Legend of Tomorrow

After the game, all the media were unanimously optimistic that the Lakers would win the championship. Some experts believed that it would be difficult for the Pacers to win a game. Not only were they suppressed by O'Neal inside, but their outside offense was also in a mess.

The Pacers' star Reggie Miller played 41 minutes in the first game. He made 1 of 16 shots, 0 of 3 three-pointers, 5 of 5 free throws, and scored 7 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. He was clearly an undercover agent.

In Guo Xu's previous life, even in 2018, there were still many people on the Internet who praised Miller, saying that he was a legendary star, the best pitcher in history, Jordan's lifelong enemy, etc...

As Jordan's lifelong enemy, Miller was selected to the All-Star 5 times in his career and only started 1 time. Personal honors are the three best teams, and other major honors such as mvp, championship, best defense, and scoring champion are not available.

Even if Jordan's honor is only one-fifth, it will destroy Miller. This man has only played in the Eastern Conference Finals twice and the Finals once. In his 18-year career, he averaged 18.1 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game, 39.5% three-point shooting, and 1.8 three-pointers in 4.7 shots. His three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs is even lower, only 39%, and he made 2.2 of 5.7 shots.

The real reason Miller is famous is that he is bad. He spoke freely, talked trash, and had quarrels with referees, star players, and team executives. His ubiquitous foul language made him a public enemy in the hearts of fans.

With such a person as the boss and role model, how much better can the Pacers players be?

In the second game, they targeted Kobe. Kobe was very tenacious in the game and worked hard on both offense and defense. As long as the OK combination was there, the Pacers had no chance at all.

Kobe Bryant was injured and left the game after 9 minutes of playing in this game. He sprained his ankle when he landed a jumper.

Guo Xu knew that Kobe Bryant's injury was not an accident, but that Jaylen Rose deliberately stepped in. In his previous life, Rose talked about the incident in 2012 and admitted that he intentionally injured Kobe. He said: If I had to decide, he should not be able to play the whole series so that I can have a championship ring. I did that on purpose. You can't say it was an accident.

As a bystander, Guo Xu found Rose's behavior disgusting. At this time, he vowed in his heart that he would never take the initiative to attack his opponent on the basketball court in the future. It would be difficult if the opponent attacked first.

Without Kobe, the Lakers still won. O'Neal played 46 minutes, making 11 of 18 shots and 18 of 39 free throws, setting an NBA single-game free throw record. He scored 40 points, 24 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks. Two of the Pacers' insiders committed six fouls, and one made five fouls.

Harper seemed to have suddenly regained his youth on the outside. He played 37 minutes, made 8 of 12 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 5 free throws, and scored 21 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists.

Guo Xu was very depressed about this. Harper is determined to occupy the starting position next season.

Kobe suffered a serious foot injury and was unable to participate in Game 3. The Lakers lost to the Pacers away from home.

After the game, head coach Phil Jackson revealed that Kobe asked the coaching staff to send him on the court before the third game, but his ankle hurt so much that he could only rely on the strength of his toes to stand up. Jackson felt that this was purely a suicide attempt and would most likely aggravate the injury. , so let him truce.

Before the fourth game, even though Kobe Bryant's foot injury had not healed yet and he continued to ask to participate, Jackson decided to take the risk and give it a try this time. If the Pacers lose two games in a row, the game will be uncertain.

Pacers center Rick Schmitz scored 4 goals in a row after the opening game. The Pacers quickly took the lead and opened up a 10-point gap at the end of the first quarter.

Kobe was obviously affected by a foot injury. He only scored 6 points in the first half. Moreover, both Kobe and O'Neal were in foul trouble. They were each called for their third foul 5 minutes before the end of the second quarter.

However, the Pacers failed to take advantage of this opportunity to further expand their lead. Kobe recovered in the third quarter and scored 10 points, leading the Lakers to overtake the score.

In the fourth quarter, we entered a stalemate.

O'Neal contributed 14 points, Pacers ace star Reggie Miller scored 13 points, and the two sides drew into overtime. One minute after the start of overtime, the Lakers' big trouble came, and O'Neal fouled out 6 times.

The commentators of the live broadcast game were not optimistic about the Lakers. At the critical moment, Kobe, who played with an injury, carried the team.

Jackson decisively changed his tactics at this time, stopped playing the triangle offense, gave the ball to Kobe, and then opened up space as much as possible.

Kobe did not let the Zen Master down. He hit 3 jump shots in two minutes. The Lakers scored 8 points in overtime with 16 points from Kobe. Miller missed a three-pointer at the last moment, and the Lakers won the game 120-118 to get the match point.

Bryant scored 28 points on 14 of 27 shots and O'Neal scored 36 points and 21 rebounds.

When the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, an excited O'Neal ran into the court, hugged Kobe enthusiastically, and carried him back to the locker room. At this time, fans watching the live broadcast on the screen could feel that the two had a good relationship.

At the press conference, O'Neal referred to Bryant as my tall little brother and was very excited.

Kobe Bryant's performance of reluctantly turning the tide also touched Phil Jackson. Zen Master has seen the strength of the greatest shooting guard in history. It is difficult for ordinary second-position players to praise this famous coach, but Kobe's brave performance made Jackson admired.

O'Neal is the boss of the team, but after this game Kobe became more attractive to fans. He officially grew from a new star to a superstar. This season he was selected to the All-NBA Second Team and the All-Defensive First Team. People affirm him.

In the last two games, Kobe continued to play with injuries and his shooting percentage was not high, but he did his best. Especially in the sixth game, although he only made 8 of 27 shots, he grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 26 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

O'Neal's performance was still terrifying, scoring 41 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks, but he made 3 of 12 free throws and dominated the penalty area throughout the series.

The Lakers defeated the Pacers 4-2, and the players won the championship trophy at home.

Facing the Pacers' 224CM center Rick Schmitz, who was selected as an All-Star in 1998, O'Neal completely crushed him, averaging 38 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, and was elected FMVP without any suspense.

In the entire history of the NBA, O'Neal's performance in this series is ranked second. The first is Michael Jordan in the 1993 Finals. He averaged 41 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in six games, and scored a total of 100 points in the fifth game. The second-highest 55 points in a single game in finals history.

After watching the game together at Guo Xu's restaurant, Happy said excitedly: The Lakers actually won the championship 4-2. You were right again. Now it doesn't matter if other teams don't try with you. I bet the Lakers will. Sign you!”

Outsourced Black asked: How much annual salary can he get?

Happy said with a smile: The first season will definitely not be high, just over 300,000 before tax. It will be difficult for him to get into the first round. Even if he is ranked first in the second round, he can only get a basic salary. If he signs a two-year rookie contract, he will get a salary in the second year. Higher, then he will become a restricted free agent, and other teams can pay a high salary to poach someone if he plays well.

The collective bargaining agreement of this era is different, which is somewhat unfair to those ranked higher in the second round. After 2005, there is also a big gap in the salary of second-round picks.

Guo Xu doesn't care about salary. It's great to be able to play side by side with OK. Many stars never have championship rings in their lives. He can win the championship in his rookie season. That will be a perfect start.