Chapter 1460 1459. Shining Light in Adversity

Time: 7:30 pm on June 6, 2007,

Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles.

Event: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Atlanta Hawks.

Keywords: Double 35 points.

The fighting spirit did not drop because of the loss in the first game, but the drop in confidence was real.

The past two days of focused discussions and hard training simulations... found that the overall strength gap between them and the Lakers...

He who gets the inside wins the world. Before Adam Silva changed the rules like crazy, this sentence was still the key to the playoffs.

If a team that already has a super outside line gets a top inside line, it will improve its strength much, much more than if a team that already has a super outside line gets another super outside line.

Especially in the playoffs and finals.

This can be seen from the Finals MVPs in NBA history. Centers have the most Finals MVPs. Before the 1990s, power forwards were basically coolies and rarely won MVPs. Small forwards, shooting guards, ball handlers There are even fewer guards. If it weren't for Magic, Jordan, and Liu Mang, there would be very few Finals MVPs from the outside. In fact, before Magic and Jordan, there were very few outside players who won the regular season MVP.

Although I found some ways to try to deal with the Lakers, my confidence dropped even more...

Moreover, outside public opinion is also a problem. The Eagles coaching staff told the players not to watch the news and not pay attention to the public opinions, but they will always be affected to some extent.

Especially the public opinion after losing a game makes the Eagles players want to watch even more, like Pandora's box.

“Only when we return home can we have a chance to hold on.”

Such thoughts linger in the minds of most of the Eagles' players.

This mentality is not an exception, but the norm. Just like the 2005 playoffs, the Spurs thought this way. The Lakers also had this idea last year. Teams at a disadvantage always want to seize this opportunity. A kind of psychological comfort to maintain fighting spirit, but the Spurs failed to survive all three home games, and the Lakers continued to lose even after returning to their home court.

Although this kind of mentality still has fighting spirit, the confidence will inevitably be frustrated.

This made Liu Mang and Tracy McGrady's surge in the second game useless.

Liu Mang made 11 of 22 shots and scored 35 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks with an efficient shooting rate of 50%. McGrady made 12 of 18 shots and scored 35 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 turnovers.

The performance of both of them was so good, especially McGrady, who used Liu Mang's containment power to repeatedly use Liu Mang as a defensive firepower attraction to give several assists to his teammates. Although five assists were given to Liu Mang, McGrady still With five assists, he successfully helped his teammates score, and with an assist-to-turnover ratio of more than 3 to 1, McGrady's performance today was explosive.

Three of Liu Mang's four assists were given to Tracy McGrady.

But the Maimang combination has scored 70 points and 14 assists, but the Eagles only scored 106 points.

Jason Terry seems to have used up all his magic in the playoffs in the past three years. This year, not only did he play average in the regular season, but he was even more deceptive in the playoffs.

The best sixth man is like this. It's really hard to understand why he is so cheating.

Jason Terry has been able to perform steadily in the playoffs in the past few years, and he can break out from time to time, which is already very impressive, but after three consecutive championships, it is inevitable that he will lose his magic.

In this game, Liu Mang also used Lillard's star card in the second quarter. The effect...if I have to say the effect, it was Lillard's mentality of wanting to prosper.

This kind of mentality is somewhat different from Liu Mang's wave. Liu Mang's wave is also rational, while Lillard's wave is irrational at all. This is also the reason why Lillard suddenly gets into trouble in the playoffs from time to time.

As for Lillard's change of direction in front of the body and the layup at the basket, they are not used frequently, and the effect is really not obvious in the playoffs.

The point is that the power forward's three-point shooting is not as stable as last season's finals!

Facing the Lakers' inside line, Marion couldn't cut in. It's true that Marion has three-pointers, but if he scores one or two in a game, he's okay, but if he wants to make consecutive shots like a real shooter... Then he won't just be a top power forward. In eight years of Marion's career, he has only made 12 games with at least 4 three-pointers, and only 40 games with at least 3 three-pointers, which is the highest number in his career. He made 5 three-pointers per game. It was really difficult for him to rely on his three-pointers to defeat the opponent's defense that had been studied and prepared for a long time in a game like Alexander's in the finals.

If Granger or Tracy McGrady plays power forward, they may be able to have a better space-opening effect, but defense is basically equivalent to no defense...

And Granger is not at his peak. He is still just a role player. He can shoot open shots, but if he keeps shooting, he will basically not be sure.

Open shooting is easy to say, but the only ones who can achieve stable open shooting performance are not pure shooters who specialize in this skill, but stars. The reason why role players are role players is because they do not have such a good grasp.

