NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 500: Tears for the Knees (5900 words chapter)
On Thursday, May 2007, 5, there was only one game that day. TNT was still reporting in detail before the game, but after the game, the studio was silent.

The injury excuse is no longer useful. Even though Pat Riley vowed before the game that the team would be in better shape after two days of rest, the Heat still lost by a large margin.

The discussion about the new MVP continues, with ESPN's radio station in New York calling for "return the trophy" every day under the call of Stephen A. Smith.

TNT originally didn't plan to continue this, but after tonight's game, the trio couldn't hold it anymore. The intensity of the regular season should not appear on the semi-final stage.

The interview at Madison Square Garden just ended. Gasol had a low-key and economical triple-double tonight:

出场34分钟，10中6，罚球4中4，16分11篮板10助攻2抢断3盖帽1失误。

钱德勒出场30分钟，8中5，罚球4中2，12分10篮板1抢断3盖帽2失误。

尼克斯队的双塔让奥尼尔15中6，罚球7中3，仅拿到15分7篮板1助攻7失误的数据。

"I feel great. This is the playoffs I was looking forward to. Last year I could only sit on the bench, but now I am competing for the championship."

"Screening, defending, catching the pass and putting the ball in the basket, that's how I play!"

"Playing next to Lee makes me better. We will get match points early. I really appreciate the support of the New York fans."

Chandler couldn't control the smile on his face while being interviewed on the sidelines. The fans behind were still cheering loudly. This was the last home game. If they wanted to watch the next game, they would have to wait more than a week.

Compared to his time with the Bulls, Chandler looks stronger, has more beard, and shaved his hair short for the playoffs, looking like a defensive stalwart.

"Skin" is still useful. The fact that he ranks second in DPOY this season is the best proof of this. If Chandler's statistics were not as good as Camby's, he would have probably won the championship.

Greg Sager, who was interviewing on the sidelines, watched Chandler turn around and high-five Li You in celebration, and congratulated him again, and commented seriously to the camera:
"The Knicks' inside combination completely suppressed their opponents on the defensive end, 43:30, and had a large lead in rebounds."

"I can't comment on tonight's game. Lee was as stable as ever. He made Wade completely lost on both offense and defense."

"Considering Wade's injury, it's hard for me to be optimistic about the Heat in Saturday's game. The Knicks will most likely make it to the conference finals for the 11th consecutive season!"

The joyful atmosphere in the arena failed to reach the studio in the back. Ernie Johnson looked at his silent partner and could only continue to summarize according to the prepared remarks:
“19分3篮板5助攻7失误，虽然韦德打了38分钟，但他看上去缺少活力。”

"Considering that we have Game 3 on Saturday, it would be hard for coach Pat Riley to make a more effective adjustment."

19中8，罚球6中3，韦德首节7中2之后下半场的垃圾时间表现得还好。

The silent Charles Barkley had already looked through the technical statistics. Perhaps he was dissatisfied with the intensity of tonight's game, so he suddenly fired at the Heat:
"This was the worst semifinal I've ever witnessed. I only saw fear in Wade's eyes. Most of his points came from jump shots."

"O'Neal is old, and the inside combination of him and Haslem can't even protect the rebounds."

86:118, the game was no longer suspenseful after the first quarter. Thinking of this, Charles Barkley sped up his speech again and complained seriously:
"Lee didn't ruin the league. His presence made more fans watch the Knicks games, and teams like the Heat were the reason for the decline in the league's ratings."

"I can't imagine this is the semifinals, just like I can't believe a 68-win team led by the MVP of the season gets eliminated by a 40-win team."

"It is these overrated stars that ruined the league"

Kenny Smith on the far right had to interrupt his partner. Fans today are different from those in the past. Excessive criticism will lead to abuse on the Internet:
"I have to remind you that Wade's shoulder injury has not fully recovered, and he also has problems with his knee. Basketball is a game for five people."

