Chapter 70: Strong and weak

Before logging in to NBA, Jiang Jun has already experienced the cruelty of "success, success, defeat, bandit" in professional sports.

In the NBA in the United States, people only have the championship, but no runner-up. It is said that among the 30 teams, winning the second place, or even the third place, and the top eight are very rare, but for this league, not winning the championship is actually a failure.

Many players are extremely powerful and have been nailed to the pillar of shame in history because they have never won a championship. No matter how long it is, they are difficult to be proud.

In the past, Karl Malone and John Stockton of the Utah Jazz were a golden combination, which was terrifying. Unfortunately, they were born at the wrong time and were in the same age as Jordan. They were completely useless until they retired. It was a tragedy. In addition, there were Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, Allen Averson, and later Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Yao Ming, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, etc., which can be said to be the leader in many games. Unfortunately, in the long season, because they were unable to laugh to the end, they were unable to convince the crowd in many rankings.

Especially those superstars who had to retire in disgrace in the end, their experiences are indeed regrettable.

On the other hand, those players who are very lucky will immediately be honored and boast for a lifetime if they win the championship ring, even if they are a little worse than other players.

Like Olajuwon, before he won the championship, people thought he was an excellent big man, but when he led the team to win the championship twice in the finals in 1994 and 1995, he also became a MVP Lianzhuang in the two finals, and his historical status was greatly improved.

In addition, people like David Robinson, Kevin Garnett, Dwayne Wade, etc. are always low-key before winning the championship, and once they win the championship, they will be superstars that are like fake ones to change.

What's even more ridiculous is that in 2008, after Paul Pierce won the championship with the joint efforts of the three giants and won the MVP in the finals, the guy immediately said that he was the "best basketball player in the universe". Although others knew that he was worse than Kobe and James in all aspects, and even worse than McGrady, Carter and others before, but they had no choice but to stare at him.

"A general's success is so strong that he has been undone! If you want to reach the top of the NBA, you must step on others. This is also an iron rule!" Jiang Jun couldn't help but sigh.

At this moment, Jiang Jun heard the sound of his mobile phone "playing cotton" again, and quickly took out the phone to answer the call. It turned out to be He Mike.

"Jiang, my uncle is going to return to China tomorrow. Do you have time to sit together tonight?" He Mike asked in his still stiff Chinese dialect.

After hesitating for a while, Jiang Jun agreed to He Mike's invitation.

Jiang Jun originally wanted to ask Zhao Bingru to have some in-depth exchanges, but now, the matter of NBA is also very urgent. After all, many young players who run for NBA are busy trying out for various teams or participating in training camps organized by NBA, striving to add points to the draft. So far, Jiang Jun has not had an accurate response.

Although Jiang Jun is absolutely confident in his strength, it is fake to say that he is not in a hurry. After all, he wants to realize his dream. The Bobcats, John Harris, may be his own opportunity. As long as he can enter the NBA, Jiang Jun will have the confidence to overwhelm the heroes.

So, Jiang Jun called his girlfriend Zhao Bingru. Zhao Bingru was a little reluctant, but she thought that she was already exhausted at noon and was afraid that she would not be able to fight continuously at night. In addition, for the sake of her lover's future, she agreed to let Jiang Jun go there.

After a while, Jiang Jun received another call from his fourth brother, saying that he had sent his younger brother to stare at Wen Xianqi and found that Wen Xianqi and two other people had already taken the plane back to Guangdong that day.

Jiang Jun had already expected this. However, he still claimed thanks to the fourth brother. The fourth brother said a few words of modesty before hung up the phone happily.

At 5:30 pm, He Mike drove a Buick business car to the school gate and took Jiang Jun to the Ningdu Hotel.

Since poor John Harris took a taxi twice, he has never wanted to suffer anymore. It doesn’t matter if the grade is low, the key is that the space is too small and he feels frustrated when he is sitting. So He Mike then rented a business car and took his uncle to play around.

He is about to return to China, and Old John feels it necessary to talk to Jiang Jun.

For him, he felt that Jiang Jun was very worthy of signing, but unfortunately he didn't have the final say in the team, so he could only provide some reference opinions.

The three of them found a small private room in the restaurant to sit down. Old John and Jiang Jun each asked for a bottle of half a pound of Beijing Erguotou. He Mike wanted to drive and didn't dare to drink, so he ordered a latte.

