On the Heat bench, Erik Spoelstra, eager to share Pat Riley's burden, found himself deeply entangled in a paradox. This paradox was named Zack. In Spoelstra's eyes, he defied logic and the very essence of basketball. His emergence shattered Spoelstra's long-held understanding of the sport, and for a fleeting moment, Spoelstra even foresaw the immense transformation that was about to sweep the basketball world.
At the American Airlines Arena, it was the Warriors' offensive possession. At the top of the arc, Zack, accelerating with a scissor dribble after putting the ball down, once again violently dismantled the Heat's zone defense. Facing James Posey, who attempted to cut off his path with a slide step, Zack pulled the ball back with a reverse dribble, adjusted his center of gravity, leaped vertically, and gracefully sank a jump shot—a near-perfect demonstration of a Sam Cassell-esque move followed by a shot, except these actions were performed by a 211cm (6'11") interior player.
This was precisely what made Zack so difficult for Spoelstra to comprehend. To prevent him from devastating the Heat's defense with his mismatch advantages, the Heat had to play zone. However, the zone couldn't stop his game, which ran contrary to the traditional super-center. If he merely broke down the zone with high-post facilitation, like Vlade Divac or Brad Miller, the Heat would willingly play zone all night, no matter how many spectacular passes he made to his teammates.
"He can play like an perimeter superstar—that makes the zone defense utterly meaningless against him."
Zone defenses have never been able to contain true perimeter superstars, especially in the NBA with a longer three-point line and the defensive three-second rule. Perhaps, on a night when Zack's jump shot was off, the zone could be surprisingly effective against him.
"But these Warriors, by some twist of fate, also possess a group of incredibly prolific shooters!"
Zack's off-ball ability and facilitating skills meant that unless both he and his teammates had a bad shooting night, the zone defense was destined to be largely ineffective against these Warriors. After 82 hard-fought regular season games, the entire Warriors team had evolved alongside Zack. Since entering the playoffs, Zack, once again in full power mode, had elevated the Warriors' overall offensive level by several notches. While the Warriors' path to the Finals this year certainly had many unforeseen factors, Zack's dominance in the playoffs had already deeply shaken this era. Undoubtedly, he had unleashed a "dimension-reducing attack" on the current era.
In the latter half of the second quarter, Wade, still gritting his teeth and pushing through, once again brought a scoring flurry for the Heat. With Brown and Artest picking up their third personal fouls, the Warriors were forced to re-insert Murphy and Dunleavy, with Richardson now guarding Wade. This should have been an excellent opportunity for the Heat to build momentum. However, on the court, this Warriors lineup—where, aside from Zack, no one else truly threatened the Heat's offense—steadfastly maintained their lead under Zack's leadership.
The Heat's tough defense had limited the Warriors' half-court three-point shooting to under 30% (4-for-15) on this night that would determine if they would be swept. But just before halftime, Zack, first executing an inside screen with Murphy at the high post and then quickly cutting into the Heat's paint, silenced the entire American Airlines Arena. In the Heat's restricted area, Zack, receiving a brilliant pass from Murphy, powered through Alonzo Mourning for a score. The scoreboard read 55-50. Zack had exploded for 28 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal in the half.
On TNT, Charles Barkley commented during halftime: "As a supporter of the Heat, I have to be fair and say that they couldn't have played any better tonight. But... that tyrant from Oakland completely dominated the paint on both ends of the court. This is absolutely one of the greatest individual Finals performances I've ever seen!"
Beside him, Kenny Smith, who understood the situation but didn't want to expose it, chuckled: "'D-Wade' has been putting up '30+' points every game for the Heat in these Finals, but now it's incredibly unbelievable that he might actually get swept with the Heat."
Barkley nodded: "'D-Wade' is, in my opinion, one of the top two shooting guards in the league right now. However, that tyrant from Oakland has utterly and ferociously dominated these Finals."
Ever since Barkley discovered that lavishly praising Zack was also a way to get under Michael Jordan's skin, he would now praise Zack in every conceivable way whenever he got the chance.
