In the much-anticipated first match between the East and West, both teams that everyone expected lost.
The Lakers were overturned by the Clippers despite leading the game, and Curry showed the potential of a top star.
The Heat used defense to firmly suppress the Cavaliers in the first game. James did not shoot at critical moments, causing the Cavaliers to lose.
For the league, 23vs24 is naturally the most popular finals scenario.
The league will hope that the plot will follow the script, but it will not completely control the game. The team's strength will still dominate.
For example, when the Cavaliers played magic in 2009, the whistle was biased towards the Cavaliers. However, the magic's restraint on the Cavaliers was so powerful that even gods could not save it.
If the Clippers beat the Heat in the finals, the gimmick wouldn't be that heavy.
But in Adam Silva's view, 23vs24 is an old topic of the old times after all.
As a president in the new era, it is necessary to do something new.
Therefore, in the first game of the East-West final, the whistle was fair and neither side had any objections.
Just compete for strength. Whoever is strong and in good condition will be able to reach the final stage.
Min Congda suffered a waist muscle injury after being knocked over by Curry and had to stay in bed for a few days.
Therefore, he was unable to attend the second game between the Clippers and the Lakers to support the team and could only watch TV at home.
The Clippers defeated the Lakers in the first game, and Min Congda thought that he could no longer give any advice to the team.
In the second game, the Lakers should do whatever they can to win a home court, right?
As expected at the start, the Lakers team, which lost the first game, broke out. Kobe and Paul led the experienced veterans to comprehensively suppress the Clippers. They led by 15 points in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter, with victory in sight.
But in the fourth quarter, the Lakers couldn't hold on again. This time it was not Curry who broke out for the Clippers, but Harden.
Harden dominated the game on the offensive end in the fourth quarter, with assists, three-pointers, fast breaks, and mid-range hits, helping the Clippers tie the score 1 minute before the end of the game, and the two sides returned to the same starting line.
This was a huge blow to the Lakers' confidence.
Their hard work for three quarters was wasted in just a few minutes.
But Kobe and Paul are indeed top players, and Phil Jackson is also a top coach.
The Lakers withstood the pressure at the critical moment, and Kobe broke through and fouled and hit a free throw.
Then Paul made a very important offensive foul on the defensive end, and Curry was called to hit someone with the ball.
Subsequently, Paul hit a key jumper, and the Lakers led the Clippers by 4 points 100:96.
At the end of the timeout, Harden assisted Gasol and hit a three-pointer. This unexpected goal revived the suspense of the game.
The Clippers implemented foul tactics and Kobe made a steady free throw.
Curry missed a three-pointer at the buzzer. The Lakers defeated the Clippers with a 3-point advantage at home 102:99, and evened the score to 1:1.
Seeing the final result of the game, Min Congda breathed a sigh of relief. At least the Lakers did not lose another game.
If they lose again, the Clippers will lead 2:0 and they will really reach the finals.
But Min Congda still felt huge worries in his heart.
Although the Lakers won this game, the process was not pretty.
In the first three quarters, they used their momentum to take a big lead, but were easily caught up by the Clippers in the fourth quarter.
It shows that the Lakers have problems with their physical fitness and combat effectiveness at critical moments.
The physical problem is that the Lakers' age structure is too old, there are too many veterans in the team, and there is a lack of fresh blood.
The so-called boxing is afraid of the young, especially when facing a very young and talented team like the Clippers, the Lakers are obviously unable to suppress it.
Min Congda put aside his positional bias and could foresee that in the next few games, the Lakers would probably not be able to survive the fourth quarter.
This makes Min Congda feel a little anxious. What will the Clippers do if they enter the finals?
"The Lakers are so fucked up. It won't help even if I give you Paul! It's okay. Besides the Lakers, isn't there James? I'm double insured. It doesn't matter if we enter the finals. If we don't win the championship, we should be fine." "
Min Congda's double insurance, one is the Lakers, and the other is James and the Cavaliers.
Although the Cavaliers lost the first game, Min Congda believes that the Cavaliers are still stronger than the Heat.
However, Min Congda is still a little worried. After all, the Cavaliers and Celtics battled in seven games in the semifinals.
The physical exertion of the players is not small, and it is so strenuous to beat an old Celtics player, which shows that the overall strength of the Cavaliers is not as strong as it was in the regular season.
Therefore, Min Congda took the initiative to call James before the second game, thinking of giving James some advice.
