vncnus Chapter 424 Before you even consider your next opponent, I have already...
Chapter 424 Before you even consider your next opponent, I have already...
At the start of the third quarter, Jordan once again glared angrily at Mashburn.
As for the reasons?
During halftime, Lin Tian read out the data.
"I scored 24 points in the first half, not bad. Michael, you played really well, 18 points in the first half!"
That simple sentence reignited Jordan's killing intent!
Your 24 points is just okay, but my 18 points is amazing.
Are you trying to give me a piece of nonsense?
I scored 6 points less than you, so why am I "great"?
Go to hell!
It was this simple and unpretentious reason that made Jordan keep a close eye on Mashburn from the very beginning of the second half.
If you hadn't been talking so loudly, you bastard, and Lin, that piece of trash, hadn't heard you, he would have said things like "second-in-command" or "second-in-command."
It's all your fault, you son of a bitch!
On the first offensive possession of the third quarter, Jordan drove hard against Mashburn, then stopped and faked a shot after getting to the mid-range!
Mashburn, who had been completely fooled by Jordan in this series, fell for it again and jumped up with Jordan once more.
"Beep beep!"
The referee immediately blew his whistle, and Mashburn committed his third foul!
"FUXX!" Mashburn slapped his own hand in utter frustration. He was completely numb to the fact that he had been fouled so deliberately.
I was so badly beaten that I was almost in a daze.
"Shut up, you son of a bitch." After drawing the foul, Jordan continued to stare intently at Mashburn, putting a finger to his lips. "Keep quiet, or I guarantee you'll die on the court tonight!"
As Jordan spoke, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, making Mashburn shudder involuntarily before quickly turning away.
Retort?
He doesn't have Malone or Mourning by his side right now, and he certainly wouldn't dare. As for others, let whoever dares to talk back!
Although he had no idea why Jordan was suddenly so angry and acted as if he had an irreconcilable feud with him, Mashburn said that there was no need to know what was going on or why Jordan was angry.
What could he do? Could he at least explain to Jordan why it wouldn't work?
That's so cowardly!
My brother can't afford to lose face like this.
Anyway, it's just that you can't defend against it.
So what if we get blown up?
I'm not the first one to get beaten up, nor is this the first time I've been beaten up.
There's nothing shameful about it.
I opened and closed my eyes, and 24 minutes passed quickly. I just pretended I was being held down by a ghost.
Having made up his mind to lie down, Mashburn chose to remain silent.
He chose to play basketball honestly and live a low-key life.
You, Jordan, can hit me all you want, I won't talk back or commit any fouls.
Not only on the defensive end, but on the offensive end as well, Mashburn wished he could tie his elbows and arms up and stick them to his body.
They were afraid that if they passed the ball out even a little, it would hurt Jordan and they would get crushed even more!
How to describe Mashburn's state when he's attacking right now? His body posture and stance.
It looks very much like how General Fan walks normally.
With arms crossed and neck craned, it was both strange and comical.
But everyone could see that Mashburn had backed down.
Anyway, Silas saw it all clearly.
"Jamal! Go for it! What are you afraid of! You're a monster! You can destroy everything! It's just a 40-year-old Jordan, what are you afraid of!" Silas, off the court, lost his patience after Mashburn missed two shots and yelled at the players on the court.
After all, Mashburn didn't just miss his shots; it was obvious to the naked eye that he was scared! He didn't dare to go up against Jordan anymore.
Mashburn was very impatient with Silas's roar and completely ignored his head coach.
You come here! If you're so capable, then you do it!
Damn it, you have no idea how badly I got beaten up. You didn't see how scary Jordan's eyes were; he looked like he wanted to kill me!
You're telling me to go all out and fight him?
So you're not the one getting beaten up later, are you?
It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering!
However, even though Mashburn chickened out, Jordan had no intention of letting him off the hook!
Moreover, Jordan was also hurling insults while playing.
