Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 149

The Indiana Pacers at the beginning of the team was once the overlord of the ABA league. They entered the finals five times in eight years and won three championships.

But since defeating the Kentucky Colonels 1973-4 to win the championship in 3, the Pacers have not touched a championship trophy again for 30 years, whether in the ABA they dominate or the NBA after the merger.Although with the efforts of several generations of management and players, the Pacers have gradually grown from a new army in the league to a powerhouse in the East, but in the 76s dominated by the Celtics, 80ers and Pistons, it was still the 90s shrouded in red clouds. , the Pacers were unable to break through from the East, and did not officially set foot in the finals until the new century.

The opponent who defeated him last time has now been pushed to the edge of a cliff. The joy of winning the championship and the excitement of revenge are mixed together, gradually igniting the city of Indianapolis.

Three or four hours before the start of the game, fanatical Pacers fans began to gather in the plaza, bars and other places. They were looking forward to the historic moment, looking forward to defeating the Lakers in the finals and bringing the city the first in history. championship trophy.

The Indianapolis police station is working overtime tonight, guarding the streets and alleys of the city, and public places. Once the team wins the championship tonight, there will be a huge parade and celebration, and the whole city will fall into carnival.

The championship trophy has been placed on the sidelines, and many people believe that the highly motivated Pacers will end the entire series today.

"I can already smell the champagne!" Larry Bird said in an interview before the game, leaving only such a confident sentence.

Although the team has come to the brink, many Lakers fans still choose to come to the Staples Arena to watch the team's possible final battle on the big screen.

"Listen everyone, we have reached the endgame. I want to know how many people still believe that we can win this year's championship?" In the visiting team's locker room before the game, Jim, who basically never traveled with the team to away games, finally Appear.

Without waiting for the players to answer, Jim continued: "When you choose to trust Coach Jackson, trust our team, and earnestly implement the previous strategy on the field, I believe that this year's championship will definitely be us. In the last game, We were supposed to be winners, but we were a little bit unlucky. I see it as God’s test for us. Four consecutive championships are hard to do, so I hope this championship trophy is the most memorable in your life. It is also the proudest memory. Yes, I always firmly believe that you can win and you are more worthy of victory!"

"Boss, if I could score two more three-pointers in the last game..." Billups, who has never been very talkative, spoke first. In the last game, he made 6 of 0 three-pointers and only With 7 points and 6 assists, the Lakers originally chased the score to only 2 points in the fourth quarter, but Billups' open three-pointer came out of the basket, completely ruining the Lakers' hope of winning.

"Forget the last game, we still have 3 games to win, always thinking about the previous things are not good, but, you can think about the regular season against the Grizzlies, that time you made Jerry mad Not light."

Billups nodded, stopped talking, lowered his head, and re-tightened his shoelaces.

"I'm sorry Phil, I stole your job again. I think it's time to show your true strength today?" Jim looked at Zen Master who had just entered the locker room and said with a smile. It seemed that there was no team at all. 1 fell behind and signaled Zen Master to start his pre-match speech.

"Boys, before the game, I need to confirm one thing..." Master Zen took over the topic and began to make the final arrangements for the team.

In Game [-] of the finals, the NBA officially sent a team of referees including Dick Bavita, Steve Javi and Joey Crawford to call the shots.

The Pacers insisted on their 3-game winning streak and gave the ball to O'Neal for singles after the opening game, while the Lakers continued their suicidal defense, with Ben Wallace defending the Sharks alone.

Although Big Ben has muscles like steel, he could not stop O'Neill's brutal advance in the face of absolute tonnage advantage.

In the first three offenses of the first quarter, the Pacers were all completed by O'Neal, and the Sharks scored 6 points in a row with a [-]% shooting rate, and an additional penalty missed.

But it doesn't hurt that Conseco Arena erupts in loud cheers whenever O'Neal scores a goal.

With 4 minutes left, the Lakers made an adjustment and Brad Miller came on to replace Ben Wallace.At this time, O'Neal had scored 13 points, accounting for about two-thirds of the Pacers' total points.

The offensive focus of the Lakers is still hitting the rim. After Brad Miller came on the court, Artest also took on part of the offensive tasks. He used Garnett and Brad Miller to pull up the high position In the gap, squeeze to the basket on the side without O'Neal, create chaos, and wait for the opportunity to catch the ball and attack the basket.

Although part of Kobe's low-post offense was sacrificed, Reggie Miller was obviously caught off guard by the change in Artest's offensive style. He could use his experience to prevent the one-sided Artest's straight-line breakthrough, but now the situation has become two-sided. People are fighting at the basket, and the old and thin Miller obviously doesn't like it.

In the previous games, Artest's efficiency at the basket was really mediocre, and the Lakers could only use this tactic occasionally. Carlisle didn't find it too difficult. In comparison, he still believed that restricting Kobe was the most important thing. First priority.

The 33-year-old Terry Brandon is the only reliable point guard for the Pacers.

When he was a child, Brandon suffered from deformed feet. His deformed legs could not even walk normally. His parents had to use straps and braces to correct his legs. Their wish was that Brandon could look like a normal person. Live like a human.

Obviously, Brandon, who entered the NBA and became an All-Star, far exceeded his parents' expectations.

With a height of 1 meters, Brandon has a strong heart, but his fragile legs still prevent him from going further.Except for the two substitute seasons in which he played less than 80 minutes when he first entered the league, he has never played all 20 games in any year, and he missed as many as 82 games last season.

He is facing him now, it is Chauncey Billups who served as a substitute for him in the Timberwolves.

20 to 18, the Pacers lead, facing Billups' defense, Brandon still chooses to hang the ball to O'Neal inside.

O'Neal squeezed away Brad Miller, and under the help of Garnett, he forced a small hook shot and missed. Garnett, like a spring, jumped up again as soon as he landed and grabbed the backcourt rebound.

Billups received a pass from Garnett and quickly advanced along the left, while Kobe on the other side has already made a quick move.

Brandon judged Billups' intentions, trying to block Billups' first attack or pass to Kobe.

But Billups pulled the ball to an emergency stop outside the three-point line, threw Brandon two steps away, and made a steady three-pointer. This was his first three-pointer in two games.

The Lakers took the lead for the first time in the game.

　Uh, it looks like it's after 12 o'clock, and I feel like I'm going to be cheated...

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(End of this chapter)