NBA: I am the god of basketball

Chapter 311
The second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs between the Nets and the Raptors ended with a clean score of 4:0, just like the Bucks in the first round.

The only difference may be that the game process is a little better. Unlike the Bucks, almost every game ends in less than three quarters, so that Wang Chao and Durant's personal data has shrunk due to a serious lack of playing time.

The gold content of the regular season record of 73 wins and 9 losses is by no means in vain. It is now recognized by the entire league that there are only two teams in the league that are qualified to challenge the Brooklyn Nets, namely Cleveland in the East The Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors in the West, other teams have no chance of meeting the Nets.

The partnership of two top superstar players in the league is so strong.

While the Nets easily swept the Raptors 4:0, the other three matchups between the East and the West have not yet been decided.

Here in the East is the Cavaliers vs. Celtics. At present, the Cavaliers have won the match point 3:1. The Celtics have performed well in the regular season under the leadership of Thomas Jr. this season, but Thomas Jr. has performed well in the regular season. How strong, the height of 175 is still an irreparable defensive black hole in the playoffs.

No matter who the Cavaliers match up with Thomas Jr., it is equivalent to a misalignment, including Irving at the point guard position. Other Celtics players can only help Thomas Jr. to defend. While the defensive end is struggling to cope, the offensive end of the Celtics It is also difficult for people to open the situation, because they rely too much on Thomas Jr.'s breakthrough with the ball on the offensive end. The Cavaliers only carried out targeted defense against Thomas Jr.'s technical characteristics, and successfully limited his shooting rate to less than 40%.

Once Thomas Jr.'s offensive efficiency is limited, the Celtics' overall offense will naturally be seriously dragged down, resulting in a 3:1 score by the Cavaliers.

Under desperation, all members of the Green Army broke out in G5, and finally pulled back a game tenaciously in the away game, chasing the score to 3:2, but this is their limit. In the sixth game of the series, the Cavaliers did not give the Green Army another chance , A wave of 112:99 took away the Celtics and successfully advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

In this way, the Eastern Conference Finals is the result that all audiences have already expected, the Brooklyn Nets vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As for the Western Conference finals, it is the Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs.

The Western Conference semifinals will be the Warriors vs. Mavericks and the Spurs vs. Rockets.

The former is a battle between Curry and Harden, and there is a shadow of another space-time battle, but the overall strength of the Mavericks is completely incomparable with the Warriors, even though Harden averaged 31.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 9.4 assists. data, but the Mavericks were easily won by the Warriors 4:1.

For Harden, without the Rockets' lineup and head coach Mike D'Antoni's magic ball theory, it is hard to say whether he will be able to perform at the peak of the MVP level in the next few seasons. As far as the Mavericks are concerned, it can be regarded as a good record performance, and the loss to the Warriors is also within their acceptable range.

As for the other set of matchups, the Spurs vs. Rockets, it was a more tragic game.

Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, two Wang Chao players led their respective teams to face off in the conference semifinals.

In terms of personal strength, Leonard is still ahead of Butler at this time. Bowen of the Spurs has retired for many years, and there is no guy named Zaza in the team, so Leonard is not in the playoffs. Uninjured, his fighting power exploded, and he even gained the upper hand in the direct matchup with Butler, suppressing Butler for a while.

There is no way, even if Butler is the toughest player in the league, he still cannot ignore the gap in talent. No matter how hard he tries, this is still a chasm like a chasm, making it difficult for him to cross.

Compared with Leonard, Butler's career length and stability may be better, but it is still incomparable in terms of absolute height.

It's just that just because an individual plays well doesn't mean the team is better.

Leonard, who was supposed to rise to glory in the Spurs, chose to stay with the Rockets. Instead, Butler joined the Spurs and played for Popovich. The result is naturally very different.

Whether you are a Spurs fan or not, anyone who watches football or knows a little bit about penalty kicks must admit that although Tim Duncan is the mainstay of the Spurs, the cornerstone of his existence has made the Spurs as strong as ever for decades. The secret is head coach Popovich.

Under his guidance, Howard, who should have been completely reduced to a blue-collar player this season, actually played Duncan's duties decently. But it is only stronger than Duncan after 09.

