Capítulo 1462: Chapter 458: When Everything Nears Its End
The largest coback in NBA Finals history still occurred in 2008.
Only now Kevin Garnett switched from the side creating the coback to the one being overturned.
Tonight, there was nothing like Tracy McGrady’s miraculous 13 points in 35 seconds, nor Roger’s consecutive scoring in the final monts against the Knicks 14 years ago.
The Golden State Warriors’ coback didn’t feel spectacular and lacked much drama.
It was just a group of n, continuously winning for four years, still thirsting for victory, led by a brave leader, persisting until the end, everything happening naturally.
But this outco is more despairing than a sudden outburst by a star player because such explosions have randomness. The Warriors’ coback proved that their hard strength was enough to handle the New York Knicks, regardless of falling behind by “a bit” at the start.
Facing such a reversal, the entire Knicks team was very dejected.
Yao Ming, speaking to a CCTV reporter, looked helpless, rarely without a smile: “I really hope those New York fans who turned off the TV early don’t watch the news; we were once so close to victory, but now it’s out of reach.”
Dwyane Wade heaved a long sigh: “This is just Roger. If it were any other team’s doing, I would’ve torn down the Oracle Arena locker room.”
Kevin Garnett wore a hood and refused to answer any questions.
Equally silent was Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni.
Of course, he knew where the Knicks’ pain points were, understanding why the team lost energy in the third and fourth quarters. But the reason he kept using a short rotation wasn’t that he enjoyed cosplaying a farr but because the Knicks’ bench depth wasn’t enough to maintain tactical execution; only one or two people on the bench could play effectively at Finals level.
Over the years, the Knicks have failed to solve their top-heavy roster issue. They have a brilliant starting lineup, which ans they can only sign role players with mid-level and minimum salaries, a problem every super team faces.
LeBron Jas, discussing his 2011 defeats in the original tiline, ntioned this point, believing that the Heat didn’t have enough outstanding role players, thus not counting as a super team, making losses understandable.
If he had 11 other MVP-level teammates, Jas wouldn’t lose.
In the absence of enough role players, Tom Thibodeau, who prefers to overwork starters, could not help Mike D’Antoni with rotation strategy.
Whenever Mike D’Antoni wanted to discuss such matters, Tom Thibodeau would wave dismissively: “Since it’s so troubleso, why don’t we let the starters play all 48 minutes?”
Mike D’Antoni was speechless at this.
So, the Knicks’ problem is really tough to solve.
Mike D’Antoni had nothing to say about the loss; he could only answer questions with a repeated phrase: “The series isn’t over, the series isn’t over.”
However, this kind of statent clearly could not satisfy the picky New York dia.
The New York Tis even pulled out the retired Lenny Wilkens to criticize: “In the past five years, Lenny has said ‘the series isn’t over’ fifteen tis. Each ti he said that, we ended up losing. With the Knicks blowing a 23-point lead, we cannot imagine any chance of winning. Spike Lee is right; Roger killed all suspense in basketball gas. As long as Roger doesn’t retire, New York teams won’t win a championship, and New York Giants fans will surely agree.”
Besides the New York dia, the Nike team was also very upset.
Because this ga reminded people of LBJ, countless fans expressed their views online: “Look at Roger’s performance in this ga; this is why LeBron will never succeed.”
The calm and courage Roger displayed when facing a 23-point deficit was precisely what LeBron Jas lacked; he is soone who becos clueless in adverse situations.
In fact, Bill Simmons discovered an issue: the six Champion Creeds he summarized for Roger seed unavailable in LBJ.
Other star players might have one or two that fit, but only LBJ had none.
He suddenly had the inspiration to add this segnt at the end of Roger’s autobiography, telling the world why LeBron Jas is destined to fail.
This massive coback gave a resurgence to the already-eliminated Jas and dealt a severe blow to the Knicks’ morale, damaging part of the ga’s suspense, leading to a new hot topic: will the next ga be Roger’s last at Oracle Arena in his career?
As the greatest basketball player of the past 15 years, Roger’s fa earned him enough respect this season. When he officially announced mid-season that he would retire after this season, most of the arenas he visited for the last ti prepared so special tribute ceremonies for him.
This ti, it seed it was Oracle Arena’s turn.
Although it’s still uncertain how many gas the Finals will have, Bay Area fans and the Russian owner have to be well-prepared.
All this can’t be done like Kobe Bryant’s last performance at Staples Center’s grand occasion because, after all, this is the Finals, not the final act of a retirent tour. If it turns out too grandiose and ends up losing the ga, even losing the Finals, it will all beco a farce.
Reviews
All reviews (0)