NBA: I am the god of basketball

Chapter 254 Ginger is still old and spicy, sweeping the warriors
Dayao's performance in the first game of his comeback from injury was not ideal, and he was completely lying on his guns. However, Dayao himself and the whole team are still very satisfied with this result.

After all, Dayao doesn't have to play excellent data to prove his ability, or to become the most important star in the team.

Dayao, who has always been the team first, can completely accept the status of a substitute for the team to win, let alone because of injuries.

Only he knows his own physical condition best, and Dayao knows very well that he is no longer at his peak due to this injury, and being able to play again is already a very rare result.

This is also thanks to Wang Chao's previous weight loss advice to Dayao, and in daily training, he often uses the effect of sparring potion and physical potion to reduce the fatigue and burden on Dayao's body, so that he is already 34 years old. Continue to stay on the NBA stage.

After all, the original Dayao was unable to adapt to the fierce competition at the age of 30 and was forced to retire.

In the second game against the Warriors, Dayao still came off the bench, but it was different from the first game. Curry and Thompson gradually adapted to the oppressive defense of Leonard and Butler on the Rockets side in this game. The rate gradually picked up, and Iguodala on the bench also began to work hard, and the score was still inextricably tied at halfway through the game.

And when Dayao really came on the stage and used his real skills, the Rockets' feeling of reducing all dimensions inside and outside the line last season came back.

The Warriors couldn't defend against Wang Chao's offense from the outside, and they couldn't do much inside against Dayao's low-post singles.

Cousins ​​himself was not good at defense, and he still faced Dayao, who was a head taller than him, with superb inside skills and a larger tonnage than him, and he was completely beaten by fancy tricks.

The Rockets still strictly controlled Dayao's playing time in this game because they were worried that Dayao's body would not be able to withstand the long-term fierce confrontation. Dayao only played three quarters, and his playing time in each quarter was strictly controlled at In less than 7 minutes, the entire game was played for 20 minutes.

In just these 20 minutes, Dayao made 13 of 8 shots, scored 18 points and 5 rebounds, and ranked second in the scoring team, second only to Wang Chao, who scored 17 points on 9 of 42 outside three-pointers.

Wang Chao and Dayao scored 60 points together for the first time as their first official partner after nearly half a year, leading the Rockets to another big victory with a total score of 2:0.

"Jiang is still old and hot. Although he has just returned to the game, Dayao immediately used practical actions to teach the Warriors' Cousins ​​center how to play."

"In the last game, Dayao didn't play much against the Warriors, and they were already crushed at halftime. Even Yao became serious in this game. How could the Warriors have a chance to win?"

"Originally thought that the Warriors, who could fight the Clippers in seven bloody games, should have good combat effectiveness. I didn't expect that they would be so vulnerable against the Rockets. As expected of the Rockets with 72 wins and a complete victory in the regular season last season, their strength is completely comparable to other teams. Not on a level."

"According to the current situation, the Warriors may not be much better than the Grizzlies. Being able to avoid being swept 4:0 is their biggest success this season."

At the end of the two games, it is almost 100% certain that the Rockets will advance to the Western Conference Finals. No one thinks that the Warriors can make a comeback. Besides, not many people are optimistic about the Rockets' playing style, but they are surrounded by all directions. warrior.

Perhaps no one had realized this before, but as the two teams played against each other in the playoffs, many fans began to analyze and study the characteristics of the two teams, and then came to an astonishing result.

The tactics of the Warriors are highly similar to those of the Rockets. Both teams focus on offense, supplemented by strikers with strong single-point and defense capabilities. They have super shooters with strong shooting ability on the outside, and they can use elevator doors and pick-and-roll screens. And other offensive tactics, there is also a powerful center on the inside who can independently hold the ball and attack the basket to prevent outside shooters from feeling bad.

Obviously, the Warriors' style of play is based on learning from the Rockets, but it's a pity that what they learned is a bit imitated.

After all, the Rockets and the Warriors are different. As the absolute core of the team, Curry's three-pointers are very good, but they still haven't reached the level of Wang Chao. There is no way to compare with the almighty hexagonal warrior Wang Chao.

