NBA: I am the god of basketball

Chapter 164
The selection of the best team this year is not as controversial as last season. At least the 15 lists of the three best teams are well-deserved in terms of team record and personal data.

Just like the five players in a team, there is no need to say more about Wang Chao and Howard. Both James and Kobe are among the top players in the league in terms of statistics and team records.

Wade's team performance is slightly weaker, but in the guard position, apart from Kobe, he can't pick a player who can perform better than him. In other words, the Heat's current lineup can enter the season with the fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The playoffs were entirely due to Wade alone.

The situation of the second team and the third team is similar, and those who can be selected are basically the core players of their respective teams.

In addition to being selected for the first team, Kobe, James and Howard were also selected for the best defensive team. They were also selected together with Rajon Rondo of the Celtics and Gerald Hua of the Bobcats. Lace.

Although Wang Chao started to train defense in the middle of the season, he has made considerable progress in the past half a year, but after all, the base of the original ability value is too low, it is impossible to directly improve it to a very high level in a short period of time, and it is even more impossible to Can be selected to the best defensive team.

However, judging from the current progress, Wang Chao's defense can at least be improved to the league's first-class level in two seasons at most, under the accumulation of massive training potions.

I have always said before that defense is just icing on the cake for top players. Even if Wang Chao was not selected to the best defensive team, he still ranked first in the regular season MVP strength list with his super high-level performance on the offensive end, overwhelming James. one head.

……

The time soon came to May 5, the second round of the playoffs, and the divisional semifinals were about to begin.

The Magic met their old rival Boston Celtics in the second round.

In the past two seasons, the two teams staged the most peak matchup in the East on the stage of the Eastern Conference Finals.

But this season, the Celtics' performance in the regular season has moved the duel between the two sides from the Eastern Conference finals to the conference semifinals.

After a season, the circumstances of the two teams are completely different. The Magic are in full swing. Not only did they achieve a record of 70 wins in the regular season, but they also won the championship last season.

On the other hand, the Celtics, in the third season of the formation of the Big Three, not only still failed to win the coveted championship, but even with the aging of the Big Three's lineup, they couldn't even maintain their regular season record.

In fact, in the second half of the regular season, the Celtics were very eager to catch up with the Eagles after they found themselves overtaken by the Eagles, and tried to avoid the Magic before the Eastern Conference Finals. Magic, the Cavaliers are obviously better to deal with.

However, at that time, the Big Three suffered frequent injuries, especially at the end of the season. The Big Three's physical fitness also had problems due to the long schedule. In the end, they had no choice but to rank fourth in the Eastern Conference and meet the Magic in the second round.

Entering the playoffs, the Big Three of the Celtics no longer pretended to be dead. In the first round, they faced the fifth-placed Heat in the Eastern Conference. Pierce and Ray Allen averaged 5+ points in five games. Garnett Averaging 20 points and 15.8 rebounds per game, regained the title of defensive gate.

The three old men punched Wade hard enough.

Originally, according to the original historical development process, these three old hooligans would continue to punch their old punches in the second round and beat Wade's good brother James.

But now the situation has changed dramatically. The Celtics' opponent has changed from the Cavaliers to the Magic, and the Magic is not as easy to manipulate as the Cavaliers.

In the first game on May 5, the Magic beat the Celtics 1:104 at home to win a good start.

The Celtics team performed best with Rajon Rondo, who scored 27 points, 6 rebounds and 12 assists. With his top speed among guards in the league, Rondo frequently used breakthroughs to pass Nelson, who is not good at speed. Because of his excellent touch in this game, even Howard couldn't stop Rondo from scoring at the basket.

Garnett's performance is not bad. His main opponent in the game is Channing Frye. Frye is really good in outside shooting, but he is not good at the defensive end, especially against Garnett. With this style of power forward, even if Garnett no longer has the explosive power and mobility of his peak period, it is quite difficult for Frye to keep up with the opponent.

In the end, Garnett scored 18 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the Celtics' second-highest scoring player.

Ray Allen played quite well in the game, scoring 14 points on 6 of 15 shots and shooting 42.9% from the field.

The worst player among the Big Three of the Celtics is Paul Pierce.

