am i proud?

Chapter 182 Return of the "Mask Man"

The G1 game between the Pistons and the Nets started.

The Nets' starting lineup is point guard Jason Kidd, shooting guard Corey Kittles, small forward Keith Van Horn, power forward Kenyon Martin, and center Todd McCloch.

The Pistons' starting lineup is point guard Ralph Alston, shooting guard Joan Barry, small forward Wang Dalin, power forward Clifford Robinson, and center Ben Wallace.

After the lack of Billups and Hamilton, the strength of the Pistons' back line has indeed declined a lot, especially Billups, he is the best person for the Pistons to limit Kidd on the defensive end.

Although Alston performed well on the offensive end, averaging 12 points and 4.6 assists in about 2.4 minutes per game this season, his defensive ability is indeed a bit stretched.

If the opponent is not Jason Kidd, maybe he can barely handle it, but Kidd is best at dealing with thin point guards like Alston, just crushing them directly. This matchup can be said that the Pistons will probably be blown out.

Carlisle was also helpless. The only cards he could play in his hand were Damon Jones. Except for Alston, he could only play Damon Jones. This guy's physical fitness was not much different from Alston's, and his defense was also bad. If he was sent to play, he would still be crushed by Kidd.

Moreover, Damon Jones is an offensive combo guard with better scoring ability than organizational ability. In fact, he is more suitable to play shooting guard. In comparison, Alston's organizational ability is much stronger.

Joan Barry's main position is small forward, but it's not bad to swing to the second position.

He is strong and fast, and can attack and defend. He is currently the best performing Pistons bench player except for Barkley and Williams.

Although he can't average nearly 20 points per game like Hamilton, he has a high three-point shooting rate from the corners on both sides, and his defensive strength is slightly better than Hamilton's... Carlisle arranges him to play against Kittles, who averages 13.4 points per game. In fact, it will not be too bad.

The matchup at the third position is the absolute strength of the Pistons. Wang Dalin has beaten Van Horn many times in the regular season. As long as the opponent does not double-team him, he can blow Van Horn to nothing at any position.

The [-]th and [-]th positions, the Pistons are regular season starters, especially Ben, who is much better than McCloch of the Nets.

On the whole, the Pistons and the Nets each have an absolute strength. The Pistons are Wang Dalin vs. Van Horn, while the Nets are Kidd vs. Alston.

The head coach of the Nets, Byron Scott, is of course very aware of this, so his requirement for the players is that as long as Wang Dalin has the ball, no matter where he is, he must decisively double-team.

Wang Dalin's offensive efficiency is too high. If he were to go one-on-one with Van Horn, he could really beat the Nets to death by himself.

As for the Pistons, Carlisle did not let the players double-team Kidd.

Kidd has scored more than 30 points in only 4 games this season... Compared with his superb passing skills, his personal offensive efficiency and production are not so terrible.

Especially Kidd's three-pointers are too inaccurate. Since this year's playoffs, he has taken a total of 46 shots from beyond the three-point line. As a result, he only made 7 goals and his shooting percentage was only 15.2%.

And his overall shooting percentage in the playoffs is also very low, only 41.1%.

In a word... Kidd is still an organizer. When he can only fall into the situation of infinite one-on-one, his role will not be so great!

Facts proved that Carlisle's tactical arrangement was correct. After the game started, Kidd did rely on his physical advantage to crush Alston, but his offensive efficiency was not very high, and his shooting percentage was just over [-]%.

In the first quarter alone, Wang Dalin sent out 5 assists, including [-] assists to Ben at the basket... "Big Brother" was so happy!

As a last resort, Scott had to replace Wang Dalin with Aaron Williams. For this reason, he removed McCloskey... Anyway, this guy has nothing to do in the interior, so it is just right to remove him to play a small lineup.

Aaron Williams is 206cm tall and weighs 106kg. Although he is not the most defensive inside player in the Nets, he is currently the most suitable player for Wang Dalin in the Nets.

His lateral movement speed was not bad, and he could barely resist Wang Dalin in terms of height and strength. Although he still couldn't defend against him, he was at least much better than Van Horn's defense against Wang Dalin.

Scott doesn't just rely on Kidd's idiot, he can be the head coach of the Nets, no matter how he has something in his stomach.

If the Nets cannot solve this point of Wang Dalin, there is no possibility of winning this round of the series, and the most important thing to solve this point of Wang Dalin is not to double-team, once double-teamed, it is dead.

Obviously, Scott finally understood this point, but he really didn't have anyone under his command who could restrain Wang Dalin one-on-one, and Aaron Williams was just a tall man selected from among the short ones.

If he had Kevin Garnett under him, the Pistons would probably be at a disadvantage even with a neat lineup... Unfortunately, he doesn't have one!

