Chapter 402 401. This is a notification, not a discussion

It’s no wonder that Jordan had no ambition. When he entered the NBA, he met Bird, who was at the peak of his powers.

After the 'Bias tragedy', the Celtics were forced to dismantle the league's strongest 6-man core, replace them with high-draft players, replace them with young centers, train young players, and then suffer a serious injury to Bird, and withdraw from the ranks of top teams.

Before Jordan could be happy, the Bad Boys entered their peak period and beat him up for three years.

At this time, if he went out and said that he could definitely defeat Big Bird, the Bad Boys, and Zhang Yang, he would be laughed at and said that he had lost stupidly and was just daydreaming.

It’s not that his personal ability is the best in the league and he has won all the awards such as MVP, DPOY, AMVP, and scoring champion, that people are so optimistic about him.

There was a similar player in the 60s who was beaten up for several years. He finally changed his playing style and became the assists leader before winning the championship.

The mountains that Jordan wanted to overcome at this time were all in the East. It was normal that he did not focus on the entire league. It was remarkable that he still had the spirit after being beaten up for so many years.

It’s just that compared with Zhang Yang, he seems a little petty.

The main reason is that the difference in their player careers is too great. Zhang Yang won the championship when he first came to the 80 timeline, and the FMVP when he came the second time. In the 10 timeline, he also won the FMVP on the Spurs. He himself also made a comeback and won the championship in his sophomore year.

Because he has learned from past experience, he won't easily say that he wants to become a goat, but his actions have been working towards that direction.

As for Jordan, up to now, every time he enters the playoffs, he is either getting beaten or on his way to getting beaten...

...

Knicks vs. Lakers, Apple City vs. Angel City, this matchup is already a hot topic, far more than the Lakers vs. Pistons in the past two seasons.

As soon as Zhang Yang’s epoch-making declaration came out, the popularity exploded, and the influence of the NBA Finals in North America reached a new level!

Even in China and other parts of Asia, the enthusiasm for basketball is at an all-time high.

Stern was delighted to see this grand scene.

The wheel of history rolls forward, no matter how great an athlete is, they will grow old one day. The Magic Bird dominated for ten years and saved the NBA from the brink of bankruptcy. The NBA's market value and revenue doubled and tripled in ten years. The players' salaries also increased from an annual salary of one million as the maximum salary to a maximum of 500 million now. Their mission in the history of basketball has been completed, and it is time to bid farewell to the stage of hegemony.

As the president, Stern will not deliberately push these two people off the stage of history. Someone will always stand up and put an end to them. It is a matter of time. Isn't it happening?

Back then, I was patient and ignored the public opinion violence that Zhang Yang suffered in Boston. This decision was the right one!

If Zhang Yang still stayed in Boston, he would not be promoted, at least not in the United States. At most, overseas publicity would provide Zhang Yang with more resources, and it would be impossible to invest all the overseas operation money in the Chinese and Asian markets like Zhang Yang did after joining the Knicks.

After Zhang Yang made the epoch-making declaration, no one thought he was too arrogant. Even the California media did not question his words, but used various arguments to prove that the Lakers were better.

For example, the Lakers have made it to the finals for four consecutive years, neither Zhang Yang nor Ewing has the experience of leading a team to win the championship alone... and other arguments are used to cheer for the Lakers.

But when Stern looked at the arguments cited by the California media, he found one thing in common - they all talked about how much experience the Lakers had in winning championships.

Even the California media deliberately avoided topics such as overall strength and matchups.

Except for the point guard position, the Lakers have basically no advantages in other positions, and even the head coach is not in harmony with the players.

There are rumors that Pat Riley suggested to Jerry Buss during the All-Star Weekend to trade Magic for Jordan, and he has even contacted the Bulls management privately. The Bulls owner and general manager are both interested in this. Although this rumor was denied by Jerry Buss, it caused an uproar within the Lakers for a time, but it was only calmed down under the tough leadership of Jerry Buss and Magic's smile.

Judging from the performance of the two teams in the divisional finals, there is also a very obvious gap in the competitive strength displayed by the two teams.

Including this season, the Lakers have reached the finals for the eighth time in 11 seasons. This season's road to the playoffs was incredibly easy. Magic Johnson has never had it so easy since entering the NBA.

But not many people think that the Lakers are stronger than before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired. Instead, they think that this year's Lakers is the weakest since Magic Johnson entered the NBA.

Because Magic has emptied the entire Western Conference in the 11 seasons since he entered the NBA!

Look at the top five teams in the Eastern Conference, including the Celtics, which one does not have extremely good depth, with two or three All-Stars on the team. In the Western Conference, there are only a few veteran stars left, and those who have emerged are all new generation players. The Lakers are the only team that dominates the game.