In addition, Parker, Ginobili, Danny Green and other players also continued to shine under Popovich's tactical system, becoming the most powerful right-hand man around Butler.

On Leonard's side, the only players who can do it are Whiteside, who has better statistics than actual combat power, and Al Jefferson, who has entered the twilight of his career, and some leftover players including Jeremy Lin .

On the Rockets' bench, there is a Gobert whose actual defensive ability is not inferior to Howard's, but the Rockets don't know it. , but the result was easily manipulated by the experienced Howard.

As the saying goes, a hero with three gangs, Butler can't beat Leonard at this stage, but the team is better than the Rockets, and the result is self-evident.

However, Leonard at his peak was indeed strong enough. Not only did he limit the opponent to only 21 points per game in the matchup with Butler, but he also defended against Butler with a shooting percentage in the early 40s. But he had 34 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists, and his shooting percentage was 48%.

Leonard almost single-handedly dragged the game into the tiebreaker, scaring the Spurs into a cold sweat, but fortunately Leonard was defeated by himself in the end.

In this way, the Western Conference Finals is the Warriors vs. the Spurs.

Nets vs. Cavaliers, Warriors vs. Spurs, the two division finals matchups are exactly the same as last season.

Last season, these two teams were hailed as the most exciting conference finals matchup in history, and this season's continuing to describe it like this is a bit inappropriate.

Although the teams are the same, the strength comparison between the two teams this season has changed.

Needless to say on the Eastern side, the Nets replaced Brook Lopez with Kevin Durant, the shotgun was changed, and the combat effectiveness soared.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers, while the lineup has not changed much, the team veterans such as Pau Gasol are one year older. Although the corresponding Irving and Embiid have become stronger with age, the overall strength of the team is still the same. Just standing still.

Like the Cavaliers, the Warriors in the West are standing still. After a season, they also just kept the original lineup and did not make new improvements.

It's just that the Warriors have not improved, but the Spurs have regressed.

Duncan chose to retire after the end of last season, which was a rather heavy blow to the Spurs.

Although Duncan's contribution to the game has been negligible last season, he is the soul of the Spurs after all, with rich game experience and a spiritual leader. Besides, the other two members of the GDP, Parker and Ginobi Li is also one year older, and his competitive state will inevitably decline.

The Nets have become stronger, and the Spurs have become weaker. Naturally, they are not worthy of last season's most exciting title in history.

Of course, no matter what, the divisional finals represent the highest level matchup between the Eastern and Western divisions.
-
On May 5, the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals was held as scheduled.

The Nets sit at home against the Cavaliers.

The starting lineup of the Nets has not changed in the past. Wang Chao, Booker, Bogdanovic, Durant, Jokic, remain unchanged.

On the Cavaliers' side, there are Irving, Korver, James, Gasol and Embiid.

Unlike the original history, due to limited salary space, the Cavaliers have never signed JR. Smith. The starting shooting guard has always been Iman Shumpert.

In the middle of this season, after the Cavaliers got the three-point shooter Korver through a trade, they replaced Korver as the team's starter. After all, the Cavaliers are now a two-tower combination on the inside. The more accurate the three points, the better.

It's just that the Nets don't care about whether you have two towers on the inside or not. If you want to focus on the inside, you can attack. The Nets have never competed with their opponents in defense this season. As long as my offense is better than yours, it's ok.

With the combination of Wang Chao + Durant + Booker + Jokic, it is something that a brain-dead will do if you don't attack and defend.

So as soon as the game started, it evolved into an offensive battle.

Embiid successfully jumped the ball, and the Cavaliers immediately scored a goal with the cooperation of Gasol and Embiid inside.

But as soon as he turned his head to the Nets, Durant hit a mid-range jumper and returned the favor.

The two teams played against each other four times in the regular season, and the Nets achieved a record of 3 wins and 1 loss. After four games, the Cavaliers still could not find a way to limit Durant.

Gasol is too slow to keep up with Durant's speed, so the Cavaliers can only let Embiid defend Durant. After all, James still has Wang Chao to deal with.

