Eight Hundred and Thirty-Six. The Old Era, Turn the Page!
Thanks to Conley and Paul George's three-pointers, the sudden scoring style, the accuracy of the shooter is very important.
If the shooter is not good, Sun Ce can only score by himself, and facing the Lakers' blocking of the mid-range and a double tower lineup under the basket, there is no good opportunity to attack the basket, and he can only rely on the shooter.
Fortunately, the Grizzlies made 11 three-pointers in three quarters today, three in the first quarter and 6 in the second quarter. The key is the last two three-pointers of Conley and Paul George in the third quarter.
If it weren't for these two three-pointers, there might not be Sun Ce's last counterattack buzzer shot, and Kobe's two consecutive three-pointers would have made the score difference 7 points. The 8 points in the last three minutes of the third quarter helped the Grizzlies win!
And Sun Ce, 2 of 7 shots in the third quarter, 1 of 2 free throws, only 5 points, and only two assists. With such an absurdly high ball possession rate, he played really badly. Fortunately, Randolph and Yi Jianlian, who came off the bench, grabbed a few offensive rebounds, otherwise it would be really difficult to play.
Of course, Sun Ce's ability to raise the confrontation and his excellent personal defensive performance are also crucial.
Counting the 5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks in the third quarter, Sun Ce scored 26 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks after three quarters, almost a triple-double again!
...
In the last quarter, the Grizzlies gave up the attack directly.
Literally, give up.
The strongest defensive lineup of Sun Ce, Conley, Battier, Randolph and Gasol Jr. came on the court.
It doesn't matter whether the win looks good or not, the important thing is to win the game steadily.
Kobe scored 27 points in three quarters, and the last two three-pointers in the third quarter scared the Grizzlies. Morrow was strictly guarded by the opponent today and performed mediocrely. If it weren't for Conley and Paul George, two young players, who resisted the pressure and made the shot, it would be really hard to say whether the score difference in the last quarter was single digits.
After the start of the last quarter, the TV commentators began to scold the Grizzlies for playing tricks. Relying on the big lead, the Grizzlies began to kill the viewing of the game!
On the offensive end, the Grizzlies slowed down the tempo and wasted time. When there were 8 seconds left in each attack, Sun Ce would pick and roll and break through the baseline to shoot whether there was defense or not, or simply spend two more seconds to make a mid-range jump shot; Conley would break through and shoot from mid-range against Fisher or Blake.
Regardless of whether the ball went in or not,
Randolph was ready to rush for offensive rebounds and reduce the possibility of the opponent grabbing defensive rebounds and switching offense and defense.
On the defensive end, Conley and Sun Ce of the Grizzlies pressed the defense throughout the game and consumed the opponent. At this time, they no longer had to consider physical strength or offense. They just had to slow down the tempo and reduce the hit rate. Even if they hurt the enemy by 1,000 and themselves by 800, it didn't matter. They were leading by 15 points and had plenty of advantages.
This style of play was no longer as simple as "killing the viewing experience" as the American TV commentator said. It was like returning to the Spurs' style of play at the beginning of the century. In the last quarter, the stars played one-on-one. Whether they could score or not was a question. Moreover, the simpler the play, the better, and the more physical strength could be reserved for the defense, the better. The defense kept defending, which was destroying the viewing experience!
In the first game, the Lakers did not collapse even though they were slaughtered by the Grizzlies by 24 points, with a maximum score difference of 30 points. In the second game, Morrow made 8 three-pointers in a single game, which was so good for them, but the Lakers were not discouraged. They knew they still had a chance.
Sure enough, they broke out collectively in the third game and won back a game.
But this time, the Lakers felt desperate for the first time in three years.
This game was too difficult to play. After falling behind by 15 points in the third quarter, they faced the Grizzlies who would rather not score than let the opponent score in the last quarter... The key is that Sun Ce's help defense today was more powerful than usual. If it was usually the second defense level, today it was completely the first defense level! A Kirilenko or Garnett-style help defense gate! Gasol was blocked like nothing today.
