NBA: I am the god of basketball

Chapter 138 Wang Chao: Garnett is here to defend me!

On May 5, the Western Conference finals took the lead.

The Lakers and the Nuggets staged an offensive battle at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. In the end, the Lakers were even better, beating the Nuggets 105:103 and winning their first victory.

This game was a battle between Kobe and Anthony. One scored 40 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and the other scored 39 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. They were evenly matched.

But in the most critical fourth quarter, it was Kobe's victory.

In the fourth quarter, Kobe scored 18 points and single-handedly supported the Lakers' offense in the final quarter. On the other hand, Anthony scored more points in the first three quarters, but only 9 points were recorded in the fourth quarter.

In fact, 9 points in a single quarter is not too little, but his opponent is Kobe after all, and the Nuggets are just a little short of scoring, and finally lost by 2 points.

On the second day after the first game between the Lakers and the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, that is, on May 5, the Eastern Conference Finals also started as scheduled.

Because the Magic ranks higher than the Celtics in the regular season, the Magic, which has home court advantage, ushered in this game at Orlando's home court.

On the day of the game, the entire Magic home court was surrounded by a sea of ​​white.

All the fans present put on white T-shirts representing the home color of the Magic and cheered happily.

This is the second time for the Magic to participate in the Eastern Conference finals. Last year they defeated the Celtics and reached the finals. This year they still have to defeat their opponents to return to the finals, and complete their revenge in the finals to win the championship trophy!
……

The Magic vs. Celtics game, in terms of attention, is obviously more eye-catching than the Lakers vs. Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. After all, although the Nuggets are strong, they are only a team with 50+ wins in the regular season , but the Magic and the Celtics are both real teams with 60 wins, and it is a real battle between dragons and tigers.

Whether it was the CCTV sports channel in Huaguo, TNT in the United States, ESPN or even other large and small TV stations with live broadcast rights, they all broadcast the whole process of the game live.

When Wang Chao passed through the player tunnel, he saw a reporter from Huaguo who was at the front.

When they saw Wang Chao, all the reporters’ eyes lit up, and they all held up their microphone recording pens, competing to ask Wang Chao questions. Usually, the players would not answer, but occasionally when a player was in a good mood, It will also answer a question or two.

At this time, Wang Chao looked at the reporter from Huaguo.

"Wang Chao, are you confident to win today's game? Who do you think is the more difficult opponent, the Celtics or the Cavaliers?"

The Hua country reporter asked very cunningly in Chinese.

The reporters around him were stunned when they heard this. What do you mean?Even if they want to get an interview, they can't get it.

Wang Chao smiled slightly, and replied in Chinese: "Of course we are confident of winning. We beat the Celtics last season, and this season will have the same result. As for your second question... I think it is about the same." , The Celtics may be more difficult to deal with because of the configuration of the Big Three. For the Cavaliers, they just need to find a way to limit James."

The other reporters watched Wang Chao say a bunch of Chinese in bewilderment, then turned and walked towards the player tunnel, completely unable to understand what they said.

But judging from the surprised expressions of several Hua Guo reporters, they must have gained a lot.

"MD, you must learn some Chinese in the future, otherwise you will be too passive!"

……

In the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, whether it was the Magic or the Celtics, the starting list did not change from the regular season.

Magic starting: Nelson, Pietrus, Turkoglu, Wang Chao and Howard.

Celtics starter: Rondo, Ray Allen, Pierce, Garnett and Perkins.

The warm-up is over, and the starters from both sides are on the stage to prepare for the jump ball stage.

Wang Chao looked at Garnett and asked, "Who are you going to defend me today? Is it you or Paul (Pierce)?"

Garnett smiled and asked, "Who do you want to guard against?"

"Whatever." Wang Chao shrugged and said honestly, "Anyway, no one can prevent it."

The corner of Garnett's mouth twitched, this kid is really arrogant.

But he was right. Before the start of the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics team held many discussions. The focus of the research and discussion was how to limit the magic team's core scoring point Wang Chao.

But the more they study, the more helpless they feel.

