basketball hero

Chapter 721 The Third Journey to the Eastern Conference Finals

This is the third consecutive season that the Raptors have reached the conference finals. In the previous two times, they both reached the finals and eventually won the championship.

Raptors VS Cavaliers, this is a matchup that NBA officials, various basketball media and fans are willing to see.Ying Xiong VS Cavaliers Big Three, it is a very exciting thing to think about.

Pre-match predictions are optimistic about both teams, and the Raptors have a slightly higher support rate. After all, they have already proved themselves, and there is the existence of Yingxiong, the biggest BUG in the NBA.

The Cavaliers swept the Eagles in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, which no one expected before this round of the series.You must know that the Eagles this season are a strong team with 2 wins and 60 losses, the second record in the Eastern Conference and the third record in the league.Since they were swept by the Cavaliers, the topic of "team basketball and superstar basketball who is stronger and who is weaker" has been provoked again, and a fierce debate on the Internet is naturally inevitable.

Regardless of the outcome of the debate, the role of superstars in the playoffs is indeed much more prominent than in the regular season.The reason is also very simple. No matter how basketball develops, as long as there are no subversive changes, there will still be a 5-on-5 contest on the court.In this way, the role of the superstar is reflected.Because in the playoffs, there is no back-to-back, superstars can play 40 minutes or more in a game.In the case of targeted arrangements, many times the tactics cannot be played out, and the role of superstars is reflected.

Therefore, team basketball and routine basketball are more suitable for the long regular season and can guarantee a lower limit.The playoffs are more suitable for superstars, because many times the tactics cannot be played out, and personal abilities can break the deadlock.

Of course, the most ideal team should be the team + superstar model.Playing team basketball in a normal state, at critical moments or when the team falls behind and loses power, superstars stand up to reap everything.

--The Raptors seem to be very close to this model!
The Eastern Conference finals are not the ultimate goal for the Raptors and Cavaliers. The goals of both teams are the finals in June.Whether it is Yingxiong or James, they are no longer satisfied with the team only reaching the conference finals.For them, it is now "not winning is almost failure".

On May 5, the Raptors VS Cavaliers Eastern Conference Finals G19 will be held at the Air Canada Center Arena, the home of the Raptors.The level of attention in this game is so high that it even surpassed last year's Raptors VS Heat.

Whether the new Big Three of the Cavaliers can snipe Yingxiong and prevent the Raptors from establishing a dynasty is the topic that people are most concerned about.

The Air Canada Center arena was packed and bustling.The deeper the playoffs, the closer to the championship, and the more exciting the game will be.

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 Cavaliers in the away game is: center - Timofey Mozgov, power forward - Kevin Love, small forward - LeBron James, shooting guard - Iman Shumpert, point guard — Kyrie Irving.

The game was explained by Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy.

"Jeff, this is the first game of the Eastern Conference finals, feel the atmosphere!" Mike Brin started to talk about it with a smile.

"Mike, the atmosphere at the scene is very good. This is the lively atmosphere that the Eastern Conference Finals should have." Jeff Van Gundy nodded and said.

"Cleveland has stumbled this year, and it's up to Toronto in the Eastern Conference Finals," Mike Breen said.

"LeBron is still great, and Kyrie's performance in the playoffs is really good!" Jeff Van Gundy said in agreement.

Mozgov and Valanciunas prepare a jump ball near the middle circle and the game is about to start.

"In the current league, there are too many foreign big men. Even in the conference finals, two foreign big men are jumping the ball!" Mike Breen laughed.

"Yeah, over there in the Western District, Andrew, the Golden State Warriors jumper, is also a foreign player!" Jeff Van Gundy said.

Valanciunas gave the ball to Yingxiong, and the game officially started.

Jeremy Lin slowly dribbled the ball across half court.

Defending Yingxiong is the Cavaliers' defensive champion-Iman Shumpert.

Shumpert is 196cm tall and has excellent physical fitness. He was once selected for the slam dunk contest, but in the end he did not participate due to physical reasons.There is a certain gap in height between him and Yingxiong, but because of his "broom head" that resembles Xiandao in "Slam Dunk", it seems that his height is very tall, even close to 210cm.

"Cleveland put Iman on the matchup and LeBron on DeMar!" Mike Breen said.

"Coach David Blatt's arrangement is very reasonable. Iman was originally the one who focused on defense in the starting lineup. Asking him to match up with the opponent's wing arrow can save LeBron's physical energy and avoid letting the team's number one star pass. Get into foul trouble early!" Jeff Van Gundy explained.

Shumpert is like a magnet, entangled with Yingxiong, preventing the opponent from receiving the ball comfortably.His defensive moves are relatively clean, relying more on positioning and anticipation rather than small moves and trash talk.

"Iman's defense is very good, he does a good job of defending against the ball, and the response is a little uncomfortable!" Mike Breen said.

"Iman was in New York before, and he was the gate of perimeter defense. It is a pity that he has not been able to improve because of injuries." Jeff Van Gundy said.

Ying Xiong didn't receive the ball at the first time, Jeremy Lin turned to cooperate with Valanciunas in the pick-and-roll inside, and then distributed it to the latter.

Valanciunas went down to face Mozgov under the basket, using his footsteps, and shot with his right hand-hit!
"When Kyrie was defending the pick-and-roll, it was a bit late!" Mike Brin sighed.

"Kyrie's single defense is okay, but it's very difficult to cover. We often saw in the regular season that when he was targeted by the opponent and hit the pick-and-roll, he seemed a little at a loss." Jeff Van Gundy said.

Kyrie Irving slowly dribbles over.

Mozgov came up to the pick-and-roll, Irving used his skillful dribble, cut to the free throw line, and made a pull-up jumper-returned!
"Strike!" Mike Breen explained.

"This is Kyrie's characteristic. In terms of offensive ability with the ball, he is one of the top No. 1 players in the league," Jeff Van Gundy said.

For the Raptors, Ying Xiong caught the ball with his back on the left wing. Facing Shumpert's single defense, he made a fake forward turn, then quickly turned back and cut to the basket, which was blocked by Mozgov. Blocking.

Ying Xiong immediately passed the ball to Valanciunas not far away, who faced Love and easily put the ball in!
(End of this chapter)