The 22nd, the game day of Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
On this day, Dayao's divine performance last night won widespread praise from the media.
In a small hotel in Portland, Zhang Lili was flipping through some newspapers and suddenly said with emotion: "Yao Yao's character is ten times more humble than Tie Jun's, and there is no violence, Tie Jun's domineering, and no scandals. Typical traditional Chinese*
The image of Chinese people, not only in the United States, but even at home, the media seems to be more willing to support him. In terms of personal image, he is better than Tie Jun and can be called a social model. Look at these American media, almost no bad words are said about him
of.
Tiejun, on the other hand, is violent, domineering, and even rude. He is sometimes unfriendly to the media and has no humility. In fact, he has never been very popular with the American media. The most important thing is that he has achieved too many achievements and is under pressure.
American superstars can't turn around in ten years. This is Tiejun's original sin!
Especially now that he is in his thirties, he is still so strong and will continue to dominate the league without end, and he is even less popular with the American media.
Alas, the American thinking is: If you are too strong, it is your fault. If you are weaker and you are not a threat to us, we will like you.
Su Qun, do you think I am right?"
"Yes, yes, haha..."
Su Qun fell down laughing and couldn't answer the question.
In this game, the Suns played away from home, and most of the players still performed mediocrely. The Blazers finally took advantage of their home court to win, and the Suns lost by 5 points.
At the end of the game, the three main players, Duncan, Randolph, and Payton, were so tired that they lay directly on the floor.
Lao Wang was a little unhappy. His performance today was not ideal. He only scored 24 points and shot 55%. The main reason was that the home whistle was too far away.
Duncan stared at him and deliberately caused a foul on him. Several referees stared at him and fouled him prematurely. He committed his first foul in the second minute of the first quarter. In the fifth minute, he was called for an offensive foul because he knocked over Duncan during the offense.
He sat on the bench and only played intermittently for 31 minutes.
He didn't get many whistles on the offensive end, and only made 6 free throws. Several of Duncan's suspected fouls against him were not seen by the referee.
When he was not on the court, more than half of the Suns' defense collapsed, especially the poor inside defense. Stoudemire played the fifth position, and Marion played the fourth position. They were not tall enough and had not enough tonnage. They were left behind by Duncan and Lang.
Dove was blown away.
Duncan scored 32 points, Randolph scored 21 points, and the two combined to contribute 53 points and 24 rebounds.
The outside line is a little better. When he comes off the court, Zhu Fangyu plays the third position. The defense is good and can fill most of Marion's defensive energy, but it is not as good as when Marion plays the third position.
Back in the locker room, Lao Wang accepted the "comfort" from Dayao.
An hour later, the post-match press conference was held.
"Old K, are you worried about being equalized in the away game?" a reporter asked.
"Even if we get equalized, it doesn't matter." Lao Wang said easily.
"Why? I know you definitely care about winning or losing." the reporter asked.
"Because our advantages are getting bigger and bigger."
Lao Wang further explained: "Did you see Duncan and several other Blazers' main players lying on the floor at the end of the game?"
After the reporters nodded, he continued: "They are working hard. Even with the advantage of home court, they can only win with a slight advantage, but we still have the strength to spare. This is our advantage in the series.
When our advantages accumulate, no one can stop us from heading to the finals, and victory in the series will come naturally."
On the 23rd, Lao Wang did not perform well and was directly demoted to the floor by the media. Duncan and Randolph, who performed well, were promoted to the sky by the American media and became the Portland Gemini.
In the evening, the Eastern Conference finals were played in a different location. Dayao did not perform as well as he did in the previous game, but the Pistons played iron-like defense and defeated the Nets, taking the advantage with a big score of two to one.
On the 24th, the game day of G4 of the Western Conference Finals.
Last night, the teams of the two Chinese nationals both lost. The American media immediately became excited. The Trail Blazers and Pistons were touted as super strong teams. All major media outlets raised the chances of the two teams winning the championship.
ESPN has updated the predictions of the four teams' championship chances. The Suns have been lowered to 30%, the Trail Blazers are 25%, the Pistons are 25%, and the Nets are 20%.
This prediction is relatively rational and has been recognized by many fans and has been reproduced by many media.
While having breakfast, Lao Wang saw ESPN's predicted probability of winning the championship and felt a little bit in agreement. The probability of winning the championship of the three teams including the Trail Blazers was indeed similar.
After breakfast and drinking coffee, several media stationed there obtained permission from the team management to come over for interviews.
"Old K, what do you think of ESPN's prediction of winning the championship?" a reporter asked.
