NBA Legends Manager

Chapter 412 Modern Basketball, Western Conference Finals

Presti was undoubtedly elected the best coach and best manager. In fact, this season would have been given to Mike Budenholzer, but Presti broke the best record in regular season history, so he had to give it to Presti!

Since Presti coached, the honor of the best coach has almost been rounded up by Presti. In an interview, Presti said with a smile: "This thing can hardly fit in my house", which caused the reporters to roll their eyes, and the team's coaches gritted their teeth.

Stephen Curry also held a press conference, grateful: "I never thought I could stand on this stage again, thank God, thank my parents, thank my teammates, of course I am most grateful to my coach Presti, thank you"

Speaking of this, Curry paused, and then said: "When I first entered the NBA, my dream was to be an All-Star." Before Curry continued, the reporters below laughed together, and the players who participated in Curry's press conference laughed even more.

Presti thought of a sentence that Jordan said at the beginning. When I entered the league, I hoped to be as good as my brother. In the end, I became the god of basketball. Maybe Curry's sentence will become a classic.

In another strong matchup in the West, the Thunder finally had the last laugh. The Thunder defeated the Clippers 4:2!
Although the Clippers won two games, it was clear that the Thunder had an absolute advantage during the game. The Thunder's Durant was a point that the Clippers couldn't solve. In Paul's previous life with the Clippers, the small forward position had always been a weakness. It wasn't until Paul left that Harris came behind.

Presti watched every game between the Clippers and the Thunder carefully. In the previous life, many people said that Paul was Westbrook’s nemesis. In Presti’s view, that was nonsense. In the previous life, when the Clippers and the Thunder competed for the playoffs, there was no denying that the Thunder was indeed taken care of by the referees. But anyone who watched the game knows that Westbrook’s breakthrough speed was exaggerated at that time. Even if Paul took a step to defend, he was also missed!

But Paul is also really good. Although the defensive end is not good, the offensive end is still very good, but Paul alone is far from enough. In the previous life, there was a young Jordan who grabbed rebounds and used screens, but now there is only Hawes.

As for Griffin, of course he is also very fierce, but the biggest problem with Griffin is that he is only fierce for three quarters, and then withered due to physical problems in the fourth quarter. This is why Paul fans in the previous life always complain about Griffin.

Of course, the more important thing about the Clippers' loss is that although the Clippers have a super-sixth Crawford, they are too far behind the Thunder's Harden.

On the other side, the two teams that entered the finals in the East also came out. The Cavaliers defeated the Bulls 4:3!The current Bulls are much stronger than the previous life. Rose is not seriously injured and is still the absolute core of the Bulls. They also have a high-quality power forward like Gasol and a first-defense center like Noah on the inside!
After the Cavaliers injured Love, there was only one TT inside. The Cavaliers couldn't stop the twin towers formed by Gasol and Noah at all. On the outside, Rose continued to tear the Cavaliers' defense. The Bulls won two rounds in one go!

But then the Cavaliers relied on James' impact to link the outside shooters and Irving's various unsolvable singles, and successfully restored the decline!

In the final tiebreaker, the Cavaliers' shooters showed their prowess and scored a total of 14 three-pointers in one attack, while the Bulls only scored 5 three-pointers!In fact, it can also be seen from this game that three-pointers are really important. The Bulls and Cavaliers have similar shooting percentages, but the Cavaliers scored 9 more three-pointers than the Bulls, which is a full 27 points more!
In addition, this game also revealed another problem. The Bulls' three-point defense is very bad. The reason is that Gasol and Noah can't make a save. If they defend, they will be easily passed by Irving.

After the game, the media commented: "Three-pointers in basketball are becoming more and more important now, especially in the chasing stage. A few three-pointers can turn the situation around, so players who can defend with three-pointers in the future will be fiercely pursued by all teams!

