I really play basketball

Chapter 188
On May 5, U.S. time, the day after the Eastern Conference G23 and the Magic's small victory over the Pacers, the Western Conference kicked off.

This morning, the eyes of the entire league were not on the Bay Area, but on New York.

Madison Square Garden, where the 1995 draft lottery was held.

When Kiki Vandeweghe, the assistant president of the league, single-handedly drew the Timberwolves in the lottery round of the No. [-] pick.

In the Bay Area, Lin Xing, who was resting and preparing for the evening battle, suddenly felt——

"The Timberwolves signed the No. [-] pick? They won't choose KG, right?"

Although the Timberwolves have changed the team's uniform group from Jack McCloskey to Kevin McHale.

But in one word——

"If you can choose Joe Smith, who would choose a high school student whose name is unknown and unknown?"

This year's NCAA, the ruler is Joe Smith, the protagonist of the Yin-Yang contract.

NCAA两个赛季，场均20.2分10.7个篮板1.0个助攻1.5个抢断3.0个盖帽。

This year's NCAA seven individual awards, he alone won four of them.

These four awards were obtained when the University of Maryland, where Joe Smith, the crazy three, was eliminated in the top [-].

If the Crazy Three at the University of Maryland played better, Joe Smith could even replicate the feat of Lin Xing who won seven awards.

More importantly, Joe Smith is not very old.

Although he graduated from sophomore year to participate in the election, he was born in 1975 and was only one year older than Garnett.

Of course, the main reason why the Timberwolves did not choose Garnett was——

In the original historical line, the Timberwolves with the fifth pick chose Garnett, which was already a very upset choice.

At that time, Garnett's predicted pick was in the middle of the first round.

A well-deserved No. [-] pick, compared with a high school student who is predicted to be in the middle of the first round, no matter how you choose, you can't choose the latter.

Not to mention that these days, high school students have not yet been recognized by the NBA.

In the previous life, the Timberwolves chose Garnett with the fifth pick, which was already a gamble.

Draft Garnett with the No. [-] pick?No matter how smart McHale is, he can't risk the disgrace of the world.

As for trading down the No. [-] pick in exchange for a more reasonable pick that can choose Garnett?

Don't forget how McHale's predecessor, Jack McCloskey, fell.

McCloskey traded down the No. [-] pick and changed to the No. [-] pick for Sean Bradley, and then he fell.

Therefore, based on this calculation, it is impossible for Garnett in this life to become the wolf king again.

"The world line is going to change a lot..."

When the wolf king is no longer the wolf king, the world line is destined to change drastically.

Lin Xing, a little butterfly, has turned into a roc bird.

In the 95 draft, there were no rookies who could immediately affect the league structure.

So Lin Xing feels that even if Garnett is not the wolf king, it will have little impact for the time being.

The draft lottery is over, the Timberwolves are the No. 76 pick, the [-]ers are No. [-], the Pistons are No. [-], the Clippers are No. [-], and the Bullets are No. [-].

The Bullet's first-round pick this year has already been given to the Timberwolves because of Weber's deal.

But when the deal was made that year, the bone crusher added a top-five protection, which just happened to get this card back.

If you don't get stuck, it's hard to guarantee that Kevin McHale will use the Bullets' fifth pick to pick Garnett.

But it doesn't matter to the Timberwolves. They won't get the fifth pick this year, and the first round of next year's bullets will still belong to the Timberwolves.

After that, there are two new teams that will join the NBA next season, the Raptors and the Grizzlies.

Grizzlies sixth, Raptors seventh, and after that—

Nets (eighth), Heat (ninth), Bucks (tenth), Mavericks (No.11), Kings (No.12) and Nuggets (No.13).

There are a total of 13 teams in the lottery, so after No.[-] in the first round, they are ranked purely by record.

The Warriors' No. 29 pick was given to the Timberwolves.

But the Warriors don't care, it's just the No. 29 pick. If it's for the Timberwolves, they won't be able to pick a cornerstone like Lin Xing.

Some opportunities, missed, that is a lifetime.

……

The draft lottery caused heated discussions, but in the afternoon, the eyes of the entire NBA were focused on the Bay Area.

In the words of ESPN expert Joan Rothstein --

"At this point in this year's playoffs, the situation has become very clear. The Western Conference is a strong matchup. One side dominates the inside and the other side makes a whirlwind outside. It's not that the Warriors have no chance, but the general trend is with the Rockets."

