I just want to play healthy basketball

Chapter 325 Dialogue between the strong and the strong, the decisive battle against the Spurs!
On April 4, the first playoff game between the Bucks and the Nets officially started.

Before the start of the game, apart from fans of the Bucks and Nets, not many extra players paid attention to the game.

It is true that after the Nets traded for Carter, their overall strength has risen a lot, and the team finally has a superstar who decides the game in the playoffs.

However, judging from the second half of the regular season after the All-Star Weekend, Carter did not integrate well into the Nets, which also caused the Nets to drop from fifth and sixth in the Eastern Conference to eighth in the Eastern Conference today.

The Nets, which failed to integrate all the strengths of the team, are vulnerable to any playoff team in the East.

Not to mention, the Nets have met the Bucks who have won three consecutive championships!
Not to mention, the Bucks this season have not changed much from last season. With the main lineup remaining the same and the rookies in the team continuing to grow, the Bucks still have great hopes of winning the championship.

Not to mention the lack of a stable playoff fringe team within a team like the Nets.

In fact, the strength gap between the Bucks and the Nets is just as most people expected.

Just in G1, the Bucks beat the Nets by 34 points at home.

Even though He Li only played less than 2 minutes in the fourth quarter, the Nets still lost very simply.

This makes it seem that the Nets are paper tigers, and they have a good paper strength.

Once you encounter a real strong team like the Bucks, it will be vulnerable to a single blow.

However, when it came to G2, there were some surprises.

Perhaps it was because G1 played too smoothly and was playing at home. The Bucks players felt that they had the chance to win, so G2 played a little loosely and slack.

I don't want to, Carter, who has not shot 1 shots in G20, fired infinitely at the beginning of G2.

Only 3 minutes into the first quarter, Carter made a three-pointer from the outside and made 3 of 3 shots, helping the Nets slightly lead the Bucks by one or two points in scoring.

When the Bucks noticed Carter's point, Carter continued to go his own way.

Compared with the other four shooting guards, Carter's ball combination is poor, so he has the physical talent of a slam dunk king, but he is not firm in his attitude of breaking through to the inside.

Carter actually has the ability to play back singles in the low post, but after a physical confrontation, he shakes to make room, and then floats out to shoot.

After He Li proved the importance of three-pointers, more and more people in the league realized that long two-pointers with high difficulty, low shooting percentage, and low scoring efficiency are not good shooting options.

If the pursuit of scoring efficiency, or to help the team bite the score, it is more appropriate to shoot three-pointers or hit the basket, rather than resolutely attacking in the middle distance in the classical style of play.

However, what Carter had learned before was the classical style of play, and his skills and style of play had already taken shape.

After the Bucks blocked Carter's three-point shooting range, Carter, who didn't like physical confrontation when shooting, took a step inside the three-point line and shot a long two-pointer.

As a result, Carter was still in a brave state and felt extremely good. He made 5 of 4 shots in the first quarter, 7 of 5 shots in the second quarter, and 2 of 1 three-pointers. Carter made a total of 13 goals in the first half and scored exactly 30 points.

And these 30 points are still pure points, without any free throws, which is outrageous.

Also very powerful!

Carter was beyond everyone's expectations, becoming the first superstar in the past few years who can ignore the influence of Heli Stadium and play super giant scoring explosive power.

Although Carter did not score 20 points in a single quarter, he scored 30 points in the first half. He scored more points than the rest of the team combined, but only took one-third of the shots. This is abnormal.

Sometimes, what proves a superstar's scoring ability is not a sudden burst for a period of time, but a steady contribution in every quarter.

With Carter's wonderful performance in the first half of G2 and his super scoring ability, if this state can continue, he may be as strong as the Bucks, and he may also be upset by the Nets.

It is precisely because Carter's presence is too great that the Bucks had to adjust their defensive strategy.

In the past few years, in order to save energy, He Li has mostly played in the defensive position.

Although the team's defensive players often participate in the defense, they give great support to the team's entire defensive system.

But in many cases, relying on the single defense of outside and wing players can solve the problem. At this time, He Li, who is in the defense position, can take a break.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for He Li to often play the full four quarters, just sweating a little, showing an effortless look.

