The first round continues until May 5th.
The Pacers, the No. 1 player in the Eastern Conference, had a mediocre performance in the first round and were forced into a tiebreaker by the Bucks. The tiebreaker was also very thrilling. The final score was 95:96. With the help of their home court, they narrowly won by one point. Became the second team to be hacked.
Reggie Miller had an explosion in this game, making 15 of 25 shots and a shooting percentage of 60%, including 3 of 7 three-pointers, and 8 of 10 free throws, scoring 41 points.
"Reggie, you were almost beaten in the first round. Isn't it too difficult for you?" After the game, Zhou Quan called Reggie Miller and teased him.
"Iron Fist, you boy is so lucky. Ben Wallace, whom no one wanted, actually performed as a first-class defensive center, and a bunch of people with minimum salaries actually reached the top of the league."
Reggie Miller was not in a good mood over there. Although he barely passed the first round, in the second round against Philadelphia, Iverson was not easy to deal with.
Zhou Quan laughed and said: "That kid Ben, because he is too short, assigned him to play small forward. He used to play small forward in the Wizards, and his performance was very poor. He can really only play center. He has indeed found a treasure. ”
"Iron Fist, give me some advice on how to beat Philadelphia?" Reggie Miller asked after chatting for a while.
"Ha, Philadelphia is your Eastern Conference team. You can beat me, why are you asking me?" Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Their inside defense is very strong. Ratliff and Te'lon Hill are better than our inside line. Besides, isn't that kid from Philadelphia having a good relationship with you?" Reggie Miller said.
"Iverson is very destructive, but his shooting lacks stability, his offensive efficiency is not enough, and he suffers on the defensive end. He cannot pose a fatal threat to you. On the contrary, when you talk about interior defense, you really have to pay attention to your own offense. We need to be efficient," Zhou Quan said.
After chatting with Reggie Miller for a long time, he ended the call. He felt that although the Pacers were good and had the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Heat and Knicks were both very strong. The Pacers wanted to break out of the Eastern Conference. Based on their performance in the first round, Quite difficult.
Especially for the Heat, although the internal and external core pair of Mourning and Payton are not as glamorous as the OK combination, they are a particularly strong defensive internal and external combination. They have both entered their peak period, with both 20+ on the offensive end. If you compare these two If the combination is changed to the Los Angeles Lakers, the reputation will probably not be lower than that of the OK combination.
If the Pacers and Heat meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, I'm afraid it won't end well.
As the first round ended, the second round came out.
In the East, the Pacers face Philadelphia and the Heat face the Knicks.
In the West, SuperSonics vs. Jazz, Lakers vs. Trail Blazers.
Before the first round is over, MVP voting has begun and will end on the 5th.
At 9 a.m. on May 6, the league announced the voting results for this season's regular season MVP through NBC television.
After the Sonics surpassed the Lakers and topped the league, there was actually no suspense about the MVP. Even if the reporters who voted did not vote for Zhou Quan, David Stern would have arranged everything.
Therefore, Zhou Quan won the third MVP of his career.
That night, the second round started. The Heat defeated the Knicks at home and the Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers at home.
On the 7th, the SuperSonics successfully defeated the Jazz at home, and the Pacers also defeated Philadelphia at home.
Zhou Quan inquired about the Pacers' situation after the game. Good guys, Reggie Miller and Jaylen Rose scored 40 points respectively, shooting 61.1% and 69.6% respectively, and 7 of 10 three-pointers. 3-for-5.
"Having two outsiders produce such an effect, it would be weird if Philadelphia's defense didn't lose." He couldn't help complaining.
"From the data point of view, Philadelphia is a colander on the outside, and the inside is not defended," Thorpe said.
"Ratliff and Te'lon Hill combined for 4 blocks and 2 steals, but do you know their team's block and steal data?" McMillan asked with a smile.
"How much?" Zhou Quan asked.
"Two steals and five blocks. These blocks came from substitute power forward Toni Kukoc." McMillan said.
"God, so many other people combined, only 1 cap and 0 steals?"
"I didn't get a steal or a block from the outside. I deserved to lose!"
"How bad is this perimeter defense? No wonder Reggie Miller and Jaylen Rose both scored 40 points and their shooting percentages are so high."
Everyone started joking.
On the 8th, Zhou Quan's house set up ten tables of wine for little Zhou Yuan and held a party, which was a lively party.
That night, the Heat and Lakers both lost at home and were equalized by the Knicks and Trail Blazers.
The Heat lost by a narrow margin, losing only 1 point, while the Lakers lost a bit miserably, with a score of 106:77, losing by 29 points.
The Blazers were in excellent form at the Staples Center. Lassiter Wallace, Steve Smith, and Pippen all scored 20+ points, combining for 74 points, 27 rebounds, and 6 steals.
