Chapter 1569 1568. The only Strongest First Step
From 17 to 13 in six minutes, to 51 to 43 at halftime, to 70 to 60 in the third quarter, to 91 to 78...
The game between the Hawks and the Magic made many people want to vomit blood...
Especially those fans who have heard about Carter’s flat-handed dunk with two hands, heard about Liu Mang’s coquettish turn-around and fade-away jumper, and watched Qian’s six-minute offensive game so hot that they paid for the live broadcast... ...Actually, this is okay. If the fans bought the live broadcast and started watching the game after the Eagles went 10-2, they would really vomit blood.
In the next three quarters of the game, the defense worked harder each quarter, and the offense played worse each quarter.
The Magic only scored 78 points in the game. When the Hawks only scored 91 points, the Magic still lost by 13 points!
In fact, by the second half of the third quarter, Magic head coach Skiles already understood the problem in the game, but it was too late!
"He is indeed the most despicable head coach in the rumors! He obviously has an advantage in strength, but he is still playing dirty tricks!"
Skiles scolded Coach Kruger in his heart. In his opinion, everything was a conspiracy of this bald coach!
As everyone knows...it feels weird for the Eagles to win...
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"Ace, I still don't understand, why did they suddenly go crazy and want to fight with us on defense? They have no chance against us on defense!" Jason Terry sat next to Liu Mang and applied ice, still saying complain.
Who made Jason Terry only score 4 points today? He made 2 of 8 shots. His defensive effect was poor and he only got 15 minutes of playing time.
"I think this kind of game is great! Jason, don't you feel nostalgic? This was how we played in the Eastern Conference Finals when you were the starter, right?"
"It seems... at that time, we only scored 70 or 80 points per game against the Nets... Ace, is it Sharif who wants to play such a game?"
"Maybe, as long as we can win."
Indeed, today's game made Liu Mang feel like he had returned to five or six years ago, with 26 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists...the data was quite similar to that time.
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The Hawks didn't know what was going on, and the Magic players felt cheated after Skiles' coach analyzed the problem for them.
Officials and spectators know clearly that many players have high intelligence, but when playing on the court, they are often unable to think about the game from an overall perspective.
On the night of the game, the Magic players and the coaching staff worked "overtime" to watch the video of the game they just played and found that they actually had a slight advantage in the starting stage when their tactics were good.
Only then did they remember the original source of their fighting spirit...their starting five did not lose to the Eagles! At least it’s a super starter at the same level!
The Hawks' advantage against them lies in their strength in the rotation phase. It doesn't mean that if Wade is replaced, the Hawks' starting lineup will be able to crush their starting lineup.
It's just that their head coach Skiles didn't make the most correct judgment at the first time. He did a good job of using Carter to hold the ball to avoid being pressed and steals, but he didn't make a further judgment on the opponent's 10 to 2 wave. The players on their side brought psychological pressure and failed to control the situation.
Post-game analysis and adjustments are very useful. The Magic players understood that losing so miserably in the first game was all the opponent's "trap"!
Rahim felt...the little brother he once was was still so sinister! Nothing has changed after so many years!
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After playing the first game, we must immediately prepare for the second game. The second game of the series will start on the 25th.
The Magic regrouped and prepared for Game 2.
The main reason why they can regain their confidence so easily is that the Magic have long been prepared to lose the first game, or even lose both away games. After all, the opponent is the Eagles, and the Magic players are very confident and want to win. Defeat the Hawks to advance to the finals, but not so arrogant as to expect to win both away games.
On the Eagles side, on the morning of the 24th, we analyzed the reason why the Magic team mysteriously started to fight defensively from the end of the first quarter last night, but I really can’t figure it out!
If you can’t figure it out, then don’t think about it!
Coach Kruger and Van Gundy stayed up almost all night last night, thinking about countermeasures to the Magic's tactics in the first half of the first quarter of yesterday's game.
God knows whether the opponent will continue to be stubborn and defensive from the beginning in the second game, or whether they will return to tactical play.
The Eagles have a big advantage here, which is experience!
Among the current head coaches, except for Pat Riley and Jackson, Sloan, Popovich and a few others, there are not many head coaches who have as much playoff experience as Coach Kruger. The Eagles know that How to deal with most advantages or disadvantages.
Just as the Magic and Hawks were preparing for the second game with different thoughts, on the night of the 24th, the first game of the series between the Lakers and the Suns started...
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Josh Smith had 17 points and 14 rebounds, O'Neal had 11 points and 9 rebounds, Nash had 7 points and 17 assists, Calderon had 31 points and 4 assists, Jason Richardson had 21 points, Laja Bell had 11 points, and Barbosa had 9 points. Diaw scored 7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists...
Relying on Calderon's key three-pointer and Kobe's missed mid-range buzzer-beater, the Suns defeated the Lakers with a two-point advantage, 126 to 124!
Speaking of performance... the Lakers' performance was really good. Kobe made 12 of 23 shots, including 3 of 7 three-pointers, 6 of 7 free throws, and scored 33 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists.
