NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

At the Knicks' press conference, Lin Tian was also very happy to be interviewed by reporters. As the victor, he was in a great mood and was also full of expectations for the upcoming series.

"Lin, if everything goes well, you only have two more series left in your career. Have you thought about what you'll do after that?"

"First of all, it's not just two rounds of the series, there's also the Olympics! I will go back to my country to participate in the Olympics, and then I will truly retire."

"As for what I will do after retiring, I haven't thought about it yet. Anything is possible, but the most important thing is definitely to be with my children. I want to spend a few happy days with my family."

"So you married Charlize Theron?"

"No."

"So, you two broke up, right?"

"We haven't broken up, we both love our daughter, and we are very happy."

"Then why didn't you get married?"

"Because I don't want to."

"So you're preparing for a breakup later?"

"So you're asking this on behalf of your single mother? You think she can take advantage of us after we break up? It's not impossible, you can call me father first, and then I'll consider dating your mother."

"You can't insult a journalist like that! This joke isn't funny."

"Who the hell is joking with you!" Lin Tian snorted and looked at the reporter, saying, "I'm serious! You care about my private life, and I care about yours, that's fair! You're keen to ask others if they've broken up, and I'm keen to ask you if you're missing a father."

"There's nothing more reasonable or fair than this! What do you think?"

“I think this is unfair! You are a public figure.”

"Does being a public figure mean you have to be their father?" Lin Tian always acted according to his mood when it came to the media. If he was happy, he'd leak some information, and everyone would be happy. If he wasn't happy, he'd rather die than give them any face!
It's shameless to keep asking about something like this!

As for whether he's afraid of being exaggerated and unfairly criticized by the media afterward?
With 10 championships and 8 Finals MVPs, plus countless individual honors, he has countless fans worldwide, and his commercial endorsements and affiliated companies are terrifyingly numerous.

Do you think I, Lord Lin, am afraid of a worthless reporter writing an article to smear me?

It's only because Lin Da Guanren is in a good mood that he's giving him a chance to become famous!
After saying that, Lin Tian stared intently at the reporter, waiting for him to continue. If he dared to continue, Lin Tian would continue to spew insults, and he would guarantee to spew even more vulgar insults than before.

When it comes to toughness, Master Lin has never lost in his life!

Looking at Lin Tian's gaze, which was almost deadly, the reporter hesitated for a long time before finally lowering his head obediently, too afraid to meet Lin Tian's eyes.

Lin Tian then continued to scan the entire scene, his cold expression and murderous gaze causing many reporters to tremble.

Just when everyone was worried that Lin Tian would continue to go crazy, he suddenly grinned and regained his sunny and cheerful demeanor.

"I'll only say this once about me and Charitz. If anyone asks again later, I guarantee they'll regret it."

"We don't plan to get married for the time being, but we will definitely not break up. Marriage and breakup are not necessary. Some people get married but hate each other like enemies, while others break up but can still have sex from time to time. I can only say that our relationship is quite stable."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. I've also decided to hold a training camp after the season ends and before the Olympics begin. It's a real training camp, not some televised talent show."

"This time, I hope to find a few truly top-notch kids and train with them for a while. It's also a good deed on my part. If any high school or college students think they're good enough to enter the NBA, feel free to contact my team."

See you in June.

After saying that, Lin Tian stood up and left, completely ignoring the reporters behind him who wanted to ask more questions.

They don't give us a chance, not at all.

Lord Lin was quite angry.

"I will definitely get revenge on him! I will write an article to scold him! I will make him regret it!" After Lin Tian left the press conference, the reporter who had just criticized him was still not satisfied and made vicious threats.

Unfortunately, no one around him paid any attention to him. Most people ignored him and left the scene, while a few others stood beside him and scoffed at him in a voice he could hear.

You really had the guts to confront Lin Tian directly just now. Now that he's gone, you're spouting threats. Who will respect you?

As for writing articles to criticize Lin Tian?

This tactic might work on a rookie or a newcomer who has just made a name for himself, but what about Lin Tian?

It's best to be careful with your wording, lest you get sued by that bastard's legal team—that would be a huge joke!
After leaving the press conference, the Knicks did not stay in Cleveland any longer. As Anthony and his teammates said, this crappy place was not worth Nelson's curfew order. The nightlife here was not as fun as their own PS game console!
Everyone was eager to go home; they wanted to get back to New York as soon as possible.

That's their favorite place!

