The Mavericks defeated the Jazz, the Lakers defeated the Kings, and the Pistons defeated the Bulls, each leading by a big score of 2-1, while the Green Team defeated the Pelicans and also tied 1-2.
On the morning of the 25th, Barkley accepted an interview with New York Sports.
"Charles, of all the playoff teams, only the Suns got the match point with a big score of 3-0, while the Trail Blazers, Mavericks and Kings, who performed better in the regular season, failed to get the match point. The Kings even Behind the Lakers, what do you think is the reason? Is the Suns' opponent, the Timberwolves, weaker?" the reporter asked.
Barkley shook his head and smiled: "The Timberwolves are not weak. They are fifth in the Western Conference. If their strength is in the Eastern Conference, they should be able to enter the top three.
The reason why the Suns got the match point is because this team is in Old K. There is no other reason but because of him."
"Can you tell me the specific reasons?" the reporter asked.
"certainly."
Barkley nodded and continued: "I don't know if you media have ever analyzed Old K's performance in the playoffs. What I mean is the playoff performance of those seasons after Old K reached his peak."
The reporter was startled and asked quickly with interest: "Oh, Chart, did you discover something?"
Barkley nodded and said: "Old K is one of the few people in the history of the league who can be both more efficient and better in the regular season in the playoffs.
You can score more points than you did in the regular season by taking more shots, but it's hard to have both your scoring and your shooting percentage be higher than in the regular season.
You should know that this is a very rare ability, because you may not be able to pick a few. Of course, the players I am talking about refer to the core players of the team, not the general main force or substitutes.
Let’s just talk about scoring. How many people can you find who can score more points in the playoffs than in the regular season and at the same time have a higher shooting percentage?”
The reporter thought for a moment and named Michael Jordan, but when he thought about it further, he seemed to have encountered a problem and couldn't name the next one.
"And James Worthy, Big Dream."
Barkley added two names to him with a smile, and then said: "Even the super dominant Shaquille O'Neal, his shooting percentage in the playoffs is not as good as in the regular season, and his scoring is slightly higher.
Even Tim Duncan, who is known for his stability, has a slightly lower shooting percentage in the playoffs than in the regular season, but his scoring is slightly higher than in the regular season.
Now you know how hard this is? Very hard!"
"Yes, now I understand." The reporter nodded.
Barkley continued: "Precisely because Old K can perform more efficiently and aggressively in the playoffs, he is more dominant than anyone else.
He is a huge cornerstone. He raises the lower limit of his team, which allows his team to perform more stably or even better than any other team in the playoffs, even if other players do not perform well. He is also the ballast stone that stabilizes everything.
This is why the Suns can get match points faster than the Trail Blazers, Mavericks, and Kings, who have better regular season records, because they have Old K."
That night, the Suns completed a sweep of the Timberwolves.
Lao Wang completed a game against Garnett in the away game, preventing Garnett from making 4 of 15 shots. Including free throws, he only scored 10 points. He prevented Garnett from wanting to catch the ball.
At the end of the game, he patted Garnett's shoulder, who was out of breath and had no fighting spirit, and said sincerely: "Young people, don't be discouraged. I am old. You are the sun at one or two o'clock in the morning. The future is yours."
It belongs to us, but in the final analysis, it belongs to you young people."
Garnett was so moved that he almost cried. From these words, he seemed to see hope and light, and saw himself like a brilliant sun rising from the horizon, shining on the entire league.
This night, the Trail Blazers and Nets each defeated their opponents and got match points, while the Digital Team lost their second home game and tied with the Pacers 2-2.
On the 26th, the Suns returned to Phoenix.
That night, the Mavericks were defeated by the Jazz in the away game. The Kings defeated the Lakers and tied at two. The Pistons defeated the Bulls and got match point. The Green Team and the Pelicans tied at two.
Lao Wang called Kobe and "comforted" him: "Kobe, if you can't even make it to the second round, just go back to the Suns. The Suns can trade you in a package with Joe Johnson and Anfernee Hardaway.
One, it’s much more honorable than when you left the Suns as a partner.”
Kobe was almost angry to death, so angry that he stammered: "Old K, old K, old K, you, you, you, you, just wait for me. This time I will not only advance to the second round, but also advance to the Western Conference."
