Soon, Popovich paid the price for his remarks. The league gave him a ticket and fined him $50,000.
For him personally, this is of course a huge sum of money, but for the Spurs team as a whole, it is just a small amount of money.
As long as it puts a little pressure on the referees, it's money well spent.
The No. 14 Spurs defeated the Hornets at home, but this was expected by fans and experts.
The highlight is the game on the 16th. The tiebreaker on the 16th is the Hornets’ home court.
According to the previous pattern of home win and away loss, the Hornets obviously have a greater advantage.
Experts speculate that among the team, 6 people are optimistic about the Hornets and 3 people are optimistic about the Spurs.
On the 16th, the tiebreaker between the Hornets and the Spurs began. The ratings of this game were also quite high, no less than the Lakers game.
The Lakers' game was certainly exciting, but it still lacked some suspense.
A game like the Spurs and the Hornets, which are so evenly matched that the outcome cannot be known until the last minute, has a different flavor.
In the first quarter, the Hornets' David West played a wonderful performance, scoring 12 points in a single quarter, but others fell behind. Paul only made 1 of 4, and Peja also performed poorly.
On the other hand, the Spurs are blooming more, with GDP gains, and role players like Bowen and Uduka also thrown in.
A three pointer.
In the first quarter of the game, the Spurs led by 3 points.
In the second quarter, West suddenly misfired, and the Hornets relied on Paul and Peja to support themselves.
On the Spurs' side, Ginobili suddenly showed his strength and took the lead, scoring 11 points in a single quarter.
Not only did he score high, he also had high efficiency. He only took 6 shots, including 3 of 4 three-pointers. This efficiency is similar to Zhang Zhiyuan's explosive performance.
The only difference is that Zhang Zhiyuan has more frequent outbursts, while Ginobili has less such outbursts.
The Hornets lost by 6 points again in the second quarter, and the Spurs had a 9-point advantage at halftime.
For the Spurs, with such an advantage, it is basically unlikely to give the Hornets a chance.
In the second half, GDP was severely guarded and played very average.
The Hornets fans seemed to see hope, but then the Spurs' Mike Finley stepped forward, took two shots, and hit two 3-pointers.
These two shots made the Hornets fans almost vomit blood, and also caused the Hornets players to lose their fighting spirit.
The three core players of Paul, West, and Peja played hard one after another, and the Hornets only scored 14 points in a single quarter.
After three quarters, the Spurs led by 15 points.
There is actually no suspense about the outcome, but the Hornets obviously will not give up the 1% hope, and they will continue to play with all their main players.
Ginobili did not relax even when leading by 15 points. He kept making breakthroughs and forcing the Hornets to commit constant fouls. Ginobili kept going to the free throw line.
In this quarter, he made 8 free throws and made 7 hits.
Because of Ginobili's breakthrough, the Hornets had to shrink their defense, and Parker got many opportunities.
The two teamed up to score 15 points.
For the Hornets, seeing that the game had lost its suspense, Paul, West and others had lost their fighting spirit and were not active unless they took action. On the contrary, substitute youngster Pago threw the ball 13 times in a single quarter and scored 16 points in a single quarter.
Unfortunately, it was already too late. In the end, the Spurs won the game on the field.
After the game, reporters couldn't help but mock Popovich, asking about the away free throws.
Popovich was slapped in the face, but he still smiled happily.
He thought it was worth being slapped in the face by his own words in exchange for victory in the tiebreaker.
After this game, the media turned around and said that the league was generally very fair.
But then the media was slapped in the face again. In the sixth game between the Cavaliers and Celtics, the Cavaliers won the game at home, and the score was tied at 3-3.
Overall, the home winning rate in the playoffs this season is astonishingly high, at 80%, which is a record high.
Especially the Celtics, who have not won an away game in the playoffs so far.
Some fans who like conspiracy theories immediately jumped out and said that the Celtics were actually very weak, but the league forced them to advance at home in order to save the face of the Big Three.
Of course this is bullshit. The Celtics did win 64 games in the regular season.
However, it is an indisputable fact that the Celtics' performance in the playoffs was stretched. Their game against the Hawks was delayed until the seventh game, and their game against the Cavaliers was delayed until the seventh game.
If they win the tiebreaker next, those conspiracy theorists will be even happier, which proves that their argument is correct.
The Celtics are under a lot of pressure, but they can't lose on purpose just to prove their innocence.
In the tiebreaker on the 18th, the Celtics went all out.
Of course, the knights are also working hard.
Even if you can't win the championship, it would be nice to advance one more round.
