Chapter 535 534. Only We Can Beat the Nets

"Jason, I heard that your wife caught you whoring and beat you up?"

"When did I go whoring? Ace, don't talk nonsense. The coach heard my playing time and ran out. I finally met a weaker opponent...Wait, who was beaten by my wife?"

"I still don't admit it, look at the bag on your forehead, even the hairband can't stop it, you must have been beaten by your sister-in-law when you went to whoring."

"I just said that I didn't go whoring... No! I wasn't beaten by my wife! Yesterday when we came to Philadelphia together, I didn't have a bag on my forehead. I hit the door this morning! If you don't believe me, call your sister-in-law!"

"I understand, isn't it just a prostitute! It's normal to be caught and beaten by my sister-in-law, and my sister-in-law will definitely not admit it..."

"I just said I didn't go whoring... No, I wasn't beaten by your sister-in-law! I'll go get my phone, call your sister-in-law, and ask her yourself!"

Jason Terry rushed into the tunnel as he spoke.

Muhammad on the side couldn't stand it anymore, and said to Liu Mang speechlessly: "Ace, stop teasing Jason."

"Isn't this boring!" Liu Mang laughed, "Teasing Jason is also quite fun."

Muhammad is so speechless. Recently, the coaching staff strictly prohibited this kid from accepting interviews, especially after leading the 76ers 3-1. Before and after the game, the coaching staff, trainers, and teammates held him up to prevent him from accepting the interview. Interview, for fear that he will provoke the opponent again, anger the opponent, and increase the difficulty of promotion in vain.

So Liu Mang is really boring.

Today is May 21st, a great and perfect day, but unfortunately no one can confess, and this kind of "pseudo-holiday" is not popular these days.

On May 10, the Eagles started the first game of the second round. The Eagles played very focused in the first game. They exploded in the away game. Raheem mainly attacked the inside and dragged the rhythm of the game into a positional battle.

The Eagles emphasize defense in this round of the series, don't be brought into the offensive battle by the 76ers.

When the coaching staff announced the general direction of this round of the series, Liu Mang felt weird. When playing against the 76ers, he actually needs to think about not being dragged into the offensive by the opponent?

But seeing the current lineup of the 76ers and their average of 104 points per game in the first round, Liu Mang is not surprised. If the 76ers lead them into their rhythm, it might be really dangerous up!

That's how the Hornets got stuck.

The 76ers reached the playoffs and completely turned into an offensive team. McCloch, the only 7-foot center, was beaten to the sidelines by the 76ers. They did not match the rhythm of the team. They sent Iverson, Eric - Pure offense with Snow, Kenny Thomas, Van Horn, Derrick Coleman.

With the lineup of the 76ers, as long as they are dragged into positional battles, when Coleman and Van Horn only have mid-range and long-range shooting capabilities, they only need to defend Iverson, defend the basket, flank Iverson, and defend Kenny- Thomas and Eric Snow, defending Van Horn's three-pointer, Coleman can selectively give him an open space, mainly pinching Iverson and defending the basket.

The defensive strategy of the Eagles is the best defensive method seen in the few games in which the Hornets beat the 76ers. The main reason is to force Iverson to fail to organize the team's offense.

If the 76ers want to play offense, Iverson's organizational offense is bound to be brought into play. The 76ers are only Iverson who has real organizational skills. Although Snow averaged 6 assists per game this season, his assists , Almost all Iverson attracted the double-team, passed the ball to him, the opponent filled his position, and he passed it to the shooter. Snow himself did not have the ability to attract double-teams, and his own shots were not accurate.

The 76ers have only one person to organize the offense. Iverson averaged 44 minutes per game. If Iverson had no chance to organize the offense, the 76ers' offense would return to its original state, and the 76ers' defense has collapsed now. Became an offensive team.

So the Hornets lost to the 76ers in the first two games, and they also found a way to deal with the 76ers. Knowing who the 76ers can play and who must defend, this is the most difficult part of the playoffs. The series is too long , weaker opponents can also find a way to win.

The Hornets got back home and took out the 76ers twice at home, proving that this defensive style works.