Wang Chao also used the pick-and-roll to cover on the field, but he didn't rely on it at all, because unless he was double-teamed, there was no player in the league who could defend him one-on-one.

As for the 3D players in other perimeter positions, the Warriors are obviously not as high as the Rockets.

Klay Thompson is very good. This season, he can contribute 18.4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game, shooting 44% from the field and 41.7% from the three-point range. His scoring performance is close to that of Leonard, the second scoring point of the Rockets. , although the shooting percentage is slightly inferior, but the three-pointer is more accurate than Leonard.

But when the offensive end is close, the defensive end of the two is not at the same level.

Thompson can only be regarded as a relatively good defensive player among perimeter players. He can do a good job of marking opponents, but that's all.

Leonard is different. After three seasons of training by Wang Chao, Leonard's perimeter defense has completely transformed into a super defensive expert who has defended the entire league with one move of death winding.

Being able to beat James and be selected as the best defensive team as a small forward is the best proof.

Curry is not as good as Wang Chao, Thompson is not as good as Leonard, but Iguodala, who was selected to the best defensive team, can be compared with Butler a little bit, the best defensive team vs. the best defensive second team, Butler in personal honor On the other hand, he suffered a little loss, but he averaged 15 points per game, and Iguodala only had 9.3 points. On the offensive end, the contributions of the two to the team are completely different, so the two are at most just a tie.

Some media described the Warriors' lineup as a "poor" imitation, but as everyone knows, the real plagiarism dog is actually the Rockets.

Wang Chao borrowed from the Warriors' death squad, and began to consciously choose players who fit the tactical system at the very beginning of the draft. The first goal was actually the top 3D Klay who was most suitable for this style of play. Thompson just failed to do so because of the draft.

Standing on the shoulders of giants, of course one can see farther, especially for a traverser like Wang Chao, who is not very capable, and naturally he will not be proud of it.

What's more, the real qualitative change of the Warriors' lineup will be after Steve Kerr takes over the coach next year, and at the same time Curry will really usher in a period of personal strength explosion, after the three-pointer has the same strategic deterrent power as Wang Chao.

All in all, this year's Warriors are almost meaningless in terms of strength.
-
On May 5, the Rockets headed to the home of the Warriors for Game 10 of the series.

Unwilling to lose just like this, the Warriors launched an extremely fierce counterattack in this game. They once led by 14 points in the first half, which was the largest half-time lead between the two teams this season.

But in the second half, the Warriors still failed to hold on to their lead. The Rockets, led by Wang Chao and Dayao, made a counterattack to tie the point difference and overtake.

The final result was 113:110. The Rockets reversed and won the game at home with the Warriors, and the total score also came to 3:0.

In the fourth game that followed, the Warriors failed to win a game like the Rockets' first-round opponent, the Grizzlies, and saved the final face. Instead, they were defeated by the Rockets 4:0 and swept out.

大姚在第四场比赛打出复出以来最好的一场比赛，出场25分钟，16投12中，罚球4中4，得到28分7篮板4封盖。

In this game, the Warriors made some attempts to change the lineup, reducing the playing time of Cousins ​​and allowing the defensive champion Bogut on the bench to come on, trying to limit Dayao's performance in the paint.

In the end, it turned out to be a loss of money instead of stealing chickens. Dayao played better in the face of Bogut.

However, at the last critical moment, Wang Chao was a little worried that the impatient Bogut would play some disgusting out-of-the-box tricks, so he replaced Dayao early in the fourth quarter. It's not for nothing, from Bogut to Green to Zaza Pachulia, a set of dirty moves.

Although the crows in the world are generally black, the Bulls dynasty has Oakley, Rodman escorts, and the Spurs have Bowen. This kind of player itself is part of the NBA game. There is no way to avoid it. We can only avoid risks as much as possible, like Dayao This kind of crisp-skinned player with high offense and low defense must be carefully protected. After all, in the following games, whether it is the Western Conference Finals or the Finals, Dayao's offense at the basket is like an unsolvable bug.

With a 4:0 sweep of the Warriors, the Rockets became the first team to enter the conference finals.