"How does it feel to get thrashed by the opposing team's second-leading scorer?"
"As the team's second-best player, I think I played alright, right?"
"You chickened out already? If you'd stuck to it, I'd consider you a real man! Turns out you're a sissy? I'll teach you what a real man is!"
"You dare fight back? You dare elbow me? If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll really think I, Jordan, am easy to bully, right? I'll beat you to death!"
"Speak! You think you're so good at talking? You were good at trash-talking in the first half, but you're not good at fighting me one-on-one in the second half!"
"Come on! Show me your elbow! Didn't you say I'm the team's middle blocker, the Pacers' second-in-command? How does it feel to get beaten up by the second-in-command?"
"I never said that!" After being verbally abused by Jordan for half a quarter, Mashburn finally couldn't take it anymore. He exploded after being backed down by Jordan again!
He shoved Jordan into the shoulder and yelled, "Are you stupid?! Why should I be the one chatting with Michael? What are you guys doing? Get away from me! You think I'm afraid of you? Let me tell you, I grew up on the streets too! I'm not afraid of you!"
Mashburn's outburst was only half-fulfilled.
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt the air around him stop moving, and time and space seemed to freeze at the same time.
Marsh himself has an extra thick, black, tower-like mark in front of him; that's Big Ben.
Standing beside him was a big guy with a roguish look, who was practically ready to step on him with his foot; it was Webber.
Standing behind him was a young man, Arenas, who seemed eager to jump in and grab Mashburn to "break up" the fight the moment it started.
Then, standing next to Jordan was an Asian man with a menacing look on his face. This guy only said one sentence to Jordan, which made Mashburn's legs go weak.
"Kill him?"
This is Lin Tian!
In the blink of an eye, the Pacers' five players surrounded Mashburn. If he uttered just one more word, his fate would be utterly miserable!
Honestly, if Mashburn had just played a little tougher right now, at least two Pacers players would have been suspended for the next game, which would have greatly increased the Hornets' chances of winning.
But Mashburn chickened out. Not only did he not continue the attack, he also yelled at the referee beside him:
"I didn't move! I didn't move an inch! Referee! I didn't move an inch!"
Mashburn's two extremely cowardly sentences stunned Davis and Wesley, who were originally about to rush up to stand up for their guy.
They were less than two meters away from Mashburn's encirclement when they heard this. The two men stopped, their eyes filled with disdain, and then they completely relaxed.
A fight was definitely not going to break out, but Mashburn had lost the respect of those two guys!
Their eyes were filled with disdain.
If such a situation were to occur again, the two of them would probably no longer have the idea of standing up for Mashburn.
The referee rushed over, separated the two groups, stopped the game, and began watching the video of the earlier conflict.
"Michael, didn't you hit him too hard?" Lin Tian said, "Wasn't that unnecessary? We were already leading by 30 points, and you were still bullying him like this, making him angry? That's going too far."
"Too much?" Jordan snorted. "Ask this kid what he said to me! He insulted me! I'm going to beat him to death today!"
"I didn't!" Mashburn was now defiant. Hearing Jordan's words from a distance, he shouted back, "I didn't insult you! How dare you slander me out of thin air!"
"Didn't you say I was the team's second-best, the middle blocker, and that I was Lin's henchman? I'll show you who the Pacers' boss really is!" Jordan looked at Mashburn and continued to threaten him.
"What are you all doing! What are you all doing! Shut up! Shut up!"
The referee rushed over and said to Jordan, "Michael, don't make me give you a technical foul!"
"And you, if you want to be kicked out, then keep going!"
After saying that, the referee gave a threatening look to both sides before turning back to the scorer's table to continue watching the replay of the game.
"I think what he said, well... well, it wasn't that malicious?" Even someone as thick-skinned as Lin Tian felt a little embarrassed for a moment.
After all, he knew better than anyone that he was the one who said those words.
Who would have thought it would cast such a deep shadow over Jordan?
