Chapter 542 Phil Knight's Big Move

The Win Arena has been extremely quiet for a long time, and this time, all the Cavaliers' players were also completely mute.

In fact, not only were they silent, but Phil Knight, who was sitting in the VIP room at this time, was also completely silent.

20 points... On the basketball court, this is a watershed point difference.

Although it is still early, there are still three and a half quarters, and there are many games in history that have been 20 points behind and still came back against the wind, but it also depends on who your opponent is and what kind of game you are facing.

If you are facing a team like the SuperSonics, with the league's best scoring ability, strong team resilience, and too young average age, they are also the best in the league in terms of physical strength, so as long as they don't play The problem is, almost no one can recover the 20-point difference in front of them. This has never happened since Lin Dong and his gang entered the NBA in the 2002 season.

The teams and games that were able to beat the SuperSonics in the regular season all maintained the lead at the beginning, relying on the linkage between the SuperSonics' internal and external lines, relying on the SuperSonics' mistakes on the outside, etc.

And today, the SuperSonics are as sharp as a mess inside and outside, in ridiculously good shape, and with the unrivaled Lin Dong, if you want them to lose with a 20-point lead, I'm afraid even if you combine all the best players in NBA history. Pull out the strong ones and form a team.

What's more, this is still the finals, and your opponent's desire to win will never be even half a point lower than yours. It is almost impossible to recover a 20-point difference under such circumstances.

Philnight kept tapping the armrest of the seat and stared gloomily at the arena outside the floor-to-ceiling window. He saw that the Cavaliers had lost the momentum they had at the beginning, and even made some stiff baseline kicks, and then quickly hit the SuperSonics. After losing the ball under the pressure of the entire court, Sakuragi Hanamichi connected with Lin Dongkong and dunked successfully. The score had reached 5:27...

Phil Knight knew very well that everyone in the Cavaliers was stunned at this time.

win?

Of course, the Cavaliers still have a chance to win if they want to.

The referee Dick Bavetta who holds the whistle on the court is the Cavaliers' greatest confidence in winning the game. As long as he whistles shamelessly enough, even five Lin Dongs can blow him off the court.

However, that way of winning can only happen once.

By then, under the crazy condemnation of fans across the United States, Bavetta will definitely be sacrificed by the league, unless the game does not want to continue next year.

And in such a state, winning in that way will only be a bigger blow to the Cavaliers. They will lose four consecutive games to the SuperSonics after losing Bavetta!

Is there any reason to throw away the king bomb when playing cards? Can't you play the other cards in your hand?

Bavetta must be saved for the last moment, maybe in the tiebreaker or in the crucial battle of Tianwang Mountain.

At this time, the whistle sounded on the court, and Bavetta called Lin Dong a defensive foul that was obviously far-fetched. However, Lin Dong did not protest. Instead, he smiled in the direction of his glass window.

Hey!

Philnet felt a chill. Was he provoking himself? Does that guy have such good eyesight? Or maybe he knew where his box was from the beginning.

We need to use some means.

It doesn't matter if they lose this time, but... the Sonics must pay a sufficient price and be fully prepared for the Cavaliers' next game!

Thanks to LeBron's free throws, the Cavaliers managed to score two more points, but the point difference between the two sides was still 20 points, 7:27!

Although the fans at the scene have not yet left the stadium, the crowd's anger is already brewing. The fluorescent sticks, posters, etc. that were waved before seemed to be 'hidden' by the fans and can no longer be seen in the stands. This seems to It also means that the fans' patience with the team has almost reached its limit.

At this time, Mike Brown was not the only one who couldn't sit still on the sidelines of the Cavaliers' bench. Lola was also holding her hands and walking back and forth on the sidelines, constantly communicating with Mike Brown. The Cavaliers also called timeout again at this time. It seemed that It's an attempt to rearrange tactics.

But Phil Knight knew that any tactics were useless at this time.

He picked up the cell phone next to him and made two calls. One was to the Cavaliers assistant coach on the sidelines, asking Artest to listen first.

"Ron, you are too gentle to the Sonics." Philnight tried his best to suppress his anger and said on the phone: "You can make bigger moves... NONONO, there is no need to hurt people, it is a last resort. By any means, you have to stir up the emotions of those guys, you have to keep them angry! Also, tell Mike Brown to put O'Neal down, that guy is not suitable for the game now, let Barnes go!"

Matt Barnes, the player who, along with Ron Artest, was transferred to the Cavaliers before the trade deadline this season, also came from Phil Knight's operation.

