Defending champion

Chapter 434
Chapter 8 first round results, awards announced
After the Hornets won Game [-] against the Denver Nuggets, the Hornets finally completed a sweep of the Denver Nuggets.

In the next few days, the final results of the first round of the Western Conference were also released.

Among them, the most crazy thing is that the Golden State Warriors, which entered the playoffs relying on the Dallas Mavericks' charity, used 6 games to eliminate the Western leader Dallas Mavericks.The crazy Golden State Warriors completed the "Black Eight Miracle".become the hottest topic of this season.

The second-ranked Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference had a 4-1 record and eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers led by Kobe Bryant.

The San Antonio Spurs, third in the Western Conference, used 7 games to finally drive the Houston Rockets out with a 4-3 record.

Therefore, the teams that entered the second round in the West are the Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Hornets, and the Golden State Warriors who completed the miracle of the Black Eight.

Therefore, the Hornets will face the Golden State Warriors in the second round.The Phoenix Suns met the San Antonio Spurs.

The Hornets have an advantage against the Golden State Warriors-the Hornets have home court advantage.

In the East, the Pistons represent the highest level in the East in recent years.

The style that won the championship that year was defensive basketball, but since Sanders took over, the team has added a lot of offensive elements.

After Big Ben left this season, defense is no longer a feature of the team.After Webber joined, the Pistons' offense became more creative.Especially at critical moments, the Pistons' offensive strength and ability to control the game are at the highest level in the league.

With Hamilton's shooting, Billups' organization, Rasheed's three-pointers, Prince's impact, and Webber's basketball talent, the Pistons can play pleasing basketball.The only regret is that Webber's defensive ability is not good, and the Pistons' inside defense has hidden dangers.

The opponent they met in the first round was the newly rebuilt Orlando Magic.

The strength of the Orlando Magic is in the middle and upper reaches of the Eastern Conference. Their performance this season has been ups and downs. They were widely favored before the season. Their performance in November was in line with the characteristics of a dark horse, but their record became worse and worse after December, and they fell out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

Only because the Pacers suffered a serious downturn at the last moment, the Magic were able to catch the last train of the playoffs.The Magic revolved around Howard on the inside and relied on Hill's experience to revitalize the team on the outside. However, the team did not have any nirvana.Howard's experience is still inexperienced, Hill is not good at fighting tough battles, and it is difficult for the team to guarantee continuous deterrence.

Therefore, the Pistons have an 80% chance of winning against the Orlando Magic, and the Magic can complete the task if they can win a game.The seven-game series depends entirely on strength, and upsets may be minimal.The Golden State Warriors eliminated the Dallas Mavericks in the West is an exception.

Compared with the Orlando Magic, the Pistons have the upper hand in terms of lineup strength, playoff experience, playing confidence and traditional style.It is reasonable for the Pistons to win, and in the end the Magic paid the tuition for the young, and were swept 0-4.

The grievances between the Cavaliers and the Wizards cannot be repeated here.

Cavaliers vs. Wizards?
The Cavaliers not only have an overall advantage in starting strength, but also have players like Varejao, Marshall, Jones, and Snow on the bench. Varejao has defense and rebounds inside, while Marshall's three-pointers from the outside are impossible for the Cavaliers. Crucially, Snow's experience at critical moments will be of great help to the Cavaliers, and Jones' outside three-pointers are also good.

The Wizards are already short of major generals, and now Tera's bench lineup is even more stretched. Their main substitutes, Booth, Heywood and Sangueira, are obviously insufficient in offense, and their defense is also average. The Wizards are at a disadvantage overall.

Judging from the styles of the two teams, the Cavaliers have LeBron James, a superstar, and the teammates around him are also very strong.What's more, the Cavaliers still mainly play half-court offense, and the Wizards have always been a team that mainly plays fast offense.

Even if Arenas and Butler are absent, their speed will still not decrease. This series will be a battle of rhythm, and whoever can control the rhythm will win.

In the end, even if Jamison broke out and averaged 30+10 per game, he couldn't recover, and the Wizards also suffered from a sweep.

As for the Nets and Raptors, the Nets' offense and defense are quite clear, that is, Kidd, Carter and Jefferson are the core.Kidd is mainly responsible for organizing the offense, and Carter's responsibility is to shoot. Most of the Nets' offenses are completed by the above three players, which limits the performance of other players on the team to a certain extent.

But when it comes to the playoffs, experience may help the Nets move forward.For the Raptors, their offense and defense mainly rely on Chris Bosh.But Bosh, as well as other key players, lack playoff experience.So when the Raptors face the crazy pressure of the Nets, can they play the regular season level?This is no small problem.

Although the experienced Nets only achieved a record of 41 wins and 41 losses in the regular season, they were not easy to deal with in the playoffs.The Raptors won the Atlantic Division championship this season, but they seemed to lack confidence when facing the Nets.The two teams have won two games in each of the four confrontations this season, but most of the American media believe that the Nets should be able to win this series based on experience. The final result is 4-2. Limit Bosh to a certain extent.

