NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 140: Stopped in the Western Conference Finals, this performance, is this a second grader?

D'Antoni can't believe that the Lakers can compete with the entire Suns team in terms of offensive firepower with just Kobe and Wang Chong.

But as the game started, he couldn't believe it or not.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Kobe Bryant took the lead on the Lakers' side, holding the ball continuously to break through and attack the basket, easily tearing apart the Suns' weak defense.

Although the shooting rate of 7 of 3 was slightly low, Kobe's continuous breakthroughs to the basket caused a large number of defensive fouls. Stoudemire committed two fouls, Marion once, and Quentin Richardson, who was defending Kobe. once.

As a result, in the first quarter alone, Kobe took 8 free throws and hit 7 of them, scoring 13 points in a single quarter.

Although the Suns' offensive rhythm was also very smooth, they only fought the Lakers for 28:29 in the first quarter and only gained a 1-point lead.

For the Suns, being unable to suppress their opponents offensively is considered a failure in itself.

But D'Antoni can comfort himself that this is only the first quarter of the game. Can the Lakers keep up with their offensive rhythm in one quarter of the game? Can they keep up with the fourth quarter of the game?

Sorry, this really works.

Kobe, who played 11 minutes in the first quarter and scored 13 points, continued to be on the court in the second quarter and made 8 of 4 shots, plus 3 of 2 free throws, and scored another 10 points.

Moreover, Wang Chong began to exert his strength gradually in the second quarter. Kobe's 23-point violent offensive in the half directly disrupted the Suns' offensive rhythm and tore their already poor defense into pieces.

Wang Chong got many open shots, and most of them were concentrated in the bottom corner, just enough to trigger the corner three-point shooter badge.

Of course he would not miss such a good opportunity. He immediately struck hard and made 5 of 3 shots from beyond the three-point line in the second quarter. He scored 9 points from three-pointers alone. In addition, Wang Chong made 2 of 2 mid-range shots. The second quarter of the game was the same as Kobe's in the first quarter. Although the process and method were different, he still scored 13 points.

Wang Chong scored 13 points and Kobe Bryant scored 10. The Lakers further improved their offensive firepower in the second quarter, scoring 34 points in a single quarter. Instead, they suppressed the 30-point Suns and led by 3 points at halftime.

What D'Antoni was most worried about happened. The Lakers actually did the same thing as during the regular season. They used a lineup similar to the Suns and achieved more offensive firepower than the Suns.

The Suns' run-and-gun tactics are entirely based on the premise that Nash serves as the central brain and commander, driving the team's offense with his personal abilities.

The Lakers are different. They rely solely on the outstanding singles abilities of Kobe and Wang Chong. In many cases, there is no tactics and team coordination at all, and they rely on personal abilities.

But it works just fine.

Neither Quentin Richardson nor Joe Johnson could guard Kobe at all, and the Suns, which never paid much attention to defense, did not have a mature enough defense and double-teaming system. They could only watch Kobe and Wang Chong score. It is as easy and simple as chopping melons and vegetables.

What the Suns can count on now is that Kobe, who took a lot of shots in the first half to consume his energy, will have physical problems in the second half, resulting in a decline in touch and reduced offensive firepower.

But this is obviously just a luxury wish.

What was Kobe's strongest point in the single-core era? There is no doubt that it is the kind of terrifying physical strength that can play the whole game and still be vigorous.

Kobe's physical fitness in his peak period was quite exaggerated, and it was commonplace for him to play the entire game.

If he didn't have enough physical strength, how could Kobe achieve the miracle of scoring 81 points in a single game?

In the 81-point game, Kobe took 46 shots and 20 free throws. If he had been an ordinary player, or if he had been replaced by Wang Chong's template, Durant, he would have been exhausted.

Even if you want to get high scores, you still need enough physical strength to back you up.

The Suns expected Bryant to have physical issues in the second half, but their hopes were dashed.

In the third quarter of the game, Kobe only rested off the court for less than 2 minutes before he returned to the field and made 6 of 3 shots and 6 of 5 free throws. He scored another 11 points in a single quarter. After three quarters, he had already scored 34 points!

