At this time, the result of another game came out. The Pacers defeated the Heat for the second time and also won two consecutive home games.
Assistant coach Potka said: "Under Mourning's defense, Ewing scored 31 points and shot 49% from the field. The efficiency was not low. Mourning's defense today was not very good.
Reggie Miller's performance was much better than in the G1 game, he returned to his normal level, scored 22 points, shot 42.5% from the field, and made 3 3-pointers."
Having said this, he smiled and said to Lao Wang: "Old K, your fellow countryman Hu performed well too, scoring 16 points and shooting 43%, which was slightly worse than the previous game, but as a substitute, this is
Quite an outstanding performance.”
Lao Wang smiled and nodded. Lao Hu's shooting percentage seemed to be higher than that of Reggie Miller, but it should be noted that most of the time the opponents he faced were the Heat's substitutes, so although the shooting percentage was higher, it did not mean that
Lao Hu's strength is higher than Reggie Miller.
However, Lao Hu is indeed capable, and this performance is enough for him to get the main position in a weak team.
The Lakers and Pacers both won two consecutive victories, which was beyond the expectations of the media. In other words, the Pacers' two consecutive victories were taken for granted by the media, but the Lakers' two consecutive victories surprised the media.
The Lakers recorded a record 74 wins in the regular season, and showed great strength in the playoffs, especially the way they defeated the Jazz. With their strong bench lineup and Old K's physical advantage, they defeated the Jazz and let the Knicks down.
Both the Blazers and the Green Team were on alert and had a great sense of crisis.
The Trail Blazers are a little better. Although Da Meng really wants to win the second championship, after all, his desire to win is not that strong. And Duncan is a rookie. Although he wants to prove himself, his desire to win is actually not the same as Da Meng.
Same.
However, Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen is willing to do anything to win the championship, so Dameng and Duncan are also full of energy and want to give it a try.
Their lineup is actually quite good, not a little worse than the Lakers and Knicks, but their outside defense and offensive efficiency are not good, but if they play well, the Lakers and Knicks are no match for them.
The people with a stronger sense of crisis are Jordan and O'Neal.
Jordan did not hesitate to come to New York in order to defeat Old K. If he loses again this time, he really doesn't know what to do.
His contract with the Bulls is for two years, and this year is the only one left. If he loses again, should he renew his contract with the Knicks and continue to fight for another year, or simply retire?
As for O'Neal, he was crushed by Old K in all honors. His desire to break through was no less than Jordan's, so he was willing to accept Jordan's encouragement and train harder.
In fact, having said that, the people and teams that were suppressing him in the Eastern Conference were Jordan and the former Bulls.
However, after careful analysis, Jordan believes that the Knicks still have an advantage.
No matter who advances to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers or the Heat, the Knicks can easily defeat them, advance to the Finals first, and wait for the rest.
As for the Lakers? There is a high probability that they will play the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals. With the Blazers' strong lineup, he has no confidence. Even if the Lakers win, it will definitely be difficult to win, and reaching the Finals will also be a tired team.
division, the Knicks will have a physical advantage.
The Lakers' bench includes Chris Mullin and Fox, but the Knicks' bench is not bad either. His appeal is not weaker than that of Old K. He has also recruited some veterans with basic salaries. When the time comes, everyone will fight for the main force and then fight for the bench.
It’s hard to say whether to win or lose.
Moreover, the Knicks' lineup is not bad. He and O'Neal played side by side in the regular season. Although he did not take a truce, his average playing time was limited to 35 minutes. O'Neal even took a truce for 22 games, and his average playing time was only 35 minutes.
With only 36 minutes, their physical energy consumption is much lower than that of Old K, which is also an advantage.
But now there is a problem. The Green Team is trying to bite them. They actually lost to the Celtics at home in the G2 game. It is best to win the next two away games, otherwise they will lose one game and draw two.
During the hard battle, it affected the rest of the series.
There will be no game on May 7th, so we will have a day off, and the 8th will be the G3 game day.
On this day, the Lakers arrived in Salt Lake City and the Pacers also arrived in Miami.
