NBA: The Basketball Miracle

In March 1998, a new round of labor-management negotiations had already begun, but the two sides did not reach an agreement.

Both the management and the players' union took a tough stance, and the league's efforts to mediate did not have much effect.

The players naturally hope that the contracts will become bigger and bigger, but the investors are currently restricted by broadcasting conditions.

Teams in some cities are having difficulty making profits, and the team owners do not agree to losing money on promotion.

By April, the two sides still had different opinions. Patrick Ewing recently had only one attitude in an interview:

"We don't accept pay cuts! Players should make big money!"

Fortunately, the media did not make things difficult for the gorilla.

As the Knicks took the first place in the league, everyone became more concerned about his injury.

The training session on the afternoon of the 20th had just ended.

After exercising, Ewing was surrounded by the New York media:

"Pat, in which game will you officially return?"

Having become the focus of everyone's attention again, the gorilla was in a particularly good mood and answered confidently:

"If the team needs me, I can return to the court at any time, but the team doctor needs to observe for some more time."

"If everything goes well, I can officially return to the team in the Eastern Conference Finals."

"."

In the locker room, Alan Houston felt mixed emotions as he looked at the crowd of people surrounding the gorilla.

Without Ewing, he has become the team's first scoring point in many games.

Compared with last season, his statistics this year have improved a lot.

"It's always good to have Pat back, at least we don't have to worry about rebounding anymore."

Oakley welcomed the return of the gorilla.

The old guy played at a defensive level this year, but his offense declined.

Few people can achieve true offense and defense.

Without Ewing, Oakley's offense was greatly affected.

Sitting in his seat, Larry Johnson said nothing.

He missed a total of 12 games this season and his physical condition was not the best, but his statistics were up.

"Grandmama" knew clearly how his statistics came about.

He only hoped that Ewing could return and be a defensive core with peace of mind.

As for offense, Larry Johnson subconsciously looked at Clay Lee.

"With Pat here, our defense can be improved again, which is very important in the playoffs!"

Lee, as usual, smiled and spoke politely without revealing too many of his thoughts.

Several people in the atmosphere group had just joined the team, but after being in the league for a few years, they also noticed that the atmosphere in the locker room seemed to be a little bit wrong.

Chris Childs has always had a low presence.

He looked at Lee, then at Starks who was imagining Ewing's return with Oakley, and muttered silently:

"A team can only have one boss."

On April 21, the NBA announced the leaders in various statistics for the 1997-1998 season:

Michael Jordan played all 82 games, averaging 28.7 points per game and successfully won his tenth career scoring title.

Such an achievement is unique in history.

Dennis Rodman continues to be the rebounding champion with an average of 15.0 rebounds per game.

He won the rebounding title for seven consecutive years, a feat that is unique in history.

Clay Lee averaged 10.5 assists per game and successfully won the first assist king trophy in his career.

At the same time, Lee also broke the record set by Oscar Robertson at the age of 22, and became the youngest assist king in NBA history at the age of 20!

Marcus Camby of the Raptors won the block leader of the season with 3.7 blocks per game.

The Eagles' Mookie Blaylock retained the title of steals leader with an average of 2.6 steals per game.

In 1996, rookies started winning awards, and Clay leeand Marcus Camby were particularly eye-catching.

Although it was a small trophy, some people still took offense.

The Wizards' team reporter complained that Rod Strickland should have won the assists title:

"Rod played six fewer games than Lee. If he played all 82 games, he would definitely have won the assists title!"

Unfortunately, there are no ifs in Excel.

Lee had 865 assists in a single season, and Strickland had 801 assists in a single season.

One played all 82 games, and the other played 76 games.

The gap between the two was very small.

By comparing the two decimal places, Lee finally won the award.

As for the fact that Lee's number of assists increased in the second half of the season, no one cared about it at this time.

ESPN also took the opportunity to announce the regular season data rankings during the show, as a warm-up for the subsequent MVP selection.

On the scoring list, Michael Jordan scored 2,357 points in a single season, and Karl Malone ranked second with 2,190 points.

Unlike last season when four players scored more than 2,000 points in a single season, this year only two players did so.

O'Neal's appearances were affected by injuries, but his average of 28.3 points per game squeezed out Malone and ranked second.

Clay Lee scored 1,732 points in a single season, ranking 8th in the total scoring list, and averaged 21.1 points per game, ranking 12th.

Tim Duncan is just behind Lee, with 1,731 points, surpassing his big brother David Robinson.

In the assists list, Lee ranks first.

