NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 205 Eastern Conference Finals, Bulls vs. Cavaliers again

There is no suspense about Wang Chong, who was selected to the best team for the third consecutive year.

The unlucky guy who was kicked out of the team this season due to Wang Chong's influence was none other than Wang Chong's teammate Kevin Garnett.

Garnett, who joined the Celtics version, was a double first-team player in the 07-08 season, and was also selected for the first team and first defense. His dominance is evident.

But in the Bulls, although Garnett's statistics did not change significantly compared with the Celtics, he was still squeezed into the second team.

There's nothing you can do about it, there are only five spots in total for a team, divided according to position, and there are only two spots for the forward position.

王崇场均31+8+3，詹姆斯场均30+8+7，数据方面都完胜加内特，并且各自也都是球队的核心领袖。

In comparison, Garnett's personal data is much inferior. Even with his defensive contributions, it is not enough to compare with Wang Chong and James.

However, although he is not as good as Wang Chong and James, Garnett is the best among other forward players, so he easily obtained a second team spot.

In this way, Garnett's honor this season is the second team plus one defense. Although it is slightly worse than the double first team, it is enough to prove the gold content of his top star in the league.

What is more surprising is that Wang Chong was once again selected to the second defensive team.

In fact, Wang Chong invested slightly less energy on the defensive end this season than last season, because his defensive role actually overlaps with Garnett's. With Garnett as the defensive core, he often assists in defense. He didn't need to worry about it at all.

But even so, Wang Chong still had 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks during the regular season, with excellent defensive data.

The reason is that the proportion of energy he needs to invest in the offensive end has decreased.

Even though the Bulls sent three players to get Garnett, the Bulls' offensive firepower increased instead of falling.

Garnett himself is an outstanding scorer who has averaged 20+ points per game for nine consecutive seasons.

James Jones is far inferior to Laga Bell on the defensive end, but his offensive role is almost exactly the same as Bell.

Although Gasol is a first-year rookie, his offensive scoring ability is actually several times better than that of Tyson Chandler and Ben Wallace.

In addition, on the Bulls bench, Paul Millsap and Gasol share playing time in the paint, and their personal abilities are also growing.

This makes the Bulls less dependent on Wang Chong's offensive ability than in the previous two seasons.

Even Wang Chong's average of 31 points per game this season was achieved by deliberately increasing the number of shots he took in order to retain the scoring title. Otherwise, his average points per game may not be as good as James'.

Of course, the main reason is that scoring is very simple for Wang Chong, and a slight increase in shots will not affect the team's record and execution of tactics. Under this premise, it is worthwhile to continue to lead the scoring team.

-

The second round of the playoffs has begun, and the schedule has entered May.

The Bulls' opponent in the second round is the Orlando Magic.

Howard's one-star and four-shooter system has indeed taken shape now, but the strength gap with the Bulls is still quite obvious.

The Bulls still scored a crisp 4-0, easily sweeping the Magic and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals without losing a single game just like last season.

Everyone knew that the Magic lost to the Bulls, but the process of the game was still a bit surprising.

In particular, Dwight Howard, the star of the Magic and expected to replace O'Neal as the league's new No. 15 center, had a mediocre performance in the series, averaging only 11 points, 3 rebounds and blocks per game.

During the regular season, Howard averaged 17.6 points and 12 rebounds per game. In the first round series against the Washington Wizards, Howard was on full fire. In the series, he averaged 22.6 points, 18 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. He averaged 7 offensive rebounds per game. The next , the inside dominance is full.

Before the start of the second round series with the Bulls, most fans generally believed that the Magic's only advantage was Howard at the center position.

The performance of the Bulls' main center Marc Gasol this season is indeed remarkable. As a second-round pick, his average of 10 points and 8 rebounds per game was unexpected.

With this kind of data performance and the Bulls' regular season record, Gasol directly pushed out Al Horford and was elected as the best rookie first-team center.

In terms of statistics, Horford averaged 10 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, which was slightly better than Marc Gasol's 10 points and 8.4 rebounds.

However, there is a gap between the two in terms of playing time. Horford, as the absolute main center of the Hawks, averages more than 31 minutes per game. Looking at the 07 rookie class, it is only second to Durant, who averaged 35 minutes per game.

Although Gasol also serves as the starting center for the Bulls, a large part of his playing time is shared equally with Paul Millsap. This makes Gasol's average playing time only maintain at about 28 minutes per game, which is statistically at the lowest level. Disadvantages are also normal.

