Reborn in the 96 golden generation

Chapter 575 Entering the finals for the sixth time

With the help of the "Basketball Superstar Growth System", Zhou Yu has invested in several profitable projects with great potential. Of course, most investment projects will not see immediate results, and investors need to wait patiently.

In a blink of an eye, the NBA2002-2003 season came as scheduled. This season, the goal of the Lakers is naturally to continue to defend the title, achieve the great cause of "six consecutive championships", and directly catch up with the myth of the Boston Celtics' "eight consecutive championships".

It is worth mentioning that the result of the 2002 NBA draft was that Yao Ming became the No. [-] pick and officially landed in the NBA. At the same time, he also became the first Asian player to become the No. [-] pick.

Zhou Yu immediately congratulated Yao Ming, hoping that Yao Ming would switch from the Houston Rockets that selected him to the Los Angeles Lakers, and fight side by side with him, Liu Yudong, Li Nan, and Zhang Jinsong.

Yao Ming fell into hesitation. After all, he was the No. [-] pick. It is extremely rare for the No. [-] pick to switch to other teams right after being selected.

Besides, even if Yao Ming agrees, the Rockets may not do it. After all, Yao Ming has huge economic value.

Zhou Yu knows that if Yao Ming stays with the Rockets, he will never win a championship. Whether he is partnered with Francis or Tracy McGrady, he will not be able to enter the finals, and even often "round trip" in the playoffs.

After repeated persuasion by Zhou Yu, Li Nan and others, Yao Ming was finally moved and agreed to join the Lakers.

In order to get Yao Ming, the Lakers not only used Odom and Stackhouse as exchange chips, but also gave away future first-round draft picks.

The Rockets weighed again and again, and finally agreed to the deal, and Yao Ming successfully joined the Lakers.

In this way, the inside strength of the Lakers has been significantly improved. Yao Ming's height of 2.26 meters alone is enough to scare the opponent.

The Lakers' starting lineup for the new season is as follows:

Point guard: Fisher, Shooting guard: Zhang Jinsong, Small forward: Li Nan, Power forward: Wang Zhizhi, Center: Yao Ming.

The presence of Yao Ming has effectively relieved Zhou Yu's internal pressure, allowing him to participate in the offense more confidently and boldly.

At the championship ring awarding ceremony for the opening game, the fifth championship ring carefully crafted by the Lakers was inlaid with five cool championship trophies side by side, which looked extraordinarily shiny and dazzling.

Yao Ming, who stood aside and witnessed it with his own eyes, was so envious, he said to Zhou Yu with greedy eyes:
"Brother Wang, you must continue to work hard to win the championship this season. I haven't even gotten a championship ring yet."

"Brother Yao, don't worry, if you have a bowl of rice to eat, you will have a mouthful of porridge to drink. Our ultimate goal is 'ten consecutive championships', that is to say, you can get at least five championship rings, which is enough." One hand full."

Zhou Yu patted Yao Ming's shoulder and laughed.

In short, in the regular season of the 2002-2003 season, although the overall strength of the Lakers has improved, other teams have also made reinforcements. Therefore, they still play hard and stumble.

After playing all 82 regular season games, the Lakers ranked fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 46 wins and 36 losses. The situation is better than last season.

The Spurs ranked first in the league with a proud record of 62 wins and 20 losses. Duncan also won the regular season MVP because of the team's outstanding performance.

It is worth mentioning that, thanks to McGrady's help, Kobe led the Chicago Bulls to a record of 60 wins and 22 losses, ranking first in the Eastern Conference.

