On the afternoon of November 1, 2003, New York, NBA headquarters, the league's official press conference.

This press conference came later than the media and fans expected.

First, league vice president Stu Jackson condemned the brawl between the Trail Blazers and Pistons, and then made a high-sounding statement... Finally, the only thing reporters cared about was the punishment for the brawl.

All 14 players who were ejected from the stadium were punished.

The Trail Blazers' Travis Outlaw and the Pistons' Ray Brazza both received one-game suspensions.

The Trail Blazers' Little Flying Squirrel, the Pistons' Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Collis Williams, and Atkins were all suspended for two games.

The Trail Blazers' Ruben Patterson and Randolph, and the Pistons' Dalvin Hamm and Okur were suspended for three games.

Liu Xiu and Rasheed Wallace of the Trail Blazers, and Ben Wallace of the Pistons were suspended for five games.

In terms of fines, Liu Xiu, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, Billups, and Rebrasha were fined US$10,000.

Others have fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

As soon as the punishment result came out, the press conference was in an uproar.

This punishment is too light!

and……

A reporter from CNN questioned: "Mr. Jackson, Liu was punished the same as Wallace? That's not fair! Liu performed the worst in the fight. He kept hitting people, and he probably threw more punches than the others combined."

There are so many!”

Stu Jackson really wanted to leave, but he could only bite the bullet and replied: "There is no problem with the punishment this time. We discussed it in detail and watched the video of the incident repeatedly. In a fight, you cannot lose by fighting or fighting."

Win to judge who made more mistakes. The one who wins is not necessarily worse, and the one who loses does not mean that they are the weaker party..."

…

After the press conference, Stu Jackson came to David Stern's office.

If the old man doesn't come out to announce the result of the punishment, it would be unkind to let him do it!

However, he still reported the press conference honestly and obediently.

After the report, Stu Jackson said: "Boss, our penalty decision this time was criticized badly. We should punish him severely..."

"You are right," David Stern rubbed his temples and continued: "But what is the purpose of choosing severe punishment?"

When asked this question, Stu Jackson responded uncertainly: "Purpose? To reduce negative impacts?"

"Yes, you can be more confident in your answer. This is our purpose, mainly to reduce the negative impact. Our punishment this time has caused many people to focus on us. To a certain extent, it has also achieved

Downplay the negative impact on players and the team."

Is that so? Stu Jackson thought for a while, and there was nothing wrong with the logic... but it was unnecessary! A severe punishment would be a good way to handle this matter, and he would be less scolded.

But he didn't dare to say or ask.

David Stern paused for a moment and said: "Stu, direct public opinion to attack us in order to please Chinese fans, and reduce the media's attacks on the team and players.

Accept more interviews from the Chinese media, ‘No one is innocent in a fight, and no one is more or less at fault than the other.’ Just say it once, twice, countless times.

Because we were scolded by the American media for pleasing Chinese fans, we can also find channels to reveal it to the Chinese media market..."

"?" After hearing this order, Stu Jackson finally couldn't help it and asked in confusion: "Boss, why are we doing this?"

"In the Chinese market, our goal is to become a world-class basketball league. It cannot be limited to the local market. Only in this way can we have a little hope of surpassing those leagues. The Chinese market cannot be avoided."

"I know this, but I heard that Liu's influence in the Chinese market is not very high."

"It is because Liu's influence in the Chinese market is far less than that of Yao that we have to praise him. I am very angry about this incident, but, Stu, I have told you many times that we must pay attention to the ability to lead in any situation."

For profit matters.

Toughness, loyalty, and good fighting ability...these are all points that can attract fans, and this is actually an opportunity."

…

…

The media gave Liu Xiu the nickname "Warden" and hyped it up, and the league announced punishments... The impact of the incident is still continuing, but the progress of the season did not stop because of the fights.

On the night of November 1st, the Trail Blazers faced the Jazz back-to-back at home.

The Jazz still have some foundations, Arroyo, Kirilenko, DeShawn Stevenson, Matt Harpring, Gordon Kirisek, Ostertag, Laga-

Bell...the basic lineup is there.

In fact, the Jazz have been updating their role player lineup since 2000. The management is very capable and has done a good job.

And they tried to bring in Grant Hill, Duncan, Brand... but no one was willing to go to Salt Lake City.

