Super Evolution of Basketball

Chapter 292 The playoffs are the stage for superstars

There are usually two to three days between games in the playoffs.

The second game between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers is on April 4, which is still the Lakers' home court.

In the first round, there are four groups of games and eight teams in each division, so the attention of the media and fans is relatively scattered, and everyone tends to focus on the most interesting matchups.

Obviously, the Lakers and Trail Blazers are not on this list, because the gap in strength is too great.

The focus of the first round of the West is the thunder and fire battle, and the focus of the East is the Eagles vs. Celtics and Raptors vs. Pacers.

It is said that the playoffs are the stage for superstars. After all the first games of the first round were played, a big question mark was drawn on one person's head.

That is James Harden.

In the Thunder-Fire battle on the 18th, Westbrook scored a game-high 39 points and led the Thunder to victory over the Rockets.

In this battle, Harden lost his standard under the defense of Waiters. He played 35 minutes and only scored 30 points in 19 shots. He was tired and had no results.

The Rockets failed miserably.

No one thought that the Rockets would play like this in the playoffs, so all the arrows pointed to the team leader James Harden, and there were many doubts.

But Rockets fans think it's okay. Harden is a slow-heating type. He averaged 28 points per game in the playoffs last year. He just didn't get used to it in the first game, or he was just a little unfamiliar with the Oklahoma basket.

Except for the minus item of Kardashian, the cute beard has always been good, and the fans easily forgive him.

He is a super giant ranked in the top six, it is impossible to be at this level all the time.

After the game, Howard expressed a little bit of dissatisfaction. He felt that his tactical status was not enough and the number of shots was not enough. If Coach McHale could design more tactics for him, he would definitely be able to blow up the combination of "Ibaka + Adams + Kanter", which is not good at defense.

McHale told reporters noncommittally behind his back: We will wait and see.

Westbrook on the Thunder side is very excited. For a season, the Thunder has been compared with the Rockets and Spurs, and they are always at a disadvantage. Of course, Westbrook refuses to accept it.

Tonight, the breath that has been suppressed in my heart for a long time finally came out, great!
The reporter asked Westbrook if he had confidence in the next game.

Westbrook:? ? ?
Aren't you talking nonsense?
Westbrook replied with a displeased expression: In the next round, the Thunder will soon meet the Lakers, and the win will be easier than in the first round.

The reporter was embarrassed. What she wanted to ask was whether she had confidence in the next game against the Rockets. She didn't expect Westbrook to go to the second round all of a sudden.

The true temperament offended all three teams at once.

Rocket: We only fought one game, so why should we be sentenced to death?

Pioneer: Huh?We already lost to the Lakers?
Lakers: We are second in the West, not as good as seventh in the West?
Coach Donovan criticized Westbrook afterwards and asked him to master the fire when facing the media in the future.

Westbrook didn't take it seriously: What I said is the truth, and I can't wait to teach those guys from the Lakers a lesson!
In the East, the Cavaliers won another big victory at home without any suspense.

James clocked out of get off work in three quarters, and the Pistons handed over their guns just halfway through the fourth quarter, and replaced them with a bunch of marginal players.

In fact, for them, being able to make the playoffs is already very satisfying.

Against knights?What are you kidding?
Who can stand up to LeBron James?

Congratulations to my emperor on the throne!
another pair.

The Celtics are a bit like the Eagles. They don’t have superstars in their formation, and they all play as soldiers. However, Thomas Jr.’s disadvantages were infinitely magnified in the playoffs. Bradley and Smart were tied together and failed to fill his holes.

The Eagles easily 2-0.

The Raptors have high expectations this season. The 14 Eastern Conference teams all hope that the King of the North can teach James a lesson this year. They performed well and led the Pacers by a big score.

Paul George, who was energetic as soon as he beat James, misfired, and he has little chance of advancing.

During the team break, Scarlett called Yuan Qingshan. On May 5, "Captain America 6" will premiere in the United States. Scarlett hoped that Yuan Qingshan could be there.

Yuan Qingshan flipped through the schedule. If they could sweep the Blazers, they would have entered the second round by then, and they might not have time to pass.

Scarlett expresses her understanding. As long as there is no special reason for the Lakers' home game, she will be there to cheer Yuan Qingshan.

The second game between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers on the 20th.

In the second game, the Blazers couldn't find a way to beat the Lakers for a while, and the team looked a little depressed.

Only Director Li played several times more fiercely than the previous round, looking at that look, he wished to tear Yuan Qingshan to pieces.

This time his shooting percentage has picked up, and he made a few unreasonable three-pointers.

However, under the defense of Yuan Qingshan, the breakthrough is still not effective, so he can only persistently bet on the touch and the hit rate.

McCollum also failed to gain an advantage against Kobe, and Kobe also refused to let go. McCollum's touch is not as horizontal as Lillard's, and his contribution is not high.

The performance of the double guns in the backcourt was not satisfactory, and the inside line continued to be abused by the Lakers' twin towers, so the Blazers lost the second game by a big score.

Yuan Qingshan and Kobe are not the main attack points in this round of competition, and the score is not very high, but the positive and negative values ​​are very prominent, and the impact on the game is decisive.

After two games, Towns won two MVPs in a row, averaging 32 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists per game, turning himself into a Los Angeles thick eyebrow.

Whiteside also performed well under the feeding of Yuan Qingshan and Kobe Bryant, averaging 15 points, 16 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

To be able to get 15+15 in the playoffs is already the data of a star-level insider.

Whiteside's value has soared, and some experts predict that the Lakers may spend 2000 million in the summer to renew the contract of the big center.

It looks like Whiteside is about to get his first big contract in his life.

Yuan Qingshan and Towns are also happy for him, and they are not worried about the Lakers' salary space at all, because most of the team's current contracts are expiring contracts, especially after Kobe retired, the Lakers' space is almost exploding.

Faced with two consecutive humiliating defeats, Lillard spoke again after the game, this time more firmly than in the previous game: the Blazers will definitely defend their home court, and he will teach a rookie a lesson with his actions and tell him how terrible the NBA really is.

When this news reached Yuan Qingshan's ears, Yuan Qingshan just smiled. He knew Lillard well. In fact, he was a good person, but his spirit was too high to accept failure.

After the third game in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers lead 3-0 without any suspense. The Pistons are already buddhist. It is said that some players have already started to prepare their luggage for vacation.

The Eagles are also 3-0, and Angie's face can't be held up.

Seeing the performance of Thomas Jr., Smart and Bradley in the backcourt, Angie began to regret. Why didn't he insist on replacing Yuan Qingshan back then?

In another set of games, General George finally got back a round, and they killed the Raptors at home.

In this game, Paul George completely exploded DeRozan, scored 46 points, and let out a bad breath.

The media moved on hearing the news and began to hype the duel between LeBron James and Paul George.

23 versus 24.

(End of this chapter)