Even Wang Chong had to admire him.

Although Kobe's career is full of black spots, and he often ruins good games that could have been won due to poor shot selection and inefficient scoring of 20 points on 20 shots, Kobe's touch is really strong, and he deserves to be Jordan The strongest shooting guard in the league since then.

Wang Chong continued to develop in the third quarter, taking advantage of the gaps where Kobe attracted a lot of defensive attention to take open shots.

Although he did not take many shots in this situation, he made 5 of 3 shots, including a three-pointer, which also allowed him to score 7 points in a single quarter.

Unlike the Kewang combination that continued to play stably, the Suns' offensive rhythm began to change in the third quarter.

They really didn't expect Kobe to be able to storm through three quarters. Under Kobe's aggressive momentum, the offensive rhythm was also somewhat disrupted, especially Joe Johnson, who faced off directly against Kobe and was defended and made 4 of 1 shots in a single quarter.

As a result, in the third quarter, the Lakers scored another 30 points in a single quarter, while the Suns only scored 26 points.

26 points in a single quarter is actually a high score in this era where the offensive pace is not particularly fast. However, the Suns, which were already 3 points behind the Lakers in the first half, lost another 4 points in the third quarter, and the point difference between the two teams reached 7 points. point.

The fans at the Suns' home court were dumbfounded.

Which side is the run-and-gun team? The Suns actually lost to the Lakers in terms of offensive firepower?

The game entered the final fourth quarter.

To the relief of the Suns fans at home, after the crazy offense in the first three quarters, Kobe finally showed fatigue in the fourth quarter, and the offense began to change from holding the ball to break through and attack the basket to more energy-saving mid-to-long-range shots.

How can shooting percentages be compared to attacking at the basket?

Taking advantage of Kobe's declining offensive efficiency, the Suns launched a wave of attacks in an effort to catch up with the score difference.

But just like in the first round, at this critical moment, it was Wang Chong's turn to step forward.

In the first three quarters of the game, Wang Chong only exerted a little effort in the second quarter. He was developing slowly throughout almost the whole process and did not have much attack with the ball. Therefore, by the fourth quarter of the game, his physical reserves were still abundant, and he was still waiting for more. This is the moment.

When Kobe's condition declined, Wang Chong immediately took over the ball and began to attack continuously with the ball.

Marion, who was mainly defending Wang Chong, followed Wang Chong for the whole game. Suddenly, he had no time to react and was attacked by Wang Chong continuously.

In fact, it was useless even if he was prepared.

Wang Chong, whose overall ability score is as high as 93, can compete with Kobe in terms of offensive ability alone. He is not someone who can be easily restricted by one-on-one defense!

The one point difference that the Suns finally recovered was immediately widened by Wang Chong.

Seeing this scene, D'Antoni sat down slumped on the sidelines.

No matter how fiercely the team attacks, the Lakers' Wang Chong and Kobe Bryant can immediately fight back without giving them any chance to make a comeback.

In the fourth quarter, the score between the two teams was 28:25. Although the Suns won by 3 points in a single quarter, they ultimately lost the game because they dug as many as 7 points in the first three quarters.

117: 113.

The Lakers defeated the Suns by 4 points in an away game and won the first game in an upset.

In fact, the Suns' loss in this game was not unfair at all.

科比出战44分钟，三节便砍下34分，整场比赛狂砍40分4篮板3助攻。

Wang Chong played 37 minutes and scored 32 points. Especially in the last quarter, when Kobe Bryant was feeling cold, he took over the game. Continuous scoring helped the Lakers stabilize the situation, which was the key to the team's final win.

-

"Explosive scoring performance! The Ko-King combination scored 72 points, and the Lakers defeated the Suns 117:113 and won the first win of the series!"

"A terrifying two-man outside combination, ranked first in the league in the regular season, and with the most offensive firepower in the league, the Suns are no match for them in an offensive battle. What is the upper limit of the King of Science combination?"

