basketball never sleeps

Chapter 291 Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit!
The director on the sidelines focused the camera on a little boy who covered his mouth.

Those eyes of disbelief reflected the mood of most fans in the Quicken Loans Arena at that moment.

Feeling dizzy and confused.

Lost already? Lost again?

What was even more impressive was that when the camera zoomed out, people realized that the little boy was wearing the No. 66 Pistons jersey.

That's right, Pistons fans were stunned.

The departure of Mo Wen, the trade of Milicic, Larry Brown's job-hopping, the departure of Big Ben, and the rumors that Billups would also leave in the summer, made most people, including Pistons fans, not have too many extravagant expectations for this series.

After being suppressed by the Heat for two consecutive seasons, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals is already a success for them.

But now the Pistons have taken over two home courts of the Cavaliers' Big Five?

Hubie Brown and Bill Walton, who were responsible for commentating today's game, didn't know what to say.

The Pistons' hard-fought victory showed their declining trend. Can the Cavaliers' small losses in two games bring good news for the future?
The Warriors in the Western Conference lost two games in a row, but they can still go back to their home court and start over. But the Cavaliers can't even defend their own home court, and they still want to escape unscathed from the Pistons' Palace of Auburn Hills?

You know, when the Big Three of the Heat first arrived at the Palace of Auburn Hills, they all paid tuition for two games.

Cavaliers owner Gilbert is in a very uncomfortable situation now because he is a Detroit native and his company is headquartered in Detroit, so he is not only the owner of the Cavaliers, but also the advertising sponsor of the Pistons' home court.

If the Cavaliers won, it would be fine. The ads he put in were just normal business practices, but this time he lost, it felt like...

All the advertising fees spent were replaced by pistons and turned into bullets and shot back at us!
In front of the TV, Stern rubbed his temples again.

The Pistons were accurate, but how could the Big Five lose?

He doesn't understand game tactics, but he understands statistics. If the Pistons win G3 in the next two games, the 3:0 score will directly kill the suspense of the game. If the Pistons only win G4, the 3:1 score will reduce the Cavaliers' chances of winning the series to 4%.

Moreover, in the context of the loss, James's stats were only 34 points.

If it was replaced with the usual blowing of the trumpet, people would only see the gap when compared with Mo Wen's 49 points in leading the team to victory.

The Cavaliers' loss is certainly not James's fault alone, but James's statistics and performance obviously cannot protect him from disaster.

The media tacitly found the responsibilities of other Cavaliers players, but no matter how fancy the other targets were, they could not ignore the biggest one.

But if he can't be Mo Wen's opponent, which local star can he support?

Wade? Kobe?
They are strong enough, but they lack a lot of buzz, and their team is also far behind the SuperSonics.

still is……

He suddenly thought of the draft that was still in preparation. He should have sent the "second Russell" to the Celtics earlier.

However, apart from Oden, there is another high school student who failed to participate in the draft and has a lot of momentum. The media has been promoting him since 06. It is said that he can inherit Jordan's mantle, that he is A-LeBron with better skills and Mo Wen with better physique.

But that's too far away. If we really wait for that little guy to enter the league and grow for another three or four years, we won't even know how many championships he would have won.

After going around in circles, the best choice is still A-Jan.

The only option left for the league to do is to strengthen James, but the standards of refereeing he enjoys now are already good enough, so how else can they help him?

……

"Nice turn, Yao shook off Tyson Chandler's defense and hit the rebound with his left hand. Don't raise your hand, Mullin, everyone knows you taught him that. Oh, it seems you raised the wrong hand!"

"116:108, 27 seconds left, so the next step is to test the Supersonics, or to test Mo. In the last game, he killed the Warriors' hopes with a similar score difference during this period. Can he create his own miracle this time?"

"Three-pointer scored, oh my god, is God really coming?!"

"No, no, no, Jason's pass was intercepted by Ray Allen, Mo received the pass, and the three-pointer... missed. French... Mo made a tip-in, and the Warriors called a timeout!"

"Don't play Andris (Biedrins), even though his free throw shooting has improved a lot (from 31% to 52%), it still won't work!"

