Chapter 297 Eastern Conference Finals
That afternoon, Jordan said in an interview with the media: "The Pistons had only one day to rest and adjust after the Game 5, while the Knicks had five more days of rest than the Pistons. In terms of physical fitness, the Knicks already have an advantage.

Comparing the two teams' series records last year, as well as their lineup configurations and restraint, the Knicks also have the advantage.

So in this Eastern Conference Finals series, I am more optimistic about the Knicks winning, and I will go to Madison Square Garden to watch the game."

"Michael, if the Knicks make it to the finals and face the Spurs, who do you think will win?" the reporter asked immediately.

Jordan hesitated for a moment and then said, "I'm more optimistic about the Knicks defending their title."

"Why?" the reporter asked.

Jordan said: "The reason why the Spurs are so strong is because of Tim Duncan's top-notch offense and defense, his stable performance, and his leadership.

But Wolverine is now an all-rounder in both offense and defense, with top offense and at least first-class defense, and his performance has always been very stable.

Likewise, Wolverine’s leadership ability for the team is also very strong.

The comparison of the personal abilities of these two players will be an important factor in determining who wins. I am more optimistic about Wolverine, as his personal ability should be stronger than Duncan’s.”

In the locker room of the Spurs' training facility in San Antonio, Popovich turned off the TV and said sternly to the players:

"Don't listen to him. Don't let his words distract us from the Western Conference Finals. We have to beat the SuperSonics first, and then the Finals. Do you understand?"

"clear."

Duncan and others replied.

In the evening, Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals began.

The core of the Supersonics is Ray Allen, so Popovich sent out the strongest defensive player on the outside, Bruce Bowen, to defend Ray Allen.

The two had a good relationship and were all smiling and hugging when they came on stage.

Ray Allen played the entire first quarter, making 7 of 4 shots and was in good shape.

Three minutes into the second quarter, he came back on the court, but just one minute later, he was tripped by Bowen and left the court injured. He never came back.

When He Zhongqiu saw Ray Allen injured and leaving the court, he shook hands with Bowen in a friendly manner. Is this guy an idiot?

In this game, the Spurs defeated the Supersonics 81:103, winning by 22 points and winning Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals at home.

On the 24th, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pistons flew directly from Miami to New York on the 23rd and did not return to Detroit. No training was scheduled for that day. Only a tactical meeting was held and a one-hour joint practice was arranged in the afternoon of the 24th.

In contrast, the Knicks resumed training on the 20th, with two hours of practice time every afternoon, and the whole team has gotten into the right shape.

Regarding the Eastern Conference Finals, major media outlets have given their own predictions.

ESPN believes that the Knicks have a 65% chance of advancing to the finals, while the Pistons have a 35% chance.

The reason is that the Knicks also defeated the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, with a huge advantage.

This reason is very sufficient and has been recognized by the vast majority of media.

This morning, He Zhongqiu accepted an interview with the media at his doorstep and talked about Ray Allen's injury last night.

"Bowen said it was unintentional, and the referee agreed with his reason and did not give a single foul, which is obviously wrong."

"Historically, Spurs starting small forward Bruce Bowen is a habitual offender of tripping over others and he never changes despite repeated warnings."

"I don't know whether he was instructed by the coaching staff or took the initiative to step on his opponent to ensure that he would have a chance to play in the NBA."

"But the league should not ignore the behavior of this person. He committed a malicious foul. It was his foot-tapping behavior that turned Vince Carter from a demigod into a mortal. This despicable behavior is unforgivable."

“I hereby call on the league to take severe action against this behavior.”

His words quickly spread around the world through the media. They had such an impact that they sparked public opinion in just a few hours.

With his influence, public opinion naturally leans towards his attitude, and a large number of opinions have emerged calling for the NBA to severely punish Bowen and investigate the Spurs coaching staff.

Many players who had their feet tripped by Bowen stood up. Without exception, they were all well-known stars, because Bowen tripped the opponent's key players, and role players would not trip him.

Kobe, Carter, Nash, Steve Francis, Iverson, Hamilton and others have expressed their support for He Zhongqiu's remarks, as well as condemnation and even scolding of Bowen in media interviews or on the Internet.

For example, Vince Carter, who had been blocked twice by Bowen, publicly cursed Bowen as a "bastard", and Francis was even more furious.

Ray Allen, on the other hand, has a good relationship with Bowen, and although he was stepped on once, their relationship has not broken down, so he did not stand up.