The last thing to look at is the defending champion Heat, who were also swept. The Heat mainly relied on experience in the playoffs, as well as Wade's breakthrough and O'Neal's strong attack at the basket, while the Bulls relied more on running positions.The young Bulls have an absolute advantage in physical strength, so Skiles understands that the longer the series drags on, the better it will be for the Bulls.The key to the Heat lies in Wade. Can he perform as well as he did in the playoffs last season?With Ben Wallace, the Bulls' overall defensive strength has risen to a higher level.Four confrontations this season, the Heat 1 win and 3 losses is the best proof.

From the perspective of experience, staffing, and coaching level, the Heat have a clear advantage.Moreover, the Heat are still the defending champions, and in the first round of the playoffs last season, the Heat once defeated the Bulls.However, both teams have changed this season. Maybe the loss to the Nets in the final game of the regular season will have a certain impact on the Bulls.But the Bulls definitely have the strength to upset the Heat, but what people didn't expect was that the defending champion was also swept away.

Therefore, the list of the second round matchups in the East is also out.

The Detroit Pistons played against the Chicago Bulls, and the New Jersey Nets played against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The second day after the end of the first round of the playoffs, the first award of the season was also released. The NBA officially selected the best sixth man of the 06-07 season.

Among them, David West of the New Orleans Hornets defeated Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks, Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs and Jamal Crawford of the Knicks. elected.

For the selection of the best sixth man award, the selection rules are: the candidate players participating in the selection must ensure that the number of substitute games is more than the number of starting games.This is the most important integral rule in the selection.

This time, there are a total of 124 judges who selected the best sixth man, consisting of sports journalists and broadcasters.Each judge will vote for the first, second and third respectively in their minds. The one who is selected as the first will get 5 points, the one who is selected as the second will get 3 points, and the one who is selected as the third will only get 1 points. 620 point, in this way, the highest score is only 415 points.In the end, David West was elected with 383 points, followed by Manu Ginobili with 3 points, No.144 Terry with 113 points, and Crawford with [-] points.

大卫.韦斯特本赛季在出场的82场比赛中，有61场是替补出场，场均贡献了职业生涯最高的18.5分、9.8个篮板、2.5次助攻，同时格林也是唯一一位在场均出场不到30分钟的情况下贡献18分的球员。

大卫.韦斯特本赛季的几项数据均名列nba前列。篮板排在16位，3分球命中243个排在4位，罚球命中率86排在16位。

David West won the best sixth man, and his prize will be a 07 new Kia suv, which can carry 7 passengers.At the same time, as an official partner of the NBA, Kia will also provide rich rewards for the winners of the Most Valuable Player, Best Defensive Player and Most Improved Player.

In addition to the top candidates such as David West, Korver of the Jazz and jr Smith of the Bulls also received a lot of votes.

"David, you did a great job!" After learning that Green had won the award, Jack immediately called to congratulate David West.

"Yes! That's a must." David West replied very confidently.However, in Jack's ears, how does it feel that David West is still so narcissistic.

In the early morning of the next day, the NBA officially selected the best defensive player of the 2006-07 season, and Jack was elected over many other candidates in the league.Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves was second, while Shane Battier of the Rockets was third.

In this season's Defensive Player of the Year selection, a total of 124 judges are composed of sports journalists and broadcasters.Each judge will vote for the first, second and third respectively in their minds. The one who is selected as the first will get 5 points, the one who is selected as the second will get 3 points, and the one who is selected as the third will only get 1 points. [-] point.

Jack received a total of 610 points, including 112 first-place votes.Garnett scored a total of 108 points, while Battier scored 85 points.Marcus Camby, Josh Smith, Dwight Howard, Ron Artest and others also received votes.

This season Jack averaged 31.8 points, 15.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 3 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. However, the record of the Hornets this season is not satisfactory. Missed.

But, as a kid in his second year in the league, Jack has already created a myth.With an average of 32.8 points per game, Jack won the title of scoring leader this season and 15.6 rebounds and then the title of rebounding leader this season.

"Jack, you did a great job!" David West called back the next day to congratulate him.

"Did you just find out now?" Jack also replied very pretentiously.

An angry David West replied: "You are already amazing, you pervert!"

"You bastard."

"You stallion."

"You slut."

……

Immediately afterwards, people such as Chris Paul, Russell Butler, Peja Stockovic and others all sent congratulatory messages to Jack!
Because the Hornets entered the second round with a sweep, the Hornets had a few more days of rest than the Golden State Warriors.

However, the Hornets, who were on vacation, were not able to be idle. After two days off, the Hornets started normal training. The amount of training in the first two days was relatively large. After all, everyone rested and their physical strength recovered a lot. The training is mainly based on familiarity with tactics.

On May 5th, local time in the United States, on this day, the Hornets played against the Golden State Warriors, who performed a black-eight miracle at the New Orleans Basketball Arena.

Today's New Orleans basketball arena is also overcrowded. There are still more than ten minutes before the start of the game, but the fans at the scene have already surrounded the basketball arena.

There was a lot of voices at the scene, and the fans held various signs:
"Jack, I love you? Please lead us further!"

"Jack you know we need to win!"

"Undefeated Jack, Undefeated Hornets!"

