NBA: Starting with the undercut by Parker and Bowen

The Jazz's advancement to the NBA Finals did not surprise the media or the public too much.

With the Spurs losing two key players in Game 4, everyone understands that their playoff journey this year has come to an end.

The media went wild after the Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals.

Cleveland and Nike-influenced media outlets began singing his praises, and it seemed like LeBron James had the championship in the bag.

The old king is gone, a new one must rise. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the mighty Detroit Pistons to advance to the NBA Finals.

No one could stop Cleveland's hunger for the championship, and no one could stop the ascension of the chosen one—LeBron James.

—The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

It's obvious that LeBron will be the ultimate winner. When he lifts the Larry O'Brien Trophy, when he wins the Finals MVP, he will begin to walk alongside Michael Jordan.

Just watch! They're the same kind of people; they both ruled or are about to rule an era. Michael is a thing of the past; LeBron has much more potential.

—ESPN reporter McManamin.

Yes, we will take the final victory. I will bring a championship to Cleveland, maybe not just one, but three, four, five, or six.

"No one can stop us, not even the Ukrainians." — LeBron James expressed his confidence in victory during an interview.

What? How many games did you win? Oh! I think it should be four, at most five.

Whether it's four or five games, I want to congratulate the Cleveland fans. You will see the Cavaliers lift the trophy at home. Congratulations!

When asked by reporters about the number of games won, LeBron James congratulated Cleveland fans.

The Utah Jazz's ability? No disrespect intended. You know, we're all good buddies!

Strictly speaking, they are not yet at the level to reach the Finals. They were somewhat lucky this year, missing out on Dallas, while San Antonio suffered serious injuries.

Honestly, if the Spurs make it to the Finals, they'll be a bigger threat to us. Again, I have a lot of respect for the Utah Jazz.

But actually, I would prefer to face a Spurs team without injuries, because they are stronger and fans can watch a more exciting matchup.

However, the Utah Jazz are also great. They are young and in the early stages of rebuilding, and the experience of a Finals appearance is beneficial for the growth of their young players.

—LeBron James on the strength of his opponents.

After the Eastern Conference Finals ended, LeBron James instantly became the hottest and busiest person in the United States.

He's on TV, he's online, he's in the newspapers.

Even before the Finals have begun, media reports seem to have already tacitly agreed that the Utah Jazz are merely playing second fiddle, and that LeBron James is the new king.

No, why should we?

The Jazz players felt indignant.

Unfortunately, the team lacked star players, and Salt Lake City had few respectable media outlets, so even if they were dissatisfied, they could only keep it to themselves.

June 7, 2007, Salt Lake City, Utah, Energy Solutions Arena.

The NBA 06-07 Finals are about to begin.

Perhaps because the other Jazz players didn't have any standout moments, Turner Sports chose Yang Lin for their pre-game live interview.

The reporter asked, "Yang, who do you think will win today? Who will ultimately lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy?"

Such questions do not require thought.

Yang Lin immediately replied, "Without a doubt, the Utah Jazz. We will win this game and ultimately lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy."

"But everyone is more optimistic about the Cleveland Cavaliers."

"Who are you all?" Yang Lin asked with a smile.

However, without waiting for the reporter's answer, he continued:

"It's just media hype! They don't know anything about football, they're just following orders. They're making money! I can understand."

"That's quite a show of force," the reporter said, his eyes gleaming. "So you think you're stronger than the Cleveland Cavaliers?"

"Otherwise what?" Yang Lin sneered.

"We have home-court advantage. What does that mean? It means we had a better regular season record."

"You know, we're in the West. The Cleveland Cavaliers' record is only sixth in the West. If they were in the West, I doubt they'd even make the playoffs."

Wow, that's pretty aggressive.

"But in everyone's eyes, your ability to reach the Finals was due to luck. If it weren't for the Golden State Warriors' upset victory, you wouldn't have made it past Dallas."

"If Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen hadn't been injured, you wouldn't have been able to beat San Antonio."

"I don't object to that."

Yang Lin smiled and nodded, "Dallas and San Antonio are indeed strong; they both have the ability to win the championship."

"But let's not forget that the Cleveland Cavaliers also won the championship thanks to luck."

"How so?" the reporter asked, completely bewildered.

"Their good fortune is that they are in the East."

"In my opinion, there are six championship contenders in the league this year: Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, Detroit, and us, the Utah Jazz."

"In your opinion, isn't Cleveland a championship-caliber team?"

"certainly."

Yang Lin slumped his shoulders.

"That's why I say they were very lucky."

"Can you imagine that they played three rounds of the playoffs and only faced one All-NBA player? And that player was from the third All-NBA team."

"We also had an element of luck, but in the first round we faced two second-team players, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady; in the Western Conference Finals, we faced Tim Duncan, an all-team first-team player."

"If Cleveland and we switched places, I have no doubt they wouldn't have gotten past the Houston Rockets in the first round."

Yang Lin's statement caused an uproar among fans watching on television.

But upon closer reflection, what he said does seem to make some sense.

If the Cavaliers and Rockets were to play a series, most fans would believe that the Rockets would win.

Despite the Rockets' roster being a complete mess.

But Yao and McGrady are really strong this year, averaging around 50+15+9 per game, making them the strongest duo in the league.

The Turner Sports reporter continued, "So, in your opinion, how many games will it take you to win the Finals?"

"4-0 or 4-2."

"Um?"