Moreover, the help defense avoided Sun Ce's weight and the weakness of insufficient conventional confrontation, and brought out his temporary collision explosiveness and his own help defense awareness and the bonus of Olajuwon's hand straps and the acceleration and change of direction defense effect during the switch!
In the final quarter, the Grizzlies scored 14 to 20 in a single quarter.
The Lakers were attacking very hard. Kobe kept shooting and scored some, but most of the regular offense was unsuccessful, and free throws were the main scoring.
When the final whistle sounded, the score was fixed at 97 to 88. With brutal defense, they defended the Lakers' final counterattack and defeated the Lakers by 9 points, making the score 3 to 1 and getting the match point!
Sun Ce only scored 4 points in the final quarter, and he didn't make any shots. He scored 4 points purely from free throws, which was not as accurate as Conley's 1 of 4 shots.
The two only scored 6 points in total, but Randolph, who had been silent, scored 5 points desperately. Battier made the only three-pointer of the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter and scored 14 points in a single quarter.
However, Sun Ce still had 6 rebounds, and 1 assist each to Conley and Battier, plus 2 blocks in a single quarter.
Sun Ce played the full 48 minutes and scored 30 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, 6 blocks, 3 steals... 5 turnovers, and many fouls in the last quarter, 3 fouls in a single quarter, 5 fouls in the whole game...
If it weren't for the two steals, Sun Ce would have missed 7 times 5!
When Sun Ce's data was shown on the TV broadcast at the end of the game, the fans who supported the Lakers in front of the TV felt powerless.
The score was okay, only 1 point higher than Sun Ce's average of 29 points in the first three games of this series.
Rebounds...Sun Ce also averaged 14 rebounds in the first three games, 7 more, which was acceptable when both teams didn't score high in the second half.
Assists, Sun Ce had double-digit assists in the second game, averaging 6.7 assists in the first three games, and 10 this time, which is acceptable.
But every data is higher than the average level of the series, and it was achieved when the away opponent performed fiercely, which is incredible.
And there is no need to compare the increase of 29 points, 14 rebounds and 6.7 assists in the series, just look at the data 30+20+10...
This kind of data is almost becoming Sun Ce's symbol. Although Sun Ce can only achieve such data two or three times a year, no other active players have achieved it!
When mentioning such data, only Sun Ce can be thought of.
In addition, 6 blocks and 3 steals, there are two keys for the Grizzlies to win tonight.
The first point is the second quarter.
In this quarter, Sun Ce relied on the opponent's failure to react to how to deal with it, leading the team to score 36 points in a single quarter, laying the foundation for the advantage.
Sure enough, in the second half, the opponent found a defensive method against his style of play, and they had a terrifying three-tower rotation, and Sun Ce's performance began to decline.
At this time, the second key point came. Sun Ce played a first-class defense. In the second half, when his team only scored 38 points, he helped the team limit the Lakers, a team with four stars, to only 40 points.
Some experts have analyzed that even if Sun Ce cannot become the strongest player, he may become the best on the defensive end and has the possibility of becoming the strongest team defensive player. His talent for connecting the team's defense is hard to match among active players except Garnett and peak Kirilenko.
I don't know why Sun Ce played so well, but the fans in front of the TV began to feel sorry for the Warriors...
Just when the fans felt sorry for the Warriors, the TV commentator analyzed Sun Ce's performance tonight, and the picture switched to the scene.
Sun Ce accepted a live interview jointly conducted by Chaoting TV and t.n.t.
The person interviewed by Chaoting TV this time was finally not Zhang, but Su Qun. Su Qun asked: "Little Overlord, you are already leading 3-1 and are about to advance. Do you think the next opponent will be the Mavericks? Fans are looking forward to your matchup with Yao Ming. Who do you think will advance to the Western Conference Finals, the Mavericks or the Spurs?"