But considering the huge difference in record between the Bulls and Hawks, it is not surprising that the league ultimately named Gasol the best rookie first-team center.

It’s just that this makes Al Horford somewhat embarrassed. He was also a rookie in the 07 class. He was the No. 07 overall pick in the 07 class, the third pick in the first round. He is an absolute favorite and is known as the second best player in the class. Yu Oden's high-quality center.

As a result, after one season, his performance was similar to that of Gasol, a second-round pick, and he was even defeated in the selection of the best rookie team. This feeling is much more humiliating than Wang Chong comparing James, Anthony and others. After all, Wang Chong Chong was also a first-round pick after all, and he was much better than Gasol.

As for the No. 1 pick, Oden, who is known as the future No. 1 center in the league... just like the original history, he missed the entire season due to injury.

After selecting Oden, the Grizzlies, who were looking forward to building a championship lineup around the league's No. 1 center, did not yet realize the seriousness of the problem.

So what if I'm injured for a year? When Oden returns from injury next season, everything will be fine.

Of course the Grizzlies, who had such thoughts, didn't know that the original Blazers thought the same way.

The topic returns to Gasol.

The Magic didn't take Gasol seriously at first, and even thought that it was as easy for Howard to manipulate the opponent on the court as to play.

However, when the two teams actually played against each other, the result was shocking.

Howard's matchup with Gasol turned out to be much more difficult than expected. Not only was he unable to completely suppress the opponent in rebounding, but he also struggled offensively.

<divclass="contentadv">Why is this? The entire Magic team, including Howard himself, was a little confused.

But this is an inevitable result in Wang Chong's view.

Although Howard was very dominant in his peak period, he was essentially a blue-collar center whose defense was far greater than his offense.

More than 60% of Howard's offensive points come from dunks under the basket and second offensive points after grabbing offensive rebounds.

It cannot be said that his inside footwork and shooting are absent, but they are only at an average level. That is to say, he can use them as regular means to score goals on a daily basis, but he cannot be used as a decisive weapon at critical moments.

What limits Howard's offensive capabilities the most is his playing style.

Howard is a mobile insider similar to Garnett. He is fast, explosive and has excellent jumping. With the above characteristics, Howard's defensive coverage is huge and he can single-handedly support a team's defensive system.

But in order to ensure sufficient mobility, Howard must not be a heavy center. Even if his tendons look very strong, they are basically concentrated on upper body strength. Howard's lower body strength is insufficient, and the effect of post-up singles inside is not good. It will be very good.

This is one of the reasons why Dayao can always easily control Howard when facing him. At his peak, Dayao's lower body strength can be said to be second only to O'Neal. Howard simply can't withstand it. In addition, Dayao's He has an absolute advantage in height, and he can easily shoot even mid-range shots. His playing style can be said to be a natural killer for Howard.

Originally, according to Howard's technical characteristics, developing mid-to-long-range shots like Garnett and using his mobility advantage to stretch the space would be the best choice. However, the strong muscles that Howard has developed doomed him to be unable to develop his shooting ability.

Of course, in the NBA, even relying on his body, Howard is enough to thrive. At his peak, he became a being who could be replaced by James alone. However, as he grows older and accumulates injuries, when Howard loses the speed and speed that he relies on to survive. After becoming explosive, he can only become a true blue-collar center.

Combined with Howard's technical characteristics, Wang Chong gave Gasol advice before the game.

On the defensive end, Gasol will not struggle to defend Howard at all. There is only one thing he has to do, and that is to root in the penalty area and use his weight advantage to block the position in advance.

If you have the ability, just kill me with a mid-range shot. Don't even think about cutting into the penalty area to attack the basket without the ball or grabbing offensive rebounds for a second offense.

Howard, who is inferior to Gasol in terms of tonnage, has difficulty making a difference when the opponent is stuck in position in advance.

Originally, Gasol's rebounding ability could only be considered mediocre due to his mobility and jumping, but Howard had an absolute advantage compared to him.

But the Bulls' rebounding protection is not just Gasol. The real rebounding master is Kevin Garnett at the power forward position.

Possessing faster speed and stronger jumping ability than Howard, Garnett's rebounding ability is quite excellent. He has won the rebounding title four times in his career. Howard, who pays more attention to defense and rebounding in his game, has only been the rebounding champion five times.

