NBA: Back to 97, to be the Jagged Bishop

McGrady's injury was definitely a fatal blow to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bobcats successfully won the second game.

Early the next morning, Combs was on the plane flying to Philadelphia and learned about McGrady's injury. He would be sidelined for at least a month, which also meant that he would not be able to play in the next Eastern Conference semifinals.

At noon, Aopang, who had already been eliminated, participated in a TV show. After mentioning McGrady's injury, Aofang was heartbroken.

"I have to say that Kong is not only the most terrifying person in this league, but also the luckiest person."

"Traditional McGrady fought us for seven games, and in the last one he suddenly broke out and killed us."

"Although the Philadelphia 76ers are not an opponent of the Bobcats in the first place, it is not that easy for the Bobcats to win."

"Now I think the Bobcats can definitely sweep the 76ers and advance."

As O'Fat said, the Bobcats won the next two home games of the Philadelphia 76ers, and once again completed the sweep of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

In the match between the Knicks and the Pistons, Combe originally thought the Knicks could sweep the Pistons and advance. Unexpectedly, the Pistons were extremely resilient and they lost to the Knicks with a score of 2:4.

Varejao's performance in this series was extremely outstanding, causing Howard a lot of trouble. In six games, Howard left the game with six fouls in two of the six games, and had at least four fouls in the remaining four games.

However, his rebounding ability is indeed far inferior to Howard. If the rebounding end can be equal to Howard, then the Pistons may really be able to defeat the Knicks.

Varejao's role has made all parties in the league admire Sanders's vision even more. If it weren't for Varejao who was traded with a large amount of money before, the Pistons might really be beaten if they use a large amount of money to face Howard. Knicks sweep.

In addition to Varejao, Prince, newly acquired by the Pistons this season, also performed extremely well. He was like a ball of cotton, defending Marion watertight. Although he did not score many points under Marion's defense, Being able to exchange money with Marion is a success in itself.

What is Marion's worth and what is Prince's worth? The two exchanged their money, and the Pistons obviously made a profit.

The Bobcats and Knicks joined forces to enter the Eastern Conference Finals. Such a result was already determined at the beginning of the game, and no one was surprised.

Over in the West, the Suns, like the Bobcats, swept two opponents in a row, and then met the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs are also very strong, but unfortunately they met the Suns in the semifinals and ultimately lost. If they met the Lakers, it would not be impossible for them to defeat the Lakers.

The conference semifinals begin, the first game between the Bobcats and the Knicks, the Bobcats' home court.

After Kongbu led his team into the field, he saw Paul leaning over and touching the Bobcats' floor with a solemn expression.

"Huh? Chris, what are you doing?" Kong Bu's face was full of questions.

"Coach, this is the first time in my career that I have reached the Eastern Conference Finals. I want to touch the floor of the Eastern Conference Finals."

"I hope I can touch the finals floor in half a month."

“Then there’s the championship trophy!”

The serious look on Paul's face made Kongbu dumbfounded. He felt that maybe the Western Conference Finals joke about Paul would appear in this world.

What Paul touched tonight was the floor of the Eastern Conference Finals, not the floor of the Western Conference Finals.

"I didn't expect you to have a sense of ritual. Touch it, touch it more." Kongbu said with a smile.

……

The Bobcats and the Knicks are old rivals. They have been meeting each other in the playoffs for so many years since Dian Kongbu came to the Bobcats.

In the past three years, the Knicks' lineup has changed many times, but no matter how it changes, relying on their strong financial resources and Thomas Sr.'s vision, their lineup has never been weak.

However, the Knicks have met the Bobcats four times this season, all of which have failed, so not many people are optimistic that the Knicks can really defeat the Bobcats and advance to the finals.

As a result, after the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, everyone was dumbfounded. The Knicks actually won, and the Bobcats suffered their first loss of the season.

Not to mention outsiders, Kong Bu was dumbfounded.

Originally, the Bobcats were at a disadvantage against the Knicks on the inside and had an absolute advantage on the outside. But tonight Paul didn’t know what medicine he took, why he couldn’t make a shot, and even his passes were full of mistakes, with 9 turnovers in the game. .