The home court advantage is very useful, and it is also very useful to advance first. With the home court advantage, the visiting team will be less prepared, but to advance first, you can see the weaknesses exposed by the next opponent in the last round, and the 76ers only have a short period of two. One day to prepare, not so much time to study.

During the 6-day break, the Hawks studied the series between the 76ers and the Hornets, watched the live broadcast, and brought back the Hornets' defensive strategy. This defensive strategy was used on the Eagles, which are much better defensively than the Hornets. , The effect was very good. In the first match between the two teams, the Eagles easily defeated the 76ers 99 to 87, directly grabbing back the home court advantage.

The Eagles wanted to do the same in the second game, but Iverson went berserk, scoring 51 points and 7 assists, and scored 24 points in a single quarter in the fourth quarter, only 1 point less than the Hawks. His runaway performance held a home game , Reversing the Eagles by 11 points in the final quarter, defending a home game 102 to 99.

But Iverson can't run wild every game. After returning to the home court, the Eagles' defense against Iverson has become stricter. Back at home, it exploded, scoring 48 points in the third game, and almost scoring 50 points in the playoffs for the first time. Liu Mang was just beside him delivering ammunition, just handing the ball to Raheem, happy With 13 points and 10 assists, the Eagles beat the 76ers by 25 points 110-85 at home. The strength gap was vividly displayed in this game.

In the fourth game, Iverson knew that his teammates were unreliable. This group of guys were old and soft. The only one, Snow, was still the type who defended strong and attacked weakly. Iverson could only play wildly by himself. Put some pressure on the Eagles and made a 12-6 start.

At this time, coach Kruger quickly replaced Muhammad with Jason Terry. The double point guard combination of Liu Mang and Jason Terry came on the field. Sen-Terry, you shoot one and I shoot the other, playing out the tacit cooperation that the two have found, and suppressing Iverson's explosive momentum.

The fourth game is the performance time of the Eagles' double waves in the backcourt. The two played the rest of the first quarter, the second quarter and the third quarter. Although Iverson scored 35 points in three quarters, Liu Mang and Jason- Terry scored 44 points and 10 assists in three quarters, leading the team to overtake the score. After three quarters, the Eagles led the 76ers 76 to 54 by 22 points. The 76ers surrendered in the final quarter. Teammates really can't do it.

After the first four games, the Eagles led 3-1, continuing their strong performance.

In the fifth game, he came to Philadelphia again. The Eagles lost for the first time in this year's playoffs in this city. After coming here, Raheem went berserk again. He was still very unhappy with Philadelphia. Although many years have passed, the resentment still exists.

In the summer of 1996, Raheem was also one of the top picks. Originally, the top pick was Duncan, but Duncan decided to go to college for another year after finishing his junior year. So Iverson, Marbury, Raheem, Camby The four became the favorites for the No. 1 pick, and the little blacksmith may also count. He performed the best among all the players in the trial training, but he said that he would only go to big cities like Los Angeles, Boston, and Philadelphia, so except for the Lakers who were traded to the 13th pick No team dared to choose him, and the 76ers said that if they chose a high school student instead of Iverson, Marbury, and Raheem, they would be laughed at, and they did not choose Kobe.

When Rahim heard the 76ers say this, he was looking forward to becoming the No. 1 pick, but the 76ers didn't pick him. He fell to the third pick. The current team is much stronger, and he has no chance of retaliating against the 76ers at all. This opportunity has come!

Raheem decided to deal with the 76ers in the fifth away game. He didn't want to bring the game back to Atlanta, so he crazily gouged inside the game and continued to cause damage.

Raheem, who went crazy, has a strong body similar to Garnett and is willing to play inside. He beat Van Horn, a thin pitcher, and scored 22 points in the first quarter. Liu Mang could only stand aside. Waving the flag to cheer, the boss wants the ball, so he can only give it! And they played well. Not only was the offense good, but the defense against Iverson also made Liu Mang a lot easier on the defensive end. Iverson was defended 1-of-8 in the first quarter, and the Eagles led 29-13 in the first quarter. 16 points, establishing an advantage in one fell swoop.

