Of all the enemies of Jordan's career, Reggie Miller is probably the fans' favorite "villain," not one.
He did whatever it took to play against Jordan, and even had the feat of throwing punches at Jordan. If the Jordan era is compared to one of the NBA's most classic blockbusters, then God is the well-deserved heroism of the protagonist, and Miller will be the most conscientious villain in the show.
Because as long as they make it to the playoffs, Miller and his Pacers will never stop trying to cause trouble for Jordan. In this story, in addition to Miller's courageous resistance against the Bulls, he also made enemies in the alliance at that time.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" >Part 1</h1>
Madison Square Garden, New York, is perhaps Miller's most familiar arena besides the Consec Center in Indiana. Even though he's been out of the league for years, Miller still "visits" New York many times a season as a televised commentator, not to mention that throughout his career, he has played 34 regular season games and 6 playoff rounds here, and he can feel the goal of the guest locker room with his eyes closed, and plug his ears in the locker room to hear Spike Lee already cursing him loudly.
On April 5, 2005, Reggie Miller, the number one public enemy of New York, staged his madison final battle here. The game had not yet begun, and the lights in the away locker room aisle flickered on and off. Miller skillfully touched the position of the switch, hammered a few punches, and the electric light obediently obeyed. “J· O,don’t be shy！ Miller yelled at Little O'Neill in a deep voice, "Get out! Good boy, Lao Tzu takes you to visit Broadway! Little O'Neill had just stripped off his clothes and was about to go into the shower to wash the sweat from the no-ball training, and Miller grinned, "Then I'll go first." ”
The moment finally came.
I would never say I coached Reggie Miller, but I used to have the privilege of working with him. —Rick Carlisle
"Next up, the guest starter..."The Knicks' on-site commentary had never done such a passionate curtain call for the guests. ...... The last game in the garden! "There were sporadic boos, and it's understandable that there were boos at any venue, let alone in New York." Indiana Pacers 31 – Reggie Miller! Boos erupted in the audience, and Miller sat proudly on the bench, heard the narrator say his name, and walked leisurely onto the court.
Miller never expected applause or cheers at Madison Gardens, even if it was the last time he visited as a player. In his eighteen-year career, most of the classic performance backdrops were the Big Apple City. He was the nightmare of New York, and there were always ten thousand incredible ways to kill New Yorkers.
Spike Lee, John Stax, Patrick Ewing and Big Mom Oakley will never forget that night: On June 1, 1994, in the fifth game of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks led by 20 points in the first three quarters and entered the fourth quarter with a 12-point advantage. Director Spike Lee danced like a doping-injected bugs and kept spamming Miller in his exclusive seat.
But Miller began his own performance, in the words of Starks: "Like Jordan." ”
The fans of Madison Garden can only watch this man with the shape of a skinny monkey run without the ball again and again, catch the ball, and shoot without hesitation. Then hold the ball and repeat the previous action, Miller, who scored 14 points in the first three quarters, scored 25 points in the fourth quarter with 5 three-point attempts, and the defender's Starx was overwhelmed. While scoring, Miller and the big director played a whole game of scolding. In the end, the Pacers unbelievably won New York 93-86. Under the eyes of the big director, under the eyes of "first center" Ewing.
Since then, New Yorkers have been talking about the word "revenge" every day. But soon, their revenge plan did not succeed, but worsened, and the following year, at almost the same time, Miller staged the famous "Miller's Moment" in Madison Garden. Still in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks are still leading by 6 points before the finale, and the New Yorkers have learned the lessons of the last time and dare not be happy too soon. As a result, Miller continued to choke their throats at the moment when they held their breath, the three-point line outside the knife fell, and then snatched the bottom line free throw, retreated outside the three-point line, raised his hand to hit, and The Stax, who was stunned by Miller, actually missed two free throws, and then Miller got the ball again, the Knicks had no choice but to foul, two hollow free throws into the bag - it only took 8.9 seconds, Miller 8 minutes, 1 rebound and 1 steal, and took the victory.
No one enjoys drawing pleasure from his opponent's defeat more than Miller, reveling in the chaos of the New York coach bench, greedily breathing the sour air of Madison Square. But at the same time, no one has the same big heart as him, hitting so many key balls. If you were a fan of that era, you even wanted the Pacers to fall behind throughout the game to see Miller's crucial shots in the final moments.
He played a gritted role on many occasions, tit-for-tat with the world's biggest metropolitan team, giving in, arguing, shoving, and grabbing the technical gap after the decimal point on the timer and firing outside the three-point line. Miller didn't mind being an enemy of the public, he was so intoxicated and booed—from Madison, from union centers, from the Waterhouse, from Auburn Hill Palace. He constantly craves others to hate him, and then uses the long-range shot that silences everyone to pass through Yang, plays hide-and-seek with the shadow that follows him, and then receives the ball and kills his opponent.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" >part 2</h1>
Admittedly, every player has made a championship ring their lifelong pursuit. But Miller has refused to transfer to a team with more hope of winning the title. "Only time will give the answer." If I can win the championship, I will be a great bastard. Can't win the championship, I'm a pure jerk.
It turned out that everyone except Indiana fans prayed for a championship ring for Miller. Even after Jordan retired, when the Pacers played against the Lakers in the Finals, Miller was still considered to be the antagonist of league savers O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. In fact, this walker walked all the way and was full of thorns.