"I didn't ask him to win the game, I just expected the Heat to hold on until the 4th quarter!"

Charles Barkley immediately opened his mouth to refute, not giving his two partners a chance to speak, and once again expanded his output range and fired at the fake star:
"Look at our best players, some of them can't make the playoffs, some are eliminated in the first round, what do the fans see?"

"After promoting for a whole season, in the end, no one can see your presence. I would rather give the MVP to Li every year, so that at least we can appear professional enough."

This morning, the NBA announced the best lineup of the season:
The best five players are:

You Lee, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Amar'e Stoudemire;
The five best second team players are:

Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming;
The top five players in the third team are:

Gilbert Arenas, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard.

The old partner's map cannon offended most of the players. After all, there were quite a few players who were caught fishing in the first round of the best lineup. Kenny Smith sighed in his heart. The ratings of the semi-finals were indeed not as high as the first round:
"I still believe the Heat can make adjustments when they return home, and they will explode in desperate situations."

"."

TNT's brief post-game commentary made Heat fans feel even worse. After two consecutive big losses, there are more and more calls for Pat Riley to be fired.

Even the Miami sports media has begun to question it. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be another column tomorrow morning to speak up for Stan Van Gundy.

On the morning of the 11th, Li You had to get up early because he had to fly to Miami with the team in the morning.

Every time I return to Peninsula Manor, I have a good sleep quality. At night, it is so quiet here that only the barking of the husky Happy can be heard.
As her due date was approaching, Ivana, who was resting her mind on taking care of her baby, had been staying here recently. The bedroom was still dim. The half-awake girl held on to Li You tightly until he kissed her, then she fell asleep again in a daze.

When Li You appeared on the first floor, Happy jumped and brought the newspaper. The elderly dog ​​still liked his male owner taking him for a walk as before.

"Good boy!"

After encouraging Happy who was smiling, Li Youxiao touched the dog's head and saw Melinda in her nightgown appear in the living room.

"I found out some bad news. Robert Mercer seems to have received an invitation from the Heritage Foundation. He will most likely work actively for conservatives in the future."

Melinda, with her hair tied in a ponytail, handed over a folder. Li You took a casual look at it. She worked at the Renaissance hedge fund and was expected to take over as CEO in the future.

Renaissance, founded by mathematicians, focuses more on quantitative trading. It is located in East Setauket, New York, and is not a good neighbor of Axe Capital. The two sides have basically no contact.

Noticing that Robert Mercer, a well-known figure in the industry, was also from New Mexico and had attended college in Albuquerque, Li You curled his lips and whispered:

"Is this a hometown gathering? Does David Addington really have a hometown complex?"

Melinda was somewhat confused about the invitation from the White House Chief of Staff. She didn't know much about the Heritage Foundation, and the information she collected wasn't very useful.

Li You hugged the big-breasted girl and invited Happy to go to the restaurant. He casually flipped through the New York Times and said after being pinched:

"This isn't just about one person. Go ask Bobby again and give Griffin a call. Maybe he has more information in Chicago."

"If Dick Cheney can get away with Halliburton's prosecution, he can go ask the old man about it, but his heart is probably not good enough, and the vice president's career is over without these things."

The other party was obviously wearing the same pants, and Milinda was naturally aware of this. She seemed a little dissatisfied with Li You's lack of attention. After dribbling the ball and bumping into him from behind, she whispered:
“We shouldn’t be exposed to extreme people, as this will seriously affect the benefits.”

Let the big-breasted girl sit in her arms. After a whisper, Melinda nodded and looked at Happy who was sitting obediently beside her. Finally, she twisted Li You:
"There's no end to making money, maybe we should stop and enjoy life."

"Basketball is the best pastime in life, and you should go to Madison Square Garden to relax."

Wade, who is also waiting for the birth of a child, has had a hard time recently. His image as a good man has collapsed, causing reporters to be more concerned about his family life rather than his performance on the court.

