Super Basketball Manager

Chapter 293 Phoenix Nirvana!

As Texans, aside from the occasional Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they are undoubtedly lucky...

They were there to witness some of the best footage of the season...

Everyone was not optimistic about the Houston Rockets before the game...

Until the guy who will go down in the history books and enter the Hall of Fame suddenly, 24 hours after the official announcement of the season's reimbursement, miraculously wore a jersey and exaggerated and flamboyantly walked towards the midfield...

When Yao Ming played "Return of the King" in Game 7 of the semi-final against the Spurs with his stumped leg, everyone who had only heard about the deeds of New York captain Willis Reed in rumors burst into tears of joy...

Chandler didn't even ask Ah Shuai, and just went to the bench on his own - he was so excited that he couldn't even say a word...

He staggered onto the court, walked towards Duncan, and jumped the ball like a godsend to win the opponent. The strange aura made the Spurs tremble.

"The road to the Western Conference Finals is there, and I have to play." Yao Ming said, "Everyone has struggled for a season, and I don't want to regret it in the mirror 20 years later."

...

More than pressure!
It's more than shocking!
The Houston Rockets finally defeated the Spurs 113:99 to secure the last seat in the Western Conference Finals. After the game, teammates spoke highly of Yao Ming's encouragement to the team: "When I saw that scene, there seemed to be a voice telling everyone that we will definitely defeat this group of people on the opposite side. Must!"

Of course, we can't forget Mayo, as the spokesperson of "Space City This Season" and the most terrifying outside attacker in the series. In the tiebreaker, he was full of trash talk and entangled Parker like a lizard. In the hearts of Space City people, he is already the absolute trump card of the team.

In Game 7, when Yao Ming was finally replaced, he gradually adapted to the game. He scored an astonishing 32 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. Even New Yorkers on the other side of the world were ecstatic...

"This guy is worth $[-] million!" New York owner Dolan said.

"At first I just wanted to give the ball to the unguarded teammate, and finally I found myself in this situation." Mayo recalled many years later, "I think the 7th game with the Spurs that year was the most exciting and beautiful moment in my basketball career."

...

When Yao Ming bit the bullet and played more than 5 minutes in the first quarter, even if he was caught by the Spurs and scored consecutively, he brought more than just faith...

And the passing of the torch...

Character upgrades...

Mayo, Dragic, Ariza, Scola...

And of course Iverson...

Jordan (??), James (Ricky Davis), Kobe (Grant), McGrady (Grant Hill)... They have all experienced the role upgrade from a supporting role to a leading star, and now it is Mayo and Dragic. Although this is obviously difficult, history will tell you mercilessly: How low is the success rate of grassroots leaders leading the team.

But they are in a united, tough and energetic team, with an excellent coach who really understands basketball, coupled with Yao Ming's belief in winning, as well as a blood-infused defensive tradition and a changeable offensive system, these wealth are likely to help them tightly clamp the game.

...

In the first quarter, Yao Ming’s god descended to earth, and the Spurs were overwhelmed by the carnival sound like a tsunami at the Toyota Center. In the second quarter, the Spurs chased after each other, and the game entered a fever...

It is also the combination of Mayo and Dragic's passing and cutting, and the active peripheral counter-running, which has always helped the Rockets firmly grasp the initiative...

But that alone isn't enough to win the series...

Perhaps all the spotlights in the second half were focused on Allen Iverson's face, his peaceful face, and the appetite of the whole world was aroused, and everyone was ready to see his phoenix nirvana...

...

"I'll say it again! It's not as simple as money!" Iverson, who had just joined the Houston group, roared to reporters...

The biggest embarrassment of being in the NBA is that your depression goes beyond fame and fortune.

At 6 minutes and 35 seconds into the first quarter, Yao Ming was replaced by Chandler...

There were thunderous applause and cheers of heroes at the scene...

At this time, "Rebel" Iverson was sitting in the farthest corner of the bench, staring at this big man who was similar in energy to him, and then handed him over without hesitation...

"Good-job~~~" he said, and then secretly squeezed his palm...

At 1 minute and 21 seconds of the first quarter, Ah Weng saw that the situation had eased and he had a huge lead. With a big wave of his hand, he took Mayo off the field and replaced him with Iverson...

De-escalation?Think of me because of the huge lead?
Then what am I?
A qualified substitute player?

A little sad, a little sad...

