"I will retire again after this season, no matter what the results are this year.

This isn't to encourage you, you know I'm not good at that.

I've already communicated with Mark.

This is my decision, I am no longer in a good condition to continue to be a head coach."

In the coach's office at the Barclays Center, Sloan said to Lin Ying and Deron in front of him.

After the day's training, he called the two of them to his office and told them his decision.

He was always like this, except when he asked Lin Ying whether he should give up G6, other times he made a decision and then told others.

Delong looked completely shocked.

Lin Ying was surprised, but soon understood.

Most people only noticed the difference between Sloan and the past, because Sloan would not show the other parts to the public.

But Lin Ying can actually feel it.

Take the previous Eastern Conference Finals as an example. When I was practicing extra, I asked myself whether I should give up G6, which shows that Sloan has also worked until then.

Some people are like this and don't allow themselves to be lazy, even if it's okay to be lazy for a while, but if they really want to do that, they would rather not do it.

You can think of it as a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or of course you can think of it as... a responsibility.

But to do this does require a lot of energy.

For a 71-year-old man, this kind of work is indeed beyond his energy range.

Especially, he will be 72 years old next season.

If based on fictitious years, he is 73 years old.

Delong wanted to say something to persuade him to stay, but Lin Ying held his elbow.

"Coach, we will win this championship for you."

Lin Ying then spoke.

"Lin, thank you. I am very satisfied to have come this far. I can accept any outcome no matter what."

Sloan looked at Lin Ying and said sincerely.

He was touched that Lin Ying could say that.

"We will win this championship, I promise."

Lin Ying repeated what he just said.

Sloan was stunned for a moment, looked at Lin Ying for a while, then nodded without saying anything else.

Not only compared with Deron, but even compared with Malone and Stockton, Lin Ying is so different.

…

"Lin, are you absolutely sure?"

Coming out of the coach's office, Deron couldn't help but ask Lin Ying.

Lin Ying shook his head.

Delong was stunned for a moment.

"But we do all think that, don't we?"

Lin Ying continued.

Although Sloan said he didn't mean to say anything encouraging, he had to admit that this was indeed the most inspiring thing Sloan had ever said.

"I can't wait to fight with my life!"

Delong nodded vigorously.

Originally, he wanted to win this championship to make up for the mistakes he had made.

Now Sloan says this is the only season, in other words, his only chance.

"It's not impossible, but we can win even the Knicks. No matter who our opponent is in the finals, we have a chance, and it's not small."

Lin Ying smiled and patted Delong on the shoulder.

You don't have to risk your life just to play a ball, and even if you're not a veteran flag-planting general like Durant, you can't set the flag casually.

He is experienced in this area.

Delong nodded more firmly after hearing this.

Although Johnson couldn't play in the Finals, they still won the Eastern Conference Finals without Johnson.

This year is a year without Eastern Welfare.

…

One day later, the Lakers and Mavericks played Game 7 at the Staples Center.

The game attracted unprecedented attention.

Lin Ying also took Delong and the others to watch the game live in the video room.

The functions of the new arena are very high-tech.

They also made bets before the game, and they had some fun.

Most people are optimistic about the Lakers. After all, although they reached the tiebreaker, the Lakers performed significantly better in the series.

The same goes for Deron, who wanted to beat the Lakers before.

Lin Ying is optimistic about Mavericks.

For no other reason than to underestimate the heart of a championship.

Especially two old guys with a strong desire to win.

DeLong ordered a large portion of pizza and calamari rings, some potato wedges, and even some beer.

Lin Ying ordered some extra melon seeds and peanuts, which others would also eat.

It feels really good to watch others playing tiebreaker while eating.

Of course, in addition to watching, Lin Ying also observes, although now he can only take a rough look.

For data analysts, it is useful to pause the video and observe it frame by frame.

The game started and the Lakers quickly gained the upper hand.

Playing at home, the Lakers are in pretty hot shape.

Especially when the first quarter entered the transition period between substitutes, Mayo's performance after coming up was also very eye-catching, with another three-pointer and a breakthrough.

If the Lakers reach the Finals, this will be a point that needs to be focused on.

Lin Ying recalled that this year in history, Mayo played for the Mavericks, averaging 15+ per game and performing well.

Although the data for the Lakers is not that impressive now, the value of the data is higher.

Moreover, playing with two eldest brothers, Kobe and Paul, Mayo's character shortcomings will be covered up.

Of course, his short height is also his biggest weakness.

If his bare feet were 1.96 meters instead of 1.93 meters, who knows if he could become the next Kobe Bryant.

The few centimeters difference between a guard and a swingman is the difference between a combo guard and a swingman. The coach's positioning and playing style of the players are completely different.

At this time, Lin Ying thought of George Karl again.

It was also my luck to meet such an eclectic coach like Karl.

If he meets someone like Larry Brown, he probably won't be much better than Milicic.

The Lakers played well, but the Mavericks were never far behind.

Yao Ming and Nowitzki can always score at the most critical moments.

Barea was also very energetic on the bench.

Although these two teams are not as good as the Knicks on paper, they obviously play more like a unit.

And we have to admit that both Carlisle and Phil Jackson are much better than Rivers.

Almost everything on the table was swept away by them, and the tie-break reached its climax.

Nowitzki didn't feel good tonight, but Yao Ming's status has been online.

Lin Ying even suspected that if Yao Ming continued to play like this, he might have a chance to appear in Rio in 2016.

But Paul's performance on the Lakers' side was also outstanding.

Both of these are powerful tools to ensure the team's lower limit.

As the game counted down, Kobe's performance began.

He showed the complete opposite extreme from James, really making top shots at critical moments.

You can't say this was a good choice, but he was able to make the ball.

Nowitzki failed to respond in the end, and the Mavericks' title defense was set before the end.

107 to 101, a wonderful tiebreaker, the Lakers had the last laugh!

Everyone in the video room was cheering because the final result was exactly what most people guessed or wanted.

Delong's eyes were full of light, the same kind of bad Shuli light.

Hey, my poor cannon.

Lin Ying also finished cracking the last melon seed.

Playing against the Lakers is pretty good too.

Speaking of which, he and Kobe haven't played against each other in the playoffs for a long time.
To be continued...