Chapter 319 Divisional semifinals, against the Rockets
Although Harden's performance was not good, other Rockets players performed better than the Trail Blazers.
Lillard only has CJ McCollum next to him, but the Rockets have Paul, Gordon, PJ Tucker, Capela and many other good players.
The two sides fought to the tiebreaker, and in the end the Rockets were slightly better, eliminated the Trail Blazers and entered the playoffs, meeting the Lakers in the division semifinals.
The other Western Conference matchup is between the Golden State Warriors, who eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Denver Nuggets, who eliminated the Utah Jazz.
Although the Nuggets are strong under the leadership of Nikola Jokic, they obviously do not have much resistance against the Warriors.
As for the Lakers VS Rockets series, everyone is also more optimistic about the Lakers.
Wang Feng and Harden are old rivals. Whenever they meet Wang Feng, Harden's performance is basically not good. Although there are occasional exceptions, in most cases, Harden's shooting percentage will be limited to less than 40% by Wang Feng.
And compared to the depth of the lineup, the Lakers are also obviously stronger than the Rockets.
Although in last year's playoffs, the Rockets fought the Warriors in 7 games and almost overturned the Warriors, before the game, major media predictions still believed that the Lakers would win the final game, and the score predictions given by most media
It is 4:3, which means that the two teams will fight for seven games, and the final winner will be decided in the tie-break.
Wang Feng doesn't think so.
The Rockets are not strong this season, far from the level they were last year. Harden and Paul are also at the same level in the playoffs.
He is not willing to wait until the seventh game with such a Rockets team. If possible, he wants to save more time and energy to prepare for the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
The current playoff situation is completely different from the playoff situation in another time and space that Wang Feng is familiar with.
The Lakers' sudden surge caused the Warriors, who should have been ranked first in the Western Conference, to be ranked second in the Western Conference, and therefore missed the conference semifinals against the Rockets.
Kevin Durant was injured in the game against the Rockets, and then was sidelined for the entire Western Conference Finals. In the finals, the Warriors fell behind 1:3 and forced a comeback, eventually tearing his ligament and ending the season.
Now that the Warriors are facing the Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals, it's hard to say whether Durant will be injured like he was in another time and space. It may or may not be the case.
Wang Feng must be mentally prepared to face the entire Warriors team in the Western Conference Finals.
However, judging from the situation in the first round series, the Warriors are still plagued by injuries.
In the original 18-19 season, the Warriors suffered a total of 16 injuries throughout the playoffs, involving several main players including Curry, Durant, Thompson, Cousins, Ying Guodala, etc.
At the end of the finals, Durant, Thompson, and Cousins were all out for the season, and Curry, Ying Guodala, and Livingston also suffered from various minor injuries.
This fully proves that the Warriors' injuries are not accidental, but collective injuries caused by the excessive physical exertion of the players caused by the high-intensity regular season and playoffs over the past five years.
Why is it so difficult to create a dynasty in the NBA? Looking back at the history of the league, apart from the Celtics, who were generally dimension-reduced attacks in the earliest days, only Jordan's Bulls and Lakers OK combination can create a dynasty.
Long-term, high-intensity games and huge psychological pressure are a burden for players.
The Warriors' three championships in four years cannot be called a complete dynasty. The player consumption is so drastic, let alone a true dynasty team?
From this perspective, we can also see the horror of James.
Regardless of James' winning rate in the finals, he has entered the finals for eight consecutive years. He has played more minutes in the finals, encountered more defensive intensity, and been fouled more times than anyone else. But in this case, James has never had a serious incident.
His injuries, attendance rate and condition have remained the same for more than ten years. Looking at the whole league for so many years, there is only one person with such abnormal physical fitness!
The topic has gone too far. All in all, the Warriors are likely to advance to the Western Conference Finals with a fully intact team. However, with potential injuries, Wang Feng does not think the Lakers are incapable of fighting.
In order to defeat the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals and win the championship, it is best to decide the game against the Rockets quickly and give them a few more days to rest and recharge!
…
On April 28, the first G1 game of the Western Conference semifinals began.
The Lakers' starting five are still Rondo, Butler, Ingram, Wang Feng and Lopez.
The Rockets' starting five are Paul, Gordon, Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Capela.
The lineups of both sides were no different from those in the regular season, and even the tactics after the game started were no different.
The Rockets' defensive tactics against Wang Feng were mainly based on PJ Tucker's entanglement throughout the game, with Capela assisting in defending double teams at any time inside, doing everything possible to consume Wang Feng's physical energy and reduce his shooting rate.
On the offensive end, Harden's ball-handling offense is still the main one, and it still uses pick-and-roll screens to form Harden's misplaced singles.
This trick of the Rockets has been cracked by the Lakers during the regular season. As long as Harden dares to call a pick-and-roll screen, the Lakers will double-team Harden and strategically leave Paul open.
Paul's three-point shooting percentage this season is not high. In the regular season, he averaged only 35.8% per game. In the playoffs, it dropped further. In the first round, it was only 21.4% against the Trail Blazers. It is really not easy for the Rockets to defeat the Trail Blazers.
.
The Lakers used double-team tactics from the beginning, and successfully suppressed Harden's point. Although Paul's three-point shooting touch is not as bad as in the first round, even in the open position, his efficiency is definitely not considered.
Go high.
In contrast to Harden being completely restrained by double-teams, Wang Feng, on the other hand, was like a god descending from the earth when facing the Rockets' double-team tactics.
PJ Tucker teamed up with Capela, and there was absolutely nothing they could do against Wang Feng.
Three-point long-range shots, mid- and long-range pull-up jump shots, forced breakthroughs to the basket and violent dunks.
Wang Feng, who was like a kaleidoscope of offensive tactics, kept the two of them busy. In the first quarter alone, he made 6 of 11 shots and 3 of 5 three-pointers, scoring 15 points.
In the first quarter, the Lakers directly established a 9-point lead at 28:19. In the second quarter, the advantage further expanded.
At 30:24, the score difference reached 15 points at halftime.
In the third quarter of the game, the Rockets finally fired up from the outside, scoring 38 points in a single quarter, while the Lakers scored 29 points, and the point difference was close to single digits.
But immediately following the fourth quarter, Wang Feng began to close the net.
5 of 7 field goals, 2 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 5 free throws, 16 points in a single quarter, taking away the game.
At 115:109, the Lakers won the first game and got off to a good start.