Bishop of the Devil

After hanging up the phone with Richard, Golden Dragon went directly to Jordan and told him what Richard meant.

Naturally, Jordan still looked a little ugly, but seeing Richard take a slight step back, he couldn't say anything else.

He also knew that in fact, what Huang Jinlong said was not wrong at all. If Richard did not become a coach, it would be normal for him not to receive a salary...

But if he becomes a coach and does not receive a salary, Jordan will take advantage of him.

The two parties are in a partnership, not charity. The US$10 million is what Richard deserves.

Now Jordan could only sigh and agree to this.

In fact, the main reason is not to agree. He knows very well that if he falls out with Richard, he will definitely suffer in this matter...

…

The diamond ring and salary matters are settled, and the final results of the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals are out.

In the East, the Nets and the 76ers faced off against their enemies. In the end, the Nets won this time, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the tiebreaker.

The two teams faced off in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, but Zhi played very well that time and finally defeated the Nets.

This season, Da Zhi's performance can only be regarded as quite satisfactory, averaging 19.5 points per game, which is far less powerful than last season.

Players like Da Zhi are quite difficult to handle because they are too tall. If they play from the outside, they cannot break through...

With such a high center of gravity, as long as he dribbles through, the chance of being intercepted is infinite.

So on the offensive end, he relies more on shooting.

When it comes to playing inside, it's not that Da Zhi can't fight, but because of the disadvantages of tonnage and strength, he can't take advantage of it at all, and it's not as effective as a blue-collar man with a human shield.

In the semifinals of the Western Conference, the Lakers finally relied on a tiebreaker to defeat the Spurs. After all, the strength of the Lakers F4 is there. If not for injuries, their strength must not be underestimated.

…

The Eastern and Western Conference finals are released, with the Pistons facing the Nets and the Timberwolves facing the Lakers.

If nothing else, the Timberwolves should not be a match for the Lakers. The Lakers are not a team with obvious shortcomings like the Trail Blazers. Their starting lineup simply has everything they want...

Maybe the Timberwolves can win one or two games, but in the end the winner of the Western Conference Finals will definitely be the Lakers.

As for the Eastern Conference, there is no doubt that the Nets are by no means a match for the Pistons. Even if they win one game, it will be considered a success.

Richard felt that the strength of Green Kai seemed to be no worse than that of the Nets. That is to say, Green Kai was unlucky this year and only entered the playoffs in eighth place...

If it weren't for eighth place, maybe the Pistons' opponent in this round of Eastern Conference finals would be Green Kai.

…

The Eastern Conference finals began, and the Pistons easily defeated the Nets in the first game, winning by 27 points.

This has basically set the tone for this round of Eastern Conference Finals...

In the next three games, the Pistons worked hard again, directly shaving the Nets' heads and sweeping them easily.

As the Nets were swept, Richard knew that the Nets team might be disintegrating.

Their three core players may undergo changes in the coming season, and it is not impossible for Kidd to be sold.

As for the Western Conference finals, the Timberwolves are also at a disadvantage. Currently trailing by a big score of 1:3, they are basically unable to recover.

On May 29, in G5 of the Western Conference Finals, the Timberwolves struggled to defend their home court and pulled the score back to 3:2.

In G6 of the Western Conference Finals on May 31, they did not have such good luck, and were easily defeated by the Lakers in the away game.

Since then, the opponent in the finals of the 2003-2004 season has been officially announced. The Pistons will face the Lakers F4.

Richard knows very well that the Lakers' F4 lineup can only be said to be short-lived. Regardless of whether they win the championship this season, this F4 lineup will probably be dismantled.

At least Malone will definitely leave the Lakers...

As for whether the OK combination will be dismantled, Richard feels that even if the Lakers win the championship, the OK combination may still be dismantled.

If both of them are willing to take a salary cut, then the OK combination may be able to continue to coexist.

But with the temperament of these two people, it is probably impossible to reduce their salary.

…

"We will teach Richard a lesson and strive to defeat the Pistons within six games and win the championship."

The Lakers, who have made it to the Finals, are full of confidence, O'Neal told reporters at the press conference.

