Five Hundred and Seventy-Eight: He's Been Preparing for This Long Enough

Sprains are a common occurrence on the basketball court. Even the wild courts that people usually play on are unavoidable, let alone the more intense NBA courts.

However, sprains are also divided into serious and serious, relatively mild, after the end of the game, you can continue to play. But more serious, usually requires about 10 days of recovery time.

In fact, a sprain is a very minor injury. Sprains are really nothing compared to the Achilles tendon, cruciate ligament, and meniscus, at least.

In the regular season, if a player sprains his ankle, he will miss 4-6 games at most, and the impact is not too big.

But now that Iguodala is sprained at this point in time, he is a little more sensitive.

After all, the series is not more than the regular season, and one round of the series will only play 7 games at most...

"Andre, the environment here is good!"

When Link and his teammates visited Iguodala's house after practice, the small forward who played in the Western Conference finals had a thick bandage on his feet. Walking with crutches under his arm.

"Haha, come here often when the environment is good. How are you training during the two days I'm not here?" As soon as Iguodala met with his teammates, he asked about the team's situation.

Although Iguodala has worked hard in the league for nine seasons, he has never played in the finals.

Only two teams can play in the finals every year, and only twenty or thirty people can play in the finals. Therefore, not everyone has the opportunity to show themselves in the finals from time to time.

Iguodala finally got a chance to play in the finals, but he had to miss a few games because of injuries. Naturally, he was very unwilling. So as soon as I came up, I asked about the team's preparations.

"Don't worry, Andre, we are in good shape. And you don't have to be so pessimistic. The Heat and the Pacers played more anxiously than you thought. The finals should start very late. Maybe, you don't have to miss a game." Link patted Iguodala on the shoulder, and the Heat were bogged down in the Eastern Conference finals, which is undoubtedly good news for the Grizzlies.

This year's Eastern Conference finals, played very tragically. Before the game, people thought that the Heat would easily topple the Pacers. After all, the Pacers are missing their star Daniel Granger this season. Also, there are no big players in the squad.

The Heat defeated their opponents 4-0 and 4-1 in the first two rounds respectively, while the Pacers were both 4-2 in the first two rounds. In comparison, the Heat's promotion is much easier than the Pacers.

The Pacers, it seems, can't seem to give the Heat any trouble.

However, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, James and his team were devastated. In the whole game, James scored a large triple-double with assists and 3 blocks in the game. But the young George did not give up much. He played 47 minutes, made 7 of 16 shots, and scored a team-high 27 points, plus 4 rebounds and 5 assists!

His performance is like a real superstar!

In the end, this game also relied on James' layup lore in overtime, and the Heat barely passed. This shows how fiercely the two sides fought. The strength of the Pacers is far beyond the imagination of the Heat.

However, this kind of lore moment cannot appear in every game. In the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat overturned.

Although James scored 36 points in the second game, the Pacers turned the Heat to the ground with no shortcomings in the five positions. At most, the Pacers even led the Heat by as much as 13 points! The Pacers managed to grab a win at the American Airlines Center to gain home-court advantage.

When the total score of the series became 1-1, James knew that this year's Eastern Conference finals would not be as easy as before.

As a result, the two teams have been playing until now, the total score of the series has become 3 to 2, and the Heat temporarily lead. But whether the next Heat can end the game, but not sure.

James doesn't know why the No. 24 named Paul George suddenly became so fierce.

In fact, even Link didn't know why. George's performance in the Eastern Conference finals this year seems to be better than the original history.

Link didn't know that George was really serious when he said "maybe we can meet in the finals".

As a college teammate who entered the league with Link in the same year, watching Link start to climb step by step, George is naturally not far behind.

This year, we have reached the Eastern Conference finals. Of course, George does not want to admit defeat!

Going to the finals to compete with Link, this is George's motivation!

Link is now very doubtful about whether history will change and whether the Heat will really be stopped outside the finals.

But one thing is certain, that is, Iguodala can get enough training time.

In the afternoon, the Grizzlies players were already playing at Iguodala's house, and Iguodala also got a chance to speak to Link alone.

He walked to the balcony on the second floor, looked at Link who was looking into the distance, and shouted.

"What are you doing here alone?"

When Link heard the voice, he turned his head and smiled relaxedly, "You have a good view on the second floor here. It's all a lot of woods."

"Isn't it the same for your family? By the way, if I can't come back, who is the coaching staff going to start?" Iguodala is most concerned about the team's situation now. Absence, which delayed the team's chance to win the championship.

"Needless to say? Of course, Tony played the starting game for you." Link said, looking at Tony Allen who was organizing a poker game in the yard.

"Well...you have to face the tightest defense. They can even send two people to watch you. Whether it's the Heat or the Pacers, the defense is not easy."