But it's no secret that Embiid's offense is strong and his defense is weak. Durant's offense is so strong that even if James defends himself, he may not be able to please him.

In the same way, James, who is mainly defending Wang Chao, cannot limit Wang Chao's scoring.

The reason why the Cavaliers were able to defeat the Nets last year was because they double-teamed Wang Chao almost the entire time.

It’s different now. If the Cavaliers want to double-team Wang Chao, Durant will be the first to refuse. In fact, even without Durant, the Nets still have the same lineup as last season. Pay a heavy price.

Because Jokic and Booker this season are completely different from last season.

Although it can't be as exaggerated as Durant, as long as the Cavaliers dare to double-team Wang Chao, either of them can defeat the Cavaliers' defense and help Wang Chao win the game.

In the final analysis, Durant's joining was completely an accident. In Wang Chao's original championship lineup, there were no players of Durant's level. There were Jokic, Booker, and Brook Lopez who had grown up. And Bogdanovic and others are enough.

It is also because of this that this season Wang Chao felt that his game was boring and unchallenging.

"End this season as soon as possible, and change to another team after completing the goal of winning the championship. Sure enough, the process of land reclamation and construction in the early stage is much better than hanging up to brush experience."

In the first half, the two teams were evenly matched. Although Wang Chao and Durant of the Nets were efficient offensively, the offensive ability of the Cavaliers' top three picks was also not bad. Irving was 17 in the half. , James and Embiid also scored in double figures.

But after the game entered the second half, the situation began to change suddenly.

The Nets began to change their tactics, guarding against Irving and Embiid, and strategically relaxed their defense against James. At the same time, the team began to fire frequently from the outside. Wang Chao, Durant, Booker and even Bogdanovic Frequent shots were made from outside the three-point line.

The Cavaliers were caught off guard and were directly hit by a wave of 12:2 attacks by the Nets, and the point difference instantly opened to more than double digits.

At this time, the star quality gap began to appear.

Owen is really strong when he is strong, but he is really strong when he is limited to iron, especially when Wang Chao is marking himself. In many cases, it is very difficult for Owen to even connect the ball, let alone in front of Wang Chao. Break through with the ball and even shoot.

Wang Chao's current defense is really too strong, especially this kind of big defense and small perimeter defense. With the speed and agility of double 96, he can keep up with most of the small guards in the league, even if he really encounters those speeds. Players who are faster than him have the talent that goes with them like a shadow, and he will still not be thrown away. The talent of screen prediction also makes the pick-and-roll screen useless.

Once there is no advantage in speed, the defender really has nothing to do against Wang Chao.

For example, when facing Wang Chaoshi, James can force a breakthrough with his strength. Until now, James still has a strength advantage over Wang Chao.

There is no way. In order to ensure the accuracy of mid-range and long-range shooting, Wang Chao cannot continue to strengthen his strength training. The strength of 89 is already the best ratio for him. If he develops a body like James and Antetokounmpo, Raise the power to above 90 or even higher, and the shooting-related ability values ​​such as three-pointers and mid-range shots will definitely be affected.

These have reached 99, and some of them have even reached the promotion condition and raised their ability values ​​to 100. If they decrease because of the increase in strength, the gain will not be worth the loss.

Similarly, if Wang Chao is facing Durant, the latter can also use the taller and longer wingspan than Wang Chao to score mid-range jump shots. The effect of shouting skills in the competition is getting worse the more you use it, and it is more throat-intensive.

The topic is far away. All in all, even the current Wang Chao can't completely guard against a top superstar like James, but he can do it if he defends Irving with all his strength.

This is the biggest weakness and breakthrough of the Cavaliers.

Irving's shooting percentage dropped sharply in the third quarter. At the same time, Embiid was entangled by Jokic in the paint. In addition, it was difficult to do anything due to physical consumption. The Cavaliers could only rely on James to score in the second half. How could they keep up with the Nets? offensive tempo?
After falling behind by double digits in the third quarter, the Cavaliers were unable to organize an effective counterattack in the fourth quarter. The result was 117:105, and the Nets easily won a good start at home.

(End of this chapter)