Even if Magic Johnson couldn't play, the ratings for the 1989 Finals were not low, and the Pistons' home court was packed.
This shows how successful the publicity strategy of President David Stern was. The Black and White duo dominated the entire 1980s and won 8 championships. Jordan brought the NBA to the world, and the Black and White duo brought the NBA back to life.
, attracted the attention of American fans.
At this time, the NBA has already attracted a lot of attention in the United States, but it is not as good as the NFL and MLB, and slightly better than the Major League Hockey League. Hockey is not attractive enough simply because of the rules. If it is a good mixed martial arts project, why do you have to wear skates and add a ball?
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When players from both sides came on the field, the two commentators on ABC Radio in the United States did not take Yang Jian seriously at all. This is normal. Who would regard a substitute who averaged 7.3 points and 3.9 assists per game as a major threat?
Not surprisingly, this guy is definitely a jerk. His defensive ability has declined this season and he was not selected for the All-Defensive Team.
Yang Jian fully accepted Michael Cooper's personality, and his previous career was exactly the same as Cooper's.
Teammates are very polite when talking to Yang Jian. In other people's eyes, he is 33 years old and a veteran who has played for the Lakers for 11 seasons. His status in the locker room is better than that of backup center Michael Thompson, second only to Tian
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.
It is worth mentioning that when chatting in the locker room, teammates congratulated Thompson one after another. Thompson's wife was recently pregnant. He said he hoped to have a son to inherit the mantle. The two of them even thought of a name. If the boy is a boy, he will be called "Klay."
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That's right, that's Klay Thompson of the Warriors, and he's in his fucking belly right now.
Lakers starting lineup: Yang Jian, Tony Campbell, James Worthy, AC Green, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Pistons starting lineup: Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Mark Aguirre, Rick Mahon, Bill Laimbeer.
The "purple and gold noble" Lakers, if you ignore the time traveler and the soon-to-retire Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, only Worthy is an All-Star. The "grassroots" Pistons, except Ma Hong, the other four have been selected to the All-Stars in the past two years.
Small forward Mark Aguirre averaged 29.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game with the Mavericks in the 1983-84 season. He shot 52.4% from the field and almost won the scoring title. The Pistons used a small forward who had won two scoring titles.
He was traded for forward Adrian Dantley.
The history is surprisingly similar. The 2004 champion Pistons were also this kind of "grassroots." As long as the league is unwilling to support them, no matter how many stars there are, they are grassroots. Just look at the name "Bad Boys Legion" and you will know that they are villains.
The Pistons are not ashamed, but proud.
The flags waved by the staff in the center circle before the game were all skull and crossbones flags. Those who didn't know better thought this was not an NBA team but Pirates of the Caribbean.
Of course, the Pistons players are also really bad.
Later, it was said that there was a statistic that Laimbeer had maliciously attacked 257 players in his career. Many people felt that he was targeting someone. Only after seeing this data did they realize that causing harm was just his personal hobby on the court. He had an outsider.
He is known as the "axe-wielding villain" and he is well-deserved.
"Smiling Assassin" Thomas smiled and said to Yang Jian: "Riley actually asked you, a loser, to defend me? Have you given up the game already?"
"I'm not your father, but you will find out later that I beat you like a son." Yang Jian replied with a smile.
As the Romans do, in 1989, Yang Jian suddenly had the desire to talk trash.
Thomas was stunned. He didn't expect that a substitute would dare to challenge him like this. He wanted to make Yang Jian miserable and let him know what a superstar is.
Yang Jian also plans to show Thomas what it means to be a superstar. In his opinion, a person who averages 18.4 points on 16.3 shots per game can only be called a "blacksmith."
Laimbeer and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a fierce fight for the ball. They jumped about 20cm and lost to the veteran who was about to retire. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also only jumped 20cm, but his wingspan was 226cm. He moved the ball to the backcourt and gave it to Yang Jian.
Yang Jian easily dribbled the ball to the middle three-pointer. No one pressed him. Thomas was two steps away from him and lowered his center of gravity.
Yang Jian suddenly felt that this was not an army of bad boys, but an army of non-defenders. He had not faced this kind of defensive intensity in a professional game for a long time, even in the preseason.
