Chapter 657 The ghost at four in the morning
On May 31, 2014, the last day of May, LeBron James woke up from his sleep.
The room was dark. He turned on his mobile phone on the bedside and looked at it. It was only 4 o'clock in the morning.
"Shet, why did I wake up so early?" James felt a little dizzy.
He didn't go to bed early last night. The night in Brooklyn was very noisy, making him tossing and turning and unable to sleep.
I didn't know when I fell asleep, thinking I could have a good sleep, but I didn't expect to wake up so early.
James lay on the bed and wanted to sleep for a while, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what. All he could think about was what happened recently.
Nightmares, all nightmares.
Everything seems to be back in 2012. June of that year was an indelible shadow on James' career.
For two years, he tried various methods to get rid of the shadow. He even invited a tarot card reader to come to his home to divine for him.
But it was useless, everything came to him again like fate.
In the Eastern Conference finals, with a 2:0 lead, they were beaten for three consecutive games and once again came to the sixth game of life and death.
It seemed like he was back in 2012. In the Eastern Conference semifinals that year, he went to Boston behind 2:3, and he overcame it.
He thought he had a new life and that he would win the finals with a king's spirit, but he was defeated by the Clippers in four consecutive games.
This blow was so fatal, how could James sleep when it might come again?
He got up and took a shower in the bathroom to calm down and wake up.
The water flows through his extremely strong body, which is a gift from God. Without this body, he would not have achieved what he has achieved today.
Sometimes he would look at himself in the mirror narcissistically. The mist of moisture on the mirror would cover his face. Without looking at his face, his body would look quite perfect.
James will be 30 years old next year. At the age of 30, a man should have achieved something.
For him, wealth, honor, status, in ten years, he gained a lot.
Although he only lacks a damn ring, in fact, if it continues like this, his life will be beautiful.
At least it is much better than most ordinary people, and much better than those black compatriots struggling in the slums.
However, people will never be satisfied with what they have achieved, especially without that damn ring, which is a curse like a maggot on James' tarsus.
In the past, "chosen son" was a kind of praise for him, but now this kind of praise has become a vicious irony.
If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight. James, who wore the crown too early, has been unable to sit on the high throne. The crown is no longer a crown, but a clown's hat.
The problem is not only the championship, but also his commercial value. Now Stephen Curry is Nike's darling. He already has two championships and two FMVPs in his hands.
This year he also won the regular season MVP. In the media voting, he overwhelmingly defeated Kevin Durant. In fact, in terms of data, Durant is better.
In terms of record, the Thunder's 59 wins are also top-notch, not much worse than the Clippers' 62 wins, but there is no way. Everyone thinks Curry should win an MVP.
Sometimes the evaluation of MVP is like this. Objective conditions and subjective will are indispensable. Some people obviously have enough strength and record, but the media doesn't like it and doesn't think they can get it, so they just can't get it.
LeBron James, for example, already belongs to the type of player that the media "doesn't think he can win again." In terms of record, strength, and data, James is still one of the best players in the league.
The Cavaliers are first in the Eastern Conference, and James' statistics completely surround Curry. However, in the MVP prediction, no one ranks James in the top three, and he is not even as good as Kobe.
Because the full name of MVP is "most valuable player" rather than "strongest player", the evaluation of "value" itself is very subtle.
In short, James knows that he has lost the value of being named MVP. Unless he leads the team to a historic regular season record of 72 wins, the media will no longer consider him.
This loss of value is unacceptable to James, who aims to surpass Jordan and create a business empire.
But what to do? The championship seems to be becoming more and more distant, especially the Los Angeles Clippers, which is like a huge shadow hanging over him, as well as other NBA teams and stars.
Just three days ago, the Clippers completely defeated the Warriors in Game 5 at home with a huge 30-point advantage of 123:93, easily winning the Western Conference championship and advancing to the Finals.
Clippers, Clippers again, even if they reach the finals, who can beat the Clippers?
Thinking of this, James turned off the faucet.
After taking a shower, James felt his body relaxed a little, but he had no way to fall asleep again. He could only get dressed, get up and go to the hotel gym to do some activities.
It was still dark at this time, and the hotel's gym was open 24 hours a day. He swiped his card and entered the gym. It was brightly lit, but empty.
There were rows of treadmills and fitness equipment. James chose one at random, put on his headphones and started jogging to wake up his body and drive away the messy thoughts in his mind.
After running for a while, his body was slightly sweaty, and dynamic music was playing in his headphones, but he suddenly heard someone shouting to him from the other side of the gym, "You will never win a championship, LeBron!"