No, it wouldn't be that much of a shadow. Who is Jordan? How many big moments has he seen?
You, Michael Jordan, are you trying to make an example of me, or make a fuss over nothing?
"You're taking his side?" Jordan looked at Lin Tian with a wronged and shocked expression. At that moment, Jordan reminded Lin Tian of a child in a movie who had been slapped by his own father.
He seemed to have suffered a tremendous injustice, and roared at Lin Tian, "You hit me? No one has ever hit me in my entire life!"
In a movie, Jordan would run out crying at this point and yell that he would never come back to this house again.
In reality, Lin Tian would slap Jordan across the other side of his face and tell him, "I'm going to beat you up today."
Unfortunately, this was the NBA, so Lin Tian could only quickly change the subject, saying, "Then kill him!"
"Kill him!"
This statement essentially sealed the fate of the Hornets and Mashburn.
Mashburn's push didn't have too serious an impact; in fact, it had a greater psychological effect on him.
This guy's legs will probably tremble when he sees the Pacers next time.
Therefore, the referee only gave the trembling Mashburn a technical foul and then signaled for the game to continue.
Now it was Mashburn's turn to be unhappy.
I pushed Jordan, pointed my finger at him and cursed, and almost got ganged up on by three people. And all you give me is a technical foul?
This isn't appropriate!
I request 24-hour close protection from the referee!
No, I need another technical foul to go straight to the bench for a rest!
Unfortunately, the referee simply ignored him. But what if Mashburn went and provoked Jordan again, and then drew a technical foul?
Okay, he really doesn't dare!
Who knows whether the Pacers' iron fist or the referee's justice will come down on him first?
What else can we do?
Let's fight like this! If we're careful, we shouldn't get beaten up!
The team has already lost by almost 30 points. Just bear with it a little longer, it will pass quickly!
Mashburn could only convince himself of this in his heart. His defensive moves became more and more careful, clean and concise. His aggressiveness on the offensive end also completely disappeared. When the basketball came into his hands, he would either jump shoot directly or pass it back to his teammates.
When a team's top scorer plays so timidly, and the opposing team's leading scorer is attacking and burning him, it would be a miracle if the Hornets could catch up!
At the end of the third quarter, the score difference between the two teams reached 35 points!
So in the fourth quarter, neither side fielded their regular rotation players, and 10 bench players started playing to kill time.
121: 99!
In the end, the Pacers once again easily secured a 22-point victory and took a 3-0 lead over the Hornets in the series!
If it were last year, they could already be thinking about their next opponent.
Unfortunately, this year's format is a best-of-seven series, so they can only start considering their second-round opponent a day later.
The Pacers' decision not to consider their next opponent in advance reflects their cautious approach.
Well, okay, it wasn't exactly being cautious. Ben Affleck and Christie went to find their respective angels and babies early on, Arenas went to browse the weapons store in New Orleans, Parker went back to the hotel to continue watching Desperate Housewives, and Ginobili wanted to go to a local barbershop in New Orleans because he heard their shampoo was very moisturizing.
In short, everyone went their separate ways and were all eager to have fun. Who had the time to think about their next opponent?
However, some teams are not so cautious; they start thinking about their next opponent before the Pacers even consider theirs.
magic!
The Magic, who played their fourth game a day earlier than the Pacers, have a 3-1 lead in their series against the Pistons, not to mention they have two more home games to play. By any measure, they are guaranteed to advance.
Then, at the post-game press conference that day, McGrady delivered his most famous quote: "If it were last year, we would already be thinking about our next opponent."
No one seemed to have any objections to McGrady's arrogance, including Lin Tian, who didn't see anything wrong with it.
After all, in his memory, the Magic had McGrady as their sole star during that comeback, while the Pistons had a five-man lineup of Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed.
But what about this time?
The polarities have reversed!
McGrady had the formidable Duncan by his side, while the Pistons were without Ben Wallace and Prince.