The atmosphere within the Heat team has not been very good this season. There are too many old guys, and injuries are always happening. Wade, who wants to train hard, has not received support.

On Saturday afternoon, May 5, the Heat arrived at the American Airlines Arena to warm up. When Wade appeared in the locker room with a big face, Gary Payton saw his younger brother and continued to complain:

"Who is Charles Barkley to judge us? Does he think he's that great?"

"He used to criticize Lee, but now he's become like a jerk who only knows how to lick ass. I just feel sick when I hear those compliments."

The veteran who was sitting in his seat and talking in a shrill voice left many Heat players speechless. They had heard too much of such sour remarks, and Payton was possessed by jealousy every now and then.

Everyone knows that Gary Payton wanted to go to New York to get a ring, but he never got his wish after several years. Although it is understandable, most players have their own thoughts:

"The old guy is really anxious"

Alonzo Mourning did not participate in this topic. The kidney fighter has been recalling his original choice over and over again in the past few days. Because of Ewing, he had the opportunity to play in New York that year.

When he was on the Nets, he was obsessed with returning to Miami. Pat Riley's call seemed to have magic, but he became numb from losing in recent years and Mourning finally came to his senses.

"Okay, Gary! At least win one game. I don't want to say goodbye to the game like this."

After hearing Mourning's words, the locker room fell silent again. Wade, who had quietly changed his jersey, noticed that O'Neal lowered his head and said nothing. Finally, he looked around at everyone and said seriously:

“Think about the fans who support us”

Wade's moving speech did not have much effect, because Miami fans always left early. Everyone knew that many of the people who came to watch the game were fans of winning.

At 20:2 p.m. that evening, after the game started, the cheers from Heat fans at the American Airlines Arena grew louder and louder.

After falling behind in the first quarter, during the rotation phase of the second quarter, Jason Kapono, who won the three-point contest, suddenly broke out, and James Posey also suddenly found his touch outside the three-point line.

Thanks to the outstanding performance of the bench lineup, the score was 56:52 at the end of the first half, and the Heat were only 4 points behind.

This was the best half of the series for the Heat, with 31 points in the second quarter, the only quarter in which they beat the Knicks. The Heat fans cheered excitedly for Jason Kapono's performance of 6 of 5 shots, 1 of 1 from beyond the three-point line, and 11 points in a single quarter, and the atmosphere at halftime became even more heated.

Hubie Brown breathed a sigh of relief in the ESPN commentary booth. There was still suspense in the second half, which was much better than he expected:

"We must praise the bold adjustment made by head coach Pat Riley. The Heat showed more vitality when they returned to their home court."

"As long as O'Neal can find his form in the second half, they have a chance to win tonight."

Mike Breen is not worried about the Knicks. There will always be situations where shots are missed in some games. Rondo played too much time tonight, and it is clear that Li You has not yet exerted his strength:

"I saw the veteran's desire for victory. Mourning scored 4 valuable points in limited playing time. His performance was outstanding!"

"."

During the halftime break, the two people on the commentary stand began to praise the Heat constantly. They lost the first two games so badly that they didn't even have a chance to praise them.

When the second half of the game started, the atmosphere in the American Airlines Arena was still high. The Heat fans at the scene shouted loudly after the ball was kicked out from the baseline:

"Let's go Heat!."

Amid the shouts that echoed throughout the arena, Jason Williams began to frown again as he looked at Hill in front of him. Since confirming that he had lost his explosiveness, the Knicks had frequently switched positions on defense.

Relying on his physical advantage, Hill, who was leading the defense, constantly used his long arms to disrupt the opponent's dribbling rhythm. At this time, Eddie Jones and Wade slipped to the baseline to complete a cross screen, and both of them bounced out at the same time.

Near the baseline on the right side, O'Neal tried to use his big body to help Wade delay Li You who was continuing to defend him, but was squeezed past him.

