Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 124 The troubles of happiness

"First of all, I want to congratulate our team. They smashed the doubts and successfully entered the second round. What we have to do is to continue to win until the final championship. Some of the team have played six or seven There are also guys who joined this year, and there are also newcomers who joined this year. We know that it is important to maintain the hunger for victory. Once you get a ring, you feel like your career is complete and it's time to pursue something else. Luckily, the Lakers don't have a guy like that."

"The victory over the Phoenix Suns was just the beginning. What I'm trying to say is that we were destined to win because no qualified point guard is going to hold the ball in his hands for the entire game, take 30 shots, and make every possession. possession of the ball, no one wants to play with teammates like that, running around more than half the game and not touching the ball, it's frustrating. If you guys disagree with me, go Ask Irvine for the best point guard ever thought."

"About the next opponent? I think, while Gilbert Arenas and Jermaine O'Neal are very talented players, there is no doubt that the San Antonio Spurs will be the winner. Because Tim Duncan and Greg Powell Povich exists, we will not take them lightly, and it is impossible for them to take away the victory."

"Ron Artest and Brad Miller are leaving at the end of the season? Oh my god, where did you get the news? Did they tell you, Mitch Kupchak's today What did you have for breakfast?"

"Who is the better player Shaquille O'Neal or Kobe Bryant? Mr. reporter, my time is precious, please don't ask these worthless questions. But it seems that you are all interested , I will simply reveal one thing, that is, I always think this deal is correct."

The team was in closed training, and Kupchak was arguing with Artest and Brad Miller's agent, so Jim had to handle the media work himself.Jim was eagerly looking forward to the early start of the second round, so that he would not have to worry about dealing with these journalists who were afraid of chaos.

The young Timberwolves showed hard work and vitality. The lineup of Arenas, Merser, Szczerbiak, Jermaine O'Neal and Nesterovic created a great challenge for the Spurs. Trouble, the two sides fought seven games. In the end, the Spurs relied on Ginobili's sudden outbreak to defeat the Timberwolves with difficulty and advance to the second round.

The match between the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trail Blazers was originally a one-sided situation. The Mavericks led 3-0.But the ghost Bunche Wells has been making waves inside the Mavericks, causing a lot of trouble for the old Nelson's team.

In the fourth game, the veteran Pippen returned, and the Blazers finally had a reason to completely sideline Stromile Swift.

Ruben Patterson, Bunch Wells and other gangsters, led by Rasheed Wallace and Sabonis, launched a Jedi counterattack.

Nowitzki was quite uncomfortable with the Blazers' aggressive style of play. In the sixth game, he only made 11 of 2 shots, scored 4 points and picked up 0 rebounds, and staged a shameful battle of his career.

The Blazers miraculously tied the score at 3-3, while the Mavericks were a bit stunned. The seventh game was at home, but the Blazers kept rubbing on the ground. It was about to become the biggest game in history. Inverted background plate.

At this time, Nick Van Exel stepped forward. The lunatic Fan, who never knew what fear was, fired wildly as soon as he came up in the fourth quarter. He scored 6 points on 5 of 12 shots and single-handedly defeated the situation Turning around, under his leadership, Nash and Nowitzki combined their swords, and the two jointly contributed 21 points in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks shot a terrifying 76.7% in a single quarter, completely burying the Blazers.

The Blazers, who regretted being out of the game, regretted it too much. Looking at Randolph, who was making waves in the Grizzlies, and Swift, who was at a loss in his own team, it was a pity that things could not be repeated.

In the East, the Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic led by Tracy McGrady in 7 games relying on the amazing performance of Tony Delk, while the Philadelphia 76ers relied on Iverson's heroic performance of 34.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. , defeated the Charlotte Hornets with Jamal Mashburn, Baron Davis and David Wesley.

So far, the second round of the playoffs is all over. The Lakers will face their old rivals, the Spurs, while the Mavericks will face the Kings. This is the third consecutive year that these four teams have advanced to the second round of the Western Conference at the same time. .

And this year there is one more gimmick, who is the best power forward in the West, or the league.

Chris Webber in 93, Kevin Garnett in 95, Tim Duncan in 97, and Dirk Nowitzki in 98 will fight each other in the playoffs.

The Lakers will host the Spurs in the evening, and just after noon, Jim is dozing off on the sofa in the office. There is still a half-finished pizza on the table, and a pile of scattered payroll and scouting reports.

Kupchak arrived in a hurry, looking in a bad mood.

"Mr. Kupchak, the boss is taking a break..." An assistant was trying to stop Kupchak from breaking into the office.

"He still has time to rest? Does he have to wait for all the players under him to run away before getting up?" Kupchak said angrily.

The assistant was at a loss, and neither side was someone he could offend.

Fortunately, Jim had been awakened by the movement outside and welcomed Kupchak into the office.

"What's the matter, Mickey, is something not going well?"

"I contacted Mark Bartelsten to discuss the renewal of Brad Miller's contract." Kupchak muffled.

"and then?"

"He said Brad Miller needed a starting job and more playing time and a deal of no less than five years and $5 million."

"Well, with Brad's current strength, he can start more than half of the teams in the league. The asking price of this contract is not outrageous to be honest." Jim picked up a piece of cold pizza and ate it on his own .

"The problem is, we have Ben and Kevin, and we can't meet his playing time, let alone give him a starting position!" Kupchak was a little annoyed.

"Let's put this question aside for a moment, Mitch, how much do you think Ben's next contract should be? Especially when he is likely to be the best defensive player this season?"

　During this period of time, the overtime work is almost crazy... Do you want to squeeze out the rhythm before the holiday...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)