Chapter 84 Core Issue? (Ten Thousand Words Chapter)

On the morning of May 21, 1997, Li You felt that his cell phone was going to explode. Since last night, he had been receiving text messages one after another.

I don’t know where the superficial brothers got the phone number, so they all sent messages of praise and blessing.

Other major media outlets also caused a stir. USA Today and the New York Times, which have the largest circulation, both used the same headline:

"Superstar—Clay Lee"

The photographer on the sidelines captured the moment when Li You completed the shot, turned around confidently, and the ball went in and the lights came on.

In the photo, unlike Li You who had a smile on his face, Michael Jordan, who was frozen in place, turned his head in surprise and became the best background.

The very personal headline in the newspaper, coupled with this photo and the score of 81:79, made Li You completely popular!

Of course, this is thanks to Michael Jordan. People like to see Michael Jordan being unlucky.

Starting from last night's press conference, the New York media couldn't hold it in anymore. They celebrated the victory together, and at the same time, they also called Michael Jordan such titles as egomaniac and statistician.

While having breakfast at the hotel, Li You looked at the Chicago Tribune in his hand.

The most eye-catching news in the sports section was that the Bulls lost, and on the other side of the entertainment section was the news that Mariah Carey and Motola's relationship had broken down and they were about to divorce.

The local media in Chicago did not use exaggerated headlines, but instead praised Michael Jordan's performance.

Played 44 minutes, made 15 of 31, 7 of 10 free throws, 37 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 turnovers.

After an average performance in the first half, the second half abruptly brought the shooting percentage back to 48.4%.

As mentioned in the sports section article, Michael Jordan is in excellent condition!

John Wallace came to the restaurant and saw Li You reading the newspaper and eating breakfast calmly. He immediately came over and whispered:

"Bro! Why are you still eating breakfast? In the Eastern Conference finals, you beat Michael Jordan one-on-one. God, this is crazy!"

"?"

Li You had a question mark on his face. He didn't eat in the morning, so he was asked to take the news as spiritual food?

Looking at Mengxin who was chattering next to him and fell into a state of self-excitement, Li You shook his head helplessly, which further proved the influence of Michael Jordan.

Just as no one cared about his All-Star status before, everyone remembers that he surpassed Michael Jordan. No matter how the media consumes Michael Jordan, in the minds of players, this is the undisputed number one player in the league.

The final kill kept the old guys excited all night, but after the adrenaline subsided, they lay down in the morning. Most of the people who came downstairs for breakfast were the atmosphere group.

Everyone's excitement has not diminished at all, and they are discussing in low voices how to defend their home court after returning to New York. By winning an away game, the Knicks have already taken the lead!

When the hotel staff saw Li You finishing breakfast, they politely asked for a photo. Li You smiled and agreed, and then a bunch of staff came.

Fortunately, it was just a group photo in the end. This can be regarded as a historical moment. Even 10 years later, new players who see this photo will still think of this Eastern Conference finals where Michael Jordan was defeated.

In this era when news is spread through print media and cable television, Li You became completely popular thanks to a historical backdrop - Michael Jordan.

The video class in the morning was cancelled. Last night the Knicks' main lineup played 40+ minutes.

Buck Williams played 40 minutes, Oakley played 42 minutes, Li You and Alan Houston played 44 minutes, and Larry Johnson played 46 minutes.

Jeff Van Gundy had dark circles under his eyes and was so excited that he couldn't sleep last night.

When he thinks that as long as he returns to home and wins two games in a row, the team will get the match point and reach the finals, the bald young coach feels refreshed!

"This is really a great opportunity! If we work hard and fight in the next away game, maybe there will be no suspense in the series!"

After watching the game video, assistant coach Thibodeau couldn't stand it any longer and began to think about a better future.

"We held the Bulls to 52 rebounds! Winning last night was a miracle!"

"Guys, the Bulls are not going to lose consecutive games. Of course, with Pat back, our rebounding will improve!"

Although he was happy to win, assistant coach Don Chaney couldn't help scratching his head when he looked at the technical statistics, and a thought came to his mind:

"How we won".

At 39:52, the Knicks lost by 13 rebounds. Dennis Rodman only scored 4 points last night, but grabbed 17 rebounds.

Jeff Van Gundy looked at the turnover count of 9:10 and once again realized the beauty of trusteeship.

Li You doesn't look like a 19-year-old point guard at all. He is very patient with the game. With a lot of playing time, the Knicks' mistakes are almost negligible!

"One more fight. If we really win G2, then the trend of the series will be completely reversed. We still need to do our best in tomorrow night's game!"

Jeff Van Gundy felt that the finals seemed to be within reach, especially when he thought of Phil Jackson's ugly face last night, he felt extremely comfortable.

When I heard that the head coach decided to fight again, the coaching staff had no objection. Ewing had rested for a long time and was very physically fit. It was indeed worth fighting for!

