Chapter 371 Sweeping the King

   At this time, Wang Tiejun’s home in Fengshen Street, Nuoda’s living room was crowded with people, all of whom were villagers working in Fengshen Street in their hometown.

   In the adjacent basketball training base, a large group of people from Nortel were gathering in the dormitory building to watch the game. They had already signed with Feige Company, and Yu Feihong arranged a group of people without accommodation here.

The Fengshen Street outside has entered the most lively stage of the year again. Countless basketball fans in the capital poured into this area, completely submerging the area. It was more lively than last year's playoffs, with more people and a lot more people. , the surrounding blocks are full of people.

   Under the leadership of Wang Tiejun’s violent performance this season, the domestic basketball atmosphere is getting stronger and stronger. Sports schools in various places have also increased their investment in basketball. Countless schools have also increased basketball activities in physical education classes. The increase in basketball fans is expanding rapidly.

  Especially in the capital, Cangzhou, the atmosphere of basketball has completely surpassed football, and the children playing basketball in schools far outnumber those who play football.

   Fengshen Street is already overcrowded. Although it has affected business, hundreds of owners are very happy, and they even prepared the largest size TVs for fans.

   In the bar street of South Street, there are many basketball bars, which is the trend of bars this year.

   The popularity of this street is no less than that of Houhai and the nearby Sanlitun. At the time of the playoffs, the popularity is far more than those two areas.

   It's daytime, but all the bars are open and full of fans.

   Chaoyang District organized a large number of manpower to maintain order. Several leaders in the district were both happy and painful, for fear of causing a stampede accident.

   Several market research workers from the United States were crowding around Fengshen Street, sweating profusely, and they couldn't get through. They squeezed for a long time without going far.

   They were commissioned by the NBA official to investigate the NBA and basketball market in China, so that the official plan to develop the market.

   "They were wrong, they thought Phoenix was the home base of old K, but no, it was here."

   "I bet there are at least 100,000 people gathered here, as well as those basketball courts just now."

   "So how many basketball fans are there in the whole of China? Ten million, thirty million, fifty million, or more?"

   "You should ask how many fans Lao K has in China, this is more direct."

   "However, the Suns haven't released a jersey of Old K in China. Do they know how much money they have made less?"

   "And Mammoth, the K series of old K is also not sold here."

  …

The core of the Kings team is four-time All-Star guard Mitch Richmond, who was selected to the best second team twice, the fifth pick in the first round in 1988, and eight seasons since he entered the league, all with 20+ performances. , has been at the peak until now at the age of 30, still at the peak.

  Unfortunately, the Kings lineup is too poor. The last time they made the playoffs was in the 85/96 season. They have not made the playoffs for 9 consecutive seasons. This year is also the first time Richmond has reached the playoffs in his career.

   He was very excited, very happy, but also very frustrated, because the opponent in the first round was the Suns, the league's top team led by old K, and the chance of winning was too small.

  The Kings are similar to the Bulls. They are both teams with the outside line as their core. When the outside line cannot lock the outside line of the Suns, the inside line will be directly destroyed by the old K.

"Mitch, come and help me after finishing this contract, and I'll take you to the championship." In the player tunnel, Pharaoh patted Richmond's shoulder with a smile, and reminded: "By the way, be prepared We are mentally prepared for the sweep."

   "Old K, you may not have the strength to sweep us this year, right?"

  Richmond was so angry that he laughed dryly, but he did not refuse the solicitation of old K. The King is not his parent team. If he wants to leave the King, he has no psychological burden.

   A star like him is different from ordinary players in pursuit of honor. He hopes to have a more fulfilling career, and the championship is an indispensable hard honor.

  Pharaoh didn’t refute Richmond’s words, he just talked trash, to dampen the morale of the opponent, whether he could sweep, to be honest, he was not sure, the lineup was not strong enough, and once the perimeter played abnormally, it was possible to lose.

   "Sun King! Sun King! Sun King..."

  When Wang Tiejun walked out of the player tunnel, nearly 20,000 fans in the audience began to shout frantically, and the sound wave instantly swept the audience.

   When Wang Tiejun raised his hands to them, the sound wave instantly rose up and reached a peak.

   took the host's microphone with his left hand, and Pharaoh pressed his right hand to the surroundings. The shouting at the scene quickly went out, and within a few seconds, the West American Arena fell silent.

   "What a high appeal!"

   "Unbelievable!"

   A few stars from Xiangcheng feel incredible, even Long Wu and Zhou Wenhuai are the same.

Where is the United States, the most powerful country in the world, the real global hegemon, wherever you want to fight, you can respond to every call, and now is the most powerful era of the United States since the founding of the country, a Chinese person can have such a great power here. Prestige, in their eyes, was unbelievable.

"It's playoff time again, I see countless fans who support us, it's a great thing, you guys keep us motivated, it's you who keep us full of endless pursuit of honor, this time , we will fight for the championship again..."

   With Wang Tiejun's voice, the fans' shouts broke out from time to time. The fans seemed very excited and couldn't suppress it at all, and interrupted his speech several times.