Analyzing the two teams' strengths, roster depth, core abilities, and other aspects, it should be a foregone conclusion that the Magic will win Game 5 and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
However, nothing in this world is absolute!
For example, everyone probably thinks that the next game is the fifth game between the Magic and the Pistons.
But that match will have to wait.
The game now begins: Game 4 between the Pacers and the Hornets!
After being pushed to the brink by the Pacers, Silas made his adjustments.
He replaced Mashburn, who had performed terribly in the previous game or even the first few games, and was completely outplayed by Jordan, even intimidated by Jordan. He brought on George Lynch, a more solid defensive player whose talent was far inferior to Mashburn's, and put him in the starting lineup to match up against Jordan.
Although Lynch is unlikely to beat Jordan, and will almost certainly be crushed by him.
But at least, this guy is tough enough not to back down when beaten.
As for Mashburn, he has already incurred the wrath of Davis and the team's locker room leader, Wesley. Putting him on the bench would have a positive effect on team unity.
And then, Sylas's tactical change had absolutely no effect!
Whether Mashburn plays or not, he will be overwhelmed by the Pacers' offense. In the battle between the second units, Mashburn's firepower is really no match for the Pacers' three reserve guns. The Hornets once again showed their comprehensive inferiority in the game.
We can't beat them in the starting lineup, and we can't beat them in the substitutes either.
They lost their fourth game in a row, completely and utterly!
4: 0!
The Pacers easily swept the Hornets, becoming the first team to advance to the conference semifinals!
Slightly slower to enter the conference semifinals was the Western Conference-leading Lakers, who, with their game starting two hours later than the Pacers', also held a 3-0 lead before this night.
In Game 4 of the series, the Lakers gave the Suns no chance in Phoenix. Kobe took on the responsibility of guarding Marbury, coupled with Kirilenko's omnipresent help defense and O'Neal's dominance under the basket.
In this game, Marbury only made 3 of 16 shots, and was almost chased all over the court by the Lakers!
What's even more terrifying is that this 3-for-16 shooting performance wasn't even Marbury's worst game in this series!
He shot an absurd 1-for-11 in Game 1 of the series!
Throughout the entire series, Marbury only scored over 20 points in one game and had a field goal percentage of over 40% in one game. It can be said that the Suns' loss started when he, as the team's leader, was completely shut down by the Lakers!
Of course, if Phoenix had Hardaway, they wouldn't have been so badly shut down; at least the team would have had another ball-handler, right?
Unfortunately, the Suns may never have Hardaway again. His knee, which was almost healed, has malfunctioned again during his recovery training. He needs to undergo another surgery and will be out for at least another 8-10 months!
That unlucky guy is out for the rest of the season again!
It's worth mentioning that it was this recurring injury to Hardaway that drove the Suns' management to despair and impatience with their medical team. They finally replaced the entire medical staff and hired a completely new medical team.
This seemingly insignificant personnel change heralded the birth of a dynasty in the medical field.
Renowned world-class orthopedic surgeon Thomas Carter and Aaron Nelson, one of the world's best rehabilitation trainers, have officially joined the Suns' medical team!
Following this personnel adjustment, the team medical staff in the league will be divided into two types: the Suns' miracle doctor and others!
Another noteworthy point is that Lakers rookie Prince, who plays off the bench, also performed exceptionally well in this series. In his matchup against the Suns' promising forward Marion, he held his own and put up a close fight!
The Lakers were able to easily advance with a score of 4-0 precisely because everyone from the starters to the bench could perform and suppress the opponent's absolute advantage!
The Lakers and Pacers were the only two teams to advance to the second round with a sweep in the first round. It has to be said that the best-of-seven series can effectively increase the number of games and reduce the number of sweeps.
By combining the locations of one mile and one location, they can sell many more tickets!
The second-ranked Mavericks in the West face off against the seventh-ranked Trail Blazers.
