On tuesday, May 6, 2008, at 7 PM, TD Garden was bustling with excitement after a long silence.
Just this morning, the NBA announced this season's DPOY, and the Celtics' Kevin Garnett successfully won the award!
Garnett, known for his offensive and defensive prowess, had never won this award during his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After coming to Boston, Head Coach Rivers adjusted his tactical strategy, which allowed Garnett to shine on the Defense end.
His terrifying help Defense ability led to a qualitative leap in the team's defensive statistics.
For Boston sports media, Garnett's award was a sign of the team's successful rebuilding!
Starting in the afternoon, sports reporters gathered in Boston, and the DPOY award ceremony was elevated to a higher level.
Onlookers who didn't understand the situation thought Garnett had won the MVP, which drew ridicule from New York fans who had come to watch the show, leading to a disturbance during the award presentation.
David Stern also appeared on the scene, smiling as he handed the bronze trophy to Garnett before applauding from the side.
Wearing a white home practice jersey, Garnett lifted the trophy high with his left hand, looked up, clenched his right fist, and after surveying his surroundings, roared loudly:
"Yee!!"
Garnett's excitement also affected the Boston fans in the arena.
The roar from TD Garden grew louder and louder, with those in the front rows standing up and celebrating with Garnett, punching the air.
After roaring continuously in the center of the court for a few seconds, Garnett finally took the microphone.
Since coming to Boston, he had grown a goatee, which made him look tougher:
"I never thought I would win this award. Sorry, I'm too excited!"
"When I won the MVP, I was just happy, but I didn't feel much emotion. The DPOY is different. It's not just a personal award, but also recognition for the Boston Celtics!"
"OH--! Man! I'm too excited. I'm a Defense-first player, and this trophy has special meaning to me."
"I know what everyone is worried about, but I swear, the team will get better and better. We played like Rookies in the first round, but now the beast has awakened!"
"Ah!!"
As Garnett roared again, the atmosphere in the arena reached a climax.
Some excited fans also shouted loudly.
This was the first time in over 10 years that someone from the team had won a major award.
Of course, there were also some rude individuals in the arena, screaming from their seats.
Some young people gathered together had come from New York to watch the show, and at this moment, they were collectively booing, which displeased the surrounding fans.
The two sides once again engaged in a war of words.
The New York fans, full of superiority, loved to bring up old scores:
"Give the trophy back to Lee, you owe New York an MVP!"
Although the Boston Celtics achieved 60 wins this season, this record still did not earn the respect of New York fans, because Garnett was not drafted by Boston, and 'teaming up' was even less commendable.
Garnett had already lost the 'One-Person, One-City Award' and the 'Home Team Championship Award,' two supreme honors.
No matter what achievements he made, New York fans would not recognize him.
On the other side of the court, the Cavaliers' players were expressionless.
Howard also lost his usual smiling demeanor.
He had thought this award would belong to him, but it was ultimately taken by Garnett.
The team built by Head Coach Van Gundy, after several seasons of refinement, had the best Defense in the NBA during the regular season this year.
They allowed opponents to score an average of 89.1 points, a statistic that led the entire NBA, surpassing even the Boston Celtics, while the New York Knicks were only ranked 5th in the NBA.
The team's statistics were very impressive, and Howard's individual statistics were also good.
Although he didn't surpass Marcus Camby, in terms of individual performance, 'the Beast' was second to none on the Defense end among NBA players.
Coupled with the huge boost the Cavaliers' zone Defense system brought to Howard, no one would object to giving the trophy to a Rookie.
"Shit! For the first time, I think the New York newspapers were right. He stole my trophy! Damn it, who is voting for him?!"
After the award ceremony, Howard stood up from the bench, turned around, and complained loudly.
LeBron James, beside him, also felt a pang of envy.
He, too, yearned for a trophy:
"Bro, let's beat these old guys! With one road win, we can win the series!"
Tearing off his practice jacket, James, wearing a red road jersey, stepped forward to encourage Howard.
After exchanging some flashy gestures with Howard, he tossed magnesium powder in front of the scorer's table, enduring the boos from the entire TD Garden.
"Boo!!"
In front of the camera, ignoring the boos, James clapped his hands with a serious expression, then embraced Head Coach Van Gundy and also greeted Head Coach Rivers.
In terms of playoff experience, James, who had suffered several years of beatings, was actually not inferior to the opposing veterans.
Most teams in the NBA didn't have the opportunity to play against the New York Knicks in the playoffs.
In a sense, James played more high-quality games, and continuous failures only made him more confident.
Howard, wearing a red energy arm guard, glared at Garnett as he came to the center of the court.
Garnett, having just won an award, was in an excited state, so he immediately glared back, muttering incessantly.
The atmosphere between the two sides was extremely tense.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas also stopped exchanging pleasantries with his opponent.
As the basketball was tipped away by Howard, TD Garden erupted in another round of boos.
