Chapter 293 The atmosphere of freedom (fifth update)

Milicic personally experienced the 2005 brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills that went down in history.

When he was just 20 years old, he was at a loss in the chaos and didn't know what to do.

Go up there and fight with Pacers players? Why? He didn't get a minute of playing time.

To rescue the fans who were being beaten? Milicic doesn't have much affection for Detroit fans.

Although they welcomed themselves initially, who would have liked the players on the bench all the time.

Moreover, the subsequent investigation showed that some fans were not innocent. The fan who threw a water bottle and blew up Artest was eventually found by the police and sent to court, where he was sentenced to 30 days in prison.

Another fan who threw a chair was also punished by law.

After that big brawl, the Pistons were still intact and went on to reach the Finals that year.

The Pacers, who originally had the potential to win the championship, disintegrated because of this. Artest "betrayed" the team, causing the Pacers to lose their chance to win the championship.

Now, Artest has won his own championship ring with the Lakers, but the bad boy Pacers have long since fallen apart.

And his arrogance and violent temper on the court were not completely extinguished by the Auburn Hills incident.

From time to time, he uses big moves to interfere with his opponents and uses strong physical defense to cause trouble.

But Milicic was not afraid of him. He knew that that night in Auburn Hills, Artest was just a guy who only dared to beat the fans and bullied the weak.

In fact, if Artest had dared to fight directly with Ben after provoking him that night, the consequences would not have been so serious.

Because it was just a conflict between players, it was a matter on the court, it was of a performance nature, and it would not be criticized by so much public opinion.

It's different when it comes to beating fans. The nature has become completely different. There is overwhelming criticism across the United States that the NBA is a violent league.

This made Stern, who has been promoting the de-violation and gentrification of the NBA for more than two decades, furious and directly banned Artest for one season.

It completely ruined the Pacers' championship season.

At the press conference, Stern even said without mercy: "This is my decision alone, and I can veto it with one vote."

At this moment, Stern's dictatorial style was fully displayed, because Artest's behavior touched the foundation of the NBA's existence, and he must use thunderous means to kill it.

Milicic's push seemed like it happened yesterday, and the former Pistons player gave him another push.

But this time, Artest had a long memory, and he really couldn't beat Milicic with his height, wingspan, and fists as big as sandbags.

It is said that this guy has been practicing fighting. Although Artest is as strong as an ox, he is still far behind the big white bear, so forget it.

Artest, who was pushed back a long way, was not angry, nor did he push the pin. Instead, he turned around and went to the referee to complain, feeling very aggrieved.

The referee comforted the aggrieved Artest and gave Artest a technical foul first, and then gave Milicic a technical foul.

While giving the foul, the referee also had to look at Min Congda, who was sitting on the sidelines, and Stern, who was sitting in the middle stand - Stern went to watch the Los Angeles Derby tonight.

Milicic is really brave and dares to take the initiative to provoke in front of President Stern. Such an action is likely to cause a fight.

Fortunately, everyone calmed down, completed the technical foul free throws, and the two sides continued to play.

In order to prevent further conflicts between Milicic and Lakers players, Deng hurriedly replaced Milicic with Xiaojia.

Min Congda gave Milicic a thumbs up and praised him for standing up for his teammates.

If a player wants to gain respect from the team, in addition to playing well, he must also dare to stand up for his teammates.

In the past, Milicic was somewhat alienated from his teammates in various teams. His Serbian background and reputation as a parallel importer have always made him reluctant to have deeper contact and communication with his teammates.

After arriving at the Clippers, the relaxed and free atmosphere of the team made him more willing to express himself.

He made friends, such as Bonner, who sat on the bench with him and often taught him how to use coupons.

There is also the team’s little gossip prince, Marc Gasol, who is well versed in all kinds of rumors and anecdotes about the team.

There is also Stephen Curry who taught him how to shoot three-pointers and compete with him on three-pointers from all over the field when he has nothing to do.

When Milicic came off the court, Curry fist bumped with him. Feeling the calluses on Milicic's fist, Curry said: "You can knock my head off with this punch."

Milicic smiled and said: "If anyone fouls you maliciously in the future, I will blow that person's head off."

Now Milicic no longer beats the wall at home, but hits sandbags.

Although the Clippers always lost in November, Milicic did not feel depressed.

Unlike when he was with the Magic and Timberwolves, he was burdened with a lot of things.

The fans and the management are full of expectations. Once he loses, he will be very depressed and will vent himself by smashing the wall.

The Clippers are different. The more they lose, the less Smart can be found. He doesn't know where he has gone.

The atmosphere of the team has always been very good, and everyone firmly believes that they can slowly come out of it.

As a result, the situation began to improve in December, and Mr. Smart came back to watch the game.

Milicic is becoming more and more accustomed to his positioning on the defensive end. He not only has to protect the basket, but also his teammates.

After Artest received the blow from Milicic, his actions on the court became much more restrained.

Harden was not affected by the flagrant foul and continued to use his speed and impact to hit the Lakers' basket.

The Lakers' problem on the defensive end is that their outside legs and feet are no longer good. Kobe is slower, and Fisher is even slower.

Harden and Bledsoe continuously used breakthroughs to tear apart the Lakers' defense.

The Lakers defense is in a conundrum:

The reason why they used shrink defense before was because their legs and feet were slow on the outside. Only shrink defense can make up for this shortcoming and make the inside airtight.

However, the Clippers' three-point shooting in the first quarter made the Lakers numb, so they could only change to man-to-man instead of shrinking, and the defense was naturally stretched.

The defense was stretched, and Harden, Bledsoe and others began to break through, forcing breakthroughs and challenging the Lakers' three-second zone defense.

The Clippers' simple and crude strategy made the Lakers very uncomfortable. Starting from the second quarter, the Clippers took the lead and suppressed them.

At halftime, 61:55, the Clippers led the Lakers by 6 points. Without Curry as an outside arrow, the Clippers played better and better.

Off the court, Curry began to worry about his position after his comeback. Bledsoe scored 8 points in the first half and Harden scored 11 points.

And Min Congda looked at the Clippers' rough talent, precise outside shots, and dynamic breakthroughs, and thought:

"We can't let the Clippers grow like this and attack freely. They are too powerful! I have to put shackles on them. I must find a reverse version of the tactical routine tonight!"
Chapter completed!