During the restorative training session in the afternoon, Ewing was disappointed, but his face was also smiling. The gorilla was also happy, and the situation was great.

After two games of rest, he is extremely physically fit. Ewing feels that after his comeback, he will lead the team to defend the home court and win consecutive games!

"The best goal in the 1996-97 season! I think ESPN will even review this game every year. No matter how many times I watch it, I still find it very shocking!"

"God, I really thought I was going to lose last night. McDunner conceded two goals in the fourth quarter!"

Starks' physical fitness was not affected. While completing shooting training, he excitedly reviewed last night's game.

"It's not just 50 points. In the last quarter, I couldn't keep up with the rhythm. I took 30+ shots and had monster-like physical fitness!"

After Alan Houston read the technical statistics, he kept complaining that McDuck was not a human being during the afternoon training session.

This was the first time he met Michael Jordan in the playoffs, and he experienced the feeling of "I'm going to shoot you to death". Alan Houston felt that he would definitely be beaten in the following series.

Larry Johnson has not fully recovered, but "Auntie" is already energetic at this time:

"Have some confidence in yourself. We are younger and work hard. The old guys opposite are definitely no match for us."

"Fuck! I want to reach the finals! The championship is not exclusive to Michael Jordan. We have a chance to win!"

Ewing also felt that this year was a God-given opportunity and took the opportunity to encourage his teammates:

"In the next game, we will not lose rebounds again and teach the Bulls a lesson!"

Li You on the side naturally agreed with a smile, and Oakley also grinned. Regardless of the result of G2, the Knicks achieved their set goals.

The newspaper was full of news about his death, and the scene of his death was replayed repeatedly on the TV.

Since last night, the major sports media have been like repeaters, repeating over and over again that the Bulls were defeated in Game 1 and Michael Jordan became the backdrop.

During the Bulls training session, Michael Jordan was in a particularly bad mood and had an aura about him. The atmosphere team did not dare to say a word and watched as Michael Jordan continued to catch and shoot on the other side of the field to complete the training.

Harper, wearing training clothes, shrugged helplessly and stretched his body. In last night's game, he made 2 of 9 shots, 0 of 4 from beyond the three-point line, and scored 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Pippen looked at Harper and said nothing, feeling that he was not an undercover agent:

7 of 18, 3 of 7 from beyond the arc, 4 of 5 free throws, 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers.

The secondary rebound failed to turn into an offense, and Phil Jackson didn't make too many adjustments. At the end of the morning video class, he simply said:

"Continuing our game strategy."

In the training hall, only Rodman still behaved lazily, shooting casually, occasionally teasing the assistant coach, and not caring about the dunk attitude at all.

Grabbing so many rebounds, he's done his job

Phil Jackson had long been accustomed to this kind of atmosphere. After watching the video session, he felt that I had the advantage and returned to his smiling face. Near the end of the training session, he clapped his hands and said:

"Go back and have a good rest. We have to defend our home court. Don't worry about the G1 game. In the next game, we will convert our advantage into points. Victory will belong to us."

Steve Kerr was used to the head coach's style of hanging up and making adjustments, but he wanted to perform more, so he finally took the initiative and said to Maidun:

"McDunner, you can pass the ball to me and I'll hit those shots!"

Michael Jordan, who was sweating profusely, glanced at Xiao Huangmao calmly, turned around and left, and finally gave a response:

"You need to defend yourself!"

"."

The boss said that we should defend well, and everyone on the Bulls team became energetic. They are very good at this!

On the night of the 21st, in G2 of the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets' aging Big Three lost again.

At 92:104, the Jazz easily protected their home court, and the series score came to 2:0.

Olajuwon's performance was as stable as ever, shooting 12 of 22, scoring a game-high 30 points, and blocking 5 shots.

Barkley made 5 of 12 shots and 6 of 10 free throws. He performed quite well and had a double-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists.

Drexler made 6 of 18 shots and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, contributing 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

The overall performance of the elderly Big Three was pretty good, but the role players couldn't stand it anymore.

31 of 85 in the game, 5 of 16 from beyond the three-point line, and a shooting percentage of just over 30%. It is indeed difficult to win.

Karl Malone made 9 of 21 shots, 6 of 10 free throws, a double-double of 24 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers. Compared with the regular season, this was a decline.

The Jazz's best performer was still Stockton, who made 7 of 14 shots and 12 of 12 free throws. He scored 26 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 block and 2 turnovers.

Utah scored 50 points together, Stockton took control of the game, and the Jazz blossomed more. They played such a dominant performance that many commentators were slapped in the face.

Stacking up stars doesn’t work?

Considering that the playoffs all start with an away win, most football commentators are still optimistic about the Rockets. Without him, 3 is greater than 2. There are too many stars!

The Rockets' aging Big Three lost, but it still failed to change the news hot spots. Major sports media were still in repeater mode, and sports programs still repeatedly played the scene of Michael Jordan's buzzer-beater.
To be continued...