O'Neal was really driven crazy by Richard. Over the years, he had only won one championship. He had a feeling that if it weren't for Richard, he would definitely have more than one championship, maybe three. All four are possible.

Now that he has finally found the opportunity to join Richard in the finals, he naturally wants to build up his reputation.

Karl Malone was sitting next to O'Neal, with a solemn look on his face.

His thoughts are similar to O'Neal's. If Richard hadn't been there, he might not have had to come to the Lakers late in the season to get a deal, and he might have won the championship with the Jazz.

Coupled with the previous deep hatred, Ma Long has made up his mind to make Richard look good in this finals.

Kobe has been silent, but he also attaches great importance to this round of the finals. His dream is to defeat Richard in the finals, and now he has finally found this rare opportunity.

…

"Oh? Are you so confident? It would be ugly if we lose to us." Richard said with a smile at the Pistons press conference.

If he had faced Lakers F4 in the finals last season, Richard might still be a little worried.

After all, the Pistons were too young at that time, but now the Pistons players have matured a lot after two seasons of training.

Richard is not worried about the Lakers at all...

…

On June 4th, the first game of the finals began at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The expressions of the players on both sides were quite solemn. Even if there were familiar players on the other side, they did not come forward to say hello at this moment.

When you step onto the stage of the finals, you have no friends, only enemies.

As the referee blew the whistle, the starting players from both sides began to take the field.

Richard sat on the sidelines and recalled what this round of the finals would have been like under normal circumstances.

Under normal circumstances, this round of the finals will be the Pistons' top five against the Lakers F4.

The popularity of this round of finals can almost rank in the top five of all finals in NBA history.

It's even possible to be in the top three, and Richard is naturally impressed.

The Lakers lost in the first game, and Kobe had to bear the blame for the loss...

Even if Kobe is one of Richard's own, from a fair point of view, Kobe's fault in this first game is also his fault.

Kobe took 27 crazy shots in the game, but only scored 25 points.

You must know that the rhythm of both sides is extremely slow. The Lakers only took about 70 shots in total, and the Pistons were even more pitiful, with only 65 shots in total.

You can imagine how terrifying the number of these twenty-seven shots was.

If we compare it to a normal game in which a hundred shots were taken in later generations, Kobe almost took forty shots in this game.

Of course, it's not particularly accurate to blame Kobe entirely for this.

Malone also has to carry a third...

Malone took 9 shots in the whole game, only hit two, and only scored four points in the end.

Malone is really old. When facing the Pistons' twin towers, it was obvious that he was unable to do what he wanted.

But even so, he still came on and played a full 44 minutes.

This is probably the main reason for his injury in G3. After all, he is 40 years old, played for 44 minutes, and faced such a fierce finals. It would be strange not to get injured.

…

The game on the court was already in full swing. Kobe missed two consecutive shots at the beginning, which directly gave the Pistons a four-point lead.

But then O'Neal began to take charge of the game, carrying Yao Ming's defense and hitting one after another, recovering the disadvantage.

Richard sighed. Yao Ming's tonnage and strength were still far behind O'Neal.

Even though Yao Ming has been building muscle and weight all the time in the past two years, he is still at a disadvantage when facing a monster like O'Neal.

"Beep!" The referee called a defensive foul on Clark, which was committed on O'Neal.

O'Neal walked to the free throw line with a solemn face and began to execute free throws.

What Pistons fans didn't expect was that O'Neal made two free throws.

Richard couldn't help but think of this round of the finals under normal circumstances. O'Neal's free throws were really superb.

In this round of the finals, O'Neal's free throw shooting percentage reached a level of nearly 70%...

With such a free throw shooting rate, if you use foul tactics against O'Neal, it will definitely be more gain than loss.

…

By the end of the first quarter, the two sides were basically tied. With a score of 22:21, the Pistons were temporarily one point behind.

In the first quarter of the game, they did not use the shark-cutting tactic against O'Neal because they did not receive instructions from Richard.

O'Neal made 3 of 4 free throws in the first quarter. This shooting rate is amazing.

