Champion, please stay!

Chapter 185, Section 183: Still Needs Effort
The Knicks became the first team to advance to the conference finals!
Before the second round began, it wasn't that no one thought the Knicks could beat the Cavaliers; on the contrary, Knicks fans even gained the upper hand in their arguments with Cavaliers fans.

In their regular season matchups, the Knicks had the upper hand, and their offensive style, where everyone participates in the offense, was a strong counter to the Cavaliers.

可哪怕是纽约球迷，第二轮开始前，也就期待4比2的大比分，4比1他们想想都不要太爽，4比3也行……完全没想过能4比0！

In fact, after the score reached 3-0 the night before last, many media outlets predicted that the Knicks would not go to Cleveland again this season.

But even when the score was set at 4-0, it still caused a sensation in the basketball world.

The Cavaliers, with a record of 64 wins, were swept out in the second round!

LeBron James, the Cavaliers' 'only' star player and newly crowned MVP, is once again at the center of public debate.

As soon as major media outlets released the game report, the comment sections were flooded with replies like "James averaged 34.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game, giving his all but getting no help."

This trick used to work well, but it didn't work this time. The boomerang came!

In the first round, Yi Shui was criticized for "scoring by taking more shots" and "averaging 30+ points per game after taking more than 160 shots in 6 games".

Now, the same attack has fallen on James—he took 125 shots in 4 games, making only 53, for a 42.4% field goal percentage, averaging just 34.7 points per game.

Yi Shui scored 35.3 points per game in the first round with a 44.7% field goal percentage, which is higher than James'!

Some fans disagreed with this comparison, saying that although the Cavaliers lost, James dominated Yi Shui, scoring more points than Yi Shui in every game and averaging a near triple-double... completely crushing Yi Shui in every aspect.

They were quickly proven wrong.

The media outlet that proved Cavaliers fans wrong was ESPN, which is usually the biggest supporter of LeBron James.

ESPN compared and analyzed the performances of Yi Shui and James in this series.

詹姆斯场均34.75分11.75板8.75助攻1.5抢断0.5盖帽。

易水场均28.75分9.5板7.75助攻2抢断3盖帽。

James has a higher average points per game, but in terms of single-game points, James has 38 points while Yi Shui has 41 points, making the latter higher.

而且易水命中率高了近10个百分点，4场比赛79投40中，命中率达到了50.6%！

Three-pointers are nowhere near as good!

James averaged 2-for-9 shooting, a mere 22% three-point shooting percentage;

James's pressure and defensive pressure effectively limited Yi Shui's three-point attempts. Yi Shui only attempted 21 three-pointers in 4 games, a significant drop compared to their first-round elimination, but their shot selection and consistency were much better! They made 10 of 21 three-point attempts in 4 games, averaging 2.5 three-pointers per game with a 47.6% success rate!
Three pairs, Yi Shui also has them!
Thanks to his triple-double in Game 4, Yi Shui's stats in the series have reached 'near triple-double per game'!
Moreover, Yi Shui's individual defensive performance was better than James' overall, as James almost never participated in defense in the second half.

This comparison sent Cavaliers fans into a frenzy, and ESPN's servers overloaded that night...

...

That night, nightclubs and bars in New York were also overwhelmed with business.

The last time the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals was in the 99-00 season.

In the eight years that followed, the Knicks only made the playoffs twice, and both times they were eliminated in the first round.

Just when New York fans thought the Knicks were doomed, they won the number one draft pick and made it straight to the Eastern Conference Finals in their first year!
"Superstars, no need to wait," a phrase easily circulated by New York media, was featured prominently on Nike's official website homepage.

Walsh kept his promise after Game 1 and took his team to a nightclub, where they could do whatever they wanted.

Yi Shui and his teammates were having so much fun that they saw New York at 4 a.m. again...

The next day at noon, Yi Shui woke up to find himself having spent the night with three socialites from New York, and was still full of energy after waking up!
The two skills I got from Zhang Liangwan are incredibly effective, making me "the more I fight, the stronger I become," and they also guarantee absolute safety.

I was so hungry... I didn't fall asleep until after 4 a.m., and I woke up before midnight, purely because I was hungry.

Yi Shui took a shower, said goodbye to the three girls, and left the hotel.

None of the three socialites bothered with him; the saying "the emperor doesn't care about anyone after he's done with his pants up" was already well-known in New York's socialite circles.