Compared with Ron's ability to enter the defensive second team, Barnes' reputation is obviously only tepid. He is a quite marginal player in the league. He only scored 3.8 points and 3.1 rebounds with the Kings last season.

In February of this year, he was traded to the 76ers. This season, he only scored 2.8 points and 3.3 rebounds with the 76ers. The data was mediocre, but he actually got a three-year, 9 million contract from the Cavaliers. He was not satisfied with the lack of salary space at the time. For the Cavaliers, this was a deal criticized by many fans. He even received a three-year, $8 million endorsement contract from Nike.

This guy's stats are clearly not worth the money, but he has another hidden attribute...

In fact, only Laura and Phil Knight, who facilitated the deal, understood what Matt Barnes came to the Cavaliers for.

The three-year $9 million player contract and the three-year $8 million endorsement contract were money used to buy out his career and to be used at certain critical moments.

It is better to be prepared than to be caught unprepared. Phil Knight has always agreed with this statement.

And now... it is obviously the critical moment!

Of course, he and Artest have different roles in this matter. This was also explained to Barnes when he went to the Kings to find him. He should be quite clear about his own position and role, and there is no need to repeat it again at this time.

In addition, Phil Knight made another call, which was to the referee's seat. The person who answered the phone was Dick Bavetta, the referee today.

"Mr. Knight, the game has just started, I am a little caught off guard, I will..."

"No, don't blow the whistle too often." Phil Knight said to the phone: "Blow them loosely, wind up their relaxed nerves, and make them angry!"

"Mr. Bavetta...you have to ensure fairness and justice." Phil Knight said with a smile: "Maybe there will be a time when you need to do more in the future, don't wait until you can't do it by then."

The other end of the phone was slightly startled.

Having served as the referee for many years, Dick Bavetta knows the role of the whistle on the court too well.

Blowing loosely means that the referee is encouraging both sides to make bigger moves.

If this person hits you, the referee doesn't blow the whistle, will you hit back?

If you hit back, the referee doesn't blow the whistle, will the opponent escalate the intensity of the violation? Otherwise, wouldn't it be a loss!

These players are very sensitive, they will receive this signal from the referee at the first time, and then increase the intensity of the confrontation.

Then it is inevitable that the heat will escalate, and then it will start to lead to gunpowder smell, or even directly lead to conflict.

As for the referee, you can say that the referee's penalty scale in this game is a bit large, but you can't say that the referee is unfair.

He understood what Phil Knight meant.

There are many ways to let the referee control the game. The shameless whistle is only the lowest and most helpless way.

A truly awesome referee can make a team end in disgrace while ensuring the surface "fairness"!

And he, Dick Bavetta, no one knows this better than him!

"It's not easier than this." Dick Bavetta said with a smile: "Don't worry, sir, you will get what you want!"

Beep!

The referee blew the whistle and the players from both sides returned to the court.

The Cavaliers changed their formation and replaced O'Neal with Matt Barnes.

There was a buzz of discussion among the fans at the scene.

O'Neal of the Cavaliers is now in a state of no state. Staying on the court has become a loophole for the Sonics to implement the shark-cutting tactics. It is understandable to replace him, but who to replace is a big problem.

The only backup center before, rookie Varejao, has been traded. The only backup center of the Cavaliers now is Martinas Andriuskevicius, a Lithuanian rookie who just entered the league this year. He has played only 6 games for the Cavaliers this season, averaging 0 points and 0.7 rebounds. Although he is 218 cm tall, if he is really in front of Chandler, the boxing champion can beat him to death.

Then LeBron can only replace the center position, and then replace a forward. In comparison, Barnes is indeed a good choice.

For Matt Barnes, old fans of the Cavaliers still have some impression. This guy was selected by the Grizzlies in the second round of the 2002 draft, and then traded to the Cavaliers. It can be said that the Cavaliers are his home team.

This guy has a decent outside line and is also very active and hard-working on the defensive end.

Of course, the fans' impression of him is definitely not from his performance and data on the court.

Barnes was traded before he finished a season with the Cavaliers. He has been to many teams in the past few years. Although he has not achieved any results, his hot temper and loyalty have become his unique labels.

Fierce! Angry!

This is the first impression of most fans.

But unlike Artest's rudeness, Ben's arrogance, and Laimbeer's badness, this guy almost never takes the initiative to cause trouble, but once someone provokes him, or provokes his recognized teammates, this guy will definitely jump out and fight back ten times in the first time, even if he has received many fines from the league for this.

Therefore, he is a bad guy, but his "evil" is not bad.