James subconsciously turned his head and looked in the direction of the source of the sound. As a result, the gym was still empty, with bright lights and rows of treadmills and fitness equipment, but no one else was there.
"Shet, who is it?" James was very annoyed. He had just managed to stop his distracting thoughts, but when this person shouted, his mind was confused again.
He stopped the treadmill, took off his headphones, and listened carefully for a while. There was no one else in the gym. Could it be that he heard wrongly?
James put his headphones back on, turned on the treadmill, and continued running, using music and exercise to calm himself and get ready for the evening.
He thought of the 2012 semifinals in Boston, where he also faced a team led by Garnett and Pierce, and he survived.
In that game, he seemed to have entered the realm of gods. His shooting seemed to be assisted by a god. He was no longer hesitant or afraid. He dared to take action because he was confident that he would make every shot.
However, this situation is not normal. Sometimes he still lacks confidence in his shooting during the game. He needs to make repeated adjustments and develop his touch.
Only that time in 2012, he was so determined and unstoppable. He really wanted that feeling to come back and help him get through the difficulties at hand.
"LeBron, you will never win a championship!"
This voice rang in his ears again, and James became furious. He immediately took off his headphones and looked back, shouting angrily: "Who! Who is it!"
The gym echoed with James's roar, but it was still empty, not a single person.
James strode towards the source of the sound, who must be hiding behind the bench press rack.
No, no one, James walked around the gym, there was no one.
"Come out! Come out!" James shouted twice more, calling the gym management.
"Uh...Mr. James, what's the matter?" The manager knew James and asked politely.
"Did someone come in just now?"
"No, it's only after four o'clock. No one has come in except you."
"Are you sure? I clearly heard someone talking to me just now. Someone was harassing me!"
"Uh...I'm sure. I've been at the front desk and no one has come. If anyone comes, they will definitely register."
The front desk clerk said sincerely, but the way James looked at him seemed to contain sarcasm.
James suddenly asked: "Are you a basketball fan? Do you watch the NBA?"
The front desk replied: "Oh, of course, I am a basketball fan. I know you, Mr. James. I also watch NBA."
"Whose fan are you?"
"Me? Uh... Of course I'm a Nets fan, but my dad is a Knicks fan."
"You support the Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals."
"Uh... of course Mr. James. I also like Kobe."
James shook his head and said, "I want to see your surveillance here. I'm sure someone just yelled at me in the gym."
"Mr. James, I am sure that no one has been here, only you..."
"I want to see the surveillance! Call your supervisor over, I want to see the surveillance!"
The front desk had no choice but to call the supervisor over and explain the situation. Seeing that it was a celebrity like James, the supervisor agreed to check the surveillance.
In the NBA, it is common for hotels to interfere with the away players' game state by causing trouble. For example, setting off the fire alarm in the middle of the night, knocking on the door and pretending to conduct a surprise inspection, etc., are just to play with the mentality of the away players.
James suspected that someone was messing with his mentality, so he was determined to watch the surveillance and find out the person who was behind the scenes.
As a result, in the monitoring room, James watched the more than ten minutes of surveillance video from when he came in to when he came out to inquire about the situation. No one except him had entered the gym again.
The surveillance in the gym also showed that James was the only one running and no one came out to harass him.
"You saw Mr. James, there is indeed no one else. You may have heard wrongly, or there may be some misunderstanding."
The supervisor explained to James very sincerely, but in James' opinion, there seemed to be a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
"Forget it, forget it, I'm leaving."
James left the gym, returned to his room, took another shower, and sat on the bed in a daze for a while.
He couldn't sleep at all, but the words were always echoing in his mind, "LeBron, you will never win a championship!"
Who said this? The voice feels familiar, but I just can't remember who it is.
My mind was confused, so I went to the hotel to have breakfast. In the morning, I followed the team to the training center in Brooklyn for simple shooting training.
The atmosphere of the Cavaliers is a bit dull, and everyone doesn't talk much. They lead the series 2:0 but were defeated by their opponents in three consecutive games. Who can laugh at this situation?
Especially since everyone has experienced the terrible reversal in 2012, the atmosphere within the team has actually reached the brink of collapse.
Kyrie Irving had an argument with his substitute Jack in Game 4.
Because at the time of the rotation, Irving didn't want to come off the field, so Jack, who had already warmed up, sat back on the bench.
When Irving came off the court and Jack came on, Jack bumped into Irving and the two had some quarrels.
By halftime in the locker room, Irving and Jack reportedly had a bigger fight.
James tried to calm the dispute, but Irving simply ignored him, making the locker room even worse.