This question... We haven't advanced yet, Sun Ce rolled his eyes: "We haven't advanced yet, it's not time to consider who our next opponent will be."
Hearing Sun Ce's answer, Su Qun and Barkley, who was wearing a simultaneous translation headset, both laughed. Su Qun, who asked the question, and Barkley, who was listening next to him, didn't react at first to the question they asked. They didn't expect Sun Ce to be so cautious.
Sun Ce also smiled and continued, "We just play hard one game at a time. I am lucky to fight side by side with such a group of teammates and win another victory. Winning is our only goal. We will do our best to play every game and strive to defeat every opponent. As for who will advance between the Mavericks and the Spurs...
Teacher Su, the Mavericks are 3-0, and you ask me this question?"
The first part was very serious, and there was no loophole to find unless it was hard to argue, but the last paragraph caused laughter again.
Then, Barkley began to ask questions: "Lord, are you going to end the Lakers' two consecutive championships?"
Su Qun's long list of questions did not have many valuable questions, and the only thing that made Sun Ce couldn't help complaining was the inadvertent expression errors, that is, the court station did not intend to ask questions that would embarrass the players or make them difficult to answer.
But American TV stations are different. Barkley fired directly.
But will Sun Ce be scared at this time?
Sun Ce curled his lips: "I said, the old era should be turned over, Kobe has been tired for so many years and it's time to rest. The next is a brand new era."
"Hahahaha, this answer is the lord I know!"
"You can also call me general."
"No, no, no, the only general in my heart is Stockton..."
...
Sun Ce got a big triple-double, the Grizzlies won away and led 3-1.
This situation... the direction of public opinion has quietly changed.
Admittedly, when the Lakers won the next game and avoided the desperate situation of falling behind 0-3, some public opinions said that even if the Lakers lost the next home game and fell behind 1-3, they still believed that the Lakers could advance.
But that was based on the Lakers' just finished a game with a super performance of four major stars who each scored at least 20 points. At that time, everyone thought that the Lakers would definitely be able to hold the second home court, but it was just an assumption based on the superiority after winning.
Now it is really 1-3 behind... Such arguments can only be seen in a very small number of people, and even the diehard fans of the Lakers feel that they are going to be finished.
There are three games left, and the Grizzlies can advance as long as they win the next one!
The current situation of the Lakers is the same as that of the Celtics.
The overall strength of the Lakers is now considered to be slightly stronger than that of the Grizzlies in theory, and it is slightly stronger, but not to a qualitative difference. When both teams play well, the Lakers are really only slightly stronger than the Grizzlies.
It’s just that the Lakers have many stars, and the probability of being in a bad state is slightly lower than that of the Grizzlies. Just like the game just played, Gasol only scored two points in the second half, Odom broke out the night before yesterday, and played very ordinary tonight, but Bynum and Kobe continued this state.
But this is not a particularly large gap in strength. Under the condition that the overall defense of the Grizzlies did not collapse, Sun Ce broke out in two games, and the Grizzlies won two games. Morrow broke out in one game, and the Grizzlies won another game.
The Grizzlies' strength is defense, and defense is unlikely to collapse.
In other words, in the next three games, as long as the Grizzlies stabilize their defense and seize any opportunity, whether the Lakers are in bad shape or they are in good shape and someone explodes, they will most likely win! And the Grizzlies only need to win one game to advance.
As for the Lakers' three consecutive explosions, no matter how the opponent crushes, even if they have Kobe, the probability is not high, because Kobe scored 30+ three times in 4 games, and did not win three times with 30+! This is where Lakers fans feel desperate.
Watching the battle between Evans and Rose in the East; watching Sun Ce face the Lakers with 54 points in one game and triple-doubles in two games; watching the Heat's new Big Three crush the old Big Three...