"Harrington took the free throw... yes! He made both free throws! The Supersonics called the last timeout, 10 seconds left, and it's not over yet!"

"A great choice. Three Warriors surrounded Mo and wanted to shoot a long three-pointer, but there was no space for him! Ray was also defended by two people and couldn't receive the ball. He could only trust Milicic and missed the three-pointer... A great tip-in, Francisco ended the suspense of the night with 2 points."

"call!"

The commentator on the scene rubbed his chest. He confirmed that he did not have a heart disease, but the feeling of heart overload still made him want to take some medicine.

Many spectators watching the game on site also performed the same actions.

Although there were still 3 seconds left and the team was leading by 3 points, there was not much noise or celebration from the fans.

It’s not over yet, there’s still time!
It was not until Yao Ming used his height to catch the long pass, took a big step and threw the ball towards the backboard, and the red light for the end of the game was completely lit, that the fans at the scene finally ended their torment and patience.

TMD finally won!

If the Game 7 between the Warriors and the Lakers in the last round was a Verdun meat grinder.

Today's sense of victory was closer to escaping Raccoon City.

One is a narrow escape from death, the other is a narrow escape from death.

When the big screen above the stadium showed a close-up of Mo Wen's face, the cheers from the sidelines dropped by 10 decibels.

Mo Wen only scored 40 points today, including 17 points in the last quarter.

If it were any other star, it would have been a performance of "losing but not losing", but when it came to Mo Wen, people would start to wonder if this guy was being lazy again.

Mo Wen adjusted his mentality quickly, and [Regret] was finished before he even had a chance to show his face.

After two breaths, all that was left was a review of the problems in the game.

After all, in a dungeon, the next one will come after three breaths.

The Warriors played really well today. On the offensive end, their passing was more steady but still fast, their breakthroughs and three-pointers were also very resolute, and their rush for frontcourt rebounds also posed a considerable threat to the Supersonics' line. On the defensive end, while they were squeezing him hard, the rotation speed of the other players was quite good. Nelson's several personnel adjustments were very targeted, and Yao Ming also showed the strength of the world's best center and increased his shots in the interior, making Milicic and Tyson miserable.

After all, he is the oldest coach in the coaching world, and he really has something in his pocket.

(Nelson is not very old, but at this point in time he is the coach with the most coaching time and games in the NBA)

As for today's refereeing issue...

Or maybe he wasn't strong enough to fight 5 against 8. It's his fault.

"You did a great job today. I enjoyed it very much. Keep it up next time." Mo Wen greeted the Warriors players who were walking towards him in a very graceful manner.

The Warriors players, who were originally somewhat proud of themselves, suddenly had a different mentality.

They play so hard, but when it comes to you, it becomes just a lot of fun?

Is trash talk iterating quickly now?

"Stop talking nonsense, we will win next time, win the decisive game, win the seventh game, and win the championship. We already know the rhythm of winning. You are doomed, prepare your tears." Stephen Jackson shouted with his mouth wide open without any modesty.

He didn't care whether Mo Wen would get angry or not. He had to output when the wind was in his favor. Otherwise, would he be waiting for the boomerang that would spit at him when the wind was against him?
Behind him, Dayao's breathing stagnated and his expression froze.

Brother, you are a true warrior!

Mo Wen's face did not turn darker, but the curve of his mouth became even bigger.

He is not that narrow-minded, but it is goat's duty and pleasure to punish every trace of disrespect.

“Just wait.”

Mo Wen didn't say anything else, just pointed his index finger at the ground.

Failure is like the background color of the night sky. It seems to swallow everything but cannot cover the stars.

Back in the visiting team's locker room, everyone looked a little ashamed.

They could find many excuses, such as the nervousness of participating in the Western Conference Finals for the first time, the influence of the fanatical away atmosphere, the referee who seemed to be putting pressure on the family tree... But in front of Mo Wen, who ate and lived with them and put all his heart into the game, they really didn't have the face to complain.

"Sorry, Mo, I should have passed the ball, but I forgot. I was just thinking about scoring." Francisco scratched his head and came up to apologize embarrassedly. If he could pass the ball at that time, the Supersonics might have had a chance.