More importantly, they still have several days of free time to rest!
Who told the other team to only be tied 2-2 right now?
The Nets and Celtics are about to reach Game 5.

According to the schedule given by the league, they will have to play at least 6 games, and after that, there will be another day before they play the Eastern Conference Finals.

If it goes to a tiebreaker, then the rest time will be even longer!
That means the Knicks will get at least 5 days and at most a week of rest!

They have plenty of opportunities to indulge themselves!

Old Nelson even gave these energetic guys two days off.

For the first two days back in New York, let them be wild and indulgent.

But two days later, no matter how the other matchup goes, they have to hurry back to train and study their Eastern Conference Finals opponent!
The Nets and Celtics played an absolutely fantastic game in the semifinals!
In Game 1 of the series, Rivers used Howard to defend Yao Ming, and the Nets immediately focused a lot of their offensive efforts on Yao Ming.

大姚也没让队友们失望，全场比赛不但自己26投15中，罚球8罚全中轰下38分16个篮板的大号两双，还顺手让跟他对位的霍华德只有8分13篮板入账，并且还在比赛结束前2分钟吃到第六次犯规。

These two superstar centers, who entered the league only two years apart, delivered a one-sided performance on the court.

The game ended with the Nets taking the lead on the road and gaining an advantage.

In the second game, Rivers finally learned his lesson. He assigned Duncan to match up against Yao Ming, while Howard was responsible for roaming around to help defend and focus on protecting the rim.

With a well-adjusted strategy, Yao Ming performed reasonably well tonight, but it was far worse than the previous game. He only made 8 of 19 field goals and 7 of 7 free throws, scoring 23 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Duncan, who was guarding him, was in great form, scoring a double-double of 29 points and 14 rebounds!
The game ended with a resounding victory for the Celtics!

1-1! Both sides scored a goal at TD Garden and returned to New Jersey for the next match.

Game 3 of the series was almost a carbon copy of Game 2. Duncan shut down Yao Ming and played an incredibly brilliant game himself. Howard dominated the boards, recording a double-double of 14 points and 24 rebounds. The Celtics successfully won the away game and regained home-court advantage!
Just when everyone was saying that this series was a battle of inside players, and whoever had the upper hand in the paint would win the game, the Nets' outside shooting suddenly came alive!

In Game 4 of the series, Frank boldly changed tactics, moving Yao Ming to the high post to set screens and facilitate play, while Carter and Harris, two great penetrators, repeatedly cut in from the wing to attack the Celtics' basket.

With Harrington, who has the reputation of being a power forward but whose playing style is clearly that of a small forward, constantly shooting from the outside, the Nets' three-man perimeter defense was on fire tonight, with everyone giving their all!
Carter scored 25 points, Harrington 21 points, and Harris 20 points! The three combined for 66 points, completely destroying the Celtics' outside shooting.

While the three of them were shooting wildly from the outside, Yao Ming finally found an opportunity inside. In the fourth quarter, it was Yao Ming's repeated one-on-one plays that allowed the Nets to seize the victory and win the game!
2: 2!

Both teams have successfully advanced to the crucial match!

In the crucial fifth game, it was as if the two sides had agreed to take turns performing.

This time, it was the Celtics' most important summer signing, Ron Artest, who dominated the game!

Although he only scored 11 points that night, his regular season average was only 12 or 3 points per game. However, Artest's most important role has never been offense, but defense!

Although Artest only scored 11 points that night, he also limited Carter to only 11 points and held Carter to 4-for-20 shooting performances throughout the game!
Carter, who was completely shut down, became a liability. His 15 missed shots directly cost the Nets the chance to win, and the team lost the most crucial Game 5 on the road!

In the crucial sixth game, a do-or-die situation for the Nets, Carter once again underperformed!

He was completely outplayed by Artest once again. In this game, he made 6 of 18 shots, with a field goal percentage of only 33% and scored less than 20 points. His performance was even worse than that of Harris, the young guard who was newly recruited by the team this year.

Harris dominated Parker again that night, scoring 21 points and dishing out 7 assists.

内线的大姚也终于在被邓肯压制了几场之后，在今晚迎来了反弹，他又是22投12中，罚球10罚9中拿下33分9篮板3盖帽的数据。

His points, free throws, and blocks were all the highest in the game tonight!
Unfortunately, the Celtics played with all their might tonight, unleashing a barrage of attacks!
帕克拿下11分、吉诺比利14分、阿泰斯特13分、邓肯20分、约什·霍华德15分、德怀特·霍华德13分！
All six of the team's key players scored in double figures, and the team played with incredible unity, even distribution, and without any weaknesses.

