Chapter 1443 1442. Private Territory (Asking for Monthly Pass)

《Ace: I'm already thinking about the next round of opponents》

Liu Mang answered reporters' questions about his feelings about advancing after the game with the Bulls.

What Liu Mang regrets is that in this time and space, in the 2003 playoffs, he led the team to squeeze the Magic out of the playoffs, and McGrady was unable to say this. This statement was only regarded as a mockery of his victory declaration in 2003.

After the Hawks and the Bulls finished this round of the series, the exclamations caused were no less than the Warriors' elimination of the Mavericks.

Before the second round began, apart from Hawks fans, not many people thought that the Hawks could beat the Bulls.

Just like in the 2003 playoffs, when the three-time defending champion Lakers met the Spurs in the second round, almost all people were not optimistic about the Lakers.

In comparison, the Hawks are less favored. The Lakers had a complete lineup that year, and the core lineup of the third championship year did not change. The Hawks lost the best three-point shooter on the NBA bench and the league's strongest outside player in single defense. Rasheed Wallace's condition declined rapidly after he turned 30 and he was sent away as a bonus. He lost the power forward who was most suitable for defending players like Garnett. Jason Terry played the worst performance since the new century this season. McGrady's defense was also very poor before the start of the second round, and his motivation was far less than in previous years...

Except for Hawks fans, not many people would think that several main players of a team that won three consecutive championships could perform well in the fourth year. This is also the reason why not many people blamed McGrady, Jason Terry and other veterans when they did not perform well in the regular season.

The Bulls have done everything they can. Kwame Brown averaged only 9 rebounds per game; McGrady's active ball-holding attack was not effective; Jason Terry occasionally had some highlights but was mostly a slump; Marion, the new recruit, performed well, but only on the outside, and the inside scoring was severely restricted. The entire Hawks team was like this, being severely restricted by the inside quartet of Garnett, Ben Wallace, Big Z, and PJ Brown; the bench lineup was not as experienced as the Bulls' Nocioni, Duhon, Big Z, Malik Allen, Adrian Griffin, who are in their prime years...

The Bulls' performance throughout the series was not bad, but very good, especially their touch, and their mid-range shooting percentage was almost above 40% on the road.

But...

Relying on Liu Mang's explosive performance again and again, the Hawks defeated the Bulls 4-3!

The team's scoring was not good...

Liu Mang averaged 31.6 points per game and scored a total of 221 points in the entire series.

Luol Deng, who ranked second in this series, only scored 22.4 points.

The Hawks' inside rebounds were frustrated from time to time. Liu Mang used mid-range singles to adjust the opponent's inside line, and assisted McGrady, Marion and other players with strong impact ability to attack second. Liu Mang himself also had 8.3 rebounds in the entire series, second on the Hawks, and performed well on the defensive end...

Averaging 31.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.6 steals and 3 blocks per game, he played an important role on the defensive end in almost every game!

If fans who watched this series want to tell you why the Hawks can win, there is basically only one answer - Ace is too strong!

In this series, Liu Mang defeated the fans and the media!

65 points in the crucial second game, 38 points in the deciding game, and when the score was only 20 points, there were basically two steals and three to four blocks in each game...

The fans and media's views on this series - the Bulls defended all the Hawks, and only Liu Mang and his team were helpless!

On May 19, the second day of the Game 7 between the Hawks and the Bulls, which was also the game day of the Game 7 between the Cavaliers and the Magic, Liu Mang still outshone the controversial series between the Cavaliers and the Magic.

No. 24 of the West said in an interview that when a star encounters a favorable whistle, no matter who it is, he will choose to seize this opportunity. The player himself cannot control whether this "good luck" will come to him. If his opponent encounters a favorable whistle, he will be very unhappy, but when he becomes the "lucky one", no one will miss such an opportunity.

The referee's whistle favors him, and LeBron James will certainly seize this opportunity and drag the series into a Game 7.

Entering the Game 7 gave the Cavaliers hope of advancing again.

But... it also made the Cavaliers' opponents lose their mentality...

Just like the 2002 Western Conference Finals, when the Kings were leading 3-2, the referee's whistle in the sixth game suddenly became extremely favorable to the Lakers, allowing the Lakers to win the Kings by 4 points in the sixth game with the whistle even though they might not be as strong as the opponent.

The Lakers made 34 of 40 free throws in a single game, and O'Neal made 13 of 17 free throws, but the Lakers only won by four points...

Such a result made the Kings lose their temper. The referee did not blow the whistle in the seventh game, but was very fair. The free throws the Kings got in Game 7 were almost the same as those of the Lakers. However, when O'Neal made 11 of 15 free throws and the free throws exploded at the critical moment, the Kings, who had been very stable in free throws before, had a free throw rate of less than 50%. Peja, who performed well in the first six games, made 0 of 6 three-pointers in the whole game...

