463. Fighting the Pacers Again

Although Liu Xiu stole a lot of the limelight of March Madness and even made the topic of "Warden's March Madness", the NCAA basketball championship game is still the most watched event in North American basketball, and Liu Xiu himself watched it

Very exciting.

In the end, the North Carolina Wolfpack narrowly defeated the Illinois Warriors by 5 points and reached the NCAA again after more than ten years. Sean May won the Final Four MOP.

Carter was interviewed after winning the championship in North Carolina and said he would fulfill his promise to hold his saxophone concert this summer.

When Liu Xiu saw the news, he thought Carter was here to make fun of him and fulfill the prank requests of some fans.

As a result, Van Horn, who had a good personal relationship with Carter, told Liu Xiu that Carter studied saxophone in college and was also a conductor candidate for the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, and had received a scholarship for this instrument.

Liu Xiu knew that Tracy McGrady knew how to play drums, Kobe Bryant learned the piano to chase Vanessa, and Carter was actually good at musical instruments, so the pressure was all on Allen Iverson, the only MVP among the four shooting guards...

On the 4th, Liu Xiu spent a completely private day.

On the 4th and 5th, the Trail Blazers had the last two rest days of the regular season this season. The coaching staff deliberately arranged no work today so that Liu Xiu could have enough time to spend with his children on their birthdays.

On the morning of the 5th, the Trail Blazers set off for Indianapolis, where they will play their last away game of the season against an Eastern Conference team tomorrow.

Trail Blazers VS Pacers is now a popular game.

Originally, the league arranged for the Pacers to be the Trail Blazers' last opponent in a different division in the regular season, but that just happened to be the arrangement. Now, this matter is being used as a publicity stunt.

What really attracted people's attention in this game was, of course, the follow-up to the 'Warden's Self-Defense Demonstration Performance'!

Ron Artest, a notorious villain, was trained by Isaiah Thomas and Larry Bird. His perverse character and bad temper and flamboyant personality were learned from those two people.

It's an opponent that most players don't want to mess with.

Artest suffered such a big loss last time, will he be looking for revenge this time?

If the warden is retaliated, can he react? Will he KO again... No, is he completing legitimate defense?

No one expected that after the NCAA basketball championship game, the next most popular game in North American sports would be this... But the league is also secretly using this topic as a publicity point to maximize the absorption of the NCAA's crazy three games.

Basketball fans who have nothing to watch after the month ends.

There are many college basketball fans who do not watch professional games. They look down on "commercial basketball" and feel that watching college games has a sense of superiority. This group of basketball fans has always been the target that the NBA wants to attract.

David Stern is also afraid of another fight, but wealth and wealth are at stake, and with such a high degree of attention, if you don't take advantage of it, it will be a waste.

…

The alliance uses the "Warden KO" event as a publicity point, and preparations for the game are also being carried out simultaneously to reduce the possibility of conflict between the two teams in the second game.

After the Trail Blazers arrived in Indianapolis, they received a notice from the league to try not to leave the hotel because it was very dangerous outside.

Liu Xiu and others have experience and will not go out easily.

We had a fight with the Pistons in the opening game of last season. When I went to Detroit later, the Pistons fans were so enthusiastic. From the airport to outside the hotel, there were curses and bad looks.

Indiana is not a safe place. The crime rate is three times that of the United States. In 2004, the safety of all states in the United States ranked 38th, worse than Michigan, where Detroit is located. Michigan still ranked 29th.

.

The league's notice is just a notice. The more important thing is that players from both teams are prohibited from being interviewed before the game. The pre-game press conference was also canceled for reasons to avoid the two teams from escalating hostility by shouting at each other...

The Trail Blazers coaching staff is very happy with this, but they can't afford the hassle now.

However, when Huo Tu and the vice president saw the warden's regretful look, they immediately sent a wave of healing value to the warden, and then they became wary.

The coach knew at a glance that the warden was deliberately teasing the vice president and Huo Tu, but both of them fell for the trick. As a coach, it felt... so interesting!

It's a pity that he doesn't have the ability in this area, otherwise he would also play along.

Refusing interviews will not reduce the attention and topic of this game, and the players will also get a quieter environment to prepare for the game.

At 5:10 in the evening on April 6, amid violent boos from the fans in the Conseco Arena, Liu Xiu and his teammates ran out of the tunnel.

When the players of the home team Pacers came on the field, there were cheers! The atmosphere of the game was very good!

When Artest was the last one to run out of the tunnel wearing a transparent mask, the cheers could be described as deafening.

"Ron Artest, 25 years old, 201 cm, 111 kg, SF/PF, ability evaluation 93, offense 90, defense 98... averaged 23.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2.2 steals, 1 block per game... shooting percentage

49.6%, three-point shooting rate 36%, free throw shooting rate 71%..."

Good luck! The offensive rating has gone from 89 to 90!

