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

But this kind of moment is when the team needs star players to come out to solve the problem. Fans don’t care who is opposite you. Even in the eyes of most fans, if the defensive players are stronger, the bonus to morale will be stronger if they can score. !

The ball has been passed to DeRozan, and his teammates have also spread out and put on their postures. The cheers and atmosphere of the fans at the scene have heightened the atmosphere. Even if DeRozan wants to shirk, it is too late, so he has to hold on. On the scalp!

Come all come!

DeRozan dribbled the ball gradually closer to the three-point line, and then changed direction to break through inside. However, this change of direction did not shake Leonard away. The latter still stood firmly in the defensive position and did not lose his position at all. .

If he breaks through like this, the layup will definitely be blocked, either by Leonard or by an inside player.

DeRozan also knows in his heart that facing a defensive master like Leonard, it is impossible to get rid of him with a simple change of direction. Therefore, his goal is not to attack the basket, but to get inside the three-point line.

As we all know, DeRozan's lifelong enemy is the three-point line. Sometimes, even if he can score one more point by taking a small step back, he still likes to throw such inefficient long two-pointers.

After reaching the mid-range, DeRozan made an emergency stop and then turned around. Leonard also stopped at the same time, keeping his long arms in front of DeRozan.

DeRozan made a fake move to shoot, but he just took a step forward with his arms raised high and did not jump. In desperation, DeRozan turned around again, and Leonard followed with a slide step, but still did not jump!

If he continued to turn, he would either lose his center of gravity or start walking. DeRozan felt depressed and directly pulled up to shoot, but his big hands were like brown sugar. Wherever the ball was, his hands followed him.

In the end, DeRozan made a shot and the Raptors fans at home were excited for a long time!

Li Kaiming picked off the rebound and dribbled it across half court. Facing Johnson's defense, he accelerated past and then made an emergency stop in the mid-range!

After a few rounds of play, the fans at the scene realized that DeRozan was firing on all cylinders when Leonard was not guarding him. As a result, after Leonard faced him, DeRozan Luo Zan immediately lost his temper...

From the time Leonard came on the court to halftime, DeRozan, who scored 16 points in the first quarter, did not score a single point, and the Raptors also went from a 7-point lead at the beginning to a 4-point deficit after halftime.

During halftime, Sanders also praised Leonard's defense and his attitude towards the game in the locker room.

"I didn't expect this kid to be quite responsible!" Looking at the silent man next to him, Li Kaiming also laughed.

After a twenty-minute intermission, the second half began quickly.

Because of Leonard's outstanding performance in the first half, Sanders decided to continue switching defenses between Leonard and Thompson in the second half.

Coach Casey of the Raptors also responded by asking other members of the Raptors to cover DeRozan, find misplaced singles, or play pick-and-roll doubles.

But DeRozan is ultimately a swingman, not a pure point guard. When faced with double-teams or other complex situations, he can barely pass the ball without making mistakes.

Coach Casey really thinks too much if he wants his passing to drive the team's offense.

Furthermore, Casey underestimates Leonard's best defensive team. If a screen can offset the best defensive team, then this defensive team is too worthless.

DeRozan did not reach the level expected by coaches and fans. After Leonard took over, DeRozan's level plummeted instantly. Both scoring efficiency and number of points dropped significantly, turnovers increased, and his ability to draw fouls increased. I can’t even perform it!

At the end of the game, Leonard became a key factor in the game, helping the Wizards defeat the Toronto Raptors 112-94 on the road, and the series score reached 3-0.

In the fourth game two days later, Sanders still asked Leonard to face DeRozan, but coach Casey couldn't think of an effective way to solve such a simple defense tactic. .

As for allowing the Raptors' small forward to fight Thompson's mismatch, this was never thought of from the beginning.

Regardless of whether Terrence Ross, who averages 10 points per game, is capable of taking so much ball possession, even if he is, Thompson can completely guard him.

Although Thompson played the No. 2 position for the Wizards, his strong lower body and solid physique allow him to swing to the No. 3 position without suffering any disadvantages. He can even occasionally support the power forwards of certain teams. One.

In this case, the Wizards are not afraid of the Raptors' misplaced singles at all, because they have enough strength to deal with it all.

DeRozan, under the careful care of Leonard, also successfully played the worst game in the series. He made 18 of 4 shots, 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 11 points and 3 rebounds. 1 assist and 4 turnovers. Even with a very low shooting rate, he also made a large number of turnovers. Even the fans at the UMass Air Center couldn't stand it any longer and began to boo the Raptors players...

Without the burden of defense, Thompson's offensive performance has also returned to normal levels.

