boyutpedia Chapter 425 We can talk about anything, but it costs extra!
Chapter 425 We can talk about anything, but it costs extra!
In Games 5 and 6 of the series, Wells was given a major responsibility by head coach Larry Brown, who gave him unlimited shooting rights!
In this desperate situation, Brown devised a tactical approach he had rarely shared in his life: Play however you want! As long as you can put the ball in the basket!
Having received this promise, Wells stood up from the bench and then beat the Magic's entire defense so badly they were crying for their mothers!
With his massive weight, terrifying physical abilities, and soft touch, he overpowered every player on the Magic team.
In Game 5 of the series, Wells had 29 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 71% from the field!
In Game 6 of the series, Wells scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, shooting 65% from the field!
After two consecutive explosive performances, the Pistons successfully dragged the series into a Game 7!
The decisive Game 7 was held at Orlando's home arena, where a large number of fans poured into the stadium to express their support for the team. At the same time, the players were also on high alert, having made all the necessary preparations to deal with the Pistons.
However, Rivers was completely bewildered when the starting players from both sides took to the court.
Brown, who is known for his inflexibility and lack of adaptability, actually changed the starting lineup, replacing Hamilton with Wells!
He's going to attack the Magic's basket and interior from the very beginning of the game!
Rivers's plan was largely thwarted by this tactical change.
Then, this motivational coach fell into confusion and helplessness.
What should I do? What should I do? What can I do?
These questions filled Rivers' mind.
By the time he realized what was happening, the Magic were already down by 10 points against the Pistons!
Rivers then quickly adjusted the tactics, sending Duncan to post up and play one-on-one against Rasheed in the low post!
How should I put this choice?
Not very smart!
After all, Rashid's stats may not seem like much, and he's rarely even been selected for the defensive team, but anyone who has studied his games knows that Rashid's defensive abilities are far stronger than his on-field statistics suggest!
His greatest strengths are top defense and one-on-one in the low post!
In that Finals battle against the Lakers' "F4", the Pistons relied on Rasheed Wallace's strong low-post defense and Ben Wallace's roaming help defense to limit O'Neal's offensive power to a normal 20+10 level.
Of course, Kobe's role in containing Shaq that year was also significant.
But the following year, the two stars successfully defended against Shaquille O'Neal, who was the runner-up for MVP that year and was nearing the end of his prime. Although they lost the Finals, they also contained Duncan very badly.
In short, with Wallace playing so hard to limit him, Duncan's success rate in low-post isolation plays wasn't high that night, and he failed to deliver the dominance Rivers hoped he would.
Even so, Rivers didn't think of a different tactic.
Then, when the substitutes came on, a well-rested Hamilton delivered a brilliant performance against the Magic's mediocre bench, showcasing dribbling skills he doesn't usually like to display.
Throughout the first half, the Magic were completely dominated by the Pistons!
Rivers was completely outplayed by Larry Brown!
Moreover, Brown was exposed in the areas where he is most criticized, worst, and least skilled, namely adaptability and on-the-spot performance.
Brown used his weaknesses to defeat Rivers!
During halftime, Rivers, as usual, pulled out his signature motivational speech and gave his players a good pep talk.
Unfortunately, after so many years and so long working under Rivers, these guys have long since become immune to his motivational speeches.
They're not buying it anymore! Their bodies and souls have developed antibodies from top to bottom, inside and out!
Therefore, Rivers' motivational speech failed to help the team regain their form and reverse their decline in the second half.
They can keep the score close thanks to McGrady and Duncan's individual skills and abilities, but how can they close the gap or even take the lead?
They were always just one step short!
With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Rasheed and Billups executed a pick-and-roll at the high post. Rasheed stepped back, Billups cut inside, and then, after drawing the defense, passed the ball to Rasheed outside the three-point line.
"Whoosh!"
This crisp sound not only widened the gap to 10 points, but also essentially ended the Magic's season. At the same time, it allowed Rasheed, who was called trash, a cancer, a warden, and a street thug, to prove himself once again!
Rashid Wallace has returned to the public eye!
Duncan and McGrady continued to score in the next two minutes, but facing the incredibly steady Pistons players and with little time left, the 10-point gap seemed like an insurmountable chasm, and the Magic were unable to overcome that obstacle!
"Buzz!"
As the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the game, the Magic lost again!
They were reversed again!
They fell in the first round once again.
When they once again held an absolute advantage, they were humiliatingly eliminated!
