NBA: I am the god of basketball

Chapter 136 Sweeping the Pistons and being selected for a team

On April 2009, 4, the first game of the first round of the NBA playoffs began.

The Orlando Orlando Orlando Orlando Orlando Magic will host the eighth-ranked Detroit Pistons in the Western Conference.

The Magic's starting lineup is Nelson, Pietrus, Turkoglu, Wang Chao and Howard.

The starting five of the Pistons are Rodney Stuckey, Hamilton, Prince, Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace.

The Pistons traded All-Star point guard Prince from the Nuggets for Allen Iverson at the beginning of the season. However, the rebellious Iverson was incompatible with the Pistons, and even had serious conflicts with the team's head coach and management. , And in an interview with reporters, he uttered classic quotes handed down from generation to generation.

"I've never heard of a superstar being a backup, I've never heard of an Olympian being a backup, I've never heard of an All-Star being a backup, I've never heard of a regular season MVP being a backup, I've never heard of scoring Wang as a substitute."

When the conflict between Iverson and the Pistons reached a completely irreconcilable level, the Pistons finally made a decision to exclude Iverson from the rotation list under the pretext of injury. Folsom no longer had the chance to play. As for whether the reason was due to injury, only the person involved knew.

The Pistons itself is a standard civilian team. It has neither Billups, the brain of the team, nor Iverson, the sharp knife on the offensive end. With its already dilapidated lineup, it is not an opponent of the Magic at all.

In the first game of the series, the Magic won a good start with a 108:84 victory.

Wang Chao scored 28 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists in the face of Prince's defense. This striker who was also the best defender of Wang Chao at the beginning has fallen into a disadvantage in the face of Wang Chao. With similar static talents , Wang Chao's dynamic talent comparable to that of a defender has completely surpassed Prince's speed, agility, strength, and explosive power. Prince has no way to compete with him in these aspects.

And Howard faced Rasheed Wallace, who was supposed to be the main power forward position inside, but because the Pistons no longer have a traditional center, he had to stand at the center position very easily.

26 points and 15 rebounds, completely blasting the opponent with 13 points and 9 rebounds.

The Magic, which won their first victory, made another victory three days later at 4:21 on April 99.

In the two games, the Pistons did not score more than 85 points. Scoring has become the biggest problem facing the team. Except for the mid-range shooting king Hamilton who can rely on his off-ball running position to provide a relatively stable scoring output, the other People don't have the ability to score independently, and encountering the Magic, which is also known for their defense, and has Howard, a giant inside, makes it extremely difficult for them to score.

At the end of the two games, the score has come to 2:0. Although the next game will be played at the home court of the Pistons, even Detroit fans, not many people think that their team has hope of winning. The gap in team strength is so huge that it is a luxury for the Pistons to win even one game in a row.

On April 4, at the home court of the Pistons, the third game of the series also became the most miserable game in the entire series.

The Pistons only scored 68 points. The team made 71 of 27 shots, and the shooting percentage was only 38%. Ni Starkey.

The Magic played normally here, scoring 104 points and winning by 36 points.

After halftime of the game, Wang Chao and Howard had already clocked in and got off work early. The Magic, which established a 30-point advantage early, played with the Pistons with a full bench lineup in the second half.

This is also the first time in several playoff games that Wang Chao scored less than 20 points in a single game. After playing 18 minutes, Wang Chao only scored 14 points.

On the contrary, Howard had a good time in the first half of the game. He also played only about 20 minutes. Howard scored 11 points, 10 rebounds and 8 blocks. .

"The bloody massacre, the Magic beat the Pistons by 36 points, with a total score of 3:0, and the Pistons are about to be swept."

"Times have changed, the old rivals are no longer vulnerable, and the magic team's super magic combination has become the strongest duo combination in the league today!"

"Nostalgic for the past, now that the Pistons are about to be swept and eliminated, will the Pistons recall the glorious past, and will they miss the giant Ben Wallace who has a super defensive ability on the inside that is not inferior to Howard?"

It is worth mentioning that the current Ben Wallace is doing well in the Cavaliers. Although this defensive champion is completely uncompetitive, he averaged only 2.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 rebounds in the regular season this season. Blocking, playing less than 24 minutes, his contribution is completely inferior to the big Z and Varejao two inside players, but the record of the Cavaliers is the second highest in the East, and the current game against the 76ers has also won the game 3:0 point.

No matter how far the Cavaliers can go in the playoffs, at least they are much better than the Pistons.