   In this game, the Suns lined up the starting lineup of Wang Tiejun and Ben Wallace, Robert Horry, Wes Liposen and Kevin Johnson.

  The main attack point is the fifth position, the second attack point is the second position, the third attack point is the third position, and the fourth position is responsible for the dirty work as a coolie.

   No. 1, Lightning played for a whole season, worried that he would not be able to last in the playoffs, mainly responsible for organization and defense, not many offensive tasks, and did not arrange his breakthrough tactics, try to save his physical strength.

  Wang Tiejun has a heavier task and undertakes some organizational functions, that is to say, organization and offense, defense, rebounding, the four major sections are all in one hand.

   In addition, Horry on the 3rd, mainly plays without the ball, is responsible for open shots, plus outside defense, the offensive end responds to the 1st position, establishes another support point, is responsible for the transition of the ball, and passes the ball for the low post.

   No. 2 Posen has a certain degree of autonomous attack power and can attack with the ball, but he does not give much ball power. He mainly focuses on holding the ball in the fast break and low position in the positional attack.

   No. 4 is a big book, needless to say, coolie.

   CCTV has already started to switch to the live broadcast signal. It just switched to Fengshen Street, and now it has switched back to the live broadcast seat.

   Zhang Lili said: "Although the Suns are much stronger than the Kings, they can't be careless. Neither Posen nor Horry are the kind of talented stars, the two of them can only be regarded as role players.

   Although the Lightning is in good shape now, it is getting old in the end, and the state of the playoffs cannot be guaranteed. Not to mention Ben Wallace. From being undrafted to becoming the main force of the Suns, and now entering the starting lineup in the playoffs, who can guarantee what kind of performance he can perform? "

   "That means there is a possibility of capsize?" Su Qun asked.

   Zhang Lili nodded and said: "Although the Suns have the league's first record, the situation this season is actually a bit special. Half of the teams are probably suspected of being rotten. That...cough, just don't be careless."

   When he said this, when he saw Su Qun tilting his head and covering his face, he winked at him, he immediately reacted, and if he went on, he was saying that the Suns' record this season was watery, and he quickly stopped talking.

  Su Qun quickly changed the subject and said, "Guide Zhang, Fengshen Street seemed to be more lively than last year just now!"

"Hey, right, right, now Fengshen Street should be regarded as the most lively neighborhood in the capital city. It is very popular. During the playoffs, it is more lively than Wangfujing. It has become the basketball base of the capital, and it is also the most yearning for basketball fans across the country. The place."

Speaking of this, Zhang Lili's interest came up. After all, he and Yu Feihong encouraged Wang Tiejun to buy Fengshen Street. He said excitedly: "Last month, the K Times Sports Center has completed the bidding, and it will take a few months. After the design drawing is out, the construction can begin.”

   At this time, the game officially started. After the jump ball, the Suns attacked.

"boom!"

  Wang Tiejun forcibly squeezed into the basket. After receiving the ball with his back to the defender, he turned around and dunked directly to the Kings center Alden Polynis.

  Polinis is 211 cm and has a tonnage of 110 kilograms. He is already 32 years old, and he is not a star. He can’t stop him at all.

   Looking back, Richmond broke through with the ball, and after punching Posen, he encountered Big Ben's supplementary defense when he entered the flank.

   Big Ben's experience is insufficiency, and he was overtaken by Richmond's extraordinary breakthrough.

  Polinis did not have a mid-range attack, only the offensive ability in the paint area, which could not be pulled out at all. Wang Tiejun entered the basket and blocked Richmond in front.

   Richmond is very aware of Old K's defensive ability at the basket, so he didn't force his way in and chose to make a pull-up jumper.

  Pharaoh didn't jump too high when he took off and blocked the shot. With his defensive height, he could act as a great deterrent to the attackers.

  Richmond adjusted his release angle in the air, the ball flew over his palm, and he turned immediately after landing.

"boom!"

   The shot angle was a bit high, the ball was short, it bounced off the basket, and was caught by him.

"Old K's defense is getting stronger and stronger now. It's very difficult to break in and play. He stands still, you have to take two more steps, and then he can keep up with your rhythm with one turn." Bill Walton said.

  This round of the series was broadcast nationally by ABC TV, and he and John Hanks commented on the Suns game.

   "Old K's block stats have risen to a new level. In addition, this season's help defense has improved a lot, and the help defense speed and coverage area have both improved a lot." John Hanks nodded and said.

   After five minutes of play in the first quarter, the Kings adopted the tactics of the Bulls against the Suns. The perimeter kept trying to lock the Suns' perimeter, but unfortunately they were unable to catch up and did not succeed. As a result, their low post was blown up by Wang Tiejun.

   When the low post is exploded, it is necessary to concentrate on the defensive force to help defend the low post, double-teaming the old K, and the result is that the defense on the outside becomes weak, which allows the Suns to get a lot of vacancies on the outside.

"brush!"

   Receiving Wang Tiejun's ball, Horry hit an open three-pointer.

   He raised his fist excitedly, which was his first 3-pointer.

   After starting from the top, his performance did not disappoint the team, he played very stable, his hit rate on open **** was very good, and the old K gave him more and more balls.

