NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 627 "Deadly Mamba" (Daily Chapter)

On Tuesday, April 2009, 4, the Lakers faced their last game of the regular season. Having already secured first place in the Western Conference, they naturally made large-scale rotations.

The team's excellent record also boosted the sales of playoff tickets. Although the price is not as high as that of New York, Buss is still very satisfied with it and praised the team in front of the media more than once:

"Tim Duncan is the real MVP. He was born for basketball. He will lead the Lakers to success!"

"."

Not only did old Buss show up, but Jeanie Buss, who was in charge of team operations, also established a deep friendship with Duncan's wife Amy.

The two often attend celebrity parties together. The gym Amy opened in Los Angeles is doing a booming business, and many Hollywood stars are their clients. Photos of them can always be seen on Facebook.

This is the charm of Los Angeles. Even though Duncan is extremely low-key, the Lakers still revolve around him because he is the MVP and his arrival has made the team rise again.

Unlike the crazy fans in New York, the fans in Los Angeles are still relatively "traditional". Duncan does not openly support Excel like Li You did. Instead, he took the initiative to give up his data to help his teammates.

The "styles" of the East Coast and the West Coast are completely different. No one expected that the teams closer to Hollywood would become more pure.

Sports reporters in Los Angeles called the Knicks' games "basketball reality shows," and occasionally made sarcastic comments while praising the Lakers' games:

"Only at Staples Center can you enjoy the purest basketball game in the world!"

The New York media was dismissive of this argument. After Li You extended his three-point shooting record to 410 in the game against the Bulls on Sunday, some sports reporters even publicly supported the "brunt brushing":
“In Madison Square Garden, you can not only enjoy the performances of the world’s best basketball players, but also witness the birth of historical records!”

New York fans have repeatedly shouted, "If you can't afford the tickets, don't come to the basketball mecca," "We just like reality shows," and "New York is not interested in clown basketball."
The increasingly high ticket prices have not only failed to deter fans, but have instead created a greater sense of excellence. Recently, people have often mocked the cheap prices of Los Angeles playoff tickets.

March Madness is over and the playoffs are about to begin. New York and Los Angeles, one in the east and one in the west, are starting to make the loudest noises again, and the other teams can only watch.

In this case, the Cavaliers, who were still making their last efforts, were ignored, which made Dwight Howard so angry that he kept talking nonsense every day. LeBron James also expressed his dissatisfaction implicitly and mocked Kobe by the way:
"I don't have the chance to play next to the MVP, I just want to be the MVP!"

The Cavaliers have the same record as the Lakers, both of which have achieved 66 wins. Unfortunately, even if they beat the 76ers tomorrow, they can only rank second in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks have recently started to make large-scale rotations and are currently only one game ahead, but with the win-loss relationship, they can still get the home advantage even if the record is the same.

Cleveland fans are very depressed about this. Many people are very dissatisfied with this kind of competition. They have achieved the best record in team history, but in the end they still have to be second!

Before the Lakers' game that night, a large number of sports reporters "surrounded" Kobe at the press conference, exaggerating James' provocation, and some mentioned that Wade was also sarcastic:

"Kobe? If he played in the East, he would have gone through what Iverson went through. I don't know why everyone always laughs at Iverson."

Although the Heat's locker room was a mess, it did not affect Wade's speaking out for his idol. When everyone was laughing at Iverson, the Flash dragged Kobe into it.

Kobe, who is obsessed with game videos, doesn't pay attention to these things at all. In the past two months, he even watches the edited highlights when he returns home.

By observing the "details" of his arch-rivals, Kobe even felt that he was making rapid progress. Those techniques gave him a feeling of "sitting at home and improving his basketball skills naturally."

Kobe was a little impatient when he heard the reporters gossiping, especially when the Yahoo Sports reporter asked about the MVP. He was angry again and said unhappily:
"Every one of us has made sacrifices. I'm not interested in explaining tactical issues to you!"

"Soon you will witness the Lakers' victory, and the 'Deadly Mamba' will kill all his prey with his venom"

Everyone who heard this was stunned. From "Special Mamba" to "Deadly Mamba", Kobe seemed to have updated his title.

Soon, some people lowered their heads to hide their smiles. They didn't understand why Kobe was so confident and focused on the title of "Mamba".
Seemingly satisfied with the crowd's reactions, Kobe said no more. He stood up expressionlessly and strode away with his head held high. He had already mastered the "details" and he firmly believed that he could get perfect revenge.

The game officially started at 19:30 in the evening. During the pre-match warm-up, the Staples Center was already half full. The Los Angeles fans cheered from time to time, and they enjoyed the dunk show again.

Gerald Green is a former slam dunk king. Although he did not gain the trust of Phil Jackson, he also accumulated a lot of fans in Los Angeles thanks to his excellent slam dunks.