Yao Ming made 8 of 14 shots and scored 22 points and 8 rebounds, Odom made 6 of 12 shots and scored 14 points and 11 rebounds, Gasol made 5 of 13 shots and scored 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, Wang Zhizhi scored 15 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks...
But Nash had 17 assists on the Suns side, and Nash only took 8 shots himself!
Nash is a famous point guard who doesn't care if his teammates can score. When Nash and Calderon's guard combination can score crazy points, the Suns directly gave up defense!
To defend Nash, the Lakers can only use Kobe to defend him. Jason Richardson had to be defended by Barnes, but Calderon scored 31 points in a single game!
Calderon scored 30+ for the first time in his career in the playoffs, and he reached the peak of his life, helping the Suns to grab the home advantage away from home!
It can be seen from this game that the Lakers did not take it lightly, played very seriously, and were very efficient, but the Suns were too fierce!
Ariza's absence made the Lakers lack a third defensive point on the outside, which was taken advantage of by the Suns!
Moreover, the Suns kept the double-fat inside combination of Dio and O'Neal on the court for a long time, playing a very wonderful feeling...
...
The strongest point guard and the strongest shooting guard of the 96 golden generation, this time Nash took the lead!
When Liu Mang watched the game, he found that the Suns were really not inferior to the Lakers!
Moreover, after losing to the Lakers in the playoffs last year, this year's Suns came with the determination of revenge.
Taking advantage of the last year of Josh Smith's rookie contract and Nash's cheap annual salary of tens of millions, the Suns got Jason Richardson last summer, plus O'Neal, Raja Bell, the double Thomas, etc.... Really not afraid of the Lakers!
After watching the game, Liu Mang checked the information and found that he remembered it correctly!
In this year's regular season, the two teams in the Pacific Division played against each other four times. The Suns won three times and the Lakers only won once!
The impression was so deep because the next opponent of the Hawks after the 17-game winning streak, the Suns, had just defeated the Lakers and Spurs in consecutive away games!
"The West is really weird..."
Liu Mang sighed and went to bed.
It seems that the strength of the Suns and the Lakers is about the same, but Calderon made the key shot and the little blacksmith was wrong.
This is just right for Liu Mang. The more intense the Western Conference is, the better!
The Suns, this troublemaker, is at its peak, reaching Liu Mang's expectations when Josh Smith was sent to the Suns.
As for who the final opponent is, Liu Mang hopes it will still be the Lakers. Of course, it would be the most satisfying to directly avenge the Lakers.
But being able to meet Nash in the finals...
That doesn't feel bad either!
Similar to Liu Mang's idea, most public opinions on the Internet think that the continuation of the series between the Hawks and the Lakers is very interesting, mainly because the Lakers won once last year. If the Lakers keep losing, it would be enough to watch two or three times, but the Lakers won, it is worth watching.
However, the super point guard duel between Nash and Liu Mang is also worth watching.
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On the evening of the 25th, the second game of the series between the Hawks and the Magic arrived as scheduled.
Before the game started, just when he entered the court, Liu Mang felt the unhappy eyes of the two opposing stars...
The anger was mixed with a little contempt...
Liu Mang was depressed, it seemed that he didn't offend them... I shouldn't have offended them, but did he offend them by winning the day before yesterday?
But what does that little bit of contempt mean?
The Hawks sent out Liu Mang, Wade, McGrady, Marion, and Kwame Brown as the starting lineup.
The Hawks made some adjustments to their starting lineup today. Wade was directly promoted to the starting lineup. Rondo and Jason Terry were waiting on the bench. Finley was also put on the activation list. Mason, who performed poorly after entering the last defensive battle, wore a suit today.
The Magic's starting lineup was the same as the last game, with Nelson, Carter, Turkoglu, Rahim, and Howard on the court.
At 8 o'clock in the evening, the referee blew the whistle to start the game and threw the ball into the air...
This time Kwame Brown won!
Kwame Brown pushed the ball to the back, Liu Mang received the ball at the free throw line and advanced to the frontcourt.
The change in the Hawks' starting lineup today made the Magic's defense a little flustered at the beginning!
These three outside players got together... In addition to increasing the confrontation like in the last game, one-on-one defense is basically unstoppable!
Liu Mang's singles with the ball also caused some problems for the Magic's defense.
However, this time the Magic did not start a defensive battle in a panic when they saw this combination like in the last game. Carter calmly guarded the top arc and waited for Liu Mang to advance.
When Liu Mang was about one meter away from the three-point line, Carter immediately stuck to him to prevent Liu Mang from throwing a three-pointer directly.
Liu Mang followed Carter's movement and accelerated his attack!
"Ding... The strongest first step level 5 is triggered, the host's speed +5 within two seconds..."
Liu Mang left Carter behind in one step. The Magic team was prepared. Nelson let go of Wade and attacked Liu Mang.
After Liu Mang took a big step into the three-point line, he patted the ball and grabbed it. When Nelson came up to defend, he threw the ball to Wade who cut in from the left. Nelson immediately rushed back to Wade. Howard in the interior moved his feet towards Wade and turned to face Wade who rushed in.
But... Wade ran to the edge of the three-second zone, turned around and ran out of the baseline...
"Oops!"
Howard turned around quickly, and the big number 24 was already printed on his face!