Chapter 213 212. The Eastern Conference Finals Begins! ( words asking for votes)

A good atmosphere, suitable roles, relatively sufficient opportunities to perform, a coach who can train players... It is too difficult to find a suitable team for a rookie.

The main reason is that Yi Jianlian's draft expectations are very high. If it weren't for the academic record scandal, Conley and Horford's draft expectations would not be as high as his.

The two of them did find a team that might be suitable for Yi Jianlian, but whether it can be realized depends on whether the other party is willing to choose him.

After analyzing the matter, Zhang Yang casually asked, "Arn, what kind of player do you think Yi Jianlian will become in the NBA?"

Tellem lowered his voice and responded, "This matter gives me a headache. Yi's club owner and Chinese agent in the CBA are expecting him to become the next Yao. If he is really 19 years old, this goal is no problem, but he will be 23 years old before the start of next season. Yao was already a superstar when he was 23 years old, and he was selected to the third team over Magloire, Miller (Brad), and Gasol. Yi is far behind. The talent gap between them is as big as the talent gap between Jarrett and you..."

Tellem glanced at Yi Jianlian wearing headphones in the distance and continued to lower his voice: "I think that is unrealistic. After entering the NBA, he should be like Frye and Biedrins, grasp his own advantages and develop into a functional player. My best expectation for him is to become a player like Okur.

Even if you consider it from the perspective of your national team, if Yi's goal is to become a player like Yao, it will not be good for him. Yi will be 23 years old during the offseason, and Yao will only be 27 years old during the offseason. They are players of the same generation. If Yi continues to play as a core player, he will always be a substitute for Yao. It is better for him to develop into a functional player so that he can better partner with Yao. He does not have the talent to become a core in the NBA. If he wants to return to the CBA to play, he can become an MVP no matter what kind of play he plays. "

Zhang Yang rolled his eyes at Tellem and said, "You definitely didn't say that in front of his former boss and the Chinese agent. You must have agreed to everything first and tricked him into signing the agent contract first."

Tellem: "Jack, how can a businessman's business be called a lie? The resume I sent for him for the tryout also said that he is the next Yao Ming. Anyway, no matter what you say to him now, he will not change his goal. We can only wait until he enters the NBA and sees how big the world is, and then we can give him suggestions, and then he will be willing to listen."

Zhang Yang: "I also think this is good. Working with a realist and profit-seeker like you, although sometimes I feel that the world is too realistic, it is better than those agents who will only say 'I believe in your talent' regardless of the actual situation."

Tellem: "Haha, Jack, I'll take this as a compliment. You don't have to worry about this. If it works smoothly, of course it's great. If it fails... it actually has nothing to do with you."

Zhang Yang nodded: "Just use your brain to help analyze it. I will definitely help, but I won't have any psychological burden because of this kind of thing. For example, Yao and I have known each other for a long time. When encountering things, from the perspective of friends, it is normal for me to suffer a little loss for him and he to suffer a little loss for me. But I am not that familiar with A-Lian, so I am just helping him out of friendship as we are both working abroad."

Tellem: "That's good. I don't want you to be like Yao, caring too much about things that have nothing to do with you."

Zhang Yang: "He is a man with great ideals. He may not be able to fulfill his dreams in his lifetime, and he may even do very badly, but he deserves respect."

Tellem: "You are right. I respect him for this. I have never seen an athlete in the United States who takes national responsibility so seriously..."

...

At 8:40 p.m., the live broadcast of the game on the sports channels of many TV stations in China and the United States began.

The first team to appear on TV was the Detroit Pistons, once known as the Bad Boys.

The next to appear is the Bad Boys, the active version.

The Pistons in the late 80s were notorious in the United States. It was not only Jordan who was violently fouled by them. Any player they could not defend would be violently fouled by them, and fights were commonplace. In 92, Chuck Daly was forced to exclude all Pistons stars from the Dream Team roster, which drew collective cheers from basketball fans.