In the visitor's locker room. Artest and Richardson, who had performed poorly in the first half, swapped roles with Murphy and Dunleavy, who usually brought water and towels to their teammates during halftime. This was the allure of a championship ring. To get this ring, even the proud Artest was willing to massage Dunleavy's legs and shoulders. Even Richardson, who always valued his title as the Warriors' best shooter, willingly gave it up to Murphy, who had the best three-point shooting percentage on the team in the first half.
Artest had already made up his mind. Once he got this ring, next season he would personally ask Jermaine O'Neal, who was softer than tofu, and Stephen Jackson, who only knew how to show his teeth and claws, what kind of champions they were. What? Jackson already had a championship ring in 2003? That didn't matter! The important thing was that his ring was won as the team's second-best player. How could a mere role player like Jackson compare to the quality of his championship?
Compared to Artest, Richardson's thoughts weren't as complex. However, after getting this ring, he also planned to place it in the most prominent spot in his home. Then, he would ask everyone he met:
"What? You actually know I'm an NBA champion?"
In the NBA, only champions are ever truly great.
Before the start of the second half, Jarrett Jack noticed that almost all of the Warriors' eyes simultaneously turned to their undisputed leader, the one they all firmly believed would reward every teammate with a championship ring tonight. "If we win the championship tonight, what's the first thing you want to do?" Jack asked, walking alongside Zack into the arena, his face full of curiosity.
Hearing this, Zack answered without hesitation: "I'll eat and drink well, and then get some good sleep."
Jack pressed: "And then?"
Zack smiled: "Then I'll wake up, get back to training, and prepare to win the next championship."
At that moment, Jack stopped, looking at Zack's increasingly tall back, and suddenly felt the immense gap between people. However, Jack's emotion lasted less than three seconds before Brown leaned down and told him, "Don't believe what he just said. He already told me privately that if we win the championship tonight, he's going to throw at least a week-long party when we get back to Oakland."
A week-long party? After a pause, Brown added, "Of course, as his confidant, in front of outsiders, we have to say he got up and trained the very next day."
American Airlines Arena. After halftime, as the third quarter began, the Heat, led by Dwyane Wade, immediately showed their desperate determination. The truth was, even if the entire Heat team knew before the game that they were beyond saving, when they stepped onto the court, they still couldn't accept it. They couldn't accept just handing over that championship trophy to the Warriors! Why could you become great champions after tonight, while we could only become uncared-for runners-up?
In the arena, the white tide, which had fallen silent, began to surge again with the fighting spirit displayed by the Heat players on the court. Heat fans, who had never tasted a championship since joining the NBA, had also waited eighteen seasons for this trophy!
Why is a champion a champion? In competitive sports, if the team you support or the athlete you admire always wins championships, then congratulations, you are undoubtedly fortunate. But compared to those lucky ones, the vast majority of sports enthusiasts are destined to be unfortunate. Because most of the time, your eager anticipation will only result in one disappointment after another, in a continuous cycle... until the end of life, until the end of the world.
Even until Zack came to this world, in his memory, there were still ten NBA teams that had never won a championship. Therefore, in front of those champions who had endured countless hardships to reach the finish line, how could a runner-up dare to boast of their greatness, how could they presumptuously claim to be a glorious runner-up?
It was true that the Warriors unexpectedly made it to the Finals this year, but that didn't mean they weren't a team that had endured hardships. In the final regular season game, when 98-year-old "Sweetie" held Zack's hands tightly, at that moment, Zack already felt how much this team yearned for that O'Brien trophy.
Perhaps the Warriors weren't fully prepared to lift that championship trophy, but with that damn O'Brien trophy right here tonight at the American Airlines Arena... wasn't the Heat players' reluctance also the Warriors players' most fervent desire?
On the court, as soon as Wade scored four consecutive points for the Heat, Zack immediately completed a three-point play in the paint, enduring O'Neal's "Iron Palm." O'Neal's slap was still too light; he underestimated Zack's desire for a championship and, even more, his profound love for basketball. Feeling the sharp pain in his left shoulder, Zack instinctively threw the ball towards the basket.
