【Five-star Lakers?】

After the game, the media issued soul-searching questions.

At the beginning of the season, everyone thought the Lakers were going to be invincible, and they even shouted the slogan of 82 wins.

The result is, just like this, you can’t even make it through the Western Conference Finals?

If they really lose to the Clippers, they will fail even more than the Celtics, who have made it to the Finals anyway.

【Who is the real core? 】

Another article has begun to discuss the core issues of the Lakers last season, which may have been controversial before.

However, as Zhang Zhiyuan's performance gets better and better, and Kobe Bryant's performance becomes more and more outstanding, this issue seems to have been concluded.

This conclusion is very harmful to Kobe. After all, if it is proved that Zhang Zhiyuan is the first core, then Kobe will become the second player to win the championship.

Originally, there was still hope of surpassing Pippen in terms of honors, but if the second player wins the championship, he will not be able to compare with Pippen. After all, Pippen has six.

As soon as the article came out, Kobe's fans were very angry.

But anger is anger. In the face of a large number of facts, they suffered a lot in the debate and were often ridiculed.

Except for a few die-hard fans who are still talking harshly, other fans have chosen to shut up or quit being fans.

On the 20th, the third game between the Magic and the Cavaliers.

This was a physical battle. Howard made three free throws early. The Cavaliers' Yinorgskas and Varejao also frequently fouled in order to stop Howard.

The game turned into a free throw shootout, and James finished taking Howard's free throw.

James made 24 free throws and Howard made 19 free throws.

At the same time, James also made 28 shots and hit 11. He took 40 shots in total and scored 41 points.

In the end, the Magic won the game, leading 2-1.

Both the Eastern and Western finals were ranked second, which is a bit of a coincidence.

On the 21st, the Clippers played Game 4 against the Lakers.

The Clippers narrowly won, leading 3-1.

The moment the game ended, not only Lakers fans, but also Clippers fans couldn't believe it.

Won, really won.

3 to 1, only one step away from the finals.

Considering that the Cavaliers and Magic are weaker than the Lakers, the championship seems to be within reach.

The series hasn't ended yet, but the media has already praised Zhang Zhiyuan to the sky.

Led by a single core, Zhang Zhiyuan defeated the five-star luxury lineup in the first year of reconstruction. No matter from which point of view, Zhang Zhiyuan's season can be regarded as great.

"The game is not over yet, we will achieve a reversal."

In the face of the media, Kobe is still speaking harshly.

No. 22, Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The strength of the two teams is really close. The winner of the first three games was decided at the last moment, and today it is again.

In the last six seconds, with the Magic trailing by 1 point, Lewis hit a three-pointer to take the lead by two points.

The Magic had already started cheering, but James broke through for a layup, causing Pietrus to foul.

James made two free throws at the critical moment, sending the game into overtime.

In overtime, James and Howard staged a king-on-king battle.

Howard made 4 of 4 shots and scored 10 points including free throws.

James made 3 of 7 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and scored 10 points with two free throws.

Then, the Cavaliers lost.

James' teammates scored 4 points, while Howard's teammates scored 6 points.

Pietrus made a three-pointer.

At the end of the game, the Magic also led the Cavaliers 3-1 and got the match point.

James scored 45 points, but his teammates couldn't help.

Howard only scored 27 points, but Alston scored 26 points, Lewis scored 17 points, Pietrus scored 17 points, and Turkoglu scored 15 points.

On the 24th, Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals begins.

Already leading 3-1, Zhang Zhiyuan did not use any more props.

Without the use of props, the Clippers were still not weak. They played back and forth with the Lakers and only fell behind by 4 points in the first half.

However, in the second half, Zhang Zhiyuan's physical strength declined more seriously, and his hand feeling was not very good.

Zhang Zhiyuan's state directly affects the Clippers' state. If he is in good form and attracts more double-teams, the rest of the Clippers will be able to perform well.

Once his shooting percentage drops, the Lakers will defend alone, and the scoring efficiency of the rest of the Clippers will be greatly reduced.

Therefore, when Zhang Zhiyuan's condition declined, the Clippers collapsed directly, losing by 10 points in the third quarter and another 6 points in the last quarter.

In the end, the Lakers beat the Clippers 127-107 by 20 points, tenaciously pulling the score to 2-3, retaining their hope of advancement.

Next, as long as they win another away game and drag the game into a tiebreaker, their hopes are still quite high.

Of course, the premise is to win the next away game.

At the post-game press conference, Kobe expressed his ambition to advance.

Winning by 20 points, a big victory, really boosted morale.

Not only Kobe, but Artest also expressed confidence in advancing and winning the championship.

Barkley didn't see it that way. He continued to throw out his own conspiracy theory, saying that the Clippers wanted to play one more home game and earn more ticket money.

This is the home court of the Western Conference Finals, and it is an epic showdown. The ticket price has broken the previous record, exceeding the ticket price of the Finals.

Even so, it's still hard to get a vote.

When questioning Zhang Zhiyuan, the reporter also asked him if he lost on purpose to earn ticket money.

Zhang Zhiyuan replied: "Thank you very much for thinking so highly of me, but I need to remind you that the Lakers are very strong and difficult to beat. I am not 100% sure of defeating them, only 80% sure at most. How dare I

Losing on purpose? I can’t wait to finish them off in 4 games.”

The tone sounded sincere, but the content sounded strange.

The phrase "80% at most" made the fans extremely happy. This is not looking down on the Lakers.

Some people think that Zhang Zhiyuan is arrogant, but Zhang fans say that the idol is telling the truth.

There's no 100% guarantee of beating the Lakers, but it's 80% certain.

On the 25th, Magic vs. Cavaliers.

As if they had agreed with the Clippers, the Magic also lost, and the score became 3-2, leaving some opportunities for the Cavaliers.

Mo Williams performed well in this game, scoring 26 points. Together with James' 37 points, the two scored 63 points together.

The Magic's Alston performed poorly and only scored 3 points.

No. 26, Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

Zhang Zhiyuan has decided to deal with his opponent in this game, just in case.

There would be many variables if it was delayed until the tiebreaker. He didn't want to take risks, and there was no need to take risks.

Zhang Zhiyuan used a triple-double machine, and then the two teams started playing.

The Lakers attacked first, and Kobe continued to follow the assist flow route. It was not that he liked this style of play, but that his efficiency in facing Zhang Zhiyuan's singles was really not high.

Kobe wanted to win, he really wanted to win.

In order to achieve this goal, he has sacrificed a lot and paid a lot.

Gasol scored a layup and the Lakers led 2-0.

When the Clippers attack, Zhang Zhiyuan naturally focuses on driving his teammates.

This was Zhang Zhiyuan's strategy before the game, and the rest of the Clippers increased their running positions.

Lowry passed by Zhang Zhiyuan, Zhang Zhiyuan blocked Fisher, and then passed the ball to Lowry.

Lowry took off the ball, shot, and hit.

2 to 3.

When the Lakers attack, Kobe plays with his back first and drives towards the basket.

Although he mainly focuses on assisting, he can't stand and deal cards. His intention is too obvious.

Kobe hit it twice, then threw the ball to the bottom corner, and Fisher caught the ball.

If you want to beat the Clippers, you have to shoot three-pointers.
To be continued...