At the end of the first half, Wang Dalin scored 12 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists. His personal offensive firepower was obviously hindered, but his assists were excellent.

Benefited by his assists, other Pistons players contributed on the offensive end. Among them, Robinson scored 7 points and 2 rebounds, Alstom scored 6 points and 1 assist, Daben scored 6 points and 8 rebounds, and Barry scored 6 points and 1 rebound.

Barkley, Williams and Jones who came off the bench also performed well. Among them, Barkley scored 6 points and 5 rebounds in the first half, Williams scored 6 points and 2 rebounds, and Jones scored 6 points with two three-pointers.

The Pistons scored 60 points in the first half of the game, shooting more than 57% from the field, while the Nets only scored 46 points, and the shooting percentage was only about 44%.

In the third quarter, the Nets began to strengthen their offense. They were no longer obsessed with double-teaming Wang Dalin, but only focused on playing against the Pistons.

But Scott overlooked one point, that is, when you need to chase points quickly, you must first base yourself on defense.

If you can't even defend, how can you frequently play efficient fast breaks?
If you can't play the fast break, how can you talk about playing against the Pistons?
And when chasing points quickly, you must have a three-point shot.

At present, the most accurate three-pointer in this Nets team is Kittles. This shooting guard nicknamed "Mosquito" is indeed a very good shooter, but he can only maintain a stable shooting rate when he is open... If he is allowed to shoot against the defense, his shooting rate can exceed [-]%.

The Nets didn't hit this wave of offensive climax. Instead, because they relaxed their defense against Wang Dalin, he succeeded in consecutive attacks.

After three quarters, the Pistons led by 90 points at 67:23.

Scott still wanted to fight desperately, so he removed Aaron Williams and sent Richard Jefferson, a small forward with stronger attack power, hoping that he could use his speed advantage to fight Wang Dalin.

But Jefferson is still a rookie now. His 58% finish rate at the basket is quite good, and his 47.9% close-range shooting rate is not bad, but his combined two-point shooting rate at mid-range and long-range is only 38.9%, and his three-point shooting rate is only 23.2%.

Wang Dalin has a lot of experience in defending this kind of player. Let him be two steps away from the outside. With such a large defensive distance, do you dare to break through?I don't stop you from shooting, you shoot?

Looking back, it is not easy for Wang Dalin to beat Jefferson. He can use various jump shots in the middle and long distances, and even stand up against Jefferson's defense... Jefferson is only 201cm tall. How much interference can he exert on Wang Dalin?
So, the first-year Jefferson was taught a good lesson by the second-year Wang Dalin...Young man, in the NBA, it’s not enough to know how to shoot. You should practice your shooting well?

About a minute into the fourth quarter, Scott finally replaced all the main players and surrendered.

Naturally, Carlisle also replaced Wang Dalin and the others. Since it was garbage time, it was time for garbage players to play... Uh, bah, no, it should be bench players!

Of course, there are not no masters among the bench players, such as Barkley on the Pistons side, this guy played very happily in the garbage time, and made a good wave of statistics.

This guy used to be a head star in which team, how could he have the opportunity to collect data in garbage time?
Now that he finally became a "bench player", wouldn't it be fun?
Barkley made 9 of 5 shots and 5 of 4 free throws. He even scored a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds. If you don't look at people and only look at statistics, people probably think this is the starting center of which team!

The Pistons beat the Nets 108:94 and easily won the G1 game. At the same time, it also made Scott's remarks about sweeping the Pistons before the game instantly become a joke.

At the press conference after the game, the reporter certainly would not let Scott go and asked him this question.

"Well... I remember I said let them win one game at most. Now they just won the first game. This round of the series is still early!"

When he said this, Scott's expression was obviously a little unnatural, obviously he didn't believe what he said.

Although Scott is out of tune, he is not an idiot. Judging from the various performances of the Pistons in the G1 game, the Nets have almost no chance of winning, and Billups can come back in the G2 game.

At that time, Kidd, the only one with a huge advantage in the Nets, will also face huge troubles... In this game, he scored 26 points against Alston and Jones, and it will not be so easy against Billups in the next game!

What he said was purely "the duck is dead - hard-mouthed"!
How could the Detroit reporter let go of this opportunity to taunt him, so he continued to ask: "Coach Byron, you mean that the Nets will win 4 games in a row and sweep the Pistons, right?"

Hearing this question, a rare blush appeared on Scott's dark face, and he hesitated and said: "Well... Actually, I didn't mean it that way... What I mean is... Our Nets are still superior in strength, so... We will win this round of the series... Yes, we will win!"

The reporter asked again reluctantly: "So you mean...the Nets can't win 4 games in a row, right?"

