Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 201: The tortured LeBron, the impact of Shaq's absence.

LeBron didn't know whether to be happy or unhappy.

The Cavaliers won tonight's game and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, which was the first time in his career that he reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

From this point of view, he should be happy.

but……

Shaquille O'Neal is injured!

In the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter, he left the scene with his hands covering his buttocks and a painful look on his face.

Antonio McDyess, who was competing against him at the time, stood by with a look of astonishment, watching him twist his mountain-like body in an extremely uncoordinated posture in pain. He heard that Shaquille O'Neal had lost weight, but it was still a "hill". However, he was not scared by Shaquille O'Neal's size, he had a question in his mind:
I really……

Did you meet him?
The scene also replayed Shaquille O'Neal's injury footage.

The footage shows that the two people did have contact, but such contact should not have caused Shaq so much pain.

But injuries are sometimes really strange, like Allen Iverson was injured just because he was slapped by his teammate while celebrating.

It is also true that Shaquille O'Neal is in pain at this moment!
Watching him limp away from the scene, LeBron's first reaction was...

In the next round of the Eastern Conference Finals, they will face Suwan and the Pacers.

I, alone, go to deal with Su Wan?

He felt a sudden panic in his heart for no reason.

Not only was he panicking, Cleveland fans were also nervous.

Shaquille O'Neal's performance in the six games of the Eastern Conference semifinals was obvious to all. The combination of Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess could not stop him at all.

He averaged 20 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

In the crucial fifth game, he scored 28 points and 13 rebounds, a performance that was like back in 00. Even the most demanding Cleveland fans forgot that Shaquille O'Neal's annual salary this season was 2 million.

He's only worth 2 million f*cking dollars.

because……

LeBron has struggled very much in this series, or rather, since returning from "injury", he has been trying to integrate into the team but has been unable to do so. He has been struggling very much, and there is no way to safely count on him to carry the Cavaliers.

Now Cleveland can only hope that Shaquille O'Neal's injury will not affect the Eastern Conference Finals.

After Danny Ferry learned that Shaquille O'Neal was injured, he also paid attention to Shaquille O'Neal's MRI as soon as possible. The result was negative, which meant that Shaquille O'Neal did not have any serious problems.

No one knows how disappointed Ferry was when he learned the result.

Yes, he hoped Shaquille O'Neal's injury was too severe to allow him to play in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Only in this way can Shaquille O'Neal's value, which was finally raised in the semi-finals against the Pistons, be maintained, and avoid another huge price drop after the game against the Pacers!

He also hopes to sell Shaquille O'Neal for a good price!
Of course, he knew that this would leave LeBron James isolated and helpless, and he would once again face a humiliating series.

Can……

His reputation is bad enough already!
In the eyes of the public, Suwan is LeBron's nemesis.

What does it matter if it gets worse again?

Shaq's value was preserved, and Danny Ferry was able to get a good bargaining chip for LeBron James.

such a pity!
Unfortunately, Shaquille O'Neal's test results showed that he was fine...

Hey!
Just when Danny Ferry was feeling regretful, he heard from the team doctor that Shaquille O'Neal still felt discomfort in his hips and had noticeable swelling and pain whenever he moved.

He suddenly realized something and took the initiative to meet with Shaq and chat with him.

"It seems that you really can't fight anymore!" Danny Ferry said meaningfully at last.

Shaq nodded: "Yes Danny, it seems that I can only disappoint the fans in Cleveland!"

"No, without your performance in the semifinals, we wouldn't have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Take a good rest, Shaq, I support your decision!"

As he left, Danny Ferry smiled:
good very good!

Shaquille O'Neal doesn't want to play, no, he can't play because he is injured, that's great!

In this way, his value is preserved.

He could also do a better job of getting trades done in the summer.

But in this way, LeBron James is destined to be beaten...

But it’s okay!

If LeBron suffers any more, he will also have to bear the blame.

Anyway, there will be strong reinforcements next season, and he will be the one to enjoy the benefits.