In recent years, the Magic have experienced every imaginable way of being reversed in sports history: the upset of the eighth seed, the comeback from a 3-1 lead, and the repeated blowouts from an overwhelming advantage.
Since forming the F4 combination that excited the entire Orlando crowd in the 00-01 season, the Magic have dominated the regular season every year and have been called the team most likely to challenge the Pacers' dominance.
However, in the past three years, they haven't even managed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, let alone defeat the Pacers and win the championship! They've never even faced the Pacers!
Every time, they claim to be the Pacers' biggest enemy, only to falter and fall early.
Last year and this year, they were eliminated in the first round, once by the eighth seed and once by the sixth seed.
After this round of games, the Magic had a very serious internal discussion.
They need to consider changing their team-building strategy.
At the very least, continuing to fight like this is definitely not going to work!
Within the Magic team, there are currently three options:
1. Get Rivers out of here.
2. Get the hell out of here!
3. Get that idiot Rivers out of here right now! FUXX!
Well, these are the three paths. In short, the Magic's internal meeting quickly reached a consensus.
Their only disagreement lay in whether or not to use profanity when firing Rivers, and if so, how much profanity was appropriate.
Bringing too much might seem disrespectful.
You didn't bring enough, did you? You've already brought so much, aren't you satisfied?
If I don't bring it, I can't swallow my pride.
With such a huge investment from the team, so many top stars, and paying the luxury tax, this is the result you give us?
Being eliminated in the first round for the second consecutive time?
Fuck you! The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
So, less than an hour after the end of this decisive Game 1, the Magic didn't even let Rivers get a good night's sleep. They released a statement late at night announcing that the team had decided to fire Rivers and wish him all the best for the future!
The Magic are destined to enter a new era.
As these first-round matches concluded, the league also announced several of this year's awards.
The Rookie of the Year award went to Amar'e Stoudemire almost unanimously. Stoudemire averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds per game this season, which isn't particularly impressive on paper.
Firstly, his playing style is incredibly explosive and visually stunning, with his powerful dunks getting everyone's blood pumping. Secondly, he's a high school student, so his future is definitely something to look forward to. And thirdly, and most importantly...
This year's rookie class is terrible.
How bad is it?
Manu Ginobili, who averaged less than 8 points per game this season, ranked third in the Rookie of the Year rankings, behind only Amar'e Stoudemire and Caron Butler.
Besides those three, the other two in the top five are Gru Gooden and Nene Hilario.
This year's rookie class was already of low quality, and now with the loss of Yao Ming, a key player, the remaining players are just average.
As for the All-Rookie Team, the First Team consists of Stoudemire, Nene, Butler, Gooden, and Ginobili. The Second Team is unimportant; nobody would recognize any of these players anyway.
In addition, the Most Improved Player award was undoubtedly given to Jermaine O'Neal. This season, O'Neal averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks per game in the regular season, which is absolutely top-level for an inside player. In particular, his fierce playing style and tenacity on the defensive end perfectly meet the needs and fantasies of Salt Lake City.
As for Jermaine O'Neal himself, after leaving the Lakers, his abilities were finally able to be fully revealed, allowing him to unleash his full potential instead of slowly growing under the wings of O'Neal and Kobe.
Now, the Jazz are just waiting for a top-class point guard to join them so they can rebuild the legendary "Black and White Duo" of their past!
The Sixth Man of the Year award is arguably the most fiercely contested and closely contested, with Bobby Jackson of the Sacramento Kings and Michael Reed of the Milwaukee Bucks being neck and neck in terms of both statistics and performance.
Comparatively, the Kings had a better record, but Reed had a higher attendance rate, playing 82 games, while Jackson only played 56.
When the results were announced, perhaps because the trade after the All-Star Game put Reed in the starting lineup, many people no longer considered him a true sixth man, so Bobby Jackson was ultimately chosen as the best sixth man of the year.
These are the major awards announced by the league during the first round of the playoffs. The All-NBA Team, All-Defensive Team, Defensive Player of the Year, and the year-end MVP award will definitely not be given out until the second round of the playoffs or even the conference finals!
It's worth mentioning that, based on advance leaks from some reporters, various analyses and discussions, as well as the odds offered by bookmakers in Las Vegas, this year's MVP candidates are quite interesting!
There aren't many people who are most likely to win the MVP award this year; currently, there are six people with the highest odds.
They are Lin Tian and Jordan of the Pacers, Kobe and Shaq of the Lakers, and Duncan and McGrady of the Magic.