This season, Stockton was affected by injuries and dropped to the fifth place.

In the three-point list, Clay Lee made 236 three-pointers in a single season, averaging 2.9 three-pointers per game, ranking first;

Wesley Person, who ranked second, made 192 three-pointers, and Reggie Miller, who ranked third, made 164 three-pointers;

Perhaps because the three-point line has returned to normal, Lee has effortlessly crushed everyone this season.

In the three-point shooting percentage list, Lee ranked 8th with a shooting percentage of 41.2%;

In the free throw percentage list, Lee ranked first in the league with 89.5% free throw percentage;

Jeff Hornacek's free throw percentage was 88.5%, and Ray Allen's was 87.5%, ranking second and third respectively.

In the true shooting percentage list, Lee ranked third with a true shooting percentage of 61.7%;

Stockton's true shooting percentage was 62.8%, and Reggie Miller's was 61.9%, ranking first and second respectively.

There was an awkward situation on the PER efficiency list, with O'Neal ranking first with a value of 28.8;

Karl Malone was second at 27.9, and third was David Robinson at 27.8;

Clay Lee ranked fourth with 26.0, and Michael Jordan ranked fifth with 25.2.

In the so-called advanced data, just the opposite of the MVP rankings, after seeing the list, everyone has a consensus:

"Michael Jordan has really declined!"

In the 1997-1998 season, Clay Lee played all 82 games, averaging 35.3 minutes per game.

Averaged 21.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.2 blocks and 2.2 turnovers per game;

He averaged 15.2 shots per game with a shooting percentage of 46.9%, 6.9 shots from beyond the three-point line with a three-point shooting percentage of 41.2%, and 4.5 free throws per game with a free throw shooting percentage of 89.5%.

With this top point guard data, Lee broke the record set by Kevin Johnson in the 1988-89 season and became the youngest player in NBA history to average 20 points and 10 assists per game!

Compared to Kevin Johnson, who was 22 years old at the time, the 20-year-old Lee improved the record by 2 years.

At the same time, Clay Lee scored three pointers in 121 consecutive regular season games, setting another outrageous record!

After the announcement of the data leader, Clay Lee once again dominated the screen, and several records made the New York media collectively climax.

When ESPN was discussing the statistics and MVP selection, TNT also joined in the fun, showing the statistics of Lee and Duncan:

"21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.5 blocks. Duncan is too good, and this is only his first season!"

McHale has always been fond of outstanding big men.

Seeing the veteran's constant exclamation, Kenny Smith also began to praise Lee:

"20+10, Lee's performance is incredible. He hits three-pointers in every game this season, which is terrifyingly stable, and he is only 20 years old."

"You know, most young people don't play like him!"

Lee often appears on TV, and the impression left by most media is that he is flashy, but looking at the statistics, he is as stable as a 30-year-old guard.

Ernie Johnson felt that he was deceived and could not help but give his own opinion:

"He ranked first in the MVP rankings for two consecutive months, but later dropped to third place due to the schedule. I think this list still underestimates Lee."

When the topic turned to the MVP award, Kenny Smith calmly began to change the subject:

"I have played against him, and I know how special Lee is. As the core of the Knicks, his stability is underestimated."

"Lee played a huge role in our league-leading record. His mentality is not like that of a 20-year-old at all."

McHale did not intend to let go of the topic of MVP.

He gave his opinion with a smile and then asked:

"From the perspective of influence on the court, Lee can indeed be called the MVP, but O'Neal and Malone are not bad either."

"Mike Jordan is in great shape this year, and this may be his last year. Kenny, which player do you think will be awarded the MVP in the end?"

"."

After the data list was released, the New York media began to cheer for Lee.

The title of "No. 1 point guard" has become outdated, and finally a "real MVP" was created.

On the 22nd, Lee, who was having breakfast, almost laughed out loud when he read the column article in the newspaper.

This title is similar to the previous "Redefined 180 Club".

Even if Michael Jordan wins the award, he will be very angry.

Last year, people were tired of the players, but this year, the statistics of many players are not inferior to those of Michael Jordan.

In terms of team performance, the Bulls are at the same level as the Lakers and SuperSonics.

This situation is a bit embarrassing, but in media voting, some conditions are not important:

"Who said that if you have good performance, you will get MVP?"

Judging from the current information, Lee feels that this group of fence-sitters will most likely give Michael Jordan an MVP award.

But this situation seems very ridiculous, like a boomerang slapping one's face.

Last year the selection was done honestly, but this year there is no such drama.