Scott said vaguely: "Not necessarily, who can predict the outcome of the game in advance, right? Our strength is superior, and we still have a good chance of winning 4 games in a row!"

很快，他又被打脸了……在5月21日的东决G2战中，活塞队以105:88再次轻松战胜了篮网队，大比分2:0领先了。

After Billups was suspended for 5 games, he finally returned to the court, showing a very strong desire to fight.

这场比赛他打得非常卖力，不仅自己砍下了19分10篮板8助攻的准三双，还把基德限制得很不错，只让联盟第一控卫得到13分6篮板8助攻。

After two rounds of fighting in the Eastern and Western finals, all four teams got a three-day rest period. Among them, the G3 game of the Western Conference Finals was arranged on May 3, while the G5 game of the Eastern Conference Finals was on May 24. This game was held at the "Continental Airlines Arena" in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Amidst the cheers of 19968 home fans, the Nets played an extraordinary defensive intensity, and they were indeed desperate in this game.

基德和马丁这对内外线组合也在比赛中多次打出精妙配合，其中基德得到22分8篮板10助攻，马丁则砍下了21分11篮板2盖帽。

But the Pistons still had the last laugh. The final score was 92:87, and the Pistons narrowly won by 5 points.

The Nets have the combination of Kidd and Martin, and the Pistons also have the brother combination of Wang Dalin and Billups.

本场比赛王大林19投14中高效砍下37分10篮板6助攻2盖帽，比卢普斯则贡献出19分6篮板7助攻3抢断。

After three games, Wang Dalin himself felt incredible...how could the Nets be so vulnerable?
A few days ago, when he just received the temporary task issued by the system, he still felt that he would definitely not be able to complete it. After all, the Nets were also the strong players in the Eastern Conference this season, and they were the ones who reached the finals in time and space.

Wanting to sweep a Finals-level team... isn't that ridiculous?
可是他忘记了……篮网队2002和2003年两次进入总决赛都被对手轻松击败，其中2002年这次是被湖人队4:0直接横扫。

In terms of strength, the Nets really can't be called a finals-level team. They were able to reach the finals in the original time and space, or because the Eastern Conference is too weak!
If they are thrown to the West, not to mention the Kings and Spurs will definitely win them, even the Timberwolves, Mavericks and Supersonics will probably be able to knock them off the altar.

Since Wang Dalin got the "Hanging Force System", this system has never issued him an absolutely impossible task, and this time is no exception.

Sweep the Nets...the Lakers can do it, why can't the Pistons?
You know, in March, the Pistons with a full lineup defeated even the Lakers, and their strength is no worse than the defending champions.

Some people will say... Isn't the Pistons currently missing Hamilton?

Under the ebb and flow, their strength should be about the same as that of the Nets, right?

But don't forget how incomprehensible this Wang Dalin is on the offensive end. Who in the Nets can limit him one-on-one?

Not to mention restricting him, even slightly reducing his offensive efficiency would be difficult!
There are only a handful of people in the entire league who can do this, and the only one who can really defend him better is Kevin Garnett... Unfortunately, this guy and the Timberwolves have already been eliminated!

Just like Kevin Durant in 2017 and 2018, he is a bug on the court. Even if the Cavaliers have a strong man like James, they can't do anything about him, so it is impossible for them to beat the Warriors...not only they can't win, but everyone in the league can't win!

Why was the Warriors in that period called "Cosmic Warriors"?
Isn't it because the Warriors have suddenly added Durant to their already very powerful offensive and defensive system?
At that time, the Warriors' conventional pass-and-cut tactics could solve most of the opponents. If Durant encountered a tough problem, he would go up for a while.
Although Wang Dalin is still slightly inferior to Durant in the Warriors period, especially on the defensive end, he can't really switch defenses infinitely, but he is almost the same as Durant in that period on the offensive end, and his passing is even better than Durant.

In this round of the Eastern Conference Finals, Wang Dalin was indeed an unsolvable existence. Byron Scott had nothing to do with him, and the same was true for Jason Kidd.

With a big score of 0:3 behind, Scott really stopped, and he no longer dared to be arrogant in front of reporters.

When a reporter asked him about the current goal of the Nets, he said in a low-key way that as long as they are not swept, this result is barely acceptable.

After all, the Nets have risen from No.12 in the Eastern Conference last season to second in the Eastern Conference this season. Their progress this season is not even inferior to the Pistons. No one can deny this!

Scott firmly believes that as long as they insist on building the team around Kidd, the number one point guard in the league, they will be able to go further sooner or later. It is not a dream to reach the finals or even win the championship.

The Nets uniform team has already dispatched several scouts to investigate the 2002 rookies one by one. They have a soft spot for Serbia's talented center Nenad Kostic, and they are currently in secret contact.

