The rest is just noise

Chapter 1326 The arrow is on the string

Arrow on the string

"Supporting Patrick? I'd rather be eaten by a dinosaur!"

Half an hour before the start of Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, Portland's Rose Garden was already filled with fans.

On the big screen directly above the stadium, the trailer for "Jurassic Park" was playing.

Since the movie has been out for a while, most viewers already know what the trailer is about, which is that Wilson's cameo is the complete opposite of a character named "Patrick" in the movie.

All viewers who see this scene will be reminded of something in reality.

This is an Easter egg that can make anyone who knows professional basketball laugh.

If they lose tonight, this will be the Trail Blazers' last home game of the season and the end of the Pat Riley era.

For a long time, Trail Blazers fans have always had special feelings for Riley.

It is undeniable that the Jordan era of the Trail Blazers reached its peak during Riley's tenure. They reached the Finals for six consecutive years and played four tiebreakers, almost losing the championship by a hair's breadth.

When Riley made strategic mistakes in the 1993 Finals and was defeated by the Knicks in consecutive comebacks, the clamor for Riley's dismissal reached its peak.

But within the Trail Blazers, Jordan has always been a supporter of Riley, and after contacting many experts from outside teams for evaluation, Paul Allen also felt that it would be easy to replace Riley, but it would be harder to find a successor who is better than Riley.

The weather is still difficult.

First of all, Riley is one of the few championship coaches who is still active since the 1980s.

Moreover, he is familiar with the current rules and brings the most advanced basketball system to the Trail Blazers. In addition, he has the support of the players - if you can completely ignore Barkley - and a very high minimum leadership limit.

Substitution became a problem for the Blazers, and it wasn't until Riley decided to let it go that the matter finally came to an end.

Now, the Blazers fan base is not unhappy with anyone, they just want to see this team win a championship.

They have been waiting for this for too many years.

New York is like a ship hitting an iceberg, and Miami is like a boulder sinking to the bottom of the sea. The two biggest stumbling blocks to Portland's championship dream have been removed. Just this year, this is the best opportunity.

The Rose Garden was awash with animosity toward the Lakers.

Even if they are behind 2-3, Trail Blazers fans still believe they will defeat the Lakers.

Because since 1991, the Lakers have been dominated by the Trail Blazers, even with the addition of Benjamin Wilson.

NBC and TNT both fielded their best lineups.

Mainly NBC, they have the golden duo of Bob Costas and Bill Laimbeer, whom fans love to see most.

When the two sides were warming up before the game, a strange phenomenon on the Lakers' part caught Laimbeer's attention.

Generally speaking, NBA teams will warm up their hands and body by shooting, lining up for layups, and various dunks before the game starts.

No matter what the team is, this process will not change.

And today, Wilson's pre-game warm-up was actually a duel with Kobe.

Then, NBC got the Lakers' starting lineup tonight.

"The 18-year-old rookie Kobe Bryant will replace Jiang Duo and become the Lakers' starting player tonight." Costas asked Laimbeer, "Bill, what signal do you think this change of formation sends?"

Ranbir laughed dryly.

"If someone else had made this adjustment, I would have said he was playing with fire, but... Coach Lu, it's a different story." Laimbeer said, "No matter how you look at it, it would be inappropriate for an 18-year-old rookie to play at this time.

It is extremely risky, but since Coach Lu has made this decision, he must have his reasons."

Riley was confused when he heard the Lakers decided to start Kobe Bryant.

What's the meaning?

Do you look down on us?

Riley remembered that as early as the regular season, Kobe had started the game against them.

That night, Kobe didn't leave a good impression on Riley.

Even if Kobe Bryant grows in later games, Riley doesn't believe he has grown enough to make a positive contribution in a game of tonight's level.

Riley took the Lakers' adjustment as an opportunity to motivate his players.

Before the game started, he looked at Jordan with a livid face: "I just got the news that the Lakers decided to start Kobe Bryant."

"Kobe?" Jordan frowned, "That little kid?"

"That's right."

Jordan was deeply impressed by Kobe because he asked him some technical questions that no one else had asked him when they first met.

But Jordan also knew that Kobe was still very young and would find it even more difficult to withstand the confrontation in the Western Conference Finals.

What does it mean for the Lakers to let him start?

"Obviously, the Lakers don't respect this game." Riley stared directly at Jordan, "Michael, you have to teach them a lesson!"

Jordan didn't believe that the Lakers did this just to show their disrespect, and there must be some overlooked details.

But now, as Riley said, no matter what the Lakers' purpose is, letting Kobe start is disrespectful to them, and they must be taught a lesson.

Before making this decision, Louis was not sure about it.

But after making the decision, Kobe's reaction made him feel that this is what they need to do.

In Louis' previous life, Del Harris dared to let Kobe Bryant take key shots under pressure when many veterans in the Lakers were too afraid to take responsibility. He just let this kid start to give it a try.

If he doesn't play well, that's normal. Who can expect an 18-year-old kid to shine in the Western Conference finals?

However, as the most unpredictable player in NBA history, if he happens to get crazy tonight, the impact he can have on the game is difficult to predict.

At the end of the warm-up, Louis observed the demeanor of the starting players.

Among them, Wilson and Garnett are the most natural.

The Tragedy Master hasn't been in the starting lineup for a long time, so he probably needs to get used to it.

Barros returned to the starting lineup and had to play "beautiful basketball" with the Cavaliers. As the only non-staff member in the starting lineup, many people would blame him if he did not perform well.

Barros glanced at his teammates and saw Kobe fiddling with his shoelaces.

"Are you nervous?" Barros asked.

Kobe said harshly: "Who is nervous? You are the only one who is nervous! Even if people all over the world are anxious, I will not feel nervous!"

Louis also noticed Kobe's abnormality.

This reaction seems very un-Kobe, but if you think about it carefully, the future Iron King is only 18 years old at this time. He is not the half-man, half-demon Black Mamba. Just like in his previous life, he also had consecutive victories in the playoffs.

Giving away four marks and three no sticks is the same.

Those three non-sticks can prove that even Kobe is nervous to the point of abnormality, but temporary setbacks will only make great players stronger.

Kobe is still playing with his innocent shoelaces.

He tried all kinds of shoelace tying methods he knew, thinking that this would calm him down, but the more he focused on tying his shoelaces, the less calm he became.

Kobe imagined countless times what he might have done.

He can become a hero with this game, or he can completely lose the trust of the coaching staff because of poor performance, or he can make a fool of himself in the game and be laughed at by those bastard veterans for a whole year.

Just as Kobe was torturing his shoelaces for the 20th time, a pair of hands behind him fell on his shoulders and pressed gently.

"take it easy."

Kobe looked back and saw that it was his coach.

"I'm not nervous."

No matter what he thinks in his heart, Kobe must bite him verbally.

"It's best not to be nervous. What I want is you to not be nervous!" Louis encouraged with a smile, "If you perform well, I will keep you on the court tonight."

Kobe's eyes lit up. Isn't this how starting players are treated?

"I will never let you down!"

This is the Nth time Kobe has said this this season.

Louis snorted: "If you continue to play with shoelaces, I may lose confidence in you."

"Who's playing with shoelaces...I'm just using this to keep my hand feeling..."

Do you rely on tying your shoelaces to maintain your hand? Kobe's nonsense made Louis doubt that he had made a stupid decision.

But if the arrow is on the string, it must be fired even if it is not fired.

(End of chapter)