NBA: Start the water cooler and reach the Hall of Fame

After the Wizards swept the New York Knicks 4-0, some other playoff matchups are gradually becoming clearer.

The Wizards in the East were the first to advance and the only one to sweep. The remaining sets of matches all played at least 6 games.

Although the Bulls, second in the Eastern Conference, lost their team leader in the first game of the series, they still have the second-best record in the league after the Wizards. Thibodeau's tactics and system are still very stable.

What's more, Howard, the boss of the opposite Magic team, also missed the entire playoffs due to injury. Without Howard, the Magic team would be much lower than the Bulls. After all, the Bulls still have Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, and Carlos Boozer, the [-]-year-old.

In the end, the Bulls defeated the Magic 4-2 and advanced to the second round, becoming the third team in the Eastern Conference to advance.

The remaining two sets of matchups in the Eastern Conference all reached a tiebreaker. The Heat, the third-placed team in the Eastern Conference, and their bitter rivals, the Boston Celtics, fought for seven games. In the end, the young and strong Heat's Big Three defeated the aging Green Army's Big Three and advanced. Meet the Bulls in the second round.

The Indiana Pacers, the rising star in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and the Atlanta Hawks also reached a tiebreaker. In the end, the Pacers, thanks to their home court advantage, defeated the Hawks with difficulty in Indianapolis and successfully met the Wizards in the second round.

There was also a big battle in the West. The Spurs, the No. 4 team in the West, learned the lesson of being beaten eight times last season and swept the Jazz, No. 0 in the West, 8-4 in the first round. The Thunder, No. 0 in the West, swept Oklahoma City. There was a youth storm, and the defending champion Mavericks were sent fishing [-]-[-].

The Lakers and Nuggets fought to the last minute, and in the end the Lakers with Kobe Gasol came out on top, winning the Nuggets 4-3.

The biggest news in the early part of this season was naturally the rumor that Queen Bee Chris Paul joined the Lakers. However, because the Hornets had no owner, the deal was jointly rejected by the owners of 29 other teams.

Within a few days, the Clippers traded Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets. With this new "captain" of 183, the Clippers formed an alley-oop city for Paul, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan this season. lineup, the team's record has also improved from third to last in the Western Conference to fifth in the Western Conference, and has successfully entered the playoffs.

In the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the Clippers defeated the Grizzlies, who were fourth in the Western Conference, and advanced to the second round of the Western Conference. The core of their team is still very young, and it looks like they will be a team that will last for a long time. Competitive team.

With the end of the first round of the playoffs, the NBA has gradually announced the remaining regular season honors.

Not surprisingly, Li Kaiming was once again selected to the All-NBA First Team, and he was unanimously selected. He was the only unanimous vote among all players.

The specific list is:

First Team: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kaiming Lee and Dwight Howard

Second team: Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, Andrew Bynum, Blake Griffin, Kevin Love.

Third team: Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler.

After that, the best defensive player and best defensive team were announced, but this time it was a joke. The winner of the best defensive player was Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks, but as the best defensive player, he did not Selected to the All-Defensive First Team.

And James, who ranked second as the best defensive player, appeared in the best defensive team...

Should we say that the people who voted have mental problems, or should we praise James for his strong defense...

It is worth mentioning that Li Kaiming actually appeared in the voting for the best defensive team, but he only scored 10 points. If the NBA added another best defensive third team, he should have won the best defensive team. Unfortunately, No.

What is surprising is that Wizards rookie Kawhi Leonard actually appeared in the voting list for the best defensive team, and ranked higher than Li Kaiming, one place shy of entering the best defensive team. It’s time!

It seems that the judges who selected the best team also took Leonard's performance on the defensive end seriously. After all, this season, Sanders has been frantically honing Leonard's defensive skills and skills in every game. It is Leonard who solves the opponent's most difficult player on the perimeter, and in most cases, he performs very well!

According to this trend, Leonard should 100% be able to enter the best defense next season. This is definitely news worth celebrating for the Wizards. From a team that was easily passed by outsiders last season , has developed to the point where the outside line is as solid as a dam, and Leonard's output on the defensive end is indispensable.

The most important thing is that he can face top ball-holding offensive players like Li Kaiming in team training. His progress is foreseeable.

On May 5, the Wizards finally had a game after more than a week's rest. The fans in Washington could not wait for a long time. On the day of the start of G13 of the second round of the series, there were already a large number of fans two hours before the game. Fans appeared in the square outside the MCI Center, and after the venue opened an hour before the game, fans poured into the arena in droves.

Fans dressed as Wizards players were everywhere taking photos, and the store selling team memorabilia at the MCI Center also experienced a sales boom.

This is the economic benefit brought by a team that can enter the playoffs. Not only can the team owner make a lot of money just by selling tickets for every game, but there are also small commodities that can be seen everywhere, even food, drink, and snacks. Damn, this is a carnival of tens of thousands of people.

