"Mitch, do you still have tickets for G4 of the Finals? I would like to invite a few friends and relatives to watch the game together."
After winning G3, Du En was not in a hurry to return to the locker room and take a shower.
Instead, he approached Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, who was on the sidelines applauding Duane and others, and asked him for tickets to the next finals.
Kupchak was overjoyed when he heard this and joked with Du En: "Haha, there are quite a few tickets for G5. Do you want them?"
"G5?" Du En scratched his head and thought to himself, "The format of the finals seems to be 232 now, right? Even if there is G5, I will still play with the Pistons!"
"Damn it, are the Pistons that wild? Did they sell their G5 tickets in advance?
So if they are swept in the finals and we award the trophy after G4, wouldn't they have no way to step down?
Hey, it’s better to leave no room for retreat! We are a super team, how dare they? "
Listening to what Kupchak said, Duan has more motivation and reason to end this year's finals in G4!
Originally, Duen was anxious to come to Kupchak to ask for G4 tickets.
Just to invite good brothers like Anthony and Wade, as well as the "mentor" Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange, to watch the game together and watch him win the NBA championship trophy!
To be honest, the relationship between Du En and Boeheim is relatively ordinary. It can only be said that they have worked together and played on the same team.
To use Donovan's words to describe it, even though he and Durant reached the Western Conference Finals and almost overturned the 73-win Warriors, he still wasn't familiar with Durant.
The relationship between Du En and Boeheim is basically the same.
However, the United States attaches great importance to university connections, and Duan inevitably followed the Romans.
As the coach of the Syracuse Orange, Boeheim gave Duan some opportunities after all, although not many.
But without Boeheim, Duane really wouldn't be able to join the Los Angeles Lakers through the draft like he is today.
Gradually, he went from being a bottom lottery pick to becoming a pseudo-starter for the Lakers, and then to becoming an All-Star starter and the third member of the super team Los Angeles Lakers!
As the saying goes, don’t forget the man who dug the well when you are drinking water.
Also, wealth and honor do not return home, just like walking in brocade at night.
When a fisherman finally catches a big fish, he has to go around the village several times and say to everyone he meets, "How do you know I caught a big fish?"
As a member of the 400 to 500 professional basketball players in the NBA, Duan is about to win the greatest honor of his career - the NBA championship. So shouldn't he publicize it well?
In order to satisfy their own social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.
Even if Du En loses money to make a profit and pays for the tickets out of his own pocket, even if it is against the wishes of others, he still has to tie Anthony and the others to the sidelines and watch him win the championship.
But now comes the problem. Kupchak changed the subject by joking, which undoubtedly shows that Kupchak has no tickets left.
"Are there really no tickets for G4?" Du En returned to normal and asked seriously.
Kupchak nodded and answered seriously: "Although the Detroit Pistons have always lost to us, the fans in Detroit are very enthusiastic, and the tickets this year are very competitive.
We thought we would have to go to G5 and G6 to determine the winner, but who knew they were so inexperienced!
It also went too smoothly, far exceeding our expectations. There were not many G4 tickets prepared in advance.
And you're a step late again. Shaq, Kobe, Karl and others have already asked me to book tickets.
Now all the tickets for the courtside seats held by the team have been allocated.
However, we still have two private rooms, and there are about five seats left. If you need them, we can give them to you. "
In addition to regular seats, the NBA also has VIP luxury boxes. Because of the different grades of the boxes, the space and number of seats are also different.
The smaller box can accommodate 8 to 10 people, while the Lakers' two boxes are super large boxes with 16 to 20 people. The star player can bring his family to watch the game in the box.
If the relationship between the star players is good within the team, and the star's family members are usually close friends, then two or three families can get together in a box, and the children will have playmates with each other and can play happily together.
But Du En doesn't even have a girlfriend yet, let alone a child.
Next, Dunn wants to invite future NBA stars like Anthony and Wade.
If they came to watch the finals, they would not come alone, but with their families.
Because I am not familiar with the Lakers players’ families, it will inevitably be awkward to stay in a box to watch the game.
In addition, there may also be trouble caused by scandals between a star and another star's family.
As an inviter, Du En did not want to affect the reputation of his friends and teammates or even destroy some families just because he wanted to show off.
But there is no need to think about it for now. Duane currently does not have tickets, but there is an urgent need to invite Anthony and Wade.
In this case, having a seat is better than not having one.
After hearing Kupchak's answer, Du En agreed first: "Okay, I want it, leave it all to me!"
Since the Lakers couldn't get tickets, Dunn decided to go back to the locker room to take a shower, and then go to Nike to play in the autumn breeze.
Fortunately, Du En was a little worried.
Anthony and Wade, as good brothers of Duen, are actually more concerned about the situation of the Lakers and Pistons in the finals than Duen.
As early as a few days ago, both Anthony and Wade tacitly purchased tickets for G4 and G5 of the Finals in advance.
Anyway, it’s just a small amount of money spent. I might as well buy tickets, but since it’s not a critical match, I’ll just stay home.
When the day comes when the good brothers win the championship, Anthony and Wade naturally cannot miss it.
After Du En finished taking a shower, he found that there were already several missed calls on his cell phone.
It turned out that Duan's mobile phone was confiscated by the Lakers management and kept for safekeeping.
However, this approach is often because teams are worried about players being affected by off-field factors.
Especially after losing, the players are under a lot of psychological pressure. They are worried that they will be affected by public opinion and play worse in the next game, so they have to do this.
In a situation like this, where the Lakers have won three consecutive games and G4 is expected to win the championship, it is necessary for the players to invite their relatives and friends in advance to watch the game together.
