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

The Pacers players did not expect that Li Kaiming, who played very well as a team before this game, would suddenly turn into a stick maniac at the last moment, taking over all the shots. Choose a super long three-point shot on key goals within minutes.

Therefore, in the interview after the game, Paul George, the core of the Pacers team, also said bluntly, "Although Lee's three-pointer was hit, I still have to say that from a basketball and team perspective, it was not a Good shot choice! If it were me, I would definitely not take the shot like that, but the game is over. We still have to take off our hats to Lee and the Wizards. For us, the more important thing is to protect our home court..."

Paul George's statement also caused some controversy. Many fans thought that George's interview seemed a bit harsh. Li Kaiming had obviously defeated the Pacers with that ball, and said it was not a good choice.

So later, some media asked Li Kaiming what he thought of George's interview. Naturally, Li Kaiming would not ridicule the young man, but he would not confirm Paul George's statement. "How others evaluate me and my playing style is other people's business." I can only control my own affairs, not what others say. But in my eyes, whether it is a good shot choice should be evaluated by the final result. If my shot goes in, it means that for me, my shot is successful. Taking action is a good choice.”

The reporter who asked this question immediately asked, "What if the three-pointer didn't go in? Do you think that was a bad choice?"

Li Kaiming smiled lightly and shook his head, but his answer revealed a domineering confidence, "There is no such thing as what if..."

Before the start of the third game of the second round, the NBA also announced the last award, the Coach of the Season Award. Although Sanders led the Wizards to the best record in team history, the Heat's coach Spoelstra because of the team The record has improved greatly, coupled with the best 3 consecutive victories in team history, and Sanders already won the best coach last season, so in the final voting results, Spoelstra received 27 first-place votes. 121, while Sanders got 62 and narrowly lost to Spoelst.

The old man Sanders was very candid about this result. The Wizards players were still comforting him, but unexpectedly the bad old man said, "If you give me some strength next year, I can win again..."

Because this year is not a shortened season, the playoff schedule is much easier than last season. Last season, even if it was switched from home to away, there was only two days to rest during the period. Fortunately, the Wizards' main players They are some young people who are in their prime. If they get older, they will 2% be dragged down by this kind of schedule.

But the extra time did not let the Wizards players relax. The entire team only slowed down slightly compared to last season, but everything continued in an orderly manner. On the second day after the home game, the Wizards He arrived in Indianapolis on the team's special plane and started preparing for the upcoming two away games.

The series score has reached 2-0, so most basketball commentators now expect the Wizards to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, or in other words, most people hope that the Wizards will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

After all, judging from the regular season record rankings, the Wizards and Heat are definitely the only two top teams in the Eastern Conference. Their records are outstanding, and the strong dialogue, coupled with last year's grievances, are the most interesting games in the Eastern Conference this season. .

However, the rising new Pacers suddenly stepped in and said that this series is not over so soon. I want to see the showdown between the Wizards and the Heat, and I want to ask if the Pacers will agree!

In the third game of the semifinals at Bankers Life Arena, Vogel learned the lessons from the previous game and last season. He adopted an inhumane double-teaming tactic against Li Kaiming throughout the game. If this tactic can be used in just one sentence, To describe it, it would be to not regard the remaining players of the Wizards as human beings at all!

I would rather let Klay Thompson throw open on the outside than let Li Kaiming catch the ball and hit in singles.

Of course, this statement is still a bit exaggerated. After all, Klay Thompson is the top shooter in the Wizards' lineup. As a defensive-minded head coach, Vogel will definitely not be able to let Thompson shoot throughout the game.

Obviously, in the Wizards' starting lineup, there is a center named Blanche who has no offensive ability outside the penalty area, and a small forward with facial paralysis and a robot whose shooting is extremely unstable. Both of them can be released from the outside, allowing Thompson to shoot open shots. It's just the lesser of two evils in certain rounds.

In the past two seasons, Blatche's performance against the Pacers has basically not been good. The main reason is that Hibbert, a black and tough man, is too restrained. His body is completely one size larger than him, and his running and jumping ability is not as good. Very good. Fortunately, Hibbert's independent offensive ability is about zero, otherwise Brachi would probably call the police.

Even so, Blatche was at a disadvantage against Hibbert in these games, which resulted in Li Kaiming often having to come over to help him defend. In the first two games, the Pacers did not choose this crazy method. In terms of tactics, this kind of defense can also allow the Wizards to take advantage in the paint, but after Vogel came up with a perverted double-teaming tactic in G3, Hibbert simply dominated the penalty area!

