Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 198 198. The Gap Between East and West

On the sidelines, Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan could only smile wryly as he watched the Timberwolves celebrating their sweep at home.

Before this round of the series started, Sloan knew that the Jazz's journey this year would basically stop in the first round of the playoffs, but Sloan never expected that the Jazz would have no power to fight back against the Timberwolves.

The pick-and-roll tactic that he was proud of was broken by the Timberwolves. Facing the targeted defense of the Timberwolves, Sloan found that the pick-and-roll was not enough for the Jazz to find offensive opportunities.

In particular, the unlimited defenses with four guarantees and one defense on both sides of the middle distance opened Jerry Sloan's eyes. Even if he wanted to find Iverson in singles, he couldn't find a chance.

In more than 20 years of coaching career, Sloan has never seen this kind of defense, or Sloan has never seen such a terrifying defensive efficiency as the Timberwolves.

Originally, Sloan was still thinking that even if the team couldn't pass the Timberwolves in the first round, they should at least be able to fight the Timberwolves in six games.

As a result, the Timberwolves used practical actions to pull Sloan back to reality, telling Jerry Sloan, "The times have changed (eating poop), my lord!"

"Your pick-and-roll tactics are very strong. I believe that the tactics in your hands can make any team a playoff team."

"But it's the obsession with the pick-and-roll that limits your team from being able to perform miracles in critical moments."

"However, your contribution in the pick-and-roll tactics is still visible to the naked eye. I hope to play against you next year." Walking in front of Jerry Sloan, Luke stretched out his right hand with a smile on his face.

Luke's words deepened the wry smile on Jerry Sloan's face, but Sloan still extended his hand politely.

Hearing Luke's evaluation of Sloan always felt a little strange. An elderly man in his 60s was educated by a young man.

Even from a competitive sports perspective, Luke has this strength, but Jerry Sloan still feels a little strange.

But for some reason, after hearing Luke's evaluation, Sloan felt that he was right. He was indeed a little obsessed with pick-and-rolls, making many rounds too mechanical, and this Jazz team lacked some soul.

They were even caught by the Timberwolves in four consecutive games and completed a sweep with a big score of 4:0.

"Hey, it's really scary to be a younger generation." Looking at the too young Asian face in front of him, Jerry Sloan, who was rigid, was silent for a long time before choking out a sentence.

Sloan's praise did not make Luke feel any excitement. On the contrary, Luke felt that the old man in front of him suddenly became a little pitiful.

Jerry Sloan is a stubborn old man who would rather fall out with players and management than admit that his pick-and-roll system cannot win the championship.

But at this moment, Jerry Sloan's praise is more like admitting his failure in disguise.

In particular, a coach as young as Luke can lead the team to easily sweep him, which makes Jerry Sloan's mentality seem to have changed.

…………

As the Timberwolves swept the jazz 4:0 to advance to the semifinals first, the other three matchups in the west were obviously much more intense, and even greatly exceeded the pre-match predictions of the fans.

The Warriors, currently ranked eighth in the Western Conference, not only were not swept out by the Mavericks, but also tied with the league's No. 2 Mavericks 2:[-].

This situation was something that no one had thought of before the game. The Warriors led by Nelson were a little crazy. They averaged more than 30 three-pointers per game throughout the series, ranking first in the league.

And the Warriors star Baron Davis even made a big splash in this round of the series, averaging 27.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Baron Davis played like a talisman attached to the Mavericks' head, destroying the Mavericks' defense line almost by himself, making Mavericks coach Johnson's face black, and he looked very irritable standing on the sidelines.

Baron Davis was the most explosive point guard before Westbrook entered the league. In a sense, the two play styles have many similarities. At least both of them like to dunk.

However, Baron Davis's three-point shooting is significantly better than Westbrook's. In this round of the series with the Mavericks, Davis' three-point shooting percentage is as high as 45.6%, and his average of 3.5 three-pointers per game is also ranked in the league. First.

During the regular season, Baron Davis shot only 33% of his three-pointers, but in the playoffs, Davis became more and more excited, leading the team to be on par with the Dallas Mavericks, which ranks first in the Western Conference.

The crazy performance of the Warriors also made the outside world's "black eight" calls more and more loud, after all, fans always like to witness miracles.

It is foreseeable that if the Warriors can really beat the Dallas Mavericks in this round of the series, it will definitely be the hottest NBA news this year.