Although the Mavericks made a brain-dead trade during the offseason that infuriated Don Nelson, the veteran coach does have some skills. He actually managed to make Cuban's ridiculous 3PF lineup work!
The Mavericks have carved out a unique path by relying on their unusual combination of tall, fast-shooting, slow, and physically imposing players, many of whom have average athleticism but are all enormous in size.
They still champion offense, but their pace is really slow. They have a tall roster, but their rebounding and scoring in the paint are among the worst in the league.
This very strange team, facing the Trail Blazers who had already begun rebuilding, played with ease. They led the first three games 3-0. After losing the fourth game in Portland, the Mavericks gave Portland no more hope after returning to American Airlines Arena and easily won the game!
The Mavericks successfully advanced to the semifinals, but their arch-rivals of the past two years, the Sacramento Kings, have run into trouble this time!
Facing the sixth-ranked Jazz team in the West, led by Jermaine O'Neal and reminiscent of their former tough style, the Kings' elegance and flair seemed somewhat superficial. They were struggling to cope with O'Neal's powerful attacks and the Jazz's fierce defense.
In addition, Bibby suffered from injuries and was out of form this year, and Divac is a year older and his ability has declined. With the team's two core players not performing well, it is clear that Peja, as a striker, cannot support the team's attack.
In this series, Jermaine O'Neal delivered an outstanding performance, averaging 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game, clearly showing the potential of a new generation of top power forwards in the league!
This move was criticized at the beginning of the season, with some saying that the Jazz were blind to trade away their versatile forward Kirilenko and only get a young O'Neal in return.
Some even said at the time that the Jazz management misheard the Lakers' offer, thinking that the Lakers were offering Shaquille O'Neal, which is why they agreed to the trade and even gave up a first-round draft pick.
But after the trials of the entire regular season and this series, no one will say the Jazz are stupid anymore.
Because Jermaine O'Neal deserves it!
In this series, thanks to Jermaine O'Neal's incredible performance, the Jazz pulled off an upset, defeating the Kings 4-2 to advance to the second round!
This is their first time reaching the second round of the playoffs since Malone and Stockton left!
The iron-blooded Jazz team that dominated the 90s is gradually making a comeback!
The final matchup in the West, and also the most exciting and intense of the four games in the first round, saw the SuperSonics, who had just acquired Payton and Allen, challenge the Timberwolves, led by Garnett and Sprewell!
As for the outcome?
The Timberwolves have fallen yet again!
They fell in the first round once again!
And their problem was almost exactly the same as the ones they had been eliminated from before!
Lacking offensive firepower, Garnett was unable to shoulder the responsibility of being the team's primary offensive option, and Sprewell's individual firepower couldn't withstand the opposing trio.
This problem was especially evident in the decisive Game 7 of the series!
The seventh game was a close contest, with neither side able to pull away in the first three quarters, and the game remained tight until the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter, Sprewell unleashed the most ferocious energy he has ever had, aside from nearly strangling Carlesimo. He scored 17 points in the final quarter, leading the Timberwolves to a 14-point lead at one point!
Even with just two minutes left, the Timberwolves held a seven-point lead! Just when the Minnesotaians thought they were finally going to advance to the conference semifinals for the first time in franchise history and win their first-ever series, the SuperSonics pulled away!
First, Lewis and Allen, the two sharpshooters, each hit a three-pointer from the left and right, narrowing the gap to 1 point!
During this period, the Timberwolves responded by having Garnett miss two consecutive high-post jump shots.
There was nothing he could do; Sprewell wasn't Lin Tian or Jordan, he was exhausted! He was so tired he could barely stand, so the game had to be handed over to Garnett, but Garnett failed to finish it once again!
After Garnett missed two shots, Sprewell finally caught his breath and drove to the basket again to score 2 points, widening the gap to 3 points!
But this was his final release!
The rest of the match became Payton's show!