Clang, clang, clang, swish!
Then, after the basket, Zack's eyes, blazing like hot flames, stared directly at O'Neal, making the latter instinctively step back. What terrifying eyes they were—even the seasoned O'Neal felt an inexplicable fear.
At the free-throw line, Zack made the extra free throw. Throughout the third quarter, whenever Wade threatened to close the gap for the Heat, Zack would immediately respond in the next possession, silencing the entire American Airlines Arena. Richardson and Artest also found their shooting touch in the second half. And this completely tilted the scales of victory in Game 4 towards the Warriors.
American Airlines Arena. The Warriors' last offensive possession of the quarter. Utilizing the offensive space provided by Richardson and Artest, whose shooting touch had revived, Zack, feigning a crossover from the right 45-degree angle, suddenly pulled the ball back. At that moment, Walker, unable to adjust his center of gravity to contest Zack's shot, could only silently pray in his heart. However, God did not answer Walker.
Swish!
On TNT, as Zack scored his 40th point of the game, Barkley shouted, "God, God, God! He's wearing the Golden State Warriors' number 30 jersey tonight!"
At the end of three quarters, the scoreboard read 81-70. The Heat, who had been desperately trying to close the gap for an entire quarter, instead saw the Warriors extend their lead further in the last three minutes of the third quarter.
In the final quarter, neither Zack nor Wade planned to rest. Amidst the cheers of the home crowd, Wade's first two drives to the basket bounced off the rim. This was a clear sign that Wade's energy had reached its limit. However, on the other end, Zack's shooting touch also became colder as his stamina waned. On the court, both of his tough, contested shots were mercilessly "blocked" by the rim. Although the slower game pace indeed resulted in less energy consumption for Zack than usual, having played without a minute of rest tonight, he inevitably hit his energy wall.
This was a truly agonizing period. It made the fans in the arena feel incredibly suppressed, and it also tested the hearts of Warriors fans watching on television. Zack was the first to break the deadlock for the Warriors. With 7 minutes and 37 seconds remaining in the final quarter, he received the ball at the left free-throw line using the Flex offense and scored his 42nd point of the game with a clean jump shot. This jump shot allowed Zack to tie Magic Johnson's rookie record of 42 points in a Finals game.
Meanwhile, Walker, from whom Riley no longer held any expectations, scored five consecutive points for the Heat in the next two offensive possessions. These five points caused the home white tide to surge again, but they also made Riley want to rush onto the court and kick Walker in the butt. It was all too late, Antoine. If you had found your aim earlier, how would the Heat have fallen into such a desperate situation?
At the American Airlines Arena, Zack's subsequent 44th and 46th points were like two heavy punches, striking hard at the chests of Heat fans. Tonight, Zack's final score settled at 48 points. That was a two-point pull-up jump shot off the dribble that left the home fans dejected. In this Finals series, Zack had broken through the Heat's zone defense countless times in the same manner, but compared to those previous jump shots, this one was destined to be unforgettable for Heat fans. Because the player who switched onto Zack at that moment was none other than Wade, and because this two-point pull-up jump shot completely sealed the victory for the Warriors.
The final score: 98-87.
As the clock wound down to zero, Wade, who shot 13-for-27 overall, 1-for-4 from three, and 12-for-14 from the free-throw line, scoring 39 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block for the Heat, was utterly exhausted, collapsed on the American Airlines Arena floor.
—Averaging 34 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 0.5 blocks. This was Wade's stat line in these Finals. From every angle, Heat fans couldn't bear to criticize "Flash," who lay collapsed on the floor after Game 4, covering his face with his hands and silently sobbing.
The Los Angeles media, however, thoughtfully pre-selected the scapegoat for Heat fans. It was the former "league's premier center," who failed to score in double digits in a single game during these Finals, averaging only 6.5 points and 7 rebounds.