Even if Lakers fans don't want to believe it, Sun Ce's words "The old era should be turned over" in their minds are already lingering...
...
The Celtics, Spurs, and Lakers, the two teams that have entered the finals in the East and the top two in the West since the new century, have been sounded the death knell by their opponents one after another.
Some fans are happy and some are sad, but their joy and sorrow cannot stop, change or help the change of the times.
The day after the Grizzlies played the fourth game of the series, they returned to Memphis and began to prepare for the fifth game of the series tomorrow, May 13. According to the schedule of the first round, in the second round, there will be only one day of rest between each game except for the two days of home and away alternation in the first four games.
That night, the fifth game of the series between the Heat and the Celtics and the fourth game of the series between the Spurs and the Mavericks started one after another.
Neither the Heat nor the Mavericks gave their opponents the opportunity to continue playing in the playoffs this season, and both eliminated their opponents to advance.
The Heat had a relatively difficult game. The Celtics would be eliminated if they lost, but they really showed their strong strength. James played badly, scoring only 18 points with 6 of 23 shots, but Wade exploded tonight, scoring 41 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. With 3 minutes left in the game, the two teams were still tied at 81. Wade scored 9 points in the last three minutes. With Ray Allen and Pierce hitting a three-pointer, he scored 9 to 6 personally. The Heat defeated the Celtics 90 to 87 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals 4 to 1.
After the game, James and Wade were in the locker room and entered the locker room regardless of the open locker room interview. The two hugged each other and cried.
In fact, it's not just James. Wade has also been beaten by the Celtics' Big Three in the past three years. Neither of them has ever defeated the Celtics in the Big Three era in the playoffs.
This year, it was finally done!
The Mavericks and the Spurs were also so tense in the final quarter for the first time. The Mavericks even entered the fourth quarter with a 4-point deficit of 72 to 76. Duncan seemed to have returned to his peak performance, making 11 of 20 shots, 7 of 12 mid-range shots, 9 of 9 free throws, and 31 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists in a single game. He had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in the first three quarters, and once led the team to lead by more than 10 points. The Mavericks began to chase points in the third quarter, and narrowed the gap to within 5 points after the first three quarters.
However, in the final quarter... Nowitzki made 4 of 4 shots and scored 9 points. He shot 13 times in the first three quarters and only scored 9 points. In the final quarter, he scored 4 consecutively, which confused the Spurs.
Duncan, who played too hard in the first three quarters, only scored 4 points in the last quarter. Kidd of the Mavericks passed the ball to Marion with the help of Yao Ming's mid-range threat and Nowitzki's shooting threat inside and outside the three-point line. Marion scored 10 points in a single quarter. With the team defense, the Mavericks scored 28 to 18 in a single quarter.
100 to 94, the Mavericks reversed the Spurs, swept the opponent and avenged the years of abuse, and advanced to the Western Conference Finals first.
…
The Spurs and Celtics went fishing first. In this "general trend" situation, people thought that the Lakers were going to be in trouble.
But can you predict the game of the Panda Army?
72 to 77, the Grizzlies' offense was as bad as it could be when they returned to their home court, but their defense was as good as it could be. Sun Ce was speechless. He seemed to be the only one in the team with normal offense. He played for 35 minutes, 8 of 20 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, and 3 of 5 free throws. He scored 20 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 7 blocks in a single game, but with such performance, they lost!
The team's defense was as good as it could be. The team did not fall behind significantly during the ten minutes that Sun Ce rested.
But he just couldn't make a shot.
The Lakers looked okay, but they were defended by the Grizzlies to less than 80 points in a single game.
The Grizzlies unfortunately lost the opportunity to advance in front of the home fans.
Sun Ce also regretfully lost the opportunity to get Kobe's card.