They didn't care about that; they just used "sleeping with the emperor" as a topic of conversation among their girlfriends.

Most of these women are children of local wealthy businessmen, but none of them have the opportunity to inherit the family business. They live a life of extravagance and debauchery, and are the standard rich second generation in the public's perception.

Back in Yishui, I took a taxi home, and the lunch I ordered had already been delivered.

He took the food to the study and ate while browsing the news... King got really criticized!
As expected, ESPN was the most vocal critic, even harsher than the media outlets in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco!

Yi Shui scoffed, "Tsk tsk, capitalists really do want to exploit even their underwear..."

Having been in the NBA for almost a year, he has gained a better understanding of the relationship between ESPN and LeBron James. ESPN has never treated James as a 'business partner,' but purely as a 'traffic machine,' prioritizing generating buzz and high viewership.

The Knicks are similar in this respect, just like in the first round, when CNN criticized D'Antoni the most.

As for whether ESPN will 'break ties' with LeBron James fans because of this attack? Impossible.

Last year, after the Cavaliers lost to the Celtics in the second round, it was ESPN that first said 'the Cavaliers should have been eliminated 1-4,' and at the time they were attacked by LeBron James fans.

But after a while, ESPN praised James extensively and then became very close to James' fans again.

While scrolling through the news, Yi Shui suddenly noticed something!

He won, leading his team to victory with a shooting percentage of over 50%, scoring the highest points in the series, and in Game 4, he also achieved a series-high 14 assists and a triple-double thanks to the opponent blocking his scoring. However, his personal popularity is not as high as LeBron James'!

No matter how much the major media outlets in New York hype up and praise his status, the buzz surrounding him doesn't match the level of criticism directed at LeBron James.

After all, this is James' sixth year in the professional league, and he was already well-known throughout the United States before entering the NBA. His popularity among Americans is much higher than James'!
ESPN's move was really something!
Domestically, Yi Shui browsed the portal websites across the sea and found the situation was completely different. Few major media outlets had much to say about James' performance, with little criticism and mostly praise.

Of course, there is a group of die-hard fans who gather on some niche websites and have a loud voice, but their voices cannot get into the mainstream media.

The domestic basketball market is dominated by three players: him, the Little Giant, and the Old Blacksmith.

He felt that it would be difficult for this version of LeBron James to achieve the same level of popularity in China as he did in the original timeline.

He remembered that James became popular in China during the 09-10 season. That season, Yao Ming was sidelined with an injury, and James' team heavily promoted him in China, seizing that 'blank market'...

After finishing lunch, Yi Shui opened the system.

"imperial power:
Goal 1: You scored a series-high 41 points. Congratulations! You have earned the reward: Double Strength Training Efficiency Card (Month).

目标2：你率队以4比0横扫骑士队，已完成，恭喜获得奖励：启动速度+1、弹速+1。

你的启动速度由92提升至93（速度91），弹速由89提升至90（弹跳91）。”

He didn't expect a 4-0 sweep, but the Cavaliers were indeed easier to beat than the Hawks.

The Cavaliers have a higher ceiling, but their floor can also be really low. Compared to teams like the Hawks, whose floor is very high, the Knicks are less effective against them because their floor can also be very low.

Seeing the newly emerging sub-categories of physical fitness, all of which were above 90, Yi Shui was in a great mood.

He called the team, scheduled a practice, and planned to first check out a private gym a 5-minute walk away before training at Madison Square Garden.

Jerry Cook recommended an alumnus who runs an asset allocation company to him, who helped him acquire the clubhouse, which is currently being renovated and converted into a private basketball club.

Before shutting down his computer, Yi Shui refreshed the forum... and saw a newly reposted column article.

The New York Times' latest column, "The Stolen MVP,"

...

Around 7 p.m., Yi Shui returned home.

In the afternoon, he practiced his pull-up jump shot extra, and in Game 2 against the Cavaliers, he scored 41 points. The pull-up jump shot he learned from Kobe Bryant played a big role in that.

However, he wasn't actually very skilled at this move; he was only at the level of being able to use it.

In other words, he only had easy opportunities to pull up for a jump shot when he was facing a tough defender like James, who was easy for opponents to fake out. Against defenders like Battier, Kirilenko, Prince, or Marion, it would have been much harder.