The reporter asked in confusion, "Wasn't it 4-1?"

"No." Yang Lin shook his head firmly.

"My teammates and I were a little hesitant: on the one hand, we wanted to win the game as soon as possible and lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy;

"On the other hand, we also hope to raise the glass in Salt Lake City, which would make Utah fans feel more involved."

"Anyway, we haven't made a final decision yet. We'll have to wait until the fourth game to make a final decision."

The reporter stared in shock, his eyes wide.

Goodness gracious! What kind of slang and vulgar language is this?

The Utah Jazz's third NBA Finals appearance in history... well, their history isn't exactly wealthy, but a few team legends were still in attendance.

Karl Malone, John Stockton, Jeff Hornacek, Mark Eaton, Adrian Dantley, Darnell Griffiths.

It has to be said that although their ancestors didn't have much honor, these luminaries still set quite a few historical records.

Five key historical data points:

Karl Malone is second in scoring and sixth in rebounding.

John Stockton leads the assists list and the steals list;

Mark Eaton is third on the blocks list.

These legends had visited the Jazz training facility during the team's pre-season preparations.

Yang Lin didn't interact much with Karl Malone and John Stockton; their main interactions were with Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.

After all, they all play the same role on the team.

Yang Lin has had many exchanges with Jeff Hornacek, as they both have the role of a shooter.

As the two teams prepared for the final moments, Yang Lin tilted his head and watched with a smile as LeBron James and his teammates exchanged flashy high-fives, before running to the scorer's table to sprinkle magnesium powder.

Happy.

I wonder if the people at the technical support desk were cursing under their breath.

As Yang Lin was about to go on the field, he heard shouts from the sidelines.

"Yang, we'll win, won't we? We'll lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy, won't we?"

The voice was childish.

Abby Hornacek, daughter of Jeff Hornacek.

She later became a Fox Sports reporter and was quite popular on the Chinese internet for a time. Now she is just a thirteen-year-old girl.

Yang Lin gave the little girl a thumbs up and replied, "We will win tonight, and we will lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy."

"If you want to witness us lift the trophy and be a part of it, you must travel to Cleveland on June 14th."

Yang Lin's shouts were loud, immediately igniting a commotion among the fans in the stadium.

"Yang~~Yang~~Yang~~"

"Championship~~ Larry O'Brien Trophy~~ Championship~~ Larry O'Brien Trophy~~"

That's right!

Yang Lin has made Utah fans remember his surname.

Hearing Yang Lin's shout and seeing the interaction from the fans, James gritted his teeth, feeling that his limelight had been stolen.

Sloan and his assistants pondered Yang Lin's previous defensive suggestions and felt they actually made some sense.

After training preparations, Sloan adjusted the team's starting lineup, with Yang Lin partnering with Deron Williams as the starting backcourt players.

Therefore, the starting lineup for the home team, the Utah Jazz, in Game 1 of the Finals is: Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko, Delon Williams, and Young Lin;

The starting lineup for the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers is: Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, LeBron James, Alexander Pavlovic, and Larry Hughes.

A whistle blew.

Amidst the clamor of the crowd, the NBA 06-07 Finals officially kicked off.

Big Z and Okur jump ball.

Neither of them had much jumping ability, but Big Z was more than ten centimeters taller.

The Jazz players had little hope and were prepared to play defense from the start. It's worth noting that in the previous series, Okur never won a jump ball against Duncan in all six games.

Unexpectedly, in Game 1 of the Finals, Okur gave the Jazz a surprise, winning the jump ball by sheer luck.

Tsk tsk~~

It has to be said that Big Z is really slow to act these days.

The Jazz gained possession at the start of the game, and Deron Williams brought the ball across half-court.

The Cleveland Cavaliers adopted a defensive approach, and Larry Hughes, as the Cavaliers' sharpest perimeter defender, unsurprisingly targeted Deron Williams.

Alexander Pavlovic approached Kirilenko, while James jogged to catch up with Yang Lin.

If the Emperor is wary of me, wouldn't that be...?

Yang Lin's eyes lit up as a thought he had never had before flashed through his mind.

Our Emperor is great and selfless; he will bestow enormous rewards upon those who rule.

Yang Lin made a run, and James, who was very fast, followed closely behind.

However, when Deron Williams and Boozer initiated a pick-and-roll, James was clearly drawn to the ball and unconsciously slowed down, wanting to collapse and help defend.

"Delong~~"

Seeing that James was out of position while guarding him, Yang Lin immediately ran to the left 45-degree three-point line and called for the ball from Deron Williams at the same time.

Delong had a good eye; even if Yang Lin hadn't called out, he had already seen the opportunity.

The ball arrives when the person does.

Seeing the ball move, James immediately quickened his pace and lunged at Yang Lin, who had received the pass.

Opportunity is fleeting.

After receiving the ball and adjusting, Yang Lin immediately jumped and shot, tipping the ball towards the basket before James could close in on him.

The orange basketball traced a beautiful arc in the air and nestled steadily into the basket.

With a crisp "swish," the net flew through the air.

The Utah Jazz, playing at home, scored their first point in the Finals, with rookie Young Lin also scoring his first point in the Finals.

Upon seeing the goal, Yang Lin excitedly shouted to Deron Williams, "Pass the ball to me more! This is their defensive weakness; he didn't defend at all!"

There was no defense.

Yang Lin's words provoked James, making him grit his teeth in anger.