"The combination of the Kings and Kings with excellent touch will not be afraid of any team in this league, not even the Suns, which have the strongest offensive ability during the regular season."

The Lakers won the first game on the Suns' territory, which really shocked many people.

No one expected that the Lakers would be so strong that they could even defeat the Suns. Moreover, the lineup the Lakers sent in the game was quite impressive, as it was completely copied from the Suns' lineup.

Is this the legendary saying that one is better than another?

of course not.

The Lakers' lineup has great limitations. Because there is no Nash who can control the whole court, the team's offense relies heavily on Kobe and Wang Chong. Especially Kobe, as the team's main offensive force, on the court. Performance will directly determine the power of this lineup.

The Lakers can't always count on Kobe to efficiently score 40+ points in every game.

Therefore, after winning the first game, the Lakers were defeated by the Suns 114:105 in the second game two days later.

In this game, Stoudemire defeated Odom in the penalty area and scored 37 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks, including 8 offensive rebounds.

Nash even had a huge double-double with 27 points and 17 assists.

Kobe, who was superb in the last game, felt cold in this game. He made only 24 of 8 shots and scored 14 points on 12 of 28 free throws.

王崇18投10中，三分球7中3，罚球4中4，得到27分9篮板。

It is still relatively difficult to defeat a team of the Suns' level without Kobe Bryant's mini-universe explosion.

However, Wang Chong is not worried. Although he cannot deal with Kobe, he still has confidence in the opponent's strength.

The Suns currently don't have the single-defense expert Lagar Bell in their lineup to limit Kobe's performance. Moreover, even if they have Lagar Bell in the future, the Suns still can't stop Kobe from scoring.

The abnormal performance in this game was just an accident. Kobe will definitely regain his power after returning to the Lakers' home court to adjust.

What's more, Kobe has Wang Chong protecting him. Even though the two of them don't have much tacit cooperation on the court now, with Wang Chong's current scoring deterrent, as long as he stands on the court, he can make his opponents on the defensive end. The shot-stopper helps Kobe contain the defense and create space, just like Curry of the future Warriors can make Durant and Thompson's offense easier. It's the same reason.

Therefore, Kobe is not alone. With Wang Chong as a strong support, his offense on the court will become easier.

On May 5, in the third game of the series, Kobe Bryant, who returned to his home court at the Staples Center, really felt better. He made 13 of 22 shots, 10 of 16 free throws, 15 points, 35 rebounds and 6 assists, and 5 of 20 shots. In the game, Wang Chonghe scored 12 points on 5 of 2 three-pointers and scored 29 points, leading the Lakers to another victory over the Suns 64:119.

The total score was 2:1 to take the lead.

Now even many neutral fans who were watching the excitement began to be surprised.

Is it possible that the Suns, as the team with the best regular season record, will capsize in the gutter and be killed by the Lakers, who are only fifth in the Western Conference?

May 5, Game 15 of the series.

The venue for the game is still the Staples Center, home of the Lakers.

The Lakers, who had already gone through three fierce battles with the Suns, chose to suddenly change their lineup in the fourth game. They no longer used a small-ball lineup to attack the Mavericks. Instead, they replaced center Chris Mihm, slowed down the pace and switched to positional warfare. .

This move came out of the blue and caught the sun off guard.

Stoudemire was quite uncomfortable with the sudden change of play style and opponents, and was really restricted by Mim. After averaging 30+ points per game in the first three games, he only scored 8 points on 3 of 15 shots. 5 rebounds.

However, every advantage has its disadvantages. Although the Lakers under the change of formation restricted Stoudemire, they also had no resistance to guard Nash's pick-and-roll breakthrough because the center became the slower-moving Mihm. Power.

In this game, Nash was really in high spirits. He almost completely gave up his work as a point guard to organize the series, and instead focused all his energy on the offensive end.

整场比赛疯狂出手28次，比出手25次的科比还要多三次，但不同于科比45%左右的命中率，纳什这场比赛的28投命中了20球，命中率高达71%，其中还包括6投4中的三分球和4中4的罚球。

The result was that Nash scored 48 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, playing the most representative game of his career and setting a new career high in scoring in the playoffs.