   Returning to the defensive end, he started to defend desperately, and took out all the close-fitting entanglement defenses he was best at, and did not dare to be careless.

On the offensive end, he does not need to consume a lot of physical strength. After the old K attracts a double team, he only needs to hit the open ball. There are few breakthroughs and the confrontation is not big, so in fact, the performance on the offensive end is partly because of the old K. addition.

  Because of this, he must show his value on the defensive end, otherwise a perimeter that only throws open **** will easily be replaced by others once there is no defense.

  The same is true for Big Ben. From losing the draft to the lack of the team’s request, to the Suns giving him a chance to be a substitute, and even later becoming the starter, he has always been nervous and wary, for fear that he would not work hard enough and would be given up by the team.

   In the Suns, no matter in training or games, he gave 120% every second. In this team, he was the hardest worker, even surpassing the old K.

Now that he has entered the playoffs, he is still the starter. Although his confidence is much stronger than before, his shortcomings are too obvious. Although defense and rebounding have made some progress, he does not dare to be careless. The same as before, Still putting in 120 percent of the effort in every second.

   Desperately defending, desperately grabbing rebounds, desperately returning to defense, even if it has nothing to do with him on fast breaks, he desperately keeps up.

   The effect of his efforts may be invisible in many cases, and the data cannot reflect it, but everyone can see his efforts.

   According to relevant statistics, his running distance in each game even exceeds the outside line, ranking first in the team.

  Weiss Riposon, who replaced Wilkins in the starting lineup, was a major turning point in his career for him, and he had more opportunities to perform.

He knows that his talent is not good enough, so he works very hard. He knows that if the team has better options, his position will not be maintained, and even the team is in the process of rebuilding. One day he may be traded, but In any case, he must play hard enough in the main position, which will make his future career better.

Kevin Johnson, although not a rookie of the Suns, is his home team, and he is also the person who supports Old K the most. From the position of the core and leader of the former team, he switched to a support after one season. This change is very big. .

   But he's not Barkley, Barkley doesn't have any affection for the Suns, he's full of affection for here, so the transition process wasn't difficult for him, just because he wanted the Suns to be better.

   In fact, he doesn't have much expectations for the championship. He has two championships in hand, and he is the main point guard. Even the first championship is the core outside. This is enough, and his career is perfect enough.

Now for the next few seasons, which is his last contract period, his expectation is to stay on the team, get a good big contract, and stand on the last shift, and do it for the old K era. a witness.

  Wilkins, although he was reduced to the sixth man position and received a basic salary, he played very hard for the championship. In the bench lineup, he was always at the forefront and was always full of energy.

   With the efforts of these people, the Suns defeated the Kings and successfully won the G1 game of the first round of the series.

  Pharaoh played for 44 minutes. Because of his grasp in all aspects, he scored 42 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 5 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls.

   Five people on the team scored in double figures, except for four in the main lineup, Wilkins scored 15 points.

  Wilkins' efficiency is obviously not as good as in the regular season, facing more defensive pressure, and his hit rate is nearly five percentage points lower.

  Rookie Finley only scored 2 points and made 1 of 7 shots. He did not adapt to the intensity of the playoffs. In addition, the physical problem has not been solved, and since he was given the main position, there have been some psychological problems.

   That night, the Jazz beat the Lakers, the Bulls beat the Heat, and the Pacers beat the Cavaliers.

   The next day, Pharaoh sent Cheng Long and the others away.

   That night, Mosaic defeated the Spurs, the SuperSonics defeated the Blazers, the Knicks defeated the Eagles, and the Magic defeated the Pistons, and there was no upset.

  27th, the Suns made persistent efforts to win the Kings twice at home and got the match point in the first round.

   In this game, Finley sprained his left ankle, leading to the end of the game. According to the post-match inspection, the ligament was strained and the playoffs were reimbursed.

   On the same night, the Jazz lost to the Lakers, the Pacers lost to the Cavaliers, and the two sides tied 1-1.

  The Bulls beat the Heat and got match point.

   On the evening of the 28th, the three Mosaic giants exerted their strength and jointly contributed 88 points, won the second victory, and won the match point.

  The SuperSonics stumbled and drew with the Blazers.

   The Knicks and the Magic beat the Eagles and Pistons again and got match points one after another.

   No. 29, the Suns came to the away game, the king of three wars.

   In this game, in the home atmosphere, the Kings had an explosion, and Richmond scored 42 points efficiently.

   This is his personal highest score in a single game in the playoffs, and it completely blew up the opposing Wes Liposen, even if the Lightning and Big Ben frequently double-teamed in the past.

   The Suns were in some unstable state, with poor perimeter feel and many mistakes. The Kings once led by double digits.

But unfortunately, no matter how good Richmond's offense is on the outside, the defense can't lock the Suns' outside line, so Wang Tiejun still blasted the king's inside line, blocked the penalty area with strong defense, and completely controlled the rebound. ball.

   In the end, the Suns overtook the score in the final quarter. Wang Tiejun scored 44 points, 21 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 blocks. With his top offensive and defensive performance, he led his team to sweep the Kings.

   (end of this chapter)