The rest is just noise

After that meeting, the Knicks conducted a two-day simulation training.

The Knicks chose Benjamin Wilson to imitate Jordan.

Poor Benj was constantly knocked down by his teammates in the next two days.

Although Louis has said that the simulation is just a simulation and does not require full commitment, the Knicks' training style has changed since the series with the Celtics.

The intensity of the confrontation has been increasing as Wilson and Ewing vie for leadership.

Louis has no control over this matter. He himself feels that maybe this is not a bad thing. Although it will increase the risk of players getting injured, there should be no training that can maintain players' competitiveness better than this.

Just like Li Yunlong asked soldiers to use wooden sticks to practice bayonet fighting without protective gear. Although I don’t know that this kind of thing happened in reality, and Lao Li would have been shot hundreds of times, but the truth is not crude. The training is made like actual combat, and he can naturally adapt to any situation.

Game of styles.

After everyone carefully simulated the "Jordan Rules" for two days, Louis announced on the eve of the game: "In order to test MJ's true strength, in the first game, we will not use the Jordan Rules."

Louis believes that Jordan will be the strongest player in the finals.

But the people under him may not think so. After all, they just defeated the Celtics, who have three of the league's top six players, in a real fight.

So we have to rely on Mr. Joe to find a way to educate them and let them know that besides the Celtics and Lakers, there is a god-level player who has not been eliminated from the playoffs.

Time comes to June 2, 1988

New York, Madison Square Garden.

CBS takes this game very seriously, but the commentators they invite are not the usual Billy Cunningham or Tom Heinsohn.

The elimination of the Celtics stimulated these two people. They both felt that they could not keep up with the rhythm, so they declined the guest invitation to the finals.

Hubie Brown, who had a great time working with Brent Musburger in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, was invited again.

The difference between Brown and those two is that before Louis coached the Knicks, he was the head coach of the Knicks.

Moreover, he repeatedly jumped horizontally in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals and successfully whitewashed himself.

There is no real conflict between Brown and Louis. At most, he couldn't stand the young Louis as a coach and exchanged words with Louis in the media.

He knows how to adapt and how to focus the media's attention on himself, so he keenly seizes the opportunity when Louis leads the team to rise, and changes from a Lu Hei who takes advantage of every opportunity to become the former Knicks coach and New York basketball supporter and Hein

After Thorne, he became the No. 1 road reporter on CBS's national live broadcasts.

"Hubby, what do you think the Knicks should do to keep the home game safe?" Musburger asked.

Brown knows what to say to make Knicks fans happy: "From the perspective of a professional basketball practitioner, it is not difficult to analyze this series. The Knicks will win in six games, so they just need to perform normally.

"

Jordan was chewing gum and warming up, unaware that someone across from him was paying attention to him.

"Coach Lu, you seem to have a soft spot for MJ." Zhao Yuanzheng smiled.

"Is it that obvious?"

"It's so obvious, you only have eyes for him."

How should I put it? A god who is going up a mountain may have difficulty climbing to the top of the mountain to look down at all living beings because of the presence of another person. That feeling is very unique.

"That's right."

"why?"

Zhao Yuanzheng does not think Jordan is unique than Magic and Bird.

"You won't understand." Louis said calmly.

Louis looked like a master, and then he heard someone in the VIP area say hello to him: "Hey, Coach Lu, you seem to have gained weight again!"

Jennifer Beals wore a sexy black tube top dress and had long, flaxen wavy hair that she had grown for the new movie "Vampire's Kiss" (1989).

"How did you come?"

What Louis can't bear the most now is for others to say he is fat. Is that fat? It's just a small willfulness in body management!

"Why, I, a season ticket holder in the VIP area, are not welcome?" Jennifer took out her season ticket provocatively, "Why do I remember that you got this season ticket for me?"

"Thank you for reminding me. I will ask MSG's ticketing department to help you invalidate this ticket later."

"Okay, I didn't expect that the bigger your belly is, the smaller your capacity will be."

"What did you say?!"

"Coach, you look bad." McHale asked with concern.

"Get the hell out of here and mind your own business, right? You think you can win the game, right? Believe it or not, I'll let you be a substitute?"

McHale suspected that Louis had a neurosis, but this neurosis was not an abnormal nerve in the popular sense, it just made him moody.

He didn't know what was going on with Louis, so he suddenly became angry with him.