Finals, now you should be worried about whether the Suns can hold off the Trail Blazers for a few games and whether they can join me in the Western Conference Finals."
On the 27th, the Nets and Trail Blazers each defeated their opponents and advanced to the second round with a big score of 4 to 1. At the same time, the Digital Team defeated the Pacers and got the match point.
"The Trail Blazers face the Suns. I think the Western Conference Finals will be played in the second round early."
Glider accepted an interview with the media on the morning of the 28th and said: "The performance of the Kings and Lakers in the first round was disappointing. I think the Trail Blazers, Suns, and Mavericks are the real championship-level teams in the Western Conference.
The Trail Blazers and Suns meet early, which is both exciting and disappointing, but we can enjoy a very intense and exciting second-round series."
On the same day, Jordan accepted a live TV interview with ESPN TV in New York. When talking about the current playoff situation, he focused on the Trail Blazers and Suns, who have entered the second round. He said:
"The Trail Blazers are as stable and strong as the regular season, and Duncan's performance is the same. He will score 2010 every night. He will make the Trail Blazers as unsinkable as the Titanic."
"Michael, it has been 111 years since the Titanic sank." the reporter reminded.
Jordan's face remained unchanged as he said: "I know this, but before it sank, it was the unsinkable Titanic, and everyone thought so."
The reporter shrugged and thought, OK, you have a point.
But thinking of this, he immediately realized the underlying meaning of Jordan's words and quickly asked: "Michael, what do you mean, are you optimistic about the Suns advancing to the Western Conference Finals?"
Jordan nodded and said: "I know Old K very well. It is different from before. He used to work hard in the regular season, but in the past regular season, he has been fishing. I can be sure that he is preparing for the playoffs.
Make preparations.
Yes, he is almost 30 years old now and has been seriously injured. There was no systematic training for a year before his comeback. His physical fitness should not be as terrible as before. This should be the reason why he stopped playing in the regular season.
I have played with him for so many years, and I know that his real terror lies in his physical strength. His strong physical ability makes his performance consistent and terrifyingly stable. He is more stable than Duncan, just like the coldest machine.
Old K's offensive efficiency in the regular season this year is 9 percentage points higher than Duncan's. His stable performance coupled with super high efficiency is what makes him scary.
Yes, what I want to say is that Old K is still scary. He is like an icebreaker and can break icebergs that are enough to sink the Titanic."
That afternoon, Duncan saw Jordan's interview on TV, which woke him up.
In the four regular season games with the Suns, the Trail Blazers won all of them, which made him very happy. Even though he knew that Old K was very powerful, his undefeated record made him unconsciously relax his vigilance, and Jordan's words made him recover.
Be wary of Lao K.
On the 28th, the Pistons were defeated by the Bulls, and the Green Team defeated the Pelicans, both leading 3-2 and holding match point. The Western Conference Mavericks defeated the Jazz and gained match point.
As for the Lakers, after Kobe was comforted by Pharaoh Wang, he had a big hit, scoring 45 points in a single game and shooting 53.5% from the field. He led the team to defeat the Kings and get the match point.
On the 29th, the Digital Team defeated the Pacers and advanced to the second round.
On the 30th, the Green Team defeated the Pelicans, the Mavericks defeated the Jazz, and reached the second round at the same time. The Pistons were defeated by the Bulls, and the two sides tied with three to three, and a tiebreaker will be held.
In the G6 match between the Lakers and Kings, the Kings unleashed a powerful offensive firepower, scoring 117 points in one game and defeating the Lakers. The two sides will compete in a tiebreaker.
This time Lao Wang was not so kind to comfort Kobe. If Kobe was stimulated and exploded again, leading the Lakers to the second round, it might become an obstacle for the Suns to win the Western Conference.
Time has entered May, with a break on the 1st, and two tie-breaks on the 2nd at the same time.
In the end, the youth team was not stable enough, and the Pistons defeated the Bulls, won the tiebreaker, and advanced to the second round.
The Lakers, O'Neal and Kobe broke out at the same time, scoring 68 points together, defeating the Kings and advancing to the second round.
In this way, the second-round matchups between the East and West: in the West, the Trail Blazers vs. the Suns, and the Mavericks vs. the Lakers; in the East, the Nets vs. the Digital Team, and the Pistons vs. the Green Team.