As for the Lakers, they had 16 fewer rebounds than the Trail Blazers, and their shooting percentage was only 39.1%. They had only 4 steals compared to 11 for the opponent, and made 14 turnovers compared to 7 for the opponent.
Kobe, the core outside shooter, made 2 of 9 shots, only 22.2% from the field, and was defended to only 12 points. O'Neal, the core inside player, only had 23 points and no steals or blocks.
"With this performance of the Lakers, will they be killed by the Trail Blazers?" Zhou Quan shook his head.
The Trail Blazers' style of play against the Lakers still focused on double-teaming O'Neal. They first used Sabonis to deadhead and consume the Shark's physical energy, and then double-teamed him layer by layer. Rasheed Wallace provided weak-side help defense, guarding O'Neal for the whole game. Only 16 shots were taken.
The SuperSonics also played this way against the Lakers. Basically, all teams in the league now play this way against the Lakers, because O'Neal's destructive power in the low post is too great.
After watching this game, he only had one opinion. If Kobe, the core outside player, cannot stand up, attract defenses, and use his breakthrough to connect the inside and outside, then the Lakers will be in trouble. The Trail Blazers only need to concentrate their defensive power to deal with O'Neal. can win this series.
On the 9th, the SuperSonics defeated the Jazz again at home, and the Pacers did the same, both winning two consecutive games.
On the 10th, Zhou Quan went to Salt Lake City with the team.
In the evening, he and his teammates watched the game between the Lakers and Trail Blazers.
As a result, the Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers on the road and won by two points.
Kobe stood up and made 11 of 18 shots, with a shooting percentage of 61.1%, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, and scored 25 points.
O'Neal made 7 of 10 shots in 39 minutes and scored 28 points. Although he was very efficient, he was obviously guarded and took too few shots. If Kobe hadn't stepped up, the Lakers would definitely lose.
In addition to the OK combination, Ron Harper scored 12 points, and three people scored in double figures. The others shot three-pointers from outside. The team made 3 of 13 three-pointers, which was an average performance.
The top five starters of the Trail Blazers all scored in double figures, but none of them scored 20+. They did not perform as well as the previous game. They mainly lost in rebounds and interior defense. They lost 7 rebounds, including 6 offensive rebounds, and there were fewer blocks. 4. If you do a little better in any of these two aspects, you will not lose.
In another game, the Heat defeated the Knicks on the road, leading 2-1.
After that, the second round continued, and the Sonics lost the G3 game.
Zhou Quan scored 35 points in G3, but only provided 8 assists. A group of young people were not in good condition. They were all a little tired and distracted, and missed many open shots.
In another game, the Pacers defeated Philadelphia again, winning three consecutive games and becoming the first team to get a match point in the second round.
In the G4 game, the Lakers won their second consecutive away game, 3-1, and became the second team to get a match point in the second round.
The Heat lost to the Knicks, did not get the match point, and tied at 2-2.
The next day, the SuperSonics recovered somewhat in the G4 game. Zhou Quan scored 41 points, 13 assists, and sent 6 steals and 3 blocks. A total of 4 people scored in double figures, and they won the match point with a big score of 3 to 1.
The Pacers lost, and Philadelphia regained a match point.
On the 14th, the SuperSonics returned to Seattle.
That night, the Lakers, who returned to play at home, lost to the Trail Blazers by 8 points, with a big score of 3 to 2 and a match point in hand.
Kobe shot only 4 of 13 shots and only scored 17 points including free throws.
The Lakers shot only 38% from the field, 6 of 27 three-pointers, and only 22.2% from the field.
In another game, the Heat, back at home, defeated the Knicks 3-2 and gained match point.
On the 15th, the SuperSonics defeated the Jazz at home in the G5 game and took the lead in advancing with a big score of 4 to 1.
This is also the seventh time in Zhou Quan's career that he has reached the Eastern Conference Finals and the Western Conference Finals, continuing his record of never missing the Eastern Conference Finals.
In another game, because Reggie Miller was injured in training and missed the G5 game, the Pacers suffered a losing streak and lost 3-2 at home, but still held a match point.
On the 16th, in the G6 game, the Trail Blazers defeated the Lakers at home and tied three to three.
The Heat defeated the Knicks on the road and became the second team to advance to the second round with a 4-2 victory.
The ratings for this game were very low because the two teams played a very dull game, with the score being 78:72.
"Shark, how many points did you just score?" After the game, Zhou Quan called O'Neal and asked knowingly.
"How much do you care about me?"
O'Neal, who only scored 17 points, said angrily.
"How many points does Kobe score? I remember it was 33 points. Shark, who is the boss and who is the junior?" Zhou Quan continued to tease.