This game made Wang Chongren dumbfounded.

In fact, he has a certain impression of Nash's performance. After all, he was once one of Nash's fans.

纳什季后赛生涯最高的48分，同样也是在05年5月15日打出来的，唯一的不同是原本这应该是太阳在与小牛队的次轮G4比赛中打出的，现在换成了和湖人的次轮G4比赛。

The time and characters are exactly the same, but the locations and opponents are different.

In the original history, Nash, who scored 48 points, failed to lead the team to win the game, proving that assists are more helpful for him to help the team become stronger than scoring.

And here, it's the same.

Kobe, who shot 25 of 10 from the field, was far different from Nash in terms of shooting percentage, but he couldn't hold off Kobe's large number of free throws. He made 10 of 10 free throws in the game, allowing Kobe to score 30 points.

Wang Chong made 21 of 13 shots in this game. Although his shooting percentage was not as exaggerated as Nash's 71%, it still reached an astonishing 62%. He scored 34 points, the highest for the Lakers.

The team of the two Kings scored 30+ points, against Nash's 48 points. The result was that the Lakers defeated the Suns 113:109 at home, with the total score reaching 3:1, taking the lead in winning the match point.

The Lakers' sudden change of tactics worked. With a 3:1 lead, the Lakers were only one step away from eliminating the Suns and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

Of course, this final step is not that simple.

In a desperate situation, Taiyang did not give up easily.

Two days later, in Game 34 of the series, the Suns, half-footed on the edge of the cliff, gave it a try and played a hearty offense. Nash and Stoudemire directly competed with the NBA team. Nash scored 5 points and 13 rebounds. With 33 assists and a double-double, Stoudemire had 18 points, 3 rebounds and blocks.

两人合砍67分，对飙62分的科王组合，率领太阳队114:108击败湖人扳回一城，总比分3:2。

May 5, Game 18 of the series.

At the Staples Center, the two teams battled into overtime. In this game, Stoudemire of the Suns was not feeling well, but Shawn Marion exploded in the universe, scoring 38 points and 16 rebounds to defeat his opponent. Wang Chong played a bit confused. Although Wang Chong also scored 28 points and 13 rebounds in the matchup with Marion, he was at a disadvantage after all.

Although Kobe, who scored 39 points, scored higher than Nash, who scored 36 points, Nash had 36 assists in addition to 11 points. He also hit a tying mid-range shot at the last minute of the fourth quarter, dragging the game into overtime. Successfully won the game with a score of 130:126 in overtime.

At this point, the two teams are tied at 3:3. Two days later, the two teams will have a final tiebreaker at the Suns' home court to decide which side will advance to the Western Conference Finals.

This result was something Wang Chong had never expected before.

The Suns are indeed strong enough. If their style had not been restrained by the Spurs and their tactics had not been completely controlled by Popovich, the Suns might have had a chance to win the championship.

In the first six games, Wang Chong did not let go at all. He went all out for the mission rewards. Although because of Kobe, Wang Chong mostly acted as the second offensive core position on the court, he also fully did his best. He has done his job well, averaging 30+ points per game, and his shooting percentage is leading all players on both teams.

Unexpectedly, even so, the two teams actually reached the tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker is definitely a more unfavorable situation for the Lakers, because the Suns have both home court and psychological advantages, and aside from Wang Chong, Kobe, and the Suns' duo of Nash and Stoudemire, the Suns still have There is a very stable offensive player, Sean Marion, who can average 20+10 points per game.

<divclass="contentadv">Looking at the Lakers, even though they have Lamar Odom, who is known as the left-handed magician, and his possession of the ball on the offensive end is no less than that of Marion, the effect they have on the court is But completely different.

In the first six games, Odom averaged 16.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4 assists per game, while shooting 45% from the field.

The performance cannot be considered bad, but the difference between him and Marion, who is also the team's third number one, shows the difference.

