NBA: Start the water cooler and reach the Hall of Fame

After easily and comfortably winning the first two games of the semifinals, all members of the Wizards took a team plane to the far northern city of Toronto.

Even though it was almost early summer, the cold air after getting off the plane still made Li Kaiming wince.

"This damn place is so cold. It's already May and the temperature is still so low..."

While talking with his teammates about the climate in Toronto, Li Kaiming walked down the gangway and got off the plane. At the same time, he thought of Williams, who had stayed in Toronto for three full years, and he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the latter.

Being able to stay in such a cold place for three years is considered very perseverant.

So in order to help my good brother get out of the sea of ​​misery as soon as possible and go to the beach in Hawaii to bask in the sun, as your best brother, I will definitely help you solve this series quickly!

This is the truth behind the saying that long-term pain is worse than short-term pain!

Thinking of this, even Li Kaiming couldn't help but laugh at the bad taste in his heart. This smile was noticed by Thompson next to him. The latter tightened his collar in the cold wind of the North and looked at it defensively. By Li Kaiming.

"Li, you smile so pervertedly..."

"Fuck you!" Li Kaiming was so angry that he almost vomited blood. I just cared about my good brother in my heart. How could I become a pervert?

Of course, all kidding aside, as a team that aims to win three consecutive championships and create a dynasty, the Wizards from top to bottom, from the vice president who leads the team to every water cooler player, are preparing for the game that is coming tomorrow. My own affairs did not relax just because the Wizards led 2-0.

Especially the team's head coach Sanders, this playoffs has been so busy that he is physically and mentally exhausted. He even has a lot less hair than before.

Li Kaiming always smiled and teased the old man, "If you continue like this, you will become as bald as Jordan..."

Sanders rolled his eyes every time and did not refute.

The time came to the evening of May 5th, at the UMass Aviation Center in Toronto.

Although the Raptors are the only team outside America and are located in remote Toronto, every star doesn't want to come.

But this team also has a very obvious advantage, that is, the support and number of fans are absolutely first-class. For other teams in America, at best, they only have the support of fans from the state capital where the team is located. And behind the Raptors are fans from across the country.

So when the third game came to the Canadian Airlines Center, Li Kaiming was surprised by the enthusiasm of the fans!

As expected of a city in the north, the momentum of these fans is completely different!

The players of both sides were ready before the game. As the referee blew the whistle, the third game of the series officially began!

I have to say that after returning to their home court, the Raptors are indeed in much better shape than before. It seems that those who can reach the tiebreaker with the Bulls and eliminate the latter have two tools in their hands.

In the first quarter, the Raptors were very hot, especially their outside shooting. If they hadn't played two games with the Raptors before, Li Kaiming would have thought that the Raptors had always been at this level.

Their star player DeMar DeRozan scored 16 points in the first quarter, and his shooting percentage was very high.

More importantly, Klay Thompson does not seem to be suitable for guarding players like DeRozan who rely on skills to play, and DeRozan is a guy who is very good at causing fouls on defensive players. Thompson received two fouls in the first quarter. He had to sit on the bench depressed.

With their outstanding performance in the first quarter, the Raptors entered the second quarter with a 28-point lead 26-2.

At the beginning of the second quarter, most of the starters sat off the court, with only Leonard leading the team on the court.

The opponent also had half a set of starters on the court. It can be seen that Coach Casey still really wants to win this game.

Leonard did not perform much while leading the team alone, but the remaining rotation players of the Wizards seemed a little acclimated. After half a quarter, the Wizards' rotation should have been dominant, but unexpectedly they were suddenly beaten. The Dragons widened the point difference and the score became 41-34.

So Sanders took the opportunity of a timeout to replace Li Kaiming and others again.

Leonard was replaced and rested. After Li Kaiming came on the court, the Wizards' offense improved greatly. He scored consecutively on the offensive end and was caught by the score in just four rounds with 1 point left.

But an accident came again. After the opponent's DeRozan came on the court, he first caught the ball at his waist, hit Thompson twice with his back, and then turned around and made a shooting posture.

Thompson has played against DeRozan for three games, and he also knows that this guy is particularly good at using fake moves to deceive defenders into drawing fouls. After gaining experience, this time he just pushed up and raised his hands in the air without jumping.

However, DeRozan's foul-making skills are superb. Just turning around and leaning back is not the end of his fake move, but the beginning.

Seeing that Thompson did not take off, DeRozan used the foot he had just turned as a pivot, then turned back and made an up and down step, but Thompson was still on guard.

But DeRozan didn't take a shot, and patiently turned around again, aiming for a fadeaway jumper!

Thompson, who had endured it twice, finally couldn't help it anymore, mainly because when defending his opponent's shot, taking off to try to block shots was a conditioned reflex. He was able to hold back the first two times because of the experience accumulated in the previous two games, but this time This time he still got it right.

