Chapter 61 03-04 Season, End

After the playoffs, Zheng Yang spent a few days without basketball. It was the first time for him to live such a comfortable life after being reborn into this world for so long.

Before I entered the NBA, even if I wanted to relax sometimes, I didn’t dare to go out and spend money because I was short of money.

After entering the NBA, I have always wanted to make a name for myself, so I have been training continuously regardless of whether it is the offseason or the days when there are no games.

It’s only now that I’ve truly enjoyed a few days of happiness!
However, after resting for a few days, Zheng Yang also re-arranged his off-season training. Although his performance this season is already the best among his peers, Zheng Yang's vision has never been on his peers.

Next season, he hopes that people will no longer compare him with rookie players like James, but with the top players in the league.

James: I'm not saying... I'm saying... am I not even qualified to compare with you?
This offseason, Zheng Yang's training focused on ball control and attacking the basket. Next season, the hand-check rule will be cancelled and the physical confrontation faced by outside players will be weakened.

By then, Zheng Yang will significantly increase the number of times he attacks the basket, so he must focus on training from now on.

By the way, hand-check was actually cancelled for a period of time 10 years ago. At that time, it was due to Jordan’s first retirement. The league cancelled this rule in order to improve the viewing experience of the game and increase the ratings.

After Jordan returned, this rule was restored, because Jordan's return increased the ratings.

Besides, even the Jordan Rule can only barely restrict Jordan, so what impact can your little hand-check have on him?

Given the level of competition at the time, Jordan was able to win 15 scoring titles in 10 seasons of his career, with a highest score of 37.1 points in one season. This scoring ability is beyond the reach of future generations.

With such strength, my emperor actually wants to snatch his position as the god of basketball.

I don’t even know how to complain!

In addition, Zheng Yang also plans to continue gaining weight during this offseason. Given his current physical condition, gaining a few kilograms will not have much impact on his speed and jumping ability.

At the same time, enhancing confrontation is of great benefit for attacking the basket.

Anthony, who had been clamoring to train with Zheng Yang, also came a few days later. And he didn't come alone, he brought Wade with him.

The two of them were already familiar with each other, and after learning that Anthony was going to train with Zheng Yang, Wade also prepared to join in.

Zheng Yang did not refuse. After all, it was just training, and having one more person would be good. Besides, maybe he could make Wade his younger brother.

After renting a stadium and a gym, the few of them prepared to spend their long offseason here.

"Hey Zheng, Dwyane, how about we come up with a name for our camp? Michael has their breakfast club, and I think we should have a unique name too."

Anthony said excitedly, and he felt a little excited when he thought that what he and his friends were doing was similar to the breakfast club that Jordan Malone and his friends had organized before.

After all, those are all superstars in NBA history. It would be great if they could become such superstars in the future.

Wade nodded as well.

"So what should we name it?"

Zheng Yang thought for a while and then said.

"Why not call it the Champions Club, which means we can all win the championship in the future."

"Champions League... Hey I like the name, let's call it that, what do you think Dwyane?"

"That's great, let's call it that!"

Wade knows that his relationship with Zheng Yang and Anthony is a bit like a "third party", at least for now, so he basically listens to the opinions of the two.

The name of the Championship Club was thus decided.

"Hey, why don't we play one-on-one for a while? It'll be a good way to warm up."

Anthony suggested again that he felt his strength had improved greatly during this period of time, and it was just right to use these two people to test himself.

Zheng Yang nodded in agreement. He also wanted to have a one-on-one duel, which would be a good opportunity for him to establish his prestige as a big brother in front of his two younger brothers.

Wade, who had no opinion, nodded, and the three of them started to fight one-on-one.

First, Zheng Yang played against Anthony, scoring 11 points, and then the serve was changed. The latter, who was shorter, attacked first.

Carmelo Anthony was holding the ball at the top of the arc, making a triple-threat posture. He was still very confident in his offense, especially after the playoffs, he felt that his offense was even more mature.

Although he knew that his defense was no match for Zheng Yang, he felt that his offense should be on par with the opponent's.

In the first attack, Anthony chose to break through to the right. He originally wanted to use his weight advantage to play inside, but Zheng Yang's strength was beyond his imagination.

He tried to squeeze in but failed.

Anthony had no choice but to step back and shoot a mid-range shot. However, due to the strong defensive pressure from Zheng Yang, Anthony's shot missed.

It was Zheng Yang's turn to attack. He used his superb first step to directly pass Anthony. The opponent's defense cannot be said to be very bad, it can only be said to be non-existent.

2-0!

It was Anthony's turn to attack. This time, Anthony still chose to play inside, but he no longer chose to rely on his body to get in. Instead, he rushed into the inside after dribbling and finding a gap in Zheng Yang's defense.

