The Eastern and Western Conference finals will not start until the 17th. Before then, the media is promoting and building momentum.
A reporter specially squatted down to Zhang Zhiyuan, trying to get some news from him.
"Zhang, the Western Conference Finals are about to start. Are you ready? Are you confident you can beat them?"
the reporter asked.
"The Spurs are very strong. They have Duncan and Manu. This will be a difficult game."
Zhang Zhiyuan said it seriously.
The reporter captured Zhang Zhiyuan's intention very keenly and responded: "Did you forget to mention one person, Tony Parker? He is also the core of the Spurs. Isn't he worthy of your attention?"
"Parker? Haha."
Zhang Zhiyuan smiled disdainfully.
Parker's fans will definitely explode when they see this weird look.
It would be great if it could irritate Parker by the way.
"In this matchup between the Pistons and the Cavaliers, which team are you more optimistic about?"
The reporter changed the question.
"knight."
Zhang Zhiyuan.
"Why?"
the reporter asked.
"Because it will be easier to play against the Cavaliers in the finals."
Zhang Zhiyuan said.
"You mean your Rockets can definitely make it to the finals? Why are you so confident?"
"Because the Spurs have Parker."
Zhang Zhiyuan continued to provoke.
In contrast, Duncan and Ginobili are not irritable people, and provoking them is difficult to produce results.
Therefore, Zhang Zhiyuan could only choose Parker.
If it can affect Parker's mentality and make Parker perform abnormally, then the Rockets will make a lot of money.
Zhang Zhiyuan's remarks made Spurs fans very unhappy, and they all clamored to make the Rockets look good.
Parker also quickly responded directly to Zhang Zhiyuan's remarks, saying that he did not know who Zhang Zhiyuan was because he rarely remembered the names of undrafted players.
This statement also offended many undrafted players, but everyone knew that Parker was only targeting Zhang Zhiyuan.
The two started a war of words in the distance, and the media was not idle either.
TNT launched a chat show, hosted by Barkley and Smith, and invited Spurs star David Robinson, Rockets star Olajuwon, famous commentator Yang Dis, and others.
Everyone sat together to talk about the next game and predict the outcome of the game.
"Which team will win the championship?"
Smith asked that this is a question that needs to be discussed every year.
"There is no doubt that it is the Spurs. They have a GDP combination and Popovich. They have rich experience in winning championships."
Robinson unabashedly supported the Spurs, and of course, he also gave some of his reasons.
"Gdp? Rockets' rising star Zhang said that the Spurs only have gd, not p."
Buckley laughed and quoted Zhang Zhiyuan.
"That was just a little trick on his part to try to stimulate Parker. Unfortunately, this childish trick only fell into the trap of the Jazz and is ineffective against a mature team like the Spurs. When it comes to the game, it still depends on hard power."
Robinson said disdainfully.
"Even if Parker is a star, the Rockets are also the Big Three. They are no weaker than the Spurs."
Olajuwon sided with the Rockets.
"Wait a minute, we are talking about the ownership of the championship, not the Western Conference championship. When it comes to the championship, of course the Cavaliers have the most hope. They have the omnipotent James, and no one can guard James."
Yang Dis said, he is the famous Zhan Chui.
"How much money James gave you, I will pay double. Please put away your idiotic remarks."
Barkley complained.
Among the four teams, the Cavaliers are the one he is least optimistic about.
"Why doesn't anyone mention the Pistons? Aren't they strong? I feel that their lineup is the most balanced. Although there are no superstars, they have no weaknesses. The other three teams have obvious weaknesses, and I am more optimistic about the Pistons."
"I'm still sticking with the Spurs."
...
Everyone is just like fighting for stalls in a vegetable market. Everyone has their own opinions and no one can convince anyone.
In the fan survey, 34% are optimistic about the Spurs winning the championship, 28% are optimistic about the Pistons, 21% are optimistic about the Cavaliers and only 17% are optimistic about the Rockets.
Bookmakers have also adjusted real-time odds.
The Spurs pay 2.5 points, the Cavaliers pay 4 points, the Pistons pay 4 points, and the Rockets pay 6 points.
Mainly because the Rockets' opponents in the first two rounds were not strong, and the outside world doubted their ability to fight hard.
The Spurs defeated the favorite Suns to prove their strength.
Although the Rockets continue to be undervalued, more and more people are buying the Rockets to win the championship.
There is more or less the influence of Zhang Zhiyuan in this.
Even before the playoffs started, Zhang Zhiyuan said that the Rockets could win the championship and even advised fans to place bets.
And now, the Rockets have actually made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, and are only two points away from the championship.
Considering that neither the Cavaliers nor the Pistons are strong, it can even be said that they are only one and a half steps away from the final hurdle.
Zhang Zhiyuan's self-confidence has added confidence to those fans and gamblers. Many people believe that Zhang Zhiyuan can bring miracles.
Much anticipated, the Eastern Conference Finals begins first.
In the end, James had a terrible performance, making 5 of 15 shots from the field, no free throws, and only scored 10 points.
Yandis said no one could guard James, and Prince immediately slapped him hard in the face.
In this game, Prince was guarding James throughout the game. James played 45 minutes and Prince also scored 45 points. Both of them were exhausted.
Although Prince was also very eye-catching on the offensive end, shooting 1 of 11.
But it doesn't matter, he guarded James to death and completed the exchange with James.
Without James' scoring, the Cavaliers are basically out of luck.
The Pistons are missing Prince's scoring, which has no impact at all.
They also have Hamilton, Billups, Wallace and Webber.
76 to 79, the Pistons won first.
James had a grimace after the game, and anyone could see his pain.
As soon as the game ended, the media's tone immediately changed and they all praised the Pistons' defense.
According to the rule of defense winning championships, the Pistons suddenly seemed to be a strong contender for the championship again.
At this time, league chairman Stern had a huge headache. He was worried that the finals would be the Spurs versus the Pistons.
In 2005, these two teams played in the Finals, and the ratings were not even as good as the Western Conference Finals, which was the lowest ever.
Because these two teams are mainly defensive, the two teams play like an iron fight, which is very ugly.
In the 7 games, only the Pistons scored more than 100 points once, and most of the other times they scored in the 70s to 80s.
"I hope LeBron and the Chinese twins can bring me some surprises."
Stern prayed.
These two teams playing in the finals are very exciting, and the ratings will definitely explode.
The No. 1 pick in the 2002 class versus the No. 1 pick in the 2003 class marks the league entering a new era.
The American Little Emperor's solo battle with the Chinese Twins can hype up a battle between local and international players.
...
Although he hoped that these two teams would play in the finals, Stern did not interfere too much in the process of the game.
Fairness is the foundation of the league. If the scandal of game manipulation is exposed, the league will be completely destroyed.
On the 18th, the first game of the Western Conference Finals started.