As for the Pistons losing 36 points to the Magic, it seems like a lot, but it is not the biggest point difference in this playoffs, because a few days later, in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Hornets In the G4 game in the away game, the Nuggets unilaterally pulled the hair of the Hornets and beat the opponent violently. They had already led 61 points 39:22 at halftime, and the situation became even more exaggerated in the second half. A total of 24 points were scored in the game. As a result, the Nuggets scored 121 points at the Hornets' home court and limited the Hornets' scoring to 63 points.

堂堂圣保罗职业生涯最具黑点的一战诞生了，净负58分的黄蜂追平了NBA季后赛历史最大分差纪录，而整场比赛只有4分2篮板6助攻并且有6次失误的保罗则彻底被钉死在历史的耻辱柱上。

Even when Wang Chao crossed over, when many people mentioned Paul, they would still use 58 to mock him. Fortunately, Paul finally reached the Western Conference Finals with the Rockets and the Finals with the Suns. On this basis, there is an extra nickname of floor man in the Western Conference Finals.

The day before the 58th tragedy that shocked the entire league, the Magic had defeated the Pistons again with 99:78, giving the opponent a clean 4:0, sweeping the opponent out, and becoming the first team to advance to the second round , and the only team in the first round of eight matchups to complete a 4:0 sweep.

The previous 3:0 Cavaliers were still tenaciously pulled back by the 76ers in the fourth game, and they are about to play the G5 game. The Los Angeles Lakers, who have the same experience as the Cavaliers, also have the No. [-] Western Conference.

Although the Utah Jazz has a big gap with the Lakers in terms of overall strength, they are the Rockets' strong opponents after all. The new Utah duo of Deron and Boozer can be regarded as a powerful team, so it still created some for the Lakers. Trouble, but only limited to minor troubles.

A few days later, the results of the first round were all released.

东部这边，骑士队4:1淘汰76人，凯尔特人4:3淘汰公牛，老鹰4:3淘汰热火。

Here, the Bulls were able to fight the Celtics in seven bloody games, which really exceeded everyone's expectations, but it also made many people have some doubts about the Celtics' combat effectiveness in the playoffs.

It stands to reason that the Celtics with the combination of the Big Three are far ahead of other teams in terms of overall strength and game experience. It was extremely difficult. Last season, in the first round and the second round, the Eastern Conference Finals had seven games against their opponents, and the Eastern Conference Finals still lost to the Magic in tiebreaker.

Why did it happen again this year?Facing only a 50% winning rate in the regular season, the Chicago Bulls led by first-year rookie No. [-] pick Derrick Rose actually need seven games to decide the winner?Is this combination of the Big Three fake?

The desire of the Big Three of the Green Army to win the championship is unquestionable. The failure to win the championship in the 07-08 season made the three old guys even more eager for the championship, and their desire to win is also very strong. But now the actual situation is clearly on the table here.

The Celtics, who are only ranked third in the East in the regular season, can describe their trip to the playoffs as bumpy. Although the second round has not yet started, the Celtics' opponent in the second round is the champion. The hot Cavaliers, this will be another battle between dragons and tigers. Even if the Celtics beat the Cavaliers, in the Eastern Conference Finals there is still a strong Cavaliers and even an even more difficult Magic team waiting for them.

The opponent of the Magic in the second round is the Eagles who defeated the Heat 4:3.

The Atlanta Hawks can be regarded as the fourth-ranked team in the Eastern Conference this season, but the Eastern Conference belongs to the world of the Royal Three. Except for the Magic, Cavaliers and Celtics, other teams are not considered strong teams.

The Eagles, ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference, only had 45 wins in the regular season, not as good as the ninth Suns in the Western Conference.

If you just look at the lineup, the current lineup of the Eagles is already very good. Headed by Eagle King Joe Johnson, power forward Josh Smith, and center Al Horford are all All-Star players. Bee was the main point guard in the Princeton system of the Kings back then, and small forward Marvin Williams was also a role player with strong physical fitness and outstanding defensive ability.

On the Hawks' bench, there are also Ronald Murray and last season's starting point guard Maurice Evans of the Magic.

If you only talk about the integrity and comprehensive ability of the lineup, the Eagles can be regarded as one of the best in the league.

However, the strength of a team is not fully reflected in the rationality of the lineup structure.

The Hawks' lineup is indeed good, but it also has many problems.

First of all, Josh Smith and Al Horford, especially the latter, as a rookie in 07, is only in the second season of his career, and he still does not have the level of an All-Star at all, and needs more time to grow.

Although there is only one word difference between Horford and Howard, the difference is very different.

If it is said that NBA players have opponents with bad compatibility, for example, Howard is defeated by Dayao Tianke, and Dayao always suffers from a mobile insider like Boozer, then Horford is also unilaterally defeated when facing Howard. Hammer.