As music played, the ball was thrown outside the three-point line. Gerald Green, wearing the Lakers' yellow training suit, ran up, accelerated, scooped the ball in the air, then changed hands under his crotch, stretched his body and dunked the ball into the basket!
Amid cheers, Shannon Brown quickly jumped high with the ball, his head level with the basket, and completed a powerful one-arm slam dunk!

After completing the dunk, the two players jumped up and down and waved to the fans, causing screams from the audience. Only then did they show off their jumping abilities again with satisfaction.

Although it is difficult to squeeze into the rotation, life in Los Angeles is wonderful. Even if he can't get statistics, his life is better than most players. The two "soy sauce" are enough.

Adam Morrison, who was warming up, had a forlorn look on his face. Due to his physical condition, he had to take medication every day. After joining the team, he could only throw in the towel, and his career had a "blind future."

Fisher and Barnes also had smiles on their faces. In the last regular season game, Gloria also appeared on the sidelines to cheer for her boyfriend.
This hot and beautiful girl has also received a lot of attention in Los Angeles and has gained many fans on social media.

"Bro, do you think Duncan will leave? He seems to be paying more attention to the news in San Antonio lately."

Dipping the ball into the three-point line, Barnes leaned over to Fisher and whispered to him. He had just discovered in the locker room that Duncan was checking Twitter before the game, and all the posts were about the Spurs.

With 43 wins each, the Suns and Spurs both have a chance to make the playoffs. No matter which team can catch the last train, they will face the Lakers in the first round.

Fisher, who had been paying attention to the situation on the sidelines, came back to his senses and heard Barnes' whispers. He was a little surprised. Ever since Popovich hoped that Duncan would "go home", the leader has been more low-key:
"I don't know, maybe he will be like Finley and eventually choose to return to the city he loves."

"Michael returned with the championship! You know that"

Barnes said halfway and raised his eyebrows at his teammates. Fisher understood what he meant. There were also many players on the Lakers who believed that they had no chance of winning the championship. Last year's finals experience was a nightmare.

Thinking of Kobe who has been addicted to video recently, Lao Yu shrugged slightly and stopped talking. Those who have played with Li You basically look down on Kobe, the difference in strength is too big.
Gloria, who had a black ponytail, smiled at her boyfriend from time to time and posed in front of the camera. Although she had noticed some hot gazes, she did not care and she enjoyed the spotlight very much.

Before the game, Duncan, who is always low-key, rarely smiled during the interview. 60+ wins is never an easy thing. He is very satisfied with this achievement:

"We will not relax. Although we failed to get the home advantage, the team is more coordinated than last year."

"I don't care who gets the award, and personal data is not what I pursue."

"Maybe you've heard that I never look at those complicated tables. I always think that basketball games cannot be presented using data models."

After hearing Duncan's remarks, Fox Sports reporters nodded repeatedly. As the broadcaster, they were also singing a different tune from MSG, and repeatedly mentioned the "uselessness of advanced data" in the program. Jerry Sloan was not as high-profile as Phil Jackson. Before the game, the old man kept telling his players that although they had secured a place in the playoffs, the tactical requirements could not be relaxed.

In the noisy arena, listening to the coach's nagging, Deron Williams nodded in response, but in his heart he was a little envious of the environment of the "big ball city".

Affected by injuries at the beginning of the season, the Jazz almost fell out of the playoffs, and Deron's own attention also dropped sharply, and Chris Paul, who was selected as an All-Star, caught up.

Seeing Trevor Ariza, who has been frequently reported on the opposite side recently, Deron let out a depressed sigh. He truly understood the feelings of those veterans. The playoffs are just a "game" for a few teams.

The Lakers, who have secured first place in the Western Conference, naturally made large-scale rotations. Phil Jackson used 11 players in the game, and even Gerald Green got 12 minutes of playing time.

Although the Jazz performed well, the Lakers suddenly exploded in the second half of the game. After scoring 36 points in the third quarter, they continued to fire in the fourth quarter and successfully defeated their opponents with "everyone mobilizing as a soldier".

Sasha Vujacic, who came off the bench, performed well, making 8 of 6 shots, 4 of 3 from beyond the three-point line, and scored 15 points efficiently. After the game, the Staples Center cheered for him.

In an interview with a Fox Sports reporter, Vujacic talked about his tennis star girlfriend Sharapova with a happy smile and said:
"I want to give her the championship! It would be the best gift!"

"."

The long regular season is over. Kobe, wearing a training suit, showed a determined look in his eyes and kept waving on the sidelines. With 67 wins and 15 losses, such a record is simply impeccable!
Although most fans were shouting "MVP" for Duncan, Kobe didn't care about it. After talking with the coaching staff, he had already focused on the upcoming finals.

