The tiebreaker in the Western Conference Finals ended with a three-pointer.
This makes the audience feel very exciting and enjoyable.
Except for Spurs fans, who may have some regrets, after all, their team's number one star Duncan still got dazzling statistics of 25+14 even when facing a tough inside lineup with Yao Ming + Kurt Thomas + Nazr Muhammad
.
After all, there was only one three-pointer away from the final victory.
But that’s how the game is, and the result is determined, so we can only start over next year.
As the Rockets broke out of the Western Conference and met the Pistons in the Eastern Conference for the Finals, this nationally televised tiebreaker sparked heated discussions in the sports circle, with many media discussing this year's championship and the future of the Rockets.
ESPN, a sports media owned by Time Warner, quickly put it on the cover of an issue.
The cover photo is an aerial view of the Spurs Arena, with the shocked audience, frustrated Spurs players, celebrating Rockets players, and the Eastern boss taking off his hat in greeting.
The title of this issue’s report is a very direct tip of the hat to the Dongfang boss and his Rockets.
"The Rockets have broken out of the Western Conference, which may be a relief to the league's top brass."
"Otherwise, this year's finals will be a defensive battle between the Spurs and the Pistons, and the ratings will be a big problem."
"Compared to the low-key Spurs' simple trio of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker, who wouldn't want to see the trident of All-Star voting champion Carter, the Great Wall of the East Yao Ming, and the elegant and unrestrained Nash?"
"What's more, the Rockets also have a young boss who can make things happen."
"This year, we heard his arrogance of 'I'm already thinking about my opponents in the Western Conference Finals'..."
"But the moment a rant is put into practice, it becomes a rant."
"According to insiders close to the Rockets' senior management, Fang Zhuo is not only satisfied with his status as the boss, he is also deeply involved in team building."
"The decision was made to introduce Nash, trade three of the team's players (including an All-Star guard) for Carter, replace the prestigious coach Van Gundy, and personally invite Nelson to coach the Rockets."
"Unlike Fang Zhuo's comical image in the league last season, his reform and construction of the team this year is obviously very effective."
"Who was the last team owner to be so involved in team affairs?"
"Is it the Mavericks' second-round opponent, Mark Cuban, who was not taken seriously by Fang Zhuo?"
"Or the Lakers owner Buss who built one of the most successful and most watched teams in the NBA?"
"If the Rockets win the third championship in team history this year, Yao Ming may be able to start chasing the senior superstar Olajuwon, Carter may be able to match his fame and honor, and Nash may be able to make the Mavericks owner who did not give him a contract
Cuban regrets it extremely, and..."
"Fang Zhuo will neither become the second Cuban or Buss, nor will he become the Rockets' Fang Zhuo."
ESPN praised the Rockets' Eastern boss at length, ignoring the fact that the same thing was used to accuse Fang Zhuo of grossly interfering in team operations in the middle of the season.
Some media also discussed the Rockets' lineup.
In this round of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs and Rockets basically rotated seven or eight players on the court until the end.
In addition to the Trident this year, the Rockets' trade of Kurt Thomas and Nazr Mohammed have played a great role. Both of them are very durable and strong defensively. The former can also provide a relatively stable midfielder.
To score from a distance, the latter will replace Yao Ming to guard the basket for a certain period of time.
"The Rockets' opponent in the Finals is the defending champion Pistons."
"The Pistons broke up the Lakers' F4 last year, and this year they faced the Rockets' trident. But this trident is not like the contradictory F4. Their desire for the championship has already broken through the powerful Spurs."
"Can Chauncey restrain Nash from connecting with the team? Can Hamilton and Prince's forward line block Carter? Can Ben and Rasheed make Yao Ming, another big man standing in front of him, suffer?
?”
"These are all the highlights of this finals."
"It is worth mentioning that Rockets owner Fang Zhuo was nicknamed the 'hat taker'. I wonder if he can continue to win against the Spurs."
"In addition to paying attention to this finals, the Rockets' situation next season is also worth analyzing."
"Nash is in the first year of a six-year, 63 million contract this year, with an annual salary of US$8.75 million, and next year it will be US$9.63 million."
"Carter's contract was originally signed with the Raptors for 6 years and 88 million U.S. dollars. It ended in 2007 and is 14.66 million U.S. dollars this year."
"Kurt Thomas is worth $5.88 million this year, and Nazr Muhammad is worth $5.25 million this year. The big man in the trident, Yao Ming, is in the last year of his rookie contract, with an annual salary of $5.59 million."