The Eastern and Western divisions are ranked as follows:
西部赛区：1.圣安东尼奥马刺、2.萨克拉门托国王队、3.达拉斯小牛队、4.明尼苏达森林狼队、5.洛杉矶湖人队、6.波特兰开拓者队、7.犹他爵士队、8.菲尼克斯太阳队。

东部赛区：1.芝加哥公牛队、2.底特律活塞队、3.迈阿密热火队、4.新泽西网队、5.费城76人队、6.新奥尔良黄蜂队、7.波士顿凯尔特人队、8.密尔沃基雄鹿队。

In the first round of the playoffs, the situation in the Western Division is as follows:

湖人队4:1轻松淘汰加内特领衔的森林狼队；马刺队4:0横扫太阳队；国王队4:2击败老迈的爵士队；小牛队4:3险胜皮蓬领衔的开拓者队。

The Eastern Conference is as follows:

科比领衔的公牛队4:0横扫密尔沃基雄鹿队；活塞队4:2战胜皮尔斯领衔的凯尔特人队；奥尼尔领衔的热火队4：1淘汰季后赛陪跑的黄蜂队；基德领衔的新泽西网队2:4不敌艾弗森领衔的76人队。

In the second round of the playoffs, the situation is as follows:
Western Division: Spurs VS Lakers; Kings VS Mavericks.

Eastern Conference: Bulls VS 76ers; Pistons VS Heat.

The Lakers and Spurs met in the Western Conference semifinals, another fierce series.

In the first game, the Spurs relied on their home court advantage and the brave performance of the "GDP" combination to narrowly beat the Lakers "83:80" and took the lead.

In the second game, Zhou Yu of the Lakers suddenly turned on the runaway mode, scoring 46 points from inside and outside, and led the Lakers to an "88:83" away victory over the Spurs, tying the big score.

In the third and fourth contests, both sides won one game each, rewriting the big score to a "2:2" tie.

In the crucial fifth game "Battle of Tianwang Mountain", the Spurs' "GDP" combination showed their strength collectively, and finally beat the Lakers "86:84" and reached the match point first with a big score of "3:2".

At the critical moment, the Lakers collectively broke out in the sixth game where there was no retreat. Li Nan's fixed-point three-pointer, Zhang Jinsong's small drop shot, Zhou Yu's pull-back mid-range shot, and Yao Ming's turn-around small hook shot Quite high, playing the Spurs dizzy.

In the end, the Lakers beat the Spurs at home with a 93-point advantage of "81:12" and tied the score at "3:3". The two sides had to enter the Nth "tie-break".

Although it was an away game, the generals of the Lakers showed extraordinary fighting spirit, especially Zhou Yu. Divide the ball and directly take away the game victory.

Losing to the Lakers for several consecutive seasons, and failing to withstand at critical moments, made Spurs coach Popovich so sad that he almost thought of retiring.

In another Western Conference semi-final match, the Kings relied on their rich experience and mature "Princeton system", and finally narrowly defeated the Mavericks "4:3" and joined the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

The situation in the Eastern Division is somewhat calm:

With the super backcourt combination of Kobe and Tracy McGrady, the Bulls defeated the 4ers led by Iverson and Ray Allen "2:76". Kobe and McGrady.

In another Eastern Conference semifinal, the Pistons failed to resist the super "Twin Towers" combination of O'Neal and Mourning, and lost "2:4". The Heat and the Bulls joined the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the Western Conference finals contest against the Kings, although the Lakers did not have home court advantage, they relied on the power of the "Twin Towers" combination of Zhou Yu and Yao Ming to blow up the Kings inside in one fell swoop, and finally defeated their opponents with a big score of "4:2", the sixth in a row season finals.

On the other side, the battle between the Bulls and the Heat is extremely anxious. This is a typical round of contests between the backcourt and the frontcourt, outside and inside.

In the first two games, the Bulls relied on Kobe and Tracy McGrady's super scoring ability to win two home games in a row, leading by a big score of "2:0".

However, the good times didn't last long. The Heat returned to the home court like a godsend. O'Neal and Mourning crazily scored points in the interior, allowing the Heat to win two home games in a row and tie the big score to "2:2".

In the fifth key "Battle of Tianwang Mountain", the two sides did their best to fight, and the score was anxious until the end.

At the critical moment, Kobe hit a priceless "super long three-pointer", helping the Bulls narrowly beat the Heat by one point in the away game and winning the match point.

(End of this chapter)