Although Zheng Yang followed up in time, Anthony still scored.

It is impossible to completely defend a player like Anthony, we can only barely limit him.

It was Zheng Yang's turn to attack again. He didn't make too many moves and simply made a three-pointer.

5-2!

After Anthony scored another goal in the paint, he stopped scoring, while Zheng Yang scored every time and eventually won the game 11:4.

"Damn, Zheng, you're so fierce now?"

After the duel, Anthony was not unwilling to fight again, but could not help but sigh.

The last time the two teams played against each other was several months ago. At that time, Anthony did feel that the gap between himself and the opponent was still within an acceptable range. But now, he feels that the gap is so big that it is simply immeasurable.

It can be clearly seen from the duel process that each of Zheng Yang's attacks is very clean and crisp, without any unnecessary movements.

However, Anthony needs to make several changes of direction before he can find an opportunity to launch an attack.

You can tell which is higher and which is lower at a glance!
"You're making progress!"

Zheng Yang also said this with a smile, and then called Wade to come up for a one-on-one duel.

Just like before, the ball was changed at 11 points and Wade attacked first.

Although Wade has played against Zheng Yang twice, the two do not have many opportunities for one-on-one duels like this, so Wade is not sure about the outcome.

Especially after seeing Anthony lose 11-4, he felt even more worried.

But no matter whether it works or not, just fight first!
For the first ball, Wade chose his usual style of play, which was to use his super-fast first step to break into the inside.

Zheng Yang currently has rich defensive experience, so he predicted the opponent's thoughts. Coupled with his flexible footwork, Wade's forced shot in the interior was directly blocked by Zheng Yang and sent out of the court.

"Hey, that's cool!" Anthony on the side shouted, with a bit of gloating in his tone. He had just been abused by Zheng Yang, and now seeing others having the same ending, he felt inexplicably refreshed.

When it was Zheng Yang's turn to attack, he also chose to break into the inside, but this time he no longer used his speed. Instead, he used his physical advantage over Wade to chase directly into the inside and then hit the rebound.

Wade then attempted a shot from the outside, but the ball hit the front of the rim.

Looking back, Zheng Yang made another three-pointer.

After experiencing the high-intensity defense in the playoffs, Wade's current level of defense can no longer cause much interference to him.

Although Wade also scored two goals, he was unable to limit Zheng Yang on defense and eventually lost 11-4.

He couldn't help but say it too.

"You are too strong. You don't look like a player who has only played in the NBA for one year."

Zheng Yang patted his shoulder and encouraged him: "We all need to become stronger. This is why we are here."

Anthony then had a one-on-one match with Wade. The two were evenly matched, after all, neither could defend the other. In the end, Anthony narrowly defeated Wade with a 2-point advantage.

After the former finished playing, he imitated Zheng Yang and patted Wade on the shoulder: "You played very well! Keep it up!"

Anthony feels that the status of the championship club has been determined through this game. Zheng Yang is the boss, he is the second, and as for the third, it is of course our Dwyane Wade.

But Wade rolled his eyes at him speechlessly and asked, "Are you crazy?"
If I had a better feel, who knows who would win or lose?
After the one-on-one match, the three began their real training. In the stuffy gym, the sound of "bang bang bang" of dribbling could be heard!
Zheng Yang, Wade, Anthony, they will all emerge from their cocoons and become butterflies in this offseason!

At this moment, James, who was far away in Cleveland, also wanted to call someone to train with him, and he thought of Anthony first.

"Hey Cameron, it's the offseason, let's train together! I've already rented a venue... What, you're already training in Dallas? With Zheng?"

Feeling betrayed, James eventually hung up the phone in anger.

Anthony actually went to that yellow guy for training instead of coming to me...

Okay, if you ignore me today, I will make you out of my league tomorrow!

James, who was about to write a useless novel with himself as the protagonist, thought of Wade again. Although he was not that familiar with Wade yet, it didn't matter. They would become familiar with each other after spending some time together.

So he called Wade again.

"Hey Dwyane, this is LeBron, what are you doing this offseason? Do you want to come to Cleveland and train with me?
What? You're also training with Zheng in Dallas?"

James hung up the phone angrily again, but this time he held his head and fell into deep thought.

Those three who made the playoffs this year, it seems like they won’t play with him…

Boys make friends very quickly, especially when they have common interests and hobbies.

Although Wade was not very familiar with Zheng Yang and Anthony when he first came to the championship club, after spending some time together, the three of them have become so close that they can wear the same pants.

On weekdays, they would train together, go for a drive, eat together, watch playoff games together, and discuss who would be the champion this year.

Anthony was very happy to see Wade and Zheng Yang becoming closer, but he also felt a little uncomfortable when he occasionally saw the two of them chatting excitedly.