He accelerated and jumped outwards, approaching the right elbow area. The moment Wade received the ball, Li You was in position to defend him.

Turning around and lowering his center of gravity, Wade tried to create space with his head and kept the ball firmly on the right side of his body. After sweeping the ball, he took a series of tentative steps with his left foot, and while Li You turned his body sideways, he quickly released the ball with his right hand.

Wade lowered his shoulders and accelerated, and his breakthrough made the cheers even louder, but the Flash seemed to have lost his previous speed and failed to get out of position in the first step.

Li You slid swiftly to the left rear, blocking the opponent's breakthrough route in an instant while giving physical confrontation.

The pressure from the side made Wade start to accelerate towards the baseline. When he was near the right baseline, he decisively blocked the ball and made a jump shot while stepping back sideways and drifting to the right and rear.

When Wade flew into the air and saw Li You's left arm stretched out in front of him, he instinctively raised the arc to avoid blocking the basketball but missed again.

"Oh!"

With a sigh, Wade fell out of the baseline. Most of his shots tonight were difficult jump shots. He made 10 of 4 shots in the first half, and his breakthroughs almost disappeared.

O'Neal kept pulling, trying to squeeze Chandler behind him to grab the rebound. The two were still entangled, and Gasol at the bottom right of the basket easily grabbed the rebound in front of Haslem.

Pat Riley on the sidelines yelled loudly, but he didn't have time to pull his teammates up. All the Heat players turned their heads and retreated with all their might.

"Defense!."

Amid the cheers from the defense, Wade gritted his teeth and stood up, immediately chasing after Li You, and the two of them quickly rushed across half court.

The timely retreat forced the Knicks into a positional offense again. Artest, who ran across half court, turned his head to take a look at the situation on the line, noticed that Gasol raised his screen position, and immediately moved to the left sideline.

On the right wing, Jason Williams, who was defending Hill, stopped nervously, observed the defense, and watched helplessly as Wade was broken through again.

Near the top of the arc, without waiting for Gasol to stand still, Li You rushed across half court and first slowed down slightly, then took advantage of Wade adjusting his defensive position to suddenly push the ball and change direction.

The moment he switched to his left hand, Li You lowered his shoulders and accelerated, and Wade quickly slid, but still lost his defensive position on the three-point line.

Haslem, who was defending, wanted to slide and chase him, but Li You quickly went in and out while moving, pushing the ball outwards without slowing down, and rushed into the paint area in the blink of an eye amid the exclamations of the fans.

The defense on the line didn't work at all. Li You took three steps forward, grabbed the ball with his left hand, and jumped into the air facing O'Neal who was assisting in the defense under the basket.

The old shark extended his hand symbolically, and then the basket made a loud noise. Li You swung his arm and dunked the ball into the basket again!

"Shh!"

The boos were not loud, and this dunk as if it was in an empty space was not the first time. After landing, Li You glanced at the silent O'Neal, then quickly retreated with a smile on his face.

Apart from smashing the ball to express his anger, O'Neal had no response. Cheers started again and Williams passed the ball early across half court.

After coming into contact with the screen and bouncing to the top of the arc, Wade was unable to release the ball and had to carefully protect the ball under the close defense of Li You. Haslem hurried forward to screen and roll.

Wade's fake move didn't work, but because his starting speed was too slow, Li You squeezed through the screen and chased him again.

Gasol did not forget to raise his right arm while retreating to defend. Under the tacit defense, Wade, who stopped and started quickly, crashed into the double encirclement.

Without forcing an attack, he threw the ball to the free throw line before falling, and then Wade stumbled and fell to the floor again.

The moment Haslem received the ball, Artest on the right wing came to assist in defense, and Eddie Jones, who was left open, didn't get any chance and watched his teammate miss the jump shot.

The slightly hasty shot finally hit the front of the backboard, and Li You picked up the ball. Low cheers broke out in the stadium, and the Knicks launched a counterattack again.