It would be fine if he didn't play well in the game and was criticized. The game hasn't even started yet. If he was criticized for no reason, it would be a serious problem.

McHale walked away with a small look in his eyes.

Before the game started, Louie went to midfield to say hello to Rick Adelman.

Reaching the Finals this year may save Adelman's coaching career, or it may exacerbate his dismissal.

Entering the finals, the Trail Blazers achieved a breakthrough, but everyone knows that if the Lakers hadn't been beaten too hard and couldn't hold it in anymore and chose to rebuild, they probably still wouldn't be able to beat them.

But being able to enter the finals is by no means a bad thing. It all depends on what kind of answer Adelman can give.

He faces Little Lu, who has the best adaptability in the league. If he is completely destroyed by Louis, the Blazers still have reason to change coaches.

If there is a back-and-forth between him and Little, the Blazers' leadership may be more patient for another year or two.

MSG's lights dimmed.

DJ excitedly introduced the Knicks and head coach tonight to all the fans.

John Stockton was the first to have his name called, and the fans cheered enthusiastically. He acted like a little girl who wanted to give her vagina to her boyfriend.

"You're shy about your mother!" Louis scolded.

Louis is now in a bad mood due to factors on the sidelines, scolding everyone he sees.

The second person whose name was called was Benjamin Wilson, who had a resounding nickname of "The Conqueror." As for why he was so second-rate, you have to ask what the New York media was thinking.

Tonight's No. 3 position is veteran Michael Cooper. For him, returning to the finals is of great significance.

Let him, not symbolically, Louis values ​​his hunger for honor, strength and versatility on the defensive end, and a rare three-pointer.

McHale was in the fourth position, and Ewing in the fifth position got the biggest cheers from the audience.

Wilson was originally more popular than Ewing, but Ewing's unyielding and tough style despite being beaten by Sampson in the Eastern Conference Finals brought back fond memories of the Willis Reed era among New York fans.

Moreover, from the data point of view, Ewing is not much inferior to Sampson.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, Sampson averaged 32 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks per game, shooting 52% (averaging 45 minutes per game).

Ewing averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3.2 blocks per game, shooting 48% from the field (averaging 30 minutes per game).

Ewing does not have as much influence as Sampson on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, his data is more valuable.

Finally there is Louis.

The DJ shouted Louis, not the common "Little Lou", but: "Our Messiah, our leader Louis!" (Our Messiah, our leader Louis)

A perhaps less important anecdote is that among Knicks fans, calling Louis "Little Lou" would be considered disrespectful.

Because the nickname "Little Lou" comes from, it already contains contempt for Louis. Although Louis himself likes this nickname, his supporters don't like it, and Knicks fans don't like it. Not to mention, this nickname

It has a strong Celtic flavor.

Therefore, among Knicks fans, the popular name is "Leader Lu", and idiot fans will directly call him Messiah/Savior.

And the cheers Louis received in MSG were enough to compare with Benjamin Wilson.

The city that once hated him and was disappointed with his arrival now fully embraces him.

Everyone knows what kind of ability it takes to bring the Knicks up after being at a low ebb for more than ten years in four years and end the Celtics dynasty.

After introducing the Knicks, it was the Trail Blazers' turn. When introducing the visiting team, the DJs in each venue would transform into undertakers, just like introducing a group of dead people, introducing the visiting team and coaches to the audience.

Before the game started, the two sides took their positions in the center circle, and Jordan habitually said hello to each other.

When he came to Ewing, he was just about to shake hands.

Ewing said a curse-like prophecy with a stern face: "You stole a national championship from me back then, and now I want you to repay it twice as much."

Even Ewing himself doesn't know how much this multiple will be multiplied by.

Jordan, on the other hand, kept smiling, but his eyes were already flashing with fire. Even if Ewing was his good friend, anyone who dared to provoke him would not end well.

"Patrick, it seems you are ready." Jordan held Ewing's hand, "I can't wait to play a fierce game."

They were shaking hands and expressing hostility to each other. Louis put his hands on his waist and cursed: "Patrick, that guy is going to dunk on your head later and humiliate you in front of millions of people. And now you are still talking to

He shakes hands? Is your father out of his mind?"

When Louis started swearing, Ewing, who had long been used to it, shrugged and said, "You know, scolding is love."

"That's it," Jordan said slyly, "your coach loves you so much."