The live broadcast of the pivotal Game 5 between the Lakers and the Rockets hadn't started yet, so Yi Shui turned on his computer and browsed the news.

"Wow! The New York media has something special!"

Last night and this morning, the traditional reporting methods of New York media, while generating decent buzz, relied solely on the New York market. Nationwide, their viewership couldn't compare to ESPN's.

But the publication of the column article "The Stolen MVP" opened up a new 'battlefield'.

Actually, Yi Shui didn't think there was anything wrong with James winning the regular season MVP.

With the most wins, the best statistics, and the highest efficiency, this award is definitely deserved.

Yi Shui felt that the "customized comparisons" in this New York Times article, such as higher single-game scores, more 40+ point games, rookie status, etc., were untenable.

However, in the battle of public opinion, it's a contest of who can shout the loudest, and no city can compare to New York and Los Angeles in this regard.

Moreover, fans' acceptance of 'customized data' has been cultivated by media outlets such as ESPN and NBC, so this tactic is really effective!
With the Cavaliers being swept out of the playoffs, public opinion began to question whether James deserved to win the MVP award.

Cleveland media also retaliated, with The Plain Dealer publishing a column at 3 p.m., which also became a hot topic.

Honest Report has ranked the regular season MVPs of the past decade:
First place: Shaquille O'Neal, 99-00 season, 67 wins, scoring title, NBA championship, Finals MVP. Second place: Tim Duncan, 02-03 season, 60 wins, NBA championship, Finals MVP.

Third place, 07-08 season, Kobe, 57 wins, NBA Finals.

The fourth time, in the 00-01 season, Iverson, 56 wins, NBA Finals.

Fifth place, 04-05 season, Nash, 62 wins, Western Conference Finals.

Sixth place, 09-09 season, James, 64 wins, multiple high-scoring games and multiple near triple-doubles in the playoffs.

7th place, 2003-04 season, Garnett, 58 wins, Western Conference Finals.

Eighth place, 05-06 season, Nash, 54 wins, Western Conference Finals.

Ninth place, 01-02 season, Duncan, 58 wins, second round.

Tenth place, 06-07 season, Nowitzki, 67 wins, was upset in the first round by the eighth seed.

Yi Shui browsed through the column articles and the reposted forum comment sections... Poor Silver Horn King, he's being dragged into the fray again.

Kobe and Iverson fans also had a heated argument over this list.

Last summer, some media outlets compared the two players' performances during their MVP seasons, generating a huge amount of online traffic.

Yi Shui exclaimed, "As expected of the old blacksmith, even cold rice can be reheated and still smell so good."

However, despite the high level of attention garnered by this column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, it failed to help James deflect public pressure. Instead, many media outlets, experts, and fans questioned the ranking.

Why should the MVP who was swept in the second round be given to Garnett, who led his team to the Western Conference Finals despite being rejected by two other teams? What makes him ranked higher than Nash, who led his team to the Western Conference Finals despite Stoudemire's season-ending injury, and Duncan, who faced the OK duo?

The Los Angeles Herald has revised the rankings, keeping everything else unchanged, and placed LeBron James in ninth place, only higher than Dirk Nowitzki in the 06-07 season.

When Yi Shui came across the post in the Vanguard Daily, he felt sorry for Silver Horn King again...

Originally, with 58 players swept in the first round and an MVP swept in the second round this year, no one paid attention to Nowitzki, who was quietly fishing. Now he is being dragged out and repeatedly criticized.

The strategy of surrounding Kobe to save LeBron is no longer working, so Cavaliers fans have opted to surround Noélé to save LeBron.

...

On the first rest day, Yi Shui paid a lot of attention to the news. On the second rest day, after the team began to prepare for the Eastern Conference Finals, he devoted himself to the preparation and no longer sat in front of the computer for one or two hours at a time.

Two days ago, before they swept the Cavaliers, the Magic also played Game 4 against the Pacers, and the Magic led 3-1, with their advancement in sight.

The Pacers played well, but the Magic were too strong. With the Celtics losing Garnett, the Magic's overall strength far surpassed that of other teams in the East.

As for the Rockets and Lakers, they suffered a crushing 86-101 defeat in last night's pivotal Game 5.

The good news is that Yao Ming, who has lost weight, reduced his reliance on hard-hitting defense, and increased his close-range high-post and mid-range shot attempts, has not suffered a season-ending injury!

