Two hours later, the Suns won on the road, with a big score of 3-2 and a second-round match point.
As Lao Wang said, Pippen and Little Flying Squirrel were in extremely poor condition. The former only played 11 minutes before getting injured and got 0 points and 1 assist. The latter only played 15 minutes, even though Dunleavy roared so hard that he became hoarse off the court.
, did not break through, scored 5 points and 2 assists, and was then replaced by an angry Dunleavy.
Bunch Wells, who showed great power in the G4 game, also stalled in this game. He made 3 of 14 shots and only scored 10 points.
Although Duncan scored 21 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, Old K scored 35 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 blocks. He was always beaten by Old K and could not breathe for the whole game.
In the Eastern Conference, Dayao and Kidd teamed up to successfully win the G5 game, eliminating Team Numbers with a big score of four to one and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year.
At 9 a.m. on the 13th, Pippen's agent announced on his behalf that Pippen tore a muscle in his back and was out for the season, and decided to retire.
"Lao Pi, you look pretty good. Are you going to do anything in the future?"
After getting up, Lao Wang got the news and ran to the hospital to visit Lao Pi.
"Old K, it's great that you can come and see me. I will start my trading company after I retire, and I will rely on it for the rest of my life."
Pippen's mental state was not bad, and he seemed very happy to see Lao K visiting him.
"Old K, thank you so much. Without your help over the years, Scotty would have gone bankrupt many times."
When Pippen's wife Larsa saw Lao Wang, her eyes instantly turned green, and her attitude was very enthusiastic, which made Lao Wang a little uncomfortable. After a few words, she left in a hurry.
After lunch, the Suns boarded a special plane back to Phoenix.
That night, the Lakers defeated the Mavericks again and took the lead in advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
The Pistons lost to the Green Team. The two sides battled to a score of three to two, and the Pistons still held the match point.
"Old K, I'm going to beat you with my own hands. Don't let me down. I'll be waiting for you in the Western Conference Finals." After the game, Kobe called.
"Kobe, your hair has grown hard, right?" Lao Wang said angrily.
"It's because the wings are stiff, as you said before." Kobe corrected.
"Do you have wings? Whatever I say is what I say." Lao Wang said arrogantly.
"Anyway, I'm waiting for you in the Western Conference Finals. I want to beat your team with my own hands." Kobe insisted.
"Dreams are full, but reality is skinny. Kobe, you better prepare to go fishing with my cat food. Choose the dock first to avoid being taken advantage of by Duncan." Lao Wang said with a smile.
"Then let's see who goes fishing." Kobe hung up the phone after finishing the next sentence.
On the evening of the 14th, at 8 o'clock, the Suns and Trail Blazers started the G6 battle.
In the seventh minute of the first quarter, the starting Flying Squirrel was knocked down by Nash. His knee injury recurred and he was forced to retire.
Pippen retired, and the Flying Squirrels also retired from the game due to injuries. The Trail Blazers lost two people who could organize offense on the outside, and the ball fell into the hands of two shooting guards, Bunch Wells and Derek Anderson.
Lao Wang immediately strengthened his defense and blocked the penalty area with all his strength, forcing the two Trail Blazers defenders to shoot wildly from the outside. After a round of iron play, the Suns took the opportunity to open up the score.
Duncan tried his best to resist, but was unable to compete with Lao Wang on both offense and defense. The Blazers quickly fell into the abyss of failure in the G6 game.
At ten o'clock, as the referee's whistle blew, the game ended. The Suns eliminated the Trail Blazers and advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a big score of 4 to 2.
"Tim, don't be depressed..."
Seeing Duncan's unconcealable disappointment, Lao Wang went over and patted him on the head, comforting him: "Good luck boy, you have already stolen a championship while I was away, so just have fun secretly."
Duncan's mind, as thick as a tortoise shell, was comforted to the point that it fluctuated a little, and he said unconvincedly: "Old K, I won the championship by defeating OK and the Nets based on my strength. I didn't steal it."
Lao Wang smiled and said: "In my era, only if you beat me to win the championship, you are the real championship. I don't agree with anything else."
At this point, he patted Duncan's head again, pulled out a few hairs, and comforted him again: "But you are still young. Dayao, Tracy McGrady, Kobe and the others are the sun at one or two o'clock, and you are the sun at two or three o'clock."
The sun of the clock, Iverson is the sun of three or four o'clock.
Anyway, the future belongs to you, you are the sun in the morning, you can definitely wait until the day when the sun goes down, and take your time."
"..."
Watching Old K leave, Duncan's mind was a little confused by these words.
He calculated his age and found that he was three years younger than Old K, and his current style of play was not physically taxing. As long as he was not seriously injured, he would definitely be able to maintain his peak period for a longer time. He felt that he should be able to survive until Old K fell from his peak.
?
"Old K, I can endure it better than you." He made up his mind to endure Old K to death.