As for Li Kaiming, after Hengha became his right-hand man on offense and defense, he just had to be himself. In the fourth game, he scored 29 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 blocks, a near-triple double. Led the Wizards to sweep the Raptors 4-0 and became the first team to advance to the conference finals this year.

Leonard finished the game with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. The data seems to be average, but these data do not reflect the damage he caused to DeRozan at all!

Thompson hit 4 three-pointers in the game and scored 17 points and 2 rebounds. He lived up to his reputation as the Wizards' top off-ball shooter.

After the game, during the exchange of greetings between players from both sides, Li Kaiming smiled and hugged his good brother Elliott Williams.

"Look, I just told you, kid, don't be complacent. It's okay now. You'll be smiling until next season..."

Williams curled his lips and said, "You didn't give any face to my brother. You said you were going to sweep. You were really sweeping. You were too ruthless. If you do this, I will support your opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals!"

"If you are not afraid of disappointment, then go ahead and support it!"

Williams was speechless, "Oh no, you are really arrogant, but you really have the capital to be arrogant. I will go to Washington to cheer you up in a few days!"

Li Kaiming winked and said, "I can't help it. If you have strength, you can do whatever you want."

The Wizards were the first to advance to the conference finals, which allowed them to safely prepare for the next round of games at home while watching the performances of their opponents.

The next decisive battle was between the Spurs and the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference. The veteran Spurs fully demonstrated the power of team basketball. They swept the Trail Blazers 4-1 and waited for the final opponent in the Western Conference.

The remaining two sets of duels all reached the sixth game. With the blessing of the new vertical take-off rules introduced this year, Roy Hibbert, the best defensive level, directly transformed into "Gao Yuanyuan", plus team boss Paul There was a "headshot" incident between George. In addition to poor offensive performance in these six games, the defensive end also lost its former power.

In the end, the Pacers were eliminated by the Heat 4-2.

Over in the West, the Thunder, led by the resentful Durant, also defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, the city of lobs, 4-2, and met the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

As for why Durant is full of resentment, you have to ask a guy who has won almost all the honors in the regular season...

This is the fourth consecutive year the Wizards have met the Heat in the playoffs, and the third consecutive year they have met in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In terms of the frequency of their matches, the two teams can already be called rivals, but this pair of rivals is different from the back-and-forth rivalry of the Yellow-Green War. The rivals of the Wizards and Heat are both single-handed rivals of the Heat. He was beaten violently.

Of course, this year is also a critical year for the Heat. When the Big Three were formed in 2010, James signed a six-year, $6 million contract with the Heat. However, the last two years of this contract were player options. This means that James has the right to terminate this contract after this season.

When James joined the Heat, everyone knew he was doing it for the championship, but now three years have passed and the fourth season is about to end. It is a completely foreseeable result that Wade's physical condition is getting weaker and weaker. If this season If he still can't win the championship, what choice will James make?

This issue is a very important issue for the entire league. Although the Big Three of James have failed for three consecutive years, it is undeniable that his strength is still the top in the league.

Such a big fish, and his body is still in its peak period, has the opportunity to enter the free market. Every team that aims to win the championship, regardless of whether they have money in their pockets, wants to give it a try.

There is always a dream, what if it comes true?

As for the matchup between the Wizards and the Heat, it goes without saying. Over the past four years, there have been all kinds of ups and downs, both on and off the court. The two sides have gone through all-round friction and are already an old rival.

On the Chinese basketball forum, a fan who is about to take the college entrance examination posted a question:

The college entrance examination is about to take place, but I really want to watch the Wizards and Heat game. What should I do?

The comments below are also very interesting.

"Of course you choose the college entrance examination. The college entrance examination is something that determines your life. Of course you have to put it first." This is a very down-to-earth fan's speech.

"The college entrance examination happens every year, but there is only one showdown between the Wizards and the Heat!" a naughty netizen joked.

"Upstairs, I believe you. Someone told me this three years ago. Now my high school classmates are all juniors, and I'm still here to repeat my studies..."

"So the Wizards and Heat battle every year, and the college entrance examination only happens once..."

At the end of the second round, the last award of the 2013-2014 regular season was also announced. Wizards head coach Flip Saunders led the team to a history-making 74 wins and 8 losses and was unanimously voted the best coach. , this is also the second consecutive year that Sanders has become the best coach.

And Sanders also became the first head coach in NBA history to be unanimously elected as the best coach, which can be regarded as making up for the Wizards' regret. Although Li Kaiming was not unanimously elected as the MVP, at least this group of Americans were optimistic about Sanders. There was no racial prejudice in Sri Lanka.

The best record in history, worthy of being the only unanimous best coach!