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Chapter 51 [Speaking again! The perfect start! 】

After the game, all media were unanimously optimistic about the Lakers' championship. Some experts believed that it was difficult for the Pacers to win a game. Not only was O'Neal suppressed in the interior, but the outside offense was also messy.

The Pacers' star Reggie Miller played 41 minutes in the first game, made 1 of 16 shots, 0 of 3 three-pointers, 5 of 5 free throws, and scored 7 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. He was clearly an undercover agent.

In Guo Xu's previous life, even in 2018, there were still many Miller on the Internet who were full of ancient and modern times, saying that he was a legendary star, the best pitcher in history, Jordan's lifelong enemy, etc.

As the "Jordan's lifelong enemy", Miller was selected as the All-Star five times in his career and only started one time. His personal honor is three best three teams, and there are no other great honors such as MVP, championship, best defense, and scoring champion.

Jordan's honor is even one-fifth of the five, Miller. This guy has only played in the Eastern Conference Finals twice and one final. He averaged 18.1 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game in his 18-year career, with a three-point shooting percentage of 39.5%, and 1.8 three-point shooting scores for 4.7 shots. His three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs was even lower, only 39%, and 2.2 shots for 5.7 shots.

The real reason why Miller is famous is his bad habit. He speaks without any restraint, talks randomly, and has quarrels with referees, star players, and team executives. His ubiquitous swear words make him the "public enemy" in the hearts of fans.

Such a person is the boss and role model, how good can Pacers players be?

In the second game, they targeted Kobe. Kobe was very resilient in the game and was desperate at both offense and defense. As long as the OK combination is in, the Pacers will have no chance at all.

Kobe left the field after being injured and 9 minutes into this game. He sprained his ankle when he landed on the jump shot.

Guo Xu knew that Kobe was injured was not an accident, but Jaylen Ross deliberately stepped on his feet. In his previous life, Ross talked about this in 2012 and admitted that he deliberately injured Kobe. He said: "If I were asked to decide, he shouldn't be able to play the entire series, so I would have a championship ring. I did that on purpose at the time. You can't say it was an accident."

As a bystander, Guo Xu felt that Ross' behavior was disgusting. At this time, he swore in his heart that he would never "actively" attack his opponent on the basketball court in the future. If the other party takes action first, it would be hard to say.

Without Kobe, the Lakers still won. O'Neal played for 46 minutes, made 11 of 18 shots, and made 39 free throws and set a NBA record of free throws in a single game, scoring 40 points, 24 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks. Two people in the Pacers graduated from six fouls and one five foul.

Harper seemed to have suddenly recovered his youth from the outside, played for 37 minutes, made 8 of 12 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 5 free throws, and scored 21 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists.

Guo Xu is very depressed about this. Harper will dominate the starting position next season.

Kobe's foot injury was not minor and failed to participate in the third game. The Lakers lost to the Pacers away.

After the game, head coach Phil Jackson revealed that Kobe asked the coaching staff to send him on the court before the third game, but his ankle hurt so much that he could only stand up with the strength of his toes. Jackson felt that this was purely a death sentence and it was very likely that his injury would be aggravated, so he was asked to quit.

Before the fourth game, although Kobe's foot injury had not healed, he continued to volunteer to participate. Jackson decided to take a risk and give it a try this time. If the Pacers win two games in a row, the game will be variable.

Pacers center Rick Schmitz scored four goals in a row after the opening game, and the Pacers quickly took the lead, opening a 10-point gap at the end of the first quarter.

Kobe was obviously affected by a foot injury, and he only scored 6 points in the first half. Moreover, Kobe and O'Neal were both in a foul crisis, and the two were yelled to have their third fouls five minutes before the end of the second quarter.

However, the Pacers failed to take advantage of this opportunity to further expand their lead. Kobe recovered in the third quarter and scored 10 points, leading the Lakers to overtake the score.

In the fourth quarter, O'Neal contributed 14 points, Pacers ace star Reggie Miller scored 13 points, and the two sides drew to enter overtime. One minute after the overtime began, the Lakers' big trouble came, and O'Neal left the court with 6 foulings.

The commentators of the live game were not optimistic about the Lakers. At the critical moment, Kobe, who played with injuries, took on the team.

Jackson decisively changed his tactics at this time, stopped playing in the triangle attack, gave the ball to Kobe, and then opened up space as much as possible.

Kobe did not disappoint the "Zen Master". He made three jump shots in a row in two minutes. The Lakers scored 16 points in overtime and 8 points came from Kobe Miller missed a three-pointer in the last moment. The Lakers won 120-118 away and won the match point.

Kobe scored 28 points with 14 of 27 shots in the game, and O'Neal scored 36 points and 21 rebounds.

The whistle sounded at the end of the game, and O'Neal ran into the field, hugged Kobe enthusiastically, and carried him back to the locker room. At this time, fans who watched the live broadcast through the screen could feel that they had a good relationship.

At the press conference, O'Neal called Kobe "my tall little brother" and was extremely excited.

Kobe's performance of turning the tide with pain also moved Phil Jackson. The "Zen Master" has seen the strength of the greatest shooting guard in history. It is difficult for ordinary second-place players to give this famous coach a thumbs up, but Kobe's brave performance forced Jackson to admire him.

O'Neal is the boss of the team, but Kobe is more attractive to fans after this game. He officially grew from a new star to a superstar. This season he was selected into the second team of the best team and the first team of the best defensive team, which are people's affirmation of him.

In the last two games, Kobe continued to play with injuries, and his shooting percentage was not high, but he had already tried his best. Especially in the sixth game, although he made only 8 of 27 shots, he grabbed 10 rebounds, scoring 26 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

O'Neal's performance was still terrifying, scoring 41 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks, but 3 of 12 free throws were not very good, and the entire series dominated the penalty area.

The Lakers beat the Pacers 4-2, and the players won the championship trophy at home.

Facing the Pacers' 224CM center Rick Schmitz, who was selected as the All-Star in 1998, O'Neal was completely crushing, averaging 38 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, and was elected FMVP without any suspense.

In the entire NBA history, O'Neal's performance in this series is second. The first is Michael Jordan in the 1993 Finals. He averaged 41 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in six games, and scored the second highest 55 points in a single game in the Finals history in Game 5.

After watching the game together at Guo Xu's restaurant, Happi said excitedly: "The Lakers actually won the championship 4-2, and you actually got it right. It doesn't matter if other teams don't ask you for a tryout. I bet the Lakers will definitely sign you!"

The public announcement asked: "How much annual salary can he get?"

Hapi smiled and said, "The first season is definitely not high. He is just over 300,000 yuan before tax. It is difficult for him to enter the first round. Even if he is the first in the second round, he can only get a basic salary. If he signs a two-year rookie contract, it will be higher in the second year. Then he will become a restricted free agent. If he plays well, other teams can offer high salaries to poach people."

The labor-management agreements in this era are different, and it is somewhat unfair to those who rank high in the second round. After 2005, the salary of the second round rookies also had a big gap.
Chapter completed!
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