Lao Wang hesitated for a moment and said: "It's okay. The Trail Blazers, Pistons, and Nets are all at the same level. ESPN gives them three similar winning chances."
"Do you completely agree? Do you have any different opinions?" A somewhat disappointed reporter asked expectantly.
Lao Wang chuckled, and several reporters suddenly became excited. They all worked with Lao K all year round and were very familiar with Lao K. When they saw this expression, they knew there was a reversal.
Sure enough, Lao Wang then said: "The difference is almost the same, but the probability given to them by ESPN is a bit high. It's not necessary to say 25% or 20%. I think the three of them together can account for 1%. This is more accurate. You guys
What do you think?"
"Pfft! Haha..."
Several reporters and Lao Wang's teammates burst into laughter.
Lao Wang's words were subsequently posted on the websites of these media outlets and were widely disseminated.
"Ben, Old K said that the Pistons, Nets, and Trail Blazers have a combined winning probability of only 1%. What do you think of his prediction level?"
Immediately, a reporter interviewed Ben Wallace, who went out to throw away garbage bags.
"What did Lao K say? When did he say it? Why didn't I know?" Ben was a little confused. He didn't like to play online.
"Yes, the interview I just accepted was reported online," the reporter said.
Da Ben thought for a while and said with a smile: "The game is a game, off the court is off the court, he is the boss off the court, no matter what he says."
"You have no objection?" the reporter asked in surprise.
"No, although I only played with him for one year, he gave me the opportunity to enter the league. It was he who taught me how to defend, how to rebound, and how to train strength. He also taught me
I respect him as a leader. Except for games, he does whatever he says. Charles Oakley is my big brother, and so is he." Ben said seriously.
Some reporters also rushed to Rashid Valais’ doorstep and interviewed him.
"He said our three teams combined only have 1%? Haha..."
After hearing the reporter's words, Rashid Valais couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Rashid, aren't you angry that Mr. K looks down on your team?" the reporter asked in surprise.
"Why should I be angry? If the Pistons can't beat the Suns, then I will join the Suns, haha... I won't say any more. I'm going to call Old K and ask him to leave a spot for me." Rashidwal came.
The scholar laughed and said.
"..."
The reporter was stunned. If I can't beat you, I will join you. How can I still do this?
Some reporters went to the hotel where the Nets were staying. It happened that the Nets had just had breakfast. After being allowed, they interviewed Kidd and Dayao at the dining table.
"Jason, Yao, have you seen the interview Lao K just gave? It's online." the reporter asked.
"See, he said that our three teams combined have only a 1% chance of winning the championship. Is that true?" Kidd asked with a smile.
"Yes, aren't you angry?" the reporter asked.
The two looked at each other, shook their heads helplessly and laughed.
Kidd said: "Why are we angry? Don't let him speak? No, if so, he will spray us to death. So, he can say whatever he wants."
Dayao nodded and laughed.
"What, only give us 1%? That bastard K is too arrogant, we must kill him this time!" Payton said angrily during an interview in front of his home in Portland.
"It adds up to 1%, three teams." the reporter reminded.
"Three branches? Three branches add up to 1%?"
Payton was stunned and couldn't believe it. After reacting, he immediately sprayed: "His mouth is like a big water pipe. He just sprays water out. There is no logic and he is arrogant..."
The reporter quickly retreated and was sprayed all over his face.
"Tim, can you be interviewed?"
A reporter came to Duncan's door and happened to meet Duncan who was driving his wife to the gym, and quickly came forward to interview him.
"Just a question, I'm in a hurry." Duncan said.
"ok."
The reporter quickly asked: "Old K just said that your Blazers and Nets..."
"That adds up to 1%?"
Duncan was startled, smiled, shook his head and said, "It's just a joke, don't take it seriously, I won't take it to heart."
After he finished speaking, he rolled up the window, stepped on the accelerator and left.
"What a big heart! You are indeed a psychology major." Reporter Payton nodded.
In the evening, the G4 game of the Western Conference Finals begins.
Suns: Wang Tiejun, Stoudemire, Marion, Joe Johnson, Nash
Trail Blazers: Duncan, Zach Randolph, Darius Michaels, Derrick Anderson, Payton
"Gentlemen, if the whistle is still aimed at us, we must respond calmly. Remember, the home whistle is part of the game."
Before taking the court, Van Gundy shouted a reminder at the top of his lungs, loud enough for the official record desk in the middle to hear clearly.
Several officials glanced at Xiao Fan and pretended not to hear.
"victory!"
Lao Wang shouted together with all his teammates.
"victory!"
On the other end, the Trail Blazers are the same under the leadership of Duncan.