It’s miserable now, but you’ll be so happy that you’ll burst into tears then!
Ok……

Just like that, without LeBron knowing anything, Shaquille O'Neal and Danny Ferry were ready to sell him.

Of course, the two people have different ideas. Danny Ferry wants a better tomorrow, while Shaq wants to prevent LeBron from doing the first grade. If so, he will be passive, so he might as well do the first grade first.

And he knew very well that he really couldn't beat this Pacers team.

There has to be someone to take the blame, so why can't it be LeBron?

Soon the outside world also learned that Shaquille O'Neal would miss the Eastern Conference Finals due to injury.

The Cavaliers, who were already not favored, became even less favored now.

There's no way. The Heat at least beat the Pacers, but what about the Cavaliers?
Since Suwan left the Cavaliers, they have never beaten the Pacers.

Whether it's the regular season or the playoffs...

When LeBron learned the news, he felt like the sky was falling.

Amid this discussion, the league announced this season's "Best Defensive Player Award."

The final winner is Jermaine O'Neal!
He became the second Pacers player to win the Defensive Player of the Season Award.

The Pacers also became the first team in NBA history to have different players win the "Defensive Player of the Season Award" for two consecutive years.

Indiana is calling this season "Jermaine O'Neal's Year."

In addition to the "Defensive Player of the Season Award", Jermaine O'Neal was also selected to the "Best First Team" along with Suwan this season.

Although he has frequently appeared on the "Best List" since 03.

But this is his first time on the “Best First Team” list.

凭借着场均23.4分11.4篮板2.6盖帽的数据，以及球队追平芝加哥公牛队72胜10负的战绩，他做到了！
He was also selected to this year's "Best Defensive First Team".

He is also the only inside player in the NBA to receive the "First Team and First Defense" award this year.

In addition to him and Su Wan, the other three players in the "Best First Team" are:
Kobe, Nowitzki and Yao Ming;
Yao Ming averaged 24.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game this season.

Coupled with the Lakers' third-place record in the Western Conference with 58 wins, this allowed him to surpass Shaquille O'Neal and become the final "Best First Team Center".

This was also the first time he was selected for the first team.

"Team Yao" is once again thankful:
The transfer was really right!
I shouldn't have stayed in that crappy place, Houston.

The members of the "Best Second Team" are: Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, Shaquille O'Neal;
The members of the "Best Third Team" are: Arenas, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Amar'e Stoudemire;
The other four members of the "Best Defensive Team" are: Kobe, Artest, Tim Duncan, Kirilenko;
"Best Defensive Second Team": Suwan, Enta Prince Jr., Marcus Camby, Kevin Garnett, Raja Bell;

After the "Best Defensive Player Award", the final grand prize of this season is only the ultimate grand prize of "Regular Season MVP".

But there is no suspense about this award. In Barkley's words, this is an award that has Suwan's name engraved on it. If it were the Dallas media, they would have started setting off firecrackers to celebrate. Only the Indiana media, out of caution, did not do such a thing as opening champagne at halftime.

In the East, the roster for the Eastern Conference Finals has been released. In the West, the Spurs and the Warriors played into the fourth game of the series and were leading by a huge margin of 4-3.

There is no way. The Warriors themselves lack the hard power and they are a team that relies on three-pointers.

And the three-pointer...

The requirements for the feel are too demanding.

In the playoffs, three-pointers often become a "double-edged sword". If used well, they can kill opponents, but if used poorly, they can kill yourself.

The "mopping-up defense" stolen by the Spurs has a certain inhibitory effect on shots from beyond the three-point line.

In the only game the Warriors won, the team's three-point shooting percentage exceeded 40%. In the remaining three games, their three-point shooting percentage was less than 3%!

It can be said that Donny is quite unlucky.

In ancient times, he could win championships with his steadfast defense, and then be crushed by others' offense.

Then he fell into the "offensive devil's way", but the NBA changed the rules and defense became the world that won the championship again.