However, precisely because Yao Ming was not injured, the Nobles team became more and more focused and no longer underestimated the Rockets... They couldn't even beat the Lakers on the road, so Yi Shui estimated that the Rockets, back at home, wouldn't be able to last Game 6.

The biggest problem with Yao Ming's teammates this time isn't the power forwards. Although Scola and Landry were pretty bad against Gasol and Odom, the point guards were the worst.

In 5 games, Brooks averaged 11 field goal attempts and made 3.4 of them, for a field goal percentage of 30.9%.

Brooks is already the Rockets' best point guard!
Lowry, who is still in the development stage, is averaging 1.6 of 5 shots made in 5 games. His shooting percentage looks slightly better than Brooks'. However, the current "Little Steel Cannon" can only drive to the basket. When he is on the court, Fisher or Farmar will simply collapse and ignore him.

Brooks has a 32% three-point shooting percentage, which helps him create space, while Lowry missed all six of his three-point attempts in five games.

It's a pity that Yao Ming, Artest, and Battier had such peak performances this year.

Over the next two days, as the decisive games of the other three series came to an end, the buzz surrounding New York and Cleveland cooled down, and fans turned their attention to those three series...

On the 18th, two series of matches concluded.

The Pacers, traveling to Orlando for an away game, failed to bring the series back to Indianapolis, suffering a crushing 83-101 defeat. Randolph scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but Howard had 20 points and 22 rebounds, Granger had 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, and Turkoglu also contributed 16 points and 12 assists... The overall gap in strength was too great.

The Denver Nuggets defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4-2, becoming the second team to advance to the conference finals.

Some media outlets have said that the Cavaliers' playing style is very similar to that of the Spurs. Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown was once an assistant coach for Popovich, and both teams emphasize defense and relentlessly battle star players.

The Nuggets-Spurs series did indeed feel very similar to the Knicks-Cavaliers series – each team was playing their own game.

Just like the Knicks, who focused solely on their fast-paced offense regardless of how the Cavaliers played, the Nuggets played a track-and-field style of defense, fast breaks, and run-and-gun offense throughout all six games of the series. If they won, they won; if they lost, they just kept running.

On the 19th, Yao Ming and Artest returned to their home court and led their team in a fierce battle against Kobe and the three big men. The Rockets' players showed remarkable resilience. Despite trailing by 11 points at halftime, they scored 58-47 in the second half, forcing the game into overtime... Kobe wore them down with his stamina.

The Rockets only managed two points in overtime, and the Lakers, with a 10-2 run in overtime, narrowly defeated the Rockets 112-104, winning the series 4-2 and advancing to the Western Conference Finals against the Nuggets.

...

On May 21, after a four-day break, the Knicks traveled to Amway Arena in Orlando to face the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Knicks continued their "everyone contributes" approach from the first two rounds, with 11 players appearing on the court throughout the game.

易水面对特科格鲁、考特尼-李、刘易斯的防守，17投10中，其中三分球4中2，加上9中8的罚球，高效拿到28分，外加9板5助攻1抢断2盖帽。

Curry, David Lee, and Harrington, who came off the bench, all scored 15 points. Every player who entered the game scored, and the team scored a total of 106 points. Their overall offensive performance was better than against the Hawks and Cavaliers.

But they also lost more points than they did against the Hawks and Cavaliers!
霍华德24分14板、刘易斯23分4板2助攻、特科格鲁15分5板7助攻、阿尔斯通12分4助攻、皮特鲁斯11分……魔术队5人得分上双，以114比106强压尼克斯队守住首个主场！

The team's offense couldn't keep up, so on the 23rd, in Game 2, Yi Shui increased his individual shot attempts, playing 41 minutes and taking 26 shots (excluding free throws)... His efficiency dropped significantly, making 12 of 26 shots, including 3 of 9 three-pointers, plus 8 of 8 free throws, scoring a game-high 35 points.

However, this did not significantly improve the overall offense, with the team scoring only one more point than in the previous game.

Van Gundy made excellent in-game adjustments on the defensive end!

