After finishing the first round of the playoffs, the Blazers returned to Portland as soon as possible. They did not stay in Los Angeles, but chose to bring the joy of promotion back to Portland and give feedback to their hometown brothers.
Next, they need to wait for the Thunder VS Warriors and Clippers VS Mosaic to decide the winner. Even if the Thunder and Clippers beat their opponents one by one, Wang Zelin and the others will have a week's rest.
Until then, the Blazers can only keep waiting, waiting in daily training, and constantly recharging their energy...
While waiting, Wang Zelin, who has entered the role of resting in advance, inevitably observes the games of other teams, which can be regarded as observing the next round of opponents in advance.
Especially the game between the Clippers and Mosaic.
Including Terry Stotts and David Vanderpool, they are also very concerned about this group of matchups, because the opponents in the next round will emerge from it.
It's not that they have no confidence in the Trail Blazers winning the next round, but that they are pursuing a greater chance of winning. If you can easily win the game and advance to the Western Conference Finals, why not?
Therefore, on the rest days in the next few days, Terry Stotts also organized players to watch the Clippers and Mosaic game with him.
Entering the fifth game of the series, the Clippers, who returned home with a 3:1 lead, and Mosaic, who were on the verge of despair and had no choice but to fight, began the battle of Tianwang Mountain.
In the end, Mosaic narrowly won by one point in overtime in the away game, with the score being 121:120. Howard, who had been sluggish for several games in the series, finally broke out, scoring a huge double-double of 25+14, and also blocked 5 shots in a single game that was feared by other Clippers breakthrough players.
On the last night of April, Howard dreamed back to the Magic era, allowing countless fans to once again witness the peak of Warcraft.
It was also thanks to Howard's explosive performance that he grabbed a key rebound at the last moment of the game and made two free throws after being fouled, which allowed Mosaic to gain a 4-point lead, and also gave Paul the final victory. The thrilling three-pointer at the buzzer was useless.
The Clippers got the key match point in Tianwangshan, but still lost the game, which made Terry Stotts sigh and said:
"See? This is the playoffs. Never underestimate your opponent. Now the series score has changed from 3:1 to 3:2. Although they are still one game behind, the Mosaic team already has the possibility of a comeback. …”
After the battle between the Clippers and Mosaic at Tianwangshan, Terry Stotts once again vaccinated his disciples.
Of course, Mosaic won another thrilling game, and the Trail Blazers also benefited a lot, because it meant they had more time to observe their opponents in the next round.
If the Clippers and Mosaic really fight to the tiebreaker... that would be interesting.
If that happens, Terry Stotts has already thought about what headline the media will give:
"When two tigers fight, third-party pioneers may become the biggest winners!"
On the other side, Wang Zelin did not forget to pay attention to the Pacers' game in the East.
In the Pacers VS Hawks series, the Pacers took the first two games and took a huge 2:0 lead.
Helplessly, after arriving at Atlanta, the home court of the Hawks, the Pacers team showed a bit of acclimatization, and the Hawks won one game, and the series became 2:1.
Fortunately, in the fourth game of the series, the Pacers' young leader Paul George broke out again. He scored 22 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, a near-triple double, helping the Pacers take a 3:1 lead. Advantage returns home.
Returning to Indiana, the two sides began the most critical battle of the series at Tianwang Mountain. It should be said that the Pacers are worthy of being No. 1 in the Eastern Conference this year, and they play much harder than the Clippers.
In the match point game, Paul George and his teammates all scored 12 points of concentration. Everyone in the Pacers was working hard. They didn't want to be involved in a back-and-forth tug-of-war.
In the first quarter, they took a 6-point lead at 28:22.
Then in the second quarter, the Eagles relied on key man Paul Millsap and. Two corner three-pointers by outside sharpshooter Korver restored the 6-point deficit.
At halftime, the score was 48:48, and the two teams were tied.
The third quarter was still fierce, with the two teams going back and forth and refusing to give in. There were cross-lead situations on the court more than once.
In the end, it was Pacers insider Optimus Prime Gao Yuanyuan who fouled under the basket and made all the extra free throws, rewriting the score to 77:75, allowing the Pacers to enter the final quarter with a slight 2-point advantage.
Then, a plot that no one expected came!
Entering the final quarter, it was so tense and exciting that many fans even chose to hold their urine and were reluctant to leave the decisive moment around them. However, the players from the two teams on the field began an offensive panic that lasted for three and a half minutes.
On the field, the sounds of "Duang", "Duang", and "Duang" came from time to time, making some fans who already had the urge to urinate even more unable to stop.
In the end, it was David West, one of the big brothers of the 2003 Platinum Generation, who scored a goal from the mid-range where he is best, causing fatal damage and ending the three-and-a-half-minute mutual feeding between the two sides. Behavior.
The Pacers, who took the lead in breaking the scoring drought, were like a patient who had been constipated for a long time. They knew nothing but knew everything, and quickly hit an 11:0 offensive climax.
Since then, the victory of this game has been completely established.
In the end, the Pacers won Tianwangshan with a ten-point lead at 107:97 at home, defeated the Hawks 4:1, and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
"The Pacers lived up to the match point and won Tianwangshan, the semifinals, the Eastern Conference finals, the finals...their future is a sea of stars!"
The roar of the game commentator and Pacers legend Reggie Miller came from the TV. In front of the TV, Wang Zelin breathed a sigh of relief. History was once again changed because of him.
The Pacers did not advance through seven games against the Hawks, but entered the Eastern Conference semifinals two games ahead of schedule.
So, will they move forward courageously and work hard all the way to the finals, as Lee Reggie Miller said on TV?
It seems that this is not impossible.
When the wheel of history rolls forward, the pace of the times never stops!
Every year's NBA playoffs can be regarded as a change of times. Maybe at some point, the classic drama of the Yangtze River pushing the waves ahead and the new generation laughing at the old will happen.
To borrow another classic quote from the old blacksmith: "Someone is always going to win, so why can't it be me?"
This sentence is also very applicable to the Blazers youth army headed by Wang Zelin and the equally young Pacers players!
Suddenly, Wang Zelin really hoped that his opponent in the finals would be this Pacers team.
Although he knows that defeating the defending champion Miami Heat for two consecutive championships is more valuable, more topical and attractive than defeating the Pacers, he still hopes that he will face the Pacers in the finals.
If I have to name one reason, it would be the sympathy among young people.
After all, the representatives of the older generation first recommended Ke and Deng, and the representatives of the Mesozoic generation first recommended Zhan, Wei, and Du. So... among the younger generation, two young guards who have been the most prominent in the east and west in recent years are naturally very special. Not counting the Pacers and Trail Blazers.
What?
What about Thunder?
Stop making trouble. Ever since Detonator sent away the bearded golfer and left behind the two whose playing styles are not very compatible, everyone knows about the Thunder's prospects.
Instead of being wary of the Thunder, it's better to be more careful about the rising splash duo, as well as the Heat and Pacers, the two teams with the most championship potential in the East.
Therefore, it is no wonder that Wang Zelin has a sudden idea.
However, he also understands that between the Pacers and the Heat, or in the competition between the leaders of the two teams, Paul George is still a little more immature than James. It is difficult to advance to the finals!
As for the many powerful enemies in the West, what Wang Zelin values most is the Spurs GDP, and he has a feeling in his heart that "the only heroes in the world are the envoys and caoer"...