Reality and memory inevitably intertwine and collide. He can easily recognize that the black ghost himself threw Tyron Lu Biao into the net, and then lightly stepped over the opponent's "dead body"-now in this strange city, the person who was teased unscrupulously, and then turned and hit became Manu Ginobili, and he has become the red No. 3 himself, and he is not even qualified to fight back.

dribble...

popping...

"This is already the last game of WIN-OR-GO-home in the semifinals. Is Iverson going to make an exciting breakthrough? Oh! God! He chose to pass the ball..."

The first-year student Budinger received a pass from Iverson and made a steady 3-pointer. He quickly ran over, smiled and handed Iverson his hand...

“Nice-pass…”

Nice ...

Pass?
He froze in place, and then there was a repetition in his heart...

"Nice-pass, from-no. 3~~~allen..."

The following names were drowned in the cheers of the audience...

Yes, although the age is no longer... Although the breakthrough is no longer as sharp as before...

But I'm still me...

The only answer...

...

Although he was unwilling to do so, he was revered by an incalculable number of hardcore followers.

Not just an idol, but a god...

They fanatically followed in the footsteps of God...

wearing his jersey...

wear his shoes...

Loving everything that belongs to Iverson...

Absolute worship has a slim chance of causing tragedy...

Of course, that's not what Iverson or any of his followers want to see.

Kevin Johnson is dead because of an Iverson jersey…

three years...

He is finally freed from the quadriplegic world...

Leaving the still crying mother, and Iverson's heavy sigh...

June 2003, 6 ...

Only 19-year-old Kevin.Wearing an Iverson jersey, Johnson waits for a trolley in Southwest Philadelphia...

A group of youths around his age surrounded him and asked him to take off his jersey...

This is robbery in broad daylight, Kevin - Johnson stubbornly said "no".

Among the robbers, Robert Ferguson is a parolee serving a sentence. He took out a pistol, pointed it at the back of Johnson's neck, and fired a sinful bullet...

Johnson fell, blood on his No. 3 jersey.

Johnson was not killed instantly, but the days that followed were more tragic.Paralyzed by a gunshot wound, he's crippled and living in a wheelchair...and it's getting worse.

After three years of painful torture, he passed away.

"It's time for Kevin to go home"...

His mother, Janice Jackson, was in tears.

Iverson was preparing for the game in Seattle. He knew this kid. At that moment, his face was full of shock and pain...

“If they (the robbers) really like that jersey. I can give them 100 pieces.”

Iverson's deep voice echoed in the locker room.

"I'm so sad. Someone should die because of a jersey. Die because of something meaningless. Life is more precious than a jersey"…

Iverson is also baffled by the proliferation of guns in Philadelphia.

“What’s going on in Philadelphia? Almost 400 people being killed a year? It’s horrible.”

"I think I need to do more to make this terrible situation better. If we can get closer to someone. Save a life. I would definitely"…

All he can do now is pay for Johnson's funeral, and he speaks to the boy's mother on the phone to offer his condolences

For Iverson's fans, the most painful part of this tragedy is that the group of robbers and murderers also like Iverson's jerseys so much...

If you simply divide basketball into two categories:
One class loves Iverson to death...

One class hates him to death...

The former category will never betray Iverson...

The latter category will always look down on Iverson...

Iverson is well aware of this.

He doesn't care, it's like Reebok's tailor-made slogan for him——

"I am who I am".

In the 2001 Eastern Conference finals, the 76ers and the Bucks fought fiercely. In the fourth game, Iverson was swept down by Ray Allen's elbow...

A mouthful of blood almost spewed out...

But in order to avoid the end, he swallowed blood forcibly, and finally scored 11 points in a row to help the team win...

Right on the side of the field.

Those most expensive seats.

Those well-dressed gentlemen were talking nonsense.

"monkey!". "thug!". "robber!"…

Words like this...

Iverson swallowed these words like swallowing blood.

Then use the score to fight back against these hatreds.

"This game is for people who hate me," he said later of the game.

Someone asked him how he felt.

He said he probably shouldn't have played because it made his injured left bone hurt even more.

Someone asked him about swallowing blood...

He was about to get on the bus at the time, but he couldn't help staring at the reporter and said.

"They want to knock my teeth out!" Iverson's character has always been so bare.

He never hides that his likes and dislikes belong to others, so why should he worry about it.

