Chapter 172 Four. Four. Four.

The day before the Warriors won their Game 7, all the Eastern Conference games had already concluded.

LeBron James once again delivered a 40+ point triple-double in Game 7, helping the Cavaliers defeat the Nets 4-3 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Their opponent was the Milwaukee Bucks, who had previously defeated the Raptors 4-1 and advanced early.

The Cavaliers, in poor form, faced the Bucks, who had only lost one game so far in the playoffs.

James' fans still firmly believed in the Cavaliers, but more people knew that the Bucks were likely to relive their glory from more than 40 years ago this year.

After a two-day break, the Eastern Conference Finals began.

As fans had expected, the Cavaliers were sluggish and struggled against the Bucks' four-star lineup.

Although James once again scored a 30+ point triple-double, the Cavaliers still lost 102-110, losing their home-court advantage.

The next day, the Warriors flew to New Orleans to prepare for the first game of the Western Conference Finals against the Pelicans.

They held a two-hour training session after arriving.

After the training, Green was surrounded by reporters.

The news of him being呛 (choked/challenged) by a FOX reporter had gone viral, and he naturally became the focus of media attention before the game.

However, he adjusted his mentality quickly and responded skillfully to the reporters' suggestive questions.

"Saying more is meaningless. After tonight's game, you'll understand what I said."

"Do you mean the Warriors will win tonight?"

A FOX reporter asked after hearing this.

This was a rhythm of trying to take Green down.

"Yes, of course."

Green gave a very affirmative answer.

Even though the outside world's doubts and jokes about him had reached a peak, he was still quite the big mouth.

This was exactly what the media wanted.

Before Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the reports and jokes about Green had risen to a new level.

On the evening of the game day, the New Orleans Arena was already packed, and the players arrived at the arena one after another.

"I'm telling you, Draymond's skin is thicker than a hamburger."

Walker couldn't help but complain in the locker room.

"That guy's a moron!"

Butler was clearly very unhappy with Green.

"No, he's smart."

Tang Tian said, giving a completely different opinion.

Walker and Butler were puzzled by this, and even Davis leaned in.

"Infamy is still fame."

Tang Tian continued.

Walker and the others didn't speak after hearing this, but nodded after a while.

Green was slapped in the face again and again, and then became a big mouth again and again, giving people the feeling that he was stupid.

But after listening to Tang Tian, it wasn't that simple.

Green, a true system player, hadn't proven himself outside of the Warriors.

If he kept a low profile, he would be another Iguodala, and he definitely wouldn't get a max contract for his next contract.

But if he built up his reputation, he would have strength and fame in the free market, and be called a "spiritual leader," the market would definitely be better.

"But it's annoying. We've become stepping stones."

Walker continued.

What he said was very pertinent. No matter whether they won or lost the game, Green's name had been made.

Even their trash talk was helping Green build his name.

"Not necessarily. Sweep them, and his words will become a joke."

Tang Tian continued.

Everything has its limits. Last year, Green clamored to win, but at least the Warriors and Pelicans played to a 2-4 series score.

But if he clamored to win this year but was ultimately swept, then, like Tang Tian said, he would become a joke.

Walker and the others nodded.

If they didn't give the Warriors a chance, no matter how much Green jumped, he would just be a clown.

With an hour before the game started, the Pelicans entered the court early to warm up.

It could be seen that they attached great importance to tonight's game.

The arena was already packed, and the Pelicans' warm-up attracted the attention of the home fans.

Tang Tian's dunks during the warm-up drew cheers from the fans at the side of the court.

When the warm-up ended and Tang Tian took an early break on the sidelines, a local reporter seized the opportunity to interview him.

Because it was a local reporter, Tang Tian didn't refuse.

"Green said that the Warriors will win the game tonight. What do you think of his remarks?"

Because the Pelicans didn't schedule training in the afternoon, the reporter's question was the first time he'd been asked.

Tang Tian smiled, reached out his hand, opened his palm with his thumb inward, made a gesture of 4, and repeated it three times.

"Four. Four. Four."

Along with the gesture, he said three 4's in a row.

If you're not a basketball fan, or even a hardcore basketball fan, you might not understand what this means.

But the resident reporters were quite hardcore, and they immediately got the meaning of Tang Tian's gesture and words.

This was a famous saying, and a piece of history.

This history dates back 35 years, to 1983, when the Philadelphia 76ers' core player was the red-hot Top 50 star Moses Malone.

Malone was successfully elected regular season MVP that season, and was the first player in NBA history to win consecutive MVP awards.

The 76ers at the time also had "Dr. J" Erving, and All-Star player Andrew Toney, among other outstanding players.

The 76ers at that time were similar to the Pelicans, the most dominant team in the league.

They achieved the best record in the league with 65 wins and 17 losses in the regular season, and advanced to the Finals with only 1 loss.

And this famous saying came from before the Finals that year.

When a reporter asked them about the series against the Lakers in the Finals, Malone's answer was exactly the same as Tang Tian's just now.

Three 4's, meaning a sweep.

This was quite the boast at the time.

You have to know that the Lakers at the time had "Magic" Johnson, "Skyhook" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and "No. 1 pick" James Worthy.

Although Worthy was injured and missed the playoffs, the Lakers without Worthy had just defeated the 76ers to win the championship last season.

Leaving aside whether the 76ers could win, this sweep was a complete forced boast!

But unfortunately, Malone really succeeded in his boast, and the 76ers really completed their revenge and swept the Lakers to win the championship.

People who fail to boast won't be remembered by history, but people who succeed in boasting big are destined to be written into the history books.

So when Green clamored that the Warriors would win, Tang Tian expressed his thoughts in the simplest and most resonant way.

Stop talking about winning, I'm ready to sweep you!

This was truly one boast higher than another, and there was a gap in the level of boasting.

Moreover, the Pelicans won 80 games in the regular season, so this boast wasn't forced at all.

To be more specific, Malone's 76ers at the time had a record of 8 wins and 1 loss before the Finals, losing one game, so it couldn't be called a true 3-round sweep.

But the Pelicans were 8 wins and 0 losses in the first two rounds. If they really swept the Warriors, it would be a clean sweep of three consecutive rounds.

In other words, this boast, if successful, although not as early as Malone's, would definitely be even bigger than Malone's!