The purchase of the Trail Blazers by the wealthy Paul Allen injected fresh blood into the Western Conference, but the effect was not seen for a while, as even a rookie like the Admiral could lead the team to the Western Conference Finals.

Stern also felt that the change of times was unstoppable. He was very happy to see this scene. This was definitely better than the Magic Bird, who was already over 30 years old, continuing to fight for supremacy. The best time for the change of times was not to wait until the previous generation of rulers was completely unable to fight, but when they still had spare strength.

The only thing he felt sorry about was that it wasn't Jordan who overthrew the previous generation of rulers, and the Bulls were still a little lacking...

It is June 6st. Zhang Yang and his teammates have come to Inglewood, Los Angeles for two days of preparation and training. Today is the first day of the finals.

Over the past two days, including today's pre-match preparations, they have been interviewed non-stop, and public opinion has even been noisy, but he has played in the finals "so many times" that he is already able to handle all of this with ease.

At 7:40 p.m., the entrance ceremony began at the Great Western Forum Arena. Zhang Yang and his teammates entered the stadium amid boos... and cheers.

After the entrance ceremony, Zhang Yang looked around and saw that there were nearly 34 people at the scene, and about to of them were wearing the No. jersey of the Knicks!
Zhang Yang here, as a Chinese, has a certain fan base in California, and even has a fan base among ethnic minorities in Texas and Florida.

But most of the people he saw wearing his jersey were not minorities.

The Lakers have dominated the Western Conference for too long. Except for a brief low period in the second half of the 70s, the entire Western Conference has been shrouded in the purple and gold nightmare from the 50s to the present. When Zhang Yang shouted that declaration, fans of the Warriors, Kings, and Clippers in California all became his fans this summer.

He also saw people holding up signs that read 'Beat LA'.

"That guy, is he really not afraid of being beaten?"

Zhang Yang muttered something, and when he heard Ewing's call, he quickly walked in front of several stars and former star teammates, and greeted the magician who came over with a smile on his face.

"We met again in the finals. I regret that you didn't come to the Lakers. I was looking forward to your coming last summer. No matter how bad a team is, as long as you are there, there is the best chance of winning the championship." Magic said with a warm smile. Zhang Yang also smiled and responded: "I actually wanted to come to the Lakers, but Riley said he would trade you for a helper. I wanted to come just for you, but that's not okay, so I chose Patrick."

The magician's smile froze: I didn't need to say anything! Why don't you just say hello and save face? Why do you have to make trouble?

Ewing and several veteran teammates were angry when they heard Magic's words, but they were instantly amused when they heard Zhang Yang's response.

The previous boss was only unwilling to suffer losses in terms of fists and goals. After taking revenge on the Celtics, the boss let himself go and was no longer willing to suffer losses in terms of words.

Without beating around the bush, the magician said, "It's not easy to step over us old guys and start a new era. I also want to ask, are you ready?"

Zhang Yang smiled cheerfully: "What I said was not a discussion, nor a declaration, but a notice!

Mr Johnson, times have changed, welcome to my nineties! ”

Mark Jackson, his younger brother at the side, made an “ooh oh oh” sound when he heard this, the boss was really domineering!

The teammates were also motivated and excited.

The magician wanted to say something, but couldn't open his mouth because the guy in front of him had an extremely overbearing attitude.

But he still maintained a smile on his face, as if he was not affected at all.

He couldn't show his weakness at this time, so as not to affect the emotions of his teammates around him.

When he watched the Eastern Conference Finals live, he could also feel the gap in strength between them and the two teams in the East, but he didn't want to lose! He didn't want to give up his dominance throughout the 80s!
At 8 o'clock in the evening, the first game of the finals began!

The Lakers sent out a starting lineup of Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, James Worthy, AC Green and Divac.

The Knicks sent out a starting lineup of Mark Jackson, Gerald Wilkins, Zhang Yang, Oakley and Ewing.

Ewing beat Divac to win the jump ball, and the Knicks attacked first!

The elevator door formation was set up, Zhang Yang went around the free throw line and used double screens to receive the ball at the top arc, and Byron Scott and AC Green doubled up against him.

The Lakers' double-team this time was suspected of being an early double-team violation. Zhang Yang received the ball and turned around, but was blocked by Byron Scott on the left and AC Green in front of him and couldn't even jump. Fortunately, he was agile and reacted quickly, and threw the ball to the left.

Gerald Wilkins cut in to receive the ball, then passed it. Ewing cut into the middle, squeezed out James Worthy who was switching defense and Magic Johnson who was retreating back to the baseline, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!

After a series of hand-to-hand combat with Laimbeer, Edwards, Rodman, Rick Mahorn and others, Ewing's saliva was flowing when he saw the Lakers' inside line without the skyhook. This is simply heaven!

