American Airlines Center Arena, Miami, Florida.

All the Heat fans cheered excitedly, Pat Riley, who was sitting in the luxurious private room, could even feel the American Airlines Center trembling.

On the court, James hugged his teammates. Finally, the Heat finally passed the Pacers and broke out of the East!

As the defending champion, the Heat have also performed very well this season. The regular season has 66 wins and 16 losses, with a winning rate of 80%. Although it was hindered in the playoffs, James still passed the hurdles and persevered until the end.

After the celebration, James went up to embrace Paul George, the guy who almost defeated him. He bid farewell to another opponent, but James knew that the hardest one to be defeated was already waiting for him on the stage of the finals!

For someone who has tried the taste of a championship, rushing out of the division is not worthy of James being too excited.

After a while of joy, he returned to the locker room, but James did not go to the shower or change his clothes. Instead, he took out his cell phone and sent a text message to Anjie.

Sorry, let's wait for you for a long time. Now, your old friends are coming to visit you!

James is not a provocation. He just wanted Anjie to know that I saved the appointment on time! Just like everyone predicted before the start of the playoffs, the Trail Blazers and the Heat divided the two places in the finals!

※※※

An Jie, who was chatting and laughing with his comrades from college in the restaurant the night before, immediately became a different person on the training ground today.

The relaxed atmosphere and the joy of rushing to the finals are now no longer found in the Trail Blazers. The tension and seriousness of preparing for the finals are the main themes of the Trail Blazers now.

After confirming his opponent, Ricard's training was more efficient. Now, he can arrange all tactics specifically for the Heat.

It's not a matter of one or two days for Ricard to study the Heat. After all, as the biggest imaginary enemy of the Trail Blazers, Ricard has always been prepared for the Heat.

Although Wade and Bosh failed to perform at their best in the Eastern Conference Finals, as long as James is there, the Heat will be dangerous!

Therefore, under Ricard's arrangement, Anjie, who is practicing defense, did not just practice frame protection defense like before.

He followed the trainer to run the whole half and learned defensive strategies in various positions. This is a good way of practice, and Iguodala practices defense this way. But generally speaking, this way of practice should not be used on the center.

The center is the patron saint of the penalty area, and the center can only exert its maximum power when it is under the basket.

But Ricard knew that for the Heat, who had weak inside strength, Spoelstra let James play the No. 5 position, it is not impossible!

If Angel really faces James in the game two days later, Calder must at least guarantee that Angel will not be easily defeated.

So, as a center, An Jie is now asked to defend like a small forward. But to everyone's even more surprised that An Jie is doing quite well!

As the team's defensive core, Anjie Minrui's observation has always been a secret weapon that he can complete the blocking in time.

He can always see the gaps in the team's defense, and he can always predict the opponent's passing route. After all, the league's number one averaged 3.2 blocks per game in the regular season, which is not something you can do with just being tall and having a long arm.

So when Anjie faces the offensive player who holds the ball from the outside, he is not at all inferior. Now Ricard can only pray that Anjie's performance on the court can be as good as he was on the training ground.

As long as James can be restricted, the Trail Blazers will win half of it!

On the other hand, at the American Airlines Center Arena. The Heat, who just advanced, didn't have any extra time to celebrate. The Trail Blazers have been given several days of rest, but it only has two days left for the Heat to transition to the finals.

Is this unfair? Of course it is not fair. But the NBA is like this, you will be beaten if you fall behind! The Trail Blazers did a better job in the playoffs, so they deserved to have more rest time and that extremely important thing - home court advantage.

"It's very tricky to spend two away games in Rose Garden first." Spoelstra stood on the sidelines and held his forehead beside him. Pat Riley, the current general manager of the Heat, is also supervising the team's training.

"It's really not easy. If we lose two games in Rose Garden, it will be a very serious blow to the team's morale. So, Eric, we must, and must take away a victory in Portland! This is a hard indicator, and there is no negotiation!" Pat Riley's eyes were firm, and the Trail Blazers were just a rising star. He would not allow such a team to hinder the Heat's defense of the title!

Of course, the smart Pat Riley has another idea. Since the finals are a special 2-3-2 team, the Heat, as a team without a home advantage, have three consecutive home games in the middle of the series.

Once the Trail Blazers, which have a home advantage, lose one game in the first two home games, the Heat can use three consecutive home games to compete for the NBA championship. In other words, the fifth game of Tianwangshan was held at the American Airlines Center.

"The God's Operation" Riley touched his golden abacus. The Trail Blazers wanted to survive in the terrifying American Airlines Center for three games? No, this is impossible.

Looking at LeBron sweating profusely on the training ground, Riley felt that the Heat were not far from their next NBA championship.

Back then, even the Heat Big Three lost Dallas because they had no experience in the finals. Now, how could the Trail Blazers be better than the Big Three at that time?

The coaches and general managers of both teams entered the finals with the determination to win, and what the players can do is to do their best to prepare for the battles that will follow!

※※※

"Dad, Mom." At nine o'clock in the evening, at Portland International Airport, Anjie once again received someone very important to him here.

Yesterday I was my teammate, and today I was my parents.

As soon as they met, An Jie's mother was excited to hug her son. And his father just proudly patted his son on the back.

They may not be able to live with Anjie in the United States and frequently travel back and forth between the United States and China.

But in the finals, this kind of competition may be the most important occasion in Anjie's life, and as parents, they don't want to miss it.

"Hello, uncle and aunt." Lillard also came up and shook hands with Anjie's parents.

At least compared to Westbrook back then, Lillard's dressing style is more acceptable to Anjie's parents...

Indeed, in just a few years, there have been too many changes in Anjie's life.

The defender who was close to him changed from Westbrook to Lillard who had never heard of him.

Angel also changed from a newcomer to a Portland hero.

Most importantly, An Jie went from a little figure who struggled for the playoffs back then to an MVP who stood on the finals stage!

An Jie looked around. The scenery outside the car window changed a lot, and there were a lot more around his parents' faces. The guy who acted as An Jie's "driver" was even changed to another person.

It has been so long since time has passed. Even if people cannot jump to the top, now, even if they climb step by step, it is time to go to the top to see the scenery at the bottom of their feet!

"Damion."

"Hmm?" Lillard slowed down his car, thinking he had gone the wrong way.

"We must take the O'Brien Cup away!" Anger said suddenly, which made Lillard stunned for a moment.

However, Lillard quickly recovered. Although he was a rookie, he was a more ambitious rookie than the No. 1 pick.

"Don't worry, we will defeat the Heat like the Spurs!"

Fans, family members, friends, general manager, head coach, players...

Everyone is ready. Whether they are watching the ball or playing, they have set a goal for themselves that must be achieved.

Pat Riley stayed up all night, while Orsey was extremely excited.

Spoelstra went to bed early, but Ricard had to continue working after coaxing his little daughter to fall asleep.

LeBron James was eating the bedtime meal from his devil's recipe. After Anger settled his parents, he also made a wish towards the Portland sky.

"Victory! Let me continue to win!"

The last peace before the finals has passed quietly.
Chapter completed!