Zhiba NBA

Chapter 37 (36) End of season

This battle completely boosted the morale of the Rockets.Most Houston fans believe that the Rockets will be able to achieve a major reversal and eliminate the Spurs, and even win the championship.

Game 5 on May 11 also seems to be going in the direction fans predicted.Different from the previous three games, this time the two sides fought inextricably at the beginning. After the first quarter, the Spurs only led the Rockets by one point at 24:23.The Rockets' bench lineup is obviously stronger than the Spurs, as long as the Rockets' advantage is consumed, it will come.

In the second quarter, the two sides tied for 24.

In the third quarter, the Rockets deployed a small lineup. Reed and Okur scored consecutive points. Although Duncan also blasted Wallace, the Rockets overtook the score with a gorgeous offense, 70:79.

And a foul early in the fourth quarter changed the course of the series.McGrady made another gorgeous pull-up jumper, widening the point difference to 12 points.But after he landed, he fell to the ground in pain and left the field helplessly.The playback video shows that McGrady stepped on Bowen's feet when he landed (Note: Bowen stepped on his feet and hurt people many times in history, and the trapeze Carter was one of his victims).

The main player injured and left the field has inspired the fighting spirit of the Rockets' young players.Reed hit consecutive three-pointers, and Turkoglu also played well and contributed 9 points in a single quarter.The final score was 98:105. The Rockets defeated the mighty Spurs with difficulty at home and tied the total score at 2-2.

这一场姚明得到了19+7，特科格鲁17+3，麦迪表现神勇，离场前屡屡造马刺球员犯规走上罚球线，共17罚14中得到了33+6+3。马刺队邓肯同样有MVP级的发挥，他砍下了36+9+5。

But only one of the two MVP-level players is destined to make it to the Western Conference Finals.

The diagnosis after the game was not optimistic. McGrady had a sprained ankle and was expected to miss two to three weeks of the game.And after two weeks, the Western Conference finals are over. Can the Rockets, without Tracy McGrady, be able to win consecutively against strong opponents and reach the finals?

The reality is cruel. Although Reid and Johnson, who replaced McGrady, played well, their level is still not comparable to McGrady.

99:109 The Spurs beat the Rockets at home.

106:104 The Spurs narrowly beat the Rockets away.

The Rockets stopped in the Final Four, and their 2002-2003 season was over.The Chinese media had no choice but to focus on the close-up shots of Battelle comforting Yao Ming.

***
鲍文受到了联盟禁赛3场的处罚，但这并没有影响到马刺的战斗力。西部决赛成了马刺和小牛（4：3险胜国王）的德州内战，最终马刺4:2淘汰小牛时隔4年再度挺进总决赛。

The Eastern Conference was completely dominated by the Nets. They defeated the Celtics and the Pistons in two 2:4 sweeps (the Eastern Conference semifinals beat the 0ers), winning the Eastern Conference Championship.

The finals became Duncan's super gorgeous personal show. Facing the weak inside of the Nets, Shifo averaged 24.2+17+5.3+5.3 per game and completely dominated the field. In the end, the Spurs defeated the Nets 4-2 to win the championship.Duncan won the Finals MVP.In the 5 years after Jordan retired, the Spurs and the Lakers won all 5 championships. Duncan and O'Neal won 3 regular season MVPs and 5 Finals MVPs. The two giants completely dominated the post-Jordan era.Battelle failed to get playing time in the playoffs, but he became China's No.1 in winning the NBA championship.

***
The season is over, and it's the offseason for Zhuqiang to recruit troops.The summer of this year was particularly lively, because the competition for the championship became more intense.

The Triple Crown Lakers who dominated the league were killed by the upstart Rockets, and the veteran Spurs won the second championship in team history.This allowed many powerful opponents to see that the championship is not out of reach.

The Dallas Mavericks reached the Western Conference Finals. The basketball-loving boss Cuban is very satisfied. He is ready to spend more money in his pocket to sign up.

The Lakers have seen their own aging problems, and are also preparing to strengthen the lineup around the OK duo.

Although the Spurs won the championship, but the shortcomings of the No. 1 position are obvious, they will not be satisfied with the current status quo.

The Timberwolves have been stagnant for many years, and general manager McHale has to fight.