Buckley and his group didn't come. The trading company's business is now very booming, so they went to the company to inspect their business.
That night, the Knicks and Trail Blazers each worked hard to defeat the Green Team and SuperSonics, both gaining a two-to-one advantage.
On the evening of the 8th, the Pacers started a battle with the Heat, and half an hour later, the Lakers and Jazz started a battle.
At around 10 o'clock, the Heat defeated the Pacers and pulled one back.
Half an hour later, the Jazz also defeated the Lakers and pulled one back.
In the second round, the four groups of opponents all fought to a score of 2 to 1.
For the Pacers and Heat, Mourning defended Ewing and only scored 18 points. He blocked 7 shots in the game, 4 of which blocked Ewing. His defense prevented the Pacers from entering the paint area.
The Lakers and Jazz didn't decide the winner until the last minute, and the Jazz only won by 3 points.
The Jazz used foul tactics from the beginning. All the players wielded machetes and slashed at Lao Wang. He made 16 of 26 free throws in the game. Although his free throw shooting rate today reached the normal level of 61.5%, with so many fouls, he also made 16 of 26 free throws.
His condition was completely gone. He made 3 of 10 shots in the past two points and 8 of 11 shots at the basket. In total, he made 11 of 21 shots. His shooting rate was only 52%, which was far lower than the 70% or more shooting rate in the previous two games.
Including free throws, I got a total of 38 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, 5 turnovers and 5 fouls. There were not enough rebounds. I was not in good shape because of too many cuts. There were also a lot of mistakes and fouls. These were all the reasons for today's loss.
.
For other players, Kobe exposed his shortcomings as a sophomore, scoring only 8 points and shooting only 33%.
Richmond did well today, scoring 21 points, but only shot 40.1% from the field.
Mark Price was in poor condition today. Under Stockton's defense, he made as many as 6 passing errors and could only score 8 points and 4 assists.
Under the stimulation of the big insect, Danny Fortson couldn't help but punched the big insect in the 9th minute of the second quarter. He was a second-level foul and was sent off.
On the other hand, Mullin, Fox, and Hill each scored 8 points, 11 points, and 6 points on the bench. Their performance was normal. If they hadn't been there, the game wouldn't have lasted until the last minute.
After the game, the Lakers hurried back to the locker room for the coaching staff to summarize the game.
Lao Wang and others soaked in the medicine bucket in the bathroom and listened to head coach Harris talking outside.
Harris first affirmed Lao Wang's performance. He believed that scoring 38 points and maintaining a shooting percentage of 52% was already the performance of a superstar.
We lost tonight. First, everyone was in bad shape. The Jazz were too strong at home. Every time they got the ball, they would be booed and scolded, so they made frequent mistakes and were in a sluggish state. Second, the Jazz had the home court advantage and performed very well.
, Postman scored 34 points, Sabonis scored 18 points, Hornacek hit 4 three-pointers and scored 19 points, and even Stockton scored 16 points.
There is another important reason. Da Chong was in particularly good condition today and grabbed 21 rebounds, 8 more than Lao Wang.
With all the advantages, even though the Lakers had the physical advantage and kept holding on to the score, they were unable to regain it in the end.
Next, he did not criticize anyone. After analyzing the game, he warned: "Everyone should have a good rest tonight and tomorrow. A temporary downturn is normal. I hope everyone will work together to win the G4 game the day after tomorrow.
Return to home court with match points in the second round.”
Magic Johnson walked in and said to Lao Wang: "Old K, they will definitely kill you in the next game."
"Just cut it. We didn't play well today, and they only won by 3 points. Are we afraid of them?" Lao Wang said confidently.
Kobe also said confidently: "Their physical fitness may be even worse in the end, and our physical advantage will be even greater."
"Kobe, you only scored 8 points. Sure enough, you are good at choosing jersey numbers. Did you choose No. 8 on purpose?" Lao Wang joked.
"Then if I want to change my number, I'll choose No. 100." Kobe said angrily.
"Haha..." Everyone laughed.
Lao Wang continued to joke: "With your performance like this, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to take over from me!"
"It's just a bad state in one game. I want to perform 20+ in the next game." Kobe said with full confidence.