On May 5, the G26 game of the Western Conference Finals started first.

After the first three games, the Kings led by a big score of 2:1. If they can still win the G4 game, it is estimated that there will be no defending champion in the finals.

The offense of the Kings is indeed very sharp, but the defensive intensity of the Lakers is obviously better, especially the Lakers have the "OK combination" these two big killers on the offensive end, and Adelman can't solve this problem even if he racks his brains.

这场比赛湖人队这边科比的命中率并不算高，只有26投12中，而且他在罚球线上也只有3投1中，全场“只得到”25分4篮板2助攻2抢断3盖帽。

奥尼尔全场22投9中，外加罚球13投9中，砍下27分18篮板3助攻3盖帽，基本上打爆了国王队的首发中锋迪瓦茨，捎带手把替补中锋斯科特.波拉德也给收拾了。

还有大前锋罗伯特.霍里，此君本场比赛7投5中，其中三分球5投3中，罚球6投5中，得到18分14篮板5助攻1抢断1盖帽，表现颇为不俗。

Except for these three, no one on the Lakers scored in double figures.

For the Kings, Webber, Bibby, Divac and Turkoglu all played at the All-Star level.

其中韦伯砍下20分6篮板5助攻2盖帽，毕比砍下21分3篮板4助攻3抢断1盖帽，迪瓦茨砍下23分7篮板3助攻2抢断1盖帽，特科格鲁18分12篮板2助攻……

And Christie, he scored 8 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and he restricted Kobe very well on the defensive end, so Kobe only made 26 of 12 shots in this game.

However, the Lakers had the last laugh in this game. They narrowly won 100:99 and finally tied the big score to 2:2.

On May 5, the G27 battle of the Eastern Conference Finals also started immediately.

Unlike the Western Conference Finals, which is evenly matched, the Eastern Conference Finals is completely one-sided. Almost everyone believes that the Pistons will sweep the Nets 4:0 and enter the finals ahead of schedule.

During the warm-up before the game, the home fans of the "Continental Airlines Arena" were all taken aback because they saw a man who was completely impossible to appear on the field-Richard Hamilton!

"Third brother, the audience is watching you!" Billups smiled at Hamilton while shooting the ball. "It's no wonder that they don't believe you can come back. Even I think it's all like a dream!"

Hamilton wore a transparent mask on his face. After hearing the words, he said lightly: "If I knew there was such a mask, I would have come back. How could such a good thing as sweeping the Nets not have my share?"

Wang Dalin also came over and said with a smile: "This is good, the third brother is back, and our team finally has a complete lineup!"

Da Ben smiled and asked, "The third brother's appearance is so cool, it makes me want to punch myself in the nose and make a mask to put on!"

Hamilton laughed uncontrollably: "Brother, don't make me laugh, okay, my nose hurts when I laugh!"

Billups said with a smile: "Brother is right, this mask is really cool... It's a pity that the league has regulations that players without facial injuries are not allowed to wear masks, otherwise I will make one to wear!"

After a short pause, Billups' eyes suddenly lit up, and he smiled at the three brothers, "Now the eldest brother is nicknamed 'Big Ben', and the fourth brother is called 'Vulcan'. Shall we also give the third brother a nickname?"

Hamilton hurriedly said: "I don't like to engage in these fancy things, don't you have a nickname yourself? If you want to have a nickname, you first give yourself one?"

Billups laughed: "What's so hard about it? How about I just call 'Hawkeye'?"

Wang Dalin was puzzled and said, "Why 'Hawkeye'?"

Billups said with a smile: "Because my three-pointers are accurate, as accurate as the bow and arrow in the hands of 'Hawkeye'!"

Da Ben smiled and said: "Your three points are accurate, but can you be more accurate than the fourth brother? In my opinion, you can only be called 'Black Widow' at most. Anyway, we are all black brothers, so black is black?"

Wang Dalin interjected: "It's ugly to be called 'Black Widow', why not call it 'Black Mamba', this is the fastest attacking snake in the world, how about the second brother's nickname?"

Billups' eyes lit up, and he immediately responded, "Okay, I'll be called 'Black Mamba'...well, it's time to give my third brother a nickname!"

Hamilton smiled wryly: "Don't call me a nickname? No one calls me a nickname!"

Wang Dalin said with a smile: "That's not necessarily true! I'll give you a nickname, and I guarantee that it will become popular in the entire league!"

Big Ben and Billups hurriedly asked, "What's your name?"

Wang Dalin smiled slightly: "How about the masked man...?"

　Thanks to "Taxiboy", "Tracey Curry" and "Time Makes People" for their monthly encouragement!Thanks to "Tracey Curry" for rewarding 1500 book coins, thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)