"As for the Eastern Conference, the two teams are pecking at each other. The Pacers have never been a strong first-line team. As for the Magic, they were double-killed by the Warriors this season, which already explains everything."

Why didn't Rothstein mention the Rockets?Because the Rockets were actually double-killed by the Magic.

But at this time, the Rockets of the Spurs have been completely abused, and the admiral's dream has been completely abused, regardless of whether the next game can crush everything.

At least with the momentum at the moment, the Rockets have crushed everything.

Almost all media reporters, experts, and football critics believe that this season, the defending champion will definitely defend the title!
The reason is simple and rude:
"The general can't stop the big dream, the general plus Tyrone Hill can't stop the big dream, and the insiders of the remaining three teams, can anyone really stop the big dream?"

So, to sum up——

The Rockets are unmatched, and the Warriors will be the only team among the remaining three teams that have a chance to stop the Rockets.

In other words, this Western Conference finals is tantamount to the finals.

Three hours before the start of the game, the Rockets' bus arrived at the Oakland Stadium.

In more than two hours, the generals of the Warriors arrived one after another from the entrance of the parking lot of the Oakland Stadium.

NBC TV, ESPN, Central Five, the media and broadcasters have also started to move.

One hour before the start of the game, in the locker room of the home team, Old Nelson was holding a tactical board——

"About tactical play and targeted arrangements, I think after the two games of the regular season, we have already made it clearer. It is so clear that I don't need to emphasize it anymore."

"Before the game, I just want to tell you: the Western Conference Finals, we have already stepped into the door of success with one foot, as long as we pass the Rockets, our other foot can be raised."

"The Magic and Pacers in the East are definitely not our opponents, so the chance to win the championship is right in front of us."

"This opportunity may be the only one in your career..."

Old Nelson didn't emphasize that "you must seize this opportunity", he just emphasized that this may be the only opportunity in everyone's career.

Such an emphasis made everyone tense.

Appearing against the cheers of the home court, the warriors looked serious and full of fighting spirit.

On the other hand, amidst the boos, the Rockets, who were playing away, acted very relaxed.

Only the glider was alone, with a serious expression.

"Success is different..."

Looking at the glider with a serious expression, Lin Xing thought of Green's formula.

But Green's formula is still good, and the more ironic one should be Uzi's formula——

"Before you came, we were champions, but after you came, we lost the championship."

Therefore, Lin Xing felt:

If you want to talk about the pressure, the most pressure on this field should be the glider.

He doesn't want to be the Uzi on the basketball court in the 90s...

The game started under two completely different atmospheres, relaxed and serious.

"The game is about to start, let's take a look at the starters on both sides—"

For the Warriors, the starting lineup is the same as the last two games against the Rockets in the regular season.

Lin Xing returned to the point guard position, the shooting guard was Madman, the small forward was Rodman, the power forward was Gatlin, and the center was Longley.

On the Rockets side, point guard Kenny Smith, shooting guard Mario Eli, small forward Glider, power forward Horry, and center Dameng.

On one side, a large lineup was deliberately set up, while on the other side, a small lineup was deliberately set up. The purpose was quite clear.

The Warriors want to use a big lineup to defend and limit Big Dream, while the Rockets can only use a small lineup to keep up with the fast-playing Warriors.

At the beginning, it was the jump ball between Langley and Dameng.

"Dameng won the opening jump ball, the game officially started, the Rockets' offense!"

The Rockets' offense, Kenny Smith stopped the ball at the top of the arc.

Soon, they used their skillful running positions to open a passing channel leading to the inside.

Immediately afterwards, basketball gave a big dream.

"Too proficient. The Rockets are too proficient in getting the ball inside."

Yang Wu, director Zhang said this, he didn't know——

How proficient the current Rockets are in getting the ball inside, how rusty the future Rockets will be.

In any case, the start of the game was Dameng's singles against Longley.

Gatlin kept rushing to pinch the defense, and directly gave Dameng the highest courtesy of defense.

Dameng leaned against the two of them, looked for his teammates, but couldn't find them.

"The Warriors have done a good job of protecting the flanks. If you want to pass the ball, you can only find the far side."

Looking for a pass from the far side is still too far, too risky.

Therefore, Dameng chose to sink his shoulders and pushed inward, then took a step back to open the position, turned over and shot a jumper.

Bang!

"Rebound, mine!"

At the beginning, the Warriors withstood the big dream by relying on defense.

At the basket, Rodman took the rebound as a matter of course.

After playing the Rockets, Rodman's greatest role began to appear.

