Time passed by on May 8th, and the Eagles finally got on a plane to Philadelphia. It was not easy to wait for the next opponent!

In the past week, the six teams that had already advanced were waiting impatiently.

The remaining two rounds of the series were played too slowly!

In San Antonio, when Kobe and O'Neal weren't playing games and didn't have the same goals, the two of them stayed together. The more they looked at each other, the more they disliked each other, and they were on the verge of a fight.

In New Jersey, Payton and Kidd were very harmonious opponents. It was a pity that they were facing each other in the playoffs again after five or six years, but they just switched from the West to the East.

On May 5, when the Trail Blazers and the Mavericks, the 76ers and the Hornets all tied at 3-3, it was finally determined that the decisive date for the two series would be May 7, and the two tiebreakers would both be in May.

The game starts on the 7th, and the next round for the winners of the two series is determined to start on May 10th.

The series between the Lakers and Spurs and Bucks and Nets will start on May 8th and May 9th.

The Kings are fine, waiting at home, no pressure.

Only the Eagles were waiting the most anxiously. Unlike the Kings, they could just wait at home. They had to wait until the night of the 7th to know who their next round opponent would be. At this time, Liu Mang discovered that considering the next round opponent seemed not a good thing.

It's so hard to wait.

The Eagles have been anxiously waiting this week. In addition to waiting for the next round of opponents, there are also things that the players are very concerned about.

The regular season MVP is out!

Duncan won the regular season MVP without any suspense, becoming the eighth player in NBA history to win the MVP for two consecutive years. Of course, he can win it consecutively, not for the eighth time. Like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he won it in 10 years.

Among the 6 regular season MVPs, there were two consecutive MVPs. Duncan won the MVP. It was not a big surprise from the second half of the season. What made people hate the most was that Duncan wore a shirt, jeans and sneakers on the stage to receive the award during the press conference.

prize.

Because Liu Mang ridiculed Duncan on his talk show before, many fans saw that there was such a guy in the Spurs, the most hated team. Duncan's popularity changed from the high popularity he gained simply because of his strength to that of the Spurs.

The funny person in charge of the team.

It took Popovich seven years to win the best coach award, which many coaches could win in the first two years, but he didn’t win much applause. Most non-Spurs fans felt that Popovich was equal to

The Spurs, the Spurs are a hated team, Popovich is a hated team, and they don't even make the headlines.

Finally, on the night of May 7, the series between the Hornets and the 76ers was decided. The 76ers defeated the Hornets in the tiebreaker and advanced to the second round.

The Hawks' next opponent was determined to be the 76ers, and owner Price booked a charter flight that night.

When Liu Mang heard his boss, Price, say that the Hilton Hotel had already been booked, and he could choose a room at will, he was surprised that this opponent, who had not been determined in advance, could actually book the hotel.

Liu Mang quietly asked Mike Woodson and found out that Price had already booked the Four Seasons Hotel by the Sea in New Orleans and the Hilton International Hotel in Philadelphia. He had booked all the rooms for the five days from the 8th to the 12th. He couldn't go there.

In New Orleans, the deposit can only be used as liquidated damages.

It seems a bit wasteful, but Price's operation obviously made the excitement of the Eagles players much higher.

When the boss is generous, the players are naturally the happiest.

Price felt aggrieved when the players quietly discussed why the previously stingy boss was so generous this year.

In the past, the team was losing money every year, and the head office had to provide subsidies. He couldn't be generous even if he wanted to! He no longer wanted his job! Now he has money...

…

…

Compared with the series in the first round that seemed to have no suspense at all, the suspense in the second round of the series is much greater.

The Lakers and Spurs are a very popular series. Although people are more optimistic about the Lakers, the Spurs are also very strong this year. People are optimistic about the Lakers mainly because of their record in previous years.

Although people don't pay much attention to the series between the Nets and Bucks, the showdown between Payton and Kidd is still very interesting.

The game between the Lakers and the Spurs started the night after the Hawks came to Philadelphia.

The Kings play the Mavericks. This series is very exciting. The showdown between Webber and Nowitzki, one of the four best power forwards in the league, is still very eye-catching for the second consecutive year.

, no less than the duel between O'Neal and Duncan.

At noon on the 8th, the Eagles came to the Hilton Hotel in Philadelphia.

It was the playoffs, and after the Eagles came to Philadelphia, Liu Mang didn't receive a call or text message from Iverson, let alone an appointment to go out for a cup of tea like he did in the regular season.

Liu Mang is not surprised. This is Iverson. He may be willing to accept changes in his playing style, but that is already the limit. If you want his personality to change? That is not Iverson at all.

Liu Mang did not take the initiative to contact Iverson. The greatest respect for him is to respect his character.

Not only as an NBA player, but also for anyone, you can dislike certain things, but it is very basic to respect other people's characters and choices.

And Iverson's way of doing things in the playoffs also has an advantage, which is focus!

There was no socializing before and after the game. After arriving in Philadelphia, Liu Mang found a park and started practicing, actively preparing for the second round of the series starting on the 10th...

