The Lakers defeated the Pacers 104-87 to win Game 1 of the Finals.
The difference in strength shown is huge.
Mainly because of O'Neal, without the restrictions of Webber + Divac, Sabonis + Pippen, O'Neal made only 1 of 6 free throws, hitting 21 goals in 31 shots, and scored 43 points.
Even the Pacers' fouls couldn't stop O'Neal's little hook from hitting the basket.
Even if there are two people standing under the Pacers' basket, O'Neal can dig in and put the ball into the frame when he catches the ball.
'OK Group is invincible', it's really here!
After the first game of the Finals, Li Ao became the darling of Lakers fans again.
Lakers fans were very happy and proud when they heard that Li Ao refused all team trial invitations in order to be selected by them with the 29th overall pick.
But now things are developing in an uncontrollable direction, and they find that they may have to lose the greatest college basketball player in Los Angeles in the 21st century...
On Li Ao's side, he watched the live broadcast of the Lakers and Pacers game.
But my mind kept wandering while watching it.
How did things get to this point?
At first, he and Schwartz just agreed to turn down the second-round draft pick's workout invitation.
Then, reject multi-team tryout invitations from non-lottery teams and only accept individual tryouts.
Then, they didn't even accept individual trial invitations from non-lottery teams.
Then, they also declined all trial invitations from the teams at the bottom of the lottery with picks 9-13...
I was originally worried that refusing to try out would affect the draft market. What if the Lakers didn't get the lottery pick?
But after discussing with Schwartz, Li Ao decided to believe in the promise of the logo man.
Angel City, Los Angeles, what a great place to play here.
With the 10th or 13th pick, the two felt that the Lakers would definitely be able to get it back from the Magic. There was no reason why, they just felt that way.
But unexpectedly, the more they refused, the higher the selection expectations were!
Forget about just expectations, those high-ranking teams are becoming more and more interested in him. The Bulls, who own the 4th and 7th picks, also sent them trial invitations, and they did it in one step. Instead of going through the process, he was invited to participate in the individual trial session after the regular trial period.
Today, the most outrageous thing is here, the Grizzlies seem to want to select him too!
Although the Grizzlies have not yet sent him a trial invitation, the Clippers called in the afternoon.
Schwartz thought the Clippers wanted to select Li Ao with the 18th pick, but before he could refuse, Elgin Baylor quickly said it was a separate trial for the third pick.
This time, Li Ao refused.
When he refused, he felt very disillusioned. He was so arrogant that he refused the lottery pick?
If they are both Los Angeles teams, whoever goes to the Clippers would rather be a few picks lower.
In other words, more than a month has passed since he announced his registration for the draft on live broadcast. He only participated in a trial with the Lakers when he was expected to be at the end of the first round and the beginning of the first round. He did nothing else and ate and went to school every day. He refused trial training while practicing and playing games. He kept refusing, and his ranking rose to the top three.
Li Ao fell into deep thought. If this trend continues, will he end up living with a lone wolf?
Then when the Nets traded Kidd, they sent him to Phoenix to bask in the sun with the lone wolf?
Then we can't fight for three days?
He shook his head wildly.
Not to not to not to.
Kenyon Martin is one of the few draft giants to win the John Wooden Award, the Naismith Memorial All-American, and the Associated Press All-American in the same year.
Not to mention this is a small year in the draft, if this year's Kenyon Martin was compared to last year or the year before, he would still be able to compete for the No. 1 pick.
In the last ten years, the only top picks that Kenyon Martin couldn't compete for were Duncan, Iverson, Big Dog, Webber, O'Neal, Big Mom, Coleman... Well, it seems that there are not many who can compete.
But Kenyon Martin's personal performance in college is really good in competing for the No. 1 pick.
The top pick must be Kenyon Martin, and Li Ao picked it for him.
If he couldn't figure it out, he didn't think about it. Li Ao guessed that he wouldn't be able to fall out of the lottery. If that was the case, what was there to worry about? It was already much higher than his original goal.
…
After a good sleep, Schwartz drove Li Ao to Universal Studios Hollywood early the next morning.
Li Ao definitely didn't come here for tourism, otherwise he wouldn't be with his agent.