This is too fatal. As the engine of the team's backcourt, Paul's rhythm is messed up. Facing a strong team like the Knicks, it is too difficult for the Bobcats to win.

"Wonderful game. The Knicks gave us a surprise. It seems that all of us got it right. The only one who can end the Bobcats is the Knicks."

"Isaiah Thomas does have something. I think he is a super coach who can be compared with Combe."

Kenny Smith praised him heartily.

Barkley on the side sneered, "Kenny, I didn't expect you to be so funny that you could compare Isaiah Thomas and Combs."

"Let's put it this way, comparing Combs and Thomas Sr. is like comparing the wealth of Bill Gates and Bruce Barkley. You may not be familiar with Bruce. He is my cousin and is currently raised in Alabama. Mule.”

For the sake of program effectiveness, Buckley is not afraid of offending anyone at all.

"Charles, your metaphor is too exaggerated. Although Thomas Sr. did not win a championship when he was a coach, he had two championships as a player and two more championships as president of the Raptors. How can the gap between him and Kongbu be so big? .”

Kenny Smith said with a smile.

"Not that big? If you calculate it that way, Kongbu currently holds eight consecutive championships. He has been the general manager in Philadelphia for three years, and is also the general manager in the Bobcats. He still has five general manager championships. How can he Not 13 championships."

"Let me put it this way, if you give me the Knicks' salary and let me give them a whole team, the results will definitely not be worse than what they are now."

"Anyway, in my eyes, Kongbu is the God on the sidelines. No one is qualified to compare with him. I am not exaggerating. This is my true thought."

Kenny Smith shook his head and smiled bitterly. Listening to the chat between the two of them, those who didn't know thought it was Thomas Sr. who lost tonight.

When Paul entered the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals and looked like he was about to touch the floor of the Eastern Conference Finals again, Kongbu quickly grabbed him.

"Don't touch it, it's poisonous!"

Paul looked back at Kongbu with confusion on his face.

I have heard that Green Kai tampered with the floor, but that was just to make a certain floor uneven. I have never heard of any team putting poison on their own floor.

"It's really poisonous?"

"It's true. You'd better not touch the floor of the Eastern Conference. If you have a chance in the future, touch the floor of the Western Conference. I hope you can touch it in your lifetime."

Kongbu suspected that Paul's abnormality in the last game was related to touching the floor.

The older he gets, the more suspicious Kongbu becomes.

Paul was even more confused. How could he, a player from the Eastern Conference, touch the Western Conference? Is Kongbu suggesting that he go to the Western Conference to develop in the future?Paul's performance in tonight's game was much more normal. Relying on his all-round ability and the battle between Big Ben and the Hammers, the Bobcats won this game.

The Bobcats still won the next two Knicks home games.

The Knicks have advantages inside, but they simply can't make up for the shortcomings at the one position.

In fact, many powerful teams in the league today are short of point guards.

For example, the Knicks, Pistons, and Heat in the East are in short supply, as are the Lakers and Spurs in the West.

This can explain why when the Trail Blazers had the opportunity to choose between Kidd and Carter, they did not hesitate to choose Kidd, who had lower commercial value.

Although Paul Allen looks like he has been taken advantage of, he is not really stupid. Even if he doesn't need it, he can't lose money by selling Kidd to the Knicks.

To say that the team in the league is most hungry for a first-class point guard, it must be the Knicks. They mainly play in the frontcourt and need an engine to organize the offense.

And if there is no point guard, it will be like now, being beaten one after another by the Bobcats point guard.

The Bobcats already have a 3:1 advantage in the Eastern Conference finals, and the fifth game is still the Bobcats' home court.

In this game, Kongbu didn't give the Knicks the slightest chance. He emphasized his outside play style and took away the Knicks in one wave.

After the game, Thomas Sr. immediately contacted the Trail Blazers. He had had enough of being without a point guard.

Old Thomas wanted to trade Old Cat Mobley for Kidd. Unfortunately, the Blazers are not fools. The exchange is okay, but they don't want Old Cat.

The old cat is only worth a few dollars, a player with the size of a point guard but can't beat the point guard.