整场比赛，皮尔斯17投仅5中，得到13分2篮板3助攻，投篮命中率不足30%。

Pierce's abnormal performance was the main reason why the Celtics lost the game, but the reason for Pierce's poor performance made the Celtics completely unexpected.

Throughout the game, it was Wang Chao who played Pierce for the longest time.

Wang Chao's defensive ability is generally recognized by the league. Although it is not a defensive loophole, it is not outstanding. At least when defending the league's first-class players, it is usually difficult to defend against opponents.

But in this game, the Celtics were surprised to see a completely different Wang Chao.

Throughout the game, whenever Wang Chao marked Pierce, the latter's performance seemed to be very struggling. Even if he called for a pick-and-roll cover, it was difficult to get rid of Wang Chao's defense. basket.

When did this guy's defensive footwork get so good?
When the game ended, Celtics head coach Doug Rivers realized that Wang Chao's defensive ability in the game was obviously far superior to the past.

Of course, this is the result of Wang Chao's hard training for more than half a season. In addition, Pierce himself and Wang Chao are not very compatible. Of course, it is difficult to deal with being caught off guard.

As a standard floor player, Pierce's offense mainly relies on mid-range and long-range shooting and rhythm changes. Wang Chao, who is 2 meters tall, has a great advantage on the defensive end when facing Pierce, who is mainly shooting offensively. His speed and agility, as long as his consciousness is a little better, he won't lose his position easily.

While successfully locking Pierce on the defensive end, Wang Chao continued to show super dominance on the offensive end.

The Celtics are a team with strong defensive capabilities, especially the defensive system built around Garnett is quite solid. Unlike the Bulls they faced in the first round, this game cannot allow Wang Chao to relax. Wang Chao made 21 of 12 shots, 9 of 4 three-pointers, and 8 of 8 free throws. Wang Chao scored 36 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists in a double-double, helping the Magic win their first victory.

The loss of this game made Pierce very upset. At the press conference after the game, he flatly denied that it was Wang Chao's defense that caused his poor performance in the game.

"This has nothing to do with Wang Chao. It's simply because I'm not in good shape. The previous sprain has always affected my state."

Pierce can only be stubborn and use his long illness to blame, but there are very few people who believe in him.

"In fact, since the second half of the regular season, Wang Chao's improvement on the defensive end has been very significant. Any player he is facing, whether it is a top star or an ordinary role player, will have a significantly lower shooting rate. It intuitively reflects Wang Chao's contribution on the defensive end."

"According to an assistant coach of the Magic team, as early as December last year, Wang Chao added a lot of defensive training to his daily training, and the amount of training was astonishing! I thought this was just a rhetoric for the Magic team to praise Wang Chao, but now It seems to be true! Even though he has become one of the players with the strongest scoring ability in the league, Wang Chao has not stopped moving forward and is still getting stronger!"

On May 5, in the second game of the series, the Magic continued to win at home, beating the Celtics 3:113 by 92 points!
In this game, the Celtics' Big Three collectively stretched their hips. Garnett had 10 points and 5 rebounds, Ray Allen had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. Pierce, who had previously claimed to be in poor condition and not Wang Chao's defensive influence, this time Facing Wang Chao's defense in the game, he once again handed over a 8-of-3 answer sheet, but this time Pierce was a little smarter. Seeing that the shot was completely blocked by Wang Chao, he used pick-and-roll screens to separate Wang Chao's shots many times on the court. The defense hit the basket, but it created a lot of opportunities for defensive fouls and free throws. He made 10 of 10 free throws and scored 18 points.

It's just that such a play is obviously far from enough to help the Celtics win.

For the Magic, Wang Chao scored a game-high 28 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, Howard scored 21 points and 10 rebounds, Crawford scored 14 points, Nelson scored 14 points...

After the two games, the score of the two sides came to 2:0, just like the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

With two victories, the Magic are about to go to the Celtics' home court, Boston's North Shore Garden Arena. This league's well-known devil's home court is already commonplace for the Magic.

On May 5, in the Celtics' home game, the Celtics finally regained some face, defeating the Magic 7:95 to get back a victory and rewrite the total score to 92:2.