"The sword points to the championship, we want Jack!"

……

This match was broadcast live on tnt nationwide, with Big Mouth Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller as partners.

"Charles, what do you think is the chance of the Hornets winning today?" Kenny Smith initiated the topic first.

"Man, you don't have to ask such an idiot question, okay? The Hornets will win this game?" Charles Barkley made no secret of his trust in the Hornets.

"Charles, can you be objective? I believe that even if the Hornets win today, they will win very hard. Don't forget that the Golden State Warriors are a team that defeated the Dallas Mavericks. In 7 games In a 4-win game, being able to defeat the Mavericks shows that the Golden State Warriors should not be underestimated." Reggie Miller replied very objectively.

"Man, you're wrong. You can't compare the Hornets with the Mavericks, okay? The Hornets have Jack, do the Mavericks have it? The Hornets have Chris Paul, do the Mavericks have it?" Charles Barkley said.

"In my opinion, the reason why the Golden State Warriors can be black is not because of their own strength, but because their own dismissal is the nemesis of the Mavericks. Do you understand when I say this. The Hornets It is a team that can be fast or slow, with defense and offense. Their configuration is all around the championship. If there is a team in the current league that can find a team to compete with, only the San Antonio Spurs. So , In this series, the Hornets can finish the Golden State Warriors in at most 6 games." Seeing that Kenny Smith and the others were silent, Charles Barkley continued.

"Charles, you like the New Orleans Hornets, that's not what you said. Besides, you are not an expert in forecasting. Is it like this? Let's wait until the game is over." Only changed the subject.

……

While the hosts on TNT were chattering, the game between the Hornets and the Golden State Warriors officially started.

The Hornets' roster hasn't changed much since they played against the Denver Nuggets.

On the side of the Golden State Warriors, their lineup is: Davis, Jackson, Richardson, Barnes, Peter Lins.

Tyson Chandler first took the lead in the jump ball for the Hornets, followed by an assist from Paul, Peja Stockovic's open three-pointer from the corner, Peja Stockovic's open three-pointer The ball was hit, and the starter kicked off the game.

The Golden State Warriors may have boosted their morale after performing the miracle of the Black Eight. They are at home to the Hornets, and they are mainly anti-customers.

理查德森和杰克逊分别命中3分，彼德林斯也有4分入帐，他们带领球队迅速回敬一波12-0的进攻高潮，勇士队以12-3反超9分。

The game started less than 3 minutes, but the Hornets were 9 points behind.The Hornets fell into the rhythm of the Golden State Warriors.

Pause back!

Jack's strong play at the basket was successful, and he successfully drew a foul.

"Shabu" Jack made an extra penalty and Jack succeeded in hitting a three-pointer.

Peja Stockovic also played the power of his sharp shooter, with three consecutive three-pointers, Butler vacated the position and shot one, a 15-7 counterattack wave allowed the Hornets to chase the score to 18 -19.

Ellis succeeded in two consecutive attacks, Jack and Paul both made successful fouls, and there is still a gap of 1 point between the two sides.

Barnes made a layup, then hit a 3-pointer from the outside, and the Warriors led 28-22.

Peja Stockovic made a 3-point shot from the left corner, and the Hornets trailed by 25 points 28-3 after the first quarter.

黄蜂队在首节之中，表现的最为耀眼的莫过于佩贾.斯托克维奇。佩贾在首节6投4中，其中包括3分球5投4中，他单节独得14分。

Jackson made two free throws to start the second quarter, then Jack scored 6 points in a row, and the Hornets led by 31 points 29-2.

戴维斯和皮埃特鲁斯各得两分让勇士队重新领先后，保罗独得5分，他率队打出一轮7-3的攻击波，本节过半时黄蜂队以37-36领先1分。

In the following games, the two teams had offense and defense with each other, and the score increased alternately. After 44 and 46, Davis hit another 3 points. Barnes made two free throws and the Warriors led 50-48 by 2 at halftime. point.

Davis scored 7 points on 5 of 13 shots in this quarter.

勇士队的戴维斯上半场得到13分和5个篮板，杰克逊得到10分，彼德林斯得到8分和7个篮板，巴内斯得到8分和5个篮板。

Mavericks Peja. Stockovic scored 18 points, Jack scored 11 points, Paul scored 9 points.

In the first half, the double serve contributed to a three-point exhibition game for the audience.

After the start of the third quarter, the two teams increased points alternately, and the Warriors always maintained a 2-point lead.

当本节还有9分多钟时，杰克逊突然爆发，他连续命中四个3分球，他率队打出一轮13-3的进攻高潮，这让勇士队在本节还有6分40秒时以69-57领先12分。

With 4 minutes and 26 seconds left in the third quarter, Davis broke through for a layup. Tyson made a big foul, which made Davis very angry. The two players had a dispute, and the referee intervened in time to avoid the escalation of the conflict.

Davis stabilized his mood and made two free throws, Jackson then also made two free throws, and the Warriors led 4-75 with 57 minutes left in the third quarter.

After Byron Scott saw this situation, he quickly requested a timeout!

(End of this chapter)