The second round will start on May 4th, with the Suns and Trail Blazers in the West, and the Nets and Digital Team in the East. Just like the first round, it will be a best-of-seven game, with a 22111 schedule.
CCTV was in a dilemma and finally chose to broadcast Lao Wang's game live.
On the 3rd, the Suns left for Portland.
In the evening, Pippen and Rasheed Wallace invited guests to dinner together, and asked Duncan to accompany them. Duncan didn't know what he thought, but he also brought his wife, which surprised Pippen and both of them.
"Sorry, old K, my wife Amy is a fan of yours, so she hopes..." Duncan said a little awkwardly.
"It's okay, Amy, hello." Lao Wang smiled and shook Amy's hand.
"Old K, it's great to meet you. I like your muscles. I also like fitness. It's very exciting. I think you are more powerful than Tim. Your muscles are better-looking and more explosive than him...
…”
Amy looked very excited and kept talking.
Lao Wang glanced at Duncan, wouldn't you be like O'Neal, who failed to satisfy his wife and made her so excited to see other men?
However, he felt that he was just guessing. Duncan and Amy were a model couple in the league, a model of love. When Duncan renewed his contract with the Trail Blazers, he made a special request. He hoped that Amy could take the team's special plane to the away game.
After eating a little bit, he left first. Actually, Amy looked at him with a bright look in her eyes, which made her a little scared.
At night, while sleeping in bed, Lao Wang thought again...that his offensive and defensive technical information in the system had been destroyed by the system.
"System, where did you go with my offensive and defensive technical information?"
He had asked about this several times, but the system ignored it. He felt that it was probably not sincere enough, so now that he thought about it, he couldn't help but ask again. Maybe the system was annoyed by his questions and might be able to give him a
Answer.
"Ha ha!"
Just after he asked, the virtual screen jumped and a new prompt appeared. This made him happy. It was really an unexpected surprise. Sure enough, there was nothing wrong with asking a few more times.
"Host, your body has entered a three-year fixed period, and your physical fitness has lost the possibility of improvement. The basis for supporting basketball skills is physical fitness, so the host's current basketball skills have lost the basis for improvement, so the system no longer records the host's
Technical level information. If the host wants to continue to improve his technology, there is only one way to improve his technology, practice it over and over again, reduce complexity to simplicity, return to simplicity, and achieve the state of doing whatever he wants."
Lao Wang couldn't help complaining: "System, have you watched too many martial arts? I've been watching Huang Yi's "The Clouds and Rains" recently, why don't we discuss the plot of Han Po and Qin Mengyao in the tree? I'm watching it, and I feel like it's still...
Such a mistake."
…
No. 4, G1 match day.
In the evening, the rose garden was crowded with people inside and outside.
Many retired and current NBA stars appeared at the scene, such as Jordan, Dream and Glider, Thunder, Larry Bird, etc.
This series was broadcast live across the United States by ABC TV, and the commentators were Rango Gomez and Morton Ilanton.
Before seven o'clock, Lao Wang was ready, then put on his headphones and listened to music while turning over Mr. Huang Yi's "The Clouds and Rains".
"Old K, what book are you reading?" Ewing curiously stretched his head and took a look. It was all filled with square characters, and he couldn't understand a single word.
"Philosophical books, about the issues of yin and yang cultivation, are very profound and you don't understand them." Lao Wang said casually.
"Old K, I heard that Lightning is running for mayor. Are you studying philosophy now and planning to enter politics in the future?" Nash asked with admiration.
"Well, I have this idea. I also want to run for President of the United States. I think I have the ability to sit in that position." Lao Wang said seriously.
"..."
Everyone was stunned, who were you fooling? You don’t even have a green card, but you still have a work visa. Are you qualified to run for president?
The game starts at eight o'clock, and at 7:30, both sides announce their starting lineups.
Suns: Wang Tiejun, Amar'e Stoudemire, Marion, Joe Johnson, Nash
Trail Blazers: Duncan, Rasheed Wallace, Pippen, Bunch Wells, Derrick Anderson
After receiving the list, Zhang Lili immediately analyzed in the CCTV commentary box: "There are no changes, both sides still maintain the starting lineup for the first round series.
What surprises me is that the Suns still let Joe Johnson play the starting No. 2 position. I'm afraid there are some problems and we need to pay attention to it."
