But this ti, it shouldn’t be considered a "fluke," right?
In about a week’s ti, the other three teams that had advanced to the division finals in the East and West were determined:
The Lakers once again defeated the Jazz Team with a large score of 4-1, entering the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive year.
Originally, the Jazz Team was Yao Ming’s bane.
But this ti, Yao turned into the Jazz Team’s bane instead.
The battle between the Mavericks and the Hornets concluded with the Mavericks, like the Eastern Pacers, once again "overcoming the strong with the weak" and snatching the other Western Conference Finals slot.
The final Western Conference Finals matchup was set:
Lakers vs. Mavericks!
Before this matchup began, Kobe lifted the regular season MVP trophy at Staples Center.
The outside world wasn’t surprised by this outco.
With the Pacers facing an injury crisis and sudden collapses due to trades, the only player who could have threatened Kobe for the regular season MVP was gone.
Kobe smoothly took ho the regular season MVP award, the highest individual honor.
Among the chants of "MVP" filling the stadium, Kobe’s "Snake Eyes" glinted sharply.
He was very clear that this season’s haul for him wasn’t limited to just the regular season MVP trophy.
Then the Lakers smoothly took down the Mavericks, leading the series 1-0.
After the outco of the first Western Conference Finals ga, the Pacers—who had eliminated the Pistons 4-1—waited for their ultimate Eastern Conference Finals opponent:
Boston Celtics!
They went the full seven gas again, finally overcoming the Orlando Magic Team.
Kevin Garnett had the last laugh in his duel with Howard.
Especially in the seventh ga of the series, Garnett’s five blocks, each a "match-winning strike" that determined the direction of the ga, perfectly illustrated how a "Defensive Player of the Year" could change the course of a ga.
Howard’s defensive capabilities were considered decent, but set against Kevin Garnett, he seed incredibly green.
Experience still counts!
After the ga, Kevin Garnett purposefully hugged Howard, offered a lot of encouragent, and told him to keep working hard, that the future was his.
In offering life advice to juniors, Kevin Garnett had always been at the forefront of the league...
Even though they only had one day’s rest before the Eastern Conference Finals,
Since their last ga against the Magic Team was played in Boston, the first ga of the Eastern Conference Finals was also starting in Boston. Without the need for a grueling journey, their physical fitness wasn’t too burdened.
But for Celtics head coach Rivers, what he valued wasn’t physical fitness.
Before the first ga of the Eastern Conference Finals started, he repeatedly emphasized in the locker room, "As long as we don’t trash talk ’Su Wan,’ we won’t have any problems in this series. Everyone, keep your mouth shut. If you want to mock them, there will be plenty of ti after the ga is over..."
He cast a particular glance at Paul Pierce.
The reason he emphasized it so many tis was that Rivers didn’t trust this guy!
Yet, even as Rivers stressed it repeatedly, Paul Pierce maintained an indifferent deanor.
He had dared to challenge Michael Jordan, much less Su Wan, a rookie who had entered the league in ’04—never mind that after he had taunted Jordan, he was soundly put in his place; the question was whether he had taunted!
In fact, even though Su Wan had led his team to "three consecutive championships," there was still a part of the league’s superstars who were unconvinced.
First and foremost was LeBron Jas.
More than once, he had felt that if he had Su Wan’s teammates, he too could have achieved "three consecutive championships."
And then...
Paul Pierce thought the sa.
But previously, he didn’t have strong teammates and the Boston Celtics were weak; he wasn’t the sort of person to mock knowing he would lose and make a fool of himself.
He could do that with Jordan because, after all, that was Jordan.
But he wouldn’t do that to Su Wan.
Even if Su had accomplished sothing Jordan hadn’t, he was still just a "rookie."
If Su made him eat his words, Pierce would feel embarrassed.
But this had always been his belief!
Now with the additions of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, his inner thoughts had been confird:
Indeed, with good teammates, he too could lead his team to the top of the Eastern Conference and aim for the championship.
He had been longing to mock Su Wan.
Now hearing Rivers’s warning, clearly directed at him, it only sparked his defiant nature.
He would prove that with the Celtics having Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, even if he did mock Su Wan, it wouldn’t be a big deal!
They could still defeat Su Wan!
As they walked out of the locker room, the entire Pacers team entered the ancient North Shore Garden arena, looking up at the dense array of championship banners—this was the heritage of this city.
But the real concern...
Su turned his gaze toward the court in front of them and repeated to everyone, "Try not to drive towards that area. If you’re forced into that corner, pass the ball quickly to a teammate. They’ve manipulated that section, the ball bounces lower there compared to other areas. They’ve also tampered with the hoop, take more shots during warm-ups to adjust..."
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