Hmm... six people, from three of the strongest teams in the league!
The other players, such as Kidd, Nowitzki, and Peja, performed well and the team's record was also commendable, but compared to these six, they were indeed a bit lacking.
The Lakers' OK duo continued their dominant performance this season. Kobe's scoring average surpassed O'Neal's for the first time, becoming the team's leading scorer. He averaged 30.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game this season, which is definitely one of the top performances in the NBA!
Kobe Bryant right now is definitely a top-five player in the league. Yes, a top-five player in the league!
Furthermore, despite playing only 67 games this season due to injury, O'Neal still managed to contribute 27.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game! With him on the team, the Lakers possess one of the most destructive centers and a dominant force in the paint in NBA history!
Both Kobe and Shaq had a chance to win the MVP award!
Meanwhile, McGrady also had the best performance of his career on the Magic, averaging 30.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game, marking the first time in his career that he scored 30 points! If last season's Magic team was Duncan's team, then this season, McGrady can definitely contend for the top spot!
As for Duncan, he maintained his consistent performance, averaging 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game. Among the MVP candidates, his stats were the least eye-catching and the least impressive. However, his role under the basket and his all-around performance on both ends of the court made it impossible for anyone to exclude him from the MVP candidate list.
Then there are the two Pacers players who share the scoring title: Lin Tian and Jordan.
There's not much to say about these two. They've taken more than half of the MVP awards over the past decade. They are the strongest and second strongest players in the league over the past ten years!
As for who is first and who is second between the two of them?
Anyway, both of them think they are number one!
Since almost all of this year's MVP candidates come from the same team, there is really no situation this year where teammates split votes or teammates being too strong negatively impacts one's chances of winning the MVP.
After all, those who are slightly worse than these six are also notable. Kidd's stats are so bad they're almost unbearable to look at, Nowitzki is always a bit lacking, and while Garnett is versatile and consistent, his team's record is far worse, and his stats aren't exactly explosive either.
After analyzing all aspects, and considering that Lin Tian and Jordan shared the regular season scoring title this year, quite a few people actually think that this season's MVP might also result in a tie!
Lin Tian, for one, did not believe it.
121 journalists voted, each able to cast five votes with completely different weightings, and could vote for any member of the league.
With such rules, who knows how many variations and completely different permutations and combinations can occur?
To put it another way, with this voting system, the probability of a tie for MVP is definitely smaller than the probability of winning the lottery jackpot!
unless
Like lotteries, can they be manipulated?
hiss.
That's terrifying! I can't bear to think about it! It's too frightening!
If Stern knew that Lin Tian thought this way, he might just have someone put a sack over Lin Tian's head, tie a piece of cement to his feet, and sink him into the Atlantic Ocean.
In short, given this situation, two MVPs?
Anyway, Lin Tian thought it was bullshit and a pipe dream.
As for who will ultimately win the award? If you let Lin Tian vote, he will definitely vote for himself.
Lin Tian was quite certain that he was the kind of bad guy who gave the other person a score of 1 while giving himself a score of 10 during the Master Chef exam in the anime "Cooking Master Boy"!
Hehe, don't give the voting rights to me, Lord Lin!
It's also worth mentioning that Lin Tian received a call from China in the past few days, informing him of some good news.
This year's Laureus Awards will be held on May 6 in Monte Carlo, Morocco.
The Laureus Awards, as the biggest annual event in the sports world, are actually quite young. This major award was only first presented in 2000.
But thanks to its deep pockets, effective promotion, and massive scale, the award has grown rapidly in just a few years, becoming a highly influential comprehensive sports awards ceremony!
At the same time, this thing is also known as the Oscars and Nobel Prizes of the sports world. Winning the Laureus Award is definitely one of the highest levels of praise and honor that an athlete can receive!
The above comments were all made by the reporter.
But Lin Tian felt that these reporters who were praising him so vehemently must be paid trolls.
If the Laureus Awards were 20 years from now, they would still deserve this praise and status; now? They fall short!
For Lin Tian, this was just a new, small prize.
This time, Huaxia called Lin Tian to ask if he had time to go there.
Do I have time? Of course not!
Lin Tian said he didn't have time to accept the award, and he wasn't even allowed to prepare a video or video recording.
Unfortunately, he and Lawrence didn't get along.
He also stated that Lawrence's side was truly insincere! Knowing full well that the NBA season doesn't end until June, they insisted on holding the awards ceremony in May, which shows they didn't respect Lin Da Guan Ren!