From the current point of view, the probability of the Warriors' black eight is getting bigger and bigger, so big that even the owner of the Mavericks, Cuban, is worried. He can only find the last sense of security for himself by suppressing his opponents on the Internet.

The other two series did not go well either. The third-ranked sun in the west also tied with the denver nuggets 2:2.

The running and bombing team led by D'Antoni still performed fiercely in the playoffs, but what really prevented the Suns from opening the score was the too strong counterattack from the Denver Nuggets.

Iverson, who was supposed to join the Nuggets, came to the Timberwolves because Luke stepped in early in the season.

It stands to reason that the Nuggets who lack Iverson can't make up the "golden guns", and their performance this year should not be satisfactory, but Iverson's failure to join means that Andre Miller and others can continue to stay on the team.

At the same time, the performance of new aid Nehbar is an important factor for the Nuggets to sublimate this season.

During the regular season, Nehbar's performance was actually not very good. There have been problems with the running-in with the Nuggets. He averaged only 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists per game.

The head coach of the Nuggets is George Karl, and the current offensive system of the Nuggets revolves around the "little melon" Anthony, so Nehbar can't fully release himself with the ball, and can only play next to Anthony.

However, the arrival of the playoffs has changed this result. The defensive treatment Anthony received in this round of the series with the Suns can be described as tight. When Anthony was targeted by the Suns, Nehbar naturally stood up to take over the offensive banner.

整轮系列赛内赫巴尔能够交出场均18.6分5.1篮板以及6.3次助攻，投篮命中率为47.6%，三分球命中率同样有37.3%。

Nehbar's outstanding performance provided Anthony with a lot of help. Coupled with the joint performance of Andrea Miller, JR Smith and Nene, the contest between the Nuggets and the Suns did not lose at all.

The two teams are currently tied at 2:2. It is hard to say who will be able to advance.

Even though the Suns ranked third in the West, the Mavericks ranked first in the West were pushed to the edge of a cliff by the Warriors, let alone the Suns who ranked third in the West.

The contest between the Spurs and the Rockets in the last group was normal. The two teams ranked fourth in the West and fifth in the West respectively, and the overall strength is not much different. No matter which team advances, it will not be surprising.

Like the other two series, the Spurs and the Rockets also drew 2:2, and it would take six games to end the series at the earliest.

The pattern of the entire west this year is very strange. Except for the Timberwolves who easily swept the jazz 4:0 in the first round, the other three series have been played in dire straits, making it impossible to tell which team can advance.

According to the ranking, the Timberwolves' opponent in the Western Conference semifinals will be the winner between the Suns and the Nuggets.

The two teams are currently tied in the second and second world wars, and it is difficult to tell the difference in a short period of time. This means that the Timberwolves will have a long period of rest. During this period, they can make preparations for the next round of opponents in advance.

Although Luke doesn't know whether the Suns or the Nuggets will advance to the semifinals this year, Luke can work with the coaching staff to prepare all the plans for the two teams to play against each other.

This is the most stupid and time-consuming method, but also the safest method.

Compared with the anxious game situation in the west, the first round of the playoffs in the east is much clearer.

The gap between the two teams can be seen by fans at a glance.

So far, three teams in the east have swept 4:0 to advance.

Only the Raptors and Nets this round of the series was an accident, but the Raptors also held the match point 3:1, and the chances of advancing were infinitely increased.

The Heat swept the Magic 4:0, the Cavaliers swept the Wizards 4:0, and the Pistons swept the Bulls 4:0. The gaps in the three series are so huge that fans can't see the slightest suspense.

The Heat and the Pistons will start the semifinal confrontation in advance in the near future, and the Cavaliers will have to wait for the winner between the Raptors and the Nets.

However, the pattern of the playoffs in the East this year is too clear. According to the prediction list released by ESPN, the Heat have a 79.6% chance of breaking into the finals.

In the entire Eastern Conference, except for the Heat, there is only one Cavaliers team with a regular season record of more than 50 wins, and the remaining six playoff teams have won less than 50 wins.

In stark contrast, the Heat won 64 games in the regular season. Such a big gap makes it hard to believe that the Heat can't make it to the Finals.

So this year, what fans generally pay attention to is the confrontation in the West, and the West did not disappoint the fans in the first round of the playoffs.

The pattern of three 2:2 draws made the fans start to tease that any team in the West can join the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is the current strength gap between the East and the West.

　Ask for a monthly ticket, ask for a recommendation ticket, thank you, third child!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)