In the final tiebreaker, the ultimate competition is the personal strength of the stars.

Both teams were in a situation where they had no choice but to fight hand-to-hand with bayonets. Only the side that could persevere could win the final victory.

To be honest, even Wang Chong was not sure about the outcome of the game.

But obviously the goddess of luck was on Wang Chong's side again.

In the crucial tie-break, Kobe did not stretch his hips. He made 20 of 9 shots and 9 of 7 free throws, scoring 25 points.

Although the scoring explosion is not as high as in the previous six games, the efficiency value is online, and it also drives other Lakers players to perform well.

奥多姆难得的发挥正常一场，14投8中砍下22分11篮板9助攻的准三双数据。

Of course, the most important thing is Wang Chong.

In the crucial battle, for the generous task reward, Wang Chong did not dare to neglect at all. He was on full fire from the beginning, scoring a game-high double-double of 32 points and 10 rebounds.

Wang Chong, Kobe Bryant and Odom alone scored 79 points in the tiebreaker.

In contrast, the Suns' iron triangle of Nash, Stoudemire and Marion can be said to be the first time in seven games in the series that all three performed worse than the Lakers.

纳什22分13助攻，斯塔德迈尔27分12篮板，马里昂19分11篮板。

In the competition of personal ability between superstars, the Lakers were lucky enough to have a slight advantage. 106:103, narrowly defeated the Mavericks by three points, and eliminated the Mavericks with a total score of 4:3 to enter the Western Conference Finals.

At this stage of the game, who is the ultimate winner between the Lakers and the Suns actually has absolutely no bearing on many neutral fans watching the excitement.

The gorgeous offensive battle staged by these two teams satisfied almost all fans.

The Suns, a standard run-and-gun team, and the Lakers, who deliberately changed to a small-ball lineup in order to adapt to the Suns' style of play, scored more than 7 points in seven games, and the average score even exceeded 100 points.

You must know that this is not the era in the future when small ball play is prevalent and the offensive pace is astonishingly fast. In 05, the offensive pace of the Lakers and Suns was already so fast that it was almost overwhelming.

This can also be seen from the final statistics of the players on both sides.

Kobe, the Lakers' top scorer, averaged 33 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5 assists in seven games.

The Suns' highest scorer, unexpectedly, is not the team's regular season scoring leader, Stoudemire, but Nash, who once scored 48 points in a single game. After seven games, his average is 30.3 points per game. 4.2 rebounds and 12 assists. Although his score is slightly lower than Kobe, his average of 12 assists per game makes his real contribution on the court much greater than Kobe.

The Suns' second-in-command, Stoudemire, was mainly underperforming in the last few games, which lowered his performance. But even so, he averaged a double-double of 28.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, and there was nothing wrong with his performance.

If you have to compare, as the team's second-in-command, Stoudemire cannot compare to the Lakers' second-in-command Wang Chong.

Wang Chong has been very stable in the 7 games and is almost the most stable player on the two teams. He averages 30 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, and his shooting percentage is as high as 57%, the highest of the two teams.

For the Lakers to win the series, Wang Chong's stable scoring was indispensable. In particular, Wang Chong stepped forward many times when the team was in danger and scored consecutive points to help the team stabilize the victory. This laid the foundation for winning the series. Foundation.

On this point alone, in the eyes of some football-savvy fans, Wang Chong is even more important to the Lakers than Kobe.

It's hard to imagine what kind of partnership this outside pair will become over time. Maybe they will have a chance to surpass Jordan Pippen's combination and become the strongest backcourt partnership in NBA history!

The Lakers eliminated the Suns 4:3, which earned the combination of the Kings and Kings high praise. After all, the Suns are recognized as the strongest team this season. Phoenix, led by Nash, has defeated almost every team in the league with their crazy offense.

But when they encountered the Kewang combination, they lost offensively, and they lost completely.

The Lakers, who have defeated the Mavericks and Suns in succession, are the only teams standing in front of them. The only possible opponents in the finals are the San Antonio Spurs and one of the winners of the Heat and Pistons.