"It is precisely because of Yao Ming's cheap contract that the Rockets have assembled this extremely impactful lineup."
"Yao Ming will definitely renew an expensive contract with the Rockets next year. Considering that the league's salary cap this year is 43.87 million US dollars, which is only slightly higher than last year's 43.84 million US dollars, the salary cap next season will most likely cause the Rockets to face severe challenges.
Lineup issue.”
"If the Rockets cannot win the championship this year, I am afraid it will not be easy for them to break out of the Western Conference next year."
"After all, the stable and seasoned Spurs just lost to that one three-pointer."
"God occasionally comes to the field wearing a jersey, but not always."
There is a three-day break between the Western Conference Finals and the Finals.
These three days are the time for various media outlets to interview coaches and players and quote information from sources.
Fang Zhuo, who came to participate in the tiebreaker, put on an impressive off-court performance in the audience. Later, he did not refuse interviews from the media and talked eloquently about the matchup between the Rockets and the Pistons.
For a time, the Rockets players had a subtle feeling of "we are the one to hit the ball, but you are the one to pretend".
But with a boss like this, the pressure of public opinion is taken away a lot.
The coaching staff and players are preparing for the game with peace of mind. The Rockets have home court advantage in the finals, which is good news.
Fang Zhuo is active in the media and is considered to be the team owner who knows the most about football.
On the evening of June 7, the first game of the Finals between the Rockets and the Pistons started at home in Houston. This time, Fang Zhuo was not watching the game alone. Jay Chou, who loves basketball, flew over from China to have a close look at the stadium.
Just when Boss Fang and his Rockets were enthusiastically pursuing their third championship in team history, a piece of news involving a domestic semiconductor company suddenly appeared in the latest issue of China's "China Securities News".
Most of the news is about the trend after the dispute between SMIC and Taiwanese journalists ended. Although the former settled with huge compensation, considering SMIC's unprecedented development speed and the support it received from all aspects, the stock market is still based on price.
to show confidence in it.
This is also a rare situation for SMIC since its listing.
At the end of the news, this article from China Securities Journal, which has reported on Yike’s situation many times, lightly mentioned possible cooperation and negotiations between Zhongxin and Bingxin.
As for what kind of cooperation it is and what negotiations are going on, the reporter did not write about it.
Cooperation between companies is quite normal.
Normally, when the Rockets won the first game and even started the second game, the reports did not make any waves.
As a result, China Securities Journal came into action for the second time, citing sources and mentioned that SMIC and Bingxin may be negotiating some kind of in-depth cooperation.
Such vague reports still did not attract the desired movement.
However, in Beijing, Xiong Xiaoge, president of IDG China, who has the habit of reading the China Securities Journal, still saw the content this time.
What is good at the top will be bad at the bottom.
It is a common habit in the IDG office to read this newspaper.
At noon that day, Xiong Xiaoge, who had just pretended not to have seen the report, was reminded of this by his subordinate investment manager Mu Feifei.
"Mr. Xiong, SMIC seems to have some cooperation with Bingxin recently." Mu Feifei remembered it when they followed her downstairs for dinner.
Xiong Xiaoge sighed inwardly and said calmly: "Oh? Really?"
Mu Feifei knew that Boss Xiong had always been concerned about Mr. Fang's news, so she took out today's newspaper from her bag like a treasure, and said with a smile: "Yes, I saw in the securities newspaper that they have noses and eyes, but I don't know what kind of cooperation it is."
Xiong Xiaoge was a little helpless. After taking two bites of food, he said: "Everyone else has gone to watch his team's game, and this is not going to stop."
Mu Feifei noticed the boss's mood and guessed: "Mr. Xiong, do you know about this cooperation?"
Xiong Xiaoge was shocked, adjusted for two seconds, took the newspaper, looked at it carefully, shook his head and said: "I don't know, Mr. Fang is not someone who would talk to me about work. SMIC finally got rid of the haze, and it is a bit cooperative and mutually beneficial."
The movements are normal, Feifei, just keep an eye on this matter."
"Okay, let me see if there is anything good." After hearing this, Mu Feifei nodded happily without doubting that there was something good.
Xiong Xiaoge returned the newspaper, took two mouthfuls of food silently, stood up and said, "I'll go upstairs first, you guys eat."
Mu Feifei looked at Boss Xiong's leaving figure and said a little strangely: "What's going on? Boss Xiong is not in a high mood today."
The person next to me responded casually: "Who knows, maybe I regret not investing in that Android company together."
Mu Feifei nodded thoughtfully. She knew about Mr. Xiong's trip to the United States. However, after investing money in Quora, the Android company was jointly acquired by Google, Yike, and Sony. It seemed that it was not good.