"If that's the case, don't we still have Nick Young? By the way, Sean can still play, although he hasn't played for a long time..." Link's eyes swept over Yang Shaoxia and Ba Thiel.

"That's what I'm worried about. I'm afraid that they will take care of one thing and lose the other. You know, in the finals, any flaws will be magnified infinitely." Iguodala shook his head, facing the finals for the first time, inevitably a little too nervous.

"It doesn't matter, I trust them. By the way, don't we still have Jimmy. Although he is not as good on defense as Tony, and his offensive firepower is not as good as Nick, but he has no obvious shortcomings."

"Jimmy? Is he ready for the Finals?"

"Are you ready?" Link turned his head and looked at Iguodala seriously, "Jimmy has been ready long enough for this day."

※※※

On June 3, 2013, more than a week has passed since the end of the Western Conference finals. And the Eastern Conference finals were really dragged into the tiebreaker!

After losing in Game 6, James walked to his teammates, shook hands with them, and had a few words. His message was clear, "Get ready for the seventh battle."

The battle of life and death, if you win, you will enter the finals. Lose, and the summer will be filled with remorse. Whether the defending champs or the Pacers, now the truth is that simple. It all stopped in Miami, where the Heat had their best regular-season record.

As a team without a superstar, the Pacers have come this far is a victory, they have nothing to lose. Of course, they have also won everyone's respect.

Before the game, Link made a special call to greet George. As a friend of George, he certainly hopes the Pacers can win. Although, it means they are about to become rivals in the next round.

On the other end of the phone, George seemed very excited, "Don't worry, Link, my teammates and I have packed our bags for 8 days and are ready to go straight to Memphis after defeating the Heat! Soon, we will meet on the court. already."

Hearing this, Link was not surprised. If the Pacers don't even have this courage, how could they have played such a good season without Granger?

In the evening, Link also paid close attention to the game. After all, this will determine who the last obstacle on the Grizzlies' road to a championship will be.

Earlier today, the Grizzlies' medical team gave Iguodala a full evaluation. After the latest evaluation, Iguodala's return time has also been determined, and he will return in the third game of the finals!

Compared to the initial prediction of missing 4-6 games, this is already a very good situation.

Therefore, Link must carefully watch how the two teams fought in desperation today. Soon, he will face them without Iguodala's help!

The Pacers attacked quickly with all their strength at the beginning of the game, and the firepower was very violent, but the effect lasted only 5 minutes. The fast attack also led to an increase in the Pacers' mistakes, and the Heat began to counterattack. When there were 4 minutes and 18 seconds left in this section, James made up the dunk with both hands, allowing the Heat to play a 9-2 attack wave and successfully overtake the score!

Wade and Bosh have been sluggish in the first few games, and both of them will find their feelings when they talk before the game. Bosh is still in a mediocre state today, making only 1 of 8 shots in the first quarter, but Wade has improved and hit two shots after the opening. With 1 minute and 45 seconds left in this section, Wade even made a quick break after stealing, passed Stephenson with a stride in the frontcourt, and dunked with both hands to tie the score.

In the second quarter, the Heat's performance continued to heat up. In this series, Ray Allen's previous 3-pointer, "Gentleman Ray" was suspicious, and the Heat even let Mike Miller take his place today.

But in the second quarter, Ray Allen suddenly broke out. He made three consecutive three-pointers, allowing the Heat to gradually widen the gap. Bosh also hit a three-pointer in the middle of this section, and the Heat also led by double digits with this three-pointer.

After Hibbert's 3 fouls, James stepped up his attack on the basket, and the Heat ended this quarter with a wave of 11-3, opening the gap in one fell swoop!

Trailing by 15 at the half was no welcome for the Pacers. Link also became serious. Once the Heat returned to their state, the offensive firepower was simply unstoppable!

Trailing by 15 points in the first half, some Pacers fans felt the game wasn't over. But they did not expect that in the second half, the Pacers completely collapsed.

Not long after the third quarter, George and Hibbert got 5 fouls each because they were too excited. Without Hibbert, the interior barrier, and George, the best defensive wing, James can do whatever he wants.

The points difference kept getting wider, and Link's fists became tighter and tighter. Today, James finished abusing George! Although dragged to the tiebreaker, James showed why he is a great athlete.

At the end of the game with 5 minutes and 58 seconds left, James gave a high-five to Beckham, who was watching from the sidelines, and then walked back to the bench. At this point, the Heat have taken a 23-point lead, and this tie-breaker has entered garbage time in advance!

Thirty seconds later, George was also off the court for six fouls. Link then turned off the TV, and only then did he realize that his palms were all sweaty.

Once the Heat are in full swing, the Pacers are simply not enough to play! And this terrible opponent, in the end, stood opposite Link and the Pacers.

The finals are finally coming, and Link will eventually face the most powerful opponent!

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