"People don't understand me at all. What right do they have to tell me? People always like to give me directions. I don't care at all. People who don't like me. What they say. Let them say it."

Those who love him are just as determined...

In the past two years, Iverson once took a group of photos for "SLAM", with an AFRO hairstyle,
After a few days, many children on the street had the same hairstyle.

"I knew it was going to be popular," Iverson said with a laugh.

It is also a kind of happiness for followers to have such a straightforward god...

In the second quarter, the Spurs set off a wave of crazy denials, and Adelman steadfastly left Iverson on the court. Perhaps in Adelman's view, without Yao Ming, he has actually become the real soul of the Rockets, who are as strong as himself and defy all powers...

"I am not playing for money or fame. I already have these." Iverson's inner monologue, "I just want to do what I like to do. If I have to abandon my principles, it is now... for the championship!"

He used his life to cut into the paint time and time again, and then gave the ball out. He was no longer reckless. He chose to believe in his teammates and choose self-salvation...

Not for the money...not for the fame...

Just for the crowning glory of that player's career...

Just to welcome his newborn...

...

"Iverson cuts inside, and the only thing left in front of him is Duncan, who is the same age as him...I think people all over the world hope that he can exert all his energy and make a brave three-pointer...Oh! Damn, he chose to shoot suddenly..."

Nick Young in the bottom corner did not disappoint Iverson's pass, a powerful "volley", the ball went into the frame...

CCTV Yu Jia: "He...he is no longer the NBA legend, which will inevitably make his fans a little sad...but just after he played, he sent two assists... What we can see is Adelman's mythical and restrained smile on the Rockets bench..."

In the third quarter, Yao Ming, who was about to raise his gun again, was pinned down on the bench by a pair of big hands...

"Hi! Yao..." Iverson's eyes were full of heroism: "I know how you feel... But, I hope to see you in the Western Conference Finals and the championship, okay?"

For some reason, when Yao Ming saw Iverson's firm eyes, he actually chose to compromise...

He nodded, then took Iverson's hands...

"please…"

"Of course it is!"

...

Since he played in the second half of the first quarter, Iverson did not rest for a minute. He and Mayo's passing and cutting cooperation became more and more proficient. When these two people were on the court, the Rockets were like the most selfless team on the planet. Throughout the game, there was no main attack point at all, but they played the Spurs, which is known for their stability, with multiple points of flowering.

"Can you imagine your life after leaving the NBA?" Jonathan Fagan asked pessimistically before the 7th game.

"It's like hell." Allen - Iverson replied clearly.

There are never any superheroes who come back, except escapes and early deaths.

Elvis Presley, Wong Ka Kui, Lennon, Cobain, Jackson—the sudden death made it impossible for us to witness how these heroes who symbolize the spirit of rock and roll decayed and aged, and how they moved from all-powerful to calm and calm.

This makes their legend more powerful, but less real.Therefore, we are even more reluctant to see Allen Iverson-the NBA rock hero-sudden death in his career.

But he came back in a different way...just like Jordan who practiced the fadeaway jumper so well...

He came back, faced reality, faced time, and moved forward bravely, just like back then...

...

In the fourth quarter, Iverson returned to the court after a brief rest...

At this time, the general situation has been settled, but he still handles every ball seriously, so that the enemy has nothing to take advantage of...

Barkley: "This is Iverson? 10 points, 16 assists, 6 rebounds!"

Kenny: "He is the most stable partner around Mayo, the most comfortable shell output hub behind Dragic, and the best bunker in front of Lowry...Houston has lived up to the return of Yao Ming...Iverson performed the best superhero transformation with the best Phoenix Nirvana..."

The final whistle blows...

Everyone at the Toyota Center stood up and cheered...

Unlike the Tianwangshan battle, this time every Houston player had the brightest smile on their faces...

Yao Ming stood up and raised his arms and shouted wildly. Everyone gathered around and clapped hands and hugged...

Alexander found Ron who was showing a difficult smile, and the great manager embraced his boss affectionately at that moment...

"Congratulations... I'm finally wise..."

"thanks…"

"No, thank you!"

...

Houston WIN~!

After 13 years (Barkley and Pippen once led the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals and lost to the Lakers) they reached the Western Conference Finals again!
　"I am not playing for money or fame. I already have these." Iverson's inner monologue, "I just want to do what I like to do. If I have to abandon my principles, it is now... for the championship!"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)