If the Bulls lost to the Magic in rebounds, and if the Warriors lost to the Rockets last year, they also lost in rebounds.

Then this year, in this round of the series, at least the Warriors can guarantee that they will never lose again in rebounds.

Although Rodman grabbed the rebound, Lin Xing received the ball and was unable to launch a counterattack.

Dameng retreated very actively, he trotted all the way, and didn't give Lin Xing a chance to catch him back.

So turning around, the Warriors could only fight a wave of positional warfare.

The Warriors' big lineup seems to be very effective on the defensive end.

But the harm on the offensive end was immediately manifested. With only a madman on the periphery who could open up the space, Lin Xing's breakthrough was directly blocked by the Rockets' pseudo-link defense in the middle distance.

There is no good angle for passing the ball. Lin Xing, who is in the middle distance, can only learn from Dameng and pull out a mid-range shot.

Bang!

The sound of iron strikes sounded, and Rodman wanted to grab a rebound at the basket.

But Horry caught him, and Dameng stretched out his big hand and grabbed the rebound directly.

Turning around, the Rockets' offense is still a big dream.

The area near the frame encountered a pinch defense, and both sides were also blocked. He hesitated for a second, then turned over to face the pinch guard, and threw one.

But there was still a bang, Dameng's shot was thrown and lost again.

Offensive and defensive transition, the Warriors' offense is still Lin Xing.

An unstoppable breakthrough, past the glider.

But then, Huo Li rushed up, spread his arms, and blocked Lin Xing.

With the defense in place, Lin Xing looked at Rodman who was wide open outside the three-point line.

After hesitating for a second, Lin Xing retreated again and made a mid-range shot.

Bang-dang-!
Central five, Director Zhang shook his head: "Who would have thought that the start of this Western Conference Finals would be that the leading players on both sides would fight each other?"

Zhengping then analyzed the situation: "The Warriors' defense is good and they are very disciplined, but because of the impact of the big lineup, the space on the offensive end is really too crowded."

"What needs to be tested now is Dalin's mid-range and long-range scoring ability."

Yang Wu's commentary is naturally biased towards the Warriors and Lin Xing, but NBC's commentary is different.

Although Matt Gudica is Lin Chui, when the Warriors' opponent is the Rockets, he is no longer Lin Chui.

On the contrary, when the Rockets and the Warriors had two consecutive irons in the opening game, he began to make suggestions for the Rockets.

"It's not good to play like this, Hakim has to find a way to pass the ball..."

Soon, in the Rockets' third wave of offense, Dameng, as he said, began to pass the ball.

Although the Warriors still defended against a pinch defense in the near frame area, they blocked the two near sides by the way.

But this time, Dameng found the right time and made a cross pass to the far end.

Robert Horry, who was wide open, received the ball and made a three-pointer.

Swish-!
Amidst the clear sound of basketball swipe the net, the Oakland Stadium erupted in exclamation.

In the NBC commentary seat, Matt Gudica shouted passionately: "Three points, go in!"

"Robert Horry stepped up, he hit a very crucial three-pointer..."

"Of course, Hakim's pass is also very important. This time he found the teammate with the wide open position at the far end accurately!"

Just as the Rockets' bench was boiling, the Warriors, Old Nelson shook his head.

"Space, it's so important..."

On the basketball court, the most important thing is space.

In the 90s, many basketball practitioners, coaches, and experts have not realized this yet.

But Old Nelson has definitely realized this, he is well aware of the importance of space.

On the offensive end, except for a teammate holding the ball, the task of other players is to open up space.

On the defensive end, a successful defense squeezes every inch of space on the court.

In this game, in order to limit the big dream, the Warriors chose to shrink the defense.

In this way, the outside line is exposed.

Coincidentally, the Rockets really have a space-type fourth position.

Horry's three-pointer, as Gudica said, is critical and fatal.

Next, if the Warriors want to defend Big Dream again, they have to think about whether the shooters of the weak-side Rockets are accurate in three-pointers.

In this game, starting from this three-pointer, it was announced that the Warriors had fallen into a complete disadvantage.

Since then, although Lin Xing has a mid-range touch, he scored again and again.

But the Rockets' perimeter shooters also opened their hands. Kenny Smith and Mario Elli all played their due roles.

Although Dameng was well guarded and Lin Xing didn't keep an eye on the glider, their teammates stood up.

Halfway through the game, Old Nelson realized——

"No, a big lineup can't beat the Rockets..."

But it is too late to think about major adjustments at this time.

The victory of G1 in the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors sent...

(End of this chapter)