You are the pearl, Mo Mengchen

Chapter 762 King of NY
On the eve of the Pistons slaughtering the Pacers, the first round of the Western Conference has already had results.

The Lakers, who seemed to be in crisis, met the Rockets, who will be ranked in the top eight in the Western Conference, in the first round.

With the momentum of defeating the Pistons in the final game, the Lakers ran over the Rockets without any hesitation. 3 to 0.

The Lakers won the first game 106 to 93.The second Lakers bloodbath 120 to 88.

In the third game, they even let the Sharks perform technical foul free throws. This Rockets is no longer a dream team. Olajuwon left his kingdom like Ewing and wandered in Toronto.

O'Neill and Kobe seem to have temporarily put aside the controversy. In the face of victory, it seems that no matter how big the contradiction is, it can be put on hold.

How did Shark and Kobe suddenly go from fighting left and right to the most terrifying combo in history?The Zen master, who thought he had solved the crisis, smiled and shook his head: "Winning can solve all problems, that's all."

In the Zen master's view, it's not that these two people don't know how to cooperate, they understand the law of victory.It's just that one of them is young and energetic and doesn't want to be under others for a long time, and the other is an overlord who hates being ignored the most.Their competitiveness is less than half due to their desire to win.So when they need to win, everything else can be put aside.

After they swept the Rockets out of the game, rival coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who has a heart of a champion, said pessimistically: "I can't imagine this duo being defeated again."

The next day, the "Detroit Worker" quoted Tomjanovich as saying, "Then you should look back at last year's Christmas game, champion coach."

The media is like this, there is always no room for anything, no matter what, they will argue to the end.

The atmosphere in Detroit is not consistent with the outside world. There are still media that are not optimistic about the Pistons. The Red Wings' edge has been overshadowed, but it is hard to say who is the leader in Detroit's sports world.

The Pistons have attracted a lot of attention through consecutive championships and the performance of several superstars in the team, including a lot of locals in Detroit who have turned their backs. However, the Pistons and the Red Wings are still equally divided, and there is no obvious gap .

It's just that the Red Wings are declining and the Pistons are at their peak. If they can win three consecutive championships, then everything will be hard to say.

Before that, the Red Wings and the media related to the interests of the Red Wings will do everything that is not conducive to the public opinion of the Pistons.

"A true champion team will not encounter a hard fight in the first round." "Detroit Blue Flag" shot first.

Based on the fact that the Lakers swept their opponents in the first round, but the Pistons played the fourth game against the Pacers, they analyzed the gap between the two teams.

If the Pacers knew about this, they would definitely scold this group of people who watch the excitement and don't think it's a big deal.

Jermaine O'Neal's speech after the second game has offended the Pistons, and now this group of media who have nothing to do with them is still spreading hatred there.

In the fourth game, the Pistons did not give the Pacers any chance, just like the third game.

The Pistons' offense went from beginning to end, and the Pacers had no hope of winning.

In the end, the Pistons once again slaughtered the Pacers 138 to 99.

"We need to lose a few games in a timely manner. Any team pursuing a three-peat will have problems. If you have an impression, you can think about the Chicago Bulls back then. They had two three-peat experiences. Mo Mengchen responded lightly to the doubts from the outside world, "Three consecutive championships, the most difficult third."

So far, the Pistons swept the Pacers 3-1 and advanced to the semifinals.

The No. 76 [-]ers in the Eastern Conference, like the Lakers, easily defeated the eighth-ranked Hornets.

Mo Mengchen remembered that the Hornets had reached the semi-finals in the previous life, and lost seven games to the Bucks, who were currently in a bloody battle with the Knicks. He did not expect that they would be powerless in front of the 76ers.

This season, four teams are recognized as championship-caliber teams.

The Lakers in the West and the top three in the East.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers, Pistons and 76ers all passed smoothly, but the Knicks were unexpectedly dragged into the tiebreaker by the Bucks.

In the fourth game of the first round, Marcus Camby was injured and retired at halftime, and the Knicks lost half of their inside barriers. However, Africa Dashan, the best defensive player of the year this season, is still there, and the defense is still guaranteed.

Hardaway confronted the three muskets on the outside of the Bucks with one man's strength.

The game was deadlocked until the fourth quarter, when Hardaway twisted his ankle during a layup and was lifted on the spot.

Without the offensive firepower of Hardaway, Mutombo, Pippen and Steve Smith alone cannot compare with the rising Bucks.

Therefore, in this game that the outside world thought the Knicks would easily win, there were intriguing changes due to the successive injuries of Camby and Penny.