The only thing fans remember is that Jordan kicked Thomas out of the Dream Team. In fact, Thomas was not the only one who was kicked out. When selecting the lineup, Chuck Daly stuffed five Pistons players into the Dream Team training camp roster at once, which was collectively boycotted by fans, players and even the media.

Although the Bad Boys happened more than a decade ago, the Pistons had the Palace of Auburn Hills incident in 04 and played the ugliest finals in history in 05. To this day, they are still one of the most disliked teams by fans across the United States.

After the Bobcats were crowned as the new Bad Boys, basketball fans across the United States automatically added a negative filter when watching them...

Gerald Wallace, with his dreadlocks, muscular body and ferocious expression; Okafor and Rondo, with their poker faces and cold eyes; Millsap and Muhammad, who are dark, rough and ferocious; Felton, whose physique is no worse than that of the old fish after he gained weight...

It seems that few of the Bobcats look like good people.

Zhang Yang was fine earlier, and was once regarded as Dumas among the bad boys. However, after the "slapping incident", he turned into a smiling thug.

Even Hermann, who has a melancholic temperament, was said to look feminine...

The Bobcats have long been demonized by the "royalists," and most American fans have accepted this assumption.

As for the Pistons, even though they played a good offensive and defensive style and won 64 games last season, they could not change the fans' inherent perception of them. The situation is similar for the Bobcats.

However, the ratings for the game between the Bobcats and the Pistons were very good, and were not inferior to the series between the Heat and the Pistons last year! As soon as the game started, the number of paid viewers had exceeded 1500 million.

Although the Jazz have the highest support for winning the championship, the number of paid live broadcast reservations for the game between the Spurs and the Jazz and the ticket sales for out-of-town fans are not ideal.

The teams coached by the iron-blooded Popovich and the coach Sloan played in the divisional finals, and the game was predictably ugly.

Fans choose to watch the live broadcast of the games of the new and old Bad Boys.

Domestically, the ratings went off! In the early morning, before the game officially started and the players entered the court, the ratings reported by the court TV station had already broken the domestic ratings record for the NBA game set by the Bobcats and Rockets in the 05-06 season!

Domestic fans also care about results. In the past, they supported the Rockets blindly, but there was nothing they could do about it. Many fans who only watch Chinese players' games can only watch the Rockets' games.

Now that Chinese players have reached the Eastern Conference Finals, they are of course more enthusiastic. It was Saturday, and hundreds of millions of viewers got out of bed and watched the live broadcast on TV.

Before the game, the two teams, which had a good relationship, had a cordial and friendly exchange.

Duncan Jr. didn't want to pay attention to Tianzun at first, but when Tianzun said, "Emeka is the best inside player in the Eastern Conference in my mind," Duncan Jr. could hardly suppress the smile.

After the two teams' starting players came on the court, the atmosphere was completely different. To describe it in one word - tense!
At 9 o'clock in the evening, the referee blew the whistle to start the game, threw the ball into the air, Okafor jumped high and pushed the ball backwards, and the game started.

Bobcats starting lineup: Felton, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, Perkins.

Pistons starting lineup: Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess.

Zhang Yang received the ball and advanced to the frontcourt, played against Hamilton alone, changed direction and broke into the inside!
McDyess seized the opportunity to step forward to block, Zhang Yang jumped to the right sideline of the three-second zone, turned around and shot... and it hit!
Rasheed Wallace moved in to block the landing point of Zhang Yang's second step of the European step. Zhang Yang turned the European step into a jump step and turned around to shoot, leaving Rasheed Wallace empty-handed.

In the offense-defense transition, Hamilton received the ball after a long run, turned around and made a mid-range shot, responding to Zhang Yang's singles.

It was the Bobcats' turn to attack again, and Zhang Yang continued his singles breakthrough.

Felton saw the opposing defense's position and took the initiative to run along the baseline toward the right corner.

As soon as Zhang Yang broke into the three-point line, Prince blocked him from the wing, and Zhang Yang passed the ball to Gerald Wallace who cut in.