At the end of last month, a beverage company offered him a one-year endorsement contract worth US$500,000.
Li Ao was very excited. Is he going to be rich?
But Schwartz refused.
Schwartz said to him at the time: "We cannot accept this contract. Although it is only for one year, as long as we accept it, your endorsement price range will be fixed. When the time comes, it will be very difficult for us to negotiate contracts with real big companies." Be passive, don’t be anxious, several brands have already contacted me, but it’s just not time to talk about the price yet.”
Li Ao felt that what Schwartz said made sense, and tearfully turned down the $500,000 offer.
He found that his agent was particularly sensitive about money.
This is a good thing, since he is the one who makes the biggest profit anyway.
But after all, I have to make some extra money to support my family.
So, Schwartz gave Li Ao a movie. IMG has been in the sports world for a short time and does not have as much energy as David Falcao, but it is very easy to find a job in the entertainment industry.
For a guest appearance, the salary is 100,000 US dollars, and if everything goes well, it can be done in one day.
When Li Ao heard that he was going to sell his looks and play a playboy, there would be a sex scene and an intimate scene, he agreed on the spot.
What’s wrong with dedicating oneself to art?
Moreover, the heroine happened to be Jessica, whom he had a close personal relationship with. He didn’t have to worry about her being too good-looking, but he was a little worried about another actress who was starring opposite him...
When he arrived at the set, director John Duggan came to pick him up with three actors.
The three actors are the heroine Jessica, the hero Ian Gray, and Lizzy Caplan, one of the two actors opposite Li Ao.
Jessica is very familiar and knows everything about her.
Li Ao has an impression of the male protagonist Ian Grey. He saw this face when watching Game of Thrones 2. He is younger now.
Lizzy Caplan will star in Now You See Me 2 in the future. Li Ao watched this movie with Jay Chou and saw this face. He is much younger now, probably less than 20 years old, with a small face and big eyes. , dressed in a tea-like style, it should be the clothes used for today's filming.
He was very satisfied and didn't have to worry about not being able to finish it.
Mainly because the future Black Clownfish movie left such a deep psychological shadow on him.
I met four people in total, but only the director Li Ao had not heard of it.
Before coming here, Schwartz gave him the director's information and he had never heard of his name. He had never seen any of his films.
Threesome in Troubled Times, A Dangerous Man, Play... Judging from the names, they are not serious movies.
But what's outrageous is that these movies are either youth movies or crime movies, which are just side projects.
And they are all low-budget films, with budgets so low that they have to raise investment from everywhere while filming.
The movie Li Ao will guest star in this time is called Paranoid, which means paranoid or paranoid.
After the greetings, Li Ao got his script, which was a very brief shooting content - playing the heroine's ex-boyfriend, a sex scene with the heroine, and an intimate scene with the heroine's best friend. Liz played the best friend - Kapan.
Then there was no role for him anymore, and the male protagonist didn’t even appear in the same frame as him. We came to pick him up purely for a photo.
In addition to his script, there is also an outline of the entire story. Jessica played a sexy model in her true role. She found out that he was cheating on her best friend, ran away in tears, met the male protagonist, and walked out of the shadows with the comfort of the male protagonist. The two of them Together.
Who knew that the male protagonist was a married pervert, who kidnapped and locked up the female protagonist. In the end, a man who had been secretly in love with the female protagonist rescued the female protagonist and brought the male protagonist to justice.
After Li Ao finished reading the script, director John Dugan said: "Don't be nervous, your role is very simple."
Li Ao asked: "I don't have any lines?"
"You just have to improvise. It's what a rich, carefree, sweet-tongued man would say."
"Oh, he's just a scumbag. How do I act like this? I have no acting experience."
"Trash man? That's a good description. How do you act... Just act as you are, but you have to be restrained. There are cameras filming."
"..."
Li Ao:○(╬￣Benefit￣╬)○
His fists tightened.
What does it mean to be more restrained? What is true acting?
Several people on the side had already stopped laughing.
The director asked Li Ao to get acquainted with the two opposite actresses, and then took the male protagonist to another studio, where the male protagonist still had scenes to film.
John Duggan really didn't care about Li Ao's role.
