

The next day, Heat star Wade posted a statement on social media, suspected to be responding to Stan Van Gundy's statement.

"Some people will always be a stumbling block on the way to winning the championship."

Wade's personal remarks were succinct, but together with Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy, it was very appropriate.

Compared with Wade's slightly veiled irony, the "big shark" O'Neal on the other side is very direct, "It's not a good thing to talk about people when you see people, and it's not a good thing @Stan Van Gundy."

O'Neal directly tweeted about Stan Van Gundy on social media, and this matter was also popularly searched by the media the next day.

Van Gundy's words can easily be interpreted as Howard is a much better player than O'Neal.

Especially in the semifinals where the Magic just defeated the Celtics where "Shark" O'Neal was, this undoubtedly made O'Neal even more angry.

You know, after the Celtics were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals, head coach Rivers showed no mercy at the press conference.

Directly pointing out that O'Neal is not only not active enough in training on weekdays, but also often absent from training for no reason, which ruins the atmosphere of the entire team's locker room.

More insidiously, Rivers also accused O'Neal of being the main factor in the team's playoff loss to the Magic.

In addition to being easily beaten by Howard on the court, O'Neal was also not united enough off the court, and often had conflicts with the coaching staff and teammates. An upset.

For the rest of his coaching career, Rivers can be said to have shifted most of the responsibility to "Shark" O'Neal.

Even though O'Neal was indeed ruthlessly beaten by "Warcraft" Howard in this round of the series, this approach still caused many people to call Rivers a hypocrite, not even a villain.

Faced with Rivers' shameless accusations, O'Neal naturally responded in front of the media, and after sarcastically satirizing Rivers' poor coaching ability, he also revealed that Rivers would often ask assistants about tactics at critical moments. The coach asks for help.

More often, Rivers will only tell players to defend well, and even a dog can do the job.

What's even more murderous is that "Shark" O'Neill also said that Rivers would often kneel and lick himself, Paul Pierce and others on weekdays.

In order to maintain the relationship between himself and the players, Rivers often pays out of his own pocket in private and is willing to act as the big head.

There were conflicts in the locker room, and Rivers' attitude was as servile as a stray dog.

It wasn't until the Eastern Conference Finals that the Magic led by Stan Van Gundy were upset and eliminated, and Rivers showed his hypocrite side, which made O'Neal call this guy disgusting in an interview.

The "tearing and forcing battle" between O'Neal and Rivers is still hot news in the sports sector until now.

But no matter how this matter will end, it is foreseeable that there is no winner between O'Neill and Rivers, and some are just a worse ending than the other.

The lively Grizzlies of all kinds from the outside world did not participate at all, but closed the arena for closed training.

The Finals against the Magic, this is obviously a good thing for the Grizzlies.

At the very least, the Magic is definitely far less difficult than the Celtics. Even Luke feels a little contemptuous of this team formed by his own defeated players.

The first match of the finals between the two sides will officially start on June 6, local time in the United States. Luke can't wait to launch an impact on the fourth championship of his career.

Sweeping the Magic is not impossible. If given the chance, Luke will definitely strive for a quick victory.

After all, Luke will have a lot of things to take care of during this offseason, whether the team has five players whose contracts expire during the offseason.

It's still about Gerald Wallace's trading plan, or the upcoming draft at the end of June, all of which require Luke to give the management an idea.

The finals have not yet started, but Luke has part of his mind on the upcoming offseason, and even secretly took aim at many of the league's top stars to seek deals.

This should let everyone in the Magic know that Stan Van Gundy will be so angry that he vomits blood.

"Does this mean that you really don't regard me as an opponent?"

"Then I'll go?"

　There are surprises during this offseason, give me a bigger guess!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)