Billups retreated to the baseline and surrounded Gerald Wallace together with McDyess. Gerald Wallace passed the ball to the right corner...Felton took a three-pointer before Prince could make up for it...and made it!
5 to 2, the Bobcats lead by 3 points!
When the Pistons attacked, Billups dribbled the ball between his legs and suddenly grabbed the ball and jumped up to shoot...

Felton successfully interfered, and Billups' fancy dribbling was useless and did not shake off the defender at all, but!
Billups faced Felton's interference and made a three-pointer!

比卢普斯这投篮方式，让张杨想起了04年总决赛比卢普斯打佩顿，愣是投出了50%的命中率，力压场均10.8分13.6板1.8抢断1盖帽的本-华莱士和场均21.4分5.4板4助攻的汉密尔顿拿到FMVP，太蛮不讲理了。

Moreover, this style of play really undermines the confidence of the defender. Even though the shot was blocked before the wrist, the opponent still made the shot... Zhang Yang looked at Felton, who was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. Well, there is no need to worry about this aspect of the fat boss.

The score was 5-5, back to the same starting line. Zhang Yang picked up the ball and passed it to Felton, then ran to the front court to continue playing singles and continue attacking!
The players of both teams started the game with great enthusiasm, and the fans at the scene and in front of the TV were even more excited!

The Bobcats have been fighting hard on defense since Game 2 of the second round, and the Pistons have been in an iron-blooded confrontation with the Bulls throughout the second round. The fans were prepared to watch a tense and torturous defensive battle, but they didn't expect that the two teams would start with a guard showdown!
Zhang Yang scored one, Hamilton scored one, Felton scored one, Billups also scored one!
The two teams started a positional battle. Players from both teams tried their best to defend and made adjustments actively and proactively, but they couldn't stop it!

However, as the game progressed, the Bobcats' advantages in lineup structure became apparent.

Okafor and Perkins squatted on both sides of the three-second zone, covering the entire inside line. With Perkins under the basket, Okafor could also make up for it in time to defend the mid-range, making the Pistons lose the conditions for inside and outside linkage.

At the beginning, when Billups and Hamilton were in hot form, the Bobcats couldn't defend them, but as their touch cooled down a bit, the Pistons' overall offensive performance began to decline.

In the middle of the first quarter, Billups passed the ball in a single play, and Prince took advantage of Gerald Wallace's expansion to the high position, cut in and received the ball to attack the basket... but was blocked by Perkins!

Gerald Wallace retreated to the inside from mid-range, flew up and poked the ball that Prince threw out!
Although the ball continued to fly toward the basket, it fell down halfway.

Perkins grabbed the ball and passed it to Zhang Yang inside the free throw line. Zhang Yang received the ball and turned around to launch a counterattack.

Facing Billups who retreated to the basket, Zhang Yang protected the ball and used his height advantage to make a layup!

The Pistons called a timeout!

6分11秒，张杨6分1助攻、费尔顿6分2助攻、杰拉德-华莱士4分1板1助攻1盖帽、奥卡福4分，山猫队以20比14领先活塞队6分！
After the timeout, Bickerstaff replaced Rondo, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Muhammad and Okafor to strengthen the defense.

The Bobcats thought that the Pistons were going to step up their intensity, but contrary to their expectations, Saunders replaced Delfino and Webber, while Billups, Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace continued to play.

The game continues and the Pistons attack.

Webber received the ball in the elbow and made a close-range jump shot.

When the Bobcats attacked, Rondo held the ball at the top of the arc and suddenly started to rush into the inside. Webber, who was crouching at close range, didn't have time to get back in. Rondo had already entered the inside and made a layup!
A lightning-fast stealing step!
In the offense and defense transition, Webber screened for Hamilton and continued to move to the left elbow area. This time Okafor expanded from the baseline in time and blocked in front of Webber, who passed the ball behind his head.

After receiving the ball on the left sideline, Rasheed Wallace immediately raised the ball above his head and shot a straight-arm three-pointer facing Zhang Yang who was in position to defend... and it hit!
This shooting action lifts the ball up, and the opponent has no way to interfere.

