The longest river

Chapter 143 "Michael, Have You Ever Lost?"

After the initial shock, Yang Shuai gradually came to his senses.

His understanding of Bird also increased as a result.

Bird Field has extensive experience, and he understands the importance of restraint on the field.

Among NBA superstars, Barkley is arguably the most skilled fighter, yet he has never won a championship.

On the contrary, Jordan, who always lost in fights, has almost filled one hand with rings.

Even Yang Shuai's psychological counseling course at the Nike training camp was about emotional control.

This is content that has already gained public recognition and is being promoted.

But Bird was no pushover.

The scene where he and "Dr. J" Irving choked each other was a famous moment back then.

After being tricked by Riley, he naturally wanted to get his revenge.

To put it bluntly, Bird taught Young and O'Neal to be restrained and calm, which is something a head coach must do.

And what he did in this game was a continued battle of wits with both head coaches, Riley and Pat Riley.

He used this game to tell Riley: there are ways to play well and there are ways to play poorly.

Riley was indeed anxious; he rushed onto the court and held Mourning firmly in place.

Although it earned him a technical foul, it at least prevented Mourning from going berserk.

However, after the conflict, seeing Bird's lingering fear, he clearly understood Bird's determination.

The Heat won Game 5, tying the series.

However, in Game 6, back in Indianapolis, the Pacers, with their full starting lineup back, unleashed their full offensive power, crushing the Heat 116-83 and eliminating them 4-2 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Although the process was somewhat bumpy, the result was not too surprising.

Looking back at Bird's statement, "You guys overestimated some things," it really shows how much he was bragging.

The Pacers' opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals has already been determined.

The Bulls easily swept the Magic without O'Neal in the first round. Even though Hardaway scored 44 points in Game 3, it couldn't make up for the gap in strength between the two teams.

到了次轮，老鹰队在G2靠着穆奇·布雷洛克三分9中8的奇兵杀出拿下一场，但最终还是被1比4绅士横扫。

Despite possessing one of the league's best interior players, they didn't pose much of a challenge to the Bulls.

As it turns out, no team can beat the Bulls in their original low-post isolation-based tactical system.

Before the Eastern Conference Finals began, the league announced the winners of the final batch of post-game awards, the "All-NBA Team".

Jordan was selected to both the All-NBA First Team and the All-Defensive First Team;
Pippen was selected to the All-NBA Second Team and the All-Defensive First Team;
Miller was selected to the All-NBA Third Team;
Yang Shuai was selected for the All-Defensive First Team.

Compared to last year's success, when Jordan and Pippen were both selected to the All-NBA First Team, and then Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman were selected to the All-Defensive First Team, the Bulls have fallen behind this year.

However, it is still clear that there is a gap in the two teams' strength on paper.

The guests on the "NBA Insider" program initially discussed the Bulls' 80% chance of winning the championship, and later, even Ernie Johnson, who was optimistic, only dared to think that the Pacers had a 30% chance. This is the most direct manifestation of this.

Before the Eastern Conference Finals began, the guests on the latest episode of "NBA Insider" started making predictions.

Albert, Hubie Brown, and Mike Breen all predicted that the Bulls would finish the series in six games at most.

Only Ernie Johnson believed the Pacers had a chance to force a Game 7.

Without exception, they all believed that the Bulls would be the ultimate winner.

The Pacers arrived in Chicago early the day before the Eastern Conference Finals began.

After settling into their hotel, the Pacers went to the United Center for a practice session to familiarize themselves with the venue.

Bird even made a special arrangement for the bus to not enter the underground parking garage, but to park on the ground, and then lead a group of people in through the main entrance.

The purpose of doing this was, of course, to let the team members witness the splendor of the Jordan statue.

Although Yang Shuai has played two seasons in the NBA, he has never seen this statue before because he usually enters and exits the underground parking garage during games.

Now that I've seen it, I have to say the statue is quite impressive.

Especially for someone like him who had seen the statue of Wade.

That leaping silhouette dunk move looked incredibly powerful and imposing.

Especially when paired with the phrase on the base: "The best there ever was, the best there ever will be."

The literal translation of this English phrase is "the best ever, the best ever," which means "unprecedented and unparalleled."

From the perspective of a time traveler, even if his fellow LeBron fans keep insisting that LeBron James is the greatest of all time, Michael Jordan, who has two three-peats, still deserves that title.

However, considering that the statue was erected in 1994, right after Jordan's first retirement, it's actually quite pretentious.

After entering the arena, Bird did not have Carlisle lead the team training immediately. Instead, he waited until the players had all gathered before indicating that he had something to say.

