The Lakers trailed 0-3 in the Western Conference Finals, a very familiar scene.
Five years ago, the Lakers, which had four All-Stars for the season, performed similarly.
Before the start of G3, Lakers fans still had illusions. After all, they had an OK combination. Now they have recognized the reality.
They are both Los Angeles teams that have reached the Western Conference Finals, but the two teams are already one level behind, just like the Lakers and Jazz... Ah, that's not right, the Clippers have the championship.
The next day, May 30, in G4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic defeated the Nets 94-86 and evened the score!
The results are amazing, and the process is even more amazing!
The Magic won by 7 points in the first quarter and 8 points in the second quarter, leading by up to 15 points. In the second half, the Nets counterattacked wildly, but failed to narrow the point difference to less than 10 points until Kidd's last minute shot. A three-pointer at the buzzer in midfield brought the Nets back to 8 points.
The Magic played a crushing game!
Before the game, almost all mainstream media argued that the Nets were leading 3-1. Most fans agreed with this statement. After all, the Nets started the game with a 2-0 lead on the road, and Kidd's performance was shocking.
But tonight, no matter how well Kidd played, the Nets were suppressed throughout the game and could only hold on to prevent the game from being disrupted.
Li Ao was not surprised at all by this result.
Once the two offensive arrows of Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin can't continue to explode, the Nets will be out of luck.
Kidd's open shooting ability has greatly improved in the past two years, and he can now average 20+ per game, but he is still only a regular scorer. When it comes time to rely on singles to solve problems, Kidd cannot do it.
Just like in the second half of this game, Kidd had created a reversal opportunity, but he couldn't score in singles, and his teammates couldn't score in singles.
On May 31st, G4 of the Western Conference Finals came.
The Lakers failed to reach June for two consecutive years.
Tonight, O'Neal threw 29 times and only scored 13 goals. He only scored 5 goals in 10 free throws. He scored 31 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 steal.
Kobe took 25 shots and scored 9 goals, including 2 of 10 three-pointers, plus 11 of 13 free throws. He scored 31 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
The two scored 62 points together, most of them in singles. It's not that they don't want to play as a team, but that the confidence of their teammates has collapsed, the morale of the whole team has dropped to a low point, and it is better for them to cooperate by themselves.
G3 briefly stood up and squeezed the last bit of oil out of the Lakers' "old era" veterans.
Trailing 0-3, the mentality of the Lakers veterans has changed - with two championship rings in hand, why should they fight at their age?
For the Clippers, Li Ao had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, Jordan had 23 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 2 steals, O'Neal Jr. had 8 points, 16 rebounds and 2 blocks, Bibby had 17 points and 6 assists, and Odom had 10 points and 5 blocks. 4 assists, Matt Halprin 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals... The Clippers team scored 110 points!
Li Ao and Jordan did not play in the final quarter. All 12 Clippers players played tonight. Except for Campbell who scored 0 points and 4 rebounds on 0-for-2 shooting in 18 minutes, the other 11 players scored more or less goals.
110 to 86, the Clippers defeated the Lakers, sweeping 4 to 0 to advance to the finals!
When the final whistle sounded, Li Ao received the task prompt immediately.
Defeating the Lakers to advance to the finals, the 'Angel City Showdown' was completed, and he obtained the skill 'Lasher Level 1'.
All goals of 'King of the Western Conference' were achieved.
Goal 1, his scoring average per game is not as good as Kobe's. He scored 28 points in G1, 21 points in G2, 41 points in G3, and 17 points in G4, while Kobe scored 30+ points in all 4 games.
But he scored 41 points in a single game in G3, which was higher than any of Kobe's 4 games, and goal 1 was completed.
Goal 2. Li Ao's average points and assists per game are lower than Kobe's, and his rebounds, steals, and blocks are all higher than Kobe's. Complete.
Goal 3 has the highest degree of completion. They only defeated the Lakers in the tiebreaker last season. As long as they are not dragged to the tiebreaker or eliminated, they will definitely be able to complete it.
Earn all 15,000 achievement points and 'Folding Master Level 1'!
After getting 15,000 achievement points, Li Ao immediately spent... 65,000 achievement points to upgrade both skills to level 3.
This year is a good year. We have won more games than ever before, and our task completion rate is also higher than the previous two years. It doesn’t hurt to throw away tens of thousands of dollars.
"Lasher Level 3:
1. When the host fights one-on-one, it will bring greater psychological pressure to the opponent, depending on the host's deterrence.