However, the most important thing about this ball is not how large Rasheed Wallace's shooting range is, but Webber's passing vision and grasp of the timing of passing the ball!
If Webber had been slower in passing the ball, Rasheed Wallace would not have dared to pick it up in front of a fast guard like Zhang Yang even if he had received the ball.

In the penultimate game of the regular season, Sanders wanted to play fast, but was seen through and defeated by Bickerstaff. In the Eastern Conference Finals, Sanders came up with a new trick.

Webber serves as the core of the support, unleashing Rasheed Wallace's ability to run and shoot. Webber can shoot and pass, and can also create opportunities for cutting in from the middle and wing as expected...

In the playoffs, Webber played very well. In the first 10 games, he averaged 52 points and 11.6 rebounds with a hit rate of 5%. He was the second-leading scorer in the Pistons' interior, but he had been a pitcher before. In the divisional finals, Sanders made use of his passing ability!

Zhang Yang had a bad feeling that he couldn't prevent, but he didn't dwell on it.

Keep attacking!
He just needs to do his defensive job well, and the defensive response is Bickerstaff's job.

The two teams continue to fight!

As Zhang Yang expected, Tianzun was freed from the role of a supporting point on the offensive end and increased his outside shots. Webber was able to shoot and pass after setting a mid-range screen. Hamilton and Delfino had better conditions to cut into the basket. The Pistons exploded in the second half of the quarter, scoring 6 points in less than 21 minutes.

The Bobcats also maintained their offensive firepower well, but not as fiercely as the Pistons, scoring 17 points in the second half.

After the first quarter, the Pistons narrowed the score to 35 to 37, reducing the gap to two points!
Zhang Yang played for 9 minutes and scored 11 points. Hamilton's scoring efficiency was not as high as Zhang Yang, but he had better continuity and caught up later. He played the entire first quarter, made 7 of 4 shots and 3 of 3 free throws to score 10 points!
In the second quarter, the two teams continued to score points.

Both teams scored 35+ in the first quarter. A very important reason for this was that the main scorers had little rest time. For the Bobcats, Zhang Yang and Felton only rested for 3 minutes each, while Okafor and Gerald Wallace played the full game; for the Pistons, Billups, Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace played the full game.

In the second quarter, the playing time of rotation players of both teams increased, and the scoring efficiency dropped significantly, but the offensive firepower was similar. The Bobcats were unable to widen the gap, and the Pistons would occasionally overtake the score but would be quickly overtaken, and they were unable to truly reverse the situation.

At 11 minutes and 40 seconds, Hamilton ran quickly, caught the ball and made a three-pointer, increasing his score in the quarter to 26 points, surpassing the Bobcats' 25 points in the quarter, and chasing the score to 61 to 62, narrowing the difference to 1 point!
When the Bobcats attacked, the Pistons began to press and escalate the confrontation.

Felton did not panic. He steadily protected the ball and advanced to the frontcourt. At this time, he was very calm.

The younger brother once said to him: "The great man told us that we should firmly oppose what the opponent wants, and if the opponent wants us to make a decision quickly, we should find ways to delay it and make good use of the strategic depth."

He checked on the Internet and found that the great oriental man really said something similar. He didn't expect that war could be reflected in sports competitions... But there is a saying that goes, sports competitions are peaceful wars, there is nothing wrong with that.

No matter how Billups pressed, Felton held the ball tightly. Billups wanted to use pressure defense to make the Bobcats anxious, but he became impatient instead.

The other players on the Pistons were the same. They actively fought for more than ten seconds, but the opponent refused to fight back. They felt like fools.

At this time, Zhang Yang seized the opportunity and cut in around the baseline!
The focused Felton saw the opportunity at the first opportunity and passed the ball!
Felton's passing accuracy and stability were the highest in the team. Zhang Yang received the ball on the left side of the three-second zone, took a direct European step, took two consecutive steps to avoid Rasheed Wallace who was defending, came to Maxiell's left side, and made a floater shot... Hit! And also caused Maxiell to foul!
Zhang Yang also made the free throw, responding to Hamilton's three-pointer!
The Bobcats widened the gap to 4 points again, leading the Pistons by 65 points 61 to 4 and entering the halftime break!
Although they were unable to defend the Pistons in the first half, the Bobcats played well offensively and generally continued to have the initiative.