The Staples Center was filled with jubilation. Even if the Knicks beat the Nets tomorrow, their record would only be 69 wins. The difference of two wins was enough to show that the strength of both teams was at the same level.

"Duncan, what do you think of this year's regular season performance? 67 wins, you led the team to an amazing result!"

The Fox Sports reporter showed excitement on his face. As many basketball commentators said, this was the closest the Lakers had been to the Knicks in recent years.

"There are some regrets, but more excitement. We have overcome many difficulties."

Duncan lowered his head to answer the question and still did not make any big statements. He had experienced too many beatings and naturally knew that the regular season, playoffs and finals were different.

As he was about to enter the player tunnel, Kobe heard the fans on both sides shouting his name. He waved to the fans again, his face showing a "fierce" expression, and shouted loudly:

"I'm ready!!"

On Wednesday, April 4, the last day of the regular season, the Knicks will face the Nets at home. Since Carter and Devin Harris have been confirmed to not play, this game will naturally be another big victory.

Early in the morning, the news that the Lakers had won 67 games swept all major sports media. This record put them at the top of the Western Conference, and all commentators believed that Los Angeles would make it to the finals again.

The old rivals celebrated wildly, and New York fans mocked each other on social media. They still celebrated their 67th win. This is just like a big team.
The team had already loaned out 69 wins, so most New York fans were not so excited about the wins. They bought tickets to watch the game mainly to witness the birth of Li You's new three-point record.

In the afternoon, the fans who bought tickets were so angry when they saw that the Nets surrendered early that they started cursing. Losing the game was a small matter, but affecting the GOAT record was a big matter. The second team next door was really no good!
After the game started at 20 p.m., Carter, who was wearing a gray suit, looked even darker. Li You was substituted out after playing for only 6 minutes. All the New York fans at the scene were cursing the Nets.

“Fake New York team!”

“Go back to Jersey!”

“Paper champions!”

"."

Surrendering and being humiliated, the head coach Lawrence Frank on the sidelines was so angry at the shouting that his face turned red. It was useless to communicate with the referee, and it only made the fans behind the basket shout even more happily.
The New York fans who entered the playoffs early seemed to scare the Nets players. Under their crazy shouting and cursing, the opponents missed many shots. For a while, the Knicks' counterattack could not be stopped and the score gap was widened early.

At 16:38, they lost by 22 points in the first quarter. There was no cheering in Madison Square Garden, but the shouting became louder.

Yi Jianlian, who came on as a substitute, was experiencing such a basketball environment for the first time. Seeing many fans holding beers with excited expressions and fragrant breaths, he subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

The game was very smooth. The sluggish Nets team was hit hard by the atmosphere group and finally scored only 36 points in the first half. During the halftime break, everyone walked towards the player tunnel with their heads down.

By the end of the third quarter, both sides had basically replaced their players at the end of the rotation. All the Nets players had sullen faces and watched the score gap continue to widen.

With the last 6 minutes of the game, the huge score difference finally diverted the attention of New York fans, and the sound of cheering reappeared in the stadium.

Chalmers showed no intention of showing mercy, and the rookie was full of energy, hitting three-pointers in a row, which completely ignited the stadium and caused jubilation on the bench.

Carter stared at everyone on the court until the final buzzer sounded, and he still didn't stand up. Instead, he sat in his seat with his hands covering his face.

73:131, the Knicks successfully "retaliated" and defeated their opponents by 58 points!
Seeing Li You standing up from the bench and high-fiving the fans, Mike Breen in the MSG commentary booth showed a look of regret on his face, and then he introduced loudly:

"Making 412 three-pointers in a single season is not Lee's limit, but I believe that this record will be hard to break in the future!"

"Incredible record, Li has created a miracle again!"

Walter Fred, with a big beard and wearing an orange plaid suit, also celebrated with the fans by pumping his fist. After sitting down again, he excitedly said:
"I have reason to believe that Lee will lead the team to continue to win, and I believe the Knicks will complete their 8th consecutive championship."

The Nets team all bowed their heads, shook hands briefly, and left quickly. Li You didn't see Carter. 58 points obviously hurt the "Black Mamba".
“Lee! Lee! Lee!”

The shouting could not stop. Tina Chelvasi came to Li You, congratulated him briefly, and asked the fans a question with a smile:
"69 wins and 67 wins, Lee, do you think this is the closest other teams have come to us in recent years?"

In the game that was played simultaneously, the Cavaliers defeated the 76ers, not only achieving 67 wins, but also taking the second place in the league.

Li You got the news from the coaching staff before the game ended. Thinking that the Celtics also won 60 games, he shrugged his shoulders when he heard this question and said with some regret:

"I'm more looking forward to playing against a team with 70+ wins. Whether it's 67 wins or 57 wins, it doesn't make any difference to me. In the playoffs, everything is back to zero."

"."

(End of this chapter)