Who would have thought that in just a few years, Wang Chao would grow from a little-known player to a top scorer?

He has too many means on the offensive end. His mid-range and long-range shots are extremely accurate, and he has a first-class level of breakthrough with the ball. Once he encounters a double-team, he can also use his superb off-the-ball running to find opportunities, which is the most troublesome. Yes, it is the pick-and-roll cooperation between Wang Chao and Howard.

Wang Chao's excellent three-point long-range shooting ability from the outside, combined with Howard's ultra-high mobility after the pick-and-roll, it is very difficult to deal with whether it is an outside shot after the pick-and-roll or an in-cut dunk.

The Celtics have to face Wang Chao like they face top players like Kobe and James. What these top players have in common is that they can't defend at all. The level of scoring depends entirely on the player's own state and feel.

However, although the discussion and research had no results, at this time, Garnett would not admit defeat. As one of the players with the highest level of trash talk in the league today, Garnett's ability to spray people is only stronger than Wang Chao.

"Since you are so good, why did you only score 70 points in one game during the regular season, and you could only watch the team lose in the other three games?" Garnett sneered. "If you have the ability, show me another engraving in today's game?"

The regular season record between the Celtics and the Magic was 3 wins and 1 loss. Except for the game where Wang Chao scored 70 points, the Celtics won all the other games.

Wang Chao also laughed. "Don't worry, I will!"

What he said made Garnett feel a little bit of a bad feeling in his heart.

"Shouldn't it be..."

Shaking his head slightly, Garnett really didn't believe that in the playoffs where the defensive strength and physical confrontation far exceeded the regular season, especially in the Eastern Conference finals, Wang Chao could still reproduce the performance of 70 points in a single game.

The referee took the basketball to the center line, and Howard and Garnett were responsible for the jump ball.

Facing Garnett, who is already 33 years old and whose bounce and explosive power have declined significantly, Howard perfectly explained what it means to be afraid of being young.

In the jump ball session, Howard won by an absolute advantage and moved the basketball to his backcourt.

The Magic have the ball, the game begins!
Nelson dribbled the ball across the half court, then immediately handed the ball to Wang Chao consciously, and ran to the bottom corner of the three-point line neatly, acting as a spot-up shooter.

After Wang Chao received the pass, he looked at Garnett in front of him and couldn't help but smile.

"Sure enough, you are still here to guard against me."

There is no way, the best choice for the Celtics to find a defensive king is Garnett. After all, even if his competitive state declines, Garnett is still a player selected for the first defense, and his defensive ability is one of the best in the league.

"Boy, come on, let me see what you are capable of!"

Garnett lowered his body and slammed his hands on the floor, shouting loudly.

But Wang Chao was not fooled at all. He raised his hand and made a gesture. Garnett's heart skipped a beat. The next moment, Howard ran out from the inside and blocked Garnett's side.

Wang Chao took advantage of the situation and circled behind Howard, raised his hand and shot.

Perkins, who was following Howard's defense, arrived late.

"brush--!"

There was a crisp netting sound, accompanied by thunderous cheers from all Magic fans.

"This guy……"

The corner of Garnett's mouth twitched. He didn't expect Wang Chao to be so straightforward. He called Howard to pick and roll as soon as he came up, and he had no intention of meeting him head-on.

Before the start of the game, he was still talking loudly, but when he came up, he relied on his teammates to cover the screen and score?

Wang Chao glanced at Garnett and smiled.

Can I have a fart?Come out to talk about power and background... No, if you have to fight your brains on the field and only know how to single-handedly fight, wouldn't it be him forcing him to force Nick Young?
Even if the current Wang Chao has the ability to score against Garnett single-handedly, there is no need for that at all. Garnett is the top defender in the league after all, and his defensive position is obviously defensive. Although the ability to break through with the ball is also very good, but after all, it is based on the speed and agility comparable to a guard, and has not yet reached the top of the league. When he breaks into the inside with the ball, the Celtics will definitely let Perkins Teamed up with Garnett to flank Wang Chao to reduce his efficiency.

Such time-consuming, labor-intensive, thankless effort, how can there be a pick-and-roll fragrance?

