I'm not really a role player

Chapter 302 The playoffs start

From the end of the regular season to the start of the playoffs, all teams participating in the playoffs have been given two to three days of rest.

As for the teams in the lottery zone, they are directly on vacation.

Li Ke, who was preparing for the playoffs with the team, got up early and practiced as usual, while continuing the practice of the past two years, turning on his mobile phone and WeChat.

But this time, Li Ke paused.

"Xiao Du also entered the playoffs this year. I can't send this thing to him, but I can still send it to Westbrook and Jiba..."

And just like that, Detroit, Westbrook packing his bags and heading back to Long Beach;

As well as New Jersey, Jiba, who had just contacted a deadly trainer and was about to start a sweaty summer on the spot, received a WeChat message from Li Ke.

Specifically--

"Hey, buddy, are you ready to start your vacation? How envious!"

Westbrook knows Li Ke very well. He knows that this message cannot be answered, and as long as he returns it once, he will be at Versailles immediately.

Jiba didn't know much about this. He took a photo of the training hall and replied to Li Ke.

In the end, this photo made Li Ke unable to fix it.

"This……"

"Work hard, Jimmy, you're going to be great!"

The coquettish words that had already reached his lips were held back right in front of this picture of the training hall.

Turning around, Li Ke wasn't going to spare Xiao Du either.

"Ready for the first round of the playoffs, KD?"

Xiao Du should be a good surfer, so he quickly answered a few question marks.

"???"

Seeing these question marks, Li Ke knew that Xiao Du was powerless to refute.

The Thunder may also have a black eight against the defending champion in the first round, but the possibility of being swept is even higher.

It can be said that, not surprisingly, Xiao Du's first playoff trip will end with a round.

But Li Ke, is it difficult for the Bobcats to face the Bucks in the first round?no difficulty...

emmm, this brings us to the gap between east and west.

Although the regular season, Bobcats won 8 more games than the Thunder.

But if the Bobcats are traded to the West, those opponents that the Bobcats will play four games in the regular season, such as the Wizards, Heat, Celtics...

Switch to the Warriors, Spurs, Lakers... The Bobcats will lose the advantage of these 8 games again, and the possibility is also great.

"The gap between the strong west and the weak east is still too great."

……

In the Bobcat training hall, Li Ke started a day of extra training.

In the playoffs, Tim Graver changed his training plan and added various training, more to help Li Ke maintain his state, so the intensity was not high.

From Li Ke's point of view, the previous training similar to holding a medicine ball laterally has been cancelled, which is the biggest change.

Now, he only needs to hold the lightweight basketball and complete hundreds of shots, which is considered as the completion of the extra training in the morning.

Low-intensity shooting training, the atmosphere in the training hall was quite dull, until Boss Joe made a surprise visit.

"Aren't you practicing low positions today?"

"It has switched to playoff mode..."

Li Ke was still shooting, and Tim Graver helped Li Ke answer.

Currently in the playoffs, Boss Joe is obviously also nervous. He is looking forward to the reappearance of the miracle in 08, but he also knows that the current lineup of the Bobcats does not actually have the strength to create miracles.

But he still wants to see the team's preparations and predict where the Bobcats will go this year.

"How about it, do you have any special thoughts about this year's playoffs?"

This question can only be answered by Li Ke.

He paused: "I know what you mean, Michael, but to be honest, no..."

The special idea that Boss Joe was talking about was the 08 miracle.

Li Ke's rationality told him that without other accidents like injuries or suspensions, any Eastern Conference team this year would have no chance of reaching the Finals.

If it is said that the west is strong and the east is weak, it is the consistent pattern of the NBA after the 21st century, and the years when the gap between the east and the west is the largest are the two years when the Lakers have won two consecutive championships.

As far as this year's situation is concerned, the Lakers are a strong S-level team, the Nuggets are also close to the S-level team, and the Eastern Conference is a group of A-level teams.

The gap in strength is quite significant.

"However, until the moment the game starts, no matter what kind of prediction it is, it is useless..."

Li Ke followed up with a sentence, leaving old Qiao with a little expectation.

……

The first round of the first round of the playoffs started on April 4, and the first round match between the Bobcats and the Bucks was scheduled for this day.