"Iron Fist, wait until I get to the Western Conference Finals and kill you, and I'll make you cry when the time comes." O'Neal said viciously and hung up the phone.
On the 17th, the Pacers defeated Philadelphia on the road and advanced with a score of 4 to 2.
On the 18th, the Lakers and Trail Blazers had a tiebreaker, the Lakers' home court.
As a result, O'Neal was double-teamed by the Trail Blazers and only made 5 of 9 shots. Fortunately, he was pretty good at free throws at critical moments. He made 8 of 12 free throws, but only scored 18 points. But his performance was still too poor. He only grabbed 9 rebounds and made 4 turnovers but only made one big block.
Kobe played well, scoring 25 points, shooting 47.4% from the field, grabbing more rebounds than O'Neal, 11, but they were all backcourt rebounds, and had 7 assists. What makes O'Neal feel most shameless is that Kobe also gave away 4 big blocks.
Glenn Rice's performance was average, scoring only 11 points and shooting only 40%.
But two people came off the bench for the Lakers. Brian Shaw and Robert Horry scored 12 points and 11 points respectively, with shooting percentages as high as 57.1% and 66.7% respectively.
Relying on the performance of Kobe, Brian Shaw, and Robert Horry, the Lakers finally won.
Eastern Conference Finals: Pacers vs. Heat, starting on the 22nd.
Western Conference Finals: SuperSonics vs. Lakers, starting on the 23rd.
On the 19th, at 9 a.m., the league announced the best team and the best defensive team.
Zhou Quan was selected for the double first team for the sixth time.
Kobe was selected to the defensive first team with him, and the other three were Mourning, Garnett, and Duncan.
In addition to him, the best team also includes Gary Payton, Duncan, Garnett, and O'Neal.
"First kill the Pacers, advance to the finals and then kill the Iron Fist King."
Gary Payton is depressed again, because he has a good chance of being selected for the double first team this year, but the defensive first team was snatched away by the Iron Fist King.
"First kill the Iron Fist King, advance to the finals and then kill the Gloves."
Kobe is not convinced either. Is my offense worse than a glove? Why is he in the first team and I am in the second team?
From this day on, some media, basketball commentators, and stars began to make various analyzes and predictions about the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals.
ESPN's prediction for the Eastern Conference Finals is that the Pacers have a 48% chance of advancing to the Finals and the Heat have a 52% chance. For the Western Conference Finals, the SuperSonics have a 52% chance of advancing to the Finals and the Lakers have a 48% chance.
Jim, the editor-in-chief of ESPN Sports Channel, gave his own reasons. He said on his NBA Channel program:
"The Pacers, the No. 1 player in the Eastern Conference, and the Heat, the No. 2 player, both advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a big score of four to two. The Pacers have a stronger offensive capability, while the Heat have a better defense. They each have their own advantages.
But I am more optimistic about the Heat, because the Heat's internal and external defense is more balanced, and the playoffs are more about defense, and defense wins the championship.
For the Western Conference Finals, the SuperSonics, the No. 1 player in the Western Conference, defeated the Jazz, No. 4 in the Western Conference, with a big score of 4 to 1 and advanced to the second round. However, the second-place Lakers and the third-place Trail Blazers reached the tiebreaker. It was difficult to advance, and O'Neal's performance in the second round was not stable, so I am more optimistic about the super stable King of Iron Fist.
Of course, the Lakers also have a great chance, because the Sonics have too many young people, and several of them are undrafted. Once there is a problem with their performance, it will be difficult for the Iron Fist King to support the situation alone. "
NBC TV station also analyzed and predicted the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers have a 45% chance of advancing, the Heat 55%. In the Western Conference Finals, the SuperSonics have a 56% chance, and the Lakers have a 44% chance. The prediction results are bolder than ESPN.
Michael, editor-in-chief of the TV station’s NBA channel, said in an interview: “We are more optimistic about the Heat and SuperSonics advancing to the finals because these two teams have stronger defenses.
Gloves can limit the Pacers' outside offense. The Pacers are a team that focuses on outside offense. Once the outside offense is suppressed, the Heat will have an advantage.
The Iron Fist King can limit Kobe's offense and cut off the connection between the OK combination, thereby helping the team win the opponent.
Of course, the Pacers have the same chance as the Lakers, and the chance is not small. After all, they and their opponents have a record of two wins and two losses in the regular season.
Take the Lakers for example. It can be said for sure that the Sonics will use all their strength to double-team him in the low post, but if he can break the opponent's double-team and play a dominant offense in the low post, it is very normal to defeat the Sonics, even if he is the Iron Fist King. Failure cannot be undone. "
(End of chapter)