When the Lakers attacked, Magic Johnson held the ball on the outside and suddenly started, violently crushing Gerald Wilkins and rushing into the inside. He turned around before Ewing could get close to him and made a hook shot!
In the offense-defense transition, the Knicks once again easily tore through the Lakers' weak defense. Zhang Yang received the ball at the top of the arc and passed it out, then went around to the right side of the free throw line and made a mid-range shot.

Turning around, the Magic attacked again, breaking through the free throw line and making a jump shot!
When the Knicks attacked, Zhang Yang received the ball with one step inside the arc and made a shot before the double-team came up, but it missed. The two forwards tried to grab the ball but to no avail, and Magic Johnson secured the defensive rebound.

In the offense-defense transition, Magic Johnson dribbled the ball across half court. The other Knicks players were hesitating whether to respond or not. They heard the boss yell, "Patrick guards the basket, everyone else moves out," and then they saw the boss calling on Gerald Wilkins to double-team Magic Johnson.

The Magic was still far away from the three-point line, but when he saw the fierce forward and guard combination of Gerald Wilkins and Zhang Yang coming directly at him, he felt terrible.

They were prepared to take an unconventional approach at the beginning of the game tonight, with his singles scoring to open the situation and then connecting the entire team, but the opponent's reaction was too stressful!

Facing Gerald Wilkins's defense and Zhang Yang's steal of the ball, the Magic almost made a mistake.

Fortunately, he was experienced and lifted the ball in time, using his height advantage to avoid two people stealing the ball, and seized the opportunity to pass the ball to Byron Scott.

Byron Scott passed the ball to Divac in the left elbow area.

Divac received the ball but didn't dare to shoot. He was just a rookie and had been a substitute for Michael Thompson during the regular season and the Western Conference playoffs. Who would have thought that he would suddenly be sent to start and face Ewing in the finals... He was in his early 20s and was stage fright!
He passed the ball to AC Green who was left vacant on the other side of the three-second zone. AC Green saw Divac hiding under the basket and didn't dare to cut in. He didn't dare to rush in after receiving the ball. He just threw a mid-range shot!
"bang"

Ironclad!

Ewing grabbed the defensive rebound!
Ewing felt so good protecting the rim this time. It was so comfortable for him to stand under the basket while the other two inside players didn't dare to come in. Zhang Yang asked the others to move out without hesitation and let him protect the basket alone. This trust also made him feel excited.

However, Zhang Yang did not make this command casually. He clearly remembered that in the 91 Finals, Horace Grant was squatting under the basket alone, and the second-year Divac and Iron Man Green had no way to stop him. Jordan and Pippen could safely go to the outside to double-team Magic.

What Horace Grant could do, Ewing could only do better!
Zhang Yang's response caught the Lakers off guard.

In fact, the Lakers players and head coach have strong on-the-spot adaptability. If they choose a conventional style of play and their offense is blocked at the beginning, Magic has plenty of ways to adjust.

But they started with an unconventional attack tonight, just trying to be clever, and they failed to adjust immediately!
The Lakers' offense was frustrated at the beginning. Although the Knicks did not get going either, their offense was steady. Halfway through the first quarter, the Knicks led the Lakers by 14 points with 9 to 5!
During the period, the Lakers called a 1-second timeout to make adjustments, but the effect was not good.

After the official timeout, the Lakers completely abandoned their clever style of play at the beginning and launched their regular showtime offensive basketball. Their offensive firepower quickly recovered, and although their scoring performance in positional battles was still poor, they scored 14 points in half a quarter by relying on quick offense and defense transitions.

But as the tempo quickened, the Lakers' defensive formation wasn't so good, giving Zhang Yang the opportunity to charge!
At the end of the first quarter, Zhang Yang stole the ball from Magic Johnson in a double-team, and hit a three-pointer in the counterattack, and the Knicks' score in the second half of the quarter increased to 18 points!
With Byron Scott cutting in and missing the shot, the score at the end of the first quarter was 32 to 23, and the Knicks led the Lakers by 9 points into the intermission!
Zhang Yang had very few free throws at the start of tonight, so poor that he didn't even get one in the first quarter, but he made 1 of 6 shots, including 4 of 3 three-pointers, and scored 2 points in a single quarter!
Ewing played for 9 minutes in the first quarter, made 4 of 3 shots and 2 of 2 free throws, and had an outstanding performance of 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. He had a great time bullying the Lakers' inside players who didn't have a skyhook. This was the first time in 11 years that the Lakers' inside players were bullied so badly.

As soon as the first quarter was over, the TV commentator who favored the Lakers began to complain about the devilish training camp that the fortune teller organized before last year's finals...

In the corner of the court, there sat two people who admired each other but disliked each other. In the hot summer, they both wore windbreakers and sunglasses to watch the game, for fear of being recognized by others.

No. 23: I really want to stand there and play against Zhang San!

No. 33: The new era is really coming. This should belong to us...

(End of this chapter)