Chapter 377: Sweep the Bulls and Reach the Finals

"I'm going to beat you this time. If I can't see your defense this time, then I'm going to score 70 points on your head and break Jordan's record." Zhao Dong smiled.

"bring it on!"

Rasheed Wallace gritted his teeth, took half a step back, and leaned down to prepare for Zhao Dong's breakthrough.

He did not doubt that Zhao Dong had lied to him. Although he was dissatisfied with Zhao Dong, he knew very well that he was not qualified to let Zhao Dong lie to him.

"I'm starting." Zhao Dong also leaned down and uttered these words.

A huge pressure rushed towards him. At this moment, Rasheed Wallace felt a huge pressure from Zhao Dong.

"squeak!"

Zhao Dong initiated a breakthrough and took a very fast step.

At this moment, Rasheed Wallace, who was fully focused, retreated instinctively.

However, Zhao Dong's first step was too fast, forcing Rasheed Wallace to retreat continuously, but still could not stop his breakthrough.

Rasheed Wallace was forced into the paint and immediately started pulling on Zhao Dong.

At the same time, Oakley and Tracy McGrady on the low wings also rushed towards Zhao Dong quickly. They had already reached the left and right sides, and a triple trap was about to be formed.

At this time, Zhao Dong suddenly made a pull-up jumper.

His emergency stop and start were too quick and too sudden. The ability to escape given by the gold medal skill prevented the three defenders from making timely defensive reactions and could only watch him take action.

"brush!"

The water splashed and he hit a two-pointer near the basket.

"I said, if I don't see your defense again this time, then I will chop 70+ off your head."

Looking at Rasheed Wallace, Zhao Dong said with a smile: "It's a pity that I couldn't see your defense this time. Just wait and see how I get 70+ on you."

Rasheed Wallace's expression changed, and he wanted to roar at Zhao Dong, but he was afraid of being beaten, so he could only hold back.

Oakley also felt something was wrong. He knew Zhao Dong very well. Whatever this guy said, he would definitely honor it.

Next, Zhao Dong began to explode on the offensive end with all his strength, making sudden shots from inside and outside, scoring consecutive points.

By the end of the first quarter, he had scored 28 points.

This score in a single quarter is only one point away from the historical record, surpassing Barkley's 27 points, which ranks second in a single quarter in playoff history.

At 23:38, the Knicks led by 15 points in a single quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, Barkley analyzed with a smile: "Feilong made 11 of 16 shots in a single quarter, with a shooting percentage of 68%, including 2 of 3 three-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws. With today's efficiency, I bet that in the first half He can score 50+, and maybe the whole game can break 100."

Smith shook his head and said: "No way, the Bulls can't let him play like this. I bet that the Bulls would rather lose the G1 game and let other Knicks score than let Feilong score a hundred points."

Smith was right. As soon as the second quarter started, the Bulls began to double-team Zhao Dong.

The double team here is a double team without the ball. Zhao Dong always has two people standing next to him, Rasheed Wallace and McGrady. Oakley sits at the basket, two on three from the outside.

The impact of double-teaming without the ball on Zhao Dong is still great. The two people in the double-team have strong mobility and defensive abilities, making it difficult to catch the ball.

Zhao Dong had no choice but to pull to the outside, attract two defenders around him, and let his teammates play four on three.

He is different from O'Neal. O'Neal can only attract off-ball double teams in the low post, but he can do it in any position.

For example, on the three-point line, if you don't double-team him at this point, if he rushes in, once the impact comes, it will be difficult to block it.

Coupled with his pull-up jump shooting skills, defense becomes even more difficult.

If you double-team without the ball in the low post, the double-teamer can return to defend the basket, but if you double-team Zhao Dong without the ball, there is no way he can return to defend the basket.

So in the second quarter, Ginobili and Stackhouse frequently attacked the basket, coupled with Willis's basket screen and Rogers' three-point containment, the Bulls suffered greatly.

At halftime, 45:70, the Knicks scored a super high score at halftime, leading by 25 points.

Bulls head coach Tim Floyd suddenly revealed the weakness of the rookie head coach. After being defeated, everyone panicked, playing one tactic in the east and another in the west. In the end, the players didn’t know which tactic to use. What a mess.

In the second half, Nelson did not send Zhao Dong to play again. After finally leading by so much, he just gave Zhao Dong a rest.

In this way, Zhao Dong also lost the opportunity to continue scoring, and the 70+ he clamored for was broken.

At the end, 88:125, the Knicks defeated by 37 points and won the G1 game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Barkley commented after the game: "The Bulls' youth team is full of potential, but the coaching staff is not capable enough, and the team also lacks a strong leader and core on the court.

Rasheed Wallace was once the core of the Trail Blazers, but he was not qualified there, the locker room was not stable, and he could not make a team a stable team.

As for McGrady, I think he also lacks the ability to be a leader.

At the same time, neither man has the ability to become the core of the field, at least not yet.

Rasheed Wallace is both offensive and defensive, but he is not a superstar and does not have that ability.