After the Game 7 battle in the first round, Head Coach Rivers also began to reflect.
Fortunately, the coaching staff reacted quickly and re-adjusted the team.
At this moment, after Delonte West brought the ball past half-court, he observed that the opponent was also using a zone Defense, and immediately signaled Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the free-throw line to receive the pass.
With years of experience playing against the New York Knicks, the Cavaliers had excellent chemistry and executed their tactics quickly.
After passing the ball, Delonte West ran to the left wing, while on the other side, LeBron James popped out to the middle.
At the TNT commentary desk, Marv Albert saw the Cavaliers' tactical start and immediately praised it:
"Head Coach Van Gundy has incorporated championship experience into this team. This was the New York Knicks' favorite tactical play, and clearly Zydrunas Ilgauskas is playing the role of Ewing."
With a quick handoff, James, who received the ball, made no fakes.
Briefly shaking off Pierce's pursuit, he dropped his left shoulder and accelerated as he put the ball down, ignoring Perkins who came over to help Defense.
The collision with the meat shield did not slow James down.
He forced his way past the Defense, burst into the paint, and after a step, attempted a right-handed scoop layup, but was interfered with by Garnett who jumped up to help Defense under the basket.
The basketball had just bounced off the rim.
Howard, spotting the opportunity, immediately burst out from the lower left of the basket, leaped high, grabbed the ball in mid-air with his right hand, and slammed it into the basket!
"Ah!!"
After completing the dunk, Howard imitated Garnett, pounding his chest and shouting at his opponent, muttering incessantly:
"You motherfuckers can't stop me!"
Although he missed a layup, James didn't care.
This was the task the coaching staff had given him.
He had to attack the basket with all his might.
After several years of training, the tactic had become 'shoot and crash.'
Van Gundy confidently paced the sidelines.
As long as he didn't meet his old team, he was still the youngest Champion Coach in history to win four consecutive championships.
Rivers, on the opposite side, was simply not worthy of being compared to him.
The camera quickly focused on the composed Van Gundy, who clapped his hands.
His crisp black suit, bright red tie, and shiny forehead exuded such demeanor that even Reggie Miller at the commentary desk couldn't help but exclaim:
"Head Coach Van Gundy is clearly well-prepared. This reminds me of that New York Knicks team. In terms of playoff experience, the Cavaliers actually have the advantage!"
Pierce on the court also noticed the problem.
James, facing the The Big Four, was overflowing with confidence and seemed to not take them seriously.
Amidst the cheers echoing through the arena, Marbury slowed down the pace after bringing the ball past half-court.
First, he directed his teammates to screen for Ray Allen according to the tactical requirements.
Wally Szczerbiak was chasing tightly, and there wasn't a good opportunity.
In this situation, Marbury didn't choose to initiate a pick-and-roll but instead actively passed the ball to Pierce on the right wing.
As Pierce received the ball, James immediately stuck to him defensively.
Perkins timely came up to screen.
As James chose to go under the screen to try and chase defensively, Pierce, moving horizontally, suddenly stopped, slowly stepped back, and unleashed a sudden cold shot from beyond the three-point line!
The basketball bounced off the rim.
Howard, quick-witted, leaped high, grabbed the rebound ahead of Garnett, and immediately passed the ball to James up front.
It wasn't a great fast break opportunity, but James's fast break was like a tiger, relying purely on his excellent physical qualities to forcibly 'overtake' his opponent.
Squeezing past the retreating Pierce at the three-point line, James drove straight to the basket amidst the exclamations of Boston fans, ignoring the retreating Marbury, and forced a layup while leaning on his opponent.
"Boo!"
With a flick of his left wrist in the air, the basketball precisely banked in.
James burst out of bounds, and the boos from the TD Garden were relentless for a moment.
Quickly running back to half-court, James stood still beyond the three-point line, shook his head slightly, and clapped his hands again, appearing even more confident.
"Fuck."
The unreasonable fast break made Pierce curse under his breath.
The opponent's performance was very similar to the New York Knicks last night.
Lee's individual strong drive left Billups and the Detroit Pistons' big men helpless.
The cheers erupted again.
Pierce, running past half-court, always had the illusion that the opponent was 'copy-pasting.'
They had watched many videos before, and the Cavaliers didn't play like this.
As the game time passed, the Boston Celtics fans in the TD Garden quickly couldn't hold on.
They actually fell into a scoring drought.
The The Big Four took turns trying to attack, but they kept clanking shots, with no offensive rebounds.
An enraged Howard firmly controlled the defensive rebounds.
The Cavaliers' offense wasn't complicated: James's handoff drives, pick-and-roll drives with the ball, finishes at the rim, drive-and-kick three-pointers, and Howard crashing the offensive glass.
The opening three-pronged attack completely stunned the Boston Celtics.
No matter how loudly Rivers shouted from the sidelines, the score remained 0.