"Didn't you wake up in the semifinals? You played so well, but why did you become the same again in the Eastern Conference Finals? You took the last shot!"
On the phone, Min Congda was rude and didn't make any excuses for James.
For a star of James' caliber, there are very few people around him who can criticize him to the point.
Most of them are sycophants who will make excuses for James, excuse him, and say good things about him.
But from a basketball perspective, James still has many flaws in various aspects. If someone can always make targeted suggestions for his flaws and let him correct them with all his strength, James will be stronger.
Unfortunately, James was commercialized too early and became a commercial symbol too early, and commercial symbols need to maintain goodwill.
He didn't even enter college for fine polishing, and after coming to the NBA, he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers, a bad local team in Ohio. He was a well-deserved emperor here, and no one corrected his mistakes.
Especially since he stayed with the Cavaliers in 2010, he has become a basketball totem in Cleveland, and no one can say anything bad about him.
Of course, James himself is self-disciplined, smart, and has a strong willpower. He improves himself according to his own ideas and ideas, which is also very strong.
However, basketball has its own rules. After all, it is better to practice by yourself without a great master to give you guidance and lay a good foundation for you from the beginning.
Like Michael Jordan, many of his good habits and technical details when playing were taught by North Caper Mountain Pope Dean Smith.
If James did not become a commodity so early and could enter a famous basketball school and seriously hone his skills and tactics for one to two years, his strength would be even higher.
It's a pity that a person's experience and character determine a person's destiny. James's childhood hardship and single-parent experience made him think more rationally about his basketball career. He commercialized himself early and became a label full of value. From a certain perspective, Said he was extremely successful, but from another perspective he was not successful enough.
Min Congda is obviously an exception for James. He is never polite to James and always criticizes bluntly.
But James never felt angry, because he deeply felt that Min Congda was really good for him.
As for why, James doesn't know. Maybe it's fate?
"I think my teammates have a better chance, that's my basketball philosophy...it's different from that Celtics game."
"Do you have to be in a desperate situation to have that kind of realization? Facing the Heat, you have an overall advantage. Don't think blindly and attack with all your strength. You and Irving, attack with all your strength, the Heat will not have a chance. Wade This year's state is not as good as last year. You must seize the opportunity and don't drag the Heat into a defensive battle. The dominant side must attack, understand?"
Min Congda was very sincere. He saw that the Cavaliers were too hesitant in the first game.
Needless to say, it must be Mike Brown who wants to defend against the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In fact, the dominant side must not get into a defensive battle with its opponent, otherwise it will be dragged into the quagmire by the opponent.
You must establish an advantage and feel as soon as possible on the offensive end, and use your personal ability to find a breakthrough, and your opponent will collapse.
The Cavaliers, from their young structure to their star quality, are a step ahead of the Heat, so they must not be dragged into a quagmire.
"I know, but..."
"But what? Do you feel like you don't feel good shooting, right? I know, it can't be like G6 in the semifinals every game. You have to participate more in offensive support, grab offensive rebounds, pick and roll... ...Don’t tell me you know how. You need to be more diverse. Don’t just shoot if you feel good. If you feel bad, just stand outside and pass randomly, for fear of lowering your shooting rate. Play with a fast pace and get more easy-balls. The score can also increase your shooting percentage! Also, Irving can have more roles, let Mike Brown give Irving more singles tactics, don't underestimate him just because he is a rookie, do you understand?"
Min Congda is well aware of James's calculating playing style.
In many cases, his high shooting percentage is not achieved by playing, but by calculation.
He will calculate as he plays, whether his hand feels good tonight, he will shoot more if he feels good tonight, and if he doesn't, he will shoot less.
He is not like Kobe. Kobe is the type who shoots more if he is good. If he is not good, he has to shoot more. Otherwise, how can he become good?
Shooting is always James' shortcoming.
When he feels good, combined with his body and playing style, he is really, really strong.
Once he doesn't feel good, except for a strong layup, he is not very aware of offensive assistance.
Min Congda reminded him that he should do a good job of offensive support and score points at the same time, and his shooting rate was also good.
These words hit the target of James. He repeatedly said yes on the phone, saying that what Min Congda said made sense and he would definitely do it in the evening game.
"One last point, when playing against the Heat, you should play more in the fourth position, take advantage of your low post, and play as an inside player."
