On June 1, 2023, the Kings charter flight landed at Miami International Airport.
As soon as I got off the plane, a warm breath hit my face.
Miami is located in Florida and has a tropical climate like other cities in Florida.
It was June at this time, with the daily maximum temperature of 31 degrees and the minimum temperature of 24 degrees.
This temperature makes people feel very comfortable.
There are no distinct seasons in Miami. For people here, there are only dry and wet seasons.
In the season with the lowest average temperature of the year, the daily maximum temperature here is also 24 degrees.
Because of the warm sunshine here, many retired people come to live in this city, so Miami is also known as the activity center for elderly cadres in the United States.
After getting on the bus, they headed to a hotel near the American Airlines Arena.
Now the finals are about to begin.
This year's finals were not as star-studded as in previous years.
Lowry, Butler, and Ciro are not too dazzling compared to Alphabet, Durant, Curry, and James.
Although Wang Yi’s playing style is explosive, after all, he has only been playing for just over a year, and his fan base is not too large.
The Heat have not received much attention in the past two years, and small-market teams like the Kings have received even less attention.
But even so, on the day of the finals, many fans poured into the city.
Basically every hotel is full.
This time, Kings head coach Ranadive gained experience and booked a five-diamond hotel in advance.
In the past, the Kings always stayed at Four Diamond hotels when traveling.
But this time they are participating in the finals, so of course the players must eat well and sleep well.
…
The next day, June 2nd.
The weather is clear and the sun is shining brightly.
The sky was cloudless, but inside the American Airlines Center, you could already smell the smoke of war.
The game starts at 6:30 that night.
But Wang Yi and the team had arrived at the arena two hours early.
The American Airlines Center has now been renamed FTX Arena.
It sounds very uncomfortable.
Players still refer to this place as the American Airlines Center.
All the seats in the arena tonight are decorated in white.
Every time it comes to the playoffs, the Heat change the color of their home court to white, which means "white heat."
Seeing the flaming basketball logo in the center circle of the court, Wang Yi couldn't help but recall the original game.
That was in 2013, when he was just a freshman in junior high school.
At that time, he secretly skipped class to watch the Heat's finals.
The Heat's Big Three battled against the Spurs' GDP plus Leonard.
It's on this court.
In the last 22 seconds of the fourth quarter, the Heat were still 5 points behind.
Many fans had already left the venue early.
At this time, James stood up first and hit a three-pointer.
Then young Leonard made one of two free throws, giving the Heat a chance.
Last 6 seconds.
Ray Allen sealed his throat with a sword and saved the Heat.
That was the greatest three-point shot in NBA history, bar none.
You know, before that shot, Ray Allen was 0 for 6 from three-point range that night.
Even though he felt so bad, he showed no mercy at such a critical moment.
With the sword raised and lowered, the three-pointer and his name were written into the annals of history.
At that time, Wang Yi couldn't calm down after watching that game.
He is already dreaming that one day he will be able to stand at the highest level of basketball and win the championship trophy in the greatest way.
And now, 10 years later, he is here!
He will start his journey where James fought and where Ray Allen made the greatest three-pointer in history.
At 6:30 that night, after the Heat's magnificent entrance ceremony, the game between the two sides officially started.
Heat starting lineup:
Point guard: Lowry, averaging 15 points and 9 assists per game;
Shooting guard: Herro, averaging 24 points per game;
Small forward: Jimmy Butler, averaging 21 points per game and possessing extremely tough defense;
Power forward: Shoe king PJ Tucker, averaging 8 points per game, is also a strong interior defender and has excellent offensive rebounding ability;
Center: Adebayo, averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds per game, an excellent inside finisher with excellent offensive rebounding ability.
Judging from the lineup on paper, the Heat's lineup is not as luxurious as the Lakers, nor as explosive as the Warriors.
But this lineup is both offensive and defensive.
Coupled with the toughest basketball in the world and the on-the-spot dispatching and command of experienced championship point guard Lowry.
They were able to eliminate the Hawks, Knicks and Nets in the Eastern Conference. Although there was also luck, their strength should not be underestimated.
Before the game, the media and experts predicted that the Kings' probability of winning the championship was only 13%.
The probability of winning the first game is even lower, only 7% - after all, the first game is at the Heat's home court.
Regarding these probabilities, Wang Yi’s opinion is: Let these probabilities go to hell.
They made it all the way to the finals, breaking many so-called odds.
Wang Yi was completely excited at this time.
Before even playing, his heart had already started beating violently, pumping his boiling blood to every corner of his body.
Then his body also started to heat up.
His face was red and his eyes were hot, and his whole body was in an extremely excited state.
In order to prevent himself from exerting too much force due to being too excited, he used the old method to look at the beautiful cheerleaders on the sidelines.
Heat coach Spoelstra's wife was once a Heat cheerleader.
The NBA prohibits players from dating cheerleaders, but it does not prohibit coaches from dating.
I have to say, this method really works.
After staring at the 12 beautiful cheerleaders for a moment, Wang Yi quickly calmed down.
The moment he stepped onto the court, the voice of the system came to his mind again.
[The host completes the hidden mission: enters the finals.]
[Task reward: Finals offensive buff]
"Well……"
Wang Yi was a little stunned.
Offensive buff?
It's never happened before.
He quickly checked the mission rewards in his mind.
[Finals Offensive Buff: Offensive abilities are improved by 20% (including speed, jumping, strength, court vision, shooting percentage, three-point shooting rate and other offensive abilities)]
[Buff time limit: 96 minutes]
When Wang Yi saw this, he couldn't help but feel happy.
Now all his offensive abilities are at the top of the league.
On this basis, all abilities are increased by 20%. How terrifying would that be?
If nothing else, let’s just talk about three-point shooting percentage.
After a 20% increase, his three-point shooting percentage will reach 60%.
Even the three-point shooting percentage in the backcourt was 35% before. After a 20% increase, it will reach 42%.
What is this concept?
Curry's three-point shooting percentage this season is 42%.
In other words, Wang Yi's shots from the backcourt can be as accurate as Curry's three-pointers.
This can no longer be described as abnormal.
It's a state of fighting in a metamorphosis.
Moreover, this buff can last for 96 minutes and can be used for the entire game in the next game.
Standing in the center of the stadium, Wang Yi looked at the 19,600 spectators on all sides, all wearing white T-shirts.
It's a wonderful feeling to have the lights from the dome above your head shine on your body.
The world's highest level basketball event, the highest level competition, the NBA Finals.
It’s finally here!
…
The opening jump ball was jumped by Adebayor.
Heat offense.
Under Lowry's connection, Adebayor in the paint finally succeeded in a dunk.
The entire American Airlines Arena was filled with joy.
It started with a dunk, a good start!
However, the jubilant people had just high-fived each other.
When he turned around, he saw the basketball arcing across the entire court.
boom--
Like a bomb, it hit the Heat's basket hard.
Chapter completed!