"Cancer coming back?"
Lin Ying's heart skipped a beat when she heard the news.
He knew about Karl's cancer. In history, it was because of this that Karl retired from the NBA.
It's just that this is not the time in his memory.
"He checked out before the playoffs started, but for the sake of the team, he persisted for a series, but in the end..."
Walken Dean sighed.
Carl was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005 and underwent surgery to recover.
But cancer can easily recur, and now he has relapsed into throat cancer.
It’s no wonder why Carl coughed violently before.
Moreover, we also understand why Karl is anxious to end the series.
Because he himself doesn't know how long he can hold on.
"George's current choice is conservative treatment. He hopes to return in the next round."
Walken Dean's next words were very suspenseful.
Because this is Karl's expectation, but whether he can come back or not is up to Karl himself.
After hearing the news, both Lin Ying and Anthony looked a little solemn.
Fate is really tricky sometimes.
They performed so well in the first round, but now they don't have a head coach.
Although the coach is only an assistant at best, without this assistance it is easy to cause problems.
"O'Connor will direct the game instead of Karl. I hope you can perform well in the second round and wait for George to return."
Warken Dean's words have two meanings. One is that he hopes that the two of them will work hard to defeat their opponents and reach the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets will be gone without waiting for Karl to come back.
On the other hand, I hope that the two of them can concentrate on playing basketball and not cause any conflicts because of Karl's absence.
Lin Ying nodded quickly.
It’s not like the student days, when the teacher was unavailable, and the class representative had to emphasize that “the teacher’s presence and absence are the same.”
Moreover, O'Connor is the staunch executor of Karl's tactical system. Without Karl, the Nuggets will still play how they should play.
As for the details of pre-game preparation and on-the-spot command, O'Connor may be different, but the impact will not be too great.
After finally telling the two not to tell anyone else about the news for the time being, Walken Dean motioned for the two to go back first.
However, Lin Ying stayed and asked more about Karl's condition, and then asked where Karl was hospitalized.
Although he was wary of Karl during the draft, Karl helped him a lot along the way.
If a person is sick and has cancer, he should visit him anyway.
Walken Dean chatted with Lin Ying for a while, and finally unconsciously reached out and patted Lin Ying on the shoulder.
Karl has coached the Nuggets for so many years, and it can be said that he has single-handedly brought Anthony to his current heights.
As a result, the first person who thought of visiting was Lin Ying.
This may be the difference between people.
Putting aside everything else, he had a much better impression of Lin Ying.
…
In a hospital in New York, Lin Ying met Carl in the ward.
His face was paler than before, and his spirit was very haggard.
The impact of cancer on a person is really great.
Even most of the time, no matter how much money you have, you can't survive.
Karl was very happy to see Lin Ying coming.
He even looked outside the ward unconsciously, as if to see if Anthony was coming with him.
Finally, he looked back with some disappointment, and then looked at Lin Ying with a smile.
"Is the team okay without me?"
When Lin Ying sat down, Karl started chatting.
"With O'Connor and Chauncey here, the team will be fine. We will advance to the next round and then wait for you to come back."
Lin Ying said with a smile.
Although he doesn't know much about medicine, he still knows that cancer requires positivity and optimism.
"That's good. Regardless of whether I can go back or not, I hope the team can go to the end this year. This year is the best chance."
Karl is still thinking about the team.
Although this is not surprising, I have been an NBA coach for most of my life, but when I had the best chance, I was unable to continue because of my health.
It would be difficult to accept that kind of emotion all at once.
"We will succeed. Just stay here and listen to our news. Everything will be fine."
Lin Ying said with a smile.
Just then, someone knocked on the door and came in.
It's Coby Carr, Carr's son.
Kobe was last year's rookie. Although he was not selected, he played for the Lakers last season.
At that time, he and Karl also set a record, becoming the first father and son in the NBA to compete on the same court.
But seeing Coby, Lin Ying's mood became more complicated.
Medically speaking, cancer is not hereditary.
But Carr got cancer in 2005, and then Coby got cancer in 2006.
This is totally a fate.
But this doesn't seem to be entirely a bad thing. At first, Carl supported his son and Coby recovered, but now Coby in turn encourages his father.