In this series, his team was once again defeated by defense.

After losing Game 5 of the series, there was helplessness on his face.

But he has achieved the ultimate goal of this season...

He defeated the Mavericks, defeated Cuban, and avenged the "non-renewal of Nash's contract" three years ago.

He proved that Cuban is just a boss and a fan, and he knows nothing about building a team!
The Lakers also took a 4-3 lead after 1 games.

how to say!

The original Lakers team only had one Kobe, and they led the team to 3-1 before they were tied for three consecutive games.

Now Kobe has Yao Ming standing next to him, with him playing both inside and outside, won't it be easy for the little Suns to control him?

Dayao feels comfortable again!

In the past, he was always able to play against Stoudemire on equal terms, but he was not the one who had the last laugh in the game.

just now……

He is finally the one who has the last laugh!

Swapping roles, it’s awesome!

In the end, the Lakers eliminated the Suns with a big score of 4-1 and met the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

When domestic fans saw that the Lakers also made it to the Western Conference Finals, they became visibly agitated.

Suwan and Yao Ming still have one more round of series left. Once they beat the Cavaliers and Spurs...

Domestic fans will witness the "China Derby" on the NBA finals stage!
Just thinking about how great that feels!
Suwan and the Pacers are not worried.

Beating the Cavaliers and LeBron is no different than beating your son.

The Lakers vs. Spurs is what they are more worried about.

Although Kobe's mid-range shot has always been a weapon to restrain the Spurs.

But if the Spurs can't win with their tactics, they will resort to dirty tricks, and this is what domestic fans are worried about.

Now they can only pray that Suwan has cast a shadow over the Spurs and they dare not act rashly again.

What domestic fans don’t know is that David Stern has already issued a warning to the Spurs through other people in the league.

Just kidding, as a "master of hype", he has long noticed that this finals is likely to usher in the most hyped round of NBA finals since Jordan retired in 98.

He could accept that the Lakers could not beat the Spurs, which ultimately led to the failure of this round of finals.

But I absolutely cannot accept that the Spurs eliminated the Lakers by playing dirty tricks, or that the Lakers' health was affected so that they could not enter the finals...

As we all know, anyone who hinders the promotion of the NBA is David Stern's sworn enemy.

For the sake of ratings, he can make all changes, the most well-known one recently being the rule change in 04!

The Spurs received a warning from the league, but did not dare to make these things public. Popovich had a sharp knife hanging over his head.

He knew very well what would happen if David Stern targeted him.

Just look at Boston's "Red Cardinal" who passed away last year.

Is Boston’s decline from the 90s to the present really just bad luck?
No team can be unlucky for more than 15 years, especially a powerhouse like Boston.

Popovich naturally doesn't want to be the next "Red Cardinal". At least for now he still wants to climb up and become one of the most successful head coaches in the NBA.

He has to keep the pressure from the alliance in mind.

The first to start is the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Cleveland Cavaliers arrived in Indiana the day before the game.

It is said that Shaquille O'Neal's injury has worsened, so he did not travel with the team.

After hearing the news, some Cleveland media who were still questioning the situation shut up.

After all, Shaquille O'Neal is also the "big contributor" to the Cavaliers' advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, so they can't push him too hard.

There weren’t many stars willing to come to Cleveland…

LeBron James knew exactly what he was getting into.

Because when I was interviewed before the game, I didn't dare to say a single harsh word.

It's just too much...

His overly cautious appearance made the media complain that he did not have the domineering aura of a "chosen one" and was not worthy of the nickname "King"!

Well, the game hasn’t even started yet and LeBron has already been scolded.

The reason for all this is:

The media don't think highly of him!

They were pretty sure LeBron James was going to lose badly.

As the saying goes, “When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down.” Now these media outlets are the ones who pushed it up first.

When LeBron saw the news, he knew that a torturous week was about to begin.

But he thought that the torture of this series would only come to him after the game started.

As a result, before the first game even started, he suffered an unexpected heavy blow.