Yes, the matchup lists for the Eastern and Western Conference finals have been released, because the Lakers, who are playing a tiebreaker with the Suns, are the last group to decide the winner.

The other three sets of matchups are far less intense and close than the game between the Lakers and Suns.

马刺4:2击败超音速，活塞4:2淘汰步行者，热火则是4:0横扫奇才。

Therefore, the final matchups between the East and West are the Lakers vs. Spurs in the West, and the Heat vs. Pistons in the East.

Although Lakers fans have great expectations for their team to continue winning until they win the final championship.

But Wang Chong, who defeated the Suns, knew very well that the Lakers basically stopped here.

The Spurs and Suns are different. Regardless of the regular season, the Suns have endless glory and become the only team in the league to achieve 60+ wins in the regular season. However, in the Western Conference Finals of the playoffs, the result of the encounter between the Suns and the Spurs was , was swept by the opponent 4:1, with a huge gap in strength.

The saying that has been circulating in the league for a long time is that offense can gain fans, but defense can win championships. It is true.

Whether now or in the future, defense is the fundamental basis for a team to win.

Some people may say that the Warriors will win three championships in the next four years, but they are not a strong defensive team.

But that's just a misunderstanding about the Warriors. The Warriors are good at five small lineups, and their defense can never be considered weak. In addition to a super luxurious lineup that is rare in league history, the Warriors also have the best defensive player Draymond Green and the selected Klay Thompson, who has passed the All-Defensive Team, and on this basis, they will also take in some big men who are used to do the dirty work, such as Bogut, Pachulia, McGee and others.

The Warriors with these configurations were among the best in the league in terms of defensive ability at the time. Moreover, their offensive firepower was almost unique in the history of the league.

Although the Suns during Nash's era were also very strong, they were still slightly inferior to the Warriors in terms of offense. As for defense...the two teams are completely different concepts.

Therefore, when the Suns faced the Spurs, they had no choice but to be restrained and lose.

Since the rise of the Suns in the 04-05 season, the two teams have met many times in the playoffs. The Suns were defeated by the Spurs three times. It was not until the 3-09 season that they finally swept the Spurs 10:4, which was regarded as revenge. hatred.

However, the Suns, who swept the Spurs, failed to win the championship. They were defeated by the Lakers 4:2 in the Western Conference Finals. After that, Stoudemire chose to join the Knicks. The Suns, led by Nash's single core, were now completely outside the playoffs. The era has completely come to an end.

The topic has gone too far.

All in all, the Spurs during this period, based on a defensive system dominated by Duncan, were really strong.

The Lakers were able to defeat the Suns not because they were actually stronger than their opponent, but simply because the Suns' lineup couldn't limit Kobe's scoring. The Lakers were in the right place at the right time and had a cheating Wang Chong, so they won by chance.

But against the Spurs, it's not that easy to pass.

-

At the end of the second round, the league began to announce individual awards.

05年的最佳新秀，最终被埃梅卡.奥卡福摘得，他常规赛期间场均可以贡献15.1分10.9篮板的两双数据，胜过场均15分2篮板2助攻的本.戈登以及12分10篮板的状元霍华德。

However, after a season of inspection, although the league recognized Okafor's immediate combat ability, it also knew that Howard, as the second high school No. 1 pick after James, has better development prospects than Okafor and has a brighter future.

The best sixth man was Ben Gordon, who was selected by the Bulls. As mentioned before, he was also a strong contender in the selection of the best rookie, but the final number of votes was lower than that of Okafor. One of the reasons for losing was the data. Another reason why he is slightly inferior to the opponent is that he is the sixth man in the Bulls, and there is a gap between him and the starting Okafor.

The two most valuable individual awards, the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) and the Most Valuable Player (MVP), were awarded to Ben Wallace and Steve Nash respectively.

Let’s talk about the MVP first. It was expected that Nash won the award, but the voting process was quite thrilling. O’Neal’s number of votes was very close to Nash. In the end, Nash won with only a slight advantage of 1.03%.