He first scored 2 points with a fadeaway jumper with a back-to-the-basket move when there was 1 minute left in the game. Then, on the defensive end, he directly cut off the dribble of Timberwolves starting guard Troy Hudson and launched a counterattack. With 40 seconds left in the game, he hit a key shot that put the team ahead!
In the following game, the Timberwolves missed many shots and could only send the SuperSonics players to the free-throw line time and time again.
Unfortunately, as the SuperSonics made one free throw after another, the Timberwolves fell further and further behind, and in the end they couldn't catch their breath and fell to the floor of the first round once again!
Furthermore, they lost once again because of Garnett's weakness: although he was versatile, he just couldn't score!
After the game, the Timberwolves had a very serious internal discussion.
They need to consider changing their team-building strategy.
At the very least, continuing to fight like this is definitely not going to work!
Within the Timberwolves, there are currently three options:
1. They traded Garnett away and began rebuilding.
2. Try to acquire a true top-tier core player and let Garnett become the second-in-command.
3. Continue to add scorers and attacking players of the Sprewell type, so that the team has more and more reliable options in critical moments!
The Timberwolves will definitely have to continue discussing which one to choose, but that's all in the offseason.
For them, this season has ended in failure once again!
Meanwhile, the two matchups for the Western Conference semifinals have also been determined:
Lakers vs. SuperSonics!
Mavericks vs. Jazz!
In the East, the Nets faced the Bucks, who were also rebuilding, and played with ease. They only gave the Bucks a hand in Game 4 of the series, letting them win one game. In the other four games, they won easily without much effort.
4: 1!
The Brooklyn Nets have advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals once again!
The matchup between the fourth and fifth seeds in the Eastern Conference is Boston's star duo of Walker and Pierce against Philadelphia's single star Allen Iverson!
Before the series, almost everyone predicted that this series would be very intense, with at least six games to determine the winner, and a high probability of going to a decisive Game 6!
But once the series began, everyone realized that their predictions were wrong!
Big mistake!
As for the reason? It's quite simple.
Fat content!
The Celtics' two tough guys are fat and thick, and they are best at and most fond of bullying teams like the 76ers who are underweight and rely entirely on agility and toughness.
Especially after the 76ers traded away Mutombo in the last two years, their current frontcourt duo consists of the soft shooter Van Horn and the team's former star player, Coleman, who is now too old to play.
These two, are they really going to take on those two tough Celtics players?
A single lyric perfectly describes the result and the process: The scene was too beautiful for me to bear!
Pierce and Walker almost single-handedly dismantled the 76ers' defense by using their low-post ball-handling and brute-force drives to the basket.
So even though Iverson averaged 33.4 points and 7.6 assists per game throughout the series, it was still not enough to prevent the defeat!
The 76ers failed to give the Celtics much trouble and were eliminated!
After this round of games, the 76ers had a very serious internal discussion.
They need to consider changing their team-building strategy.
At the very least, continuing to fight like this is definitely not going to work!
Within the 76ers team, there are currently three options:
1. They traded away Iverson and began rebuilding.
2. Trade for a superstar player who can handle everything, allowing Iverson to focus on offense.
3. Continue with the previous team-building strategy, add some functional players like Mutombo and Snow, and let Iverson do the scoring while the whole team plays around him.
The 76ers will definitely have to continue discussing which one to choose, but that's all in the offseason.
For them, this season has ended in failure once again!
At this point, only the final series remains in the Eastern Conference!
The Magic, who were the first to consider their next round opponent, were forced into a Game 7 by the Pistons!
The team's ability to win two consecutive games after being down 1-3 and advance to a Game 2 was largely due to a factor that surprised everyone!
It wasn't Chauncey Billups, the third overall pick, the marathon runner Hamilton, or even the all-around striker Rashid or any of the team's starters.
The hero behind his top-notch performance in these two games was Bonzi Wells, who joined the team alongside Rashid! (End of Chapter)