The Lakers management was very humane and returned communication tools such as mobile phones to the players.
Of course, the Lakers management also warned the players not to participate in off-field events such as gambling, which would harm others and themselves.
"Melon, how did you know I was going to win the championship?
I scored 33 points in G2. Is that great?
Have you bought the tickets? Okay, come on directly!
If I really want to win the championship, how about I leave my trophy to you? Are we brothers enough?
Okay, okay, I’ll invite you to go out to sea when I return to Los Angeles, and you can have fun however you want! "
"Dwyane, I've been waiting for this call from you for a long time.
I'm almost ready to call you and invite you to watch the game.
Why didn't you answer just now? You should understand that players who perform well will be pulled by reporters for sideline interviews, right?
Kobe and Shaq are better than me? Can they win without me passing the ball to them?
Okay, now that you have bought the tickets, bring your wife and children over!
If you really want to win the championship, I will give you the championship trophy to touch, so that you can also have the luck to win the championship, so that you can win the championship as soon as possible! "
Not long after, Du En received another call from Bosh, James and others. James was not ready to come, but he still congratulated Du En in advance.
Without reaching out to hit the smiling man, Du En had no choice but to encourage James: "You are the No. 1 pick, and the future is yours!"
After hearing this, James seemed very happy. He even said that he would lead the Cavaliers out of the Eastern Conference in a few years and compete with Du En's Lakers for the championship.
Duan had no choice but to make a three-year agreement at James's strong request, striving to compete with James in the finals within the rookie contract...
After hanging up the phone with James, Dunn quickly found Charlie Danson.
After listening to Duen's request, Charlie Danson said that there was no problem and he could provide Duen with six tickets for G4 of the finals.
With this promise, Duen had the confidence to call Boeheim.
After a few minutes, the call finally got through.
After some exchanges of greetings, and relying on the "deep relationship between master and apprentice" in the past, Boeheim finally accepted Duen's invitation to watch the G4 finals.
Boeheim said that he would bring his wife and children with him. It is worth mentioning that Boeheim’s eldest son is also named James...
Since there are only five members of the Boeheim family, Doon has one more ticket.
In addition, there are several seats in the Lakers' box.
Ever since, Du En made another call to his "best friend" in Los Angeles.
Du En said that if you are interested, you can bring your sister group to play together.
As soon as Alisa Dushku heard that she could take advantage of the popularity of the Finals and the Lakers' championship, she naturally bought a plane ticket and flew to Detroit.
In order to prevent others from stealing the scene, Alisa Dushku did not even call her good sisters who usually play together.
On the morning of June 11, the morning after G3 of the finals, Duen received a call from Alyssa Dushku while she was still sleeping.
Alyssa Dushku said that she had already checked into the hotel where the Lakers were staying. It could be said to be right next door to Duan, although it was several floors away.
Du En got the house number and got up early to do morning exercises and breathe fresh air.
However, Detroit is located in the Rust Belt. Perhaps because of the serious industrial pollution, the air is not sweet, but has a fishy smell...
Having said that, because Du En has invited relatives and friends to participate in the next G4, in order to win steadily, Du En is also more self-disciplined.
In the next two days, Du En basically practiced in the hotel gym.
Just the night before G4 started, Kobe suddenly came to the door and expressed that he wanted to make a deal with Duan.
"I want the Finals MVP! I owe you a favor!"
Du En joked: "If I want to be the boss of the Lakers, will you be willing to help me?"
"No problem!" Kobe's answer made Du En a little dumbfounded.
However, after Kobe finished speaking, he turned around and left, seemingly thinking that Dunn had agreed to help him win the Finals MVP.
Watching Kobe disappear from sight, Du En could only scratch his head and continue to remain silent.
Everyone is cheering, and the fans are already pretending. If Kobe doesn't agree to it at this time, Kobe may really cause chaos in G4.
When I think that the Pistons management has sold all the tickets for G5 in advance, in the next G4, the Pistons' five tigers may enter an extremely crazy mode.
Du En thought about it and decided that it would be better to sacrifice his small self to achieve his big self and let Kobe and O'Neal fight.
Anyway, in the previous three finals, Duan averaged 26 points per game and was overtaken by Kobe Bryant, who averaged 26.7 points per game.
Although O'Neal averaged only 24.3 points per game, he also had 10.7 rebounds.
Normally, when the team has multiple scoring points, O'Neal, as the boss of the Lakers, can maintain a double-double averaging 20+10 per game in the finals.
As long as G4 doesn't stretch his hips, the Finals MVP will definitely go to O'Neal.
Kobe averaged 26.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. If he wants to compete with O'Neal for FMVP, he must at least increase his scoring average to 30 points per game.
In other words, Kobe must score 40 points in G4 and lead the team to win the game on his own.
It's hard for Kobe to do that.
It is also difficult for Duan to steal the FMVP from O'Neal with his average of 26 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7 assists.
It can only be said that Kobe insisted on winning the FMVP, and it was probably Nike that gave Kobe some confidence.
As a player under Nike and a small boss of Nike, Duen has some tacit understanding.
Of course, if O'Neal starts to lose his temper, he will not be able to work hard.
Then, in order to win the championship, Duan had to level a bowl of water. While creating scoring opportunities for Kobe, he also passed a few balls to O'Neal to temporarily appease O'Neal.
Before G4 officially started, Du En had already made various plans in his mind. As a result, G4's plan to win the championship and win the trophy was inevitable without delay!
On the evening of June 13, the sky in Detroit was also gray and it could rain at any time.
(End of chapter)