In addition to the high free throw shooting rate, the dominance under the basket is also unsatisfactory. The Lakers scored 22 points in the first quarter, 13 of which came from O'Neal, 5 of 7 from the basket!

That is to say, the remaining four starting players did not perform well. Otherwise, the Lakers may have a considerable advantage in the first quarter.

Malone went 0 for 3 in the first quarter, Kobe went 2 for 6 in the first quarter, Payton went 1 for 3 in the first quarter, and Devin George, who started the game, didn't get a chance to shoot at all...

Poor little fish Fisher didn't get a chance to start. He only played two minutes in the first quarter and scored 1-0.

Except for O'Neal, the remaining five Lakers players who have appeared in the game only scored six points in sports games. If you include free throws, they only scored nine points, which is quite miserable.

Richard felt a slight sense of crisis in his heart. If O'Neal continued to be so violent, the Pistons might really be pulled down tonight.

However, this sense of crisis is only fleeting. Malone and Payton are so old that they cannot last long if they continue such a high-intensity confrontation.

The Pistons are all young and energetic young men. Even if the physical exertion is too great tonight, they may be able to recover after a night's rest...

In the first quarter of the Pistons' side, Yao Ming and Clark played the entire game, Gerrard and Nash played 11 minutes, and Laga Bell also played more than ten minutes.

In the second quarter of the game, Richard had already changed his strategy and began to defend O'Neal and double-team him...

Even if it leaves Karl Malone open, it's not a big deal.

O'Neal's shooting percentage is too exaggerated, and although Malone has a mid-range shot, even if he has a hot hand, it is impossible to achieve O'Neal's terrifying shooting percentage at the basket.

Moreover, Gerrard, who is very mobile, can also harass Malone from time to time...

In the second quarter of the game, under Richard's arrangement, the Pistons finally gained a certain amount of initiative and took advantage of the situation to lead by three points.

Seeing such a scene, Richard relaxed.

In this round of finals, the closer we go to the end, the more advantage the Pistons will take. As long as the Lakers are not stunned, the final winner will definitely be the Pistons.

Malone's touch was quite bad tonight, going 0 for 3 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, because O'Neal was double-teamed, he got a lot of the ball.

But whether Gerrard was harassing him, he could only pass the ball to Devin George.

As a result, in the second quarter of the game, Malone's 2-for-6 data was still quite sluggish.

Devin George is the one with the least presence in the Lakers' starting lineup. When he receives a pass from Malone, his first thought must be to pass the ball.

Either pass Kobe or Payton...

If it is passed to Payton, there is a 70% probability that the ball will end up in Kobe's hands.

If it is passed to Kobe, the offensive round will basically be over.

O'Neal could only stare blankly at the basket and could only seize the second offensive opportunity that appeared.

…

"Beep!" When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the Pistons won the game.

The point difference in winning was not much, only a measly seven points, but Richard was quite satisfied.

Mainly because of tonight's game, the opponent's Malone and Payton were very tired.

Malone actually played a full 45 minutes. As for Payton, because he had Xiaoyu on the bench, he was more comfortable and played 37 minutes.

This kind of playing time is definitely quite fatal for a veteran. Maybe there is no disadvantage in one or two games. If there are too many games, it will be unreasonable not to get injured...

The key point is that the Lakers are unable to change this situation, and their bench lineup is quite shabby.

There is nothing we can do about it. O'Neal's salary alone is as high as 25 million US dollars this season!

Kobe Bryant is worth $13.5 million...

The salary of these two people alone has reached a terrifying US$38 million!

We must know that the salary cap for this season is only 43.84 million US dollars in total, and these two people alone account for almost 90%!

Although both Malone and Payton took a salary cut to join the Lakers, Malone signed a minimum salary, but Payton's contract is also close to five million US dollars...

Devin George is also worth $5 million.

In this way, the salary of the starting lineup far exceeds the salary cap. How can there be salary to build a substitute lineup? Most of the Lakers' substitute lineup is players with minimum salary, and they will definitely not be able to use it in the finals.

So the Lakers were forced to have no choice but to let Malone and Payton play crazy...