Same potential.
Two days later, when the Rockets and Pistons tied 1:1 in the finals, Mu Feifei hurried into the president's office and found Boss Xiong.
"Mr. Xiong, Mr. Xiong, the cooperation between SMIC and Bingxin reported by the China Securities Journal two days ago may be quite popular." She reported seriously, "From last night to today, Sohu
Finance quoted two news articles from the Securities Journal, and also claimed that the cooperation between the two may be an equity cooperation, and maybe SMIC will marry Bingxin.”
Mu Feifei looked eager.
Xiong Xiaoge stared at the investment manager in front of him and suddenly asked suspiciously: "Feifei, does Mr. Fang have any contact with you?"
"Ah?" Mu Feifei was puzzled.
Xiong Xiaoge waved his hand: "It's okay, I mean, you didn't want to ask him directly what the cooperation between Ice Core and SMIC is?"
Mu Feifei smiled and said, "Then I have to wait until Mr. Xiong gives me a promotion."
She is just a small investment manager. She doesn't even have Mr. Fang's phone number, so she can directly ask the person involved what she wants.
"Okay, I understand. There's no point in guessing. I'll ask him when I have time." Xiong Xiaoge said, "Go and do your work."
Mu Feifei was actually not busy, so she left and said, "Okay, Mr. Xiong."
When she was about to walk out of the CEO's office, she suddenly heard Boss Xiong's emotional voice: "The pear blossoms are pale white, the willows are dark green, and catkins fly all over the city."
Strange, why did Boss Xiong become a poet?
Mu Feifei actually knew the remaining two sentences, "Melancholy, a tree in the east column is covered with snow, and life can be seen so clearly."
What's going on, boss? You're sentimental.
Are you having a family conflict?
Mu Feifei came up with such a guess.
And when the subordinate left the office, Xiong Xiaoge re-read the report from Sohu Finance several times, fishing, fishing, Fang Zhuo is from Houston, and he has never forgotten the domestic fish!
Even the bait was dropped!
At first, there were rumors about cooperation, and then they said that this kind of cooperation was deep-level, and now it involves equity... It has to be noticed by interested people, right?
Xiong Xiaoge was a little angry thinking about Fang Zhuo who was watching football outside.
However, he was not angry for long. In the evening, he received a call from Zhang Hongli of Deutsche Bank.
The two of them don't actually have much contact with each other on a daily basis, and their occasional encounters in public places such as industry conferences are just passable.
During this phone call, Zhang Hongli exchanged pleasantries for a while, and finally, to Xiong Xiaoge's surprise, they talked about the ice core they invested in together last time.
"Mr. Xiong, I heard that SMIC and Bingxin are going to cooperate. I wonder if you have heard about it?" Zhang Hongli asked.
"What does it mean to have cooperation? Aren't they already cooperating? I heard that this time the mass production of ice cores will be helped by SMIC." Xiong Xiaoge said with a smile, "You can just call Mr. Fang and ask.
"
Zhang Hongli laughed: "I just happened to be sitting in the office and saw such reports on the Internet. It's not worth the fuss to find Mr. Fang."
Xiong Xiaoge refuted: "It's probably not a big cooperation, I haven't heard of it."
Zhang Hongli didn't say he believed it or didn't believe it. He chatted haha, talked a few words about the development of the domestic economy, and then ended the call.
From the perspective of shareholders, Deutsche Bank and IDG have the same interests. If even Mr. Xiong is not clear about it, maybe it is really "not a big cooperation".
News about ice cores was quickly submerged in the rapidly changing portals, and the China Securities Journal was silent as well, as if nothing surprising would happen at all.
However, when the Rockets and Pistons tied again at 2:2, several Bingxin shareholders, including IDG, received notices from the company.
The content is just one article, asking major shareholder institutions whether they want to honor the gambling contracts previously signed with Bingxin in advance.
This was a measure previously proposed by Fang Zhuo in order to stabilize the morale of the military. To give shareholders who paid money a minimum guarantee, it promised to have a 50% increase in capital value within five years.
Now, Bingxin has proposed to fulfill its promise in advance.
Zhang Hongli of Deutsche Bank doesn’t know what other people are like. Anyway, when he received such a procedural inquiry, he suddenly thought of the news breaking news he had seen before and felt his scalp numb!
Cooperation? Deep cooperation? Equity cooperation?
What is Fang Zhuo doing?
Does he want Jin Chan to escape from his shell?
This chapter has been completed!