Mo Wen stopped what he was doing, turned around, tilted his head and looked at Francisco without saying a word, just with a stern face.

Everyone noticed the situation here. Mo Wen didn't say anything, but the air pressure in the locker room was already rising.

The Supersonics have had a good record this year and the locker room has always been quite harmonious, but everyone has seen Mo Wen getting angry on the court. If you put yourself in the opponent's perspective, you'll feel suffocated.

We almost won the game tonight, but they didn't give us the support, so Mo Wen did have reason to be angry.

Many people thought of the scene in the documentary where Danzi scolded his teammates (in fact, his teammates refuted him, as most of the time Danzi didn’t have that much face in the locker room), so, is it coming?

"Well, it's really stupid." Mo Wen raised his eyebrows. He recalled the reason why Francisco apologized.

It’s not that he is forgetful, but he doesn’t like to review those seemingly crucial balls.

Basketball is not football. Each team can have 80-100 shots in a single game (including foul shots). If you focus on one or two balls and analyze them, you can find the problem. Unless there are really only one or two balls with problems, but to be able to play the ball to this level is not science fiction, it has to be fantasy.

The issue of winning or losing a game is more likely to be reflected in the first three quarters, just like the fact that small problems of high-paid players are more fatal than big problems of low-paid players.

Playing more advanced basketball but failing to clock out in three quarters is their problem.

"Wait until we get back to the hotel." Mo Wen's words made Francisco's heart rise to his throat. He originally thought that he would just be scolded in the locker room. This time, the hotel would not attack him in the locker room. Would he be beaten?

"Go back to the hotel, Tyson, and supervise him to do ten push-ups."

Mo Wen said calmly, if there is a problem and a mistake then there must be feedback, he doesn't think today's win or loss is strongly related to Francisco, but now that things have come to this, he must show some appreciation, as for helping him to absolve himself of responsibility and even comforting him... Lao Hei won't buy it either.

"By the way, Frank (Francisco's short name), after you're done, supervise Tyson to do 100, no, 200. Tyson, you played even worse today. I told you to control your fouls, but you were kicked off after three quarters. Fuck, it was all in vain for me to watch the video! Wait for tomorrow's video lesson. Bob and I will teach you together!"

Francisco was stunned. Did he hear it right? Just 10 push-ups?

"10, good boss!... Actually I could do this all day!"

Mo Wen didn't look at him, but looked at Tyson. Tyson, feeling Mo Wen's gaze, didn't dare to look at Mo Wen, and could only look at Francisco with resentment.

Don’t take me with you when you are bragging!

The home team's locker room after the game.

Dayao greeted every staff member happily.

From the player tunnel to the locker room, the slaps never stopped all the way.

Winning feels great. What he fears most is not winning a single game. After participating in the Western Conference Finals, he has only lost four games.

Since the beginning of the CBA, he has been accustomed to substituting real-life games into his game thinking:

Gained a foothold in the team, became the core of the team, led the team to the playoffs, was taught a lesson by Dazhi, tied with Dazhi, beat Dazhi once, led the team to beat Bayi once... won the CBA championship (Dazhi has left), entered the NBA, became a qualified starter, became the core of the team's inside line, entered the playoffs... entered the Western Conference Finals.

He believes that life is a ladder, one step at a time. He stepped on the ladder to the Western Conference Finals this year, so what's next...

Not only Yao Ming, but every Warriors player had happiness written all over their faces. However, the fear of being almost defeated by Mo Wen made them not want to discuss the game too much.

"Hey man, where are we going to play tonight? How are we celebrating?" Jackson asked, putting his arm around Byron Davis' shoulder.

After the game, there is a period of time left for the players to take a shower and clean up. The locker room is not immediately open to reporters, so there are no outsiders to get in the way during this period.

"Impala Bar, the private rooms and girls are all booked, and you can eat as much as you want...I'm talking about the fruit plate." Byron Davis noticed the big guy next to him and added meaningfully.

"Don't look at me. I'm not going. My girlfriend is waiting for me at home." Yao Ming knew that his teammates wanted to drag him along to have fun, but he was already engaged.

The others burst into laughter. If it were them, they were getting married soon, there was no way they would miss any opportunity to go out and have fun.