After the game, Zhang Lili said with a smile: "Duncan scored 20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in the last game. Although he scored 20 10, under the full defense of the Tiejun
, both offensive and defensive performance are excellent, but the shooting rate is only 41%.
Tiejun scored 41 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 5 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls. His performance is definitely a level better than Duncan's."
Su Qun smiled and said: "Duncan can be considered a top-notch defender, and Rasheed Wallace's assist defense is also top-notch. The two of them worked together, even defending in advance, but they were unable to lock down Old K. This shows that Old K's offense
It’s truly unique.”
Zhang Lili said with a smile: "Rashid Wallace's assist defense is really good, double-teaming the Tiejun in advance, but as long as Stoudemire is close to the paint area, he can return to the defense in time. Stoudemire's performance in the second round was average.
Rashid defended well.
It was effective for him and Duncan to double-team the Tiejun. The Tiejun's offense at the basket was too little in this game, and the shooting rate was only 55%. This is proof, which is lower than the shooting rate in the regular season.
But unfortunately, Pippen and Flying Squirrel were gone. The Blazers lost control on the outside and couldn't attack, so they could only make wild shots from the outside.
The breakthroughs of Wells and Anderson are not as threatening as the Flying Squirrel or Pippen. Their speed is average, and the Iron Army can stop them."
Su Qun nodded and said: "Pippen broke through many times in G4. Although his speed is no longer good, his experience is still there and his passing ability is still there, so his breakthrough threat is still very strong.
Wells and Anderson don't have Pippen's passing skills, nor do they have the speed and flexibility of Little Flying Squirrel. The threat of breakthrough is indeed much worse, the lethality is not enough, and they cannot break through the penalty area guarded by Old K."
Zhang Li said happily: "Now that the Suns have entered the Western Conference Finals and joined the Lakers, it's great to see."
Su Qun also smiled and said: "Master-disciple duel, giant beast duel, full of expectations."
An hour later, the Suns held a post-game press conference.
"Old K, what do you want to say most about the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers?" a reporter asked.
"What a pity. My cat has lost weight recently. I want to ask the Lakers management if they have deducted the rations from my cat's food? This is not acceptable. The cat has lost weight. What will my cat eat?" Lao Wang joked.
road.
"Haha..." The press conference hall burst into laughter.
"Old K, do you want to say something to Kobe?" a Los Angeles Daily reporter asked.
"I heard that Kobe Bryant has had an extra nickname in the past two years, Los Angeles Malone? This kid is so outrageous. I have never taught him this. Please help me pass a message to him. If he dares to be arrogant during the Western Conference Finals,
I'm going to take off his pants and beat him to death." Lao Wang asked slowly.
"Pfft!" Many reporters laughed.
On the night of the 15th, the Pistons defeated the Green Team and met the Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals.
At this point, the second round series has been completed, and the Eastern and Western Conference finals are about to begin.
The Eastern Conference Finals will start first. The Nets have home court advantage and will have the G1 game on the 17th. Then the Western Conference Finals G1 game will start on the 18th. The Suns have the home court advantage.
On the 16th, DaZhi called.
"Dazhi, it's been so long since the first round, what are you doing in Sacramento?"
"Brother Tiejun, I took some body care."
"Well, okay, you are only 26 years old. At least you can still have a contract in the NBA. You have to take good care of your body. Don't save these little money."
"I know, Brother Tiejun. By the way, I have already booked my flight ticket and am ready to return to China."
"Aren't you going to watch the Western Conference Finals?"
"No, my dad, mom and my wife all really want to go back early. We didn't go back last year because we missed home, haha."
"Okay, let's contact you after I return to the capital."
"Okay."
At noon that day, the league announced the regular season MVP winner, which was given to Tim Duncan.
At noon on the 17th, the Lakers arrived in Phoenix.
"Old K, I'm here."
After Kobe landed, he called Lao Wang and his tone was very cold.
"Hey, you called me right after you got off the plane. Are you going to declare a challenge? Or are you telling me to pick you up?" Lao Wang asked.
"Afternoon." Kobe said coldly.
"I've already prepared a pool party, you know, do you want me to prepare two girls for you?" Lao Wang teased casually.
"this?"
Thinking of those wonderful moments at the pool parties arranged by K after the Suns and Lakers won each championship, Kobe's heart suddenly moved.
"Are you tempted? Damn it, I heard that you have had a lot of gossip in the past two years. Boy, be careful of causing problems that will be difficult to deal with." Lao Wang scolded with a smile.
"Old K, don't try to mess with my military morale." Kobe reacted and immediately threw away all the colorful things in his mind.
"Haha, you kid is a bit messy outside. Vanessa has been raped by you many times, right? I think you will cause big problems sooner or later." Lao Wang said.
"Where is it?"
Kobe denied it and asked cautiously: "Old K, Vanessa complained to you?"