2. The host's continuous scoring in one-on-one singles will affect the opponent's defensive confidence, which depends on the defensive player's psychological quality.
Note: There are certain negative effects. Every time a single score is scored, the host's desire to play singles will be stimulated. The higher the skill level, the more obvious the effect. "
Li Ao didn't really want to upgrade this skill. In G3, he and Kobe were duel. Every time they played in singles, they wanted to play in singles even more in the next round... It felt like endless improvement!
It was still controllable at level 1, and now at level 3... But the effect at level 3 is also very powerful. When it was upgraded to level 2, a second bonus was added, and when it was upgraded to level 3, the first bonus was added. Putting more pressure on the opponent after scoring a goal has turned into being able to put pressure on the opponent just by playing alone.
In terms of singles deterrence, his back-up is already very intimidating. Next, just expand his singles ability step by step.
As for becoming a solo player in the future... let's say I learned it from Jordan.
Everything can be blamed on the God of Basketball!
The other skill has no negative effects.
"Level 3 of Folding Master: When rushing or cutting into the frame, 1. The core strength will be improved after taking off, 2. If you successfully use the mid-air turn, pulling the stick and other actions to get the shooting space, the layup feel will be improved. Note: The more reverse the action when pulling the stick for a layup. The better the regular feel improvement.”
That note... Li Ao translated it, it means the more risqué the more accurate it is?
As expected of a skill learned from Snake, it’s so cool!
Turning off the system, Li Ao looked at his teammates who were celebrating excitedly, and then looked across the way... Most of the Lakers had already entered the tunnel, but a few people stayed on the bench and did not leave immediately.
Among them is the expressionless OK group.
After a while, Vice President Joke came to the court and presented the Western Conference Championship trophy to the Clippers.
Kobe and O'Neal watched the entire awards ceremony, and the scene of Li Ao, Gentry, and Ballmer lifting the trophy together was deeply engraved in their memories...
…
With 12 wins and 0 losses, the Clippers set a new record for the longest winning streak in the playoffs!
The previous record was held by the Lakers. They had 11 consecutive playoff wins and went straight to the finals twice. One was in the 1988-1989 season. That is, the rest period was too long. Pat Riley defeated Magic and Sky Hook in one breath. After failing to practice, they were swept in the finals, marking the end of the showtime era.
The other time was the 2000-01 season, when the Lakers won 11 consecutive games and entered the Finals, eventually winning the championship with the best record in playoff history of 15 wins and 1 loss.
Now, in the first season when the first round was changed from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven series of seven games, the Clippers broke the record of their next-door neighbors!
Not only that, one of their opponents who broke the record happened to be the Lakers!
The topic is full!
The media took advantage of the heat to shoot fadeaways and began to advocate that the Clippers would win 16 consecutive games and break the Lakers' historical record.
Come on, even the Clippers fans didn't have any hope, and normal fans didn't take it seriously, but they chose to boo.
Among them, Celtic fans are the most active...
Lakers fans were extremely angry. Although Mark Blount, who was sponsored by the Celtics to the Clippers, did not have a chance to play in most games, he really played a big role in this Western Conference Finals, especially In G3's war of attrition against O'Neal, Mark Blount's role was comparable to Campbell's.
The grievances between the two wealthy families, yellow and green, deepen again...
Entering June, the Magic sounded the death knell for the Nets.
On June 2, the Magic defeated the Nets 93-86. Duncan scored 14 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, Tracy McGrady had 29 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and Cassell had 14 points and 10 assists.
Kidd made 10 of 23 shots, including 4 of 10 three-pointers, plus 6 of 6 free throws. He scored 30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals, and still couldn't beat the opponent.
In this game, the Nets were able to play back and forth with the Magic for most of the game, but at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter, McGrady scored 13 points in a row with the help of Duncan and Cassell, and played a game alone. The wave was 13 to 5, killing the game.
Facing McGrady's rampage, Kidd was helpless.
On June 4, the Magic beat the Nets, whose confidence had collapsed.
After losing three games in a row, the Nets had no fighting spirit tonight. Kidd had his worst game in the playoffs this year, making only 8 of 24 shots and scoring only 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
Duncan scored 21 points, 20 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 4 blocks. McGrady made 3 of 7 shots, plus 5 of 6 free throws, and scored 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. The TT combination went wild!
Coupled with Cassell's 20 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, the Magic slaughtered the Nets 89-69, winning 4 consecutive games and reversing 4-2 to advance to the finals!
Double 20 + triple double, the TT combination was expressionless, and Spider-Man in front of the TV was pinching his thighs.