After all, that is freedom.

Dayao shrugged his shoulders and laughed awkwardly, and let it go. To be honest, he had been tempted by the decadent life, but when he thought of the eyes staring at him at home and looked at his own height in the mirror, he thought of it.

Objectively, this cut off the conditions for him to commit the crime.

I just listened to my teammates discussing tall and short, black and white, slightly fat or revealing, immature or mature, rice bowl or Big Mac...

Dayao couldn't help feeling a little worried.

In fact, this is the style of the Warriors during the regular season. Nelson does not have too strict management requirements for the players' lives. As long as it does not affect training and games, everyone knows that they are lucky to have such a coach, so they can have fun, but they are all very careful.

Jackson, who likes to play on weekdays, has even developed the habit of firing a shot before the game. He said that this can increase his concentration during the game.

But this is the playoffs, is it really okay to be so casual?
The water drops from the shower head in the bathroom blurred Dayao's vision.

In a daze, he saw again the scene in 04 when he and the Rockets made the playoffs for the first time.

One day, they beat the F4 Lakers, and the teammates in the locker room were so excited, as if winning a game would be worthy of the fans, worthy of the salary, and the mission was accomplished. Just winning a game was like winning the championship.

He just hoped it was his imagination.

……

Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals was in full swing. The Cavaliers, who were fighting a desperate battle, also mobilized all their energy. Without much adjustment from Mike Brown, they won Game 3 thanks to multiple factors such as the personal abilities of several stars, the desperate defense of the three teams, and the Pistons' return to form.

But fans and experts were not satisfied.

Because the whole game was not spectacular and was very tense and thrilling at one point, they were reluctant to point their guns at the players who fought for their lives when they won, so coach Mike Brown became the outlet for their anxiety.

"With all due respect to James and Reed, the Cavaliers' victory today was purely due to the efforts of Mike Brown. Mike Brown's timeouts and adjustments played almost no role. Billups, who made 10 of 3 shots, contributed more to the Cavaliers than Mike Brown."

"Mike Brown is too young, and LeBron has grown up. If the Cavaliers can't win the championship this year, they should bring in a more mature coach in the offseason."

"There are many big-name veteran coaches to choose from in the current market. Tomjanovich no longer has health problems, Adelman is also looking for a job, and Larry Brown has returned to the 76ers as a consultant..."

On TV, Bill Walton talked freely.

Putting aside the offense, the Cavaliers' defense is quite good under the coaching of Mike Brown. Historically, James's ability to break through in the Eastern Conference this year is inseparable from the defensive lineup built by Mike Brown.

The current Cavaliers lack Larry Hughes compared to history, but Mike Bibby's defense is good enough to make up for the shortfall. It's just that without Gooden, Webber, whose athletic ability has declined significantly, is a bit of a stretch. But after Mike Brown increased Varejao's playing time, the situation has improved a lot.

Brown believes that there is no need to change the offensive problems. He should let James hold the ball more firmly and believe in the ability of the superstar. Bibby and Webber can pass the ball. He does not think that his rigid tactics can surpass the talents of the three players, so not causing more trouble is a meritorious service.

However, not many fans can understand defense, and most people can see the score at the bottom of the screen more clearly.

Fortunately, Gilbert, who recruited Mike Brown, could understand this. He saw that Detroit won the championship by relying on defense and could not hire Larry Brown, so he hired Mike Brown, who had studied under Popovich for three years, to be the head coach.

The opinions of the fans don’t matter, but some people’s opinions do.

The Cavaliers who won the game also seemed unhappy about their victory. During the interview in the locker room, several main players expressed their dissatisfaction with the current situation. James didn't say anything, but when asked if the head coach had lost trust in him, he just evaded the question with a simple and plain tone of "we are a team", which was very telling.

Mike Brown felt it, too, but he didn't say anything, or there was nothing he could do.

Winning is the glory of superstars, while losing is the responsibility of coaches. This is also the customary division of labor between players and coaches.

There are a lot of players who continue to play for a team for four years. There are at least two in each team, but when it comes to coaches, there are only seven in the entire league.

There is no big problem with his coaching style. On the defensive end, he emphasizes mobilizing the entire team to defend hard, while on the offensive end, he relies on big-name stars and gives free rein most of the time.

