After sweeping the Jazz 4-0, the Trail Blazers became the first team to advance to the conference semifinals this year.
According to optimistic estimates from the Portland media, fans will have to wait at least a week if they want to see the Trail Blazers play again.
Players from other NBA teams felt very uncomfortable when they saw the news in the Portland media complaining about the Trail Blazers taking too long a break...
MMP!
A bunch of guys from Versailles.
Your sister, if we can advance early, we definitely want to advance early too!
This year's first round of the Eastern and Western Conference playoffs was a bustling affair.
In the East, the Celtics, who ranked first in the Eastern Conference record, actually tied with the Pacers 2:2, which was somewhat unexpected.
Before the start of the series, the Celtics' probability of advancement was 83%, while the Pacers were only 27%. After the first four games, the Celtics' probability of advancement is now only 55%, while the Pacers' probability has reached 45%, which is basically equivalent to a 50-50 situation.
Many experts believe that this series will last 7 games.
The Pacers are stronger than people imagined. The two sides are similar in strength. Two of the first four games required overtime to decide the winner.
What was originally a good situation has developed into the current balance of power, causing many fans to once again question the value of the Celtics' regular season record. For a time, the Celtics' reputation was damaged.
The Chicago Bulls, ranked second in the Eastern Conference, have played as dominant as the regular season. Facing the Bucks led by Antetokounmpo and Mi Wenyuan, who are still in their insignificant development period, they have easily rewritten the series score to 3. :1.
Chicago fans have said that the reason why they lost in G4 was purely because the referee sided with the Bucks. It was 5 against 8. Who would be incompetent if they were replaced?
Of course, this may still be a good thing for the Bulls, because they are very hopeful to win the Bucks in the fifth game and complete the promotion amidst the cheers of the home fans.
Think about it, it might be a beautiful thing...
Even though he is 33 years old and his hairline continues to move back, James is still terrifying in his dominance in the Eastern Conference. After the first four games, the Cavaliers and Hawks tied 3:1, which can only be the same as the Bulls. , advancing to the conference semifinals at home in the fifth game.
The biggest highlight of the game between the Cavaliers and the Hawks is that "Little Emperor" James and "Warcraft" Howard met again in the Eastern Conference playoffs after eight years.
Eight years, how many eight years can there be in life?
Time goes back to 2009. One of them is a young emperor in his prime, and the other is a peak Warcraft who has completely established himself as the league's number one center. The 2009 Eastern Conference Finals was talked about by countless fans later... and at the same time. It became countless classic cases that Zhan Hei would often use to attack Zhan Mi in the future.
Ahem, let’s get down to business.
Compared with the 33-year-old James, Howard, who was born in 1985, entered the league in 2004 and has just turned 32 years old, has long been no longer on the same level as James because of injuries.
Not to mention James, even Cousins can take care of Howard at will.
It seems that no trace of time can be seen on James, which once again verifies the truth:
Often the attribute of endurance is the most important talent of a super giant!
If you don’t have a strong enough resistance to fuck, what if you are talented? If you can't even hit a ball, what's the point of talking about talent?
Zion Williamson is the best example in the future. He played 85 games in the first three years. Fortunately, in the small city of New Orleans, the Pelicans management really couldn't bear to part with him and just gave him away. 200 million big contract.
To describe the Pelicans management in one sentence, it would probably be: I have to finish the P appointment even if I cry!
Let’s talk about the Eagle Riding Battle.
After four games, James has played a stable game, averaging 25 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists, nearly a triple-double. Judging from his performance on the field, many people seriously doubt that James may not even use his eight-point success rate.
This also shows the overall strength gap between the Cavaliers and the Eagles.
Finally, it’s the Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards series.
What do you say about this series?
Except for the fans of the two teams, basically not many people pay attention to them, including the league, which does not spend much effort on the two teams.
Due to the close strength, the Wizards, fifth in the Eastern Conference, and the Raptors, fourth in the Eastern Conference, tied at 2:2. The Wizards' double-gun firepower was still very strong, and their performance on the court was in no way comparable to that of Lowry and DeRozan. Falling to the wind.
Judging from the current situation, after the first four games, there are actually only two teams in the Eastern Conference that truly have championship potential.
One is the Chicago Bulls and the other is the Cleveland Cavaliers!
After the G4 game, the two teams were also considered by many well-known basketball commentators as the two teams most promising to reach the top of the Eastern Conference this year.
This year's Eastern Conference champion will be between the two teams.
This side of the west.
The Grizzlies are worthy of being the league's troublemaker and quality checker for strong teams. After returning to their home court in the third game, facing a big headwind of falling behind 0:2, they just relied on a crazy meat grinder battle to defeat the Warriors. It was dragged into overtime.
In overtime, the Warriors' outside shooters were in crisis, but the Grizzlies firmly occupied the inside advantage, scored two points to stabilize their efficiency, and finally defeated the Warriors by 4 points.