The next day, the 9th, the second round continued.
The Knicks and Trail Blazers defeated the Green Team and SuperSonics respectively, scoring a big score of three to one, and both returned to their home court with match points.
On the 10th, the game between the Lakers and Jazz begins first.
The Jazz's home court momentum is very strong. Every time the Lakers win the ball, they will be greeted by huge boos and all kinds of abuse from the home fans.
However, under the leadership of Wang, the Lakers dealt with it calmly and started a fierce battle with the Jazz. In the end, relying on the thickness of the lineup, they still defeated the Jazz in the fourth quarter.
Today Lao Wang was cut down again. He reduced his offense and increased his rebound control and defense, scoring 35 points, but his shooting rate was as high as 72%. He also grabbed 22 rebounds, leaving the big insect with only 10 rebounds.
In addition, he also sent 6 blocks, 3 steals and 8 assists.
In the 9th minute of the second quarter, he made a fierce dunk, injuring Sabonis who had only been on the bench for 6 minutes, which was also one of the reasons for the win.
Then the Pacers lost to the Heat again, and the two sides tied at two.
Hu Weidong came on as a substitute in the 5th minute of the first quarter and played 34 minutes, scoring 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
The key reason for the loss was that Ewing scored 24 points but only shot 33.3% from the field. He played inefficiently and was once again frustrated by Mourning's defense. He took 5 big blocks from Mourning in the low post offense, which was all over his head and face.
Blood.
On the 11th, the Lakers returned to Los Angeles with match points in the second round, and there will be a G5 game on the 12th.
That night, the Knicks played against the green team. The green team's troika worked together and actually managed to pull back another game. The two sides fought to a score of three to two.
In addition, the Trail Blazers went all out and defeated the SuperSonics with a score of four to one, becoming the first team in the league to advance to the third round of the series.
"Michael is going to be in trouble now!"
"Haha, the Knicks won't be eliminated by the Green Team, right?"
Buckley, Glider and the others started teasing each other.
Lao Wang couldn't hold back, and made a call to Jordan, joking: "Flying Man, if you can't make it to the Eastern Conference Finals this year, it seems that your contract is over after it's over. Why don't you come to the Lakers and help me?"
"Shet! Old K, you should worry about yourself." Jordan gritted his teeth with hatred and cursed.
"Ha ha……"
Buckley and a group of people eavesdropping on the phone laughed nearby.
"Charles, how do you feel when you are over there with Old K, hugging his thigh?" Jordan heard Barkley's voice and immediately sneered loudly.
"Michael, Old K is making us rich. Do you know how profitable our trading company is? We can't finish our import and export orders. There are hundreds of VIP customers of K Martial Arts School who are our trading and business partners.
Our suppliers and customers are all over the United States, and our monthly trade volume has now exceeded 200 million US dollars." Buckley said proudly.
"snort!"
Jordan was so angry that he hung up the phone.
"Charles, does the trade volume now exceed 200 million?" Lao Wang said in surprise.
"It's not 200 million, it's a monthly trade volume of 200 million. Old K, don't you care about your own company at all?" Buckley said angrily, and Lightning and other shareholders also nodded in agreement.
"I don't understand, why should I care about it?" Lao Wang said indifferently.
Lightning said with emotion: "Old K, you are so lucky. You have your second sister to help you manage your business and make a lot of money."
"That's right, my second sister is a little genius." Lao Wang said proudly.
"Little genius? What about the big genius?" Lightning asked doubtfully.
"Kevin, you are so stupid. The great genius is of course my eldest sister! My eldest sister has been smarter than my second sister since she was a child, but she is very low-key. Now she has joined a certain physics institute, and every once in a while she will study in some natural sciences
She was very busy publishing papers in magazines, and I haven't seen her for more than half a year," Lao Wang said.
"The two sisters are so smart, why are you so stupid?" Buckley asked doubtfully.
"Damn fat man, who are you calling stupid?"
Lao Wang was so angry that he got up, held Barkley down and rubbed him on the floor. The others burst into laughter.