When Howard successfully received the ball in the left low post after a baseline cross-screen, Garnett failed to box him out in time and was pushed to the basket by the Rookie's stiff spin, rising up to throw down a two-handed dunk over two defenders!
10:0. With 8 minutes and 01 seconds left in the first quarter, as Head Coach Rivers called a timeout, TD Garden fell silent.
"Yeee!! That's it, beat these old dogs!!"
An emotional Howard jumped and ran, shouting continuously at the hype squad who rushed onto the court.
James also smiled and held his head high, seeing his younger brother Daniel Gibson rush over and say loudly:
"Get ready, Daniel, you'll be on the court soon."
"Boo!!"
The boos erupting in the TD Garden did not affect Van Gundy's good mood.
He had specifically watched the New York Knicks' semifinal Game 1 footage.
After 'copying the homework,' he indeed caught the opponent off guard.
Calmly clapping his hands, Van Gundy patted his players who had returned to their seats.
At this moment, he was once again the Champion Coach, and the red tie on his chest seemed even brighter.
After the timeout, watching the opponent's sporadic offense, Van Gundy simply leaned back in his seat, took a cola handed to him by a staff member, took a delicious sip, and felt increasingly pleased:
"This is what a Champion Coach is!"
On tuesday, May 7, the news of the The Big Four' home defeat swept across the entire NBA, leaving some sports commentators red-faced.
Although the Boston Celtics had an older age structure, compared to the Cavaliers, they looked more like a Rookie team throughout the game.
90:78. The two teams didn't score much, which could definitely be called a Defense battle.
LeBron James, playing 45 minutes, had an excellent performance: 9-of-24 shooting, 2-of-7 from three-point range, 9-of-12 from the free-throw line, scoring 29 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 4 turnovers.
It is worth mentioning that Paul Pierce, his direct opponent, was in a slump, shooting 4-of-16 and only scoring 8 points the entire game.
Dwight Howard, playing 46 minutes, also proved himself in this game: 7-of-13 shooting, 5-of-12 from the free-throw line, scoring a huge double-double of 19 points, 15 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 blocks, and 3 turnovers.
His counterpart, Garnett, also showcased his offensive versatility, scoring a team-high 28 points on 13-of-22 shooting for the Boston Celtics.
Free throws became key in this game.
The Cavaliers showed extreme aggressiveness, overwhelming their opponents with absolute physical talent.
The two Eastern Conference semifinal processes were extremely similar.
The New York Knicks also frequently attacked the basket, overwhelming their opponents in three quarters, and ultimately easily defeated them 116:87.
It is worth mentioning that Clay Lee shot 16 free throws in three quarters, making all 16, clearly responding to the Los Angeles Mamba's performance.
The semifinals continued tonight.
Both the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers had games.
Since the Phoenix Suns lost to the Charlotte Hornets on the road, O'Neal didn't have a chance to stir things up, so most sports reporters ultimately chose to go to New York to watch the fun.
In the afternoon, when the New York Knicks arrived early at Madison Square Garden for warm-ups, onlookers had already gathered around Lee, who was preparing to warm up on the sidelines.
After just one night of fermentation, the story of Van Gundy 'copying homework' was exposed by a group of sports columnists.
Coupled with well-supported data, even the 'Champion Coach's' fans were powerless to refute it.
Lee didn't forget to congratulate Durant, who won Rookie of the Year and was again selected to the All-Rookie First Team.
After a simple blessing, he smiled and responded to the question:
"Basketball is about victory. I think Coach DAntoni will only be happy that more teams are imitating us!"
"In my opinion, Coach Van Gundy just made a reasonable choice. He amplified the young players' talent."
ESPN's reporters focused on something different from others.
They had more column writers who, through data analysis, had already discovered the Cavaliers' 'copy-paste behavior.'
"Lee, what do you think about winning a championship with one team? Does this raise a player's historical standing?"
Every season, ESPN would create a ranking.
Perhaps the public had lost interest in ranking active players, so recently they planned to start a 'historical free-for-all.'
"A champion is a champion. If you think about it from another perspective, being able to win championships with different teams is also an incredible achievement."
"Unfortunately, I don't have such an opportunity, but I respect such choices. I respect all winners!"
Although Lee had a look of 'respect' on his face, the surrounding sports reporters had a strange feeling of 'disdain.'
This feeling was hard to describe.
The GOAT seemed to be mocking his opponents again.
Among active players, the 'Home Team Championship Award' is mostly concentrated on the New York Knicks' side, which is why more and more people praise New York: building a team entirely through drafts.
On the other side of the court, Ron Artest had no interest in discussing these issues.
In the last game, he only got 16 minutes of playing time.
Although this was related to the opponent's poor performance, he was not satisfied with it.
"Bro, my agent said the team will give me a big contract! I don't want to see you leave next season."
JR Smith leaned next to Ron Artest and whispered his choice.
Ron Artest shrugged, giving no clear response, only casually complaining:
"The Head Coach doesn't seem to trust me anymore."
....
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