Against the opponent of the Bucks, the Bobcats have studied a lot these days.

If you want to talk about the strength gap between the two teams, there must be some.

The original star of the Bucks was Michael Reid. In the 07-08 season, he was still the league's ninth scorer with an average of 23 points per game.

But in the 08-09 season, he tore the knee ligament and only played 33 games due to serious injuries.

By this season, the comeback at the beginning of the season, the state and strength level have declined seriously.

In this way, he played a few games after his comeback, and was reimbursed for his serious injury.

Even so, the Bucks still squeezed into the playoffs relying on Scott Skiles' defensive system, the offensive firepower provided by rookie Brandon Jennings, and the weakness of the Eastern Conference.

If the Bucks have any position that can threaten the Bobcats, Li Ke feels that Jennings's convulsions and Tony Allen's strangling of Li Ke with the Bucks' overall defense are two particularly prominent hidden dangers.

Why include Brandon Jennings's cramp, it is a deal with the Bucks before the trade deadline.

"John Salmons cannot be left empty. Although he averaged only 12.7 points per game with the Bulls in the first half of the season, he averaged 30 points per game in the 19.9 games since he transferred to the Bucks!"

The characteristic of Rivers' style is that he will not underestimate any player in the opposing team. Perhaps, this is why he can always activate some small roles.

For John Salmons, who joined the Bucks in the second half of the season, Rivers chose the most cautious treatment. He decided to let Li Ke defend John Salmons.

As for Brandon Jennings, who averaged even more than 20 points per game in the first half of the season, and only scored 15.5 points per game in the second half of the season under the constant targeting of opponents, Rivers chose to let Curry defend alone, supplemented by the overall defense of the Bobcats.

It's not that I underestimated Jennings. Jennings is really unpredictable. In the second half of the season, he was even more ghostly, as can be seen from his 37% field goal percentage.

On the whole, the most worthy of attention for the entire Bucks is Andrew Bogut, who has played his peak season this season.

With an average of 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, in this league where Dayao is seriously injured and Sharks are aging, he is the second center in the league...

Bogou, who is known as Bai Duncan, has a big heart, and even intends to challenge the throne of the first center of the Spark League.

But obviously, Li Ke would not give him this chance.

"In this year's playoffs, I ran into Bogoute in the first round. The boring game suddenly became a little more fun..."

……

Time flies, April 4, Charlotte City.

There are playoff posters of the Bobcats all over the city. The Bucks stayed in Charlotte on the day of the game. When they drove straight from the airport expressway, the local fans in Charlotte also gave a welcome whistle.

Speaking of which, after three consecutive playoffs and winning the championship in 08, Charlotte in a small ball market is still a small ball market, but the popularity of the small ball market can already be seen from the daily fullness of the Time Warner Center.

"Seriously, Sheldon, are you really not worried that Tony Allen's defense will cause you a lot of trouble?"

Two hours before the start of the game, Li Ke had already arrived at the underground parking lot of the Time Warner Center.

Because he had contacted before coming, in the underground parking lot, he met Shen Liren, a domestic reporter stationed in Charlotte.

After a few questions, Shen Liren focused on Tony Allen's defense.

On the one hand, in those games in the past, there were not many defensive players who could restrain Li Ke in matchups, and Tony Allen was one of them.

On the other hand, after the Bobcats defeated the Celtics in the regular season, public opinion generally believed that Tony Allen's departure was the main reason for the Celtics' defeat against the Bobcats.

But for Tony Allen, Li Ke just didn't care.

"There is nothing to worry about, Old Shen, you have to trust your teammates."

The hard power of the Bobcats is stronger than that of the Bucks, and this is where Li Ke's confidence lies.

No matter how strong Tony Allen's defense is, he can only lock Li Ke alone, but the Bobcats still have Curry, Hua Er, Kenyon Martin on the inside, and Wesley Matthews on the bench.

The gap in strength between the teams is the main reason why Li Ke is not worried.

After answering this question, Li Ke in the parking lot quickened his pace and walked into the encirclement of North American reporters. More spotlights flashed and more questions were thrown out, but Li Ke closed his mouth and left quickly with the help of the security personnel at the Time Warner Center.

