basketball hero

Chapter 643 Embarking on the road to defending the title
The Raptors will host the Atlanta Hawks on April 4 in their first postseason game.The Eagles have a record of 20 wins and 38 losses this season. They were lucky to enter the playoffs, but facing the defending champion Raptors in the first round, they are unlikely to advance.This round of the series is also known by the outside world as the series with the least disparity in the first round.

The NBA playoffs are a battlefield. Regardless of the regular season record, the score is 0:0 before the start of the first game of the series.

Ying Xiong likes the penny-pinching, tit-for-tat feeling of the playoffs. He likes competition, victory, and challenges.And the playoffs can bring him everything he expected.

The Raptors' opponents in the first round of the playoffs, the Atlanta Hawks, have never missed the playoffs since the 2007-2008 season.The biggest problem with this somewhat civilian team's inability to make further progress in the playoffs may be the lack of a superstar.Neither Al Horford, Josh Smith, nor Paul Millsap can lead the team to achieve better results in the playoffs.

——The playoffs are the stage for superstars. Over the years, this principle has not changed.It is too difficult for a civilian team to win the championship.Even the Pistons in 04 are not considered a civilian team.Team basketball + an excellent system can guarantee the team's lower limit, but the upper limit depends on the quality of the stars.

There is no doubt that the Eagles do not have a superstar like Yingxiong, so this is also the point that the outside world is least optimistic about them.Since the first round of the playoffs was changed to a 7-match 4-win system, it has become more difficult to think about "black eight".The more matches there are, the more it will benefit the stronger side, and the less accidental it will be.Some people don't like to watch the NBA playoffs, because the chance of upset is small. They prefer to watch the NCAA game that decides the outcome, which is more exciting, more uncertain, and more suspenseful.

Ying Xiong and Casey will not underestimate any opponent. There are basically no weak teams in the playoffs. It is nothing more than a gap in strength.They started from the bottom, so they cherish the opportunity they have now even more.The team dynasty has not been established, and they have no capital to be proud of.

The last game of the regular season ended on April 4, and the first game of the first round of the playoffs started on April 17, during which there were only 4 days for rest and adjustment.So for the Raptors, it is very important to make good use of these 20 days.

There is no back-to-back playoffs, so each team will shorten the rotation according to the actual situation.A 10-man or even 11-man rotation like the regular season, as long as there is no garbage time or injuries in the playoffs, it is difficult to see.As long as the physical condition allows, each playoff team is willing to play more star players in the team in order to gain more advantages.

Therefore, in the playoffs, there are mostly 9-man rotations, and some teams even have 8-man rotations. The head coaches who can rotate 10 or more can be counted on one hand.

The Raptors have a good lineup with plenty of players, but coach Devin Casey must also make final rotation arrangements based on opponents.In general, their team's rotation players are like this: Ying Xiong, DeRozan, Jeremy Lin, Valanciunas, Amir Johnson, Lowry, Terrence Ross, Patterson, Hansbrough (Nova K and Fields).

The goal of the Raptors in the playoffs is naturally to defend the title.But it is not easy to successfully defend the title.First of all, it is not easy to rush out of the East.If they can eliminate the Eagles and advance to the second round, they will face the winner between the Bulls and the Wizards.If they can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, they will face the winner between the Pacers and the Heat with a high probability. This is the biggest challenge in the Eastern Conference.Even if these two teams lost to them last season, it doesn't mean that the same script will be staged again this season.

Even if they make it to the finals, it will be a difficult series whether they face the Thunder or the Spurs.

But no matter how difficult the road, the Raptors' players and coaches are confident.The championship last season gave them confidence and experience in winning the championship, so they will not panic easily when encountering difficulties.What's more, there is an MVP in their team, a guy who gets more nervous and crazier.The presence of this person is the most important reliance for the team to compete with other great powers.

On April 4th, the home of the Raptors - the Air Canada Center Arena, was crowded with people.

Tickets for the first round of the playoffs were sold out shortly after they went on sale. The enthusiasm of the fans is very high, especially in the exciting playoffs.This season, the Raptors' home game tickets have become the best-selling tickets in the entire league, and the value of the resale is also the highest.Excellent record is the guarantee of the ball market, even if this is Toronto, not New York and Los Angeles.

The mascot of the Raptors, Little Dinosaur, is very fond of the fans. I saw him interacting with the fans for a while, and performing with the performance troupe for a while.

The head coach of the Hawks is Mark Budenholzer.Coach Budenholzer is also a member of the "Spurs". He took over the Eagles this season.After just one season, he stamped the Eagles with the Spurs logo.The Spurs coaches emphasize team basketball. On the offensive end, they emphasize moving the ball and moving the ball reasonably. On the defensive end, they use the strength of the team to defend, and they attach great importance to defense.

The biggest difficulty the Eagles are currently facing is the reimbursement of their All-Star center Al Horford for the season.Horford has already been reimbursed for the season due to a torn pectoral muscle in December last year.Horford's absence made the already bleak Eagles even more star-less, and it also made them even more disadvantaged when facing the Raptors who had a hero.

No matter how good Budenholzer is, it's hard for a smart woman to cook without rice, so this round of the series seems to be able to see the end from the beginning.Unless there is a miracle, it is too difficult, too difficult to defeat the defending champion with the Eagles' lineup.

In this game, the starting lineup of the Raptors at home is: Center - Yonas Valanciunas, Power Forward - Amir Johnson, Small Forward - DeMar DeRozan, Shooting Guard - Ying Xiong, point guard - Jeremy Lin.

The starting lineup of the Eagles in the away game is: Pero Antic, power forward-Paul Millsap, small forward-DeMar Carroll, shooting guard-Kyle Korver, point guard- Jeff Teague.

Since Horford was reimbursed for the season, his starting position was filled by Antiche.Antić's personal ability is naturally not as good as Horford's, but he is a very good team player with good passing ability, which is in line with the coaching philosophy of head coach Budenholzer.

(End of this chapter)