From today on is the king

Chapter 1460. Chapter 1459. The Brilliant Wheat Grass in Adversity

时间：2007年6月6号晚上07:30，

Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles.

Event: Los Angeles Lakers host Atlanta Hawks.

Keywords: double 35 points.

The fighting spirit did not decline because of the first loss, but the decline in confidence was real.

The past two days of focused discussions and hard training simulations... found that the overall strength gap between them and the Lakers...

Those who get inside win the world. Before Adam Silva changed the rules crazily, this sentence was still the key to the playoffs.

A team that already has a super outside line gets a top inside line, compared to a team that already has a super outside line and gets a super outside line, the strength of the improvement is much, much stronger.

Especially in the playoffs and finals.

This can be seen from the finals MVPs in NBA history. Centers have the most finals MVPs. Before the 90s, power forwards were basically coolies and rarely won MVPs. Small forwards, shooting guards, and point guards were even rarer.

Although I found some ways to try to deal with the Lakers, my confidence fell even more...

Moreover, the public opinion of the outside world is also a problem. The Eagles coaching staff told the players not to watch the news and not to care about those public opinions, but they will always be affected.

Especially the public opinion after losing a game, the Eagles players couldn't help but want to watch it, just like Pandora's box.

"Only by returning to the home court can we have a chance to hold on"

Such thoughts linger in the hearts of most players in the Eagles.

This kind of mentality is not an exception, but the norm. For example, in the 2005 playoffs, the Spurs thought this way. Last year, the Lakers also had this idea. The disadvantaged team always wanted to seize this kind of psychological comfort and maintain their fighting spirit. However, the Spurs failed to survive all three home games, and the Lakers continued to lose even when they returned home.

Although this kind of mentality still has fighting spirit, its confidence will inevitably be frustrated.

This made Liu Mang and McGrady's hurricane in the second game useless.

刘莽22投11中，以50.00%命中率的高效表现拿到35分9板4助攻3盖帽，麦迪18投12中打出了35分4板10助攻3失误的数据。

The performance of both of them was so good that they exploded, especially McGrady took advantage of Liu Mang's containment force and repeatedly used Liu Mang as a defensive firepower attraction point to send several assists to his teammates. Although five assists were for Liu Mang, McGrady still helped his teammates score with five assists, and the assist-to-turnover ratio exceeded 3 to 1. McGrady's performance exploded today.

Three of Liu Mang's four assists were given to McGrady.

But the Maimang combination has already scored 70 points and 14 assists, but the Eagles only scored 106 points.

Jason Terry seems to have used up his magic in the playoffs in the past three years. Not only did he play a mediocre regular season this year, but the playoffs were even more pitiful.

The best sixth man is like this. It really makes people unable to understand why he is so cheated.

Jason Terry has been able to play steadily in the playoffs in the past few years, and he can explode from time to time.

In this game, Liu Mang also used Lillard's star card in the second quarter.

This kind of mentality is somewhat different from Liu Mang's waves. Liu Mang's waves are still rational, and Lillard's waves are not rational at all, which is also the reason why Lillard suddenly gets stuck in the playoffs from time to time.

As for Lillard's change of direction in front of the body and the one-handed layup under the basket, they are not used frequently, and the effect is really not obvious in the playoffs.

The point is that the power forward's three-point shooting is not as stable as last season's finals!

Facing the inside of the Lakers, Marion can’t cut in. It’s true that Marion has three-pointers, but if he hits one or two a game, he’s okay, but if he makes consecutive shots like a real shooter... Then he won’t be just a top power forward. Marion has made at least 4 three-pointers in only 12 games in his eight-year career, and only 3 games in which he has made at least 40 three-pointers. The career high is 5 three-pointers in a game. In big games, relying on his three-pointers to defeat the opponent's defense that has been researched and prepared for a long time is really difficult for him.

And Granger or Tracy McGrady may have a better effect of opening up space if they play power forward, but defense is basically equal to no defense...

Moreover, Granger is not at his peak, he is just a role player now, and he has open shots, but if he keeps shooting, he is basically not sure.

Open shots are easy to say, but those who can have stable open shots are not pure shooters who specialize in this technique, then only stars. The reason why role players are role players is because they are not so good.

So... this game became a two-person show between Liu Mang and McGrady. Both played explosive performances, but the Lakers... just one word - steady!