103:99, the series score between the two sides became 1:2.
However, Warriors coach Cole is not a vegetarian.
After understanding the Grizzlies' main drag-and-drop strategy, he immediately chose to do the opposite. As soon as the fourth game started, the Warriors players started a fast-break run and gun.
You want to fight a slow-moving positional battle, but I just can't do what you want.
Relying on the targeted strategy of playing fast and playing slow, the Warriors, who had a better feel, outran their opponents in just three quarters and entered the final quarter with a 28-point lead.
The Grizzlies are not good at scoring, so allowing them to catch up to 28 points in one quarter is tantamount to fantasy.
In the end, 124:102, the Warriors won another away game, rewriting the score to 3:1. It is very likely that they will return to the Oracle Arena with a triumphant victory. Under the witness of the home fans, they will become the second team in the Western Conference to advance. Teams in the conference semifinals.
The three veterans of the Lakers still have some skills, and at least there is still a lot of gas in the tank.
After being beaten 0:2 by the Spurs in San Antonio, he returned to the home court to regain his morale and won two consecutive games in overtime, rewriting the big score to a 2:2 tie.
However, the Lakers are obviously at the end of their rope. This team with an average age of 32 cannot afford to spend, especially when the two core players are almost 40 years old.
During the showdown between the Houston Mosaics and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Harden really had no intention of showing any mercy to his once beloved second brother and childhood sweetheart.
After the first four games, the score between the two sides reached 3:1, with the Mosaic team in front and the Thunder team in the back.
In this series, Harden's style basically overshadowed Westbrook's.
G1 game: Harden had 37 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals, Westbrook had 22 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Mosaic team 1:0 Thunder team.
In the G2 game, Harden scored 35 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal. His performance was okay, but... he couldn't stand up to the opponent Westbrook. He scored 51 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, 4 steals and 1 block in a single game. He not only became a super triple-double. The first 50-point player in this year's playoffs also became the second player in NBA history to score a 50+ triple-double.
Who is the first?
Of course it's Michael. I'm everywhere... ahem, that makes sense.
This time it’s not Gang Leader Qiao, but Wang Zelin.
And unlike the previous life, the Thunder won this game!
Yes, this time the Thunder did not lose to the Mosaics by 4 points as Wang Zelin remembered, but Westbrook had the last laugh.
As a result, after the G2 game, the outside cheers for Westbrook to be crowned MVP this season became louder again.
If Westbrook can continue to hold on and lead the Thunder to complete the series against the Mosaic team, I don't think he will really have a chance.
It's a pity that Westbrook couldn't hold on all the time. It ended like this, and the Thunder only lasted one game.
G3 game: Harden exploded, scoring 44 points in a single game, plus 6 rebounds and 6 assists. He beat Westbrook's triple-double of 28 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 steals. The Mosaic team defeated the Thunder 118:110, and the series ended with a big score. Arrived at 2:1.
Game G4: Harden's performance was slightly stretched and he only scored 21 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal. This was far inferior to Westbrook, who had a big triple-double of 35+14+14+3+1, but he couldn't stand up to the Mosaic team's bench. The gangsters all broke out.
Da Nuji had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Round-faced Deng Ge had 18 points and 8 rebounds, Lu Wei had 18 points and 7 rebounds... Mosaic's role players suddenly went berserk, disrupting all the Thunder's pre-game plans. After Thunder coach Billy... With Donovan's bitter smile, the Thunder had no choice but to accept their third loss in the series.
After this game, the Mosaic team led the Thunder 3:1 in the series.
They failed to defend two consecutive home games in G3 and G4, causing countless people to say that the Thunder have gone too far, and their playoff journey this year will most likely end in the first round.
At this point, the first round of the Eastern and Western Conference playoffs will most likely be like this.
Except for the defending champion Portland Trail Blazers, who showed their usual terrifying dominance, there was no second set of sweeps in the Eastern and Western Conferences.
…
In the following days, apart from the necessary regular training, the Trail Blazers coaching staff arranged no other training tasks, and repeatedly asked the players not to practice additional training after returning.
Especially Wang Zelin.
It should be noted that when NBA players are fighting around, sometimes the real threat to them is not powerful opponents, but injuries lurking in the shadows that may break out at any time.
In the history of the NBA, there are countless cases where injuries have ruined championship hopes.
Some of this is due to me being too memorized, which is really bad luck; some of it is self-destructive, and I have to practice too hard before the competition.
A typical representative of the latter is Pat Riley, who advocates devil training.
Hard training is the only way for NBA players to become superstars. Jordan had the "Breakfast Club" to challenge his limits, and Kobe Bryant insisted on the almost abnormal "666" training for many years. However, when practicing hard, you must control the amount of training. Once the amount that the body and mind can bear is exceeded, problems will occur.