魔术队利用传球调动尼克斯队防守，做得也比G1更好，霍华德21分13板、特科格鲁18分8助攻、刘易斯25分、替补上场的考特尼-李25分、阿尔斯通12分7助攻……又是5人得分上双，全队三分球28投14中，以117比107再胜尼克斯队，大比分2比0！

Mike Woodson, Mike Brown, Stan Van Gundy... For three consecutive rounds, the opposing head coaches have all been top defensive coaches. The latter always seems to learn from the experience of the former. Moreover, unlike Mike Brown, who had little control and influence over his team, Van Gundy, once he had Howard on his side, had absolute control and made adjustments that were more timely than those of Mike Brown!
Even though the Knicks made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and were in their best form, their offensive performance was still a notch below that of the regular season!
On the 26th, the Knicks returned to their home court for Game 3 of their series against the Magic.

Trailing 0-2, feeling the pressure of standing on the edge of a cliff; the support of the home fans... Yishui exploded under immense pressure!

In 38 minutes of playing time, Yi Shui took over 30 shots, setting a new playoff high. He made 16 of 31 shots, including 2 of 6 three-pointers, plus 9 of 10 free throws, scoring a whopping 41 points, along with 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks.

在他的带动下，库里拿到19分4助攻、大卫-李24分9板、哈灵顿10分5板3助攻、杜洪5分11助攻……

魔术队今晚打得依旧很好，霍华德21分13板、刘易斯18分、特科格鲁21分7助攻、阿尔斯通16分、皮特鲁斯14分……又是5人得分上双。

With 11 minutes and 55 seconds left in the final quarter, the Knicks led the Magic 119-117 by two points, and the Magic had possession of the ball.

After the Magic called a timeout, they executed their inbound pass and cut play. Howard rushed to the left side, received a pass from Turkoglu, and rose to dunk... only to be blocked by Yi Shui, who rushed in from the other baseline!

The ball was fanned by Yi Shui to the left side of the three-second zone, and Alston won the ball in the scramble, but the final whistle had already sounded.

With 41 points in a single game, plus a crucial block, Yi Shui prevented the opponent from dragging the game into overtime, leading the team to defeat the Magic 119-117 and avoid a 0-3 deficit!

On the 28th, the Knicks will face the Magic in Game 4 at home.

The Knicks lost 94-102 at home, bringing the series score to 1-3, and the Magic have a match point.

The Knicks narrowly won a game, but this time they were truly out of options. No matter how good the home atmosphere was or how hard the players fought, they couldn't overcome the gap in overall strength.

Yi Shui also scored 32 points tonight, shooting 11-for-24, a decent performance. D'Antoni even employed the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy, but Howard inexplicably went 8-for-12 from the free-throw line! While this affected the Magic's offensive rhythm to some extent, the Knicks' own offensive rhythm was also impacted...

...

The Eastern Conference Finals ended at 10:23 PM on May 31st.

Yi Shui ultimately failed to extend the season until June.

25投9中，其中三分球10中3，加上7中6的罚球，他拿到27分11板4助攻2盖帽，球队比分89比101，大比分1比4。

The Knicks' 2008-2009 season came to an end the moment the final buzzer sounded.

After congratulating Alston, who had been very friendly to him throughout the series, on reaching the finals, Yi Shui was about to leave quickly... but he was surrounded by reporters and cameras.

Seeing this, Beast was envious: I'm the real winner! All the reporters were surrounding Yi!

Yi: You think I wanted this?

"Emperor, your team achieved 55 wins and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals this season. In my opinion, that's incredible, it's a miracle. What are your thoughts on your performance this season?"

Yi Shui glanced at the logo on the microphone... Orlando Sentinel?
Oh right, Orlando Media is notorious for breaking down after a loss, but everything is fine when they win.

Yi Shui replied, "Thank you. I'm very satisfied with our team's performance in getting this far, but it's frustrating that it's over now. The Magic are the strongest team in the East this year, and I hope they can win the championship. That way, we'll only have lost to the championship."

A reporter holding an ESPN microphone asked, "Emperor, you averaged 32.6 points per game in this series, which is better than in the second round, but you still lost the series 1-4. Can you talk about the reasons for the loss? Was it because your teammates failed to provide you with the necessary support?"

"So you're not going to act anymore..." Yi Shui paused for a moment, then replied, "Losing feels terrible and very frustrating, but thankfully my teammates' performance makes me proud!"
They never gave up. When I felt discouraged because of the huge gap in strength, it was their tenacious will that propelled me forward and made me a better version of myself.

This playoff run made me truly realize my weaknesses. I'm not yet capable of leading my teammates further, and I still have a long way to go to become a truly outstanding leader.

(End of this chapter)