David Stern was caught off guard and immediately contacted Daley.

"Luo Sihua, communicate with Wolverine. In the future, for such matters, report to the Alliance first. We will respect his opinion."

"Also, please contact the Spurs and ask them not to do this again, otherwise the league will take severe action."

"Okay, sir, I will contact Wolverine right away. I will contact the Spurs later." Daly was also in a state of panic.

He Zhongqiu later received a call from Daley. The two had a good relationship and they talked for a while. He also promised that he would inform Daley first about such things in the future.

Daly then called the Spurs and reached out directly to Popovich.

Popovich said: "Mr. Daly, I promise this was just an accident, not intentional, and has nothing to do with the coaching staff. Wolverine is slandering us and Bruce."

Daley said seriously: "Mr. Popovich, please don't treat us as fools. This is very rude.

This is not the first time that Bowen has tripped someone. He has also tripped Vince Carter, Kobe, Nash, and many others. Do you want me to name them one by one?

If that's your attitude, I'm going to end the call and the Spurs and Bowen will face the most severe punishment."

Popovich was silent for a moment, then said, "Mr. Daly, in an intense game, it is difficult for us to guarantee that there will be no accidents. No one can guarantee that, not even Wolverine can guarantee that he will not hurt his opponent."

Daley frowned and said, "But you have too many accidents, and they often happen to the opponent's core players.

So Mr. Popovich, don't treat us like fools. If you insist on doing so, then our communication ends here."

Popovich cursed inwardly and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Daly, I will have a good talk with Bruce."

"hope so."

Daly hung up after saying that.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the NBA imposed additional punishment on Bruce Bowen, suspending him for one game and fining him $10,000.

"Fuck! Damn Wolverine, what does this have to do with you?" Popovich cursed angrily after the league's notice was issued.

Bowen is the Spurs' strongest defensive force on the perimeter, and he often defends the opponent's core perimeter offensive players. Without him, the Spurs' perimeter defense will be much weaker.

In the evening, Madison Square Garden is star-studded.

Jordan arrived at the scene and sat in the front row arranged by the league. Next to him were some Hollywood A-list stars.

The Knicks' wives and girlfriends have basically arrived, except for He Zhongqiu, whose family is not here, and Yang Xue cannot spare the time.

In the locker room, the camera was focused on the wives and girlfriends and those female stars.

He Zhongqiu saw Ma Long staring at the beauty on TV, and couldn't help but think of some rumors, and asked curiously:
"Doctor, are your wife and children here?"

"Which ones?" Peyton interrupted.

"Haha..." The locker room burst into laughter.

The postman's face turned red, but he couldn't get angry. He had some tricks and had more than one illegitimate son or daughter.

He Zhongqiu asked curiously, "Doctor, I heard that during the playoffs last year, you provoked Kobe's wife, and then he stopped passing the ball to you. Is that true?"

"Ha ha……"

The locker room burst into laughter again.

The postman said angrily, "No, I was just joking."

He Zhongqiu said with a look of disgust: "I said you are a scumbag and a bad guy just like me. It seems I was wrong. You are an even bigger scumbag than me. You actually set your sights on your teammate's wife."

"Wolverine, don't accuse me. There is no such thing. It was just a joke." The postman said anxiously.

He Zhongqiu waved to the others and shouted, "Everyone, keep a close eye on your wives and be careful of this scumbag."

Gary Payton had collapsed on the floor laughing, as if he was having a convulsion.

The postman was completely speechless, feeling that his reputation for life had been ruined by Wolverine.

He Zhongqiu patted the postman's bald head and scratched it, as if testing the hardness of his head, which made the postman feel a little nervous.

He said earnestly: "Doctor, you should be a decent person in the future. There is really no future in being a scumbag. Look at me, I have turned over a new leaf."

"Champion, for you, I have thrown away all my dignity. Twenty years of reputation have been ruined in one day." The postman stared at the ceiling, unable to cry.

At eight o'clock, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Detroit Pistons: Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Prince, Hamilton, Billups

Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Karl Malone, Shane Battier, Josh Howard, Nash
The substitute players came out to warm up and the two head coaches shook hands on the sidelines.

No, it was Rick Carlisle, who won the best head coach award for two consecutive years, who took the initiative to walk to the Pistons bench and extended his hand to Larry Brown.

"Click, click..." Two reporters were taking pictures nearby.

