But X Sports took the lead in Seattle, becoming the best-selling sports brand in the local area, and radiated to all parts of Washington State. The second best sales situation is California, where the Greater Los Angeles and the Greater Bay Area is located. It is third, very interesting... The rich state in New Jersey!

The expensive stuff sells best in New Jersey, where the richest people are.

This made Zhang Hao ask for a mountain to build a house, Seattle City Hall almost gave away a mountain for free, and also spent some funds to build roads and improve greening.

Like this first match of the Western Conference Finals, it brought more than 170.72 million seats to Seattle, with an average ticket price of 322 US dollars and a tax on sales of more than 5 million US dollars.

The big part is the tourism industry, catering industry, bars, transportation, etc.

The scalpers have also made a fortune. The last row of tickets for the stands with a price of 59 US dollars will be bought from the scalpers, and the price will be 5-8 times higher. There is even an industrial chain where some people go to grab tickets and sell them to scalpers, and then resell them.

The first match of the Western Conference Finals ended, and the two teams received two days of rest.

This is quite rare. After the first game, the rest of the game was two days, and after the second game, the rest of the game was two days. Because both teams swept the second round, the fans' expectations for the Western Conference Finals were no longer controlled. The league can only arrange for the second day after the second round of the Eastern Conference to start the Western Conference Finals.

But this is a good thing for the Supersonics. Most of them are veterans, and there is trouble with too much rest, but for two days, it's just right!

On May 22, the first battle of the Eastern Conference Finals began, and the stubborn little blacksmith once again started his stubborn series journey.

After 2 hours and 23 minutes of game, although Kobe scored 31 points and McGrady scored 20 points and 7 assists, the Bulls still lost 85-93 away.

Iverson scored 34 points and 6 assists, steadily overwhelming the B-Plan combination. It is clear who is the strongest point guard at the moment.

But the most powerful one is Duncan!

Not many points, 18 points, but there were 18 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks...

18+18+5+3+4… There are a lot of mistakes, 5 times, and the assist-turnover ratio of 1 to 1 is just passing the inside, but there are only 3 fouls!

They really couldn't defend against the B Plan combination. Kobe and McGrady scored 51 points, and the number of shots was not particularly high. Kobe made 12 of 24 shots in the first game, with a shooting percentage of 50%. McGrady also made 7 of 15 shots, which was OK.

But when the 76ers played against the Raptors, they met Carter who broke out in the mid-range shot, and they already had experience. At the peak of their athletic ability at the age of 25, Duncan relied on sweeping defense, intercepting and cutting in, blocking the outside line, shrinking and marking... With George Lynch and Mutombo formed a dominant defensive line!

The Bulls' shots were compressed to 71 times, and the score was suppressed to only 85 points.

If the Bulls meet the 76ers in the second round, the B-Plan combination is really likely to cause trouble, but now, although there are still opportunities, the difficulty is significantly increased!

When Kobe was asked in a post-match press conference whether he could turn the tables at a disadvantage like the previous two rounds, he replied: "Of course, we will win the next four games."

...

The situation in the eastern and western finals is very different, with the western finals evenly matched and it is difficult to decide the winner and the eastern strength gap is large, which can be seen before the eastern and western finals begin.

The 76ers are obviously the same team as the Lakers and the Supersonics, while the Bulls... can enter the Eastern Conference Finals just like a miracle, falling behind 0-2, turning around, falling behind 1-3, and turning back again.

On May 23, the Lakers, who played away, narrowly defeated the Supersonics 106-101 with O'Neal's 37 points and Pierce's 33 points, tied the score 1-1, and grabbed the home advantage.

But on May 26, after changing home and away games, relying on Jordan's 36 points, Zhang Hao's 21 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, Kassel's 17 points, and Kukochi's 14 points, the Supersonics beat the Lakers 113-100 away games, tied the big score 2-1, and grabbed the home advantage back.

Zhang Hao's first triple-double in the playoffs during his time with the Supersonics came a little late. In this game, Zhang Hao did not stick to "the high ball holding rate affects the team's offense." Instead, he increased the ball holding ratio, which had a miraculous effect!