"Oh, Kobe, you were really messing around outside and were caught by Vanessa?" Lao Wang scolded.
"Old K, you lied to me?" Kobe said angrily.
"If you don't bring it upon yourself, you will be doomed!" Lao Wang said.
"Crack!"
Kobe cut the knot quickly and hung up the phone directly to avoid being tricked into getting more things out of him.
That night, Dayao led the Nets to defeat the Pistons at home and achieved their first victory in the Eastern Conference Finals.
On the 18th, the ABC TV morning news suddenly exposed a news about Kobe Bryant.
"Kobe, are you hurting your knee?" Lao Wang happened to see the news while having breakfast and called Kobe immediately.
"Well, yes, there are some minor problems, not serious. After the playoffs, I am going to have a minor surgery." Kobe said after hesitating.
"I would like to advise you, Kobe, if you play outside too much, your legs will become weak. Weak legs will increase the probability of injury, you know." Lao Wang said.
"Old K, don't talk nonsense." Kobe said urgently.
"If you don't listen to the old man, you will suffer the consequences, you idiot! Also, don't overtrain, just do it appropriately." Lao Wang cursed and advised again.
"I know."
Kobe said a little stiffly.
They both had breakfast and then hung up the phone.
Over there, Kobe put down the phone and reached out to touch his knees, feeling a little upset.
There are two important reasons for his knee injury, one is overtraining, and the other is gaining weight too quickly.
He has a dream to catch up with Jordan, so he hopes to increase his dominance on the outside.
The best way to increase dominance is to gain weight. With greater strength and greater tonnage, his iron mountain will definitely increase in power. Even if he plays a small forward in a misplaced position, he can be a power forward who is not too big and is too thin.
There was no problem, so after the All-Star Game, he gained weight without telling K.
Soon his weight increased from 99 kilograms to 103 kilograms, which indeed greatly increased his dominance on the outside, but it also overloaded his knees, leading to injuries.
In the afternoon, there was already a sea of people outside the American West Arena, not only locals, but also fans from nearby cities.
In the evening, the entrance to the arena opened, and a sea of people began to pour into the arena along the eight entrances.
The Lakers' bus also entered the parking lot at this time. They did not train at the American West Arena, but rented the basketball stadium of the University of Arizona.
Buckley and Kenny Smith were waiting in the parking lot with their camera team. As soon as the bus arrived, several people quickly ran over.
"Hey, Kobe."
"Hey, Charles, Kenny."
Kobe was the first to leave the court, and several people greeted him.
Then O'Neill came down and said hello again.
"Kobe, is the news exposed by ABC TV true? Is your knee really injured? Oh, Kobe, you are so shameless. If you don't give me the news, why would you give it to ABC?"
Barkley ignored Kobe's increasingly gloomy face and shouted with a smile.
Without saying a word, Kobe bypassed Barkley and walked forward.
"Shaq, what's wrong with him?"
Only then did Barkley react, grabbing O'Neal and asking in a low voice.
O'Neal shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands, indicating that he didn't know.
"Did he really hurt his knee?" Barkley asked again.
O'Neal nodded and said: "There are some problems. I don't know the specific situation. During this period, he has to apply ice packs on his knees after training every day, and he also invited an acupuncturist from the K-era club."
"How is the situation?" Buckley asked again.
"The condition is not bad. Kobe's willpower is very strong. Like Michael, he is a real iron man!" O'Neal said with some admiration.
"What about you, how are you doing?" Buckley asked again.
"I?"
O'Neal raised his arms, showing off his strong biceps, and shouted: "I'm going to crush that guy from Old K this time, and I'm going to do it..."
Barkley lost his voice and said, "You haven't suffered enough and you still want to press him to the floor and rub him?"
O'Neal glared and said dissatisfiedly: "Charles, what are you talking about? Why do you mean I haven't suffered enough? Tonight is my night of revenge."
After saying that, he angrily pushed Buckley away and left.
Barkley was unprepared and almost fell down. He couldn't help but cursed: "O'Neal, you are only qualified to make cat food for Lao K's family."
"What?"
O'Neill was furious, turned around and pounced on him with bared teeth.
Barkley was not afraid at all. He threw the microphone in his hand to Kenny Smith, immediately hugged O'Neal, and soon put the big shark to the ground with a strong hug, and then directly rode on it.
"Damn, I wasn't prepared. This time doesn't count. Let's do it again. You let me get up first." O'Neal was pressed on him, struggling and yelling depressedly.
"Boy, it will be the same a hundred times over. You were my donkey in your last life, so accept your fate. You will only have the fate of being ridden by me." Buckley roared.
"Ha ha……"
Kenny Smith squatted on the floor with laughter.
A group of Lakers players and management coaching staff also laughed helplessly, and several staff members quickly stepped forward to pull Barkley away and rescue O'Neal.