Celtics offense.

Rondo held the ball across the half and then organized an offense.

This season is the third season of Rondo's career. After experiencing the tempering of the previous two seasons, this outstanding point guard has shown impressive abilities. He averaged 11.9 points, 5 rebounds and 8.2 assists in the regular season. In the game stage, his personal data rose to 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 9.8 assists, making him the Celtics' fourth giant.

As the fourth largest "point guard" who can't defend, base can't attack, and can't pass, Rondo is almost perfect as a point guard except for the weakness of shooting.

The excellent wingspan allows Rondo to make up for the lack of height, and also allows him to have a strong perimeter defensive ability. This season Rondo was successfully selected to the best defensive second team.

In terms of passing support, Rondo has gradually begun to show everyone's demeanor.

Facing Nelson's defense, Rondo accelerated the ball and rushed to the basket, and then made an exquisite pass to assist Pierce who cut to the basket and scored a layup.

Howard's attention was completely attracted by Rondo, and he could no longer take care of Pierce on the other side.

3: 2.

The ball is switched, and the Magic attack.

Wang Chao repeated his old tricks and once again cooperated with Howard in a pick-and-roll.

This time, Garnett was well prepared and went around ahead of time to prevent Wang Chao from hiding behind Howard to shoot a three-pointer.

But in this way, Wang Chao directly chose to throw the basketball towards the basket, and Howard also took advantage of the trend to accelerate towards the basket and take off, catapulting, catching the ball and scoring an alley-oop dunk.

As a heavy-duty center, Perkins has no problem withstanding Howard in the interior, but he can't keep up with Howard if he makes clumsy and heavy steps in and out of Howard's exterior. Comparable to the speed and explosiveness of outside players.

On the Celtics bench, head coach Doug Rivers frowned quickly.

What he feared the most had happened.

The Magic played very simple and clear at the beginning, focusing on Wang Chao and Howard, the two core points inside and outside.

For the pick-and-roll cooperation between the two, the Celtics really have no way to deal with it.

……

"From the beginning of the game, the Magic relied on Wang Chao and Howard's pick-and-roll cooperation to take the initiative in the game!"

In the CCTV sports studio, the person in charge of explaining the Eastern Conference finals is still the combination of the golden partner Yu Jiazhang.

Seeing that the Magic immediately took advantage of the pick-and-roll cooperation between Wang Chao and Howard at the beginning of the game, Director Yu said very happily.

99% of Huaguo's fans who watched the game definitely supported the Magic. Dayao's Rockets had already lost to the division semifinals. Right now, Wang Chao's Magic was the only remaining home team in the eyes of Huaguo fans.

"The cooperation between Wang Chao and Howard is becoming more and more tacit." Director Zhang also said: "Looking at the pick-and-roll cooperation between the two of them, I can't help but think of the Utah Shuangsha who dominated the league back then. Malone and Stockton rely on With his pick-and-roll coordination, he became a strong player in the West, and he joined Jordan's Bulls in the Finals twice in a row."

"Oh? Which director do you think has better pick-and-roll tactics, the super magic combination or the Utah Shuangsha?" Director Yu asked after taking the topic.

"These two groups have their own advantages and disadvantages. Stockton's passing skills are better than Wang Chao's. Ma Long also has mid-range shooting ability. He has more options after the pick-and-roll, but Wang Chao's scoring ability is far better than Stockton's. Tocton, and Howard is more mobile than Malone after the pick-and-roll." Director Zhang analyzed very seriously: "If I were to choose, I would definitely be more optimistic about the super magic combination. After all, Wang Chao is our Huaguo. In terms of the upper limit, in my opinion, the combination of Wang Chao and Howard is higher, with top players both inside and outside.”

Between the two commentators asking and answering, the game continued on the field.

Gradually gaining the upper hand, the Magic team scored 33 points in the first quarter, including 12 points from Wang Chao and 10 points from Howard. Just the two scored 23 points.

The Celtics scored 25 points in the first quarter, 8 points behind the Magic.