The reason why Riley is called the "devil coach" is because he strives to implement overloaded training.
Riley's devilish training caused Mourning, a strong man, to mysteriously suffer from glomerular necrosis in his fourth year with the Heat; Wade suffered frequent injuries in his fourth year in his career; Hardaway's fourth year in the Heat Both knees suffered injuries one after another; O'Neal and Riley broke up in the middle of his fourth season with the Heat...
The most well-known and criticized Riley Devil training can be traced back to the Santa Barbara emergency training camp before the 1989 Finals.
At that time, the Lakers, who were aiming for three consecutive championships, reached the finals with 11 wins and 0 losses in the playoffs. Their physical and mental condition was already at its best, but Riley was not satisfied yet, so he took the team to Santa Barbara. A week-long closed training session was conducted.
You know, that Lakers team was a complete veteran team at the time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was already 42 years old. They had reached the Finals for four consecutive years. You can imagine the level of physical and mental exhaustion. But Riley wanted to squeeze more, and the results were conceivable. And know...
The results of that training camp ended up being “excellent”:
Magic and Byron Scott were both injured, the Lakers were swept by the Pistons, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired in despair!
After that, the relationship between Riley and the Lakers' second-in-command became increasingly bad. Until the 1990 semifinals, the Lakers were unexpectedly swept by the Suns 1:4, and the conflict between the devil coach and the Lakers' core players completely broke out.
Worthy took Byron Scott and others straight to the office of then Lakers general manager Jerry West and demanded that Riley be fired. Riley, who was forced to leave, then "voluntarily" resigned.
The once glorious "Show Time" Lakers have disappeared into the dust of history.
Riley's living example is there. Coach Terry and general manager Orsi don't want the Trail Blazers to follow in the footsteps of the Lakers of the past.
For the sake of the team's fourth consecutive championship, the two of them talked hard and occasionally made raids on home textiles. Finally, Wang Zelin canceled his previous private training plan.
Come on, this extra practice is definitely not going to work anymore, so just watch the game honestly.
…
Time flies, and teams from the East and West have advanced to the conference semifinals.
After returning to their home court, the Chicago Bulls lived up to expectations and easily defeated the Bucks 115:103. In the series, they swept the Bucks 4:1 and became the first team in the Eastern Conference to advance to the conference semifinals.
Followed by the Golden State Warriors, they also swept the Grizzlies 4:1 at home, becoming the second team in the Western Conference to advance to the conference semifinals after the Trail Blazers.
The promotion of both teams is expected, after all, the strength is there.
The Bulls have the Big Three of Davis + Rose + Wade. The average age of this group of old, middle-aged and young Big Three is not too old, the team structure is relatively reasonable, and they can steadily outperform the Bucks.
Taking into account the competition between the core players of both sides, Nongmei has already reached the peak of his career. When healthy, he is an absolute double-team player. On the other hand, Antetokounmpo still needs 1 to 2 years of training before he can reach the stage of great success. In the competition at the same position, he Those who are restrained by thick eyebrows are dead.
In the crucial G5 game, Antetokounmpo made 7 of 21 shots, a poor shooting rate of 30%, and led the Bucks out of the game.
There is no need to go into too much detail about the strength of the Warriors' Big Four. This is a team that requires the Blazers to go all out. It is not surprising that the Grizzlies lost to them.
The most surprising thing was the game between the Cavaliers and the Hawks. Arriving at the Quicken Loans Arena, home of the Cavaliers, all the Hawks players broke out in a last-ditch battle. Paul Millsap, the leader, had 29+14+5+1+2 and was versatile both offensively and defensively.
Dennis Sroeder also excelled with 27 points and 9 assists.
Even Howard, who was previously considered to be in the sunset, also delivered a double-double of 15+18 tonight, with 18 rebounds on the spot, including 11 frontcourt boards. He can be regarded as one person blowing up the Cavaliers' frontcourt boards. .
In the end, the Hawks defeated the Cavaliers 113:99 at Quicken Loans Arena and successfully extended their life.
As for the remaining sets of duels.
The Spurs returned home and won another game, 3:2 against the Lakers, and the balance of victory began to tilt towards them.
Coming to Space City, even though Westbrook scored a super near triple-double with 47 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists on the spot, it was still difficult to save him.
Just because Harden's performance on the opposite side is not much inferior to him, with 44 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists in a single game, which is also a super close triple-double.
In addition, Gua Ge scored 31 points... The Thunder were eliminated 1:4, and the loss was not unfair.
The Raptors, who returned to Toronto, successfully defended their home court, 3:2 against the Wizards, and once again had the upper hand.
After all, the Celtics ranked first in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. They were too embarrassed to humiliate their hometown folks when they returned home, so they pulled back a game and rewritten the series score to 3:2.
(End of chapter)