But at halftime, Time Warner Sports commentators Hubie Brown and Bill Walton discovered the Bobcats' hidden dangers when analyzing the half-time situation.

Hubie Brown: "The Bobcats scored too much. Jack scored 11 points in the first quarter and 7 points in the second quarter. Wallace and Okafor both scored 11 points in the first half. Felton scored 12 points and Rondo scored 6 points. In addition to these five players, the other five players only scored 5 points in total.

Except for Hamilton who scored 15 points in the first half and Billups who scored 11 points in the first half, the other players on the Pistons scored very scattered points. "

Bill Walton: "Yes, the Pistons' team offense has been getting better and better since Webber came on the court. I didn't expect Webber to play so well in the playoffs under Saunders."

Hubie Brown: "During the years when Sanders coached Garnett, Garnett averaged 6+20+10 for six consecutive years. After he left, Garnett's assists per game never reached 5 times, and his turnover rate increased. This proves that a good player needs an equally outstanding coach to play to his best. I think Sanders is more suitable for Webber than Adelman, but unfortunately Webber was seriously injured when he was 5 years old. If he can stay healthy, even if he is 30 years old now, he is still capable of replacing Ben Wallace and becoming the new core of the Pistons under Sanders..."

By the third quarter, the development of the game confirmed the analysis of the former top superstar and former top coach.

The Bobcats' scoring further dropped in the third quarter!
张杨打了8分钟拿到6分、费尔顿6分、奥卡福7分、杰拉德-华莱士3分、米尔萨普2分，没有其他人得分了，山猫队单节只拿到24分！
而活塞队那边，比卢普斯打了8分钟拿到4分2助攻、汉密尔顿6分、韦伯3分2助攻、普林斯4分、拉希德-华莱士5分、麦克戴斯2分、德尔菲诺3分，单节拿到27分，延续了第二节的进攻火力。

After three quarters, the Pistons narrowed the score to 88 to 89, and the difference was reduced to 1 point!
In the final quarter, the Bobcats reached their dark moment.

Except for Zhang Yang, the other players on the Bobcats made only 9 of 1 shots, plus 4 of 4 free throws, and only scored 6 points!
Zhang Yang threw the ball more than ten times and made 7 successful shots, 7 of 4, including 5 of 2 three-pointers. He was fouled on 4 shots and made 8 of 7 free throws. He scored 17 points in a single quarter, but the whole team only scored 23 points!
In the final quarter, the Pistons' counterattack by Billups + Hamilton + Maxiell finally came out!
The three players scored 15 points in the final quarter, and the whole team scored 15 points in the positional battle...

马克希尔单节8分、汉密尔顿单节7分、比卢普斯单节4分5助攻，加上麦克戴斯的4分、拉希德-华莱士的6分、普林斯的1分，活塞队末节打出30比23的比分。

At 11:23 pm, the final whistle sounded.

汉密尔顿28分、韦伯12分6助攻、比卢普斯19分10助攻、拉希德-华莱士16分10板、普林斯13分、麦克戴斯11分、马克希尔11分……活塞队以118比112客场击败山猫队，抢走主场优势！

山猫队方面，张杨首节11分、第二节7分、第三节6分、末节17分，26投13中，其中三分球7中3，加上14中12的罚球，拿到41分6板2助攻2抢断，生涯首次拿到季后赛单场40+……但进入空砍群！
...

After accepting the post-match interview and taking the blame, Zhang Yang returned to the locker room and felt the low pressure of his teammates.

After sweeping the first two rounds and advancing, their confidence continued to grow and they played more and more confidently. Today they stepped onto the court with the belief that they would win... but they started with 0-1.

The Pistons, who made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive season, gave them a shock from a top playoff team.

Seeing his little brother come back, Felton felt reassured and clapped his hands.