After three weeks of injury, Artest fully recovered and returned. After his return, he scored 40 points in a game and 36 points in a game. His subsequent performance stabilized, but his offensive performance was obviously better than before.

Looking at Artest's ability evaluation, Liu Xiu fell into deep thought... Is this guy really enlightened by his elbow?

They are all physically fit men with full defensive talents. Liu Xiu looked at the number one pick who was about to throw away his parallel import hat...

Kwame Brown feels in danger!

Mortal danger!

…

Artest is already the Pacers' strongest player, with a top offense and a historic defense.

But what worries Liu Xiu even more about the Pacers is their twin interior towers - O'Neal Jr. + Tianzun!

"Jermaine O'Neal, 26 years old, 211 cm, 120 kg, PF/C, ability evaluation 90... averaged 17.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.2 blocks per game..."

"Rashid Wallace, 30 years old, 211 cm, 109 kg, C/PF, ability evaluation 88... averaged 13.6 points, 8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.7 blocks per game..."

This pair of twin towers paired with Artest... Liu Xiu silently wished the butcher and the bishop good luck.

After the appearance ceremony, the players from the two teams did not have much communication.

Tianzun and the gold-medal thug briefly greeted Liu Xiu and others, and then went back to seize the time to make the final preparations before the game.

Relationships will inevitably fade as time goes by and the distance becomes longer. This is certain. Tianzun's friendship with Liu Xiu's teammates is an exception. In his understanding, Liu Xiu is the person who saved his career, but the relationship

Okay, it’s limited to personal relationships.

As for the relationship on the court, with the conflicts between the two teams many times during the game, the sense of hostility has become stronger and stronger.

If one day they really play against each other in the finals, the current generation of players from the two teams will inevitably become mortal enemies on the court.

Now, the atmosphere of the game between the two teams can be described as tense, and neither team can stand each other.

When the pre-game preparation time was almost over, Liu Xiu received a prompt and chose to copy his talent. His teammates, and of course Payton, strengthened his defense against breakthroughs; his opponent... Artest!

“…

Opponent: Ron Artest, matching degree 60%, characteristic transformation talent: beast, bonus effect: 1. Strength +2, 2. It is determined that the host's explosive power is lower than the static power, and the static power reaches the top level, and the explosive power

Below the top level, the host's explosive power is temporarily increased to the top level (90). 3. When the single defense force is dominant, the defensive deterrence is greatly improved."

"...strength 96 (temporary), explosive power 90 (temporary)..."

Beyond the peak power!

Liu Xiu moved his arms and raised his elbows unconsciously. His eyes wandered back and forth between Artest and Kwame Brown, making the two of them feel confused.

The coaches of the two teams, some players, referees, technical officials and others were very nervous after the players entered the stadium, for fear that something would happen before the game started. However, the players of the two teams did not do anything extra and prepared for the game well.

At 5:30 in the evening, the Trail Blazers' away game against the Pacers started!

Trail Blazers starting lineup: Payton, Liu Xiu, Raheem, Randolph, Kwame Brown.

Pacers starting lineup: Jamal Tinsley, Reggie Miller, Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Rasheed Wallace.

Tianzun narrowly beat Kwame Brown to win the jump ball, and the Pacers attacked first!

Tinsley advanced slowly, pressed the rhythm, and passed to Artest in the frontcourt.

Faced with Raheem's defense, Artest showed a flexible change of direction, broke into the paint and hit the layup!

Rahim, who had patted his chest before the game to ensure that he would not lose his belt this time, immediately waved to Liu Xiu.

Liu Xiu curled his lips and sighed, picked up the ball and passed it to Payton, then ran forward.

The offense and defense transitioned, and the Trail Blazers attacked. After the Trail Blazers players ran to the frontcourt, they encountered the opponent's defense. They were exhausted in hand-to-hand combat, and the Pacers also began to engage in hand-to-hand combat!

Why should I say it...because just now the Blazers started to fight hand-to-hand for the first time on defense.

The opponent is good at strengthening confrontation and positional warfare, and this style of play cannot be rejected as an opponent. They are not the Suns or SuperSonics. Their playing style is still traditional, and they will inevitably be dragged into this rhythm by the opponent. In this case, when they prepare for the war

We are just preparing for an iron-blooded defense in a positional battle!

However, the advantage of Maurice Cheeks insisting on starting with Raheem tonight comes... The Pacers must use Artest to defend Raheem!

Liu Xiu ran to the frontcourt, and it was Tinsley who defended him!

The Pacers also know that this is an impossible matchup to guard, but they can't let Reggie Miller guard Liu Xiu...

However, Jermaine O'Neal can play tonight. The Pacers have prepared the most terrifying twin towers in the league for Liu Xiu. If Tinsley can't guard him, he can't guard him. He just needs to follow Liu Xiu closely to avoid Liu Xiu.

Just shoot directly from the outside. Jim Carrey has great confidence in Tinsley. Tinsley's biggest advantage on the defensive end is that he is active and is very good at preventing singles from the outside...
Chapter completed!