Chapter 398 397. Becoming a positive character?

The series ended with the Celtics once again in the limelight.

The Celtics were slaughtered by 52 points, and the entire basketball world was filled with an atmosphere of celebration.

The yellow-green battle lasted almost throughout the 80s, and fans of other teams had long been fed up with these two teams.

Moreover, unlike the original development process, due to the joining of Zhang Yang, on this timeline, the number of championships of the Celtics in the 80s did not lag behind that of the Lakers. Both teams won 4 championships. The Lakers won 80 championships in 82, 85, 88 and 4, and the Celtics won 81 championships in 84, 86, 87 and 4. In fact, the Celtics were even more popular than the Lakers, and they successfully defended the title once.

Add to that Bird's mouth that offended all his opponents, his three consecutive MVPs, and the terrifying 3 championships in 13 years in the 11s and s, which were only a dozen years ago, and the extremely arrogant OK combination has not yet appeared... For now, the Celtics are less liked by fans of other teams than the Lakers.

The gossip about Zhang Yang and the Celtics made the fans of other teams really enjoy it and have a blast!

As for Zhang Yang, the Knicks arranged a plane to bring the entire team back to New York overnight, fearing that something might happen to them in Boston.

The management guessed that they would most likely advance 4-0. The gap in strength was already quite large, and yet they played so hard.

But no one expected that the score difference would be 52 points in the last game. In last year's finals, the Lakers' Magic Johnson was injured due to training, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was trained to retirement, and they were swept 4-0 by the Pistons, but they were not as miserable as the Celtics.

A 50+ point difference hasn't appeared in more than ten years. The last time a 50+ point difference appeared was in the 72-73 season, when the Lakers beat the Warriors by 126 points with a score of 70 to 56.

The biggest score difference in the past 10 years was in the 86 playoffs, when the Lakers beat the Spurs by 135 points with a score of 88 to 47. On that occasion, the Lakers also flew back to Los Angeles overnight.

The fans in San Antonio are not as exaggerated as those in Boston, but the fans in Dallas are crazy. At that time, the Mavericks had just been established, and Dallas basketball fans did not have much identification with the Mavericks. They all supported the Spurs and Rockets, which had been established for many years. To be precise, the Mavericks did not start to win the support of local fans until the 21st century. Cuban bought the Mavericks and spent a lot of money to win the support.

Boston and Dallas, the fans in these two places are not to be trifled with, so it’s better to stay away from them.

However, even though they fled back to New York on a plane overnight, the Knicks players were still very excited. They accidentally created the biggest score difference in more than a decade. As the winning side, it couldn't be more glorious.

I thought this series was Zhang Yang's personal show, but in the end there were highlights for everyone!
After returning to New York and resting for two nights, the Knicks resumed training on May 5, maintaining individual training and regular technical and tactical training. As for Zhang Yang's follow-up three-pointer and elevator door tactics, they have become very proficient in them after playing a few games. Those two moves are very powerful and easy to use, but it is not difficult for the cooperating players to execute them. The difficulty lies in whether the main attacking point has such ability.

On the first training day after a round of series, Zhang Yang once again felt the change in the attitude of his teammates. Before, they just took the initiative to talk to him more, but this time, Vandeweghe and Maurice Cheeks, two former big-name players, invited him to go to a nightclub after the training.

Zhang Yang also wanted to experience the style of the 90s, but not tonight. He declined the invitation and said he would treat them tomorrow.

Vandeweghe asked curiously, "Do you have a date tonight? As I recall, you only took female companions to hotels and never had long-term relationships."

It turns out that Zhang San here is also like this... Zhang Yang shook his head and replied: "No, there is a live broadcast I want to watch tonight!"

Vandeweghe thought about it and suddenly realized: "Jordan's game, no wonder, then let's go tomorrow, but I'll still treat you..."

After Vandeweghe and Maurice Cheeks said goodbye to Zhang Yang, they made an appointment to go to a nightclub. Going tomorrow doesn't mean they won't go today, as the Eastern Conference Finals are still several days away.

The game between the Pistons and the Bulls was very tense. Both teams defended their first two home courts. Next, the decisive battle will be played at the Pistons' home court. At least 6 games will be played, and the winner will be decided on the 10th at the earliest. Moreover, it is still unclear whether the winner can be decided in 6 games. This is why the Knicks are only conducting basic training today and the next two days.

After the two veterans left, Zhang Yang took his little follower, Mark Jackson from the 87 class, to practice back-to-the-basket shooting together.