Auerbach, Zen Master, George Karl, and the current Popovich all follow this approach.

The problem is that he has no achievements, so he has no say.

Is he really the problem with the Cavaliers?

Mike Brown turned off the TV signal, took out the videotape, called his assistant, and started a new night of work.

For him, all he can do is work hard and wait for the judgment of fate and the decision of time.

……

On May 5, Mo Wen welcomed an unexpected visitor to the hotel where he was staying.

It’s not the eldest princess, but... the fat shark.

Of course, it is not particularly surprising. O'Neal has spent hundreds of millions of US dollars on buying houses to ensure that he has a house in every NBA city. As for whether he has a mistress, no one knows.

"I think you just let the game go, just to let Yao win a game, right? Damn it, how could you let the game go? Where did your energy to score 50 points in a single game go? You couldn't score 50 points with that Warriors defense?"

Fat Shark muttered to himself that because he had his head shaved again, he really wanted to see Yao Ming's head shaved as well, as if this would allow him to temporarily retain the title of "No. 1 Center", although this title had been snatched away by Yao Ming during the regular season.

"You're on vacation so you can be tough. This is the playoffs, the Western Conference Finals. Do you think it's easy to score 50 points? By the way, have you ever scored 50 in the playoffs, the most dominant center in history?" Mo Wen rolled his eyes. There are no weak teams in the playoffs, and they can't score points like they do in the regular season.

(Melo: Ah yes, yes, yes!)
O'Neal was speechless for a moment. His highest score in the playoffs was only 46 points, not low, but he couldn't hold his head up in front of Mo Wen. Who made this freak who likes to shoot three-pointers score 50+ triple-doubles in the playoffs in his second year? He also scored 62 points before leaving last year. Although he didn't score 50+ this year, he had a 49-point game a few days ago...

The three-point shot is really supermodel, and it is recommended to expand the three-point line.

"By the way, where's your long-necked buddy? He went to Seattle to watch the game before. Why didn't he come along to join in the fun this time?"

"Chris went back to Toronto after the lottery. The No. 3 pick was one pick higher than him. He wanted to supervise the team's tryouts and ask them not to give him another big man, otherwise he might really leave."

Mo Wen suddenly thought that if the Raptors had better luck and drew the second pick and selected Durant, then the picture of Bosh, Bargnani and Durant would be so beautiful.

"It's possible," O'Neal said suddenly. "Riley asked me if I wanted to go to Toronto to see the snow. Damn it, I won't go to that place unless they are willing to cut me like they cut Alonzo."

Is Riley hinting at a trade?

Hey, wait, Riley wants to trade Fat Shark now?
"Riley doesn't plan to make another push? The Heat's roster should be fine for another year, right?"

"Michael (Finley) is definitely leaving, Dwyane's injury may have to wait until next year, Sam fell out with him and doesn't plan to fight anymore, Peja wants your original ball rights, and great Shaq, my doctor told me that it's better not to lose weight like before... Damn, Riley should have secretly given you 20 million to keep you playing for one more year. The Pistons can't beat me, and the Little Emperor can't beat you, and then we can beat TD in the finals!"

O'Neal tore off the Heat's underwear without any concealment. The Titanic has collapsed, and what remains is a chapter of separation and disaster.

"That's a nice thought. You are such a shameless old man. You said at the beginning of the season that the dynasty would still exist even without me, but now you want me to stay?" Mo Wen pouted. "Be ready to think about where to go next. You still have three years and 60 million on your big contract. Do you think you are more important, you or Franklin with 60 million?"

For Riley, there is no need to choose between being the hero of the championship and 60 million in three years. O'Neal's contract is already overpriced this year. Keeping it will not only block the Heat's salary space, but will also generate a high luxury tax after Wade executes the contract extension.

However, when Riley mentioned Toronto, how could he be so confident that the Raptors management would be willing to give up a young All-Star center and choose an old fat shark with three years and a contract worth 60 million?

Mike Conley is the only standard guard in the top ten of this year's draft predictions, and this is what the Raptors are in urgent need of. Unless Riley tops the Raptors management, he doesn't know where to start with this deal.