Paul Allen directly named the hacker Marion. He was kind, knowing that Kidd could not replace Zhi or Howard, so he settled for Marion.

Old Thomas didn't sleep well all night, hesitating whether he should make this deal or not.

The risk of this transaction is too great.

The Knicks are short of point guards, but Marion is also very useful, and Kidd is not young. No one knows whether he will suffer serious injuries after coming to New York.

How dare Thomas Sr. make a rash decision? He knew very well that if this transaction was not handled properly, it would easily put the Knicks into a desperate situation.

For example, if Marion leaves, and Kidd has been injured since he came, will Da Zhi be disappointed with the Knicks? You must know that Da Zhi doesn't have much left in his prime. Will he fight to win another championship before the end of his career? Leave the Knicks?
These are all issues that Lao Deng must consider, and he certainly does not dare to make a hasty decision.

A few days later, the Western Conference Finals also decided the winner. The Suns eliminated the Lakers with a score of 4:2 and advanced to the Finals.

After the Lakers got Bynum this year, their overall strength has been further improved. However, after all, Bynum is only a high school student. It will take at least two years for him to really come in handy.

After the Lakers were eliminated, they were not idle and started to operate.

The Lakers' current minnow Fisher at the No. [-] position is very weak, but the price of a first-class point guard is too high, and the Lakers simply can't buy it.

Don't they want Kidd?I definitely want to, but I just can’t come up with anything to trade.

There was no way to strengthen the No. [-] position, so they looked for ways to strengthen the bench.

The Kings previously acquired Artest through a trade. As a result, Artest's performance in the Kings was very unsatisfactory. On the one hand, he always got into trouble with Adelman, and the two quarreled countless times.

Adelman sometimes wondered whether Artest would choke his head coach like a madman.

While Artest still had trade value, the Kings simply put him on the shelf. The Lakers' current goal is to win Artest.

After the Lakers win Artest, the Lakers will be considered complete.

Combs also knew the news, and even considered whether to wait until the end of this season and use the Bobcats' chips to trade Artest to prevent the Lakers from becoming a complete entity.

But think about it, after the season is over, I am no longer the owner of the Bobcats, so why should I use the Bobcats' bargaining chips to trade again.

If you want to trade, you must use the Nets' chips to trade.

In order to prevent the Kings from reaching a deal with the Lakers too quickly, Combu simply called Adelman Sr.

"Old man, keep your Artest for now, and sell it to me directly after the draft."

"Don't worry, I will definitely give you a bargaining chip that satisfies you."

Combu has traded with the old Adelman many times. It was Combu who sold Artest to the Kings in the first place.

"Is there such a good thing? Then I'll wait for your news."

"Remember to get me a young player, our king is about to start tearing down and rebuilding."

Old Adelman sighed.

After several strong seasons, as the core members of the Kings age, the current Kings have lost their competitiveness.

For example, King Webber entered the league in 93, just one year later than Oppang.

For example, Doug Christie, their perimeter defender, was a member of the Raptors when Kong first entered the league. He was in the same class as O'Fat, and he is also an older player now.

Old Adelman also realized that it was time for the Kings to tear down and rebuild. Combs wanted to trade Artest. He was extremely happy. At least this way the Kings could get a young player worth cultivating.

"Okay, I will bring a new person to trade with you then."

Combs originally planned to have Millsap at the Nets' starting third position, but consider that Millsap is also the kind of player who is neither three nor four. His defense is far worse than Artest.

Since Artest's selling price was not high, Kongbu simply took it, and he wouldn't lose much anyway.

The Lakers must not have thought at this moment that they would miss again this time, and their favorite player would be intercepted by Kongbu again.

In fact, in last season's draft, if it weren't for the Raptors' trade with the Lakers, Koumbu even thought about taking Bynum.

In that case, the Lakers would not be complete at all.

Kongbu is still quite afraid of the Lakers team, especially the complete Lakers team led by Kobe and his wife, which is no less dominant than the OK combination period.

Even if they didn't achieve a dynasty feat, their offensive rhythm was unparalleled. If it weren't for Kongbu's crossover, they would be one of the teams with the highest offensive fluency in NBA history, or perhaps even one of them.