NBA: I am the card dealer

Before the series began, reporters interviewed players from the Knicks and Nets respectively, and both sides vowed and expressed confidence that they could defeat their opponents.

of course.

This is not what people are focusing on.

People only care about the statements of Xue Liancheng and James.

Xue Liancheng was relatively calm: there would always be various opponents on the road to the finals, he was just one of them, not much different from other opponents.

The reporter did not give up and continued to ask: But you have been in the league for four years, and you meet him every year, either in the Eastern Conference Finals or in the Finals. You can be said to be the superstars who face off most frequently. Don’t you have any special feelings?

Xue Liancheng burst out laughing: I meet Curry and Thompson every year, so what special feelings can I have?

From the bold words he made when they first met to now having become someone who needs the other party to look up to him, what special feelings could he have towards the defeated opponent he conquered?

Even though she has come all the way to New York to curry his favor, how could he feel about that?

If James had been a little tougher at the beginning, he would at least have a new respect for his opponent. After all, failure is not scary, what is scary is the fear of failure.

In this way, he can still respect the other party as a respectable opponent.

Now?

He still had some contempt and disdain in his heart. Although the grievances between the two sides had faded after so many years, the resentment of being ignored back then was still there, and he could never appreciate James' competitive spirit.

And most importantly, he fulfilled his bold words of "Don't bully the young and poor". This feeling is different. While he feels proud, it is also a denial of James' achievements.

In addition, as he received more and more honors and his status became higher and higher, the gap between him and James became more and more obvious, and he began to resist this kind of bundling hype from the bottom of his heart.

If he has to choose a player, he would recognize Curry as his biggest opponent in his career so far.

Xue Liancheng's interview here was uneventful.

However, James revealed a shocking bomb in the interview.

The reporter asked: "Meeting Xue Liancheng again, what do you feel at this moment?"

James: "I'm looking forward to this day."

This was normal during the interview.

Reporter: "What are you looking forward to? Can you tell me more about it?"

James didn't know what was going on, but he suddenly said this: "He is the strongest opponent I have ever encountered in my career, and I am very much looking forward to playing against him."

As soon as these words came out.

There was an uproar!

In fact, according to James' original intention, he wanted to praise Xue Liancheng for his unparalleled strength and acknowledge Xue Liancheng's super strength.

But James said these words with the attitude and tone of a winner, and the result was completely different.

How can you, a defeated general who has been beaten so badly for three consecutive years that he couldn't even raise his head, say such words with the attitude of a winner?

Why do you do that?

Who is the strongest opponent you have ever faced in your career?

People who don’t know would think that Xue Liancheng is the loser?

The reporter reacted quickly and asked immediately: "You mean, your strength is superior to Xue Liancheng? Your achievements are also superior to Xue Liancheng?"

James also came to his senses: "Uh! He is a respectable opponent, uh! I mean I am looking forward to meeting him again, I am ready to defeat him, I will definitely take back what belongs to me."

But the words spoken have been filtered through logic.

The reporter was clear-headed: "What belongs to you? What originally belonged to you? The championship?"

At this point, James could only bite the bullet and brag: "Yes! We lacked a little luck last season, but everything is different this season. I will prove to the world that I can do it."

The next day.

James' eloquent declaration of winning the championship immediately made the media's front-page headlines and for a time he became the laughing stock of the league.

"When will this habit be corrected? Your face is swollen from being beaten."

"People who don't know would think that you have abused Xue Liancheng beyond recognition over the past three years, but what happened? You are the one being abused."

"He was beaten to his knees in New York, and he's still bragging here."

"I still remember the scene four years ago when the Cavaliers were leading the Heat 3:0 and James was making crazy statements. But then the score was pushed back to 4:0, haha..."

"Why didn't you brag when Xue Liancheng swept us back and swept us the next year and we ran to New York and knelt down?"

"Digital Man and the Raptors both had to play in Game 7. What makes you think you have the strength to win the championship? Who gave you the Warriors?"

A large number of mocking voices came at him like an overwhelming force, leaving James no time to react.

soon.