And McGrady is still a little tender now.

With such a team and the coach's incompetence, I'm not surprised at all that the Knicks were defeated when facing the Dragons. "

Kenny Smith nodded and smiled: "Even Jordan's Bulls and the Knicks were eliminated for three consecutive years. If this new Bulls wants to pass the Eastern Conference Finals, it must be stronger. It’s not qualified yet.”

Barkley smiled: "The current Bulls are weaker than the Philadelphia Digital Team, one level weaker."

"Agreed." Smith smiled.

The comments of the two were not liked by the Bulls, but they were right.

In the subsequent series, the Knicks won three games in a row, eliminated the Bulls with a score of 4-0, and advanced to the finals.

In the West, the Lakers also eliminated the Trail Blazers in a sweep and reached the finals.

Both the Knicks and the Lakers advanced in a very strong way, showing off their championship looks, and their chances of winning the championship were extremely fierce.

The finals start on May 28. The Knicks have home court advantage, and the G1 game will start in New York.

At noon on the 27th, the Lakers arrived in New York.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson also followed the plane to New York and accepted an interview with New York TV Sports News at the airport.

"Ervin, for the upcoming championship, are you more optimistic about the Lakers or the Knicks?" the reporter asked.

"Of course it's the Lakers." Johnson said without hesitation.

"Why?"

Johnson smiled and said: "Although the Knicks only lost one game and it looked smooth, in my opinion, it was very difficult to win.

Fordson's serious injury caused the Knicks' interior line to collapse in half, which pinned the Feilong inside. Of course, I'm talking about when the Knicks meet a super team.

For example, when encountering the email combination, Feilong must defend inside and can only let the mailman go. If it weren't for his scoring ability, the Knicks wouldn't be able to beat the numbers team.

The Lakers have the inside combination of O'Neal and Big Ben, which is balanced offensively and defensively, and is more powerful than the inside combination of Postman and Ratliff. So when Feilong can only stay in the inside, he has only one result, and he is beaten by O'Neal at the basket. He can't guard O'Neal.

So I think that as long as O'Neal is efficient enough at the basket, no matter how many points Feilong can score on the offensive end, it will be useless. "

Zhao Dong happened to see this news on TV and couldn't help complaining: "Am I out of my mind? Do I have to stay under the basket and be beaten by O'Neal?"

But in fact, he knew that in the finals, he could not block O'Neal's way to the basket. O'Neal's current tonnage may have exceeded 145 kilograms, and he was 30 kilograms behind.

As long as he can't be blocked, he will definitely be beaten by O'Neal at the basket.

Veterans Willis and Gary Trent cannot guard O'Neal, and there is no one inside who can help him.

The suspense lies in how long O'Neal's physical fitness can last.

In the hotel, the Lakers held a press conference.

"Coach Jackson, you lost to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals in the past three years. This time you can finally play against the Knicks in the Finals. Are you confident that you can win the championship this time?"

a New York Sports reporter asked.

Phil Jackson was smiling and said with confidence: "We have made all the preparations. We are bound to win the championship."

"Shaq, you are likely to face the Dragons. Are you confident that you can compete with them?" Thomas, the Knicks reporter, asked secondly.

"What?"

O'Neal was furious, what kind of bullshit is this?

His little eyes widened, he looked at Thomas and said angrily: "You should ask Feilong, is he confident that he can compete with me? I know you, you are a reporter accompanying the Knicks, please give me a message Give it to Feilong and tell him that I will blow him up tomorrow night!"

Kobe was a little surprised. Is Shaq going to explode?

He was very excited and had a strong sense of anticipation. He really wanted to see O'Neal defeat that almost invincible guy.

"Kobe..."

A reporter asked about Kobe's head and asked: "Phil Jackson is confident of winning the Finals, O'Neal is confident of beating the Dragons, are you confident of beating the Knicks' perimeter?"

"certainly!"

Straightening his body, Kobe said energetically: "Whether it's the rookie Ginobili or Stackhouse, they can't stop me from scoring."

"Shaq, Kobe, and the E-mail team performed extremely well in the second round of the Eastern Conference, so are your OK team confident of performing even more brilliantly?" a reporter asked.

Onik and Kobe looked at each other. The former had an eager look in his eyes, while the latter seemed to have murderous intent in his eyes. The two nodded almost at the same time.

"Just wait and see," O'Neal said.

"We are the best." Kobe said firmly.

"Shaq, the league will announce all the best lineups this afternoon. Are you confident that you will be selected for the first team?" a reporter asked.

"Who else could it be besides me? I should even be selected for the double first team." O'Neal said proudly.

"Kobe, what about you?" the reporter asked again.

This question made Kobe a little hesitant.

Iverson performed very well this season and once climbed to the top of the MVP rankings.

In addition to Iverson, there are several defenders who have performed well. It may not be easy for him to be selected for the first team.

"They have their choice, but I think I also have a chance to make the first team." He said at the end.