In the second quarter of the game, the two teams began to gradually use substitute players. The main players on the bench for the Magic were Dragic, Afflalo and Barnes. In fact, the overall strength was not bad.

But the Celtics side obviously has a stronger bench lineup. Glenn Davis, Eddie House, and Tony Allen, known as the "big baby", are the main substitutes for the Celtics. Players, and more importantly, the top configuration of the Big Three allows the Celtics to reasonably arrange their rotation time. Usually, it is Ray Allen who leads the bench players in the second quarter.

Relying on Ray Allen to lead the team, the Celtics successfully chased the point difference to within 3 points at the beginning of the second quarter.

But before the Celtics were happy, Wang Chao returned to the game.

The talent of a long-distance runner and the physical ability value of 94 have made Wang Chao's physical ability completely comparable to the physical ability value of 99, and he can play for a long time on the field.

With the appearance of Wang Chao, the score that the Celtics managed to catch up with immediately plummeted. Even if it was Tony Allen, the Celtics' strongest outside defender, who was marking Wang Chao at this time, he still couldn't stop Wang Chao from scoring.

As a last resort, Garnett could only return to the court early, but when he appeared on the court, the point difference between the two teams had been widened to more than double digits.

The Celtics' worst fears still happened.

Wang Chao scored another 11 points in the second quarter, and his personal score reached 23 points at halftime. The Magic also relied on Wang Chao's efficient performance to end the first half with 63:51.

Leading by 12 points at halftime, the Magic have completely gained the upper hand.

In the second half, the Celtics tried to tenaciously tie the point difference again when the Big Three made efforts at the same time.

But Wang Chao and Howard did not give them this chance.

In the third quarter, Wang Chao didn't play much time and only played for about 5 minutes, but in these 5 minutes, Wang Chao made 3 of 2 three-pointers and scored 6 points.

And all three of these shots were made by running out of open space with the elevator door tactic.

Seeing this rogue's tactics, Rivers' eyelids twitched.

In the Eastern Conference Finals last year, the Celtics fell under this tactic. As a result, a year later, the Magic actually played this strategy in front of them in the Eastern Conference Finals!
Dissatisfied Rivers immediately asked the referee to put pressure, but was ignored.

The mobile pick-and-roll can be blown or not blown. Before the start of the Eastern Conference Finals, league president Stern greeted the referee and hinted to the referee the whistleblowing scale of this series.

The league hopes that the Magic can advance to the Finals and have another Finals battle with the Lakers. The Lakers-Kay battle has long been outdated, especially the popularity of Wang Chao and Howard is rising day by day. Stern also wants to further develop the Huaguo market Under such circumstances, the Magic's victory in the Eastern Conference Finals is the best result.

Wang Chao can be regarded as enjoying the dividends of the times, just like the "Liubulang" in the 1.0 Cavaliers era, the future Rockets will touch porcelain, and the 76ers will be the same as Embiid.

With the Celtics' counterattack in the third quarter being suppressed by the Magic, the Celtics completely lost their chance to comeback.

In the fourth quarter, although the Celtics scored 36 points in a single quarter, closing the point difference to single digits, they still lost the game due to the large hole they dug before.

107:103, the difference of 4 points is not too big, but a win is a win.

Wang Chao made 20 of 14 shots and scored a game-high 35 points. At the same time, Howard also had a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds. In addition to the two, the Magic also scored in double figures with 3 points and 13 assists. Turkoglu, Nelson with 5 points and Pietrus with 11 points.

For the Celtics, Ray Allen scored the highest score in the team with 23 points, followed by Pierce with 21 points. Garnett's state continued the slump in the semifinals of the division, with only 13 points and 8 rebounds. Personal data At the same time, he failed to complete the blockade of Wang Chao, which can be described as a crushing defeat.

On the contrary, Rondo has a great advantage when facing Nelson. Nelson is relatively strong among small point guards, but his speed is not outstanding. Therefore, Rondo frequently broke through with the ball in the game, resulting in Rondo scored 16 points, 6 rebounds and 12 assists in the whole game, and he was also the main player who led the Celtics to catch up with the point difference in the fourth quarter.

(End of this chapter)