The first game of the Eastern Conference Finals has begun.

The Nets' starting lineup remains unchanged: Xue Liancheng, Anunoby, Covington, Vonleh, and Sabonis Jr.

The Knicks side is: Darren Collison, Crowder, James, Randle, and Rooney.

This may seem average, but considering their bench depth, it is extraordinary.

Tyler Johnson, Hardaway Jr., Korver, Caruso, Jeff Green, Ilyavaso, Nance Jr.

The overall lineup still looks very deep, especially the ability to open up space, which is definitely one of the best in the league.

But the competition often does not go according to the strength on paper.

In this game, Darren Collison, Crowder, Korver, Tyler Johnson, Hardaway Jr., Ilya Vasos, and Jeff Green all failed to make three-pointers, causing their offense to be paralyzed and they only scored a pitiful 91 points.

In the end, they lost by 91 points with a score of 125:34, and lost everything.

Immediately after the game, he was met with crazy taunts from the fans.

"Hahahaha! If the godfather doesn't protect me, I'll just collapse."

"Is this the true strength of the Eastern Conference Finals team?"

"It's tragic! How can you have the nerve to speak up after being hung up and beaten?"

"I thought you would lose, but I didn't think you would lose so badly."

"Put your face forward and let someone hit you. I'll ask you if it feels good or not."

"The championship belongs to you?"

"You're really good at bragging! You're also very experienced at getting slapped in the face."

He had just vowed to win the championship and take back what belonged to him, but the next moment he was hung up and beaten. He was really embarrassed.

不过詹姆斯这场比赛的数据还不错，22中10，三分5中1，罚球10中7，也拿到了28分13篮板5助攻的漂亮数据。

Randle continued to jump back and forth between slacking off and deep slacking, making 16 of 6 shots and barely getting 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. His efficiency was still appalling, but there was nothing to complain about.

After all, the others weren't much better.

篮网这边大家发挥都正常，薛连城19中11，三分10中6，罚球8中8，浅浅拿到36分18助攻6篮板的顶尖数据。

If only Xue Liancheng's data were placed here, it wouldn't seem like there was anything particularly interesting about it.

But if you put it on James' data column for comparison, the gap will immediately appear.

What is the distance between top stars and superstars?

Anunoby made 13 of 7 shots and Qianqian got 17 points and 6 rebounds.

Sabonis Jr. finally returned to his level, shooting 14 of 8 and scoring 19 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. His overall performance showed that of a future rising star.

These three core players scored 72 points efficiently, which also shows that their offensive intensity needs to be strengthened.

of course.

This also shows that the role players performed very well.

And after the game.

The reporter asked Xue Liancheng about his post-match summary.

Reporter: "Xue, can you summarize why you were able to win this game so easily?"

Xue Liancheng: "We resolutely implemented our own offensive and defensive tactics, especially on the defensive end. Vonleh knew Randle very well and successfully restricted him. The other players also played very well on defense and cooperated well to suppress the opponent's offensive firepower."

Reporter: "How many games do you think this series will have in the end?"

Xue Liancheng smiled and said, "If possible, I hope to end the battle in four rounds."

If he had said this two years ago, some people would have thought he was arrogant.

But now, no one thinks so anymore.

Even the reporters laughed a little when they heard this.

This shows how much the public now identifies with Xue Liancheng.

This also indirectly illustrates a point, that status and influence are truly earned, and need to be backed by achievements.

Reporter: "Are you worried about their counterattack?"

Xue Liancheng: "A team that reaches the Eastern Conference Finals is definitely not a weak team. Their hard power is definitely online, and their ability to adjust is beyond words. I still know Tyronn Lue."

as predicted.

In the second game, Tyronn Lue made lineup adjustments.

They took Rooney out of the starting lineup and promoted Korver, so the lineup became: Darren Collison, Korver, Crowder, James, and Randle.

Directly go with a small lineup and at the same time strengthen the three-point shooting ability again, and there is a hint of the outline of a star-studded team.

