Thunder coach Mike Daigneault looked solemn. He expected to have a complicated series, but to take 30 rebounds from a player in the G1 is very worrying. He could not avoid the question of defense against Herrera. Daigneault thought for a moment, then spoke:
"Herrera's level, I'm not going to go into details. The pre-match sums up the situation. An MVP is proof of strength in the league. We must continue to defend in different ways and remain ourselves. We will have to put pressure on him to have a chance: "
***
Pat Ewing is in front of his players, proud to have won the G1, but today is a special day. He became the coach of an MVP.
"Guys, I must say that if Hector wasn't here tonight, we would have lost, so I can't congratulate you, and I'm not going to compliment Hector. If someone has a good game and the others miss each other, no compliments. This is the rule even after a victory. But exceptionally, today, in addition to the MVP, it is time to lift the DPOG ban for Hector. Congratulations! »
Hector is so far from the others defensively that he was banned from DPOG unanimously by his teammates. Hector raised the chain like a trophy: "I humbly thank you for your support, and I have finally got my hands on what is rightfully mine."
Teammates start smiling. Everyone knows it's ironic. They made a "coup d'etat" to stop him from monopolizing the chain. Coach Pat had to capitulate and decree the ban.
When Hector dressed and walked out of the locker room door, an excited Belinda was waiting outside.
"You make me proud!" shouted Belinda and jumped into Hector's arms, and he hugged his wife with a happy face.
"Honey, you have to give me a raise. I've been going crazy since this morning." Belinda joked, but Hector's teammates started laughing.
"Belinda, you're too hot. Ask Hector to have another child openly... Ahahaha!" Malik Monk is a long-time teammate and the team's main jokester. He obviously knows Belinda.
Belinda blushed embarrassedly. Hector feeling that his wife was "offended," must retaliate: "Malik, I remember Coach Pat saying that you have made progress lately. Tomorrow, I will have to test your skills in detail."
Everyone laughed except Malik. It's not a joke. Hector's torture chamber isn't a legend in the team. It's real.
Belinda regains her composure and ignores her friend's vile friends: "The sponsors have been calling since this morning. There are so many calls that I'm fed up with. »
Hector's commercial contracts follow one another and bring in much money. Belinda, her agent, receives a commission, so the more money Hector makes, the more she earns. Unlike Hector, she was never rich in her childhood. The WNBA wasn't that lucrative. In a minor business deal for Hector, she gets triple her salary in the WNBA.
No need to talk about contracts with big global brands.
"But I talked to the Disney producers, and they told me everything is ready, but they're waiting for the playoffs to start casting and scripting."
Few young people of his age are the subject of feature films, but there are also a few young people who have Hector's distinctions. While Hector's NBA story is being written, Disney's "The Error" brings viewers back to the beginning.
There's a long way to go before Hector gets to the top before he arrives in the United States, until his draft.
***
The game in Sacramento and OKC attracted intent in part because of the MVP's handover, but the show was elsewhere. The NBA follows its rhythm, and no one has imagined it, but the Grizzlies won in Denver.
With 40 points and 13 assists from Ja Morant and 43 points from Bane, they air-conditioned the Nuggets, who lost Porter to injury. Jokic did his best with yet another triple-double, but Memphis had the last word and won 103:98!
The series is now tied, and both games in Tennessee will be crucial.
The most exciting series is probably the New York Knicks against the Indiana Pacers. Indiana tied the game at Madison Square Garden with 21 points and 18 assists from Tyrese Haliburton and star Homer Daniels' 34 points and 13 rebounds.
Zion Williamson, Jalen Brunson, and R.J. Barrett scored 93 points, but the Pacers regained the home-field advantage.