According to Old John's habit, he wanted to drink whiskey, but he followed the customs. Since he arrived in China, he wanted to drink some authentic 56-degree Erguotou on a whim.

The three of them sometimes spoke English, sometimes Chinese, and sometimes translated by He Mike, chatting while drinking and having a lot of fun.

"Jiang, what do you think of this final?" Old John asked.

"Well, it's not bad, it should be said that it's very close. The result of the game is very difficult to guess." Jiang Jun nodded.

The most attractive thing about this year's finals is that there is no absolute popularity. The strength of the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers is very close, which is definitely a blessing for fans.

In fact, in the past 20 years, only the suspense of the 1993-94 season and 2004-05 season is comparable to this year, and both finals have been delayed to the tiebreak final. The Lakers and Celtics did not go well in the regular season this year, but they finally overcome all obstacles and come to this day. They are facing common problems and pressure.

At the same time, both teams adjusted their form to the top in the second round, the Lakers swept the Jazz, and the Celtics eliminated the arrogant Royals. They had some trouble leading 2-0 in the division final, but Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant, the two most comprehensive scorers in the league, escorted the team to advance with practical actions. As Kobe said: "The playoffs are another battlefield. You have to try to get better every game, and the team must improve after each series. Last year we played better and better, beating the Nuggets helped us fully reach the next level."

Kobe still remembers how Kevin Garnett locked Paul Gasol two years ago and how Rajon Rondo easily passed Derek Fisher. He currently has 4 championship rings. If he wins this year, it means that he will surpass Shaquille O'Neal and is only a short distance from Michael Jordan. Among the active superstars, only Tim Duncan and O'Neal have won four times, and Kobe is worthy of one of the greatest players in history to win the championship.

Of course, the Celtics are also eager to write history. They have won 17 championships, and the Celtics have won at least two championships in the era of Russel Cuthy Heinthorne Havercheck, Coins, or Bird McHaleparish. Pierce has played for Boston for 12 years and he certainly hopes to repeat the feat of winning the previous year and prove that he is not inferior to any superstar in team history.

From last year's Western Conference Finals to this year's Western Conference Finals, the Lakers have ended the series away five times in a row. This is not easy. This reflects the Lakers' strong strength, rich experience, and strong anti-pressure and anti-interference ability. At the same time, it also reflects that the Lakers have not met a real opponent in almost two full years of playoffs.

But now, the real opponent is here, and the team with ability and confidence that beatla has appeared. Of course, this team is the Celtics. The last time they met them in the playoffs, the Lakers lost 39 points.

However, in Jiang Jun's opinion, the Lakers are more likely to win this year. The reason is very simple, that is, the Celtics are two years older, their health is incomparable to two years ago, and their spirits are not as good as before. At that time, the Big Three were holding their breath to win the championship, but now their long-cherished wish has come true, and they no longer have the energy to win the championship.

Compared with two years ago, the Lakers have become stronger now. Two years ago, they did not have Bynum, and Gasol was completely suppressed by Garnett in the interior; they did not have Artest, and Pierce had almost no solution. Their main small forward at the time was Radmanovic, who averaged only 73 points per game.

Even compared with the championship team last year, the Lakers seem to be improving: Kobe scored 30+ in 10 games in the past 11 playoffs; Gasol is the most outstanding and stable inside player in the entire playoffs; Atai's strength, impact and one-on-one defensive ability are not comparable to Ariza; even Fisher averaged 116 points in the Western Conference semi-finals and finals... "The Lakers have made too much progress. Looking at the previous rounds of games, they should be stronger." Jiang Jun analyzed.

John Harris shook his head and said, "No, no! Just like you can't judge Rashid Wallace in the regular season, you can't judge the Lakers just by using the playoffs in the Western Conference. Only the Finals with the Celtics can the Lakers be tested - as the Los Angeles media said, if this Lakers want to prove their greatness, they must pass the test of the Celtics."

Before this year, the Lakers reached the Finals 30 times, 10 more times than the Celtics, but their championship was two fewer than the Celtics. They and the Celtics had a total of 11 encounters in the Finals, nine of which were defeated by their opponents. Almost every time they fought with the Celtics in the Finals, the Lakers had a more dazzling star and a more gorgeous lineup, but the Celtics had a more iron-blooded style of play, a firmer fighting spirit, and more victory and trophy.
Chapter completed!