It can be seen that despite being abandoned by the Lakers and going to the Heat, O'Neal still has good dominance. The Heat's record ranking first in the Eastern Conference is the best proof.

There is no suspense about the Best Defensive Player Award. Ben Wallace won with a high number of votes, but it is worth mentioning that during the voting process, two players from the Spurs, Bruce Bowen, ranked second in votes. Tim Duncan ranked fourth.

Both were selected to the All-Defensive First Team, and their vote rates also proved that at least these two are the top four defensive players in the league in the eyes of media reporters across the United States.

What the Lakers are about to face is a team with two of the best defensive teams at the same time.

In the first game of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs poured cold water on the high-spirited Lakers fans.

103:81, the Spurs beat the Lakers by 22 points at home.

It was a classic Spurs win.

Duncan dominated the penalty area, beating Mihm and Odom, and scored 61 points, 29 rebounds and 14 blocks with a 4% shooting rate.

As for the Lakers, Kobe was being guarded by Bowen the whole time. Compared with the previous game against the Suns, he fell from heaven to hell in an instant. Bowen's professional defense bothered Kobe so much, and even if he tried every means to get rid of Bowen's defense, Kobe, who rushed into the penalty area, had to face the more difficult defense of Duncan.

As a result, Kobe made only 18 of 6 shots in the entire game and scored 33.3 points with a 17% shooting rate.

Popovich is really cunning. The regular season games have made him clearly realize that it is much more difficult to defend Wang Chong than to defend Kobe. Even if Bowen stares at Wang Chong for the whole game, the opponent can still rely on his height and arms. Long advantage, find opportunities to attack and score.

Moreover, Wang Chong's offensive method of focusing on long-range shooting also prevented Duncan, who was guarding the basket, from being able to assist in defense.

Therefore, Popovich simply asked Bowen to defend Kobe, and the effect was excellent.

On this basis, the Spurs' overall defense also made Wang Chong feel that the offense was quite difficult. Although he made 17 of 8 shots in the whole game and maintained a super high shooting rate of 47%, he had very few chances to make three-pointers. There were not many free throws, and only 21 points were scored in the end.

The team that scored 60+ points almost every game against the Suns scored only 38 points in the first game against the Spurs. How could the Lakers win?

The 81 points scored in a single game was even the Lakers' lowest score entering the playoffs this season.

After suffering the first defeat, two days later in the Western Conference Finals G2 game, the Lakers once again lost to the Spurs 89:96, trailing 0:2.

Kobe rebounded in this game, but he defeated Bowen in the game and scored 37 points. Wang Chong also scored 25 points.

But the problem is that except for the Lakers, only point guard Atkins scored 11 points, and only three people on the team scored in double figures.

对比马刺队那边得到30分8篮板的邓肯，26分的吉诺比利与24分的帕克GDP组合没有任何优势，并且马刺队除了GDP外，还有三分球4中3，得到11分的罗伯特.霍里和11分8篮板的中锋纳兹尔.穆罕默德。

The gap in overall strength between the two teams is obvious.

With a score of 0:2, the Lakers returned to their home court. With the support of fans at the Staples Center, the Lakers finally made a comeback, defeating the Spurs 102:92 and regaining one victory. The total score was 2 :1.

This was another typical game where the Kewang combination worked hard at the same time, especially Wang Chong, who made full use of the three-point shooter badge in the corner. He made 9 of 5 three-pointers in the whole game and scored 34 points and 11 rebounds, with 37 Kobe Bryant scored a combined 71 points to lead the Lakers to victory.

But this was just the Lakers' last resistance.

On May 5, Game 30 of the Western Conference Finals was still held at the Staples Center, home of the Lakers.

But the result of this game was completely different from the previous one.

95:86, the victory was clean and tidy, giving the Lakers no chance to chase points and reverse.

With the end of the game, the big score came to 3:1, and the Lakers fans finally lost the optimism before the game.

There are only a few examples in NBA history of a 3:1 lead being reversed, and the possibility is really low.