After chatting for a while, Coby went to buy food for Carl again.
Lin Ying is about to go back.
It was at this time that Karl said some heart-to-heart words to Lin Ying.
"If this season doesn't work out, you just leave Denver."
Lin Ying was stunned for a moment.
Although he had similar thoughts in his heart, it was quite strange to hear these words coming from Karl's mouth.
A head coach advises a core player to leave the team, which shows that Karl really considers Lin Ying.
"Denver already has Merlot in the sky, you need a wider sky."
Carl was really heartbroken.
He had always had a special regard for Lin Ying, and this time he was the first to visit him. He is easily moved as he gets older.
And the reason why he said this was also because of Kroenke's attitude before.
Kroenke is very shrewd, but interests come first. With Anthony's influence in Denver, he will not trade Anthony.
As long as Anthony is around, Lin Ying cannot become the star of the Nuggets.
But Lin Ying deserves a chance.
"Coach, this is not my decision."
Lin Ying looked a little helpless.
He didn't resist reconciling with Anthony before. Apart from Iverson's words, the bigger reason was that he didn't have the initiative.
Just like what I thought before, if I make a big fuss and get into trouble with the management, I will probably be sent to the frontier in the end.
Going to a place like the Kings or Timberwolves to conquer the sky, such a hellish difficulty is more likely to be done in a systematic way.
"I will make an agreement with Mark and I will try my best to arrange some suitable teams for you to choose. You have brought a lot to the Nuggets. When it comes to that point, I believe the management will not make things difficult for you."
What Karl said was truly true to Lin Ying's heart.
Lin Ying did not answer directly.
Although he knew that Karl was doing it for his own good, he still knew what to say and what not to say.
"Coach, now is not the time to think about this. I just want to bring a trophy to the team and the coach."
Lin Ying said with a smile.
Carl laughed loudly after hearing this.
These words sounded very comfortable, and he didn't expect Lin Ying to give a positive answer, he just told Lin Ying what he might do.
After coming out of the hospital, Lin Ying thought about Karl's words and fell into thinking.
If you really get to that point, should you choose to go to a team that has a chance to become the team leader, or should you choose to go to a team that has the hope of winning the championship and work hard for your dream?
That was not a decision that could be made lightly.
…
A few days later, the first round of NBA games ended.
In the East, the Cavaliers swept the Pistons and showed strong dominance;
The Hawks defeated the Heat in a 4-3 tiebreaker, and Wade also experienced the feeling of being isolated and helpless when Kobe Bryant was there;
The Celtics defeated the Bulls 4-2. Without Noah, the Bulls' overall strength is worse than at the same time in history;
The Magic defeated the 76ers 4-2. When the perimeter group found their touch, the Magic instantly became unstoppable;
The matchups in the Eastern Conference semifinals are the same as in history, Cavaliers vs. Hawks, and Celtics vs. Magic.
It's still a matter of sitting back and watching, but the Celtics have reached the conference semifinals with less energy than in history. It's unclear whether the Magic can stop them.
In the Western Conference, the Lakers swept the Suns 4-0. The Suns did not play badly, but the Lakers are too strong this season;
The Trail Blazers defeated the Spurs 4-2, and the Blazers finally got the benefit of this wave of benefits;
The Rockets defeated the Mavericks 4-3. Although it was difficult, the Rockets succeeded in revenge and reached the second round for the first time in the Yao Ming era;
Western Conference matchups: Lakers VS Trail Blazers, Nuggets VS Rockets.
The Lakers' goal this year is only to win the championship, and they will have an advantage against anyone.
The Nuggets will encounter a relatively big challenge.
Although McGrady couldn't play, the Rockets showed excellent competitiveness in the first round.
This isn't McGrady's curse in the first round, but Adelman's Princeton system is a team play. Without one super giant, the play style is more diverse, which in turn activates others.
And judging from Lin Ying's eyes, in history, the Rockets still played a tiebreaker with the Lakers even when Yao Ming was injured and retired, and they were still very capable.
Now that Yao Ming has lost weight and his physical condition looks much better, and Karl is not here with the Nuggets, the two sides are close in strength.
Or in other words, if the Nuggets want to beat the Lakers, they must first get past the Rockets.
