First in scoring

Chapter 510 508. Go on stage and win the championship!
Unlike the joyful scene of the Bobcats players and coaches holding hands and forming a circle to celebrate, the Lakers were in mourning, trailing 1-3, and were doomed!

Garnett murmured, "Am I really like Barkley and Malone, a fool with no luck?"

Kidd didn't say anything. Compared to Garnett, he was much more "resistant". He was familiar with losing in the finals, but he was also broken down at the moment. He couldn't move his feet or open his mouth to comfort his teammates like he did after the losses in G1 and G2.

Usually, the two of them are the ones who do the emotional counseling work within the team. The Wolf King plays the good guy and Ji Bu Gong plays the bad guy. They both look distraught and at a loss, which makes their teammates even more depressed.

At this time, Kobe's voice, which was blocked by reporters, reached the ears of his teammates.

"Of course I have the confidence to turn the tables. Not to mention 1-3, even if it's 0-3, I still think we will be the final winners! I know I sound like a madman when I say this, but my motto is never give up until the last moment. I will fight to the last second, and I will never say no even on the day I leave the court."

The old blacksmith's words suddenly lifted the spirits of Wolf King and Ji Bugong!
"If there are only two choices, retiring or joining the Spurs, I choose retirement!"

"Not being able to do something and giving up are not in my vocabulary. Nothing is impossible. Everything is possible!"

Kidd recalled what he said in the summer of 03 when the Spurs waved Parker and the first-round pick as bargaining chips and wanted him to join through a sign-and-trade.

Garnett also recalled what he said when his Timberwolves were trailing 04-1 in the 3 Western Conference Finals.

At that time, they had just reached the peak of their careers, but what followed was the darkest moment of their lives. They didn't give up then, let alone now?

The two of them cheered up again and started to sing the red and white cop song again...

After the interview, Kobe left his teammates and found a deserted place to stay for a while. The Mavericks can only provide emotional value to people, and no one can soothe his anger.

The Zen Master also accompanied the players back to the bench, trying his best to maintain his calm appearance.

When he returned to the office, there was no one else but Brian Shaw, Hamblen, Rambis, Tex Winter... and other assistant coaches and consultants. The Zen Master finally collapsed his stretched body and leaned back in his chair.

The office was very quiet. After a while, the Zen Master broke the silence: "Sure enough, facing such an opponent, we can't show any flaws. We shouldn't make too targeted defensive arrangements, just like they didn't defend Kobe and Kevin that way in 4 games."

Shaw, Hamblen, Rambis and others dared not say a word when they heard this. If they responded with one word, wouldn't that be the same as saying that they acknowledged that the head coach was wrong?
Winter consoled him: "It's not your fault. This is an adjustment we discussed with the players. I think we did nothing wrong. We were just unlucky. Mark committed three consecutive fouls, which disrupted our entire rotation rhythm."

Winter, a nearly 9-year-old basketball player, the founder of the triangle offense, the first tactical coach of the Bulls' two dynasties and the OK dynasty, announced his retirement in 04, ending his 57-year coaching career. In the summer of 05, he was invited by the Zen Master to return to the Lakers as a consultant to the coaching staff... In terms of prestige and qualifications, he is even above the Zen Master. He can be said to be one of the Zen Master's teachers, without the concerns of other assistants and consultants.

His words did make the Zen master feel better.

The Zen Master shook his head: "I was too arrogant. I thought I could see through all the changes of the opponent's triangle offense, but I ignored that Carlisle and I are completely different. He is a madman who can play with a madman like Bickerstaff!

I thought he wouldn't dare to adjust easily, but he is the kind of person who dares to do anything if he thinks the benefits outweigh the risks. Mark's foul crisis seems to be a coincidence, but it is actually inevitable. In this game, I did lose to that guy. "

Although he admitted defeat, his expression became firm again. He straightened his back again and told his subordinates to review tonight's defeat.

The first coach in history with nine championships is so cool that he doesn't need to say anything inspiring. As long as he straightens his back, he can cheer up his colleagues.

He focuses on his job as a coach, and he doesn't have to worry about the players because he has Kobe Bryant.

...

"Don't celebrate tonight. We haven't won the championship yet. It's not a good habit to open champagne at halftime... After we win the championship, you can choose any store in Los Angeles. The boss said he will pay for it!"

In the visiting team's locker room, Zhang Yang's words suddenly brought the high-spirited atmosphere to a halt, but after he said the next sentence, his teammates became even more excited than before.

If we go out to play tonight, those who like to pay the bill, like Chris Paul and Hill, will definitely not go. They have to pay for themselves. The players from Archangel City and the finals team must have a high level of consumption... Although these players don't feel bad about spending money, it's naturally better if the boss pays the bill. Then they can go to the best nightclubs, drink the most expensive wine, and pick up the hottest nightclub girls!
Now when I think of Brother San's "Prohibition", I don't feel unhappy anymore. I support it! I must support it!
Felton glared at Zhang Yang fiercely and said, "Well, it's said. It sounds nice when the younger brother calls him boss."

Hearing his teammates shouting "Boss is so generous", he also became excited and shouted: "Refuse to open champagne at halftime, win the championship! Win the championship..."

Done! Zhang Yang shouted "Yeah" in his heart and walked to the bathroom to take a shower. Next, there was physical therapy.

There are two days of rest between G4 and G5. As long as we don't drink too much tonight, it won't affect G5 in theory, but what if? God knows if there will be a teammate with a brain on the inside of his thigh who really messes up. He still needs to be punished.

He couldn't guarantee that everyone would follow the arrangements. After all, there were always some outrageous and unbelievable situations. However, he still trusted the 11 teammates in the 10-man rotation in this finals, so there shouldn't be any problems if he said so.