Unfortunately, the Celtics won in the end.
93 to 97, the Cavaliers didn't lose much.
As if the league wanted to prove its fairness, the two teams actually took the same number of free throws in this game.
This should be a coincidence, but this coincidence makes the alliance feel like "there is no three hundred taels of silver here".
In terms of free throws, the Cavaliers took 35 free throws and made 24 of them.
The Celtics made 35 free throws and made 28, which was exactly 4 points more than the Cavaliers.
It is precisely because of this coincidence that James' free throws were criticized.
In this game, he made 13 of 19 free throws, with a shooting percentage of only 68%, which is only slightly better than O'Neal.
As a core scorer, such free throws obviously cannot satisfy the fans.
After the Celtics thrillingly defeated the Cavaliers, all four conference finals teams were announced.
The results were very much in line with experts' predictions. The Eastern Conference was indeed dominated by the Celtics and Pistons, and the Western Conference was indeed dominated by the Lakers and Spurs.
Compared with football, upsets in basketball games are relatively rare, especially in this best-of-seven-game format, which makes it even more difficult for weak teams to counterattack.
The teams for the conference finals were announced, and then experts began to predict the situation of the conference finals.
Experts agree that the Eastern Conference finals will be tied 4-3, with the Celtics winning.
The reason is also very simple. Both the Hawks and Cavaliers can reach the tiebreaker, and there is no reason why the Pistons can't.
If the names of the Big Three hadn't been so loud, experts would have said that the Pistons would have advanced to the finals.
In the Western Conference Finals, experts believe that the Lakers will win 4-1 or 4-2 with a high probability.
The Western Conference Finals are about to begin, and Spurs fans are very anxious.
Last season was also the Western Conference Finals, and their home team was defeated by the unknown Zhang Zhiyuan. It was in that series that Zhang Zhiyuan jumped from a quasi-star to a superstar.
But now, after just one season, Zhang Zhiyuan has grown from a superstar to a super giant, MVP.
Now that we meet again, Spurs fans don't admit it with their mouths, but they are really afraid in their hearts.
What's more, the media repeatedly promoted the strength of the Lakers, and they were also affected. They couldn't help but put themselves in the position of the weak side and the challenger.
"We have a chance."
Spurs fans shouted, and it was clear from their slogans that they lacked confidence.
Like the Lakers fans, what they say is, ‘I hope the Eastern Conference finals can be played quickly, don’t keep us waiting’.
This means that the Lakers have a high probability of advancing in advance in 4 or 5 games, which is very arrogant.
However, they have the confidence to be arrogant.
This season, the Lakers have not let them down yet.
On the 19th, the Western Conference Finals started first, with the Lakers facing the Spurs at home.
Before the game, Zhang Zhiyuan was stopped by reporters for an interview. After a few regular questions, the reporter asked: "Zhang, in how many games do you think you can win the game?"
Zhang Zhiyuan thought for a while and said: "It's hard to say, maybe we may also lose the series."
Zhang Zhiyuan's words surprised everyone. Such remarks were so unexpected.
"How is it possible? You are so strong."
The reporter cooperated and said that he vaguely felt that Zhang Zhiyuan had something to expose.
"How is it impossible? As long as Bruce hurts me or Kobe in the first game, wouldn't they win?"
Zhang Zhiyuan said.
In fact, there are potions for treating injuries and illnesses in the system store. However, these potions can only speed up the recovery speed at best, but cannot heal immediately.
Once he suffers an injury that takes several weeks to recover, Zhang Zhiyuan cannot play with the injury.
This is the only variable that can cause the Lakers to lose, and Zhang Zhiyuan has to guard against it.
He said this in advance, which aroused discussion and made Bowen more or less worried.
"Zhang, can you arrange your opponent like this?"
asked a Spurs-leaning reporter.
"Does he still need me to arrange? Ray Allen, Francis, Carter, Crawford, Iverson, Stoudemire, Nash, Paul, Szczerbiak, James, Hamilton, Kobe, Tracy McGrady, me, etc.
Wait. I'm sorry I can't list all the players because it would be too late and I need to play now."
Zhang Zhiyuan listed the names of the people who had been hurt by Bowen just like the names of the dishes, which made everyone laugh.
However, Zhang Zhiyuan’s words also surprised many people.
In fact, they all knew that Bowen was dirty and that Bowen had hurt many people, but not many people had made complete statistics. Now that Zhang Zhiyuan has listed them one by one, this number is frightening.
It turns out that Bowen has injured so many stars.
Some reporters are already preparing a big article to comment on Bowen as a player. This should be a good topic.