"Shaq, deal with the green team at the end of the game and never drag it into a tiebreaker." Jordan dropped his cell phone and shouted at O'Neal.
"I know, Michael, you just need to perform better next time." O'Neal said seriously.
"Pfft!"
Oakley next to him burst into laughter.
Jordan's old face was a little red. He was in bad shape today. Although he scored 25 points, his shooting percentage was only 36%. He was blamed for the loss.
He stared at O'Neal fiercely. The big shark stared at him for three seconds, but finally couldn't resist his fierce gaze and looked away in a dignified manner.
On the 12th, the Lakers fought against the Jazz and defeated their opponents with a big score of 4 to 1. Following the Trail Blazers, they advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
ESPN commentator Luo Lin said regretfully: "The Jazz are old, otherwise they may not lose to the Lakers."
Oldman nodded and said: "Basically, in the four games we lost, although we were behind in the first three quarters, the point difference was not big and we could hold on. All of them were due to physical collapse in the final quarter and being taken away by the Lakers. The lineup
Really old."
Luo Lin said: "If the Lakers' strength is not strengthened next year, several veterans will be weaker, but Kobe should be stronger, so the strength will not become weaker. If they are strengthened, they will only be stronger than today. Then the Jazz's
The chances are even smaller.”
Oldman said somewhat cruelly: "Without the second round this year, this Jazz team is actually a thing of the past, and its strength will only retreat but not advance.
As for the future of the Western Conference, at least within five to seven years, the Jazz will no longer be the strongest among them, and the Western Conference will be dominated by the Lakers and Trail Blazers."
Luo Lin nodded and said: "The Lakers and Trail Blazers will meet in the Western Conference Finals. The series between these two teams will definitely be very exciting, so let us look forward to the Western Conference Finals in a few days."
The other team, the Pacers, finally defeated the Heat and got the match point with a big score of 3 to 2.
The next day, on the 13th, the Knicks started a G6 game with the Green Team.
In the end, Jordan had a big explosion under various stimulations, scoring 48 points with a shooting percentage of 51.8%. O'Neal also scored 29 points and 14 rebounds. The two led the team to defeat the Green Team's troika, winning by four games.
With a big score of two, they eliminated their opponents and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
On the 14th, the Pacers and the Heat started a G6 battle. The two sides tied again, resulting in the only tiebreaker in the second round.
There was no fighting on the 15th. That morning, the Lakers held a tactical meeting. All relevant people, including the boss, attended.
First, assistant coach Bill Potka introduced the current situation of the Trail Blazers. He said: "The main reason for the Trail Blazers is that the main lineup is too strong. The substitute lineup is the same as the Jazz and is not as good as us. This is our advantage. If the main lineup cannot compete, we will
There is a chance to come back on the bench.
In terms of the main lineup, they are strong in the paint, with top-notch offense and defense. The fourth and fifth positions are very balanced in offense and defense, ranking first in the league. The combination of O'Neal and Oakley is not as good as us. The same is true for us. Old K is too strong, but the fourth position
They are much weaker.
Their back line is also quite strong, and Lydel and Flying Squirrel can perform well with 20+ star performances, but they have big weaknesses. First, their efficiency is not good, second, their defense is not good, and third, their performance is unstable.
This is something we can consider when formulating tactics.
The other three position is our advantage, their small forward is just a role player, we can beat them at this position."
Then head coach Harris said: "We had two wins and two losses against the Trail Blazers in the regular season, and we are quite familiar with them.
Their main lineup seems to be very strong, but it is not balanced inside and outside. The inside line is more efficient. They only take so many shots in a game. Their offense is mainly based on the inside line like ours. They even have two strong inside lines, so the outside line is
They don't take as many shots as our perimeter players. When we defend the Blazers, our focus is on the inside.
The Trail Blazers traded Little Flying Squirrel from the Menglong this season. Little Flying Squirrel averaged 17 shots per game with the Menglong last season, but was suppressed to 11 shots in the Trail Blazers. This season, he averaged only 12.2 points per game in the regular season.
The hit rate is only 36.4%.
So far in the playoffs, the scoring is about the same, and the shooting percentage is slightly higher than the regular season, reaching 39%, which is still not high enough.