The current situation is that we have a lineup of role players and their strength is not bad, but the core players selected in the 1980s were used last season. After one of the two core players retired and the other ran away, the strength is neither better nor worse. It seems that they will compete for the playoffs in the Western Conference.

The race seats are a little tough, but not bad.

No, the Trail Blazers, who had all five starters suspended and one less backup point guard, were beaten by the Jazz, 85 to 104.

Liu Xiu and other six suspended players watched the game in the locker room.

After the game yesterday, the six of them were sent to the hospital for detailed examinations. Money can make all the difference, and the examinations lasted until early morning.

I got all the reports at noon today. All six of them had some skin injuries, no problem.

The team's reaction was not particularly big. They are already very experienced in dealing with player suspensions. As soon as the notice of suspension came, they immediately appealed.

Appeals are a process, technical fouls, flagrant fouls, league suspensions... teams will all appeal, and this is related to the player's salary.

But this time so many people were suspended, and the total number of suspensions still caused a headache for the coaching staff.

However, even Kevin Pritchar, the rigid chief assistant coach, did not get angry this time. He was also a player and he had seen how fights broke out.

But there must be some dissatisfaction... In the middle of this losing game, at the end of the game, Liu Xiu received many waves of healing value from the coaching staff. Although it was not much, it had a strong continuity...

As for players, regrets about getting suspended due to fights always appear at this time.

The little flying squirrel said with pain in his balls: "I have to be suspended for one game. God, I can't stand it anymore. I won't come to the game the day after tomorrow."

You can say that the little flying squirrel is not as strong as he used to be, you can scold him for not wanting to change his playing style as a role player because of his lack of self-discipline, you can scold him for not being self-disciplined and ruining himself... but scolding him for not being competitive is really an injustice to him.

Liu Xiu was even more distressed: "I will be suspended for 4 more games."

Regular season!

There is a 500 basic healing value reward. Even if he loses, as long as he fights for a certain period of time, he will be rewarded with a 250 healing value. And he can always get some of the opponent's healing value. Beating Arroyo from behind... how easy it is.

Nothing is available now.

There is also the fact that although the owner of Little Flying Squirrel pays for the fine, his salary will be deducted if he is suspended.

The game couldn't be played, and he watched the team lose. The healing value of the game was unparalleled, and the salary was unparalleled... There were ten thousand alpacas running around in Liu Xiu's heart.

At this time, a resentful voice sounded: "Warden, it's okay if you are suspended for 5 games. Why should I be suspended for 5 games?"

The eyes of the five people around him were focused on Rasheed Wallace.

Indeed, the most miserable and innocent person is Tianzun.

The punishment for this brawl was very low, so low that even the Trail Blazers coaching staff and players felt it was too low. Although Tianzun was active in the brawl, it was about the same level as Randolph.

As a result, Tianzun received the same high punishment as Liu Xiu and Ben Wallace.

What makes Tianzun's teammates sympathize the most is that after the league announced the punishment in the afternoon, based on this punishment, the media criticized the league for giving Liu Xiu too little punishment. Tianzun's punishment was obviously higher than this basis, but no one took care of it.

!

Seeing Tianzun's indignant look, Liu Xiu comforted him: "Maybe it has something to do with my appearance. The league wants to see me play as soon as possible."

"..." Tianzun wants to curse!

"Healing value +16, from Rasheed Wallace."

Are there so few emotions related to basketball? Looking at Tianzun’s angry expression, it turns out that most of what makes this guy angry is purely about his appearance...

It's okay, there is still one more point that can be teased.

"The person who was suspended for only one game was actually an outlaw. He should have been suspended for five games. If he were replaced by any of you, our probability of winning against the Grizzlies in the next game would be higher.

"

"Healing +55, from Travis Outlaw."

Unbearable!

These two sentences this guy said are both true and correct, but they are so irritating!

And it’s not just these two sentences. In the past, Liu Xiu also often provoked people, but today he did so many times! This guy always gets angry every chance he gets!

Travis Outlaw and Rasheed Wallace looked at each other and quietly walked around behind Liu Xiu.

Liu Xiu was still thinking about what to say when suddenly his arms were held!

Randolph, who was lazily waiting for his teammates to return to the locker room, say hello and then leave, reacted quickly and pounced on him immediately.

‘Hey! You’re careless!’

By the time Liu Xiu reacted, it was already too late and he was 'beaten' by three teammates...
To be continued...