In this game, he didn't dare to use Bynum's star experience card at all, because his normal playing style adds a lot to the team's defense, and his teammates are in such good defensive state. If he loses his original defensive ability due to matching and other issues, he can't connect the team's defense. Such a bad touch... As for the rookie card and the star experience card of the season with 8 three-pointers in a single game in the playoffs, he dare not use them. The former is a gamble on luck, and the latter... Sun Ce has used the star experience card of Skiles with 30 assists in a single game, so he knows that these two cards are used desperately.
Now it's 3 to 1, far from a desperate situation.
However...
Sun Ce had no chance to use the star experience card in this round of the series. On May 15, Sun Ce and his teammates came to Los Angeles again to play the sixth game of the series with the Lakers.
For this game, Sun Ce had physical potions to use, Bynum's star experience card waiting, and his wigs were ready. He found a barber shop to customize aristocratic hairstyle, and even bought a bowling ball to put in the locker room, ready to take it out at the critical moment.
But his teammates didn't give him a chance. His teammates continued the defense of the previous game, and his touch was warmer. It was enough for Sun Ce to use physical potions to maintain his physical strength to connect defense and organize offense!
On the other hand, Kobe is really old on the Lakers side. After playing the first five games with all his strength on both offense and defense, his state collapsed in the sixth game. He played 37 minutes, only 7 of 18 shots, and scored 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
After all, he is almost 33 years old, and he is no longer the one who can transform into a star experience card on Sun Ce's side and have such magical skills as "Peter Pan's physical pool".
Once Kobe, the key puzzle piece, collapsed, the entire Lakers team collapsed this time. Gasol only scored 12 points, Bynum scored 15 points and 6 rebounds...
Led by Sun Ce, who played 41 minutes and scored 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls, and Gasol, who scored a career-high 24 points and 6 assists in the playoffs, the Grizzlies defeated the Lakers 92-75 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals 4-2!
When the final whistle sounded, Sun Ce looked at the big screen with 92-75, such a huge score difference, and they won, he actually felt like he was in another world.
The next two games seemed to pass very quickly, and he played steadily, mainly because the opponent was not good, and the opponent did not have the strength of the first four games.
In the first game, although the Lakers lost by 24 points, looking carefully at the score, the Lakers played on par with the Grizzlies for a long time, and they were able to remain stable under the terrifying pressure of Sun Ce, but he, Sun, broke the opponent alive.
In the second game, it was Morrow's outburst.
They lost in the third game, but in the fourth game, Sun Ce scored 30+20+10. The Lakers still lost by a single-digit difference, and the Grizzlies played like a liar in the fourth quarter. Of course, there was nothing wrong with the Grizzlies' play in the fourth quarter. Winning means winning. There is no difference between winning by 1 point and winning by more than 50 points. They are all wins.
In the first four games, the Grizzlies tried their best and racked their brains to think quickly in the game. Sun Ce also used his strongest props. Although they won, it was not as easy as the big score of 3 to 1 looked.
But in such a game, Sun Ce played very fascinated.
But in the last two games, the Lakers' state was obviously far worse than the previous games. Kobe only scored 21 points in the fifth game. If Kobe could have the performance of 30+ in the first four games, the Lakers would not be consumed so much.
And in this sixth game... the Lakers were directly defeated, and the Grizzlies led the whole game.
Sun Ce could clearly see the loneliness in Kobe's eyes after they led the Lakers 3-1, although it only showed when he missed the shot, and he was full of fighting spirit in the next attack.
But Sun Ce still felt very sad, and could only sigh that time was unforgiving. Even others could see this melancholy.
The Grizzlies won again and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. The reporter came up to interview Sun Ce, who scored the highest score tonight. Regarding Sun Ce's current melancholy state, the ESPN reporter asked: "Lord, you made it to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in your career and ended the Lakers' two consecutive championships. Do you feel sad watching the Lakers dynasty collapse?"
"What does their collapse have to do with me? I just feel a little sad when I found out that the opponent was not the Spurs after entering the Western Conference Finals..."