His post-up play is no worse than Mark Jackson's, but their styles are completely different. He follows the rhythm flow, while Mark Jackson follows the tank flow. You may not be able to use what you learn, but you can learn from the differences in the way they handle the ball when posting up.

Also, he is not as good as Mark Jackson in back-to-back play now, but what if he improves in strength in a few years? It is always good to learn one more trick.

After training for half an hour, Mark Jackson waved his hand and said, "Boss, I'm not coming. I have to train tomorrow. I don't have the strong recovery ability like you."

Being called the boss... I've been here for several days and have heard it many times, but it still feels wonderful. He responded: "Then I will practice for a while longer, you go back first."

Mark Jackson: "Okay... but I have a question."

Zhang Yang: "What's the problem?"

Mark Jackson wondered, "Why does it seem like the pressure has increased since you left the Celtics?"

Zhang Yang: "Why else? I think I didn't play well enough."

Mark Jackson: "Huh? You didn't play well enough? You scored 65 points in a single game!"

Zhang Yang: "Yes, I scored 65 points in one game and 41 points in another, but I only averaged 37.5 points in the entire series. If it was Jordan, he would have averaged 40 points at least, 45+ is possible. Seeing the gap, I feel a little unwilling."

Mark Jackson opened his mouth and vomited a lot of curses, not knowing how to spit them out.

Who can I compare with? Compared with that monster?
However, he is about the same age as Jordan, was on the first team, and was second on the scoring list when leading the team alone. Who else can he compare himself with if not Jordan?

After thinking for a while, Mark Jackson said, "You are the champion, much better than him."

Zhang Yang shook his head: "That championship doesn't count."

Mark Jackson: “Not counting?”

Zhang Yang looked down at Mark Jackson and said, "Now the championship belongs to the Celtics. I don't want to mention that championship. When we win the championship, it will belong to me."

The future man who got picked: Fuck you! Is he that cruel? He really wants to beat his old boss to death! Fortunately, I recognized the boss early!
Mark Jackson: "Oh, boss, I have another question." Zhang San: This guy talks a lot, even more than me. No wonder he can become a commentator and NBA head coach in the future. He can chat with anyone in the team, including the head coach, for a long time...

He responded, "What's the problem?"

Mark Jackson: "Who do you want to win, the Pistons or the Bulls?"

Zhang Yang: "If I have a choice, I hope to play the Celtics in the first round, the Bulls in the second round, and the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals."

Mark Jackson: "...Boss, you are worthy of it!"

In the evening, Zhang Yang went home and watched the live broadcast of the game between the Pistons and the Bulls. The Pistons once again held their home court and took a 3-2 lead.

After watching the game, Zhang Yang had only one feeling - Jordan is so damn strong!
The Pistons had an obvious advantage in overall strength, and you could feel the suppression very intuitively when watching the live broadcast. However, Jordan relied on his personal ability to keep the Bulls' hope of a comeback and kept them looking for opportunities to counterattack.

However, Joe Dumars, the FMVP of the 88-89 season who was in the same class as Zhang Yang, has entered his prime and is extremely stable. Isaiah Thomas also performed well in the tense stage tonight. Jordan led the team to keep the hope of a comeback until the end, but failed to complete the comeback like he did in G3 and G4.

Why do we say that the Bulls' hope is purely due to Jordan's personal ability? Because Pippen, the second-highest scorer on the Bulls, only hit 42% of the time, averaging 5 points and 16 assists in 3.7 games; Horace Grant, the third-highest scorer, averaged 11 points and 11 rebounds per game, and as a power forward, his hit rate was as low as 40%.

In the regular season, Pippen had a shooting percentage of 48.9% and an average of 5.8 assists per game, while Horace Grant had a shooting percentage of 52.3%. When the two played against the Pistons, their performance was really bad.

The Bulls' record of 2 wins and 3 losses was really due to Jordan's personal ability. The Pistons' defense could no longer limit him. He averaged 5 points, 33 rebounds, and 7 assists in 7 games, with a shooting percentage of 48%, which was extremely strong!
...

时间来到5月13号，活塞队在抢七大战中以94比73击溃公牛队，大比分4比3晋级东决，第二轮比赛全部结束。

Jordan played well again in Game 6, scoring 35 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, dragging the series into a Game 30. However, he couldn't hold on in the Game 10. He made only 20 of shots and missed of them. He couldn't make any C shots, and the Bulls were finished.