After answering a few questions from reporters, Zhang Zhiyuan entered the arena.
.......
At the beginning of the game, the Lakers sent out the strongest starting lineup of Fisher, Kobe, Zhang Zhiyuan, Odom, and Bynum.
Popovich was still very calm on the surface, and arranged a lineup of Parker, Finley, Bowen, Duncan, and Oberto, and Ginobili was placed on the bench.
Seeing the Spurs' lineup, Barkley complained directly: "Are the Spurs surrendering in advance? With Bowen's speed, how could he defend Zhang Zhiyuan, and how could Oberto cope with the Lakers' running and gunning?"
The biggest weakness of the Spurs lineup is that it is too slow. Except for Parker, the rest are all walking players.
"Then how do you think it should be arranged? Does Greg still have cards in his hand?"
Smith defended Popovich, saying that the Spurs' roster is old, slow, and has no choice. There is really no choice.
Even if Ginobili is put into the starting lineup, so what? The firepower cannot be better than that of the Lakers, and the substitutes are even less capable.
Buckley opened his mouth and found that he could not refute.
The game begins.
Bynum defeated Oberto and grabbed the right to attack.
Fisher controlled the ball and advanced, Zhang Zhiyuan passed the half court, and Bowen blocked him.
Zhang Zhiyuan said: "Is your knee okay?"
Last year, two of their knees collided. Although Zhang Zhiyuan was injured and rested for more than a week, Bowen was even worse and had to recover from the injury for eight months.
If his contract with the Spurs hadn't been for more than a year, the Spurs probably wouldn't want him again.
Although Bowen returned from injury midway through this season, his strength has also dropped significantly.
There seems to be no change in the scoring data, but the defense is much worse, and his speed is slower than before.
"I can have another intimate contact with you."
Bowen threatened.
He was actually a little worried about the consequences of injuring Zhang Zhiyuan, but he couldn't give in. If he could scare Zhang Zhiyuan into fear, that would be great.
"I'm looking forward to seeing you in a wheelchair."
Zhang Zhiyuan smiled.
These words made Bowen's heart skip a beat. He found that not only did he have to worry about the impact, but he also had to worry about the hardness of Zhang Zhiyuan's knees.
He was the one who took the initiative last season and should have been the less injured side.
As a result, after the two collided, Zhang Zhiyuan could still make the winning shot, but he could only be supported off the field. The hardness of Zhang Zhiyuan's knees really left a shadow on him.
During the time they were communicating, Kobe had already completed his shot.
The ball went in.
On the surface, Mike Finley was born in the 1995 class, only one class earlier than Kobe.
But in fact, Mike Finley is more than 5 years older than Kobe. Whether it is speed or strength, he cannot compete with Kobe in his prime.
The Spurs counterattacked, and Parker advanced slowly. He had to take care of the older guys on the team.
Oberto is 34, Bowen is 38, Duncan is 34, Finley is 36, and there are 39-year-old Horry, 38-year-old Thomas, 38-year-old Brent Barry on the bench...
Among the 12 Spurs players, only Parker is under 30 years old, and the remaining 11 are all over 30 years old. It is an out-and-out senior team.
For comparison, the Lakers' Bynum is only 22, Zhang Zhiyuan is only 20, Kobe is 31, Odom is 29, and Fisher is 34.
Ariza, Farmar, Vujacic, Walton on the bench...
All are under 30 years old.
Therefore, it is actually very simple for the Lakers to win, just run.
Both Odom and Bynum huddled under the basket. They had to protect the backboards, then pass the ball quickly and launch a fast break counterattack.
Parker naturally knows the team's weaknesses, so he plays very cautiously and strives for success.
As long as the ball goes in, they have enough time to retreat.
Parker broke through, but Fisher couldn't keep up and was passed by. Kobe Bryant made up the defense.
Parker split the ball and Finley caught the ball and hit a long two-pointer.
The chance was good, but the ball didn't go in.
Bynum held up Duncan to prevent him from getting close to the basket, and then Odom jumped up and grabbed the rebound.
Odom threw the ball to Fisher as soon as his feet hit the ground, but Zhang Zhiyuan and Kobe were already rushing forward regardless.
Parker and Bowen both chased after him, but Fisher still successfully passed the ball to Zhang Zhiyuan.
Zhang Zhiyuan dribbled the basketball toward the basket, but Bowen didn't even catch up with the ball.
Parker caught up, but with his small body, he was powerless against Zhang Zhiyuan's layup.
The ball goes in.
0 to 4, the Lakers showed overwhelming momentum at the beginning.