But now He Li can't do this anymore.Because of Carter's sudden outbreak, the Nets were looking for Carter unanimously, passing the ball to Carter, and the Nets played around Carter to give full play to Carter's personal influence.

In this situation, He Li had to go outside to defend against Carter.

He Li's help defense is the strongest in the Bucks, and solo defense is the same.

Either outside or inside!
As far as the current situation in the NBA is concerned, He Li can't prevent the breakthrough of a small guard who accelerates instantly, even if he runs to the inside, he can still stand up to a big center of O'Neal's level once or twice.

A standard swingman like Carter is actually He Li's favorite defensive player.

Because they are tall, they have a high center of gravity when dribbling, and their speed is not as extreme as a small guard.

As long as He Li doesn't take the first step in a flash, then relying on his taller body, taking the lead in taking the route to the basket, and He Li relying on the interference after the confrontation, it is easy to defend him.

In the same position duel, the big fight is always the truth.

Just like Magician and Westbrook can bully point guards, Jordan can bully shooting guards, Durant can bully small forwards, Nowitzki can bully power forwards, and O'Neal can bully center forwards.

The advantage of static talent is the most direct one that can gain an advantage in the matchup.

This is true both offensively and defensively.

After He Li ran outside to stare at Carter, although the Bucks' defensive system had some problems, the Nets were also restricted by He Li because of Carter's offense. The overall offensive rhythm and scoring efficiency were greatly affected.

It's a pity that real superstars are immortal.

In the second half, Carter made 11 of 5 shots, 3 of 1 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws. He still scored 15 points when he was restricted by He Li most of the time.

It made great contributions to the Nets' G2 narrow victory over the Bucks by 3 points.

At the same time, other players in the Nets saw Carter encounter difficulties, but the team was in the lead in scoring, and there was still a lot of possibility of victory.

So each of them chose to do their best and stand up!

Under Kidd's organization, most of the Nets' players played at a better level than in the first half, and finally helped the Nets win G2.

"The best part of the playoffs is the strong dialogue between the stars!
In the first season of his rookie, He Li had a strong dialogue with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, which made him reach his current level.

Before Carter really stood up, the other stars seemed to be completely suppressed by He Li!
Under the influence of He Li on the court, most of the stars couldn't play at the level they should have.

Now Carter finally stood up. Carter, who was supposed to be Senior He Li, finally stood up to challenge He Li, the ruler!
In fact, there is no shortage of powerful veterans in this league.

Only more and more rookies can appear in front of He Li and challenge He Li.

This is the need for the development of the alliance and the needs of the development of the times! "

"Michael Jordan ruled the 90s, but there are still stars emerging in the 90s to challenge Michael Jordan!

He Li has ruled this era. Sadly, no newcomers in this era have come forward to challenge He Li.

In fact, it is not that there are no newcomers in this era who have not become superstars and super giant potentials.

It's just that these rookies are not tough enough, hardworking enough, unwilling to try their best to break through themselves, and unwilling to dedicate everything to the team! "

"Starting from challenging He Li, let this era become the brightest era!"

After the Bucks lost to the Nets, public opinion did not bad-mouth the Bucks, or it was not good for He Li.

It is true that Carter played well in this game, but inside and outside the league still believe that He Li is the active No. 1, which cannot be shaken.

Some people even pointed out that it was because He Li was too strong, which suppressed an era and prevented the newcomers of this era from continuously coming out enthusiastically.

In fact, there are many outstanding rookie stars in this era, but they have not passed the test of the playoffs, but only shined in the regular season.

But he hasn't actually been on the battlefield, what kind of fighter is this?
He Li's performance in the playoffs in these years is more eye-catching than Jordan's superior skills in the 90s.

Although the opponents of the Bucks in the finals change every year, the veterans who reach the finals are always veterans, not newcomers.

It makes this era, this league, look like it lacks vitality.

However, having said that, even He Li's senior, Tracy McGrady, one of the four major shooting guards, is struggling in the first round of the playoffs, let alone a rookie who has just entered the league for a year or two.

After all, the team can go further in the playoffs, not only depends on the strength of the star, but also depends on the overall strength of the team.

In general, teams with potential new stars are usually poor teams in the past few years. The team lacks reliable helpers. How can they gain a foothold in the playoffs and become more courageous as they fight?