No way! I won't give them any face!
Besides the scheduling conflict, the more important reason for not going was that Lin Tian had received an invitation from Lawrence in 01, saying that he and the Chinese men's basketball team had been nominated for Player of the Year and Team of the Year.
That time, of course, was because Lin Tian not only won the NBA championship and the MVP award, achieving a grand slam, but also led the Chinese team to defeat the Dream Team for the first time in history and win the championship at the Sydney Olympics!
This is definitely a hugely influential event in basketball history!
Anyway, Lin Tian felt that since there was no World Cup that year, there was a high probability that he and the Chinese team would win an award, or at least one.
But unfortunately, neither the Best Athlete nor the Best Team award was given to Lin Tian or the Chinese team that year.
The Player of the Year award went to Tiger Woods, and the Team of the Year award went to the French national football team that won the European Championship.
Although the French team was the first in history to win both the World Cup and the European Championship, Lin Tian was still unconvinced.
Is it shameless of you to include your grades from 98 in this calculation?
Finally, China didn't come away empty-handed; Yao Ming won Rookie of the Year, which was a consolation prize.
Lin Tian was clearly very unhappy with this consolation prize.
Are you trying to get rid of a beggar?
So this time, Lin Tian rejected all the invitations without even thinking.
Neither the Chinese Basketball Association nor Lawrence's influence mattered!
Who told you to leave me with nothing last time? This time, I won't even let you record a video.
Then, to Lin Tian's surprise, less than two days after he rejected the Basketball Association, just as he was preparing to start the first game of the second round of the playoffs, Yu Weili from the track and field team also called him.
"Give us some face, Xiao Lin. Lawrence is really serious this time. They said they'll definitely give us a few big awards, so they hope you can at least record a video or something to make them feel good."
"So you've already given me the Best Male Athlete award, right?"
"If I don't give it to you, who else can I give it to? Look at what you did last year: dominating the 100-meter race, winning two championships in the NBA and the World Championships, and also winning three consecutive NBA championships and two consecutive world championships."
"With your achievements, you deserve two awards!"
"I know you're upset that they stood you up last time and didn't give you the prize. We didn't have enough influence back then, right? This time, we do! They're begging us to participate!"
"That won't do either. I've already accepted the award, but what about my brothers?"
"The basketball team is probably in trouble." Yu Weili didn't mince words: "There's the World Cup this year, and I reckon the award will go to Brazil."
"I don't care who they give it to. If they don't, it's disrespectful to me. If they don't give me face, then I won't cooperate with their publicity!"
At this point, Lin Tian immediately understood.
It seems the Laureus Awards were drawn to his influence and fame!
In the past two years, it was China that hoped they would give them an award to add to their resume, but now, it's Lawrence's turn to beg China to accept the award.
Lin Tian, instinctively feeling that there must be other benefits, directly rejected Yu Weili and said to the old man, "If they are sincere, let them come and talk to me themselves. My phone number is not a secret. What's the point of always sending someone else to pass on messages?"
As soon as Lin Tian said this, Yu Weili, who knew Lin Tian very well, immediately understood what Lin Tian meant.
This is negotiable, but it'll cost more!
As long as they could talk, that was fine. After all, Yu Weili was just passing on a message, and if they could talk, his task was complete. Yu Weili breathed a sigh of relief and started calling the people who had asked him for help to tell them the details.
As for Lin Tian, he didn't have to wait long.
He had only waited four days, and after playing two games against the Celtics at the team's home court, he arrived in Boston with a 2-0 lead, ready for the away game, when his phone suddenly rang to an unknown number.
"Hello Lin, I'm Rupert." A very deep voice with a distinct European accent came through.
"Rupert? Isn't that a bit much? A Laureus Award, and this old man is calling me personally?" Because he had been thinking about the Laureus Award for the past few days, Lin Tian immediately realized who this Rupert was.
The Laureus Awards are actually a collaboration between two very large corporations.
Daimler Group and Richemont Group.
Daimler needs no introduction, it's Mercedes-Benz!
As for Richemont Group...
They are the world's second-largest luxury goods retailer, with dozens of top luxury brands under their umbrella, covering categories such as watches, bags, fashion, perfumes, and firearms. The most famous brands, such as Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, A. Lange & Söhne, Cartier, IWC, and Piaget, are all products of their company.
Their annual sales are absolutely astronomical!
Countless people are crazy about their products, and countless people save up for years just to own one of their watches or other accessories.