When the home team's locker room at the Time Warner Center was filled with Bobcats generals, Rivers finally entered, closed the door, and the playoffs officially began.

"I know we have players like Sheldon and Gerrard who have won the playoffs, and Kenyon who has played in the playoffs many times, but we also have rookies like Stephen and Wesley in the playoffs."

"So, I still want to emphasize that in the playoffs, defense must be ranked before offense. Before you attack with all your strength, you must ensure that your defense is perfect!"

Li Ke agrees with what Rivers said.

Why is there the saying "offense wins the game, defense wins the championship"?

The reason is that the playoffs are a continuous battle in which the winner can only be determined after many games.

Offense is the upper limit, defense is the lower limit, and the lower limit guarantees the most basic combat effectiveness in each game.

Only when the defense is in place can the team have the strength to continue to attack and continue to win.

After repeated emphasizing in the locker room, the door opened, the third playoffs of Li Ke's career began, and the first playoffs of Curry and Wesley Matthews also began.

Li Ke, who finally walked out of the locker room, clearly saw that Curry had been taking a deep breath.

"Don't be too nervous, Stephen, play bravely, and the playoffs will be your stage."

Speaking of it, since Li Ke's training camp last summer, after a season of getting along, Curry's bad feelings towards Li Ke have all been erased.

Li Ke is a villain?That's only for the opponent.

As a teammate, Li Ke is the best!

……

Time Warner Center, the moment the Bobcats played, Charlotte fans broke out far beyond the regular season cheers.

When the Bucks played, the Time Warner Center also set off a bombardment of boos.

The biggest difference between the playoffs and the regular season is that the playoffs are a life and death struggle.

Although the first round of the playoffs also had 7 games and 4 wins, the final victory was accumulated one game after another, and the average of each game was extremely critical.

Although judging from the regular season record, the strength gap between the Bucks and the Bobcats is huge.

But before the game really starts, even the weak Bucks are eager to win.

Winning the playoffs will make people excited, and winning the O'Brien Cup will make people excited, but the real excitement and excitement are those so-called dark horse legends.

The black eight is called a miracle, and so is the black seven.

Coming from Milwaukee, the Bucks embraced the idea of ​​black eight Bobcats.

In the distance, Tony Allen's eyes were firm. Before the game, Scott Skiles had already told him: The key to this game is his defense against Li Ke.

"Tony, the team won't give you much help in this game. You will face Sheldon alone..."

It was this sentence, and when Tony Allen heard it, the first thing that came to mind was not fear, but excitement, even more excitement.

Speaking of which, this season, after Tony Allen transferred to the Bucks, he met Scott Skiles, which can be regarded as meeting the master.

Under Skiles, he got the most playing time of his career and became the leader of the Bucks' locker room.

What makes him confident is the public opinion's evaluation of him.

Public opinion generally believes that Tony Allen's defense this season can enter the defense.

You know, the defensive team only has one defense and two defenses. In the past few seasons, Li Ke and Kobe have basically taken up two guard positions, and the remaining two positions have been taken by star players such as Kidd, Rondo, Paul, and Wade.

If Tony Allen enters the defense this season, it means that his defense is at the same level as the above group of people.

Such an evaluation is not low.

"I'll guard him, sir!"

On the field, after a short warm-up, Li Ke also felt the threat from Tony Allen.

Although Li Ke is not worried about winning or losing this game, he still pays a little attention to Teacher Tony's defense.

"This guy already has red eyes, maybe he's really going to lock him up..."

With the urging of the referee's whistle, the starters on both sides gathered in the center of the court.

In the commentary seat, Kenny Smith also announced: "The game is about to start, let's take a look at the starters on both sides..."

The starting five for the Bobcats is the starting five of the regular season, Curry, Li Ke, Hua Er, Kenyon Martin and Jr. Jordan.

On the Bucks side, point guard Jennings, shooting guard Tony Allen, small forward John Salmons, power forward Ilyasova, and center Bodogte.

Bogoute faced Jordan Jr., and the game was on the verge of breaking out. ·

(End of this chapter)