"Crack!"
After a jump ball, Lao Wang took the lead to take the ball away and the Suns attacked.
In the low post on the left wing, Wang Tiejun wanted the ball.
Nash pushed the ball to the frontcourt and suddenly accelerated to the left wing.
Immediately, he found that Payton could not keep up with him and his legs and feet were too slow.
"Whoosh!"
The ball was passed.
"Bang!"
Lao Wang caught the ball, immediately started dribbling, and hit Duncan with his back.
At the same time, Marion on the three-point line began to move toward the bottom corner, and Nash, who had just passed the ball, was waiting for the return pass at Marion's original position.
Duncan did not hit the ball hard, but took a half-step to defend, and defended while retreating. The defensive strategy was to put Old K into the basket and double-team the basket with Randolph.
This is an impossible defensive strategy, because Randolph's defense speed is not fast enough, and he cannot withstand Old K's back attack, so he can only risk letting Old K in.
The first three games of the series have exhausted his physical strength to a great extent. He no longer has the physical strength to endure, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Lao Wang's original plan was to use strong confrontation to further wear down Duncan, and at the same time test the referee's whistle today, but Duncan didn't push hard, and when his plan failed, he could only take advantage of the situation and hit the paint area.
He had caught Randolph's figure, and the moment before he rushed to his side, he suddenly connected with the ball, then jumped up and hit a side hook.
Duncan and Randolph jumped to block the shot at the same time, but they were completely unable to reach the height of his shot.
"brush!"
The water splashed and the basketball went hollow into the basket.
"A two-point sideways hook two meters away from the basket should feel good today." Su Qun said expectantly.
"According to the standards of the G3 game whistle the day before yesterday, the Tiejun should play like this, using more hooks near the basket and reducing the number of direct attacks on the basket to avoid being called for offensive fouls by the referee." Zhang Lijia said.
Su Qun nodded and said: "The day before yesterday, I was called for two offensive fouls and three illegal shoulder violations. In total, at least four of the five are worthy of discussion."
Zhang Lili laughed and said: "Illegal shoulder use, the referee can call a violation, or directly call an offensive foul based on the scale of the offense caused by the attacker to the defender. The referee controls the scale of the penalty. The K rule specifically limits the Tiejun's reliance on hitting.
His punishment will definitely be the most severe."
At this time, Payton advanced to the frontcourt, and Duncan suddenly took a step from the low position to his left waist. The ball was passed down the horse. By the time Lao Wang took a step forward, Duncan had successfully received the ball.
"Duncan and Payton cooperate very well!" Zhang Lili praised.
Before he finished saying this, Duncan's attack had been completed.
The next moment he caught the ball, he turned around and reached down. At the same time, he handed the ball to his left hand. While dribbling with his left hand, he used his right hand to turn around and push out. When he withstood Lao Wang, he pushed harder, and then
He drove into the paint, stepped up and hit a layup, and hit a goal.
Lao Wang glanced at Duncan and felt that he needed to strengthen his defense today and not let this idiot get away with it.
"Beautiful! The pace of this attack is too fast!" Su Qun shouted.
"There are no extra steps." Zhang Liji nodded.
While the two were explaining, the Suns' offense had already begun.
Lao Wang rushed to the basket to get the ball, and immediately retreated behind the baseline, preparing to serve quickly.
The other four people had already turned around and quickly descended, sweeping towards the front court like four sharp arrows.
Duncan immediately stood in front of the baseline to prevent Lao Wang from making a quick move.
Dunleavy knew that Duncan's physical fitness was failing, so he arranged for him to stay behind, try to delay Old K's quick attack, and try to prevent Old K from directly launching a fast break.
But Lao Wang was taller than Duncan and had an unobstructed view. He quickly moved two steps to the left, avoided Duncan and then threw with one hand. The ball flew to the target like a meteor and was thrown away before it passed the center line.
Payton's old Nash.
Nash caught the ball and passed the center line. Payton tried his best to keep up, but he felt his steps were very heavy.
When Nash rushed through the top of the arc, he had already lost two steps to Payton. He glanced left and right, observed the position of his teammates behind him, rushed into the paint area, and did not lay up. He pulled to the left and pushed the ball back.
One throw.
At this time, Stoudemire rushed down, and Randolph was already three or four meters behind him. He couldn't keep up with the fast break rhythm. He flew up, caught the ball with both hands in the air, smashed it violently, and completed an alley-oop with a bang.
.
In the TNT commentary box, Barkley laughed and said: "Randolph can no longer run. It is obvious that his energy has been exhausted."