Li You advanced at a very fast speed, dribbled around Haslem with the ball behind him, accelerated and rushed across the center line in the blink of an eye.

The retreating Eddie Jones hurried back to the middle, forcing Li You to change direction again. Haslem gritted his teeth and chased back to the paint area and jumped, trying to cooperate with his teammates to complete the block.

Li You, who was holding the ball in his right hand, suddenly swung his arm sideways in the air. Although two people blocked him and he could not see the situation behind him, he still confidently passed the ball behind his back.

When the three of them rushed out of the baseline together, Artest followed up and easily caught the ball, grabbed it with his right hand, and slammed it down!

"what!"

After completing the dunk, Artest pounded his chest and screamed, and the quick counterattack made the Heat's atmosphere team's eyes widen. This is how they were defeated in the first two games.

60:54, the game seemed to be in trouble after the start of the second half, and the mood of Heat fans was also affected.

When attacking again, Wade finally bounced out to the left blocking area with the help of O'Neal's screen, received the ball in the sweet spot, and faced with Li You who was chasing him, he released the ball with his right hand and instantly changed direction in front of his body.

Wade, holding the ball in his left hand, lowered his shoulders and accelerated straight to the basket. The fans had just cheered when Li You, who was chasing after him and jumping, suddenly jumped up.

Wade, who was catching the ball with his left hand in the air, felt a strong force hitting the basketball. Li You swung his right arm in the air to compete with him. The two of them hovered for a short time, and then Wade lost his balance.

The fans in the front row screamed, and Wade landed on one foot and fell horizontally to the floor.

When the basketball was about to fly out of the baseline, Li You nimbly leaned forward and passed the ball back. Gasol successfully controlled the ball, and boos started again.

Head coach Pat Riley angrily put pressure on the referee on the sidelines. The Heat had no choice but to retreat again. Wade climbed up with a painful look on his face and continued to chase with gritted teeth.

In the transition offense, Li You's advancement speed was not fast this time. When he reached the right wing, Wade had already established a defensive position.

As Li You suddenly stopped dribbling the ball behind his back, the defensive cheers in the stadium started again.

"Defense!."

Wade tried hard to lower his center of gravity. Seeing Li You change direction by leaning over to his right hand to accelerate, he quickly turned his body sideways and prepared to slide.

The moment the opponent changed his center of gravity, Li You changed direction again, and when he was still half a step away from the three-point line, he deceived the defense and suddenly passed the ball.

Wade, whose front foot was attacked, watched Li You kick the ball from outside the three-point line, and instinctively cut the ball with his right arm, but it was empty.

In the end, Wade stood still and watched Li You shoot a three-pointer from a long distance!
"Bang! What a shot!"

Mike Breen was shouting excitedly in the commentary booth, and the American Airlines Arena suddenly became quiet. Everyone looked at Li You who was retreating and making gun gestures with his fingers, and then they gradually started booing.

63:54, watching the score gap widen but unable to do anything, Wade angrily punched the air, trying to motivate his teammates.

The cheers became quieter, and it was not until Wade broke through with the ball in his left hand and was knocked out of the baseline by Li You that the angry shouts resounded throughout the stadium.

As if it was a signal, the Knicks suddenly strengthened their defense.

O'Neal had a hard time catching the ball as he was being defended from the front, and he tried to use a screen, while Wade, who received the ball in the sweet spot, was taken care of in turn.

The Knicks always scored on their counterattacks. As the score difference gradually reached double digits, the anxious Wade was knocked out of the baseline by Artest during the attack.
Wade fell to the ground in pain, holding his knees, and this time he didn't stand up again.

All the Heat team members gathered around him. Hearing his teammates yelling and cursing, Wade, who was lying on the floor, had red eyes and couldn't help but recall past memories:

“Is this how Iverson was eliminated back then?”

(End of this chapter)