The Knicks, the league's top team, do not have to travel to other games and have five days of rest.

In the afternoon training session, Jeff Van Gundy did not arrange any special tactics.

He just emphasized the defensive positioning, and then everyone ran the tactics step by step.

Everyone on the Knicks congratulated Lee on winning the award.

Although assists king is only a small honor, it still made everyone in the atmosphere group envious:

Ben Davis' contract had just been formalized, and the 1996 second-round pick was envious of Lee's achievement:

"Lee, after receiving the award at home, can you let me touch your trophy? Assists king, I will never get it in my lifetime."

Looking at Ben Davis, who had a 2K model face, Lee twitched the corners of his mouth, then smiled and readily agreed:

"No problem, I'll put it over there for you first, and you can take a look at it. It's just an ordinary little trophy!"

"Great, Lee! I want to take a picture with the trophy!"

Seeing the happy faces of the atmosphere group, Lee swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth:

"The last person to take a picture with the trophy, John Wallace, only spent one season with the Knicks."

(A/N: 🤣🤣)

Alan Houston was also meticulously completing three-point shooting training.

This season he averaged 19.4 points per game, and his three-point shooting number returned to the level of his rookie season, averaging 5.4 shots per game and a three-point shooting percentage of 40.7%.

Alan Houston is still somewhat dissatisfied with this status, which has declined a bit compared to his third year as a rookie.

Larry Johnson, by contrast, doesn't pay too much attention to the details.

"Grandmama" averaged 15.8 points per game this season and his shooting percentage was 48.8%.

Although his efficiency has declined compared to last season, the data has increased, and Larry Johnson is comfortable.

Larry Johnson had just finished strength training and heard the atmosphere group discussing the MVP.

He immediately teased Lee:

"If Michael Jordan had won the award last year, maybe this season, you could have brought the trophy back. 63 wins, this record is worthy of an MVP."

Lee didn't care about the award, after all, he was only 20 years old:

"Forget it, Michael Jordan is about to retire, and he won't win the championship this year. It's good to give the old senior a consolation prize."

Ewing, who had been paying attention to the conversation, looked a little unhappy when he heard what Lee said.

He didn't want to hear about age issues. Malone could win the MVP, so he could also work hard.

When the training session was about to end, Jeff Van Gundy smiled and said:

"Pay attention to your physical condition these two days, be more nervous, and be sure to take your opponent seriously."

"We need to get match points at home. Even though East Rutherford isn't far away, we need to win the game as quickly as possible in the first round."

"."

On April 23, the NBA announced the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) for the 1997-1998 season, and Dikembe Mutombo of the Hawks successfully defended the award.

That night, the first round of the playoffs officially started.

Mutombo, who won the award, was only happy for a whole day, as he lost by a large margin in the evening.

90:102, Mutombo won the award, but the Hawks lost the game in the end.

The Bulls, who were in the upper half of the conference, also won easily, while the Suns and Jazz, who were in the upper half of the Western Conference, all suffered setbacks.

Lee did not pay too much attention to the games of these teams.

Compared with last season, the strength of most teams did not change much.

April 24th happened to be a Friday, and enthusiastic New York fans could go straight to Madison Square Garden after get off work.

At 19:00 that evening, Game 1 between the Knicks and the Nets will officially begin.

The Nets' current star player is alien Sam Cassell.

After joining the Nets this season, Cassell is deeply loved by head coach Calipari.

Under the guidance of this head coach who came from Larry Brown's school, the young players of the Nets have finally realized their talents.

Cassell's performance during the Rockets' championship period was impressive, so tonight's game was called the "point guard showdown" by the New York media.

However, since the Knicks only lost to their opponent once during the regular season, most New York media did not take this game seriously.

In terms of game experience, the Knicks are indeed better.

As 7 p.m. approached, after the players from both teams came out, the noise in Madison Square Garden grew louder and louder.

In the center of the venue, the league staff handed the cylindrical trophy to Lee, who was wearing a white training suit, with a smile on his face.

After receiving the trophy, the two took a photo with smiles on their faces.

Finally, Lee raised the trophy in his hand and expressed his gratitude to the fans present.

"Wow!"

Cheers resounded throughout the arena.

In the MSG commentary booth, commentator Mike Breen saw Lee raising his glass and immediately said with emotion:

"At the age of 20, he has achieved so many achievements. Lee's performance is incredible!"

"I believe the future belongs to the young!"

At this time, many New York fans were still holding up white boards, saying "The real MVP."