In the second quarter, Raheem continued to run wild, but he started to pass the ball, because the 76ers began to shrink, Liu Mang, Jason Terry and Prince who came off the bench, the three shot from the outside. The Reds made 10 three-pointers in the second and third quarters, crushing the 76ers.

After three quarters, the Eagles led 85 to 55, leading by 30 points. Now only Raheem is left on the court, with Dean Grove, Prince, Boozer and Kevin Willis on the court. , because Iverson on the 76ers side refused to admit defeat and insisted on coming up to narrow the point difference to 20 points when they were behind by 30 points. However, after Rahim went up, the point difference stabilized. The team has no idea of ​​sending the main force to continue to expand the score, so it is enough to stabilize the point difference.

Liu Mang watched as he forcibly rushed into the defensive circle surrounded by Raheem, Prince and Kevin Wesley again and again and fell down. He struggled to get a foul, but then Raheem rushed to the basket and fell. Liu Mang is a bit regretful that he can easily score or pass assists to open up the score that Iverson finally recovered. He was not able to have a real duel with Iverson, who has strong teammates. up!

The fans at the scene couldn't bear to see their stars struggling like this. The scene was very quiet, and many fans had already left one after another.

This year's regular season has the fourth best record in the East, ranking fifth in the East. The 76ers fans are already very satisfied. They even reached the second round. They couldn't be more satisfied. No one blames Iverson for bringing such a group Old, old, weak teammates, what else can they do? The opposing team is strong and strong. They have just swept the Pistons and they are in full swing. It is already a miracle to win a victory. It is still a miracle of 50+ points in the playoffs that sometimes does not come once a year...

In the end, Iverson played the whole game, scored 45 points on 18 of 44 shots, but lost to Raheem's comprehensive triple-double performance of 36 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. The Eagles defeated the 76ers 112-90, 4 A big score of one to one eliminated the 76ers.

After being eliminated, Iverson went to the player tunnel alone again, and no one paid attention to him.

Liu Mang didn't try to comfort Iverson or something. First of all, the two are opponents, and then the opponent is Iverson. At this time, let Iverson lick his wounds. Liu Mang can only hope that there will be a stronger player next season. Iverson with a better team can play against a better Iverson.

Although Iverson is good personally now, the team is too bad. Liu Mang feels that playing against the 76ers is too bad. He has no real feeling of competing with Iverson. Liu Mang averaged 17+4+ in 5 games 6. Normal performance. Although Iverson averaged 37 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game, he failed to pose much threat to the team led by Liu Mang. Except for the strong 51 points in the second game that reversed the Eagles once, it was a reversal at the end of the quarter. , The 76ers led by Iverson didn't even have a chance to resist in regular time.

Liu Mang didn't know when he had the mentality to fight against these superstars. He really wanted to stand in the same position as the superstars to compete with Carmelo Anthony, only when he was playing against James, Kobe and Wade. He has the most fighting spirit. Although Liu Mang is not like Anthony who only picks a few superstars to explode, Liu Mang is more energetic when he abuses food, but I don’t know when it will start. Liu Mang also wants to fight with Iverson and Kobe. Good duel.

Only now, Liu Mang knows that he is not strong enough to lead the team to sweep opponents like Raheem. He can only be a qualified point guard who transports ammunition and opens space, and Iverson does not have Liu Mang's teammates. , and even few high-quality teammates.

Liu Mang can only comfort himself, regret is also a kind of beauty...

...

...

The Eagles are the first to advance to the conference finals in the Eastern Conference!

Why only advance in the East first, because the Spurs had already advanced to the Western Conference Finals the day before the Eagles eliminated the 76ers.

The elimination of the 76ers by the Eagles was something that people expected. Except that Iverson scored 51 points in the second game and gave people some surprises. After that, there were no surprises. After the Eagles defended two home games, people already knew the Eagles It is a matter of time before the team advances.

And the Spurs actually eliminated the Lakers by a big score of 4 to 1. From the first game, it brought people a big surprise, or... panic!

Because in the first two years, even if the record of the Lakers was worse than that of the Spurs, the away team played, and the Lakers also had the advantage. In 2001, the Lakers won both away games and swept the Spurs 4-0. In the second round of the game, the Lakers still had a worse record than the Spurs, but the Lakers beat the Spurs in the first game to San Antonio. After losing one game in the second game, the Lakers won all the next three games, beating the Spurs 4-1. beat.