In a 2-on-1 situation, it is difficult for Howard to have any advantage in rebounding... No, strictly speaking, it is not 2-on-1, it should be 3-on-1, because Wang Chong at the small forward position averaged 8 points per game during the regular season. Also has + rebounding data.

Regardless of Wang Chong's poor confrontation ability, he also served as the team's starting power forward last season. With a height of 2 meters and a rebounding ability value of 11, even if his offensive rebounding ability is slightly poor, he can definitely protect defensive rebounds. Entering the league's first-line insider level.

In addition to Howard, the Magic's two forward players, Lewis and Turkoglu, are both perimeter-oriented players. Although both of them are 2 meters tall, they really can't help much in terms of rebounding. Very busy.

In the Magic's peak seasons, Turkoglu and Lewis, as the team's starting forwards, averaged only about 5 rebounds per game. In the 08-09 season, after the Magic reached the Finals, they were suppressed by the Lakers in the paint, which resulted in many losses. The reason why they simply lost the finals is directly related to the fact that Magic insider Howard was unable to cope with the Lakers' three-strong team alone.

With the starting lineup and Howard being suppressed, the Magic were powerless and were easily swept 4:0.

If it is next year's Magic team, Howard fully matures and reaches the peak of his career, coupled with the rise of Turkoglu, there is a chance to win a few games against the Bulls, but as long as the Bulls have the configuration of Wang Chong + Garnett, It is impossible to lose to the Magic team that lacks an offensive core.

-

The Bulls, who swept the Magic 4:0, became the first team to advance in the second round of the Eastern and Western Conferences. Another matchup in the Eastern Conference is the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Detroit Pistons. The two teams are basically about to decide the winner.

The Pistons lack Billups. Although their combat effectiveness is still there, their upper and lower limits have been significantly weakened.

In the final analysis, Monta Ellis may have better scoring ability than Billups, but there is still a big gap between his comprehensive ability as a defender and the championship defender, including game experience.

In the game against the Cavaliers, Ellis charged forward and used his speed and ability to break through with the ball, causing a lot of trouble for the Cavaliers' defense.

The Cavaliers replaced O'Neal as the inside center. Although the offensive firepower of the inside has been qualitatively improved, the defensive ability has inevitably become weaker. You cannot expect O'Neal to still defend in the penalty area at this stage.

In fact, even at his peak, O'Neal's defense was slightly inferior to top inside players of the same level such as Olajuwon and Duncan.

It's not that his defense is poor, but with his size and strength, O'Neal has full pressure even if he stays under the basket, and it is difficult for any center to get benefits from him.

However, O'Neal, who is large and slow in movement, has trouble facing small and extremely fast defenders because his speed is too slow.

In the 00-01 season, O'Neal was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team by averaging 2.8 blocks per game. However, in the finals, when faced with the breakthrough master Allen Iverson, O'Neal was unable to do anything, even though the Lakers had an absolute advantage. Won the Finals, but Iverson averaged even more points per game than he did.

Of course, Ellis can't compare with peak Iverson, but O'Neal is not the same person he was a few years ago. Once Ellis breaks through the defense and rushes into the penalty area, he can only drag his heavy steps and watch the opponent score a layup. .

Although Ellis' performance is very eye-catching, the overall strength of the Pistons and the Cavaliers are still very different. The partnership between James and Ray Allen is still quite powerful after the latter gradually adapts to James' style of play.

Someone once said that players like Klay Thompson are undoubtedly the most suitable teammates for James. At his peak, James, like Howard, played a one-star, four-shooter tactic, but unlike Howard's four shooters, he Responsible for grabbing rebounds, James' four shooters stand in position to create breakthrough space for James, and then wait for James to pass and shoot.

In this case, there is no need for the ball at all. Players who are best at catching and shooting and have outstanding three-point ability are obviously very suitable.

Ray Allen was not originally a star who played off the ball, but it didn't matter. After he came to the Celtics, especially after Rondo grew up, Ray Allen gradually transformed into an off-ball shooter, and his technical characteristics were also completely He is qualified for this position. Even if he is not as good as Klay Thompson, he is definitely the best off-ball shooter in the league.

The huge gap in the lineup meant that even though Ellis played very well on the Pistons, after four games, the score between the two teams was still 3:1. The Cavaliers won the match point and it was only a matter of time before they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. question.

Once the Cavaliers reach the Eastern Conference Finals, the Eastern Conference Finals will be exactly the same as last season, Bulls vs. Cavaliers.

With both teams equipped with the Big Three, there is really a little bit of suspense about who can win and reach the finals.