The Eagles had no training plan in the afternoon. Like Liu Mang, some teammates chose to find a place to train. The rented arena will only be used tomorrow. Some rested and some went out for a walk, but in the evening they all returned to the hotel.

Liu Mang practiced three-pointers and mid-range shots all afternoon. After returning to the hotel, he took a bath and ate some vegetables and high-protein white meat. After doing this, the series between the Lakers and the Spurs started.

Liu Mang looked at this match as if it were a fight between gods!

Duncan had 28 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks, O'Neal had 20 points and 21 rebounds, and Kobe had 41 points, 7 assists and 2 rebounds. It was a duel between three monsters.

In addition, there is another person who has the fourth best performance on the court. He is Ginobili. In his first season in the NBA and his first playoff game, he played extremely poorly in the first round.

, but as if relying on the lore to beat the Rockets, the Lakers came on the field in place of Stephen Jackson. When Duncan focused on defending O'Neal and focusing on scoring and missed a lot of rebounds, Yaodao twisted his flexible

Body, got 9 rebounds, and also scored 15 points and 5 assists, plus a three-pointer after falling behind by two points with 7 seconds left!

However, when the three superstars on the court got such brutal statistics, the final score was 86 to 85, and Ginobili made another buzzer beater! A three-point buzzer beater!

15 points, already the fourth highest score on the field. Fortunately for the Spurs, there were three players who scored in double figures. David Robinson took a shot and scored 14 points, Duncan scored 28 points, and Ginobili scored 15 points. Anyway,

Three scored in double figures.

On the Lakers side, except for O'Neal and Kobe who scored in double figures, 10 people played. Except for the two from the OK team, no one else scored more than 5 points. The highest one was Fisher who just scored 5 points.

After watching this game, Liu Mang couldn't help but lamented that the strength of the OK combination was still good, but their lineup could no longer keep up. With only two people playing, it was okay to beat weaker opponents, but they were crushed by strength.

When playing against Duncan, it will be difficult.

After watching the game between the Lakers and the Spurs, it was already half past nine. Liu Mang went to watch his teammates play cards for a while, then went back to the room to sleep. There will be training tomorrow.

…

…

Early the next morning, Liu Mang and his teammates came to the rented basketball hall.

76ers fans are quite friendly towards the Hawks, mainly because Liu Mang has a good relationship with Iverson.

Although 76ers fans are currently hostile to the Hawks, it is only because the two teams have become playoff opponents, and the hostility is only within the game, so there is no problem outside the court.

When they arrived at the training hall, coach Kruger called the players together for a meeting before warm-up to talk about the key points of training.

If there is a home field advantage, the meeting will not be so simple and hasty, but there is no way. After deciding on the opponents for the next round, the preparation time is only two days. One day of flying is quite torturous. Ordinary people can only fly once in a while.

It's interesting, but when this becomes part of the job, even chartering a flight will make people feel bored. If there was a meeting yesterday, it's hard to say how many people could remember the tactics, especially since this is a predominantly black team.

If you have home court advantage, you can have an extra day, just like the Kings or the Hawks themselves did last season, sitting at home and doing everything in an orderly manner.

This is one aspect of home field advantage.

"OK, everyone is ready for the next series with the 76ers. We have no other goal, only one, which is to advance!" Coach Kruger first set the goal for the series. Seeing that everyone felt that

This matter is OK, and he continued with satisfaction: "Although we are playing away from home, our goal is only to win and regain the home court advantage, and it is not just a home court advantage... We have won both games.

Gotta take it!"

Coach Kruger lengthened his voice, and then said an amazing goal!

I still want the rhythm of sweeping!

A flag was set at the beginning. Coach Kruger didn't seem to know how to build character. He was still too young.

Although this is a goal that has been set in everyone's mind for a long time, the Eagles players still feel a lot of pressure when they say it!

The name Iverson is still very intimidating to most players of this era. In 2001, he won the regular season Eastern Conference championship despite not being favored all the way, and reached the finals in two consecutive tie-breakers.

They also defeated the Lakers, the strongest playoff team in history, OK, which was an extraordinary shock to the players of this period.

Liu Mang also felt the pressure. Iverson, this guy is really strong! And now he has started to change his style of play because of his appearance, making it more difficult to deal with.

But pressure is also motivation!

The Eagles players, who have experienced a counterattack from the regular season to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, and who just swept the first place in the Eastern Conference, are very confident in their own strength!

Seeing that not only were the players not frightened by such a goal, but the fighting spirit in their eyes became more and more intense, Coach Kruger was very satisfied. If he didn't put pressure on these guys, where would the motivation come from?

"Next is the tactical arrangement. Mike, you arrange the defense first. We will still focus on defense..."

…

The preparation time for one day is very short, May 10th is here! Liu Mang got up early. This kind of series without home field advantage is just like playing consecutive away games. It is more about the adjustment of skills, tactics and mentality. Liu Mang got up early in the morning.

I got up and read for a while, followed by pre-game interviews and team pre-game meetings. At four o'clock in the afternoon, the Eagles came to the Wachovia Center for pre-game warm-up training.
Chapter completed!