The Bucks defended their second home court, chasing the big score in the playoffs to a 2-2 tie.

"It's great news for the Pistons."

The commentator at the scene said so.

The Knicks are the least promising of the four major championship teams, because the other super teams, without exception, are all equipped with the Big Two.

The Lakers are OK, the AI ​​and TD of the 76ers, the Pistons are Mo Mengchen and Hill, and the Knicks are only a penny.Relying on the iron-blooded defense built by Mutombo, Camby, Pippen and others, they occupy a place in the top team. Their offense relies too much on Hardaway alone. You can't score yourself either.

And Pippen, Smith and Mutombo are all getting older, and the only young man in the core is Camby.

The peak period of the Knicks lineup is only these two years. If you can't make achievements in these two years, no matter how strong your personal ability is, it will be difficult for Pence to lead the Knicks back to the top.

That night, Pence underwent an MRI examination, and the Knicks' news to the outside world was "unsure whether Pence will be able to return in Game [-]."

On the day of the game, the Knicks' official news is still unknown.

On the night of the game, Penny was on the Knicks' active roster, and then the crowd at Madison Square Garden saw Penny enter the field in uniform to warm up.

"King of NY!"

"King of NY!"

The fans at the scene shouted frantically, and Pence chose to play with injuries.

Mo Mengchen watched the match live on TV.

It is not surprising that Penny chose to play with injuries. In his previous life, he fell like this.

He will be 30 years old in two months, and his body, skills, experience, and consciousness will all reach their peak, and then begin to decline slowly from next year.

It's a normal rise to the top and then a decline.

If he chooses to play with injuries, the consequences are unpredictable.

It's possible he's fine, or he's going to repeat the same mistakes.

Mo Mengchen only knew that the current eastern region was surprisingly competitive.

After he crossed over, he directly or indirectly changed a lot of history. The Bucks are one of the few teams that are not affected.

As Mo Mengchen knew, they formed the famous lineup of three musketeers.

This Bucks team, in Mo Mengchen's previous life, actually made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and was eliminated in seven bloody battles against Iverson's 76ers.

But now, they are only ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference, and then they just have a chance to take advantage of the injury of the Knicks who are second in the Eastern Conference. Otherwise, they will be sent home for fishing in the fourth game.

Such a team was at the division final level in the previous life.

"Who do you want to win?" Madeira asked.

In the living room were Mo Mengchen, Ephraim, Adrian and Madeira, and they watched the game together.

Before the game, Madeira asked this question.

Mo Mengchen looked at the starters of both sides, and after confirming that Pence was starting, he said, "Knicks."

"Why?" Madeira said excitedly, "Are you also moved by Penny?"

"It must be, right? Regardless of the result tonight, Penny deserves to be the most popular candidate for MVP. He has given everything for the team."

Where did so much emotion come from?

Mo Mengchen couldn't even shed a crocodile tear: "Because both Camby and Penny are injured, if we meet them in the semifinals, we can end the battle within four games."

Madeira was taken aback.

"So cunning?" Adrian said, "Then I must support Penny!"

"Don't you want to compete with stronger opponents?" Madeira couldn't understand, she thought it was against the spirit of competitive sports.

How can the real strong care about the strength of the opponent?No matter who it is, they all need to be defeated.

"In my heart, Penny is far better than Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell and anyone in the Bucks, but it is also true that he was injured." Mo Mengchen said slowly, "So I choose Knicks, it's in your favor and in the team's interest, isn't it?"

Madeira couldn't find a single flaw, but why did this sound wrong?
Then, the game entered Hardaway's performance moment.

He played with an injury, and the team doctor advised him, but he didn't listen.

If he doesn't play, the Knicks have little hope of winning.In Van Gundy's system, where his offense is everything, even if they can guard any team, they can't win against anyone without Penny charging for them.

For Hardaway, his time is running out.

Since he separated from O'Neal, he has never been out of the East. O'Neal has led the Lakers to the finals, and his lifelong enemy Dor.Mo has two championships. Ascend to the sky, his personal ability has reached its peak, and the team's lineup is also aging. He doesn't have much time left.

Grasp the moment, seize the day and night.

So Hardaway started a solo show.

He didn't look like he was injured at all, and the power of one person was better than the combined force of the three musketeers of the Bucks.

In the end, the Knicks defeated the Bucks by 7 points, eliminated their opponents 3-2, and met the Pistons in the semifinals.

Hardaway scored 45 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. From this night, he became the real king of New York.

The voice of King of NY resounds throughout the Big Apple.

(End of this chapter)