Now Li Kaiming's pressure on the defensive end increased instantly. On the offensive end, he had to withstand the defense of at least two people every time he took a shot. On the defensive end, he had to pull in to help Bratsch with Hibbert.

The fierce physical confrontation made Li Kaiming's muscles all over his body begin to tense up. The final result was that it in turn affected his offensive touch...

As for Leonard, who was targeted and left out, when the game entered the third quarter, he handed over a beautiful answer of 6 of 1 three-pointers from outside. Even he himself lost confidence when he shot from behind. He hesitated for a long time and didn't dare to take action against the two-meter-long gap. He waited until Paul George was back on guard before passing the ball to his teammates, wasting opportunities to take action again and again...

In the end, the Wizards only scored 88 points, while the Pacers, playing at home, scored 97 points. Judging from the scene, it was entirely the Pacers' new defensive tactics that limited the Wizards' offense.

李凯明全场出战了42分钟，投篮17中9，三分球4中1，罚球5中3，得到22分17篮板6助攻4盖帽3抢断，数据漂亮但是毫无卵用。

17 rebounds is also Li Kaiming's career rebounding high in the playoffs. This is mainly because Hibbert is so dominant in the interior today that Li Kaiming has to join the competition for rebounds.

伦纳德全场16投6中，三分7中1，罚球6中3，得到13分8篮板3抢断，汤普森命中了全队最多的三分球，得到了18分。

During the post-game interview, the rare atmosphere of the Wizards was a bit dull, but this scene was very exciting for the reporters. After finally seeing the Wizards lose, and seeing Li Kaiming in this state, they naturally wanted to take advantage of the wound before it healed. Dig as much as possible!

"Lee, where do you think you lost this game?"

"Our preparations before the game were not enough. Our opponents were obviously better prepared than us. We must respect their efforts. They won beautifully."

"Then what attitude will you take towards the next game? The outside world says that you have a high probability of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Do you think so too?"

"My performance tonight was not decisive enough. I believe I can rebound in the next game. As for advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, our goal is of course to defeat our opponents and advance, but now we are still 2 wins away from the goal, and just now we were still After losing a game, I think we should focus on the current game first, we need to make adjustments and perform better in the next games."

This defeat also poured cold water on everyone in the Wizards. They had won too much before and it was too smooth, which made the players feel a little arrogant. They thought this was the regular season and they could play according to the tactics. You can win if you fight.

Unexpectedly, the Pacers, who had lost two games, suddenly started to risk their lives and directly gave the Wizards a blow. At this time, the players realized that this was no longer the regular season, but a real playoff game!

This is sometimes the case. Smooth sailing may not be a good process, because it means that your experience is too comfortable. Once dangers and setbacks come, people who are used to smooth sailing will become like flowers in a greenhouse and be devastated. .

Fortunately, the Wizards players are not flowers in the greenhouse. On the contrary, they are sleeping beasts. After being awakened by the Pacers' life-threatening counterattack, the terrifying Wizards team finally began to win in the playoffs. Showing his fangs...

Perhaps even the Pacers themselves did not expect that a game that seemed to be won by the whole team working together would actually become a talisman for them and speed up their vacation fishing process!

Three days later, on May 5, 14 Pacers fans filled the entire venue at Bankers Life Arena. Some were wearing the Pacers' khaki support short-sleeves, while others were wearing Pacers jerseys. From time to time, some were wearing Stand up and squirm as the camera pans over the scene.

America does have more social terrorists. It seems that few people feel at a loss in front of the camera. On the contrary, most fans let themselves go in front of the camera, even if more than [-] people in the audience can see their ugliness. dance.

Li Kaiming moved his body in the player tunnel with a solemn expression. The entrance ceremony for the home players was going on outside, and the DJ's passionate shouts could be heard from time to time.

When the lights in the tunnel finally returned to normal, Li Kaiming stopped warming up, and the Wizards players jumping around him also stopped.

"Brothers, win the game tonight!" Li Kaiming raised his right arm, and the other players all stretched out their arms, and then leaned against Li Kaiming's arm.

"Let's go! Washington! Go! Go! Go!"

The Wizards players filed out of the tunnel under the leadership of Li Kaiming, and after seeing them, the Pacers' home fans burst into boos for more than ten seconds!