In the East, both the Heat and the Pacers had the absolute upper hand in their respective series duels, but they both failed to sweep their opponents. They both led 3:1, and the fifth game is about to begin.

Another set of matchups in the semifinals of the Western Division, the Spurs vs. Thunder, was another tragic fight.

Of these two teams, the Spurs have an absolute inside advantage, while the Thunder have Durant and Westbrook shining.

The two teams are currently tied at 2:2 and won at their respective home courts. Next, the Tianwangshan battle will be held at the home court of the Spurs.

On May 5th, the Spurs, which had home court advantage, successfully defended their home court and narrowly beat the Thunder by 13 point with a score of 105:104, winning the crucial fifth Tianwangshan battle.

Wang Chao has to admire that Popovich is really strong. In this series, Howard really acted like a superstar. He averaged 5 points, 24.6 rebounds and 13 blocks in 2 games, all thanks to The benefits of the Spurs' tactical system.

Of course, the weak internal strength of the Thunder is also an important reason.

This season the Thunder's starting center Perkins also turned 30 years old.

For most star players, the age of 30 is still the peak of their competitive state, but for a blue-collar inside player like Perkins, it is difficult to maintain the original state at the age of 30.

That was the case with Perkins.

This season he can be described as old and slow on the court. His average rebounds per game dropped to 4.9 and his scoring was only 3.4 times. If there is a better replacement player, I am afraid that Perkins will have been kicked out of the team.

In fact, by the next season, the Thunder really couldn't bear Perkins anymore, so they traded him to the Cavaliers in the middle of the season, out of sight, out of mind.

Whether facing Howard or Duncan in the penalty area, Perkins has no power to resist, letting others want what they want.

As for the Thunder's power forward, Ibaka, who was selected to the best defensive team this season, is good at defending small players on the outside, but not proficient in inside defense, especially when facing Duncan's superb inside skills and Howard's tonnage and strength. When the body is crushing his players, the performance is not much better than Perkins.

The Thunder's ability to play against the Spurs in the Tianwangshan battle depends entirely on the personal abilities of Durant and Westbrook.

Especially Durant, the Spurs do not have Leonard restrictions, Durant's scoring efficiency in this series is quite explosive, averaging 32 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the first five games.

And after losing the Tianwangshan battle, Durant scored 37 points at home and led the team to tie the score to 3:3 tenaciously.

The two sides ushered in the tiebreaker, which is also the second tiebreaker played by the Spurs after the tiebreaker with the Mavericks in the first round.

It stands to reason that the average age of the lineup is older, and the Spurs, who played a tiebreaker in the first round, are at a disadvantage in terms of physical fitness. Although they have home court advantage, they should still be at a slight disadvantage.

But at this critical moment, you can always trust GDP.

In the life-and-death tiebreaker, it was not Howard, the new insider core of the Spurs, who stood up to turn the tide, but the combination of the old GDP Big Three.

38岁的邓肯在赛场上的发挥与同样38岁的加内特简直天壤之别，在抢七大战中14投9中砍下21分16篮板，其中包括了6个进攻篮板。

吉诺比利17分8助攻，托尼.帕克更是21投12中得到26分5助攻，加上虽然有点划水打酱油，也有15分11篮板入账的霍华德。

Six members of the Spurs team scored in double figures, fought an overtime game, defeated the Thunder 112:107, won the tiebreaker, and successfully entered the Western Conference Finals.

Durant scored 25 points and 12 rebounds on 34 of 10 shots in this game. Westbrook also had 31 points and 8 assists, but he made 23 of 8 shots and his shooting percentage was only 34.8%. Apart from the two, the only Thunder players who scored in double figures were Ibaka and Reggie Jackson.

If you look more carefully, you will be surprised to find that there are only 5 players who scored in the entire game. Except for the above four players who scored in double figures, only the old fisher Fisher scored 5 points. Including Perkins, Collison, Sefolosha and others are all 0 points.

Obviously, Durant was the best player in the entire game, but the Thunder is obviously not a better team than the Spurs, so the Spurs had the last laugh.

(End of this chapter)