On the day of the game, the NBA officially announced the winner of this season's final award, the regular season MVP. There was no suspense. This award, as everyone expected, belonged to... Su Wan!
Suwan has become another player after Tim Duncan to win the regular season MVP award, and the first No. 2 player to win this award after Michael Jordan.

The Indiana media quickly took advantage of Jordan to slander him.

And this is not what makes LeBron James most uncomfortable.

What made him even worse was...

He also wants to witness with his own eyes the scene where David Stern hands the regular season MVP to Suwan.

"MVP!"

When that moment came, listening to the whole audience shouting "Suwan"'s name and "MVP", LeBron felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, like a thorn in his back, and like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

This was clearly the scene in his dream.

It’s just that the protagonist is himself.

But now he wanted to witness with his own eyes Su Wan enjoying the scene he had only seen in his dreams.

What's even more annoying is...

This was the second time Su Wan had enjoyed such a scene.

The cameras on the scene also kept giving close-up shots of LeBron.

LeBron is being tortured with silent camera language.

When LeBron James noticed that the camera was switching back and forth between him and Suwan, he immediately lowered his head and cursed, "Damn it."

Just this way...

LeBron with his head down, holding the regular season MVP above his head, and Suwan with his head up.

The contrast is even greater!
Irene found the angle very quickly and recorded the scene.

These two photos will definitely set off the whole of America tomorrow.

It's very interesting to say that Suwan and LeBron are the two top stars of the new generation of Nike. Normally, they would meet on a stage like the Eastern Conference Finals. Given Nike's nature, they would definitely release a VCR, setting the two as opposites and conducting a wave of "enemy" marketing.

But this time, Nike carried out a different promotion. The focus of their promotion of LeBron was on his first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.

There is no way, as long as there is a little bit of suspense in this series, they will promote the two people as "rivals".

It is really……

Hey!
Let's give LeBron some face!

After the regular season MVP award was presented, the Eastern Conference Finals officially began.

The Pacers used their regular season lineup, while the Cavaliers made no other changes except replacing Shaquille O'Neal with Varejao at the five position.

However, although the lineup changes are not big, the Cavaliers' playing style is very different.

During the jump ball, Valanciunas was very active in grabbing the first attack for the team.

Gibson dribbled the ball to the court and was about to direct his teammates to run as he did in the past, and then wait for Shaquille O'Neal to come forward and set a screen for him, when he suddenly remembered that Shaquille O'Neal was gone.

Looking at LeBron next to him, he was watching him silently, ready to receive the ball.

And the expression on his face...

It can only be understood but cannot be expressed in words!
Gibson handed the ball over obediently.

The second after LeBron got the ball, Varejao moved up to the high post and actively set a screen for his "King".

He failed to block the shot the first time and even waited for LeBron to "back up" to the three-point line before performing another pick-and-roll.

The second time was successful.

Just as LeBron got rid of Artest, he saw Suwan standing in front of him and immediately stuck to him, not giving him enough time to accelerate.

On the other side, Artest also successfully bypassed Varejao at this time... It was not that difficult, but Varejao's feet clearly showed signs of "small steps", and Artest was delayed by him for an extra second.

But he still formed an "early pincer attack" with Su Wan.

LeBron retreated to the three-point line again and passed the ball to Quentin who was left open by Suwan.

It's just that the pass had a large amplitude and the speed was not fast. When Quentin received the ball, Su Wan returned to Quentin and covered his face with one hand to prevent him from catching the ball and jumping shot.

The Cavaliers' first attack lasted 20 seconds, but they still didn't find a chance to shoot.

Quentin passed the ball back to LeBron again.

LeBron didn't even touch the ball and immediately threw it to Gibson on the other side.

Gibson was stunned when he saw the ball flying towards him.

"beep!"

When the ball landed, the red light on the backboard lit up.

24 second offensive violation.

“Why not vote!”

LeBron looked at Gibson with an expression of confusion, as if his pass just now was so timely.