And the current basketball center position is no longer a "meat shield" as usual, but requires better movement speed and can keep up with smaller players!Take a look at the Pelicans, Davis and Green are often switched to guards, but the guards can't do anything about them. This is why the Pelicans can maintain their offensive efficiency while also ensuring their defensive efficiency! . "

However, although the Cavaliers won the tiebreaker, Cavaliers fans, James fans, Irving fans, etc. were not happy. The reason was that Irving was injured at the end of the tiebreaker and had to rest for about 8 weeks.

Presti sighed secretly when he heard the news. It seems that what happened in the previous life will still happen now.

On the other side, the Hawks also solved the Wizards 4:2, but the Hawks won these games with an average margin of 4.5 points per game. The gap is very small.

The much-anticipated Western Conference finals on May 5 finally started at the New Orleans Arena!

Before the game, Presti smiled and said in an interview: "This season's champion is still New Orleans!"

Thunder coach Brooks said in an interview: "We have lost too many times, this time we will not lose again!"

Pelicans starting lineup: Curry, Thompson, Paul George, Green, Davis

Thunder starting: Westbrook, Robertson, Durant, Ibaka, Jordan Jr.

At this time, Presti stood up and faced the audience, shaking his hands up and down to mobilize the emotions of the fans and let them cheer for the home team!Of course, the fans at the scene will not live up to Presti's expectations,
But when Presti made the first swing, almost all the New Orleans fans in the audience became restless and roared continuously, and the arena suddenly became emotional!Feeling this atmosphere, Davis jumped the ball to victory and passed the ball to Curry!

Curry took the ball and quickly led the front court, and directly scored Thompson on the left. Thompson took the ball and shot quickly, ignoring Robertson in front of him.

So when the three-point shot was made, Robertson reached out to interfere, and the ball went into the net hollow!
Westbrook dribbled the ball in the middle and played a pick-and-roll with Jordan Jr., and the other three opened up. The Pelicans still use the same tactics against Westbrook.
The Thunder's tactics have not changed in the past few seasons. What has changed is only their skills. They still rely on star singles. Westbrook used the cover to rush to the left, while Davis made a save. At the same time, Thompson also chased and defended.

Seeing this, Presti stood up and shouted at Davis: "Watch your defender!".

Obviously, in this round, Davis forgot Presti's pre-match tactics and came out to double-team Westbrook. Westbrook's biggest threat is to attract double-teams and split the ball. Therefore, Presti's tactic before the game was to cut off the route. Davis resolutely narrowed the area and let Westbrook shoot!
The Pelicans attacked, Curry dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and played a pick-and-roll with Davis, Curry broke through to the left, and Jordan could only open his arms to switch defenses, which could at least interfere with Curry's shooting and also blocked Curry's breakthrough route, but Curry was excited when he met Jordan!

Curry came out with the ball and was about to play singles against Jordan!

Jordan is also very helpless facing Curry. If he sticks close, he breaks through you, and if he defends far, he can directly throw a three-pointer in your face. Jordan still puts a step away, which can prevent shooting and breakthrough
But at such a distance, it is too easy for Curry to pass by. He dribbled the ball to find the rhythm, suddenly changed to the left, shook Jordan's center of gravity, and passed easily!There was no one under the basket. At this time, Ibaka came to defend, and Durant also came to help defend, attracting Paul George, who was defending and then split the corner!
There is an open space, and a three-pointer is decisively shot!There are still balls!

This is the biggest advantage of the Pelicans. Curry and Davis' pick-and-roll, Jordan can only choose to make up for it. Once the defense is switched, Jordan will send points to Curry, while Thunder Westbrook and Jordan's pick-and-roll does not have this kind of power at all!The same is true for Durant and Jordan. Davis' current mid-range shot has become an important weapon for the Pelicans!
The Thunder attacked, Westbrook dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and then played a pick-and-roll with Jordan, blocking Thompson from going in, and had no choice but to pull up and shoot!And Davis symbolically interfered at this time!
No hit!It seems that Westbrook's mid-range touch is not good tonight, so the game will be easier to play too much!
In fact, in the 14-15 season, Westbrook's mid-range shooting percentage was really mediocre, with only 36.3% of long two-pointers and 40.2% of short two-pointers!
Green grabbed the rebound and accelerated to push it over. Although the Thunder retreated quickly, they were all attracted by the ball end, and then divided to Curry on the right. Curry caught the ball and shot!There are still three points!