Such a change is enough to maximize the offensive firepower, but it also has a disadvantage, which is that the defensive strength is severely weakened.

Pure offense?

These Nets are not weak at all.

At the end of the game, the Nets defeated the Knicks again with a score of 132:118.

There is no doubt that the Knicks' offensive ability has indeed improved to a higher level, but the devil is always one step ahead, and the Nets' score directly exceeded 130+.

This is the Eastern Conference Finals!

If you let a team score 130+ points in the whole game, do you still want to win?

It seems a bit far-fetched.

The Knicks had no ability to curb the Nets' offense. They just competed with the Nets in offensive firepower, but naturally they were defeated and the loss was expected.

James played as well as ever, making 24 of 13 shots, 8 of 3 three-pointers, and 12 of 9 free throws, scoring 38 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. The overall stats were very good.

But there is still a long way to go before winning.

It's like running as fast as you can, but you can't catch up with the cheetah in front of you.

Very powerless, helpless and frustrated.

Randle finally regained some toughness, shooting 17 of 9 and getting comprehensive statistics of 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, looking like the second-in-command.

pity.

Even though the two performed so well, they were still unable to win this crucial game.

Because the Nets performed more violently.

Xue Liancheng shot very restrainedly, making 15 of 9 shots, 9 of 6 three-pointers, and 7 of 7 free throws. He scored 31 points but also had an astonishing 25 assists, which was really eye-catching.

This also fully illustrates a problem, even if Xue Liancheng does not score crazily, he can still win the game in his own way.

This is hard power.

His vision, ability to read the game, and passing ability are enough to influence the direction of a game. He is a historical-level point guard, and that's not just talk.

小萨博尼斯14中7，拿到了20分9篮板5助攻。

Anunoby made 15 of 10 shots, 9 of 5 three-pointers, and scored 28 points, once again showing his All-Star style.

The three of them scored nearly 80 points, and the cooperation between the trio became more and more tacit.

The most important thing is that the Knicks are simply undefended. They only need a simple pick-and-roll screen to easily get in and score, without any fancy coordination.

It truly demonstrates what it means to score as easily as taking something from a bag.

After this game, the situation in the East gradually became clear.

"No way! There's a real possibility of being swept away!"

"It was just talk, but you, James, are not up to the mark!"

"There is still a clear gap in hard power. If we can't respond when we return to our home court, then this series is over."

"If they are swept away, someone will start planning their escape again."

"He cried bitterly after the season and said the team didn't give him enough support, and Decision 4 was born."

"Actually, you can't blame James entirely, he just can't beat me!"

"If you compete on offense, you can definitely beat the Nets, you are so confused!"

"But if the Knicks don't fight on offense and only on defense, they might die faster."

"Tyronn Lue can't do anything! Even a good cook cannot cook without rice. If Xue Liancheng is the star player of the Knicks, it's hard to say."

"It's true. If James and Xue Liancheng switched teams, they could really compete."

"What the hell! If James comes to the Nets, then Sabonis and Anunoby will just have to wait outside the three-point line for the ball. What do they have to do with it?"

"Sabonis is still somewhat useful, but Anunoby may really be reduced to a 3D shooter."

"Yes! On the other hand, if the Knicks have Xue Liancheng, the result will be completely different. Randle is more mature than last season. The two of them can cooperate in pick-and-roll and the effect is still good. And with three-point shooters lined up, they are really capable of fighting against the Nets led by James."

This hypothesis has been widely circulated.

Then the cunning ESPN immediately launched a vote, and the Knicks led by Xue Liancheng received 99.9% of the votes. People believed that even though the two had swapped teams, Xue Liancheng could still lead the Knicks out of the East.

It's so naked and extremely embarrassing.

of course.

Not only James was embarrassed, but Anunoby and Sabonis Jr. were also embarrassed.

The result of this assumption means a denial of them, thinking that they are not that important and there is no difference between the team with them or without them.

This is extremely embarrassing.

They work hard for the team and give everything, but the fans think they are insignificant. Anyone would be heartbroken.