Facing the Celtics' team basketball and rotation system, the Nets clearly cannot rely solely on Yao Ming and Tobias Harris! Especially since Yao Ming and Tobias Harris are not very compatible.

Harris needs to play fast; his advantage lies in running and creating chaos. His strengths are constant drives and passing.

However, in positional play, his lack of shooting ability and average playmaking skills will make him quite difficult to contain.

But Yao Ming is the exact opposite. Yao Ming can't run; he has to stand still and play. He has to set up his position and turn his back to the ball.

These two are quite incompatible. Unless they are both in top form, they can't create a synergy where 1+1>2.

It was certainly a disappointment for the Nets to be eliminated by the Celtics at home, but it also meant that their 07-08 season was over.

The Nets' management, players, and fans now need to consider their offseason and the upcoming season!
Carter's performance in both the playoffs and the regular season has visibly declined, yet he still earns the highest salary on the team at over $1700 million. Given that the team has not made a breakthrough for many years and has consistently failed to reach the Finals, will the Nets trade him?

Yao Ming and Harris both played exceptionally well in this year's playoffs, but it was also obvious to the naked eye that the two didn't click.

If Carter is traded, will the team build around Yao Ming or around the younger, better-performing, and seemingly more promising Harris?

If the Nets want to contend for the championship, then Yao Ming is undoubtedly the more suitable candidate.

But if they can't quickly build a competitive team after Lin Tian's retirement, what will they do when Yao Ming's peak is over?
Since winning the championship is so difficult, why not take advantage of Yao Ming's peak performance and trade him early to get the highest return and benefits, and start rebuilding with Harris as soon as possible?

In short, the Nets' prospects for next season are quite uncertain, and it's hard for anyone to guess what they will do next.

But many fans are certain that the Nets, who haven't improved in so many years, are very likely to make a big move in the offseason!

Of course, many teams will make some big moves during this offseason.

After all, Lin Tian is retiring!
After six hard-fought games, the Celtics once again found themselves facing the Knicks.

Last year, despite having home-court advantage, they were eliminated by the Knicks with a score of 4-2.

So what about this year? Without home advantage, can they get their revenge?

The Eastern Conference semifinals have concluded, and the Western Conference semifinals are also pretty much decided!

Lakers vs. Nuggets!

Spurs vs. Warriors!

The series between the Lakers and the Nuggets wasn't particularly suspenseful, as the slender Durant almost completely lost his shooting touch against Denver's muscular roster.

Whether it was the Nuggets' tough competition or their altitude sickness in the high-altitude region, Durant was quite uncomfortable! His performance in this series was very similar to Gasol's performance in the Knicks and Cavaliers games.

Pure undercover agent.

Throughout the series, Durant averaged only 14 points per game with a shooting percentage of just over 3%.

Durant, the team's second-best player, was seriously coasting, while Bynum, the team's interior anchor, wasn't the type to score explosively. Although Bynum had a clear advantage over Camby, he only averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds per game, which wasn't enough to change the course of the game!

Besides these two, only Kobe Bryant can average double figures for the Lakers!

Yes, he played a lot. Kobe completely destroyed the Nuggets' perimeter defense in this series, from Billups to Kleiza and Najera. Even when the Nuggets' Milicic was mismatched to defend, Kobe still managed to beat him.

Unfortunately, Kobe's efforts alone were not enough. Even though he averaged 35.4 points per game in this series with a field goal percentage of 48%, 40%, and 80%, he could only help the Lakers win one game.

The Lakers' firepower was simply insufficient, and they couldn't stop the Nuggets' muscular duo!
4: 1!

The Nuggets swept the Lakers out of the game in just five games.

When the Lakers were eliminated, needless to say, everyone in Los Angeles missed McGrady terribly!

If McGrady were there, they would never have been in the predicament of having no one score!
But along with the longing, McGrady also made Los Angeles residents hate him immensely!

Throughout the entire playoffs, or rather the entire season, McGrady almost never appeared at the Lakers' home arena.

Nobody knows where he is, but he has never appeared at Staples Center or the Lakers' training facility. It's as if he has vanished into thin air; he simply doesn't show up and doesn't cooperate with any of the team's efforts.

Nobody knows what this guy is up to, but everyone seems to have accepted that the Lakers don't actually have this guy.

What else can we do? Isn't that right? (End of Chapter)