It's someone who was brought in temporarily by the management, who said they wanted to add some scenes. For the sake of the increased budget, they could just add them. They could do whatever they wanted, but they might not be able to make it into the film when the time comes.
After the director left, Jessica said to Li Ao: "Wow, you really came to film and acted in your true colors."
"Aren't you also acting in your true colors? A sexy model, tsk tsk, and there is also a sex scene, do you want to take off your clothes?"
"This is a crime movie! If you weren't going to participate, the director would temporarily add a bed scene for you, so there wouldn't be a scene where you take off your clothes. This time you're on top. If you want to take off your clothes, you can take them off... Ahem, let me show you mine. From the stills, you will know how well I acted."
Jessica was so angry that she forgot that there was another actress next to her. She quickly changed the subject, took Li Ao's hand, took out a stack of prepared stills from her bag, and photographed Li Ao's hand.
Li Ao felt a little embarrassed when someone else was around. He pretended not to hear anything and looked through the stills.
The first few photos showed a beautiful appearance, but later on, when she was kidnapped and locked up, her image began to gradually change.
In the last few pictures, the makeup is deliberately ugly in the scenes of being locked up in the basement. It really looks like someone who was locked up in a dark basement and tortured for a long time. You can see it through the photos. See the helplessness and fear in his eyes.
He muttered: "My acting skills are pretty good."
"Humph," Jessica said proudly, "You said it, I have a good-looking figure and good acting skills, so I will definitely be popular."
Jessica was a little angry as she spoke, and said sarcastically: "In order to let you play your true character, the director temporarily found a beautiful actress. You have to restrain yourself and don't do anything shameful on the set."
"Oh? Does that mean I created job opportunities for others? Oh, God bless, I have done another good thing."
"..."
Jessica and Liz Caplan who were watching the show were speechless.
Lizzie Caplan studied piano at the Hamilton College Conservatory of Music. She accidentally started filming two years ago and acted in a campus comedy TV series Freaks and Nerds. She then continued her studies and is about to graduate this year.
Originally, her dream was to be a pianist, but after filming that TV series, she fell in love with the feeling of playing someone else and decided to change careers.
But after Christmas, she came to Hollywood. Half a year has passed and she has not received any serious roles. Passerby A, clerk B, deceased C, background D whose face cannot be shown...
Finally, two days ago, her agent told her that she had received a film that had lines and her face, but it was an intimate scene.
She was so happy that the intimate scene was just an intimate scene, at least she could show her face.
Yesterday she arrived at the set and heard that the opposite person was the new NCAA MOP. She was even more happy, at least she was being bitten by a handsome guy.
When she saw her today, she was even more handsome than the one on TV. She felt that not to mention nibbling, she could go a few inches further.
But now she was thinking the same thing as Jessica - why wasn't she mute?
…
Li Ao said he would not play the role of a scumbag.
But it doesn't matter, it's acting. He recalled the scumbags in the screen image in his mind, and the 'performer' he drew before started to work. When it came to filming in the afternoon, as soon as the board hit, he immediately got into the state, and Jessica lingered.
The lines, expressions, and body movements he made up made John Duggan's eyes light up when he was originally just taking pictures!
The key is that Jessica has good acting skills. She has never acted opposite her before, but she can catch what Li Ao says, and her action coordination is also very good.
The two of them knew each other very well, and they were fully involved in their movements, and they looked like a real couple.
At the critical moment, John Dugan shouted "click". It was not that the shot was not good, but that one line had passed and that was enough.
John Duggan is a little regretful, he would have made movies made by adults.
Change the scene, change the actress, and it’s time for the next shot.
Although she was prepared to be bitten, Lizzy Caplan was still nervous now.
This little handsome guy is really good at it!
She could see that Jessica was really screwed.
What should she do?
However, it was different from what she thought. After the filming started, they were shouted "Ka" several times in succession. Different from the previous one, this time it was Li Ao who had always wanted to borrow the seat but was inexperienced. The director was so angry that Swearing.
This little handsome guy can actually not touch her without touching her. It’s so damn good for a gentleman!
This was not the case with Jessica just now!
She became angry, and when it was time to take another photo, she took the initiative to chew on it and pulled Li Ao's hand towards her body.