After Thompson jumped in the air, DeRozan made a shooting posture. Fortunately, Thompson was also a veteran in the playoffs and directly pulled DeRozan down, preventing him from successfully shooting.

But the problem is that this foul is already Thompson's third personal foul. The first half is not even over. The starting shooting guard has already fouled three times, and he is also facing the enemy's boss. What should we do... …

Sanders, who was standing next to the bench, was in trouble all of a sudden, hesitating whether to take Thompson off.

There are too many things to consider in order to take down Thompson. Defending DeRozan is not even the most important thing, because Thompson is currently the most reliable off-ball shooter on the outside of the Wizards, not counting Li Kaiming. If Thompson comes off the court, what will happen on the court? The lineup space will immediately shrink, and the impact on the Wizards' offense will not only be as simple as losing Thompson's 18 points per game.

Just when Sanders was having a headache about how to make a decision, a man with a paralyzed face stood next to him.

"Coach, let me guard DeMar!"

Sanders turned his head, and it was Leonard who had just left the field who said this.

"You? It's okay for you to guard him, but don't you need a rest?" As a coach, it is also a very important responsibility to reasonably allocate the players' playing time. If you encounter difficulties, you can count on the star players in the team. Solution, then this coach is too good.

"My physical strength is fine." Leonard's tone was firm.

"This... okay!" Unable to think of any better plan for a while, Sanders took advantage of a dead ball opportunity to let Leonard appear again, and the Wizards' starter appeared on the court again.

Seeing that Leonard, who had just taken a break and hadn't even sat down for a while, actually came on the court again, all the Raptors players and head coach Casey were a little confused.

"What's going on? The first half isn't even over yet. Why is the opponent starting to mess with the starting players? For those who don't know, I thought it was the Wizards who were trailing 0-2..."

In addition to the opponents, the players on the Wizards court are also a little confused. Sanders rarely makes changes in the rotation of starting players. Even if Thompson is in foul trouble, Thompson should be substituted. , instead of changing to a small forward.

And just when almost everyone was confused, Leonard ran up to Thompson and said something.

"We will switch defenses later, and I will defend Demar."

The Wizards attacked and handed the ball to Li Kaiming after halftime. The latter was a triple threat and observed the movement of his teammates. Then he accelerated to the inside, attracted a double team and then passed the ball to Leonard, who received the ball for two points. Take it!

48 flat!

The Raptors attacked, DeRozan used the cover of his teammates to make a circle, and then received the ball again at the waist.

He first observed the situation with his back turned and found that no one was coming to double-team, so he dropped the ball and headed inside!

When he hit the defender behind him for the first time, an incredible expression suddenly appeared on DeRozan's face!

When did this Thompson become a wall?

Surprised, he turned his head slightly and glanced at the people behind him with his peripheral vision.

Strange, why even my skin has turned darker...

I looked up again and saw, oh my god, why is that facial paralysis? Where's Thompson?

DeRozan immediately felt that his mood was no longer beautiful. Of course he had faced this facial paralysis before. Whether it was weight or height and wingspan, this facial paralysis was like a bigger version of himself, which could completely cover him!

What makes him even more irritated is that this guy's defensive awareness and skills are still first-class. He also tried to take action against Leonard in previous games, but the results were not very good.

After DeRozan discovered that Leonard was behind him, he immediately gave up trying to hit him from behind and turned around to fall back!

However, under the influence of the robot's big hands, his shot barely hit the net, almost missing!

Li Kaiming grabbed the rebound under the basket. After dribbling through the half court, he faced Amir Johnson's defense. After a change of direction, he deceived the latter's center of gravity and then broke through, taking advantage of Valanciunas under the basket. There was no time to react, so he took off in three steps and violently dunked!

boom!

The basket at the UMass Airline Center made an overwhelming sound. The fans at the scene were so shocked by this violent dunk that they even booed a little less!

The Raptors attacked, and this time Lowry used the screen to hit a three-pointer from the outside. Kenny and Blatche did not communicate well, and Lowry seized the opportunity to make a shot.

This was a response ball, and it also helped the Raptors take the lead, which made the audience cheer!

The Wizards dribbled the ball past half-court. Li Kaiming caught the ball with his back at the waist, turned around and came to the baseline, and missed the fadeaway jumper.

Seeing that even Li Kaiming couldn't make a shot, the atmosphere at the Raptors' scene was completely heightened.

Lowry dribbled across half court and handed the ball to DeRozan.

The fans at the scene began to shout DeRozan's name in unison. As long as the ball can be scored, the rhythm of the game will return to the Raptors mode.

However, DeRozan took the ball amidst the cheers of the audience and looked at his paralyzed face one step away from him, with cold sweat breaking out on his forehead!

The audience was putting me on the fire! How do I fight this?

DeRozan was on the verge of tears.