Yang Jian easily made a three-point jumper from the middle. After landing, he did not look at the basket, but turned back confidently and opened his arms in celebration.
Whoa! The ball went hollow into the net. 3 to 0.
Everyone was stunned and couldn't believe what they saw.
Two seconds later, the Pistons' home fans booed. The Lakers players, including coach Pat Riley, were dumbfounded. They now feel more and more that Yang Jian is abnormal.
The Michael Young they know is a low-key person, a conscientious old scalper. He always defends hard and has no presence on the offensive end. He never even celebrates after scoring a goal.
Now...I have never seen such an arrogant person in my whole life.
Hey, you saw it today.
Yang Jian is not from this world and is not afraid of causing controversy. He is here to play and challenge. So what if people think there is a huge contrast between him and his past? He is just a passer-by in this world for a series.
I have awakened my second personality, my genes have mutated, and I am a god descending to earth. Is it okay?
When the Pistons attacked, Isiah Thomas immediately wanted to return the favor, taking the ball to the frontcourt and changing directions to break through slowly. In the eyes of other defenders, he was very fast, but in Yang Jian's eyes, "Haha, that's it"?
Yang Jian saw the opportunity and got close to him, using his height and wingspan advantages to cover Thomas. Thomas felt like he had hit a wall. He controlled the basketball with his excellent ball sense but could not continue to play alone, so he hurriedly passed the ball out.
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Joe Dumars caught the ball and met Tony Campbell, changed direction and took a step to score an easy mid-range shot from the right side.
Campbell is 201cm tall, his lateral speed is obviously at a disadvantage, and his defense is average.
The Lakers' starting lineup is a big lineup with poor mobility. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 218cm tall, the two forwards are both 206cm tall, and only Yang Jian is under two meters tall.
Yang Jian did not consider too many passes, and planned to focus on one-on-ones, and he would dribble the ball to the frontcourt for singles. It may not seem good for his teammates to watch from the sidelines, but it is currently the most reasonable tactic for the Lakers. It is impossible for others to compare.
He has better scoring ability.
The Pistons or Thomas defended alone. This was not a tactical mistake. Pistons coach Chuck Daly did not take Yang Jian seriously before the game. Which coach would arrange double-teaming tactics for a substitute player?
Yang Jian brought the ball to 70 degrees on the right side and continued to dribble under the crotch to test. The ball was passed to his right hand and he took a step back jump shot for a three-pointer. He also added a small fade when he shot. Thomas stepped forward and jumped up, which was only a slight interference, and the ball went in again.
.6 to 2.
After scoring the goal, Yang Jian roared angrily and was very domineering.
Chick Hearn, known as the "Voice of the Lakers," shouted: "Young hit two consecutive three-pointers at the beginning. I can't believe it. His hands are so hot today."
In 1961, the first season the Lakers moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, the team asked the then 45-year-old Hearn to do commentary work for a playoff game, and he rose to fame. Starting in 1965, Hearn
En set a brilliant record of broadcasting 3,338 NBA games without interruption for 36 years.
Hearn has never been so excited as he was today. Before the game, he also believed that the Lakers were at a disadvantage in the finals and would lose.
In the 1980s, it was an important part of the game for stars to respond to their opponents in games, otherwise they would be losing face and not tough enough.
Thomas tried to break through with the ball, but did not find a cover. After changing, Yang Jian successfully followed him again. He laterally transferred the ball to the right to find Joe Dumars. This time, a passing error occurred. Tony Campbell relied on his height advantage to jump up and gamble.
The steal was successful.
Yang Jian immediately went down the right wing for a fast break, and Campbell took two slow steps and passed the ball to him.
Thomas retreated further back and was already surprised. He found that Yang Jian was obviously faster than him. He looked so powerful that it reminded him of Jordan.
Something more like Jordan happened immediately. Yang Jian caught the ball and took off in three steps, slashing Huashan with his right hand. Thomas jumped up and tried to commit a foul but was unable to catch him and was knocked directly out of the baseline.
Thomas fell badly. The referee's whistle sounded, but it was a defensive foul of 21.
After Yang Jian landed, he beat his chest and roared, shocking the audience again. His performance was not perfect, and it was not like beating his son at all.
After all, tiger poison cannot eat its seeds, and Thomas was almost killed by him.