His performance this season is far less impressive than the previous two seasons, and he can no longer see any starlight.
The decline in his performance is not only related to the needs of the team, but also related to injuries, but we cannot underestimate him. He is very fast, and he is very threatening in breakthroughs and assists. He plays like crazy and scores 30+ points in a game.
It is very possible that even if his scoring efficiency is not high enough, he is still at the level of a top point guard.
Shooting guard Ryder averaged only 15 points per game in the regular season and shot 42.3% from the field. His scoring in the playoffs was similar, with a slightly lower shooting rate of 41.8%. This efficiency is higher than that of his partner.
But the shooting rate of the Blazers' back line will not affect the outcome of the game unless they can score 40+50+.
We don’t talk about advantages on the outside, but we don’t have any disadvantages. Our outside scoring ability is definitely not weaker than theirs. Counting the substitute lineup, our outside is even half a level better than theirs. We have loopholes in outside defense, but we should be better than them.
To be stronger, we need to use defense on the outside to suppress the scoring and efficiency of their back line.
In terms of inside, although we have Old K, the combination of Dameng + Duncan is too strong, so we will play like the regular season. Old K will focus on Tim Duncan, who is more stable, and cut off the connection between them.
Dameng is indeed a bit old now, almost 36 years old. In the regular season, he had 18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.8 steals and 2 blocks, with a shooting percentage of 49.3%. In the playoffs, his scoring and rebounds improved slightly, but not by much.
Moreover, his condition in the first two rounds was average, with too few attacks at the basket. He gave up the space at the basket to Duncan. Duncan had more attacks at the basket than he did, and his shooting percentage was only 40.5%, which was lower than the regular season.
However, he was able to play 38 minutes in the playoffs, which is not bad. It means that his physical fitness is not bad and his condition has the potential to be explored. He cannot be underestimated.
But if he is still in this state in the Western Conference Finals, I think that under the premise that Old K can guard Duncan to death, and they cannot guard Old K, we have a great chance of reaching the finals.
However, under the premise that Old K is guarding Duncan, Dameng will definitely increase the offense at the basket, and the efficiency will be improved. We must be mentally prepared."
Bill Potka said: "Duncan, a rookie, has really reached his peak since his debut. He had a 20+10 performance in the regular season and 20.7 points, 9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals, 2.6 blocks, 2.8 turnovers and 2.7 fouls in the playoffs.
His performance is slightly lower than that of the regular season, but his performance is very stable, and he is a greater threat than Dameng. His biggest threat to us is not scoring or rebounding data, but stable offensive and defensive performance."
"Old K, please say a few words." At this time, head coach Harris said.
Lao Wang nodded, stood up and said: "Playing against the Trail Blazers will definitely be more difficult than playing against the Jazz. We must be mentally prepared.
They have four main positions, and the two inside guys have the ability to score 20+. If I target one, the other should be able to score 30+. In short, their two big inside players average 40+ points per game, and we have to take it into account.
.
In the two outside positions, Xiao Fei Shou's scoring is not something to be afraid of. Even if he can explode once, he will definitely not be able to explode in the entire series. However, be careful with his breakthroughs. He is very threatening. Lai Del, who is more efficient, must also be careful. Don't
Let him make a hit.
Generally speaking, I agree with what the coach said. Our lineup is thicker than theirs and we have a physical advantage. We can slowly drag them to death just like we did against the Jazz."
In the tactical meeting, the Lakers made the decision to strengthen the rotation in the Western Conference Finals and use a stronger rotation to wear down the Trail Blazers. As long as Lao Wang can hold Da Meng and Duncan in the paint, this idea can still be realized.
.
Wang Tiejun, Kobe Bryant, Richmond, Chris Mullin, Te Yinlong Hill, Mark Price, Fordson, Rick Fox, these eight kings are all at the level of main players. Although there are a few veterans, but
It is entirely possible for everyone to take turns to fight and wear down the four main players of the Trail Blazers.
Among the Trail Blazers' bench, forward Brian Grant is pretty good, but he is of little use on his own.