This is another terrible thing about the Pelicans. As long as the opponent misses, no matter who grabs the ball, they can push forward and make a fast break, making the opponent unable to defend!

The Thunder attacked, Westbrook dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and gave it to Durant. Durant faced Paul George, changed direction drastically, shook George away, and shot directly, there it is!

Durant is still so buggy. Even if Paul George and Young's players come to defend, they still can't stop Durant from scoring. But Presti is very sure that Durant's outside line will not always be so accurate.

Curry and Green played pick-and-rolls in the middle, which still attracted Ibaka's defense. Now no team dares to defend Green. This season, Green's three-point shooting percentage has hit 375%. Many people commented: "Green is only in the third grade, and there is still room for improvement, but Green's three-pointers have increased by 3%. He will be the top star in the league!"

But Presti knew that this three-pointer should be Green's peak. In his previous life, Green's three-pointer was as high as 38.3%, and then fell off a cliff.

This time Curry distributed the ball to Davis in the middle, and Jordan immediately posted it, not giving Davis the space in the middle distance. Davis turned his head to open the way, lowered his center of gravity and directly leaned on Jordan to kill. If the Thunder did not help defend, this must be a dunk!
But Ibaka still came to help defend, Davis did not try to be brave, but immediately passed the ball to Green on the outside, Durant immediately turned around, and then passed Paul George, Robertson defended again, and gave it to Thompson in the bottom corner!The space is open, and the three-pointer is easily thrown in!Thunder missed someone again!

In the first few minutes, the Thunder scored 5 points, and Brooks immediately called a timeout.

After returning from the timeout, the Thunder took Harden up and made a strong attack. Although Robertson was strong defensively, he was not enough to restrain Thompson now, because Thompson didn't play with the ball at all. He only did two things, running out of position to shoot without the ball, and defending!
It is too wasteful to defend without the ball at the expense of offense!To defend Curry, the effect is not good. I knew in my previous life that Robertson is not suitable for defending Curry. He is suitable for defending Harden, Paul George, and even Antetokounmpo and James!

After Harden came up, he immediately became the master, and Paul George also gave up defending Durant to defend Harden!Harden used the pick-and-roll to replace Paul George, but Paul George squeezed past the screen, and Harden also seized this opportunity to kill to the left!

Harden's shooting is much better than Westbrook's, so the Pelicans immediately switched defenses. Davis switched over, which delayed Harden's breakthrough.
But for this, Ibaka grabbed the frontcourt board. Ibaka was facing Green with a ball feint, and his position was very outside. Ibaka did not have the ability to break through with the ball.

Durant took the ball to face Thompson, swayed away, and strode in to kill. At this time, Davis decisively defended, and Thompson who swayed also chased back to form a double-team!Westbrook who can only score at the top of the arc!
The attack time is up immediately, and we can only make a three-pointer!There is no doubt that it is iron!Westbrook's three-point shooting percentage this season is only 29.3%, which is very low.

Davis took the rebound this time and launched a fast break himself!
Seeing that it was Davis pushing forward, Jordan and Ibaka surrounded and grabbed it. Davis directly dribbled the ball behind his back to show off his maneuvers, which caused a burst of exclamation from the fans.
The arena is boiling again!

O'Neal exclaimed: "It's hard to imagine that this is an action made by a 6-foot-10 big man! I now firmly believe that Davis will be the league's number one center!"

On the Thunder's side, Harden held the ball to face Paul George. This time he switched defenses to Green and played by himself!

Changed to the left and rushed in, but Curry resolutely gave up defending Westbrook and came over to block the breakthrough route. Harden then divided Westbrook on the right. There was an open space, so he shot resolutely!But still miss!

Curry grabbed a long rebound, accelerated the frontcourt, took two steps past the LOGO, and threw a super long three-pointer!Have! ! !

Thunder can only pause again!
(End of this chapter)