In the 1996-1997 season, the Pacers exchanged for Jaylen Rose, Rick Smith missed 30 games due to injury, and after the departure of coach Larry Brown, the Pacers only had 39 wins and 43 losses. Miller's $2.9 million villa on the outskirts of the city was set on fire by anonymous fans of revenge. He even considered retiring, but Miller was still back on the court with his cold-blooded three-pointers and big mouth.
In the 97-98 season, the Pacers regained 58 wins under the reinvigorated Reggie Miller, who averaged 19.5 points per game, the lowest in nine years. They also failed to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, but that didn't stop Miller from winning hatred and respect in his usual way. In the third game of the East Final against the Bulls, Miller scored 13 points of the entire 28 in the final 4 minutes and 10 seconds. Two days later, he pushed Jordan away in the last 0.7 seconds, hitting a dead end and forcing the Chicagoan into a desperate situation.
That's it, the 96-97 and 97-98 seasons were the epitome of Miller's eighteen-year career: he stubbornly got up from the rubble and then provoked everywhere with scars.
Miller's entire career stats are not glorious today, but it does not prevent him from becoming one of the greatest pitchers of all time. No one gets drowsy from watching his game, and fans are often thundered by his three-pointers, not to mention his deceptively sleek tights or unimaginably high-quality defenses, so Miller has never been loved by anyone else. But he has at least won a lot of respect, and this respect will not disappear because of the change of times and the change of idol standards.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" >part 3</h1>
A player who doesn't play on physical fitness, eighteen years of career, currently the 21st scorer in history, the NBA's national enemy, the greatest champion player, these are not luck, nor are they accidental.
Many people are unaware of Miller's congenital deformity of his legs, and in order to correct it in his childhood, he had to sleep with an iron frame every day. Miller's older siblings are his shadow: his sister, Cheryl Miller, has a landmark basketball talent, and his older brother Darryl is a talented receiver in the Mlbed league. Their brilliance forced young Miller to try every day to catch up with them instead of being crippled.
700 three-points a day: This is the rule that Miller set for himself from the time he was exposed to basketball. In 1987, when the Pacers chose UC Riverfront as the emaciated guard with the 11th pick, everyone thought it was incredible, and his strength was probably not as good as the 12th pick, the strongest 160 Magsy Boggs. However, Miller used extreme iron laws against himself, like the Indians, to prove how powerful his hidden power was.
On the road, Miller's iron law is relatively simple, warming up two hours in advance, but at home, his strict requirements for himself make Luo Zhixiang a disgrace, and he is the most sophisticated time manager.
Miller's daily lunch consists of only six pieces of toast, two omelettes and sausages, and two glasses of orange juice. After years of thunder, then at 12:45 will deal with personal affairs, take a nap at 1:15, leave for the stadium at 3:45, start training at 4:30 on time, start stretching ligaments at 5:00, generally Miller will not be interviewed by reporters, at 6:15 he will shoot another 15 minutes of three-pointers on time, at 6:30, back to the locker room, announcing to his teammates tonight's battle plan.
To outsiders, Miller's actions are unacceptable day in and day out, but even so, he repeats these good habits every day, without interruption. His miraculous performance has nothing to do with luck, it is not a miracle of chance, but the result of perseverance.
Bianca Maxwell first met Reggie Miller in 1994 as a little girl infected with children AIDS, and an AIDS foundation arranged for her to meet with Reggie Miller. And this time meeting, more or less changed the poor child's life. From that moment on, Reggie Miller never left Bianca.
Every season, Miller sends tickets to their family, and miller will personally visit Bianca on offseasons. Bianca's grandmother recalls this time, always mentioning that the young Bianca announced that she would marry Miller when she learned the word Marry. Bianca had no father, and Miller played the role of father. On March 14, 1997, doctors announced that Bianca's immune system had completely collapsed and his life was in danger. Upon notice, Miller can cancel all media arrangements and go to the hospital. For the first time in more than a decade, Reggie Miller gave up warm-ups and spent the afternoon with Bianca.
Bianca's mother leaves the room with everyone, giving Miller the chance to be alone with his "father" and daughter. Bianca was half asleep and half awake, and when she woke up, she would smile innocently when she saw Miller. As the race time approached, Miller turned off his personal phone and accompanied the little girl. Until the doctor walked into the ward and looked at the display to tell Miller that her heartbeat had gradually disappeared and that the rest of her life could only be calculated in minutes. Soon, Bianca opened her eyes and told Miller, "Reggie, it's all right, I saw the angel." ”
These were Bianca's last words to Miller and the world. On the evening of March 14, 1997, the Pacers played against the Utah Jazz, and Miller was late to finish the game with tears in his eyes. Can you think of this man who made a throat-locking motion against God, at this moment for an unrelated little life, sad to this point with a pulse of affection?
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" > End</h1>
On May 19, 2005, Miller played his final game at Consecours Arena, when the Pacers lost to the Detroit Five, who had a white knife in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year, and Miller scored 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting. In the final 15.7 seconds of the game, Larry Brown called a long timeout for his esteemed opponent, Reggie Miller, to let him enjoy the final moments.
Fans chanted "Thank You!" Reggie！ The sign, the applause lasted for several minutes, at this moment, all the past clouds, the hatred of Chicago, the arrogance of Los Angeles, the madness of Madison Gardens, the shattering of dreams of Auburn Hill Palace, the past carved Reggie Miller like a carving knife, and he, in that instant, transformed into the eternal monument and totem of The City of India.