After saying the last point and hanging up the phone, Min Congda let out a long sigh, thinking that in order to prevent the Clippers from winning the championship, he had really worried a lot and started planning early.
As long as James learns to play in a more correct way and deal with the game, the Cavaliers will still have a high probability of winning this year.
In the evening, Min Congda watched the second battle between the Cavaliers and the Heat.
The Cavaliers did not give the Heat a chance at home in this game. They led by 5 points in the first quarter, 13 points at halftime, and 20 points at the end of the third quarter.
James and rookie Irving showed strong firepower, and the Heat's perimeter defense was completely unable to stop them.
The Cavaliers beat the Heat with a 19-point advantage at 109:90 in the second game, and the big score also became 1:1.
The Cavaliers won this game, and Min Congda breathed a sigh of relief. It shouldn't be a big problem for the Cavaliers to enter the finals.
It would be troublesome if the Heat entered the finals, because the Heat were restrained by the Clippers in terms of lineup and play style.
The Heat's biggest flaw is in the paint, where they are the weakest among the current four teams.
The Heat's advantage lies in their perimeter defensive pressure and the bench gang led by substitute Odom.
Therefore, when the Heat beat the Bulls, they were accurate. The Bulls themselves were not very good inside, and their outside offense relied too much on Rose. They were targeted by the Heat for two consecutive years, and were deliberately targeted by the Heat in the semifinals.
And James followed Min Congda's suggestion and participated in the offense more often as the fourth position, which indeed put huge pressure on the Heat's inside line.
Bosh simply couldn't take on the interior duties of a defensive system. In the second game, the offensive rebound was robbed and exploded.
"Theoretically, the Cavaliers have an advantage over the Clippers in terms of lineup and play style. However... the Lakers also have an advantage over the Clippers, but they still seem to be unable to beat them."
Min Congda suffered a waist injury. He has been lying at home for the past two days, thinking about the Eastern Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals and everything related to basketball.
He may not even realize that basketball has become the focus of his life.
Even though he no longer interferes with the team's basketball affairs, he has never stopped thinking about the team's tactics and the development direction of the league.
He has long been involved in the world of basketball and can no longer extricate himself.
The Clippers and Lakers had a day off, and G3 continued in Los Angeles.
The advantage of the derby is that the players no longer have to fly back and forth, and both teams can face the match at 100%.
The third game was extremely fierce. With a big score of 1:1, this was undoubtedly a positional battle.
The Lakers will definitely want to regain the home court advantage, and the Clippers will want to take the initiative in the series in one go.
After adapting in two games, a huge problem for the Lakers began to be exposed: their three-pointers were really inaccurate.
The limited space caused by the inaccurate three-pointers made the Lakers' offense on the court very constipated. In the end, it completely turned into a Paul-Kobe two-man game.
Even Bynum on the inside seemed dispensable in the small space and Gasol's strong defense.
The Clippers are fast and accurate. Their three-point shooting percentage in the half was over 45%, and their firepower was extremely strong.
However, they only led the Lakers by 3 points at halftime because Kobe and Paul played too fiercely in the first half.
The two took turns to eat alone, and the Clippers' defense didn't have much to do with them.
In the third quarter, the two sides were evenly matched, and it was difficult to separate, contributing to a very high-quality confrontation.
But in the fourth quarter, Min Congda's biggest worry came true.
Kobe was a veteran with the Lakers, but his physical fitness began to have problems in the fourth quarter!
Even if there is no hard work and long-distance flights, the Lakers players are still old after all.
Moreover, with so many passing stars and veterans, it is very difficult to run the triangle offense well in just 60 games.
In the regular season, you can rely on talent and free play to win a series of victories. In the playoffs, discipline and tacit understanding are even more important.
Looking at the luxurious lineup of the Lakers, only Jackson can suppress it in the entire league, but its power is not as powerful as before.
As for the Clippers' young lineup, the core has been running smoothly for three seasons, and their playoff capabilities are amazing.
It can be said that the model of superstars + outstanding stars + veterans with basic salaries is coming to an end this year.
In the fourth quarter, the Clippers launched an 11-0 offensive climax, establishing an advantage in one fell swoop.
In the end, the Clippers defeated the Lakers by 105:95 and won the third game.
The Los Angeles Clippers are one step closer to the Finals.
And Min Congda also felt that an indescribable crisis was coming towards him.
(End of chapter)