This time I passed it in two takes. The first take was actually good, but John Dugan saw that Li Ao was passive, so he adjusted the relationship between the characters and turned into the heroine's best friend actively seducing the heroine's ex-boyfriend. The logic suddenly made sense.
In one afternoon, Li Ao and Liz Caplan completed the project.
Jessica has to work overtime tonight, giving Li Aoyun half a day to shoot, and naturally has to make up for it in the evening. The shooting location is charged on a daily basis.
After Li Ao thanked the staff, he was about to leave with Schwartz when Liz Caplan asked him to have dinner with him.
Li Ao did not refuse. In one afternoon, after taking the commission, he still made 70,000 US dollars. Although he will have to pay taxes next year, it is still okay to treat him to a meal.
After Schwartz sent the two to the restaurant, he wisely left beforehand.
Then, Li Ao and Liz Caplan ate from the restaurant to the hotel...
…
The finals are in full swing, and at this time, a tidbit of news has entered the field of vision of basketball fans.
Li Ao, the new NCAA MOP who is becoming more and more popular in the draft, refused to participate in the trial training and went to Hollywood to date young actors!
When Li Ao appeared at Universal Studios Hollywood, he was spotted by the paparazzi.
Who makes him the hottest rookie candidate right now?
He and Lizzy Caplan were photographed eating in a restaurant and entering a hotel again.
So, he once again caused controversy.
Can such a player play well in the NBA?
But there's one group of people who are happy - the fans in Los Angeles, the Lakers front office.
Other media did not report it, but the local media in Los Angeles reported it many times. Li Ao resumed training about ten days after playing the three games. He had to practice for two hours after school every day. After the final exam, he did not go Participated in tryouts and spent time at Memorial Stadium almost every day.
But Lakers fans didn't want to explain this time, and went online to criticize him, trying to cool down Li Ao's overly hot draft market.
There are also fans who have a clear mind and have discovered something - the people Li Ao is dating seem to be all 18 years old?
This topic has also attracted discussion among a small number of people.
Li Ao slept until almost noon before getting up.
He didn't expect that Liz Caplan, who looked so gentle and gentle, could be so wild. Although she didn't have that much experience, she had both skills and endurance.
It was almost dawn when he fell asleep, and his legs were numb.
It took 250 achievement points to open the Dark Holy Shield of Gunara.
But when he woke up, he saw Lizzie Caplan walking around the room, standing up and squatting down holding her head.
"Liz, what's wrong with you? Didn't you say you were in pain before? Is this a treatment method?"
Lizzy Caplan really wanted to rush forward and just kick her...but she couldn't. With that face and figure, she just looked at...
She looked away, signaling that she could no longer be obsessed.
She complained: "I'm in a gossip magazine before I've even been in a movie magazine. It's all your fault!"
Hearing this, Li Ao probably guessed what happened and was photographed again.
He said innocently: "You were the one who stood in front of the hotel last night and refused to leave. Do you blame me?"
Lizzy Caplan exploded on the spot: "You brought me to the hotel! It's over, my dream of being an actor is shattered..."
"Uh... not necessarily. Maybe your dream of becoming an actor can finally be realized."
Liz Caplan was confused when suddenly her cell phone rang.
She answered the phone and it was from her agent.
Soon, she understood what Li Ao meant.
After hanging up the phone, she picked up Li Ao's cell phone and dialed her number. After hanging up, she left "I got a job, so I'll leave now. I'll make an appointment for dinner next time when I'm free" and left in a hurry.
Li Ao watched the other party pull up his pants and leave... scumbag!
After cursing for a while, Li Ao got up, took a shower, went to the bank, and wired some money to his parents, not much, 100,000 soft sister coins per person... No, it was 200,000 for my mother.
He finally started making money!
He didn't really care that it was in the entertainment news again. He was not a dwarf who relied on his girlfriend's fans.
Time passed day by day, and Li Ao returned to the life of training, training, training again, and occasionally playing games. Trial training is really gone.
On June 22, as the Lakers defeated the Pacers 4-2 in the Finals to win the championship, and O'Neal won the FMVP to dominate the NBA with an average of 38 points, 16.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.7 blocks per game, the NBA 1999-2000 season came to an end. People The attention began to shift from the finals to the upcoming draft.
(End of chapter)