They don't think too much, they don't think about statistics. They lost to the Hawks in the Finals twice in the past three years, and they don't have any idea of ​​competing with Liu Mang or McGrady for statistics.

In this game, the Eagles consciously defended against Gasol and Odom grabbing rebounds, but Yao Ming also stood up to protect the rebounds.

The defense against Kobe is still very good. When the Lakers use Barnes or Claxton, two players who almost shot or didn't shoot at all, the Eagles also made good adjustments and successfully played several waves of counterattacks.

But on the Lakers side, there are also smart players. Kobe, Gasol, and Odom led the team to withstand the Hawks' counterattack and maintained a 1-point lead in the last minute.

Although Liu Mang hit a three-pointer at the buzzer before the end of the game, he still lost by 7 points.

科比21中8拿到22分7板7助攻，姚明14分16板，加索尔23分6板5助攻，奥多姆15分8篮板4助攻，拉德马诺维奇14分，湖人队五人得分上双，以113比106力克爆发的麦芒组合率领的老鹰队，2比0，湖人队连续两个主场都守住了！

……

……

The away game has lost two consecutive games, which did not exceed people's expectations.

Most of the players on the Hawks side seem to accept this fact.

The excellent performance of the Youmaimang combination in the second game gave the Eagles players the confidence to win at home.

People's hearts are so strange, they like to find a little comfort from failure...

This kind of mentality is not to say that it is all a bad thing. You have to find something to increase your self-confidence and fighting spirit.

If it is said that losing two away games in a row, there is no big problem, but if the third game is also lost, then the problem will be big.

The Eagles will have three consecutive home games. If they win all three home games, the pressure will become even greater on the Lakers side. Just like when they played against the Spurs in 05, the Eagles won two games and lost two games in a row. The fifth game became a must.

This is the most criticized part of the finals schedule. It is not a real advantage for a team with a good record to win two games first. It must win an away game to be considered an advantage.

直到2014年年初亚当-席尔瓦上台，才对2014年总决赛赛制进行了改动，变成了和季后赛一样的2+2+1+1+1的合理赛程，扩大战绩好的球队的优势。

Playing three consecutive away games, no matter what, it is hard to see that the team with a good record has home court advantage. They even won three home games 3 to 2, and they dare not lose at home.

This kind of mentality is very common in the finals in NBA history, and the Eagles naturally have it.

Even Liu Mang, he would expect this, and he knew that he must have this kind of belief.

Of course, if the Lakers, which have home court advantage in the Finals, have the strength to win an away game, it will be an absolute advantage. The Eagles won the other two home games and are still behind 2 to 3...

It's not that Liu Mang never thought of using Durant's star card...

If Durant's star card is used in a special way with 100% fit, according to Liu Mang's prediction, in order to achieve Durant's shooting effect, Liu Mang himself should have a substantial improvement, and he can also experience the mentality of a super three-pointer under the future rules.

Perhaps it is not a good mentality to put it at this point in time, but it has its merits.

But... this is not a good time to use this star card.

The main reason is that the special use method is too much. If the two teams are evenly matched and the score is 2-2, in the fifth key battle, if Liu Mang does those outrageous things, he will be regarded as a joke.

But if you use it when you lose an away game, it will be good if it doesn’t affect the mentality of your teammates. In the case of 0 to 2... Now Liu Wei is even more afraid to use it.

If his teammates think that even he loses confidence, if he sees that the team is at a disadvantage in the finals and wants to give up after three consecutive championships, it will be even worse.

Durant's star card may have some miraculous effects, but... Durant can overthrow a super team by himself, so he won't choose the most difficult path.

……

Time: May 2007, 6.

Location: Atlanta Phillips Arena.

Event: Game [-] of the Finals between the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Keywords: Triple-double +40+ VS Big Four four-man 20.

It's not just the Eagles players who have the idea of ​​returning to the home court to take advantage of the home court to defend the three home games. The fans and the media saw that the Eagles only lost 7 points in the second game, and they also had the same expectation.

Who wants to watch a one-sided finals round.

The performance of Liu Mang and McGrady in the second game not only gave hope to the teammates, but also gave the fans expectations. As long as the Eagles have a third player who scored in double figures, such as Jason Terry, Marion, and Grant Hill, even if one of them made two more open shots, the second game might not end like that.

(End of this chapter)