This adaptability, ability to adjust its ability and execution according to actual conditions, has nothing to say about the Lakers. Back then, this belonged to them! How could they still be unfamiliar with Zhang Hao?

On the other hand, Kobe said he would be 4-1. On May 27, after the first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals, the 76ers led the Bulls 3-0...

The difference in points is not big. The G2, 76ers narrowly defeated 83 to 79, and the G3, 76ers narrowly defeated 100 to 95.

But the 76ers are too stable! Although Kobe played well in the first three games and the Bulls' outburst was amazing, he did not play the stellar performance that could surpass the 76ers'!

On May 28, the Lakers relied on the 6-man double-digit performance, Pierce had the highest 28 points, defeating the Supersonics 109-101, tied the big score 2-2, defending the second home court, avoiding the possibility of being rushed to the match point by the Supersonics two consecutive games. The two teams will enter the battle of Tianwang Mountain on May 31!

On May 29, the Bulls are about to be swept away!

When two players in a team get 40+, what should the opponent do?

Although Iverson scored a game-high 46 points and Duncan scored an astonishing performance of 19 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, Kobe scored 40 points and McGrady scored 41 points. The Bulls rose against the trend while falling behind 0-3, beating the 76ers 110-100!

Kobe and McGrady played crazy singles tonight, and they made the defense of the 76ers, the No. 1 in the league!

The rest of the Bulls only scored 29 points in total? It doesn’t matter, the B-Plan Group scored 81 points together!

Brad Miller, who played 38 minutes in the game, looked at his 11 assists in the playoffs, and didn't know what to say. Only 3 assists were normal assists, and the others basically turned into assists when they were passed out.

Every game of the Western Conference Finals is a highlight. It does not require too much hype from the media, but it has enough topics, news ratings and game ratings.

But in the East, after the 76ers led the Bulls 3-0, the topics were actually getting less and less. Kobe's "We will win the Eastern Conference Final 4-1" was constantly ridiculed by this news.

But now the Bulls have won one game, and a new topic is coming out immediately!

In the first round, the Bulls fell behind 0-2 and won three games in a row. In the second round, the Bulls fell behind 1-3 and won three games in a row. Now that it is in the Eastern Conference Final, can they create miracles again?

...

...

On May 30, there were no games, and the Hawks were responsible for the first joint trial of the season.

Yao Ming didn't go...

Zhang Hao felt that Yao Ming was more arrogant than he knew... so he went to the Wizards for two days to try out, and then returned to China to prepare for the Universiade.

Since the Wizards were the Wizards, other players, even the No. 1 picks, have won the idea of ​​becoming the No. 1 pick.

The Wizards have long announced that they will only choose Yao Ming.

Perhaps, if there is a player with a talent or combat power that is exaggerated to the level of O'Neal, Duncan, and Kobe, the Wizards will have other ideas.

However, let’s not talk about whether the players who run this year have such geniuses, other geniuses also have their own pride. Several top picks have no chance to participate in the Wizards’ team trial.

Orlando and Oakland are both very good cities, one with Disney and the other close to San Francisco, which is also very attractive to those geniuses.

The Supersonics have two first-round picks this year, one of which is the No. 6 draw. The Nets did not draw the top three picks, and the No. 6 draw belongs to the Supersonics.

But this ranking is not up or down, which makes the Supersonics management and coaching staff very troubled.

It is obvious that Yao Ming, Gasol, Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, and Eddie Curry locked in the top five picks, with talent or combat power, and is obviously ahead of other rookies. This has been certified by trial training by multiple teams.

Recently, there has been a "training direction" that has been recognized by many teams - Jermaine O'Neal-style training.

The university training system has been questioned, and the direction has become that everyone has begun to compete for younger geniuses. In the future, players who stay in college for three or four years will inevitably be selected. Even if they have the vision to know that college basketball training is still effective, they can only compete for high school students or freshmen.

Then choose the young one and cultivate it slowly by yourself, and it will definitely form a major trend.