Many times, for the sake of leveling and fame, they are not even qualified to play in the playoffs.

Closer to home.

The playoffs between the Bucks and the Nets continued, and G3 will soon start.

However, even if the Nets have the home court advantage, they can't take advantage of the Bucks.

This time, He Li has been on guard against Carter since the first quarter.

Although Carter's shooting ability is good, he lacks off-ball ability.

He Li's targeted defense prevented Carter from receiving the ball, and even if he received the ball, he was uncomfortable.

But this time Carter didn't feel as explosive as G2. In the end, the whole game was played, and he barely made 16 shots. In the end, he only scored 6 goals and scored 15 points.

From the perspective of scoring efficiency, it is not too bad.

Under the defensive intensity of the playoffs, it is understandable that the star's shooting percentage is less than [-]%, not to mention that Carter also shot a lot of three-pointers.

It's just that Carter doesn't have a high tendency to dunk. When he can't shoot, he doesn't go to the basket too much, and he doesn't have enough free throws.

And once the main scoring points in the team, the true shooting percentage is less than 50%, and the basic score does not exceed 20, then it will be difficult for the team to win.

After He Li strangled Carter with a defensive-level defense, the Bucks won two consecutive away games, which can be said to have pushed the Nets to a dead end.

Returning to Milwaukee, the Nets had a big fight with the Bucks, but in the end they still missed by 7 points and were swept out by the Bucks 4-1.

Near the second round, the Bucks once again faced the Pistons. Relying on Wade's inadvertent explosion, the Pistons' iron barrel defense was broken by Wade.

He Li didn't have to put in too much effort. Just shooting from the outside and helping Wade open up space, the Bucks easily sent the Pistons away 4-0 and continued to advance to the next round-the Eastern Conference Finals.

Not long after entering the Eastern Conference finals, the Bucks learned two pieces of good news.

The Pacers beat the Celtics up and down.

In the tiebreaker between the two teams, O'Neal, the leader of the Pacers team, suffered a knee injury because he was too involved and played too much time.

Although the injury is not serious enough to be reimbursed for the season, even if it is closed, it will affect O'Neal's competitive state.

The Pacers have been a playoff team for these years. O'Neal played with the Dream Team in the Olympics in the offseason before. In the Olympics, he is the absolute inside core, and there are no suitable substitutes.

Perhaps that's why O'Neal, who was suffering from overwork, finally couldn't bear it anymore before reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and needed to rest for a while.

Officially entering the Eastern Conference Finals, O'Neal continued to play, but Carlisle did not dare to overuse O'Neal.

With Jermaine O'Neal unable to do his best, it is not difficult for the Bucks to beat the current Pacers.

O'Neal is the core of the Pacers' offense and defense. Regardless of offense or defense, O'Neal needs good sensitivity.

After hurting a leg, O'Neal, who didn't dare to make too many moves on the court, could only watch the Bucks run and cry without tears.

The Bucks were running, and Carlisle had no choice but to withdraw O'Neal.

When the strongest players on the team can't stay on the court and must sit off the court, what else can the rest of the team do?What else do you want to play?
No way, the Pacers can only surrender and lose half.

On the Bucks side, in order to maintain their competitive state and use games instead of training, they deliberately extended the time of the series.

In the end, the Bucks defeated the Pacers 4-2 with a firm grasp of the situation, and then entered the finals four times in four years.

And this time, the Bucks' opponent is still not the expected Lakers, but the Spurs with peak Duncan and peak Ginobili.

In He Li's memory, Ginobili from 04 to 05 should have officially entered the peak of his career, with a perfect combination of body and technology.

The Olympic champion, who killed the Quartet in the playoffs, ignored the iron-blooded defensive Pistons, and became the only player who won the championship with the Spurs and contributed more to the team than Duncan.

However, all this is just what happened in He Li's memory.

The real situation now is that the Spurs and the Lakers are slightly ahead of the tie-breaker. Even if it is difficult to reach the finals, it is already at the end of the battle!
For the Bucks, there was no lack of such opponents in the first three years, but the final result is that no matter how powerful the opponent is, it is actually vulnerable.

(End of this chapter)