At three o'clock this afternoon, the league announced its best lineup.

The best defensive team was announced first, and O'Neal's name was on the defensive second team.

Seeing this list, O'Neal was a little disappointed. His double team was gone.

But Zhao Dong was happy when he saw this list, because he spends more time in the interior this season. With his defense, it is impossible for him to not even enter the second defensive team. Now that he is not in the second team, he can basically definitely enter. For a while, after a while, there were O'Neal and Duncan inside, so he might have been selected as a small forward.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, the defensive team was announced, which included Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Zhao Dong, Alonzo Mourning, and Gary Payton. Zhao Dong's guess was correct. He was selected as a small forward. For a while.

He still agrees with this defensive team. Everyone is the best defender in their respective positions and has made a great contribution to their team's defense.

Kobe's perimeter defense is definitely top-notch, and he also works very hard on the defensive end. It is appropriate to be selected for the first team.

Payton, one of the best defenders among point guards, is in excellent shape this season.

Mourning, the winner of this season's Defensive Player of the Year.

Garnett is very good in both single defense and assist defense. The assist defense area is wider than Duncan, and can even reach as far as the three-point line.

Not to mention myself.

At 3:30, the best three teams were announced, namely David Robinson, Vince Carter, Chris Webber, Eddie Jones, and Steve Marbury.

Kobe became excited when he saw this list. With his performance this season, he will definitely be selected for the best team. If he is not in the third team now, he will definitely be in the second team, or even in the first team.

Similarly, Iverson, who is on vacation, is also paying attention to the best lineup and is very happy to see that he is not in the third team.

Ten minutes later, the best second team was announced, including Alonzo Mourning, Grant Hill, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, and Iverson.

This second team is the focus of many first-class stars.

Being selected for the second team, even for top stars, is an honor, because the first team is too difficult, and even a super center who is better than Ewing will only be in the first team twice in his life (once in reality).

Kobe was a little disappointed to see his name appear on the second team, but he was still very happy.

Similarly, Iverson was equally disappointed not to be selected for the first team, but he was also very happy to be selected for the second team.

At four o'clock, the best team that everyone is paying attention to is announced, namely O'Neal, Duncan, Zhao Dong, Kidd, and Payton.

Zhao Dong was selected to the double first team for three consecutive years and immediately received many congratulatory calls.

"Duncan and Garnett should both be in double teams, but I grabbed a double team, so they could only share the remaining position."

Zhao Dong can only say sorry to Duncan and Garnett. Like Jordan, some people are destined to have less honors in this life.

On May 28, the finals of the 9900 season began.

This finals attracted much more attention than last year's finals between the Knicks and Spurs, because the Lakers and Knicks are currently the two most watched big-market teams in the league.

The media's guesses about the outcome of this finals are also 50-50. Some media, led by the New York media, are crazily touting the Knicks and Zhao Dong, while some media, led by the Los Angeles media, are crazily touting the Lakers and OK.

The game started at eight o'clock, and fans entered the stadium at six o'clock. Soon nearly 20,000 fans filled this basketball holy place.

Dozens of the league's current or retired top players, as well as a large number of celebrities, appear here, decorating Madison Square Garden with their starlight.

Jordan sat with Magic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dream, Larry Bird, and the three Knicks legends Frazier, Reid, and Ewing.

Tim Duncan also showed up here after his serious injury and sat with them.

This was the first time Ewing appeared in Madison Square Garden after retiring. When he returned here, he could hardly find the mark he left here, which made him very sad.

Fortunately, no Knicks fans are booing him now, otherwise he wouldn't want to come here.

"Tim, which team do you want to play next season?" Larry Bird asked Duncan.

Duncan smiled and said, "I haven't decided yet."

"If I were still with the Pacers, I would definitely give you a maximum salary contract."

Larry Burt has ended his head coaching career with the Pacers and said to Duncan with some regret: "If you were with the Pacers this season, we would not be eliminated."

At this time, Knicks legend Reid said: "Tim, come to us in New York. You and Feilong can win ten consecutive championships together."

"Oh, come on, Tim is coming to New York, and the league must stop him. That's a team-up, and that lineup is too scary."

Magic Johnson shouted immediately.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also nodded and said: "You can't do that. You will seriously damage the balance of the alliance. The alliance will definitely stop it. You should each defend the city."

In fact, Duncan was somewhat moved by Reid's words. The city of New York also has a great attraction for him. Being able to play here is definitely a very good enjoyment.

But the words of Magician and Tiangou made him give up this idea. It was indeed unlikely that the alliance would allow him to come here, even if he was a free man.

In fact, he doesn't know that it is impossible for James Dowland to sign him now, because signing him means paying tens of millions of dollars more in salary and luxury taxes every season. Dowland, who is in economic crisis, no longer wants to waste it. Money.

When it comes to the championship, Dolan has nothing to pursue. He has already started a dynasty, and maybe he can win four consecutive championships this year. Now for the development of the Knicks, Dolan only has one thing, and that is to make money.