The Pacers counterattacked. Suwan glanced at LeBron's position and threw the ball directly to Artest, who he was defending: "Hit!"

LeBron was quite active and went straight forward to hold off Artest.

Artest immediately became like a mad bull, clearing the way with his elbows and charging forward like a reckless man.

The "little emperor" was constantly elbowed during the confrontation and his entire face changed.

He wanted to ask:
Is this playing ball or hitting someone?
In the end, he was pushed away by Artest and had to watch Artest complete the layup.

2 point hit!
LeBron touched his chest and pointed to the referee with a twisted face, "He elbowed me like that, isn't it still an offensive foul?"

The referee ignored him.

They all know LeBron is a complaining player.

It is said that Doncic likes to complain to referees, but in fact, LeBron is even worse in this regard. Unfortunately, LeBron at that time had been packaged into an absolute label and symbol by the NBA, and the referees could not blame him even if they blew blood from the corners of their mouths.

Now...

Considering that he would be beaten badly in the Eastern Conference Finals, the referees didn't bother with him.

The Cavaliers attacked again.

Gibson finally determined that without Shaquille O'Neal, he became the "dribbling guard" of the past. The only thing he needed to do was to dribble the ball across the center line and then pass it to LeBron. Then he stood aside and waited for the ball that LeBron might or might not pass and hit it.

If you can’t score...then you’ll be blamed!

Is this basketball?

He muttered to himself, and his enthusiasm suddenly dropped.

He was not the only one who had this idea. Quentin and Channing Frye watched LeBron dribbling the ball slowly on the spot and directing them to move away. They looked at each other with helplessness in their eyes.

Sure enough, this guy only knew how to pull away when he got the ball...

Then wait for Varejao to screen for him.

LeBron really has a short memory. The Pacers made it clear from the beginning that as long as he dared to call a pick-and-roll, they would use "early double-team" to deal with him. In the last round, the Cavaliers' offense was delayed by 24 seconds because of the restriction of "early double-team".

They still fight like this now!

This is really...

Helplessness was written all over the faces of the other three starters of the Cavaliers.

Only Valanciunas was still actively cooperating.

But just like the previous round, the Pacers continued to use Suwan and Artest to double-team.

However, LeBron still changed. At least in this round, LeBron knew that Suwan would double-team him, so he chose to find someone in advance.

Quentin got the chance to shoot, and this time Su Wan was unable to get back to him in time.

good chance!
"Snapped!"

pity!

The next second after he shot, the newly crowned "Best Defensive Player Award" winner O'Neal Jr. appeared in front of him. He slapped Quentin's ball and blocked it out of the court.

The ball still belongs to the Cavaliers, but there are only 6 seconds left on the offensive clock.

LeBron staggered to get the ball under Artest's shove, then headed straight for the kill, and jumped up the moment his foot entered the free throw line...

Twist and pass the ball!

Gibson got the ball again in the last two seconds, and thousands of horses were galloping through his heart.

With a "bang", Gibson missed the buzzer-beating shot.

Varejao fought with Foster for position under the basket until his face turned red and his neck became thick, but he still failed to grab the "offensive rebound".

Su Wanchong grabbed the rebound and turned his head to take a look. There was no chance for a fast break, so he simply moved forward slowly at the slow pace.

He glanced at LeBron's position and almost laughed out loud.

LeBron stood near the high post, which was about the same distance between Artest and him.

This put Quentin in a difficult position. He didn't know whether he should defend Suwan or Ron Artest.

Suwan was not polite when he saw this, and he broke through with the ball. Quentin saw that LeBron did not move, so he quickly followed. Suwan rushed to the basket, and seeing that the Cavaliers "closed the door in time" this time, he passed the ball to O'Neal.

O'Neal Jr. didn't have much chance and passed the ball to Artest again.

Artest received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the wing, during which time Suwan ran back to the top of the arc from the inside.

This was a tactical run. The next second after he arrived, the ball flew from Artest's hand to his.

"Shh!"