After watching the live broadcast, Zhang Yang estimated that next season Phil Jackson would most likely completely abandon the offensive system left by Doug Collins and implement the triangle offense with Winter.

Doug Collins' system was very helpful for Jordan's growth and maximizing his personal abilities, but Jordan became the bottom line player. Not only was he tired, but once the C didn't move, the Bulls were doomed.

In the future, Grant Hill also grew rapidly under Doug Collins. He was able to lead the team to 54 wins in his third year and averaged 21+9+7 per game. But Hill was not so durable. He stopped being the center in the sixth year of his career. He fell in the playoffs in the 6-99 season and finally left for the Magic, experiencing a miserable 00 years.

Doug Collins is a great coach when it comes to developing players, but his coaching style is no longer suitable once the players have reached their peak.

Zhang Yang felt a little regretful that he couldn't fight again with 80 Dan who had unleashed his personal abilities to the extreme.

However, he was also very excited to play against the Bad Boys, who were at their peak. He remembered that after entering the 90s, the Bad Boys were about to disappear. First, the Assassin's injury recurred, greatly reducing his strength. Later, Rodman left and Laimbeer retired...

In the West, the Lakers and Spurs advanced to the finals!

This seems to be different from what Zhang Yang remembered. The reason why he expected the Lakers to stand up was because he remembered that the team that played against the Pistons in the finals this year was the Trail Blazers.

After seeing the Trail Blazers being beaten by the Spurs, he went to find out the situation and found out that the Trail Blazers' inside line was beaten by the Admiral!

Only then did he remember that the center of that Trail Blazers team seemed to be Buck Williams. After Buck Williams' contract with the Nets expired, he fled that team that had been in a slump and joined the Trail Blazers team that had just been bought by Paul Allen. The wealthy Paul Allen recruited a lot of players and led the Trail Blazers to the finals.

Here, Buck Williams was snatched away by the Cardinals first, and the center that Paul Allen spent money on was Sam Perkins, a shooting center who was only 206 cm tall and had a soft style of play. He was beaten by David Robinson in 5 games and averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks per game.

Glider Drexler was also beaten by Spurs forward superstar Terry Cummings, and the Trail Blazers lost to the Spurs 1-4.

The rookie admiral meets the experienced magician. Zhang Yang feels that the Lakers have a chance to make it to the finals!
However...if you want to defeat the Demon Bird, you must first overcome the huge mountain of the Bad Boys Legion.

The Bad Boys have only been at their peak for three years, and this year is the last year!
The opponent was finally determined, and on the 14th and 15th, two days of preparation before the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks began targeted training.

The training content is simple - executing tactics and shooting in high-intensity confrontations.

Apart from training, Zhang Yang saw on TV and in the newspaper that the Eastern Conference Finals was much more popular than the Western Conference Finals.

Public opinion also believes that the Lakers have a high probability of reaching the finals for the fourth consecutive time. They lack too much playoff experience. The Spurs were able to beat the Trail Blazers because the Trail Blazers' inside line was too weak, allowing the Admirals to take off, and the other reason was that the Gliders' performance in this series was too poor.

In the Eastern Conference, the suspense was much greater. In the regular season, the two teams played against each other, the Knicks won 3 games and the Pistons won 60 games. The record was basically the same, the Knicks had 59 wins and the Pistons had 3 wins. In the playoffs, the Knicks swept and advanced, and the Pistons had an easy first round. Although the second round went to a game seven, they took the initiative throughout the whole process. The three games that the Bulls won were all due to Jordan's personal outbursts.

The grievances between Zhang Yang and the Pistons, and the mutual dislike between him and Laimbeer but their mutual respect for each other are also topics that fans love to talk about.

However, when Zhang Yang watched the news this time, he found that the media reported in very different ways.

The Knicks have become the positive characters!

When they played the Celtics before, except for the Boston media, other media also overwhelmingly supported them.

That kind of support just hopes that they can beat the Celtics. The bigger the point difference, the better, and the higher Zhang San's score, the better. It is mainly aimed at the Celtics.

There are two groups of people who support them. One group wants to watch the excitement of the feud between him and the Celtics, and the other group is simply annoyed by the Celtics who have won 30 championships in the past 17 years.

But this time it's different, the Knicks are put in the positive role of "eliminating harm for the people"!
Zhang Yang was not surprised by this. The Lakers and Celtics were annoying, and the Pistons were hated! There was no team whose star player had not been bullied by the Pistons!
(End of this chapter)