At the pre-game press conference, when reporters asked Pacers head coach Frank Vogel how he would design defensive tactics, Vogel seemed very confident.

Vogel is a coach who places great emphasis on defense. This emphasis is not only reflected in the team's defensive tactics and concepts, but also in every detail of the team's operation. The Pacers he formed are a disciplined team. Defensive team.

"The Wizards are a very strong opponent. Their lineup is very complete. Lee is undoubtedly the core of their team, so our focus must be to limit his shots."

However, when reporters asked Vogel carefully how he would defend Li Kaiming, the latter just smiled but did not answer.

The mountain man has his own plan!

For the Wizards, the Pacers are also a completely different opponent. Although the Knicks, their opponent in the first round, have Tyson Chandler, the best defensive player, in the lineup, you will find that the Knicks' defense is It's not that strong. Of course, this is also related to the Wizards' style of attacking from the outside. Maybe it will be different if it is a team that focuses on breakthroughs.

There is no best defensive team player in this Pacers team, but Vogel can train this group of people to become monolithic. This is the strength of the Pacers.

Moreover, the Pacers were still a bad team before this season. In 10, they even got a lottery pick and drafted Paul George. In just one season, they were able to rise in the second season and beat a group of veteran playoff players. Youzi's Eagles team shows that the Pacers are still quite strong.

Therefore, before the game started, Sanders and Li Kaiming also started to criticize the Pacers. Sanders said that Vogel is the favorite for the best coach, while Li Kaiming said that the Pacers' lineup is full of very good players.

It can be said that the poisonous milk is being used first, but we don’t know what the final effect will be.

Soon the time came to 10 minutes before the game. The audience at the MCI Center had already put on the playoff support messages very cooperatively. In conjunction with the Wizards' blue and red theme colors, it looked like an endless sea, full of oppression. !

The team lineups of both sides were also displayed on the big screen above the arena.

Washington Wizards: Point guard Kirk Hinrich, shooting guard Klay Thompson, small forward Kawhi Leonard, power forward Kaiming Lee, center Andre Blatche.

Indiana Pacers: Point guard Darren Collison, shooting guard Danny Granger, small forward Paul George, power forward David West, center Roy Hibbert.

The players from both sides stood in the center circle, with Hibbert and Blatche surrounding the referee. As the referee blew his whistle, the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs officially began!

Hibbert was the 2008th pick in the first round in 17. He is 218 centimeters tall, and his running and jumping ability is quite good. It can be said that in terms of physical fitness, Hibbert can just cover Brac!

The two jumped to the ball. Hibbert's height and wingspan advantage was obvious, and the Pacers got the ball.

Collison dribbled the ball past half court. The Pacers' tactics were very simple. They basically focused on teamwork. If it didn't work, they would hand the ball to Granger and let him shoot. The latter is the most accurate shooter among the Pacers. players, and the range is also very long.

Hibbert stepped forward to pick and roll, and his huge body made Hinrich, who was about to squeeze the screen, seem to have hit a wall. Collison successfully accelerated to the basket with the help of the screen.

Blatche followed but couldn't keep up with the speed. Li Kaiming went to help defend. Collison passed the ball to David West, who was released by Li Kaiming. The latter caught the ball and hit a mid-range shot!

0 to 2!The Pacers win first!

Only after the Wizards served for halftime did Li Kaiming and Sanders on the sidelines know what tactics Vogel had prepared to defend Li Kaiming!

After arriving in the frontcourt, before Li Kaiming reached out for the ball, West, who was facing him, began to defend closely, and Paul George directly let Leonard go and then moved towards Li Kaiming. In this case, as long as the Wizards pass the ball to Li Kaiming, he will definitely be intercepted by the Pacers.

However, the Wizards' lineup is not incapable of functioning without Li Kaiming. As the team's second brain, Blatche averages 7 assists per game. In this case, there is no problem at all in sorting out the team's offense. .

Li Kaiming was strictly guarded, and others began to move without the ball. Brach went up to cover Hinrich. The latter squeezed through the defense with the ball and reached the mid-range. He found that Thompson, who was running from the outside, had no chance when he reached the opposite corner. Instead, After completing the off-ball screen, Leonard was directly released from the mid-range waist position!

Hinrich hesitated, but still passed the ball directly to Leonard. The latter also knew that his shot was inaccurate, so he took three steps to attack the basket after receiving the ball.

However, Leonard's dynamic qualities on the offensive end are not outstanding, and his speed is even slower after dribbling. At this time, the Pacers' center Hibbert has chased back from the top line, and directly took off a nail board to block Leonard. Germany's layup was pressed!

Vogel on the sidelines perked up after seeing this scene!

Sure enough, as I expected, this paralyzed Leonard has no outside offensive ability at all, and Hibbert can still protect the basket after returning from the delay in the line!

On the other side of the court, Sanders held his chin with his hand, with a thoughtful look in his eyes...

This defense is a bit interesting...