As the flash lights flashed, Larry Brown's eyes were dazzled. No, they were dazzled by the championship ring on Rick Carlisle's outstretched right hand.

Rick Carlisle smiled and said politely: "Coach Brown, last year in the Eastern Conference Finals, we won 4-1. This year I hope to go one step further."

"Insanity!"

Larry Brown was so angry that he shouted coldly, "Young man, you are too arrogant!"

Rick Carlisle smiled very calmly, not caring about Larry Brown's anger, loosened his right hand, and turned to the Knicks bench.

Arrogant? No, he just wanted to use this sentence to anger Larry Brown and make his opponent make a mistake.

"Larry, calm down, he's goading you."

Pistons general manager Joe Dumars walked over to Larry Brown and reminded him.

"I know."

Larry Brown took a deep breath and nodded.

Even if he knew, he was still very angry. This was the greatest humiliation he had ever received in his life, humiliation from a young man.

In the player tunnel, the starting lineups of both teams were lined up in front and back, with the visiting team in front.

The Pistons' big five are as steady as a mountain. After two seasons of trials and tribulations, the five of them have truly become a whole.

He Zhongqiu came up from behind alone, walked to the side of the Pistons Five Tigers, and looked at them.

Now, under his pressure, the usually calm and steady Pistons became a little restless.

"That's all. My full power isn't out yet." He smiled complacently.

"Wolverine, what are you looking at?" Ben Wallace asked.

"What's the matter? Can't you see it? I'm not looking at your wives. Do you think I'm the scumbag postman?" He Zhongqiu said.

Ben Wallace and others looked at each other, not knowing what Wolverine meant.

"Ha ha……"

Josh Howard couldn't help but burst out laughing, and Battier and Nash couldn't help but laugh as well.

With Wolverine around, they are not afraid of the postman causing trouble for them. If the postman dares to cause trouble for them, he will be beaten to death by Wolverine.

The postman's face turned black, Wolverine, you bastard!

The game starts at half past eight.

He Zhongqiu and Ben Wallace jumped the ball and easily took the lead.

As his explosive power reaches level 100, not only is his speed faster, but his jumping ability is also further enhanced.

However, he is too lazy to do formal physical tests, but his vertical jump should be able to reach 100 cm, and his assist jump should be 115 cm without any problem.

As for his current physical fitness, apart from speed, he has not really shown his strength, jumping ability, explosive power, etc. in the game.

How to put it, unless it is O'Neal in his prime, there is no inside player in the league who is qualified to let him give his best.

Even Duncan has great basic skills, and is strong in technical and psychological qualities, as well as basketball IQ and leadership. However, in terms of physical fitness, we are far behind him now.

At this time he came to two meters outside the left waist position, and Rasheed Wallace was responsible for marking him.

"Man-to-man defense, Larry Brown didn't play zone defense." Yu Jia said quickly.

Nash passed the ball to Battier on the left three-point line, and Battier immediately passed the ball to He Zhongqiu below.

At this time, Prince, who was guarding Battier, quickly turned around and double-teamed He Zhongqiu, who was two meters below.

It was only two meters away. He turned around and took a step, and his hand reached out to He Zhongqiu. At this time, the basketball just touched He Zhongqiu's right hand.

He Zhongqiu used his left elbow to push Rasheed Wallace, and the moment he received the ball with his right hand, he pushed it forward and the basketball flew backwards like a meteor.

Prince reacted very quickly as well. He immediately turned around to defend Battier, took another step forward, and leaped up to meet Battier who was catching the ball and jumping for a shot.

But he was fooled.

After receiving the ball, Battier calmly made a fake stand-up motion. When he shook off Prince, he immediately dribbled one step to the left, then stood up again and took a three-point shot.

"brush!"

A splash appeared and a three-pointer was made.

"Clap clap clap..."

Madison Square Garden immediately erupted in warm applause.

"Beautiful! Prince's double-teaming and defense were done to perfection, showing the skills and awareness of a first-class defender, but Battier was very calm." Yu Jia praised.

Zhang Heli said with a smile: "The two teams are too familiar with each other, from the regular season to the playoffs, the tactics of the other side are very clear, and now it's a competition of on-the-spot performance.

On-the-spot performance is related to the psychological quality of the players, the home advantage, the on-the-spot command ability of the head coach, and the leadership of the core players of the team. These are all very important. "

(End of this chapter)