After the G4 game of the Eastern Conference Finals, another day passed
On May 30th, the tiebreaker of the Western Conference Finals will begin at the Rose Garden Arena.
The place was packed with people, and every place where people could stand was packed.
Hatred, championship, stepping down, fights, injuries, 70-win team...there are too many keywords in this series.
Especially for Portland fans, they could have ended the series in Game 5 and entered the Finals, but instead they were delayed until now.
They have waited too long to advance and they can't wait any longer. They can't wait for the game to start in the next second.
During the on-site warm-up, when Wang Zelin appeared on the court wearing thick left shoulder and back protective gear that had been prepared in advance, everyone on the scene was a little surprised.
In fact, Wang Zelin was fine at all, but because the injury news released by Orsi before was too tragic, in order to block Yuyou's mouth, he could only pretend that he was still injured.
However, this has given many media the topic of hype, namely the legendary "Return of the King"!
Let’s break down the classic Return of the King cases that have happened in NBA history. If we really want to rank the top three...
The first place is none other than the Battle of Tianwangshan in the 1997 Finals. Basketball god Michael Jordan played despite being ill and scored 38 points, including 15 points in the fourth quarter.
In the last minute, he scored a golden three-pointer, allowing the Bulls to win by two points.
This is the classic "Flu War"!
The second place belongs to New York Knicks legend Willis Reed.
In the 1970 Finals, Reed suffered a serious foot injury in Game 5 and missed Game 6 due to injury, allowing the Lakers to take the opportunity to tie the score to 3-3. In the crucial Game 7, everyone thought you were finished.
But Reed dragged his legs out of the fight.
Not only did he beat Wilt Chamberlain, who was ten centimeters taller than him, in the jump ball, but he also scored two jump shots over Chamberlain. This was the only 4 points he scored in the game.
Under the call of his spirit, the Knicks defeated Los Angeles by 29 points and the Lakers won the championship.
This is the legendary "Reed is Back!"
As for third place, there are actually many classic cases that can compete.
But what impresses most NBA fans the most is the smiling assassin Isaiah Thomas in Game 6 of the 1988 Finals between the Pistons and Lakers. He faced the Lakers with an injured leg that almost broke his ankle.
.
Under such circumstances, he still scored 43 points and 8 assists, including 25 points in the fourth quarter. He set a single-quarter scoring record in the finals at the time, which was only broken by Wang Zelin in the past two seasons.
With the amazing performance of the Smiling Assassin, the Pistons defeated the Lakers and dragged the score to a tiebreaker. Although the Pistons still lost to the Lakers in the end, Thomas dragged the lame man to persist in the fighting spirit and made everyone pay their greatest respects.
Respect.
When the news came out that Wang Zelin was playing injured, his image suddenly became extremely high in the hearts of the media and fans.
Just like those legendary stars in the past, whenever the team is on the verge of a life-or-death battle, they will always stage a comeback to help the team turn the tide.
This time, everyone's eyes were unanimously on Wang Zelin.
This Chinese boy, can he do it?
…
It can only be said that Orsi did an excellent job of keeping secret. He only told the coaching staff about the situation and did not tell the players.
Therefore, even Bald Hua was just guessing before the game, and no one sent out gave him an accurate reply.
So much so that before the game, many people thought that Wang Zelin would not appear today, but the Blazers leader still stood on the basketball court.
Now, even if he is not sick, he still has to pretend to be "sick", otherwise it will be in vain that many media reporters gave him this bright stage.
"Welcome back, brother!"
"Boss, welcome back!"
"..."
After Wang Zelin came on the stage, Lillard and Jokic immediately surrounded him, and their initially apprehensive hearts instantly became indestructible.
When the home fans saw this scene, their morale was immediately boosted!
The King of the Rose Garden is back, and the Trail Blazers will be unstoppable.
"I'm fine. I will defend my home victory with everyone tonight!"
Wang Zelin smiled slightly, feeling very relieved to have so many teammates and fans supporting him.
It's worth it to fight for a team like this!
"Hahahaha, great. Let's kick the opponent's butt together tonight!" Jokic waved his fist. He was temporarily promoted to the position in the last game, but in the end he failed to take on the big responsibility and let him
I hate my own lack of strength.
Now that the boss came back, he immediately seemed to have taken a reassurance. He stared at the Warriors bench opposite him with sharp eyes, as if he wanted to eat the opponent alive.
Before the game, both sides announced.
The Trail Blazers sent out a lineup of Lillard, Patton, Connett Lee, Aldridge, and Wang Zelin.
As early as yesterday, the Trail Blazers announced the injury of wing gatekeeper Batum: saying that he would be out for the season and unable to participate in the rest of the series.
In addition, Beverley was suspended for another three games, and without two strong defensive players, the Blazers' unlimited defensive system was broken.
Therefore, Coach Terry simply asked the team to switch back to the regular play tonight, letting Connett Lee take Batum's place, and the other four positions remained unchanged.
In this way, although Connet Lee's defense is one level worse than Batum's, it is still above the passing line and will not become the corner that the opponent mainly calls out.
As for the Warriors, the lineup is the same as the last game, Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Speights, BoG, no changes.
They are missing Draymond Green, the most important player in their five-small system, and their defensive ability has plummeted. Playing five more small players is simply a recipe for death.
Therefore, Cole can only continue to use the previous style of play, and the Warriors' hope of defeating the enemy and reaching the finals can only be pinned on the splash brothers Curry and Thompson.
Up to this point in the series, both teams have tried their best, whether it was serious tactics or extravagant tactics.
Now that we know each other well, it is not only a competition of star strength, but also a duel on the level of spiritual will!
Many times, there are many teams that have the strength to compete for the championship every season, but it always feels uninteresting.
The so-called near miss here actually means that it lacks the spirit that a championship team should have!
And this spirit is often directly related to the leader of the family.
Only when the leader is strong enough and has high morale, can the team break through to a higher ceiling!