The inflated New York fans did not take their opponents seriously.

They came to the scene to watch the game more to witness Lee winning the award for the first time, and were ready to make some fun and mock Michael Jordan.

After expressing his feelings, commentator Mike Breen quickly introduced the starting lineup:

"The Nets still put out their three-guard lineup, with Sam Cassell, Kerry Kittles, and Kendall Gill forming the backcourt, and Keith Van Horn and Chris Gatling in the interior."

"We have to pay attention to Jayson Williams on the other side's bench. The 6-foot-9 short center is playing at a career high this season."

Walt Fraser, who was in a good mood, simply added:

"Coach Van Gundy chose to use Chris Dudley as the starting center, and the coaching staff attached great importance to protecting rebounds."

"Maybe the opponent has a certain advantage inside, but it is difficult for the Nets to limit our outside line."

"Lee got a double-double of 40+10 in the game against the Bulls, which is definitely an amazing achievement."

"And in the playoffs, when the team needs to score, I believe he can take over the game!"

The increasingly heated atmosphere at the scene made several new players of the Nets a little nervous.

The on-site director frequently gave the camera to this year's No. 2 pick Keith Van Horn.

Because Billups, the third pick, performed poorly and was traded directly by the Celtics, Van Horn received more attention.

Ewing, dressed in formal attire, also attracted much attention.

The gorilla was in a good mood and was chatting and laughing with the atmosphere group on the bench.

Lee, who was warming up, looked relaxed.

When the referee asked the players from both sides to come to the center of the court, he smiled and greeted the Nets players.

Cassell just gave a simple response.

After all, he was a championship point guard and he still had to be a little bit arrogant.

The new players of the Nets were a little nervous, while on the Knicks side, the starters all looked calm.

As the referee standing in the center circle tossed the basketball high up, Chris Dudley pushed the ball to his own half, and Madison Square Garden immediately rang out with huge cheers:

"Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks!"

Lee controlled the ball and noticed that Cassell did not choose to lead the defense.

He quickly made a tactical gesture and then slowly dribbled across half court.

There are some differences from the regular season's offensive routine.

In the playoffs, the Knicks' offense is initiated by pick-and-roll.

Oakley quickly moved to the left wing, big man Dudley sank to the right near the baseline, while Larry Johnson moved out to the right wing, and Alan Houston watched the situation on the court in the right corner.

It's a 2-on-2 situation on the left half, and the "Grandmama" on the right half can cover Alan Houston at any time.

The coaching staff does not trust Dudley's finishing ability, so he has become a rebounding tool.

The tactical routine is not complicated.

When Lee, holding the ball in his right hand, approaches Oakley, he quickly passes the ball behind his back, switches to his left hand, and goes in and out.

Lee swayed to the right and then to the left, and then he leaned against Cassell and passed through Oakley's left side.

Lee kept his center of gravity very low, and Oakley immediately moved to the elbow area on the left side of the free throw line after setting the screen.

Van Horn hesitated for a moment, but Lee suddenly accelerated, holding the ball with his left hand, and went straight to the basket.

Following his body's instinct, Van Horn immediately slid to the right and cooperated with Cassell to block Lee's breakthrough.

Just as he caught up to Lee's side, Cassell wanted to call on his teammates to guard in front of Oakley, but it was too late.

In the left blocking area, Lee easily passed the ball from behind while moving.

After Oakley received the ball, there was no one guarding in front of him, and he made a steady mid-range jump shot.

"Nice assist. After compressing the opponent's defense, Lee found Oakley in the open position. Simple and effective cooperation!"

Commentator Mike Breen was in a good mood when he saw the Knicks score at the start of the game.

Seeing Lee retreat quickly, Cassell hurriedly communicated with his teammates.

It was the Nets' turn to attack, and Lee quickly took the lead on defense after Cassell crossed half court.

Since the three Nets perimeter players could hold the ball, Cassell passed the ball to the big man Gatling in the right elbow area as soon as he crossed half court.

Then he ran without the ball, Cassell slipped to the baseline and took Lee away, and Kittles immediately stepped forward to take the hand-to-hand pass.

Soon, the Nets continued to pass the ball from the outside, and finally Cassell turned around and received the pass from his teammate on the left wing outside the three-point line.

After falling back a circle, there was no good chance.

Finally, Van Horn took advantage of Gatling's screen at the right baseline, bounced out to the elbow area, received a cross pass, and immediately took a jump shot!

"Swish!" A steady mid-range shot.

In one round, Lee realized his opponent's game strategy.

...

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