In addition, he has a very good defense, and he dares to fight and fight for his life as soon as he enters the court. This makes Barnes very popular with the audience. Choosing him to replace O'Neal at this time, at least the fans on the scene will not scold him.

"That guy should go down and calm down." Chandler said with a smile, his eyes full of a sense of accomplishment.

Although there are many reasons why O'Neal chose to leave the court, there is no doubt that Chandler's continuous foul tactics were the last straw that broke O'Neal's back. Being able to get rid of the biggest threat of the Cavaliers in the first quarter, Chandler was full of a sense of accomplishment.

"Keep playing inside, I'll shoot when I have a chance, haha, Sakuragi will help us grab the rebound."

"Okay! Kill them in one go!" Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes were burning. The biggest threat under the basket was gone. Even if LeBron switched to the 5th position, he was fully confident of his skills under the basket!

But... Payton, McMillan, and Lin Dong couldn't help but look at each other, and they all saw the speculation in each other's eyes.

There are many ways to adjust O'Neal's mentality, but it definitely doesn't include replacing O'Neal at this time.

The Cavaliers' doing this is tantamount to giving up the game, but if they give up the game, why don't LeBron, Wade, Kidd, and even Artest go down?

The only reason could be...

"Be careful." Payton gave Lin Dong a wink: "Pull it all at once, and you can go down if it exceeds 30 points!"

Beep!

The Cavaliers' ball.

Barnes' 201-centimeter figure facing Chandler under the basket is undoubtedly a bit funny. The height difference between the two is 15 centimeters, and it looks directly smaller. It is obviously impossible for the Cavaliers to find a basket to play this ball.

Kidd controlled the ball across the midline to find LeBron who was still floating on the outside.

It can be seen that LeBron has not given up the game yet, and his expression is quite focused.

Wade couldn't screen him. After all, it was not much easier to let LeBron fight Lin Dong alone after the mismatch than to fight Sakuragi Hanamichi alone. That could only be another person - Ron Artest.

A quick screen after positioning in advance.

Sakuragi Hanamichi and Iguodala knew that this ball would be shot by LeBron, and Iguodala, regardless of height, wingspan, bounce, reaction speed, defensive awareness, etc., could not keep up with the rhythm of LeBron at this time, so he must not let the opponent mismatch.

At this time, Iguodala was close to Artest's side, giving Sakuragi Hanamichi a "mismatched" channel, while Sakuragi Hanamichi took a step around and tried to bypass Artest's screen to block LeBron from the side.

On one side was a pick-and-roll, and on the other side was a position change. Sakuragi and Andre had already developed a good understanding over the years, and this pass was done perfectly, but the next second, a gleam of light flashed from Artest's eyes.

Snap!

A big hand came across and blocked Sakuragi Hanamichi, severely blocking Sakuragi Hanamichi's forward momentum.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was surprised.

Not only can you not move during a pick-and-roll, but you can't stretch your hands. Normal pick-and-roll movements should be to hold both hands in front of your crotch to show that the movement is clean.

If it was expected, Artest's arm alone might not be able to stop him at this time, but Sakuragi was completely unprepared just now. After all, who would have thought that this guy would suddenly stretch his hand when he was already standing in the pick-and-roll?

Sakuragi's forward route was immediately blocked, and during this block, LeBron, who was out of position, had already stood up from outside the three-point line.

"Blocking the rules!"

"That guy stretched out his hand!"

"Not only did he stretch out his hand, but he also moved his feet, moving the pick-and-roll!" A lot of people on the Sonics bench were already yelling at the referee, furious.

But Bavetta turned a blind eye, and at the same time LeBron had already aimed at the basket and shot.

The basketball passed a perfect arc in the air and then went into the net.

At 10:27, the Cavaliers finally scored more than double.

Sakuragi Hanamichi kept signaling to the referee about Artest's foul just now, along with the complaints and shouting on the Sonics bench.

But soon, these noises were suppressed by the long-lost cheers at the scene, and even the large camera that was broadcasting live at this time was given to the stands, not the chaos on the side of the court.

Phil Knight watched all this with a smile in the VIP room.

Complain? If complaining was useful, then he wouldn't have to spend so much money to buy Bavetta.

Although he still thinks that the Cavaliers have the capital to beat the Supersonics, he doesn't have the patience to wait for them to perform.

If you are not strong enough, then I will help you to be strong. Don't blame me for not winning happily. It's because you are not motivated and forced me to take action.

There are many ways to decide the outcome of this series. You don't have to be stronger than you.

The end of the arrogant Supersonics has just begun!