Mentality is very important for players' performance. Whether it is complacency after winning a championship or extreme frustration, it will seriously affect players' performance. Although players know that they should not be complacent or overly frustrated, this is not something they can control. Except for guys like Duncan who majored in psychology in college and obtained a master's degree in psychology by self-study, it is difficult for others to complete self-adjustment.

The academic world in the United States... is probably one of the most stringent countries in the world. Duncan obtained a master's degree in psychology by self-study, which is enough to prove how strong his ability is in this area.

The Magic's Happy Beast and Turkoglu are not mentally strong players, and Rahim is irritable...

In the seventh game between the Magic and the Cavaliers, Rahim had 4 fouls after halftime. As soon as he came on the court in the third quarter, he was fouled twice because of overly rough defense and left the court with six fouls.

This time it was not that the referee blew too much. The angry Rahim even slapped James' nosebleed when he broke through for a layup. It was good enough that he was not called for a flagrant foul.

Howard played 33 minutes in the whole game. In the second half of the third quarter, he elbowed LeBron James and was fouled for a flagrant foul.

Turkoglu was silent. He averaged 17 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists in the first four games. In the seventh game, he played 41 minutes and only got 6 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds.

93 to 80, the Cavaliers won this controversial series without much effort except that James was "sniped" several times and the bloody court was stained.

...

The four division finals teams are out!

After playing against the Bulls, Liu Mang and his teammates did not leave Chicago immediately, but stayed in Chicago for one more day to wait for the next round of opponents.

If it is the Magic, go back to Atlanta. If it is the Cavaliers, go directly to Cleveland. The Eastern Conference Finals will start on May 21.

Liu Mang watched the seventh game between the Cavaliers and the Magic in the hotel with his teammates and coaching staff.

Support... As an old teammate, Jason Terry must take the lead in supporting Rahim.

However, the Magic eventually capsized.

Helpless, but helpless.

The most controversial game was the fifth game. James' whistle basically helped the Cavaliers open the game in both games. The Magic had a mentality problem since the sixth game.

Whoever leads from 3 to 1, the difference of 22 free throws between the two sides, and is forced to make the opponent chase 2 to 3, will have a mentality problem. In the sixth game, they dared not defend, and in the seventh game... their mentality completely exploded.

For such a situation... Liu Mang didn't know how to express his emotions, and didn't call to comfort Rahim. Liu Mang knew that at this time, Rahim must be licking his wounds in the corner, waiting for the opportunity to respond in the future.

...

The opponent of the next round has come out. Liu Mang and his teammates set off from Chicago to Cleveland on the morning of the 20th.

Belonging to the Central Division, the distance between Chicago and Cleveland is only less than ten minutes' flight from Atlanta to Miami and Orlando.

The Hawks are well prepared. They advance one day earlier, and tomorrow will be the day when the Eastern Conference Finals begin.

And tonight is the time for the first game of the Western Conference Finals.

When we arrived at the hotel parking lot, Rondo, who already had a bitter face, got off the bus with an even more bitter face than usual.

"Why do you want to hang a bag around my neck? Can't I carry it diagonally?" Rondo was very puzzled.

In addition to carrying his own bag in his left hand and Liu Mang's bag in his right hand, Rondo also carried Liu Mang's huge backpack on his back and another bag on his neck...

The backpack on his back was a lot of clothes that Alexia prepared for Liu Mang after the Eagles were going to play a tiebreaker and knew that Liu Mang might not return to Atlanta after the tiebreaker. The backpack on Rondo's right hand and the bag on his neck were a bunch of souvenirs that Liu Mang bought overnight last night...

Liu Mang would certainly not be very happy now. He was very sorry that he could not play against Rahim at the top of the Eastern Conference, so he chose to bully Rondo...

When we arrived at the hotel entrance, the Eagles were surrounded by reporters who had been "ambushed"... They didn't even have time to call security, they were already surrounded.

The coaching staff and the press officer had no choice but to let the reporters interview.

Liu Mang was of course the key target of the siege.

"Ace, what do you think about the Cavaliers' comeback against the Magic?"

A microphone hit Liu Mang's face again.

Liu Mang felt used to it... These reporters are getting closer and closer...

Liu Mang thought for a while and said, "The Magic is great. Sharif is still young and an iron man. I believe his peak period can last for a long time. With Howard and Turkoglu, as well as Trevor and outside shooters, they have a very bright future. I think we may play against each other in the playoffs next year.

Although it's a bit regrettable that I didn't play against Sharif, who now has a strong team, in the playoffs, I am also very excited to play against LeBron. LeBron is the best player in the league in breaking through and passing the ball. They have a center who is great at pick-and-roll and several great shooters. They made a lot of three-pointers in the last round, which made me hate it. You all know that I hate three-pointers the most."

The reporter felt that this answer was very strange. Was it an intentional change of subject?

The reporter continued to ask, "Ace, this is your sixth consecutive year in the Eastern Conference Finals. Facing the Cavaliers led by LeBron James, are you confident that you can beat the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference this season?"

“Confidence? Since I started as a starter, I have considered the Eastern Conference as my own private territory. We have not lost a playoff game since I started as a starter.”