It was obvious that Zheng belonged to him alone before, but now the "third brother" actually wanted to snatch Zheng away, which made him very unhappy.

Simply put, I'm jealous!
……

With the Mavericks eliminated, the Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals, but their opponent has not yet been determined.

Because right now the Lakers and Spurs are in a close race in the Western Conference semifinals.

Speaking of this round of series, it is full of highlights. First of all, it was the Spurs who eliminated the Lakers in last year's Western Conference semifinals, and this year they meet again in the Western Conference semifinals.

Secondly, during the offseason last season, Malone originally wanted to go to the Spurs, but in the end, due to the pride of the older generation of players, he decided to come to Los Angeles instead of becoming a member of the defending champions.

That’s why there’s this sentence: “If the Lakers won the championship last year, I would probably go to the Spurs.”

Mou Lant: Who the hell are you picking?
This round of interesting series is also very dramatic.

First, the Spurs relied on the stable performance of the three horses and the home advantage to win the first two games. Then the Lakers returned to their home court and won two games in a row with the outbreak of the OK combination.

In the decisive battle of Game 0.4, Fisher stood up at the last moment. With 74 seconds left in the game, he hit the buzzer-beater to help the Lakers successfully get the match point 73-.

The Lakers then won Game 6 with one go, successfully defeating the defending champion Spurs 4-2, taking revenge and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

The Western Conference Finals was equally exciting.

In G1, the Lakers defeated the Timberwolves 97-88 on the road and got off to a good start. The most surprising performance of the whole game was Fisher. He made 3 of 5 three-pointers in the whole game, proving that the Lakers not only have F4, but also the existence of "Little Fish".

In G2, the Timberwolves' Cassell left the game due to injury after only 43 seconds on the court, but the substitute players performed well and helped the team tie the score.

At the same time, the Lakers only scored 71 points in this game, setting an embarrassing record for the lowest score in the playoffs.

G3大鲨鱼发挥神勇，整场比赛拿下22分17个篮板以及4次盖帽，帮助湖人队主场100-89击败森林狼，总比分2-1领先。

Even though the Timberwolves sent out four centers to take turns defending O'Neal, they still failed to suppress O'Neal's performance. The four centers played a total of 51 minutes, but they only scored 2 points and 8 rebounds, but committed 16 fouls.

G4从科罗拉多州的法庭上归来的科比发挥神勇，整场比赛拿下31分、8个篮板和4次助攻，帮助球队再下一城，总比分3-1领先。

In Game 5, Garnett scored 30 points and 19 rebounds, Sprewell scored 28 points and 5 assists, and Hoiberg contributed 14 points, helping the team win the game and leaving the suspense to Game 6.

But the Lakers in Game 6 did not give the Timberwolves any chance. O'Neal scored 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Rush made six three-pointers and scored a personal playoff-high 18 points to help the Lakers advance smoothly.

The Pistons, who had rested for a long time in the Eastern Conference, finally met their opponent, the star-studded Lakers F4.

Before the game started, everyone thought that the Lakers would definitely win this round and win the championship again.

But the reality was the exact opposite. The Pistons defeated the Lakers 4-1 and won the championship of the 03-04 season.

Later, when everyone discussed the finals of that year, they summarized many reasons for the Lakers' defeat. The main reasons are as follows.

First, the Lakers team did not understand the Pistons and were arrogant. Even head coach Phil Jackson said in an interview later that they waited until after Game 1 to realize something was wrong before studying the Pistons' video.

Second, there was a lack of coordination between the players. Malone and Payton were not used to the triangle offense and were always outside the system.

This problem has existed since the regular season, but due to the positional advantage, this weakness has never been magnified. Until they encountered the Pistons' iron bucket formation in the finals, it was too late for them to improve.

Third, Malone and Payton performed poorly, with the former averaging 5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in the finals, and the latter averaging 4.2 points, 3 rebounds and 4.4 rebounds per game. They can be described as a pair of a dragon and a phoenix!
Of course, there are other reasons, big and small, such as the Pistons letting Big Ben trade for the Big Shaq, and letting Richard Hamilton run Kobe to death, etc.

But no matter how much hindsight there is, the result of this game has been presented to the public.

The Pistons won this year's championship, and the team's point guard Billups won the Finals MVP with an outstanding performance of averaging 21 points and 5.2 assists per game in the finals.

With the end of the finals, the 03-04 season also came to an end. This year, countless new stars were born in the league and countless veterans retired.

Some people have left their own stories in the league, and some people have left their own regrets in the league. Not everyone will be remembered by the fans, but it is because of the existence of these players that the league exists!

03-04 season, over!
The 04-05 season is about to begin!
　I have something to do during the day, so I will try to update the chapter during the day, but it may not be
　　
　
(End of this chapter)