In the 2003 playoffs, the Magic faced the Pistons in the first round.
The Magic in the bottom half unexpectedly led the Pistons in the top half 3:1 in the first four games.
McGrady performed very well in the first four games, scoring 43, 46, 29, and 27 points in regular games.
Using superior offensive power, the Pistons, ranked first in the Eastern Conference, were in dire straits.
That season, the first round of the playoffs changed from best-of-five to best-of-seven for the first time.
If the rules of last season were followed, the Magic would have succeeded in eight games.
After the fourth game, reporters interviewed McGrady. McGrady said: "It feels good to get in the second round."
Later, some people spread rumors every day and said, "I am thinking about my opponent in the next round."
Or “If it was last year, I would already be thinking about my next round opponent.”
No matter how it was spread, McGrady's pretentious words undoubtedly stimulated the entire Pistons team.
The Pistons players were very angry and united in the next game.
Pistons coach Carlisle asked rookie Prince to guard McGrady.
In the fifth game, the Pistons returned to Auburn Hills, 98:67, and used extreme defense to suppress the Magic's score to less than 70 points.
Wallace grabbed 21 rebounds, and McGrady only scored 18 points on 8 of 20 shots.
Returning to Orlando in Game 6, this was the Magic's best chance to eliminate the Pistons.
McGrady scored 37 points desperately, but Billups scored 40 points.
Wallace had 17 rebounds and 5 blocks, and the Pistons evened the score.
In this case, going back to Detroit for the tiebreaker, the Magic would have no chance.
The momentum of the series has fully returned to the Pistons.
McGrady made 7 of 24 shots in the final game and only scored 21 points.
Billups scored 37 points and Wallace had 5 blocks to defeat the Magic in the tiebreaker.
After falling behind 1:3, they completed a huge reversal and advanced to the next round.
McGrady has also been ridiculed because of his slapstick words in the post-game interview.
Even people like Min Congda who have not been exposed to basketball for a long time vaguely remember this famous saying.
Since predecessors have given excellent examples, how could Min Congda not learn and apply them?
"Hey, why didn't I think of that? So stupid, so stupid! After the first game, Cole said in an interview that I was the one who wanted to beat the Spurs. I also complained about Cole's loud mouth. In fact, this It's obviously a good way to irritate the Spurs, irritate Duncan, irritate Popovich, and get the Spurs to unite!"
"After the first game, if I had participated in the post-game interview and said those words proactively, the effect would have been better. Maybe the Spurs would have won the second game! Really, I still lack the experience to be a loser. This NBA player The water is just too deep, too deep.”
Min Congda conducted profound self-criticism again.
He feels more and more that the waters in the NBA are really deep and muddy.
It's not that easy to lose in a bad way!
The blind confidence I had when I first took over the mission has long since disappeared.
He decided to get himself into an empty cup mentality.
Start studying again and do your best!
April 23, the day of the third game between the Clippers and Spurs.
In the afternoon, both teams arrived at Staples Center to warm up.
Rachelle organized and arranged the press conference before the game.
Because we had communicated with various media in Los Angeles in advance, many reporters came to this press conference.
Min Congda was once the darling of the media. His bold and outrageous speeches often brought strong public opinion effects.
The last time there were so many people at a press conference, Min Congda remembers it was a fight between Clippers players in the summer of 2009.
He suffered a big loss at the time, thinking that supporting players in fights would plummet the Clippers' reputation.
Little did you know that the United States is not a normal country. In order to fight against racial discrimination, the issue of violence is not worth mentioning.
Min Congda accidentally became a fighter against racial discrimination, which made him confused.
Later, when he saw that participating in interviews would easily increase the Clippers' popularity, Min Congda stopped accepting interviews.
Hide if you can, avoid if you can, and let the coach and Racheli deal with the media.
His image in the media suddenly became mysterious.
Now, after two seasons of experience, Min Congda is convinced that he will no longer be taken advantage of!
Before the interview, he apologized to the San Antonio female reporter whom he had dunked on earlier.
"I'm sorry. When your team was beaten by the Clippers, I beat up your reporter. This behavior is so shameful. I'm very, very sorry."
After Min Congda said this, the reporters all laughed. How could this be an apology? This was just showing off.
You see, after winning the ball, he also beat the loser, and finally fined him some money to settle the matter. How arrogant.
Later, a reporter asked Min Congda, why did he leave the field angrily and commit such "atrocities" even though the team clearly won the game?
Others only behave like this when they lose. How can anyone lose their temper after winning?
Min Congda said: "Well... I think it is a very irresponsible behavior to decide one's emotions only based on the results of the football game. Just like educating children, should we only look at the results to decide whether to praise or criticize? Obviously not, even more It depends on the process. Since I decided to let the Clippers go to eighth place to play the Spurs, I am definitely sure of the result. What I care more about is the process."
"I'm not satisfied with the process of the Clippers' second game. It was too difficult and we made too many mistakes. We didn't have the effect I wanted. If our opponent hadn't made more mistakes and was in a worse state, we would have been in a worse state in the second game. It is very likely that we will lose. How can we be satisfied just because of a decisive goal? That is just luck, and I cannot accept basing victory on luck."
"So, Mr. Smart was angry, and the consequences were somewhat serious."
After listening to Min Congda's explanation, the reporters were stunned.
But they soon became excited again, and sure enough it still tasted the same!
His remarks have always been so special, unlike today's NBA insiders, who always use the same set of official rhetoric, turning it upside down, and it is all useless and mediocre nonsense.
Obviously, Min Congda's disdain for the Spurs overflows.
Another reporter asked: "How many games do you think the Clippers will advance to the next round?"
Min Congda smiled slightly and said: "When I was in San Antonio, I met a Chinese friend. We made an appointment that when we return to San Antonio next time, we will go fishing for crabs together on the outskirts of the Holy City. But at this time I want to say something to this Friends said I was probably going to miss out because the series probably wouldn't come back to San Antonio."
"It's arrogant to say this, but I have to admit that we are already thinking about our opponents in the next round."
After saying this, Min Congda thought to himself, let me say what McGrady has not said.
(End of chapter)