And during the game, fans who know a little bit about penalty kicks can also see the huge gap in strength between the two teams.

The Spurs appear to be very comfortable on the offensive end. They can always rely on tactical movement to get open attack opportunities. Even if other players are not feeling good, they can still give the ball to Duncan to attack.

But the Lakers are different. Almost every attack must be initiated by Kobe or Wang Chong alone, and they forcefully score against the opponent's defense. Every ball is very difficult to play.

The other players are basically in an embarrassing situation where they can't attack or defend. Winning can really only rely on the explosive performance of the King of Science combination at the same time, just like the two scored 3 points together in G71. .

But after all, the Spurs are not the Suns. They have a complete and extremely powerful defensive system. How can they let the two of them score high scores efficiently every game?

The miracle failed to happen in the end.

On June 2005, 6, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs returned to their home court and won the game with a score of 101:95. They defeated the Lakers 4:1 and officially advanced to the Finals.

The Lakers, who were defeated by the Spurs, also stopped in the Western Conference Finals and failed to successfully defend their title.

In fact, for the Lakers, it is already a very good result to reach the Western Conference Finals in the first season after sending away their core brother O'Neal. The Lakers now have a top-notch backcourt combination and draft picks obtained from the Heat. , coupled with the potential left-handed magician Odom, the future is bright. As long as the management works a little in the offseason, it will definitely quickly become the favorite team to win the championship.

In this regard, although the Lakers management's behavior of giving up O'Neal is a bit of a waste of time, freeing up a large amount of salary space is indeed an absolutely beneficial and harmless thing for the team's future... Of course, the premise of all this is to establish When Wang Chong is willing to be Kobe's little brother and not cause trouble.

In fact, in the playoffs, the better Wang Chong played, the more heartbroken the Lakers management felt. Thinking that such a promising prospect will be sent away this summer, who wouldn't feel heartbroken if he was replaced?

During the playoffs, Wang Chong played a total of 18 games on behalf of the Lakers, averaging about 38 minutes per game, contributing 29.2 points and 9.6 rebounds, shooting 54% from the field and 44% from the three-point range. Impeccable.

Even compared to Kobe who averaged 32.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, because although Kobe scored slightly higher than Wang Chong, he also averaged higher shots per game. In the playoffs, there were many Kobe Bryants who stretched their hips. The shooting rate remains at around 44%, which is qualified as a defender, but it is 10 percentage points lower than Wang Chong.

Considering that Kobe attracts more defenders and has greater offensive pressure on the court, everyone generally thinks that Kobe is stronger, but Wang Chong is definitely not inferior to Kobe. More importantly, he is just a player so far. As a second-year player who is just 21 years old, he still has great development prospects and has not yet reached his physical and mental peak.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat lost to the Pistons 3:4 and were eliminated. All the rookies from the 03 class were wiped out in the playoffs... No, I almost forgot, there is also a rookie from the 03 class on the Pistons. , and he is also the second pick in the first round of the draft, second only to Darko Milicic, the No. pick James.

不过米利西奇在活塞基本上已经没有什么出场的机会了，常规赛出战37场，场均1.8分1.2篮板，季后赛则是出战9场场均0.6分0.4篮板。

For such a transparent player, it is natural that he cannot remember.

Wade and Milicic are not the same concept.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, Wade was the highest-scoring player on both teams, averaging 7 points, 25.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 4.3 games, shooting 44% from the field, and his performance was quite outstanding.

In fact, throughout the playoffs, Wade was the Heat's best player. Throughout the playoffs, Wade averaged 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game. He led O'Neal all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. This is not an exaggeration. Yes, because O'Neal only averaged 19.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game after entering the playoffs, and the Heat's offensive core has become Wade since then.

No one expected that Wade and Wang Chong, who won the NCAA championship in the past but were not favored in the draft, would each perform like superstars in only their second season, with one averaging 29+9 and the other 27. +5+6.

Is this a second-year rookie?

Isn’t Marquette University’s success rate too exaggerated?