However, this time, after the Spurs defeated the Lakers with Ginobili's lore in the first game, they seemed to have found a way to beat the Lakers. They also defended the second home game, and seven players scored in double figures. The team defeated the Lakers with a 114-95 victory. The Lakers had only OK to show off. Both scored 30 points, but the rest of the Lakers combined only scored 35 points. The OK combination made 19 of 36 shots. He was so defensive that sometimes he couldn’t catch the ball, but others couldn’t make a shot. In total, he made 12 of 42 shots. The gap between role players was fully exposed this year. OK lost two consecutive away games.

After returning to the home court, the Lakers wanted to work hard. The losses were all away games. They were still confident, and they played a fierce offensive from the beginning, but Duncan, who was at the top, held back the offensive firepower of the OK combination. , changed from the first two games of defense to scoring. At the same time, the Spurs team made great efforts on the defensive end. The Spurs beat the Lakers 93 to 89 in the away game, leading 3 to 0.

Although the Lakers beat the Spurs 120 to 95 in the fourth game, it was like a flashback. In the fifth game, they returned to the Spurs' home court. The Spurs played a suffocating defense and defeated the Lakers 85 to 79. Advance to 1!

After this round of the series, Duncan proved that he is worthy of being the MVP of Lianzhuang, and officially became a god at the position of power forward!

The Hawks and Spurs both advanced to the conference finals, and the remaining two series were tough.

The Kings and the Mavericks drew 2-2. The Mavericks played really well in the second round of this year's playoffs. Although Nowitzki's scoring was severely restricted, he averaged only 18 points per game, far behind Webber's average. 30 points, but Nowitzki's rebound exploded! 15 rebounds in the first game, 14 rebounds in the second game, a little less in the third game, only 10, but scored 20 points and 21 rebounds in the fourth game, the first double 20 in the career playoffs!

Nowitzki has never averaged 10+ rebounds per game in his career, but his explosive rebounding power has always been good. He has had 6 double-20s in his career so far, and he has three times in the regular season this season. At the peak of his career, he once faced O'Neal and won 21 rebounds and 33 points.

The other two times, coincidentally, happened to be facing Weber, both times were 26 points and 20 rebounds, and Weber lost his temper when he grabbed rebounds.

Relying on Nowitzki's rebounding advantage of 18 points and 15 rebounds per game in the first four games, Webber was strong enough to add up to 16 rebounds in the four games. In the case of a disadvantage, the big score can be tied at 2 to 2.

In the East, the Nets led the Bucks 3-2. At the beginning, they led 3-1, but they were pulled back by the Bucks in the fifth game.

Kidd and Payton, the two defended each other like iron gods, both of them only shot more than 30% of their field goals, and they all relied on organizing offense to continue their lives. Both of them averaged 9 assists per game. In the duel, the two played exactly the same, except for rebounding!

Relying on averaging 8 rebounds per game, Kidd held a lot of backcourt rebounds and did not grab too many offensive rebounds for Drummond Mason, a man of physical fitness.

However, the key to the outcome lies in Toni Kukoc, the former Bulls general who is considered to be an addition to the head, and the Nets' No. 1 pick Kenyon Martin.

Kukoc scored at least 14 points per game, scored a career playoff-high 31 in Game 5, and sifted Kenyon Martin.

But Kenyon Martin played better overall, averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds per game, especially in rebounds. Kenyon Martin rebounded in this year's playoffs, averaging 9 rebounds per game, especially in the second round, averaging 11 rebounds per game , has become the key to the Nets' advantage.

...

This year's playoffs are really full of surprises, and there are always unexpected highlights.

And at this time, the Eagles, who were the first to advance to the second round, began to feel pain again.

First of all, they don't have the No. 1 record in the league like the Spurs. Regardless of whether they advance first or later, they are waiting at home.