The moment the ball went in, Bill Walton couldn't help but yelled, "Beautiful!"

This was a collaboration that was exciting enough to be replayed.

Laughter broke out in the TNT studio at this time, and Barkley laughed unabashedly: "Look, look at what LeBron is doing!"

From the defense, we can clearly see that LeBron stood in a high position, spinning in place, watching the ball flying around him, but his feet never left the high position. If his hands moved a little, it would be no different from directing traffic.

Kenny Smith has to say it's hard to imagine that this is the level of commitment of a "City Son" level player on the defensive end.

The older generation of stars are well aware that although defense cannot be reflected in statistics, it is also a reflection of mental strength.

A team's desire to win can sometimes be reflected on the defensive end.

LeBron looks like he has no intention of winning at all.

For a team that is not favored by the outside world, if they don't have the momentum to fight to the death, they will never be able to create any miracles.

Although the game had just begun, Kenny Smith had already sentenced LeBron James to death in his heart.

With this attitude of the core player, the team can never win.

There were no surprises in the subsequent development of the game. The Pacers took the lead at the beginning and continued to expand the lead. At the end of the first quarter, they widened the gap to 11 points.

The score difference reached 25 points at the end of the first half.

The game was about to enter "garbage time".

Bill Walton also criticized LeBron's mental state: "I don't see LeBron wanting to win this game at all. This is definitely not the attitude a qualified leader should have!"

He was just short of saying "I'm disappointed in LeBron tonight."

However, just after his criticism, LeBron got excited and began to constantly try to attack the inside. He scored 14 points in the third quarter alone, but the team fell behind by 30 points.

The Pacers noticed that he only had eyes for the basket, and he would rush to the basket as soon as he got the ball, ignoring him completely.

Whenever you see him rushing forward, let him go in, give him two points, don't give him the opportunity to commit a foul and get a "2+1", and then try a three-point shot from the outside.

The Pacers widened the gap quickly tonight, so there was no pressure on the team's shooting.

This is how shooters are, the less pressure they have, the more accurate they shoot.

When playing, it goes on with a "bang bang bang" sound.

LeBron was exhausted from his two-point breakthroughs, but for the Pacers, there was no pressure at all. Instead, they felt like laughing.

At the end of the game, in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers defeated the Cavaliers by 117 points, 85 to 32, at their home court.

The Cavaliers team that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals this season looked no different than the team we met in the first round last season.

Suwan scored 32 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and made 4 three-pointers in this game.

LeBron was the player with the best statistics on the Cavaliers. Thanks to his 14 points in the third quarter, his final statistics were 28 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

But apart from him, Quentin Richardson, Channing Frye and Gibson all performed poorly.

东部半决赛场均16.5分，每场比赛可以投进2个三分球的昆汀这场比赛三分线外4投1中，15投只有13分进账；钱宁-弗莱拿到了16分，但三分线外5投0中，并且大量得分是在第四节的“垃圾时间”所得。

The most depressed player was Gibson. He averaged 16.6 points and 5.4 assists per game in the Eastern Conference Finals, but in this game his score was not even in double digits, his shooting percentage was 30%, he had 4 turnovers and only 2 assists.

Bill Walton looked at the stats of the other players on the Cavaliers and frowned. He said, "Shaquille O'Neal's absence obviously made the other players on this team extremely uncomfortable. LeBron played well, but... he alone couldn't make this game suspenseful."

Barkley's evaluation is much sharper than his: "When only one person on a team performs well and the others are in a slump, there is only one explanation, that is, this set of tactics, only this person plays comfortably, and the others are extremely uncomfortable. In fact, we can all notice that the Cavaliers had a lot of tactics after the All-Star Game, but they didn't play out in this game!"

"Tonight's Cavaliers team is more like the Cavaliers team at the beginning of the season, with everyone playing around LeBron..."

in other words……

"This is where LeBron is not as good as Shaq, Shaq can make other people play to their strengths!"

Second update, please vote for me brothers! ! ! !

(End of this chapter)