The Pistons in the East picked up a big deal and were laughing. In August 1997, the Pistons exchanged a player (our old teammate of the Rockets, Odis Thorpe who had just retired) in exchange for a first-round pick in the next 8 years of the Grizzlies.But the Grizzlies have played poorly in recent years, and they have been ranked high every year.The management couldn't bear it, so it dragged on for 7 years and didn't give the Pistons the pick. After playing in 6, the Grizzlies only had 03 wins, the sixth-worst in the league.It's the last year of this deal, and the pick has to be given.The unlucky Grizzlies' character just exploded, and they were drawn to the second place abruptly, so the Eastern runner-up Pistons picked up the second pick in the draft year, which is really a reinforcement.

As for the other two bad teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the No. [-] lottery, and the Denver Nuggets won the No. [-] lottery, and their road to recovery began.

The Raptors' first-round pick became the No. 7 pick, and this pick belongs to the Rockets (from the Maddie Francis trade).

At this time, Dawson has already started to get busy with the draft and the free agent market, but Yuanfei is worrying about another thing.

***
"Mr. Alexander, I still think it is more appropriate to continue to use Tomjanovich as the head coach."

"This is how I think about it. First, Rudy is older and his body is not good. Whether you can do this job next season is very doubtful. The second is that Rudy is too good to have a serious criticism for the players. Hargim has helped him to criticize people for a long time. There are many players, and it is inevitable that it is a bit scattered. I think finding a severe and serious head coach is more suitable for this team. "Alexander answered seriously.

"Then do you have a suitable candidate?" Yuan Fei asked.

"How about Jeff Van Gundy? He was very successful during his coaching period with the Knicks. He made the playoffs every year and had a Finals. His resume is very beautiful."

"I know this coach well. He is very strict with players. Traditional Orientals like Yao and Wang are very suitable for this type of head coach. McGrady has a relatively weak personality and can get along with him." Yuan Fei changed the subject: "But he is more difficult to get along with other players with a relatively lively personality. There are many young players in our team. If the player-coach relationship is not good, it will be more troublesome. Also, his player qualifications are very poor. He has only played in some amateur student leagues. Players generally do not respect such a head coach. Picky. In addition, Van Gundy's employment is very rigid and does not listen to persuasion. From the management point of view, I do not recommend using Van Gundy. He is likely to cause trouble for Mr. Dawson and my work."

Yuan Fei's real thought is that he is afraid that Fan Tuzi will drag down the team.In his previous life, he coached the Rockets for 4 years and was overturned with a 2-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs twice. In addition, he lost 1-4 in the first round once and missed the playoffs once.On the offensive end, there are only two sets of tactics, McGrady's singles and Yao Ming's singles, which made both of them overtired and left potential injuries.

"Well, since you strongly oppose it, let's forget about this candidate." Alexander reluctantly broke the idea, "But do you have any other suitable candidates?"

"Rick Adelman, his contract has just expired. The old coach of the Kings has a very brilliant resume. Last year, he almost ended the Lakers' three consecutive championships."

"Well, this old gentleman is indeed a reliable candidate. But he is flourishing in coaching the Kings, and it may be difficult for us to recruit corners. Let Dawson talk about it."

“我们不需要急躁啊，如果阿德尔曼和国王续约，我们继续用汤姆贾诺维奇就好了。我确信他的身体还能胜任工作至少1到2个赛季（史上汤帅04年7月到05年2月执教于湖人队）。我们和他本来也签约到了05赛季结束。这样也是帮老板您省点钱啊！”

"Very well, Jason, let's do it!" Hearing Qian's Yali, it was easy to be persuaded.

***
Adelman and Dawson happily exchanged the topic of coaching, and he showed great interest in the Rockets.However, he also said that working in the Kings is more pleasant, and he has a certain relationship with the players.After repeated discussions, Adelman shortened the new contract with the Kings from the originally planned three seasons to two seasons (to the summer of 2005). When Tomjanovich's contract ended, Adelman and the Rockets reached a verbal agreement to take over.

On June 6, Adelman officially renewed his contract with the Kings for 27 years.

　It's late today, sorry.Working overtime and not even watching Lei Yong's battle, a big loss in life

　　
　
(End of this chapter)