However, for Shaquille O'Neal, whose chest was twisting in pain, whose stomach acid was churning, and who felt like death was better than life... Did being the scapegoat even matter anymore? Swept for the sixth time in his career, and swept for the second time in the Finals. When judgment day arrived, when that false crown was shattered by Zack's own hands, when the former "league's first person" was no longer dignified... O'Neal had utterly lost face.
Pat Riley, who had just signed a 5-year, $100 million contract with O'Neal last year, was now consumed with how to quickly shed O'Neal's salary burden for the Heat next season to preserve the team's roster. The 0-4 sweep by the Warriors in the Finals also left the Heat's championship pieces, who had gathered to fulfill their dreams, in a state of confusion and pain, unsure where their spirits belonged after the game. This feeling was absolutely terrible. But tonight, these championship pieces had to bear it alone. Because, besides Heat fans, no one cared about this year's runner-up.
American Airlines Arena. The white tide had receded, and the golden tide surged!
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! You actually led us to the championship! You damn bastard! Get out of the way! Get out of the way! All of you get out of my way! I have to make this bastard feel what 'love' is!"
On the court, as soon as the final quarter's clock hit zero, Baron Davis rushed directly towards Zack with a speed Zack had never seen before. And then... Undoubtedly, this was absolutely Zack's darkest moment in his life. Unable to dodge, he was tackled directly to the ground by Davis and, after being spread out into a starfish shape by Davis and other teammates... In short, this was a scene that Zack would feel nauseous thinking about for days afterward.
"Get off him! You've kissed him at least three times already! It's my turn!"
"Sweet! It's so damn sweet! Is this what a championship tastes like? I need another bite!"
"Who dares to call us trash now?! Listen up, old Mike, I am a proud champion! And you, you are merely the father of that champion!"
Slowly getting up from the floor, looking at the surrounding teammates who had completely lost their minds, even enacting a real-life "filial piety" ethical drama (a humorous inversion of "filial piety" where sons/daughters abuse parents)... For a moment, Zack even felt his vision begin to blur, and his ears seemed to go deaf.
Until his heart pounded faster and faster, until the blood surged through his body, until tears uncontrollably streamed from his eyes, Zack suddenly let out a roar! This roar echoed through the rafters, piercing the clouds and shattering stone!
Perhaps the Warriors' championship this year was an accident, perhaps they weren't perfect this year, perhaps their championship journey was full of dramatic twists... But, who dared to say now that they were not chosen by destiny?
In his rookie season, he led the Warriors, who had only won 13 games the previous season, all the way to the top. Even if the league awarded that damn MVP trophy to Steve Nash this year out of adherence to the regular season MVP basic law, and even if Zack recognized Nash's skill, he still wanted to ask loudly... Translate that for me: Who the hell was the most outstanding player in the NBA this season?! And translate that again: Which bastard said he didn't deserve the praise given to him by Jovan Buha (a journalist)?
The future was too distant, he only fought for the present. Now that he had successfully seized the present, Zack just wanted to unleash all the indescribable emotions in his chest! Why should a rookie have to obediently "level up" after entering the league before contending for a championship? He was a legendary rookie who had already prepared sufficiently in college, only wanting to make a name for himself after entering the NBA, making half the NBA tank for him!
Why should he wait for that unpredictable, ethereal future? Since those old guys were so easily beaten this year, and since his good friend Wade couldn't stop the sharp battle-axe in his hand, then it was rightfully his now! And they deserved to lose!
American Airlines Arena, even though his shorts had no pockets, at this moment, Zack was going to walk around the court with the most swaggering steps and his hands defiantly in his pockets!
That year, Zack was twenty-one, standing like a nobody in front of Tim Duncan! This year, Zack was twenty-two, hands in pockets, knowing no opponent!
"I am the best player in the NBA! All those who disagree can just shut the hell up!"
What damn "league's premier power forward," "one of the most outstanding players currently active in the NBA"? There is no "one of"!
At this moment, Zack is the number one player in the NBA, the standard-bearer of the post-Jordan era in the NBA!
He is destiny, and destiny is him!
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