Seeing his teammates focusing their attention, Felton said, "We've just finished the first game. Don't act like we've already lost the Eastern Conference Finals. We lost our home-court advantage, but we'll get it back! The year before last, the Mavericks trailed the Rockets 0-2, but they reversed the situation. Last year, the Suns trailed the Lakers 1-3, but they reversed the situation. This year, the Jazz trailed the Rockets 0-2, but they also reversed the situation. We lost the first two games of the regular season to the Pistons, but we won the next two games! Cheer up! We lost tonight, but we'll win it back in the next game!"

Felton's powerful words successfully cheered up his teammates.

Zhang Yang also felt much better because of Felton's words.

On the surface, he looked as calm as usual, but actually his mentality was blown away. Anyone who encountered this would be blown away.

But there was a more important reason why he was in a good mood—the little fat boss had finally made it!
Although I can't give many examples and can only remember the most iconic comebacks, it's great that the fat boss can lead his teammates independently!

If Zhang San said this, the effect would not be so good. He is too young, and unlike KING, who had a team building a leadership image for him as soon as he entered the NBA. He was the 05 US champion point guard, so he had the possibility of becoming a leader as soon as he entered the NBA.

Okafor actually has such innate conditions, but he learned Duncan's leadership style and motivated his teammates with practical actions, but he does not have Duncan's strength. Except for providing his teammates with corresponding emotions in terms of calmness and stability, his leadership ability in other aspects is far worse than Duncan.

Gerald Wallace is actually the one with the best conditions to be a leader. He fought back from the edge of the league to the best defensive team and All-Star level. He also has the heart to be a boss, but he doesn't have the brains to be a boss. Take the matter of him being "betrayed" by Millsap for example. He played with Millsap for most of the season, but Millsap only learned the drive from him. He had to figure out the skills and playing awareness by himself...

In addition to his age, there is another reason why Zhang Yang doesn't like to talk about these things proactively - laziness.

Felton has to spend a lot of time every day communicating with his teammates, and even has to take his teammates out to play during holidays... Being a leader is great, but it's too unfree.

And he has to set an example himself or something, which is troublesome. Zhang Yang prefers to play freely. Maybe one day, he will have to become the boss and manage more than Felton, but now he is still young and enjoys his freedom first.

Led by Felton, the Bobcats players replayed the game against the challenge sent by Randy Brown.

In the first half, no, by the end of the third quarter, they played no worse than the Pistons, but...

Felton scored 18 points after three quarters and 18 points for the whole game. The same went for Okafor, who scored 18 points in three quarters and 18 points for the whole game.

Gerald Wallace scored 14 points in three quarters, and only got 4 points from free throws in the final quarter, for a total of 18 points.

Rondo scored 6 points in the first half and 6 points in the whole game...

If Zhang Yang hadn't been holding the ball and throwing it repeatedly, scoring consecutive goals and causing fouls in the final quarter, they might have been beaten in the final quarter!

Seeing that the boss had analyzed the game for a long time but could not come up with a conclusion, Rondo interrupted and said, "We played well in many places tonight. Our core players have a great advantage in matchups, especially Jack. After the Pistons lost Ben Wallace, it was difficult to prevent Jack from attacking from the outside. They could only use double-teaming or fouling to prevent Jack from shooting.

But the other players' shooting performance was very bad. After not shooting for a while, they couldn't shoot even after receiving the ball, wasting a lot of opportunities. For example, in the final quarter, we missed all 6 open three-pointers. "

Felton continued: "We didn't do well enough as a team in this game. We didn't play as a whole. We need to make good adjustments in preparation for tomorrow's game. But this also shows that we have a lot of room for improvement!"

Rondo was very satisfied, the boss did not let him down!
He began to understand why that person was so patient in pushing the boss forward... He felt the joy of development games.

This simple review had a very good effect. The Bobcats players were not as upset as when they just lost the game, but their mood also became more complicated.

There is more pressure, but also some confidence. I feel frustrated, but I see hope...

...

After G1, the Bobcats players suffered a great psychological shock and reshaped their playoff values ​​amidst self-doubt and self-affirmation.