On the evening of May 4, the conference semifinals between the Nuggets and Rockets officially kicked off.
This series has attracted a considerable amount of attention, not only from the United States, but also from domestic fans across the ocean.
You must know that this is the first national derby in the NBA's history!
Moreover, Lin Ying and Yao Ming are both the core of their respective teams, or at least one of the cores. How could you miss this kind of game!
The two teams did not disappoint the fans, and G1 was full of sparks.
The Rockets have two All-Defensive Team players in Artest and Battier on the front line, and Anthony's performance in the opening game was greatly limited.
O'Connor directly started Lin Ying's mismatched singles mode.
The Rockets' entire forward line is strong defensively, but their point guard position is too weak.
After trading away Alston, "Little Black Bean" Brooks became the point guard.
This second-year player who entered the NBA in the same year as Lin Ying is only 1.80 meters tall and weighs only 73 kilograms.
This kind of undeize point guard, and he is also thin, becomes a cash machine instantly when encountering the Nuggets' misplaced isolation tactics.
Lin Ying hit him continuously, causing Brooks to look like "Don't come over here"!
Moreover, the Nuggets were fully adjusted after the All-Star Game, and they swept the Hornets. Their morale was at a high level, and the Rockets' double attack was just to give Lin Ying assists.
After halftime, the Nuggets led the Rockets by as many as 15 points.
In the second half, Adelman had no choice but to use Lowry.
Lowry is about the same height as Brooks, but he weighs nearly 20 kilograms more and is called a "little steel cannon" by domestic fans.
His presence on the court greatly restricted the Nuggets' offense.
However, the Rockets' offense also obviously became unsmooth.
Now Lowry is not an All-Star, he is a pioneer who only knows how to charge forward.
Originally, Yao Ming was mostly supporting the team, but now he was forced to start more individual attacks.
It was during this period that fans felt the changes in his playing style after losing weight.
Unlike the previous low-post back-ups or hook shots, he now plays more like a larger Pau Gasol.
This change has reduced his low-post dominance a lot, but his scoring has not decreased since he has more scoring methods.
Moreover, after losing weight, his physical energy consumption has also been significantly reduced.
The two teams fought until the final moment.
Anthony started to play at the critical moment.
With Tracy McGrady out for the season, the Rockets can only rely on Yao Ming and Artest for scoring.
Therefore, Artest has to defend as well as attack. After his physical fitness declined, he could no longer guard Anthony.
What Billups said before about "a superstar who takes over the game at a critical moment" came true.
"Zeng Melon" hit all sides with sudden shots from inside and outside, and finally helped the Nuggets open up the score, and finally won the game 108-94.
In terms of statistics, Lin Ying of the Nuggets scored a team-high 31 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, Anthony had 23 points and 6 rebounds, and Billups had 13 points and 11 assists.
Yao Ming of the Rockets scored a team-high 25 points and 11 rebounds, Artest had 19 points and 6 rebounds, and Scola had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Successfully scored the first kill, and the Nuggets fans cheered and encouraged.
Especially the way Lin Ying controlled the field in regular time and Anthony harvested the game in the final quarter, they felt the best way for the two to coexist.
Some are happy and some are sad.
Nuggets fans here are extremely happy, but Rockets fans are furious.
Especially in China, because of Yao Ming's relationship, there are a lot of Rockets fans in the country.
It's just that no one could have imagined the outcome of the frying pan this time.
Because the fans did not criticize Adelman, nor did they criticize anyone on the team.
Instead, it was Rockets general manager Darrell Mosaic who was trolled!
Why was it sprayed?
Because they found that in the best season of Yao Ming and the Rockets, Mosaic pulled the team back, and a lot!
Look at Billups, who is organizing the Nuggets on the opposite side. That should be the Rockets point guard!
Not to mention Prince.
Billups, Prince, Battier, Artest, Yao Ming, if the Rockets had this lineup in G1, it would be difficult for the Nuggets to win!
The reason is very simple, because there is no one to blame for Lin Ying's misplaced singles. These are five players of the best defensive team level!
Moreover, some dissatisfied Rockets fans are completely disrespectful when they curse:
"Morey, your mother exploded!"
Chapter completed!