Chapter 47 Eliminate the Rockets, join forces in the finals
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Just like what most people guessed.
In the end of the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavaliers defeated the Hawks with a crisp 4:0 and successfully advanced to the finals. This was also the fifth consecutive year that James reached the finals. The first four years were still during the era of the Heat's Big Three.
This year, although the Cavaliers are also equipped with the Big Three, they lost Love in the first round. Later, Irving also suffered minor injuries and illnesses. Basically, James led the team with only one core. This fully proves that the league's number one player is by no means a waste.
Gain a false reputation!
In the Western Conference finals, the final total score of the match between the Warriors and Rockets was fixed at 4:1.
In the third game, the Rockets returned to their home court, with home morale boosted. However, the situation remained unchanged. Harden was still pestered by Wang Feng throughout the game and performed abnormally. He scored 23 points with less than 40% shooting. The Rockets
Therefore, he suffered another defeat.
After the big score reached 3:0, the Rockets were basically sentenced to death in advance. After all, there has never been a team in NBA history that could come back from a 0:3 deficit.
After being suppressed in three consecutive games, Harden finally bottomed out in the fourth game!
In the fourth game of the series, Harden took 22 shots and hit 13 goals, including 7 of 11 three-pointers and 12 of 13 free throws. He scored 45 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists!
Wang Feng was speechless. Whether it was him, Green, or Yingodala, they were completely unable to prevent the red-eyed Harden and were completely defeated.
This is actually not surprising at all.
After all, Harden is one of the top stars in the league and cannot always be restricted, not even Wang Feng, who has the purple defensive shock.
In fact, except for the first game, in the remaining games, Harden is not only defended by Wang Feng, but also Green, Yingodala and others. Once Harden passes Wang Feng, he will immediately cover up and form a double-team.
potential.
However, this game was just the last swan song for the struggling Rockets.
After finally winning a game at home, the Rockets then went to the Warriors' home court for Game 5.
The Warriors never gave the Rockets any chance in this game, easily winning 104:90. They eliminated the Rockets with a big score of 4:1 and officially advanced to the finals!
In the last game, Harden broke out and beat Wang Feng violently. This game was like emptying out his body. He made 2 of 11 shots from the field and once again shot less than 20%, scoring only 14 points.
Although Wang Feng was completely defeated by Harden in the fourth game, after five games, Harden's overall performance was obviously affected by Wang Feng's strict defense throughout the game.
After five games, Harden averaged 25.6 points per game under Wang Feng's defense.
This low score seems pretty good, but as the only core scoring point of the Rockets, it is obviously unqualified! And this is even counting the average data after Harden's explosion of 45 points in the fourth game!
What is even more unqualified is Harden's efficiency.
Averaged over the five games, Harden's shooting percentage was only 33.6%! Extremely inefficient!
For comparison, Curry for the Warriors averaged 31.2 points per game throughout the series, while shooting 51.5% from the field!
With such a huge gap, how can the Rockets win?
…
After the Western Conference Finals with the Rockets, whether it was the NBA, the United States or China on the other side of the ocean, the evaluation of Wang Feng rose to a peak!
"The strongest external iron gate in China!"
"Amazing perimeter defensive ability! Wang Feng is fully capable of competing for the best defensive player!"
"For the Warriors to defeat the Rockets so easily, the merit medal must be half of Wang Feng's!"
In China, Wang Feng has undoubtedly become the number one person in the country and even the number one person in Asia!
You know, this is the first Chinese player in the NBA after Dayao to participate in the playoffs and also assume important responsibilities!
And even Dayao has never played in an important game like the Western Conference Finals in his entire career!
Of course, Wang Feng's position in the Warriors' tactical system cannot be compared with Dayao. Dayao at his peak was the absolute core of the Rockets. In the final analysis, Wang Feng is just a 3D player.
But Wang Feng is still very young now. As his personal strength and game experience increase, he has every chance to become the league's top star!
This is also the most ardent expectation of the Chinese fans for Wang Feng at this stage.
Before this expectation, what everyone is more concerned about is whether Wang Feng can become the first Chinese player to win the NBA championship trophy as a starter! And! When facing the league's number one player, LeBron James,
Can Wang Feng’s defense be as effective as ever?
…
Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers!
This kind of matchup was something no one thought about at the beginning of the regular season.
James returned to his hometown and led the team to the finals, which was not surprising to everyone. It was still the standard configuration of the Big Three, and as James became more powerful, it was not difficult to stand out from the already weak team.
But the Warriors surprised many people.
No one expected that the Warriors, who barely managed to enter the playoffs last season and were eliminated in the first round, would rise so quickly this season! Not to mention winning 68 games in the regular season, they actually made it all the way.
The Spurs, Clippers and other powerful Western Conference players break through the siege!
Before the playoffs began, ESPN's predictions for this season's championship had the Cavaliers firmly in first place, followed by the Warriors, who had won 68 games.
However, now that the finals are about to begin, the situation is completely reversed for the finals showdown between these two teams.
The reason is very simple and very helpless.
The impact of injuries to the Cavaliers is really too great.
Kevin Love suffered a flagrant foul in the first round and needed to recover for several weeks due to injury, completely missing all subsequent playoff games.
And Irving has been suffering from minor injuries in the playoffs, playing intermittently, and even only played two games in the Western Conference finals, which is also an unknown X factor.
Looking at the entire Cavaliers, James is the only stable core.
On the other hand, the Warriors have strong troops and momentum, with Curry Thompson on the offensive end, Wang Feng Green on the defensive end, and Ying Guodala, Barnes and other strong players on the bench. The difference in strength between the two sides is almost clear at a glance.
In addition, during the regular season, the two teams met twice, and the Warriors had the last laugh and had the psychological advantage!
The only advantage the Cavaliers have may be that James has played in the Finals for five consecutive years, so he has more experience.
All in all, most people are more optimistic about the Warriors, but they still have some expectations for the Cavaliers or James.
June 4th!
Game 1 of the NBA Finals! At the home court of the Golden State Warriors! Officially begins at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California!