Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 252 FMVP?

Reggie Miller's championship dreams were overshadowed.

In many people, Reggie Miller is an overrated player. The reason is that there are too few hard honors. Although it was under Jordan's rule in the 90s, he was actually a backcourt player. Not much. In 94, the second-year Sprewell was selected to the first team with 2 points, 21 rebounds and 4.9 assists, but Miller didn't even compete with Richmond and Mark Price. , Didn't even make it in three rounds, which became a big black spot for Miller.

Compared with another tragic figure, Ewing, who has been in the top five of MVP for two consecutive years, but has four defenses and three defenses in consecutive years, Miller's opponents are not so strong. In the eyes of critics, Miller's status is due to his relationship with Jordan In the first round of the series, and another round of the series with New York, the adulation brought by the typical highlight effect, coupled with his tortuous life experience and the bonus points for sticking to the city, created the illusion of "Jordan's lifelong enemy".

After the game, the entire Pacers team did not accept any interviews. After two consecutive defeats, even the most die-hard Pacers fans have no hope of winning this year's championship.

Some families are happy and some are sad. Indiana is full of gloom, but Los Angeles is enjoying peace and prosperity.

Dr. Jerry Buss watched the entire game in his top box. If he wins the championship this year, it will be his tenth championship since he took over the Lakers. It is of great significance, and the number of championships for the Lakers will also come to 16 One, to tie up with the old rival Boston Celtics, considering the results after the expansion of the NBA, it is even more necessary to stabilize the Celtics and the Bulls and become the most successful team in the NBA.

And the elated fans have even started to score FMVP, because the team played too easily in the first two games, and there was no sense of suffocation in the Western Conference Finals. Kobe averaged 19.5 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists per game, and Garnett had 18 points and 14.5 rebounds. , the team's highest average is Wade's 20.5 points.

"'The rookie season is expected to be the FMVP. Will he be the next Magic Johnson?' Look at the headline. The media will do anything to pick things up. I had a hard time getting Kobe off this winter, but to be honest In other words, I really look forward to how they will choose the FMVP after winning the championship like this." Jim threw down the newspaper and said to Kupchak who walked into the office.

"Jim, I have to admit that I was not optimistic about your deal at first. Ben Wallace is the real best defensive player, but you took it out for the pick. In fact, in my expectation, Keep most of last season's championship lineup, sign Karl Malone, Gary Payton and other veterans with a basic salary, and we can win the championship." Kupchak shook his head and continued, "It's just that I didn't expect Gary Payton The decline is so rapid, he was barely an All-Star last season, but now he's just an average starting point guard."

"It's not just you, many teams believe in players who have already played well. After all, the possibility of rookies is unknown. For example, they also selected popular rookies. The Cavaliers and Nuggets have a promising future, but the Raptors can only hope that Millici There are still some miracles that can happen to Qi. For the championship team, what they need is stability throughout the season, and what they need is insurance. There are not so many mistakes that rookies can make, so the established veteran looks It's safest." Jim laughed.

Of course, what Jim didn't tell Kupchak was that he would not gamble on luck and scratch the lottery. He just knew the lottery numbers of the next few lottery draws in advance.

"But Jim, I'm always a little uneasy. The finals were played too easily. Last year's lineup was not as good as this year's. It made us experience the feeling of being behind 1 to 3. It makes no sense to be beaten without fighting back this year. Force. I heard that some players went to the nightclub after the game, and some people did the same during the regular season, and we didn't interfere too much, but now it's the finals, isn't it a little bit of a disregard for Shaq and the others? Kupchak frowned, expressing his concerns.

Jim thought for a moment.

"Then, let's discuss with Phil, how about extra training in these two days, and accept their thoughts? Like Pat Riley?"

"It's still not necessary. I'd rather let them relax, and don't get hurt. I'll stay in Indiana for a week later." Kupchak said with a wry smile.

与对战绩有利一方相对友好的2-2-1-1-1赛制相比，总决赛采取的2-3-2赛制对双方更加平衡。

On June 6, the Lakers visited Conseco Arena in Indiana to prepare for Game 10 of the Finals.

Before the game, Larry Bird appeared in the Pacers' locker room in person and gave a lecture.

Rick Carlisle also made further adjustments to the lineup. In the first two games, whether it was Hawley or Al Harrington as the fourth position, the effect was not very good. This time, Carlisle simply sent Jeff Foster, who had achieved miraculous results in a short period of time in the previous game, was used as O'Neal's inside partner.

At the beginning, the Pacers' morale was like a rainbow. O'Neal forced Ostertag to score 2 plus 1. When he came back, Gary Payton reproduced his glove stunt, and the five-claw magic cut off Billups' ball. One-stop fast break dunks to score.

Compared with the Pacers who quickly entered the state, the Lakers played a little loosely. Artest even made two amateur-level mistakes like dribbling. O'Neal witnessed all this. Turn this scene out and cut it in.

"It seems that they should really practice hard. What is this game?" In front of the TV, Jim couldn't stand it any longer. The pride that came, made the Lakers feel that the championship is already in their pockets.

"Karl Malone's expression looks very serious. It's no wonder that the team has fallen behind by 10 points. I believe Malone is more anxious than anyone else, but he can't play due to injuries. The Lakers players need to be serious. , The finals are far from over, and the first two victories only allowed them to keep their home court advantage." Mike Breen commented during the timeout, the Lakers were hit by a wave of 14 to 4 offensive climax, except for Kobe Bryant Except for 4 of 2 shots, everyone else was zero, and the team also made as many as 4 turnovers.

Back from the timeout, the situation improved slightly. Garnett started to take the initiative to attack, but Jeff Foster's defensive effect on him was surprisingly good. Although he was not as agile, Foster's height and weight did not suffer. Constantly confronting Garnett, and the offensive end desperately squeezed inside to grab every offensive rebound, causing some troubles for Garnett on both offensive and defensive ends.

Foster entangled Garnett, O'Neal's pressure was much less, and he was able to deal with Ostertag one-on-one. He scored 13 points in a single quarter. In the first quarter, the Pacers blossomed inside and outside and scored 28 Leading the Lakers by 19.

(End of this chapter)