Now, the Cavaliers are in an extremely strange state. Everyone has their own thoughts and plans.
Everyone knows that James' contract will expire this year, Battier, Miller, Green and others will all have their contracts expire, and Kyrie Irving will face the issue of new contract renewal negotiations.
In short, if the Cavaliers can win the championship, the young players in the core lineup may be able to stay. Once they fail to win the championship, they will inevitably fall apart.
At noon, James returned to the hotel to have dinner and went to his room to rest for a while. He wanted to try to chat with Irving, so he picked up the phone and dialed Irving's room.
As a result, no one answered the phone in Irving's room. After the phone rang many times, James could only hang up.
James recalled the third game. The Cavaliers were still leading by 10 points in the second half. If they win this game, they will definitely enter the finals.
But Kobe didn't know what he said in Irving's ear. The two chatted for a while, and then Irving made irrational choices in several attacks.
The Nets took the opportunity to launch a counterattack climax, tying the score, and the situation began to develop in an unfavorable direction for the Cavaliers.
James tried to communicate with Irving during the timeout as to what was going on, but Irving said nothing and continued to go his own way, holding the ball for too long.
As a result, the Cavaliers were reversed by the Nets and missed the opportunity to lead the Nets 3:0.
After the game, James severely criticized Irving in the locker room. Unexpectedly, Irving confronted James, catching James off guard.
Irving doesn't take him as the team boss and the king of the Cavaliers seriously?
But Irving really didn't take it seriously. He quarreled with Jack in the fourth game, and the most critical moment in the fifth game was Tianwangshan. At the critical moment, Irving hit a three-pointer and a layup. The Cavaliers almost saw the dawn of victory.
Then Kobe scored, Pierce scored, and the Nets took the lead. 30 seconds before the end of the game, Irving still took the ball and rushed in, but at the last moment he passed it to James on the outside.
What can James do? The shooting rhythm is not good, so he can only pass again. In the end, Danny Green missed the shot, causing the Cavaliers to lose the game by 1 point.
After Irving took away the ball from James, James completely lost the feeling of the game at the critical moment. Even Steve Kerr couldn't do anything to Irving.
The communication with him was completely ineffective. I don’t know what was going on in his mind.
James was helpless. He thought Irving would be a good helper for him. He was indeed very talented, but why did he become like this?
In the afternoon, James finally slept for a while and regained some energy. However, his sleep at noon was definitely not as deep as at night. He had several dreams, all of which were not very good, but he couldn't remember what they were after he woke up. .
At 7:30 in the evening, the Barclays Center was full of people for Game 6 between the Nets and the Cavaliers. This game was crucial to the Nets.
If they can defeat the Cavaliers, the Nets will reach the finals again after 12 years and launch an attack on the first championship trophy in team history.
James replaced the fans in the locker room. In the player tunnel, the Cavaliers players still formed a circle and shouted slogans around James.
"Let's go, cavaliers!"
James shouted slogans, hoping to boost the morale of his teammates.
But Owen was absent-minded. He didn't jump or shout. His blurred eyes were wandering and he didn't know what he was thinking.
James once had great hopes for Irving, believing that he would be his successor and successor, leading the Cavaliers to the championship with him, and letting him be his own Pippen.
But he doesn't seem to care or be satisfied with the positioning of "Pippen".
Entering the arena, after the warm-up and opening ceremony, the game is about to begin.
The Nets' starting lineup is Kobe, Pierce, Turner, Garnett and Plumlee.
This is the lineup change the Nets made after losing the first two games. Kobe went to play the one position, and unexpectedly he turned out to be very good.
Brac, a forward who is strong in offense and weak in defense, was put on the bench as the sixth man, and Plumlee, a rookie, started with very good results.
James wondered if someone from an expert had given him guidance that allowed the Nets to change their lineup like this.
In comparison, Cole never gave a very good response method - in fact, Cole did, but James couldn't do it, and Irving didn't cooperate at all.
The Barclays Center is very noisy, but James has long been used to it. Before going on the court, he went to the sidelines to spread magnesium powder as usual, and was booed by the fans.
At the same time, Garnett also came to the sidelines to take photos of fans at the technical table. The fans cheered. After all, this is the home court of the Nets.
The game is about to begin. James adjusts his mind and prepares to score a high score and bring the series back to Cleveland!
"LeBron, you will never win a championship!" He suddenly heard someone say behind him.
James turned around suddenly, and he finally recognized whose voice it was.
It's Kobe Bryant.
The ghost of four in the morning.
(End of chapter)