It’s okay not to watch this live broadcast!
The morale of the Nets team is low, teammates are unable to perform as they should in tactics, Kidd's open shooting ability is almost useless, and there are not many assists.
The Magic had basically no tactics tonight, and they relied on the personal abilities of the three major stars to directly defeat the Nets.
Li Ao originally wanted to see if Kidd could lead the team on another rampage, or to see the Magic's tactical coordination, but in the end he only saw the TT combination showing off their personal abilities.
After the game, the commentator praised the Magic's stability in this Eastern Conference Finals.
From being behind 0-2 to coming back 4-2, the difficulty is even greater than a 4-0 sweep!
When the commentator reviewed the entire Eastern Conference Finals, he even praised the two games the Magic lost.
Can you praise even if you lose? Of course!
Trailing 0-2 at home, their fighting spirit and confidence have not wavered at all. How many teams can have this kind of stability?
Anyway, now that the Magic have won, every fart tastes good.
However, Li Ao thinks it's good that the media is building momentum for the Magic. Although he doesn't know if it's useful, what if the Magic players drift?
but! The commentator continued to boast, then changed the subject and began to analyze whether the Clippers, who had won 12 consecutive victories, could win the championship...
Li Ao: "Hey! Hang up!"
…
At noon the day after the Eastern Conference Finals ended, the Magic flew directly from Jersey City to Los Angeles without returning to Orlando.
Some media broke the news that when the No. 3 Magic team went to the away game, the TT combination brought a week's worth of luggage.
When Li Ao saw this news, he complained about the "mensao group".
The finals are about to begin, and the eyes of the sports world are focused on Los Angeles.
There are no other world-class large-scale events at the same time this year, and it is much more lively than last year. Sports media, some entertainment media, and even some media reporting social news flocked to Los Angeles.
The super basketball genius of his country has reached the finals again and may successfully defend his title. Coupled with the support from the national football team last year... domestic sports fans are more enthusiastic about watching and discussing this finals than ever before.
As one of the two most popular candidates for FMVP, Li Ao is indispensable for the spotlight.
However, although the popularity is higher this year, Li Ao is not as excited as last year. He has experience.
Also, the Magic have been completely transformed!
Last year's Magic team, not to mention the Clippers, Lakers, and Kings, were the three true favorites to win the championship. Even the Mavericks and Trail Blazers might not be able to beat the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
But Li Ao was unsure about this year's Magic team.
This season, the Lakers' strength collapsed, the Kings' health collapsed and unfortunately encountered Tianke's opponents, the Mavericks were unable to defend in the playoffs, the Trail Blazers' core defense line collapsed with 30, and the entire system collapsed... The Western Conference It's time to reshuffle the cards. The Clippers can win 12 consecutive games and go straight to the Western Conference. It's mostly luck.
So far in the playoffs, the Clippers have yet to encounter an opponent that can truly threaten them. It's hard to say who will win.
After a brief taste of the wonderful feeling of being in the spotlight, Li Ao devoted himself to preparing for the game, while helping the basketball god and captain to urge his teammates to prepare for the game.
Two days passed by in a flash, and on June 7th, the first match day of the finals arrived.
At 7:40 pm, the Magic and Clippers entered the stadium one after another.
Enemies meet... without any surprises.
Normally, when two teams meet in the Finals consecutively, the tense atmosphere is light. In the 1980s, the Lakers, Celtics and Pistons met in the Finals consecutively. Before the start of each game, the two teams The most foul-mouthed players on the team would get into a huge quarrel, and all of them would go straight to the other side of the street to get to their relatives, and all of it would be transmitted to the ears of the fans in front of the TV via the TV station's radio.
Garnett's fans once used this incident to clean up the ground, saying that his swearing on the court was a tribute to traditional basketball...
This matter not only has an impact on the image of the NBA, but also affects ticket prices!
Because the fans at the scene could not hear these insults, many fans chose to watch the game at home. Although the tickets were still sold out, the fans' enthusiasm for buying tickets was reduced, and the ticket prices were naturally reduced.
This forced Stern, who had just taken office a few years ago, to establish new rules, giving referees the power to enforce the law and restricting the words used by players before games.
But the Clippers and Magic met in the Finals for the second consecutive year, and it was peaceful.
It's normal for Li Ao to have no hatred, they won last year.
But the Magic team is very abnormal.
Looking at the players on the opposite side with calm expressions and even calm eyes, that word reappeared in Li Ao's mind - game machine!
(End of chapter)