Horford's template for the draft was Carlos Boozer and "Cobra" Grant, with nimble feet, strong body, one of the best strengths inside, and outstanding confrontation ability.

It's a pity that in these aspects, Howard at his peak recognized him as the second, and absolutely no one dared to recognize him as the first.

Speed, strength, bounce, explosive power, these aspects are what Howard was best at at his peak.

Therefore, when Horford faced Howard on the inside, he couldn't match the speed, couldn't stand the top, and the rebounds belonged to the opponent. It can be described as comprehensive coverage in all directions without dead ends.

The first game of the second round on May 5 is the most intuitive manifestation.

102:72, the Magic's first game was a 30-point victory.

During the game, Howard overwhelmed the Hawks inside and scored a super double-double of 27 points and 21 rebounds. He grabbed 8 offensive rebounds alone. Whether it was Horford, Josh Smith or the Hawks backup center Zaza Parr Chulia has absolutely nothing to do with Howard.

In this case, Wang Chao just scored a symbolic 21 points casually, clocked out after three quarters, and won the game by a big score.

The Magic's 67 wins during the regular season is definitely not a mix-up, especially in the face of this kind of team that is not a first-line team. The existence of internal and external dual-core makes the Magic have absolute suppression.

Before the start of the divisional semifinals, the league first announced the selection of the best team for the 08-09 season.

Without any suspense, both Wang Chao and Howard were selected for the best team, becoming the only partner combination selected for the first team at the same time this season.

This is the third time that Wang Chao has been selected to the best team, and it is also the first time to be selected to the best team. Although Wang Chao's average performance of 26.9 points per game last season is also very good, it is still slightly inferior to James and Garnett. , but this season will be different.

Wang Chao, who averaged 32.6 points per game, is not only the scoring leader, but also ranks MVP No.2 in the regular season, and is fully eligible to be selected for the first team.

In this way, Wang Chao unknowingly created another record for a Huaguo player in the NBA, that is, the first Huaguo player to be selected to the best team.

Dayao has been selected to the best team 5 times in his career, but all of them were selected to the second team and the third team. , There is no way, who will make Howard with more gorgeous data and better team record for a while?
Howard was not only selected for the best team, but also selected for the best defensive team, and the best defensive player after that, DPOY, was basically guaranteed.

As I said before, Howard's strength during the 08-11 period is really beyond doubt. The name of James alone is by no means groundless. This is the main reason why Wang Chao chose the Magic.

Dayao, who couldn't compete with Howard, could only be placed in the second team. The remaining four players in the second team were Paul, Roy, Duncan and Nowitzki. Several players were the core players of their respective teams, and the team's record was also very good. There are about 50+, and there is no dispute about being selected.

In contrast, the controversy of the best third team is relatively large. Whether it is O'Neal at the center position or Billups at the point guard, there can be good replacement players.

And the five players in the three teams in the original history should be Parker, Billups, Anthony, Gasol and O'Neal.

However, due to the addition of Wang Chao from the first team, Nowitzki, who should have been selected for the first team, was squeezed into the second team, and Pierce from the second team was squeezed into the third team. The original third team was squeezed out of the best team That unlucky guy is always underestimated Pau Gasol.

Although Pau Gasol is positioned as a power forward, he often plays as a center in the game. It is completely reasonable for him to replace O'Neal and be selected as a center for the third team, but the league did not do this. O'Neal became the center of the three teams.

Only in this way, O'Neal became the only player among the 15 players in the best team who did not participate in the playoffs, which is somewhat untrue.

After the announcement of the best team, it caused a lot of repercussions. The fans of the Lakers were very dissatisfied. The dignified Western Conference No. 66 league, only Kobe was selected to the best team. They won [-] wins in the regular season!

Celtics fans are also dissatisfied. Although the Celtics rank third in the Eastern Conference, they are also the team that won 60 wins. The Big Three actually only has Pierce as the best team, and it is the best third team. Garnett and Leah Lundu was not selected.

That's all for Garnett, this season's personal data has indeed declined significantly, only 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds, and his attendance rate in 67 games in the regular season is not high.

Ke Ray Allen averaged 18.2 points per game, shot 48% from the field, and 41% from the three-point range. It is not too much to get the best third team.

The league would rather give the best three-team guard to two point guards than shoot guard Ray Allen, which naturally made the Celtics fans angry.

But whether you like it or not, once the roster is announced, it has become an established fact. No matter how many complaints and complaints the fans have, they can only admit this result and expect their own stars to perform even better in the playoffs. Slap these scoring experts who don't know how to play.

(End of this chapter)