As for "selling" the fat little boss tonight, it's a small matter. If they win the championship, their Third Young Master and the Executive Deputy Boss will definitely treat guests for a long time in a row, and they can just take turns to pay the bill.

The next day at 1pm, the Bobcats gathered and went to the Toyota Center training hall. They held a preparatory meeting at 1:3pm and started a two-hour preparatory training at pm. The whole process was orderly and everyone was very active. Although I believe that my teammates will not let me down at this time, I saw with my own eyes that none of them looked hungover. At most, they may have ordered takeout and stayed up all night. There were two or three teammates who were a little weak during training... Zhang Yang was still relieved.

After all, the overall score is 3-1, which means the winning rate is higher than when the lead is 2-0.

A 2-0 lead in the finals was overturned. So far, this has only happened four times in NBA history. The Heat's overturn over the Mavericks was the most recent one. Although the probability is low, it is at least possible.

The situation of being overturned after leading 3-1 had never happened before, and public opinion had already regarded them as having won the championship... Fortunately, the teammates did not get complacent.

He knew that he might be a little sensitive, but since he was already sensitive, instead of adjusting himself, he might as well play it straight and eliminate his own troubles.

Moreover, in today's training, his teammates were more active and focused than he expected, including those few weak ones.

Thanks to Hill, Brad Miller, Juwan Howard and other veterans who constantly reminded the players of their dream of winning the championship, Zhang San's emphasis last night that "we haven't won the championship yet" should have had a certain effect.

With all his worries gone, Zhang Yang no longer thought about these trivial things and devoted himself fully to preparing for the battle.

After G4, Los Angeles became more lively. The NBA Finals has reached the match point. The season may be over after the next game. The ticket market is very hot. Many people come to Los Angeles to feel the lively atmosphere. Many fans also come from the Carolina area.

The 07 championship made the Bobcats begin to be recognized by fans in the Carolina area. This season, they won 70 games, reached the finals again, and took a 3-1 lead to get the match point... In the minds of many basketball fans in the Carolina area, the Bobcats have been discussed together with North Carolina and Duke, and some fans began to worry.

Can Xiacun, a land as small as a palm, retain people in the future?
It was fine in previous years, but this season, Charlotte is clearly unable to absorb the super high popularity brought by Zhang Yang. Apart from the overseas tourists attracted by Zhang Yang, his popularity across the United States alone has exceeded Charlotte's carrying capacity.

It is impossible for the city to become bigger. Even when Zhang Yang retires, Xia Village may not be much bigger. Then we can only rely on "people" to retain people.

It's hard to say anything else about Carolina, but the enthusiasm of basketball fans is comparable to that of New York, California, and Texas. The Hornets chose to run away because the fans were not enthusiastic about watching the game because the local fans felt that the team was not worthy. The Bobcats with Zhang Yang are naturally different. After all, he is a 'local university genius'...

The two-day rest time passed quickly, and on June 6th, the fifth game day of the finals arrived.

Zhang Yang felt that the preparations over the past two days went smoothly overall. The only trouble was the interference of temporarily arranged advertising shoots, interviews and other distractions. Fortunately, it did not affect their team's normal preparations.

The time came to 7: in the evening. After completing the warm-up and a two-minute interview in the locker room, Zhang Yang and his teammates went to the visiting team's player tunnel.

The atmosphere was frenetic, with boos predominantly directed at the visiting team that was about to play, but also mixed with cheers that could not be completely covered up.

Zhang San: I don’t know why, but I feel a little sorry for the Big Three.

In the two games at the Turkish Airlines Arena, there were really not many visiting fans at the scene, especially in Game 1. Looking around the audience, there was almost no fan who was not wearing a "Bad Boys Birthday Special Edition T-shirt."

But in these three games, a lot of fans came to the Staples Center to support him. Judging from the cheers after Game 3, at least one-third of them came?

Yes, it is the fans who support him, not the Bobcats, and this can be clearly felt.

Just like when Kobe visited BJ last year, he was confused as to why he had so many fans in China, Zhang Yang was also confused as to why he was so popular in California. Kobe had never operated overseas markets in his early years, and Zhang Yang had never operated the California market either.

His popularity in California has surpassed what can be explained by the large Chinese market, California Basketball Player of the Year, etc.

Although he still doesn't quite understand it, he doesn't want to think about the reason. Since so many people come to support him, he can't let down the fans who come to the scene!

The finals, match point, Angel City. He learned before the game that the average ticket price for this game was as high as 1092 US dollars. Some fans might have spent all their savings just to see him win the championship with their own eyes!
Immersed in the atmosphere of the scene, Zhang Yang's excitement about holding the trophy, his worries about the outcome of the game, the pressure from the Lakers' Big Three...even the strong confidence brought by the strength of his own team, none of these could affect his emotions at this moment.

All he wants now is to step onto the court and win the game!
At 7:40 p.m., the Bobcats and Lakers entered the court one after another.

When the lights came on, Kobe's eyes immediately turned to Zhang Yang. He had already thought about what kind of eyes and expressions he would use to have the first "confrontation" with Zhang Yang tonight, but the other party didn't even look at him!
He followed Zhang Yang's gaze and looked at...Bill Russell!
Since 1985, Russell has been invited to participate in 24 of the past 15 finals awards ceremonies, and people have long associated him with the FMVP trophy.

Before the start of the playoffs, the NBA officially "stamped" the FMVP trophy and named it the "Bill Russell Cup." Starting from this year's finals, Russell will become a regular award presenter in the finals.

What Russell's arrival tonight means is self-evident!

……

I had a headache today and didn't write anything, not even the guaranteed update. I'll go to bed early tonight and take a day off tomorrow. I'll get up early and start writing, and try to finish the rest of the finals in one day.

(End of this chapter)