The Eagles start away games against everyone. Originally, when the Eagles and the 76ers finished Game 4, the Nets still led the Bucks 3-1. The Eagles felt that if they won, they could go to New Jersey. Maybe the Nets They eliminated the Bucks before the Hawks and advanced to the second round. Who knows, just the day before the fifth game of the Hawks, the Bucks actually pulled back a game, and the series between the Nets and the Bucks fell into a trap. anxious.

This is not good. If the Nets fail to win the next away game, it is really hard to say who will advance!

Of course, the Eagles hope that the Nets will be overthrown like this, but the possibility is not high, but it is not impossible, so the Eagles coaching staff once again fell into anxiety.

The night after the 76ers, coach Kruger finally let go of the tight rein, allowing the players to play in Philadelphia, the fifth largest city in the United States.

The main reason is that the Eagles are not in a hurry to return to Atlanta tomorrow, and they are not even prepared to go back without knowing whether there are two days or five days to wait for the next round. If the Nets advance in the game the day after tomorrow, they can go directly New Jersey, it's very important to experience the away game in advance. If the Bucks really drag the Nets into the tiebreaker, the Eagles will have to wait here for five days, which is a pain in the ass.

The Eagles coaching staff is tangling in the meeting suite. The Eagles coaching staff is centered on Coach Kruger and Mike Woodson. Basically, things are discussed between two people. The coaching staff is still too small. There are only 5 people in total. Personally, one of them is a shooting coach, and two of them are mostly part-time scouts. Now it is said that the coaching staff is entangled. In fact, it is Coach Kruger, Mike Woodson and Almond Hill. three people.

"Mike, Almond, who do you think will win the Nets or the Bucks?" Coach Kruger was so melancholy. After sitting at home for three consecutive rounds last year and slowly waiting for his opponent, it feels too uncomfortable now.

"..."

"..."

Hill and Mike Woodson looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

This year's playoffs are too strange. The Spurs almost swept the Lakers, but the Mavericks were on par with the Kings. Last year, the Lakers beat the Spurs 4-1, and the Kings beat the Mavericks 4-1.

If the Bucks really counterattacked the Nets this time, neither of them would be surprised.

"Why don't we ask that guy?" Mike Woodson didn't want to take the blame for this possibility, so he decisively dumped the blame before it appeared.

"You mean that guy?" Coach Kruger also thought about it.

"Yes!" Mike Woodson nodded resolutely with the idea that a dead fellow Taoist would never die a poor man.

"Okay, Almond, you call him to come." Coach Kruger ordered.

Hill is different from the two bad guys. He has a low position in the team and basically has no other job except teaching shooting. He has a good relationship with the players, but he is not good. He doesn't get along with the players like Mike Woodson He was so familiar, and he didn't have the status of Kruger's coach, so he asked suspiciously, "Who are you calling?"

Coach Kruger and Mike Woodson looked at each other and couldn't help laughing. Although it was a bit embarrassing to be promoted early and wait for the opponent, it was a trouble of happiness. The melancholy was melancholy. The whole Eagles team is in a good mood now.

Mike Woodson clasped his hands, as if the air conditioner was too cold, and said tremblingly, "Call him, he should sleep in the room."

Shivering—cold, falling asleep while the players were out surfing... Hill burst out laughing, and immediately took out his cell phone to make a call...

...

A few minutes later, a sleepy man in pajamas came to the suite where the coaching staff was.

"Oh, coach, why did you call me here so late! Don't you know if you can't sleep well or grow taller?" Liu Mang couldn't help cursing when he came down, he didn't go out to play, three big men were in the same room, judging by age It's impossible to get a foundation, it can only be that it is no longer possible.

"Ace, you are 20 years old, theoretically you will not grow taller," Mike Woodson said with a smile, "We want to ask you, Ace, who do you think can advance to the Nets or the Bucks?"

Is this a stupid question to ask? Liu Mang replied without hesitation: "The Nets."

"Why? The Bucks won an away game and have a chance to reverse it." Coach Kruger asked curiously.

"There's no reason," said Liu Mang, who was upset when he fell asleep in the middle of the night and was woken up. Why did he care so much about this stupid question, but he still replied: "I don't believe that the Nets will lose to the Bucks. Only we can beat the Nets in the East! "