This caught the attention of his teammates, because Bird had never given a personal speech before.

"Do you know what I most want to do every time I come to Chicago?"

Seeing the puzzled looks on his teammates' faces, he quickly gave the answer.
"It's about smashing that statue by the door!"

Why did Bird want to do that?
Because Jordan's statue is the greatest insult to these predecessors.

When Jordan erected that statue, he only had 3 championships. How did he become unprecedented and destined to be the last?

Of course, Bird was fully qualified to say that. Because Jordan didn't just play in the NBA for 3 years; he played for 9 years before winning 3 championships.

In contrast, Bird won three championships in his first seven years in the league.

Even in terms of individual accolades, Bird's 3 MVPs and 2 Finals MVPs are no less impressive than Jordan's 2 MVPs and 3 Finals MVPs.

You say Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are too ancient, but Bird and Jordan are roughly from the same era.

"I lied to the reporters that I came here to teach you how to defeat Michael. I didn't come here to teach you; I came here to defeat Michael with you."

Bird usually interacted more with Yang Shuai than with other Black players, and his manner of speaking created a distance between him and his teammates.

But this one sentence instantly bridged that distance.

He didn't want the inscription under the Jordan statue to become a reality, as he and the team shared a common goal.

"Imagine what it would be like if we beat this Bulls team, and then how would you feel about that quote?"

Bird concluded his speech there, and after saying this, he instructed Carlisle to lead the training.

However, this open ending leaves plenty of room for imagination.

Including Yang Shuai.

If that's the case, then the phrase "unprecedented and unparalleled" isn't a sign of high-class taste, but rather a form of irony.

Just thinking about it is exciting.

The Pacers' training session was extremely effective, and the players seemed to be injected with boundless energy.

By the time the team finished training, it was almost noon, and most of the players took showers and went home to rest.

Yang Shuai practiced one-on-one with Jermaine O'Neal for a while.

Although time was limited, he wanted to improve his abilities as much as possible by enhancing his explosive power.

Under Bird's guidance, Jermaine O'Neal improved rapidly that year. He struggled a bit against the Knicks, but performed very well against the Heat.

After training, Yang Shuai and Jermaine O'Neal took a shower and then prepared to go back to rest.

The Bulls' home and away locker rooms are located on either side of a passageway, with a main passageway leading outwards in the middle.

Just as they turned into the main passageway, they bumped into two people.

Jordan and Pippen were walking towards them, chatting and laughing.

They must have come to train in advance.

Pippen spotted Yang Shuai and his team first, his eyes immediately fixed on Yang Shuai.

Before the Christmas Day game, Pippen's attitude towards Yang Shuai was mostly one of displeasure, but after the Christmas Day game, his feelings became much more complicated, a mixture of envy, jealousy, resentment, and a touch of admiration.

However, Yang Shuai acted as if he didn't see him, looking straight at Jordan with burning eyes.

Yang Shuai didn't have many personal thoughts about Jordan before. He just thought that, like everyone else, to win a championship in this era, you had to defeat Jordan.

But after Bird's provocation, his thoughts changed from "I want" to "I think".

Because, as Bird said, it's a very fulfilling thing.

Jordan also noticed Yang Shuai later.

Being stared at like prey by Yang Shuai, and recalling Yang Shuai's trash talk all night during the Christmas battle, he frowned slightly.

However, he quickly relaxed.

Just like in those practice games, Jordan actually admired those younger players who dared to challenge him.

Jordan's reaction, however, made Yang Shuai frown.

It's really frustrating that Jordan doesn't see him as a threat.

The group passed each other, exchanging glances, while Jordan continued his conversation with Pippen.

But at that moment, Yang Shuai suddenly stopped and turned around, saying, "Michael."

Yang Shuai's words made the other three stop in their tracks. Jordan and Pippen turned around, and Jordan looked at Yang Shuai with a puzzled expression in his eyes.

"Have you ever been defeated?"

Yang Shuai's question surprised everyone.

Jordan has certainly lost. He lost for the first six years of his career, including this comeback, which the media has deliberately avoided mentioning, but he still lost to the Magic.

"Michael, did you ever think you'd lose this year?"

Yang Shuai's next words cleared up that doubt.

Jordan smiled upon hearing this.

He really hadn't thought about that.

He considered all the Bulls' problems this season to be minor issues, and their final 68 wins proved that.

Yang Shuai didn't wait for Jordan's reply; after he finished speaking, he called for Jermaine O'Neal to leave.

Jordan's reaction gave him the answer he wanted.

“He…” Pippen looked at Jordan after regaining his senses.

"It's just a child's trick," Jordan said, already walking inside.

(End of this chapter)