Kenny Smith said: "Duncan and Payton are both gone. Duncan simply stayed behind. Randolph's return speed is also very slow. Payton can't catch up with Nash, and they can't run anymore."
Barkley nodded and said: "In other words, the Suns have destroyed the physical reserves of the Trail Blazers' two major insiders through a more abundant rotation lineup, powerful fast break tactics, and a very fast offensive and defensive transition rhythm. No, it's the two major players.
With the addition of veteran Payton inside, the rhythm of the game will now completely match the rhythm of the Suns."
Kenny Smith said with a smile: "Although the Trail Blazers got Payton, the Flying Squirrel took the initiative to leave the team because he lost his main position. This also means that the Trail Blazers have not been truly strengthened at the No. 1 position."
Barkley said: "Payton is old, his defense has declined a lot, his physical fitness is not as good as that of the Flying Squirrel, and he is not in good shape in the playoffs.
The Flying Squirrel is actually in pretty good shape this year, and the impact of injuries seems to be less. If he stays in the Trail Blazers, the Trail Blazers' lineup will be much better.
But the main problem of the Trail Blazers is that there are too many injuries inside, the remaining two substitutes are too weak, and there is not enough rotation, allowing Duncan and Randolph to play too much."
There were 6 minutes left in the first quarter and 18:10. The Suns were already leading by 8 points and still had the ball in their hands. The Trail Blazers called their second timeout of the first quarter.
Zhang Lili analyzed: "The Blazers did not have enough strength to participate in the return defense. When the Suns played fast break, Duncan and Randolph were unable to return to defense in time, and Payton could not hold back Nash, so the Suns were frequently in the frontcourt.
It formed a situation of playing more and less, and the fast break during the transition between offense and defense was successful 5 times out of 6 times. This is why we fell behind by 8 points in just half a quarter."
"Director Zhang, it looks like the Suns will have no problem today." Su Qun asked with a smile.
Zhang Liyi nodded and said: "This is not a problem with the offensive and defensive tactics, nor is it a problem with the players' performance on the field. If it is these problems, they can be solved through adjustments, adjusting techniques and tactics, and replacing players who are not in good condition.
The Blazers' problems cannot be adjusted. The physical fitness of the three main players cannot last. This is a foundation. If the foundation collapses, it will really fail."
Su Qun nodded and said, "We can't replace the three main players, right?"
Zhang Li laughed: "Then there is no need to fight, just admit defeat. This timeout of the Blazers will definitely not solve the problem, because the economic foundation determines the superstructure, and the same applies to sports. Physical fitness is the foundation, and physical fitness
If it collapses, the team will collapse."
More than an hour later, the Suns successfully defeated the Trail Blazers and won the match point with a big score of 3 to 1.
Lao Wang used about half of his strength on the offensive end today. Only after the fast break failed, he was responsible for positional warfare. He did not participate much in the fast break. He was only responsible for quick starts. He directly launched when the offense and defense transitioned.
Fast break.
After the game, Zhang Lili said: "Tiejun's main focus today was on the defensive end and rebounding. On the defensive end, he guarded Duncan and had a big rebound. He scored 24 points, 21 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 8 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls.
The statistics, shooting percentage is 64%, the condition is very good."
Su Qun said: "Duncan's hand was okay at the beginning, but when Old K devoted all his efforts to defense, he immediately withered under strong confrontation because of his lack of physical fitness. He made 7 of 18 shots from the field, with a shooting percentage of only 38.9%.
He took four big blocks from Old K and made 3 of 6 free throws, but only got 17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls."
Zhang Lili continued: "Randolph's offense today was barely okay, but due to lack of physical fitness, he did not invest much in the defensive end. He made 9 of 23 shots and took a lot of shots, more than Duncan. He scored 20 points with free throws.
7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls, with a shooting percentage of 39.1%.
The Tiejun were very fair, with 8 big caps given to Duncan and 4 to Randolph. The distribution was very even and there was no favoritism between one and another."
Su Qun laughed and said: "Let me tell you, Coach Zhang, today Randolph just brushed up the data and stopped passing the ball as soon as he got it. He must know that he can't beat the Suns today."
"We'll see through it without telling you." Zhang Liji said with a cheerful smile.
The Suns gained a point in the Western Conference Finals and led 3-1. ESPN updated its championship probability prediction data on its official website overnight.
The Suns originally had 30%, but it jumped directly to 54%. This shows that ESPN is extremely optimistic about the Suns winning the championship.
The original 25% for the Trail Blazers dropped directly to 1%. It can be seen that ESPN has basically determined that the Trail Blazers can no longer make a comeback after falling behind 1-3.