In the outside world, the Bobcats and the Pistons are becoming a hot topic!
Their series has attracted a lot of attention and good ratings, but not many people have high expectations for the viewing experience of the games.

The Bobcats entered into an intense battle mode from the second round Game 2, while the Pistons battled the Bulls on defense throughout the entire second round... There were quite a few fans who paid to watch the live broadcast with the idea of ​​"I want to see how ugly the two bad boys can play."

Unexpectedly, the two teams staged a wonderful offensive and defensive battle!
Jeff Van Gundy, who resigned from the Rockets after the team was eliminated in the first round, commented on the game in an interview: "Both coaches Bickerstaff and Saunders may not be willing to actively fight on defense. Once they enter the defensive mode, the space available for operation will become very small, and the game will most likely become a battle of physical strength and the key ball ability of the stars.

Bickerstaff is afraid of Billups' ability to play the key ball, and Sanders is also afraid of Jack's ability to play the key ball.

Moreover, the defensive battle in the playoffs is like Pandora's box. Once it is opened, they have no control over whether to stop or not. They will also worry about what to do if they play defense and the opponent does not follow and plays a good offense... I have experience in this. I often encountered this dilemma when I coached the Knicks and Rockets.

I think that unless one of them judges that they are definitely going to lose, the two coaches will not take the initiative to start a defensive battle. The Pistons controlled the rhythm so well in this game, and yet they only won by 6 points. I think it is difficult for such a situation to occur.

This will be an exciting conference finals, I will be watching it all the way... Please watch the live broadcast of the game on ESPN Sports on time, I will be the commentator during the game and report it to you all the way..."

After being forced out by Yao Ming, the Rockets made quick changes. The first thing they did was to fire the head coach to appease the players and fans.

Jeff Van Gundy took a short break after leaving his job, but he couldn't sit still, so he found a job at ESPN.

In the second round, ESPN tried to have Jeff Van Gundy as the commentator. Unexpectedly, this former head coach who was so old-fashioned and seemed to have no adaptability at all, had very strong analytical ability when commenting. He could make various tactical predictions and propose many response strategies, some of which were even better than the tactical responses played in the game... shocked many people.

Fans are curious, why does Jeff Van Gundy look silly when coaching, but witty and sharp when commenting on the game?

In short, after listening to Jeff Van Gundy's analysis, fans are more looking forward to the next game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The game was very exciting and the coaching showdown was very exciting. Sanders had the upper hand over Bickerstaff this time. The players were looking forward to what adjustments the legendary coach Bickerstaff could make.

In terms of star performance, the most amazing one is naturally Zhang Yang!
单场41分，以18岁355天的年龄，刷新了魔术师在20岁273天的年龄时创下的季后赛最年轻40+纪录！

The last time Magic scored 20+ in a single game when he was 40 years old was in Game 80 of the 6 Finals. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was injured, so he moved to the center position and scored 42 points in various mismatched singles to lead the team to win the championship and win the FMVP.

Zhang Yang scored 40+ in a single game, and most fans were amazed. The Pistons fans were praising his performance. After all, it was their team that won the game...

But some fans were upset. Their KING didn't set a new record, but the bad boy Jack did it... When James was 20 years old, he was a sophomore and didn't make the playoffs. He was a junior and 21 years old when he made the playoffs for the first time last season.

Originally, the issue of "youngest" was rarely mentioned, because ten years ago, top talents generally had to stay in college for three or four years before entering the NBA. The issue of "youngest" was very unfair to the talented superstars of the old era.

But this topic can indeed stimulate the excitement of many fans. James enjoyed a lot of benefits in this regard in the first two years after entering the NBA...until last season, everything came to an abrupt end.

Now all the benefits fell on Zhang Yang, and he also gave James a backhanded blow.

Here comes the scene his fans least want to see - fans of high school players such as Kobe, Garnett, McGrady, etc. ask James' fans: Has James ever scored 40 points in the playoffs? How old is he?

