The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 446
On April 4, the playoffs began, and the Spurs did not play on the first day.

It was the Cavaliers and Pacers who fought first, but the game that seemed to have little suspense was played until the last moment, and the Cavaliers only narrowly won by 1 point.

This greatly increased the confidence of the seventh-ranked Pacers in the Eastern Conference. Their point guard Teague said, "We believe that we can beat them. For us, some mistakes occurred at the last moment, but we still have a chance in the next game." win the knight."

"If you're playing on the road in the playoffs, it's nice to have a chance to win the game by winning the game," Teague added.

Cavaliers veteran Jefferson said that it doesn't matter how many points he wins in the playoffs. He said: "This is about winning, and then continuing to prepare for the next game, learning how to improve, how to change, no matter what you need. What to improve, that's the most important thing, so it's not about beating the opponent by a big score, we beat the Raptors twice before, we beat them by 2 points once, and we still lost G50 and G3, so The playoffs are all about improving and learning from our mistakes and then playing well, and we're now one win away from 4."

James also felt that the victory was very good. He said: "I am very grateful to my teammates. The teammates hit some key shots and played some key performances. We won the victory together. For me, G1 is always a trial. It is a good start for us to find out the problem and make targeted improvements, prepare fully and understand the opponent, and then do better in the next game.”

The head coach of the Cavaliers Lu is also in a good mood. He said, "If you want to win in the playoffs, you must do a good job of defense. I am very happy that our final defense has achieved this."

In another game in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks defeated the Raptors with the following gram.

This time, it was a real two-fisted fight against four-handed. Lowry got stuck again, only scoring 4 points and shooting less than [-]% of the shots. I am afraid that no player at the All-Star level has more fluctuations than him.

After the game, Raptors coach Casey said bluntly: "I don't think our performance today deserves to win this game."

Lowry said with a frustrated look: "I'm super disappointed. They played better than us, and I didn't play well enough. I did a lot of things that didn't help the team win in this game. Anyway This game is over, I need to find myself in the next game. I need to play better, no other ideas."

As the head coach, Casey still has to comfort his favorite generals, "He has some good shots but missed them. He is our core. He is an All-Star player. He can help us make a lot of tactics on the court. Decision-making. He needs to continue to be aggressive, even if he misses the entire game."

In the west, the Warriors showed their powerful offensive power and beat the Grizzlies.

After the game, Cole was also very happy to accept the reporter's interview, "We did a better job in physical confrontation in the second half, and the defense also improved, so it has a limiting effect on them."

In addition, he also praised Green, who supported the team's defensive end, "I don't know who else in the league can play a game like Chasing Dream tonight, who can do what Chasing Dream did tonight?"

In another game in the West, in the contest between the Clippers and the Jazz, the Jazz made a lore at the last moment.

However, the Jazz general was injured and left the game in less than 1 minute, which also clouded the prospects of the Jazz playoffs.

On the other hand, the Clippers lost at home to the Jazz without Gobert, expressing their disappointment.

Jazz veteran Joe Johnson scored 21 points and lore the opponent's performance, and was also praised by the team's head coach Quinn Schneider.

In the next day's game, the Spurs finally made their debut against the Trail Blazers.

Nurkic did not play due to injury, and the Blazers are now a complete outside team.

The Spurs still have the original lineup, with double insiders, and Gasol still plays the sixth man.

In terms of lineup configuration, the Spurs are much stronger.

But at the beginning of the game, the Blazers took the lead in launching an onslaught. They have a lineup of one big and four small, and they can shoot three-pointers in five positions, a complete offensive lineup.

The defensive strength of the Spurs' No. [-] position led to Lillard's onslaught from the beginning, and achieved good results.

The Spurs did not panic, and everything went step by step.

They entered the playoffs with the best record in the league, they have a wealth of experience in the playoffs, and a strong lineup, they will not be scared by a few three-pointers.

In fact, the Spurs have been in control since the second quarter.

The Blazers put the team's four strongest scorers in the starting lineup. During the regular season, two of them led the bench most of the time. They gave people the feeling that they had no way out and gave it a go.

But although their stormy start helped the team take the lead, it didn't break the Spurs.

With Lillard scoring 20+ in the half and CJ McCrum also performing well, the Spurs still tied the score before halftime.

In the second half, it was all about the Spurs' performance.

In the third quarter, the Spurs quickly adjusted the lineup and expanded the defense, making it difficult for the Blazers to make three-pointers. However, the Blazers still couldn't stop Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard.

Their lineup is incomplete and there is no inside defense. In fact, the result of the game was doomed from the very beginning. The first half was just an unwilling struggle for them.

This is the difference between a strong team and a team that desperately entered the playoffs. The Spurs have a neat lineup, both internal and external, offensive and defensive, but the Trail Blazers can only move forward due to injuries.

Popovich's rotation allowed the Spurs to maintain a strong combat effectiveness, but only they can use the rotation method correctly.

After gaining an advantage in the third quarter, the Blazers just struggled for the rest of the time, and Lillard and CJ McCrum's weak singles on the outside couldn't change anything.

At 116:100, the Spurs easily won the first game.

Popovich was very relaxed in the interview after the game. When talking about the Blazers' double guns, the old man smiled, "They are very talented players. You have to double-team him to limit them. We don't want to double-team them. So let them score."

What is this, this is the demeanor of a master, so calm and breezy!
Zhang Xiaotian can only say that Popovich has a good outfit, but he and Leonard have also been praised by the head coach.

"That's what the stars do, it's the playoffs, they come out, Zhang and Kawhi play a lot of great offense for us, they go into playoff mode and impact the game on both ends of the floor."

(End of this chapter)