But this game caused a lot of repercussions in the outside world.

The Celtics won the game not because the team played well. Pierce did rebound in this game. He scored 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He became the biggest contributor to the victory of the Celtics. On the 15th, the Celtics and the Magic made a free throw comparison of 13:38.

Howard played 29 minutes and left with 6 fouls. Other players, including Wang Chao, committed multiple fouls.

When the home whistle was extremely partial, the Celtics finally won a game at home and "defended" the dignity of the home court.

After the game, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy expressed strong dissatisfaction in front of reporters.

On the other hand, the Celtics, especially Pierce, who scored 28 points on free throws in this game, looked complacent and triumphant.

"I have recovered my form, the Magic can't guard me anymore, and it's our turn to blow the horn of counterattack and win the series!"

Even if a reporter recorded Pierce's interview, he turned his head and played it for Wang Chao to listen to his thoughts.

Listening to Pierce's arrogant voice in the recording, Wang Chao laughed.

"Is it the horn of counterattack? Let us wait and see!"

What is the consequence of Wang Chao being angry?
This answer was answered two days later at the North Shore Garden Arena.

At the beginning of the fourth game, Wang Chao showed a strong desire to attack from the very beginning. He held the ball and attacked the frame without a shot from outside. Garnett, who was in charge of guarding the inside, was shocked to find that Wang Chao's ability to finish at the basket had suddenly improved a lot. , all kinds of difficult pull-up layups in the air, even if they can't hit, they can successfully draw fouls.

In the first quarter alone, Wang Chao made 8 of 8 free throws and scored 17 points.

This is an ability that Wang Chao didn't show much during the regular season, walking in the air.

With the blessing of talent, Wang Chao's ability to stay in the air and finishing ability in the air have reached the top of the league, and he can even compete with well-known trappers such as Jordan and Kobe.

But during the regular season, Wang Chao didn't use this trick at all. His shooting ability from beyond the three-point line and his pick-and-roll cooperation with Howard were enough for him to achieve a stable average of 30+ points per game.

Such a big move, of course, must be used on critical occasions, such as the fourth game against the Celtics. Once it is used, it must be used vigorously to kill the opponent with one blow!

When the entire league is looking down on the Celtics, only Wang Chao knows that the Celtics in the 09-10 season must not be underestimated. Don’t look at their poor performance during the regular season, especially in the second half, but that’s all. It's an illusion. When the game entered the playoffs, the Celtics' fangs were revealed.

In the original history, the Celtics eliminated the Cavaliers 4:2 in the conference semifinals, defeated the Magic 4:2 in the Eastern Conference finals, successfully joined the Lakers in the finals and fought 7 bloody games. The final score of the two teams was 83. :79, it was not until the last moment that the winner was finally decided.

This means that the strength of the Celtics in the playoffs is infinitely close to that of the Lakers, and they are definitely rivals.

If you let your guard down because they won two home games, even the Magic will capsize in the gutter.

Therefore, in the fourth game, Wang Chao decided not to hide his clumsiness anymore, and used the trick he prepared for the Lakers in advance.

The Celtics were completely taken aback by Wang Chao's offensive methods. They never imagined that Wang Chao would play like Kobe. The previous defensive strategies against Wang Chao's outside shots and pick-and-roll tactics were useless.

After the game entered the second quarter, the Celtics tried to change their defensive strategy to limit Wang Chao, but with little effect.

Wang Chao, who is 2 meters tall, plays like Kobe, and his lethality is much more terrifying than Kobe himself. Imagine how terrifying the combat effectiveness of a volute with a height of 06 meters and no iron will be?
This is what the Celtics are experiencing at this moment.

In the second quarter, Wang Chao scored another 11 points. At the end of the half, his personal score reached 28 points, just tying Pierce's overall score in the previous game.

Wang Chao's offense completely disrupted the Celtics' defensive planning, which led to the collapse of the entire defensive system. The Magic established a 20-point lead at halftime.

In the third quarter of the game, in front of Pierce, Wang Chao continued to fire from the outside, hitting 3 3-pointers and scoring 9 points.

As the game entered the fourth quarter, the Celtics were weak and could only watch the team lose the game.

(End of this chapter)