"I remember Joe Johnson being average in the first round..."
Su Qun flipped through Joe Johnson's information and immediately nodded: "In the first four games, he averaged 27 minutes per game, averaging 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2.5 fouls.
His problem is that his field goal percentage is too low, only 27.5%, he averages only 0.8 free throws per game, his free throw percentage is only 40%, and he has too many mistakes and fouls."
Zhang Lili said: "He is still too good. He is a second-year player. The Suns were last in the Western Conference last year and he has not played in the playoffs yet.
I have no experience and my skills are not yet mature. Now that I am playing in the playoffs for the first time and I am starting, it is a bit counterproductive!"
Su Qun nodded and said: "We should still let Pence start and Joe Johnson come on the bench. This way he will be under less pressure and his performance may be better."
Zhang Lili continued his analysis: "Stoudemire performed well in the first round of the playoffs, averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds per game. His shooting percentage should be a little higher than in the regular season, right?"
Su Qun, who was looking through the information, nodded and said: "His free throws were 47.2% in the regular season and 52.3% in the first round of the playoffs. He just can't shoot free throws. His free throws were 66% in the regular season and only 57% in the playoffs."
Zhang Lili smiled and said: "As a rookie, this performance is already very strong. Where is Nash?"
Su Qun said: "Nash scored 1,637 in the first round, with two assists less than in the regular season, and his field goal percentage was 44%, which was also two percentage points lower than the regular season. In addition, he committed 2.3 turnovers in the regular season and 2.6 in the first round.
Mistakes increased.”
Zhang Lijia smiled and said: "This performance is okay, but the opponents in the first round are not too strong. Now the second round is the key. The US media said this is the Western Conference Finals in advance. Can the Suns get past the Trail Blazers?"
, Nash’s performance is very important.”
Su Qun nodded and added: "Marion's regular season performance was the best, but his performance in the first round dropped, 1811. But his problem is not a decrease in scoring, because his rebounds have increased, and this aspect also contributed. His problem
It's because the efficiency has decreased, the shooting percentage in the regular season was 45%, and in the first round it was only 37.4%."
Zhang Lili took a look at the statistics table and nodded: "There are indeed some problems. The three-point shooting rate has dropped. In the regular season, it was 38.7%. The average shot was 4.5 times per game. In the first round, the shooting rate was only 32%. The average shot rate per game was 38.7%.
4.7 times.”
Having said this, he thought for a while before saying: "Of the four main players, only Stoudemire can maintain his regular season performance. The other three have declined in form. This is a problem that the Suns need to be wary of.
But the good thing is that the Tiejun haven't exploded yet, averaging only 32 points per game in the first round. Now they are playing the Trail Blazers in the second round. Let's see how he plays and use his stronger performance to make up for the declining performance of his teammates."
"Director Zhang, judging from the current atmosphere in the Rose Garden, the Blazers are very confident in defending their title!" Su Qun said while looking at the screen in front of him.
Zhang Liyi nodded and said: "If the Trail Blazers want to defend their title, or even want to win three consecutive championships, they have to overcome the Iron Army.
But if we can't make it this year, the Trail Blazers' lineup will probably not be good next year. Pippen is old, and Rasheed Wallace only has one year left on his contract, so he may not be able to stay next year. He is not short of championships."
"Director Zhang, who do you think has a greater chance of winning this time?" Su Qun asked.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Lili said: "The Blazers' strength lies in their stable lineup, fully mature tactical system, and no obvious weaknesses.
The Suns are stronger than the Tiejun, with strong offensive capabilities, but their weaknesses are obvious, including poor defense.
But the Trail Blazers also have weaknesses. The back line is a bit nervous, and the performance of Bonchi Wells and Derek Anderson is not stable.
Who has a better chance of winning, from an idealistic point of view, of course it’s the Suns.”
"Haha..." Su Qun laughed.
Zhang Liangli also said cheerfully: "This is no joke. The Iron Army won 6 championships in 9 years and played in the Western Conference Finals 9 times. From their rookie season to their retirement, they never stopped in the second round. Moreover, the Suns' current lineup is not bad, but it is young.
To be clear, Tiejun is in good shape, so what I mean by idealism is not entirely idealism, because from a probabilistic analysis, this is the result."