Originally, the Suns hired the very smart Kerr as general manager. Kerr saw the Spurs win the championship and thought that he had to strengthen the team to target Duncan, so he traded Marion to take over O'Neal without considering the compatibility of the lineup, and then he was named the worst general manager of the year.

But this trading logic no longer exists after the Supersonics defeated the Spurs, and Mo Wen mentioned Yao Ming in the Western Conference Finals and also pointed out the father-son relationship between the outside three-point shooter and the big center.

Unless they want to find a star player to sell tickets, probably no team in the Western Conference will consider O'Neal.

O'Neal is also very depressed. He doesn't want to leave, but Riley uses this to threaten him to lose weight and train. Although his annual salary means that even if he does not have the veto power, he can still scare away teams he doesn't want to play for, but if Riley really wants to trade him, he can't stop him.

"Let him go wherever he wants, just don't let me go back to the Lakers." Unable to find a solution, O'Neal chose to lie down and wait.

Lakers?

Mo Wen blinked. Wait, it seemed like something important had been skipped in his memory?

"You've won five championships, and you haven't forgiven him yet?" Mo Wen teased.

"No, he's just one aspect. The main thing is that I don't want to make money for that old man anymore," O'Neal shook his head. "I told you before that my leaving Los Angeles was more about me and old Buss. That guy is just a stingy vampire disguised as a good guy. However, with the conflict between me and that stupid boy, they definitely won't want me."

"That stupid boy was sucked of blood by the old man for three years, and he just complained a little this year and then fell silent again. Haha, this is all he has achieved in his life."

Mo Wen then remembered that in the original time and space, Kobe was accusing old Buss of not recruiting new players and demanding a trade.

At first, the media all swarmed to mock Kobe for squeezing out O'Neal and wanting to leave because he couldn't lead the team. However, O'Neal took the initiative to speak out to help Kobe out of the predicament and shifted the firepower to old Buss.

Now that the Lakers have St. Paul, they are no longer making trouble?

Kobe is indeed a bit of a loser, he is satisfied with just Paul.

……

That night, the Oracle Arena was still packed with people.

The fans all wore shirts with "we believe!" printed on them and shouted "we believe!", looking forward to Croto (the goddess of fate) favoring them again.

And Crotho seemed to have really responded to their demands. Just as in Greek mythology, Crotho told the Trojan prince that the weakness of the immortal warrior Achilles was in his ankle. Tyson, who scored 6 points in the opening game, also twisted his ankle in a rebounding confrontation.

It’s a pity that the replay showed that there was no despicable person responsible for this, and the Supersonics could only blame themselves for their bad luck.

A sprained ankle is not a serious injury, but the team doctor asked Tyson to go back to the locker room to rest after a brief diagnosis. At least he can't play in this game.

But Tyson's early departure was still a serious blow to the Supersonics.

Even though Tyson has trouble controlling his fouls in front of Yao Ming and his defensive effectiveness is average, he is already the best choice on the Sonics team besides Mo Wen.

"It's Yao's turn to play in today's game. Francisco is a rough guy with good physical talent. Milicic can also play as a center, but his defensive skills are no match for Yao. Now it depends on how the Supersonics adjust."

Hubie Brown, who was commentating today's game, tried to solve the problem with a defensive mindset, but he could only see a bleak future for the SuperSonics.

“Bunny, bunny, bunny!” “Bunny, bunny, bunny!” “Bunny, bunny, bunny!”

For a moment, the Oracle Arena was filled with the sound of two to two.

"Didn't you say we'd wait? So we're waiting here. What do you think?" Stephen Jackson smirked. Although he couldn't defend against Mo Wen, it didn't affect his mentality to deal with Mo Wen.

"MVP? Are you the MVP?"

As long as Mo Wen gets excited, they will double-team him, and they can solve the problems quickly with the formula.

Mo Wen saw that Jackson was trying to provoke him, but he was too lazy to talk to a jerk like Jackson. He thought Jackson didn't deserve to listen, so he turned his head towards the audience.

He pointed at the fat man sitting over there and stretched out his hand.

"Look here, this is the 50 points you wanted!"

(End of this chapter)