When James set the youngest 20+ record at the age of 80 years and 50 days in his sophomore year, his fans were very proud of it. Whenever they lost the game, they would use the fact that James was still so young and yet so good that he could score 50+ in a single game as an excuse.

The fans of Duncan, O'Neal, Kidd and others refuted that "James just entered the NBA earlier", and James' fans countered that "Bryant, McGrady, and Garnett also entered the NBA earlier, so why can't they get it?"

The main purpose is to attract hatred indiscriminately.

Now, the 'retribution' has come...

On the 26th, the Eastern Conference Finals rest day, the Bobcats players rested for the whole morning and came to the gym in the afternoon to prepare for the game.

Fans are discussing various topics, and the enthusiasm on the Eastern Conference Finals rest day is higher than that on the Western Conference Finals game day...

Jordan, on his part, came to Indianapolis again to meet that person.

He had already given up. He had been upset several times, but people still refused to agree. He also had a bad temper.

However, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Bickerstaff exposed huge flaws.

Hubie Brown analyzed Bickerstaff's coaching problems after the game: "Bickerstaff is good at taking advantage of his strengths and knows how to maximize them. He is very good at catching the opponent's weaknesses and attacking them crazily. He is very suitable for winning games or crushing the opponent. But when the strength is equal to that of the opponent, Bickerstaff's coaching style is too extreme. Many of his responses cannot be taken back once they are made..."

After discussing with Bickerstaff last night, Jordan made up his mind again, swallowed his pride and paid another visit.

In ancient times, there was a story about the God of Basketball visiting the thatched cottage three times. Today, in the basketball world, the God of Basketball has recruited head coach candidates seven times.

Carlisle met with Jordan six times before. Three of them were informal meetings, where they just chatted for a few words. The fourth time was during the All-Star Weekend, when Bird allowed Jordan to have a formal meeting with him. The fifth time was when the Pacers were sure they would not make the playoffs. The sixth time was after the regular season ended... Carlisle firmly declined Jordan's invitation on all those occasions.

After Carlisle publicly questioned Bird's operation last summer, he was mentally prepared to be fired. After losing the chance to enter the playoffs this season, Bird, who was more cunning than a needle hole, informed him that he would not have to go to work after the season.

He had been considering the new job for a long time, but he was not very interested in working under a boss with Jordan's personality, as he was worried that the boss would interfere too much.

Working under former NBA players is a very troublesome thing, as these senior executives love to give suggestions.

It’s okay for senior executives like Bird who know how to coach and understand ordinary players. Even if they intervene, it won’t have too much negative impact.

But Jordan is different.

Carlisle paid attention to Jordan's two years with the Wizards and saw how depressed old coach Doug Collins was during those two years.

Jordan respects Doug Collins, but he loves to give suggestions, and he does so in public. Doug Collins, on the other hand, is very fond of Jordan and would be embarrassed to offend him in front of young players...

The key is that when Carlisle heard the suggestions made by Jordan, he thought they were outrageous.

Doug Collins wanted to train Kwame Brown as a substitute in his rookie year just like he did with Garnett and Kobe, giving Kwame Brown enough playing time, but at the same time not treating Kwame Brown as a serious NBA player, just pure training. But Jordan didn't do that. Jordan wanted Kwame Brown to play like Olajuwon and Duncan.

Doug Collins wanted to train Hamilton in the direction of Peja and Reggie Miller, but Jordan insisted that Hamilton learn to play from him. Hamilton himself was also very resistant, and then the two had a quarrel. Jordan angrily sent Hamilton to the Pistons in exchange for Stackhouse, giving Billups a best partner...

But when Jordan came to him for the seventh time... Carlisle hesitated. He and Jordan had a deep and simple conversation for the whole afternoon.

After talking seriously with Jordan about the team, Carlisle found that Jordan had changed. He no longer had the mentality of a player, but a real boss... He felt a little regretful that God had become secular, but he also became interested in going to Charlotte.

Carlisle: "I decided to give it a try, but I will watch the game first and get a closer look at the situation. I will give you an answer before I go to Detroit at the latest..."

……

……

Ten thousand words please vote!
(End of this chapter)