So... this game became a double show for Liu Mang and McGrady. Both of them had explosive performances, but for the Lakers... there was just one word - stable!

They don't think too much about data. Having lost to the Hawks twice in the finals in the past three years, they have no intention of competing with Liu Mang or Tracy McGrady for data.

In this game, the Hawks consciously guarded Gasol and Odom from grabbing rebounds, but Yao Ming also stepped up to protect the rebounds.

The defense against Kobe is still very good. When the Lakers sent Barnes or Claxton, two players who barely shot or didn't shoot at all, the Hawks also made good adjustments, and Successfully launched several counterattacks.

But the Lakers also had smart players. Kobe, Gasol, and Odom led the team to withstand the Hawks' counterattack and maintained a 10-point lead in the last minute.

Although Liu Mang hit a three-pointer at the buzzer before the end of the game, he still lost by 7 points.

Kobe Bryant scored 22 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists on 8-of-21 shooting, Yao Ming had 14 points and 16 rebounds, Gasol had 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Odom had 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Radmanovic had 14 points, Lakers Five players scored in double figures, defeating the Eagles led by the explosive Maiman combination 113-106, 2-0. The Lakers defended two consecutive home games!

…

…

They lost two consecutive away games, which did not exceed people's expectations.

Most players on the Eagles side seemed to accept this fact.

The excellent performance of the Maimang combination in the second game gave the Eagles players the confidence to win when they return to their home court.

The human heart is so strange and likes to find some comfort in failure...

This kind of mentality is not necessarily a bad thing. You must find something to increase your confidence and fighting spirit.

If we lose two away games in a row, there is no big problem, but if we lose the third game, it will be a big problem.

The Hawks will have three consecutive home games. If they win all three home games, the pressure on the Lakers will be even greater. Just like when they played the Spurs in 2005, the Hawks won the first two games and consecutive away games. After losing two games, the fifth game became a must-win game.

This is the most criticized aspect of the finals schedule. A team with a good record winning two games first is not a real advantage. It must win an away game to be considered an advantage.

It wasn't until Adam Silva came to power in early 2014 that the 2014 Finals format was changed, becoming the same 2+2+1+1+1 reasonable schedule as the playoffs, and expanding the teams with good records. The advantages.

Playing three away games in a row, no matter what, you can't tell that the team with a good record has a home field advantage. They won three home games in a row with a score of 3-2. When they returned to the home court, they didn't dare to lose in two home games.

This kind of mentality is very common in the finals in NBA history, and the Hawks naturally have it here.

Even Liu Mang would expect this, and he knew that he must have this belief.

Of course, if the Lakers, who have home court advantage in the Finals, have the strength to win one away game, it will be an absolute advantage. The Hawks have won the other two home games and are still trailing 2-3...

It's not like Liu Mang never thought of using Durant's star card...

If the Durant star card is used in a special way with 100% fit, according to Liu Mang's prediction, in order to achieve Durant's shooting effect, Liu Mang himself should be greatly improved and can experience the future. The mentality of a super three-point shooter under the rules.

Maybe it’s not a good mentality at this point in time, but it still has its merits.

But...this is not a good time to use this star card.

The main reason is that the special methods are too boring. If the two teams are evenly matched and the score is 2-2, in the fifth key battle, Liu Mang will be regarded as a joke if he does something out of the ordinary.

But it's good to use it when you lose an away game, and it doesn't affect the mentality of your teammates. In the case of 0 to 2... Liu Mang is even more afraid to use it now.

It would be even worse if his teammates thought that he had lost confidence and that he wanted to give up after seeing the team at a disadvantage in the finals after winning three consecutive championships.

It's true that Durant's star card can have some miraculous effects, but... Durant can defeat super strong teams by himself, so he won't choose the most difficult path.

…

Time: June 9, 2007.

Where: Atlanta's Phillips Arena.

Event: Atlanta Hawks vs. Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Finals.

Keywords: Triple-double + 40 + VS Big Four and four 20.

Not only did the Eagles players hold the idea of ​​​​defending three home games by taking advantage of the home court when they returned to their home court, the fans and media also had the same expectations after seeing that the Eagles only lost by 7 points in the second game.

Who wants to watch a one-sided finals?

The performance of Liu Mang and Tracy McGrady in the second game not only gave hope to their teammates, but also gave fans expectations. As long as the Hawks have a third player to score in double figures, such as Jason Terry, Marion, and Grant Hill. If I had even made two more open shots, the second game might not have ended like that.