This is a behemoth that can influence global fashion trends!
The head of this group is named Anton Rupert.
In addition, this old man loves playing golf the most. He claims that his life consists of nothing but making money and playing golf. Lin Tian thinks that this is probably also an important reason why Tiger Woods won the Laureus World Sports Award for Best Athlete in the previous two years.
This is definitely a personalized service and full of insider information!
This super-rich guy created an award to fund his own idol-chasing!
No wonder he didn't win the awards in previous years; the old man is from South Africa, he must prefer football to basketball.
but
Has he become so influential now? For an award, for the sake of saving face, the old man personally called to invite him?
If the person extending the invitation were to do so personally...
You can add a small amount when you pay more, and you can get a discount!
"I don't think I'm the Rupert you're talking about." The voice on the other end of the phone paused slightly. "Mr. Lin, you must be referring to my grandfather. I am Tom Rupert, and I'm in charge of this year's Laureus Awards."
"I'm a very direct person, Mr. Lin. We want to quickly expand the influence of the Laureus Awards. We hope to make it a global, world-class, truly influential and appealing award with real prestige."
"We need help and support from people across all sports industries, and you are one of our most promising sports stars! We believe you have the potential to become a world-class sports star like Pelé, Ronaldo, Maradona, or Michael Jordan!"
"Therefore, we really hope you can attend our awards ceremony in Monaco this time. As for your conditions, you can name them, and we will try our best to meet them."
"You're very direct!" Lin Tian said, "What a coincidence, I'm also a very direct person with no guile. I really don't know anything about business or negotiations, but I know the NBA schedule very well."
"Your awards ceremony is in early May, and at that time, our Eastern Conference semifinals are still going on, so I obviously don't have time to go."
"We've analyzed your schedule. If you can quickly defeat your opponents, and they are evenly matched, you'll get about a week of rest. Including travel time to and from the ceremony, that's three days in total, so you'll have four days to rest!"
"I've had an actuary calculate it. The Nets vs. Pistons series and the Mavericks vs. SuperSonics series both have a chance to go to a Game 7, so you should be able to spare a week of free time!"
"Mr. Lin, we are very sincere and we understand your needs. We have many luxury brands and need to find an athlete with a healthy image and high popularity to be our spokesperson. Can we talk?"
"I have absolutely no interest in money! I'm not interested in those business collaborations either! Otherwise, I would have been covered in endorsements from head to toe! I'm sorry, your so-called sincerity and determination cannot move or persuade me. I'm not going this time."
"Mr. Lin! Mr. Lin! Please listen to our terms! We can award you and your national team the Best Sports Team of the Year award. Brazil won the World Cup last year! Wouldn't it be wonderful to receive a trophy from them?"
"That's the Brazilian football team! The most popular sports team in the world! Without a doubt."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in money or fame," Lin Tian continued to refuse. "Besides, I've always felt that this award should have been ours two years ago. Returning what you owe us isn't a reward or a benefit, but something you should have done in the first place."
"Alright, Mr. Rupert, I'm very busy and don't have time. I still have to train! This year, I'm going to win the championship. Besides that, money, endorsements, exposure, awards—none of that matters to me!"
"So, if you really need anything, you can contact my agent instead of me. Maybe we can work together next year."
"I have absolutely no interest in any of this!"
After emphasizing it again, Lin Tian hung up the phone.
Of course, if someone familiar with Lin Tian had heard what he just said on the phone, they would undoubtedly have given him one assessment: utter nonsense! A complete lie! Not a single word of it was true!
Well, apart from that "I want to win the championship" line, almost everything else is utter nonsense!
However, if someone who knows Lin Tian better, such as Pelinka, whose heart is as dirty as an ink bottle, heard what Lin Tian just said, he would be able to summarize what Lin Tian wanted to express.
More money! Add more!
Thinking of Pelinka, Lin Tian immediately made a phone call; he needed to give Pelinka the inside scoop.
Only through effective communication can you extract more benefits!
Otherwise, if Pelinka immediately tells you that you need to pay more, how can they give you a bottom price?
You have to act like you're in a dilemma, in pain, wanting money but your boss doesn't want to earn it, in order to get more benefits!
After listening to Lin Tian finish speaking, Pelinka gave two reactions.
"You're truly a genius at plotting and scheming!"
as well as:
"You're a shameless bastard! You've created this persona for yourself, don't you have nightmares? Thinking back on all the lies you've told, aren't you afraid of going to hell?" (End of Chapter)