Jermaine O'Neal is the most successful one in this training method. He doesn't become an All-Star in two years like Garnett, and it is even more incomparable to Zhang Hao's second-year top-sum.

But Zhang Hao and Garnett are special, Jermaine O'Neal and Kemp are what the teams are looking forward to.

If you can choose players like Jermaine O'Neal and Kemp in the top three picks, you will have made a lot of money, even if you train yourself for a few years or raise them for a few years.

The Supersonics management and coaching staff also have this plan. At present, they are not short of combat power. Even if more veterans retire in the summer, they are more willing to choose experienced players in the free market, and rookies are in combat power... Andrei Kirirenko's contract with the Russian Premier League has expired and will join the NBA after the European Championships. Larry Harris has gone to Russia to sign a contract with Kirirenko last month.

Slowly cultivating a genius is a good choice for the Supersonics team.

But two questions are right in front of you. The first is that the three high school students this year are all inside. If there is a defender who still needs time to train, then in two or three years, it will be just right for Jordan to complete the old and new alternating with Jordan.

Another, even if you don’t consider the position, for example, when Zhang Hao was at his peak, he let Zhang Hao play as a small forward, and the Supersonics team’s pick was not high enough, and the No. 6 draw was not up or down.

Another point is that the management and coaching staff of the Supersonics team like Eddie Curry very much and thinks Eddie Curry can partner with Zhang Hao very well. His body shape and offensive style look like O'Neal who is 3 cm shorter.

But Zhang Hao refused...

At the beginning, Tyson Chandler was the one who attracted the most attention. In terms of maturity, Tyson Chandler had better combat power.

But his defensive talent is not as good as Kwame Brown, and his offensive talent is not as good as Eddie Curry, which seems a little embarrassed.

...

...

Regarding the draft, Zhang Hao only rejected the idea of ​​choosing Eddie Curry in upward trading, and the others are ignored for the time being.

The media hyped the 2001 draft show, and since they could not praise it, they would trample on their heads and advocate the talent of high school students.

But Zhang Hao knew that the 2001 rookies were very good, and most of the lottery areas were excellent. After choosing the top five picks, he would wait to choose the one that suits the rest. He didn't have to have the best one among the rest. The most important thing was to be suitable.

They are not short of top talents.

After returning to Seattle for a day of rest and another day of preparation training, on May 31, the Supersonics ushered in the battle of Tianwangshan with the Lakers at home. Unfortunately, the Supersonics, who played at home, were defeated by Pierce's final kill with 1.9 seconds left!

With 1.9 seconds left, Zhang Hao received the ball and made a jump shot, and scored the score to 97-95, leading by two points.

But Pierce received the ball and made a three-pointer with only 1.9 seconds left, killing the Supersonics!

The Little Buddha in the Killing Realm was killed! The Lakers led 3-2! Get the match point!

On June 1, the Bulls defeated the 76ers 80-74 away, chasing the big score to 2-3!

Kobe scored 44 points, McGrady scored 18 points and 9 assists, and the Bucks scored in double digits, which won the game!

This situation suddenly became different from what people imagined!

Even if the Supersonics lose, the finals that people are looking forward to is also the battle between O'Neal and Duncan for the first center.

Zhang Hao VS No. 1 pick, O'Neal VS Duncan, is the showdown that people are looking forward to.

But in this situation, is it going to become O'Neal VS Kobe?

Although the Bulls have only chased for two games in a row and are still behind 2-3, the Bulls have won three games in a row in the first two rounds!

...

On June 3, after two days of rest, the Supersonics came to Staples Center to challenge the Lakers away.

Zhang Hao scored 45 points in the whole game, Jordan scored 28 points, Cassel scored 20 points, Ben Wallace scored 14 points and 16 rebounds, Hornersek scored 6 points, Artest scored 5 points and 2 steals, Kukoc scored 4 points and 4 assists, James Percy scored 2 points... The Supersonics narrowly defeated the Lakers 121-115 through overtime, dragging the game into tiebreak!
To be continued...