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

After the whistle that signaled the end of the game sounded, a handful of streamers dropped from the sky above the MCI Center!

The NBA actually has ribbons after every playoff victory, but the scale is relatively small. The biggest one is in the home championship game, which almost covers the entire venue.

Li Kaiming stood up from the bench with the main players, and then walked over to high-five the substitute players.

The last step was to hug the opponents. The Pacers players were of course convinced that Li Kaiming had defeated them for two consecutive years, so both sides were relatively friendly.

Paul George even heard Li Kaiming's encouragement to him, but after hearing only encouragement, Paul George's face looked a little strange.

Because he clearly heard the guy in front of him who was as big as him say, "The future is yours..."

Fortunately, Li Kaiming didn't have the bad habit of rubbing his head like some idiot, so he didn't make the losing George angry!

The reason why the two sides are relatively friendly is that, in addition to the fact that the players are relatively friendly people, another very important reason is that the strength gap between the two sides is too large.

If the Wizards had won the last ball in the tiebreaker, the Pacers would definitely be dissatisfied, but now that they have a 4-1 gentlemanly sweep, there is naturally no need for a conflict.

After greeting the Pacers players one by one, when the last person was standing, Li Kaiming, who was still smiling, suddenly his expression froze!

Because the person who came to him this time was none other than Lance Stephenson, who had disgusted him the whole time!

After doing enough mental construction, Li Kaiming suppressed a smile on his face that was uglier than crying.

"Lance, good fight!"

Lance Stephenson on the opposite side grinned, showing his big white teeth!

"You are strong, Li, congratulations!"

Although Stephenson had a bit of a funny attitude on the court, he was still very normal off the court. Li Kaiming hugged him, and now the two of them no longer knew each other.

In fact, someone like Lance Stephenson is okay. Although he may be disgusting, at least he won't engage in off-court moves or dirty moves. Besides, his kind of defense is also allowed by basketball rules.

The loss in the third game of this series was crucial for the Wizards. The Celtics basically did not cause any trouble to the Wizards in the first round, so the Wizards still played at the rhythm of the regular season.

After losing that game, the Wizards were truly activated in their playoff form. Both the team's tactical system and Li Kaiming's state were significantly improved.

This is also the reason why the Pacers couldn't beat the Wizards in the next two games anyway. When the Wizards are in such a state, no team in the league can beat them!

Ending the series in Washington is the most comfortable for the Wizards players, because they don't have to fly back home and can just sit back and wait for their opponents to qualify.

The Wizards have the fastest schedule, and the series ends quickly, so they won't know who their opponent is until the next day. Therefore, the Wizards once again have a holiday after the first round.

In fact, there is basically no suspense in another set of matchups in the Eastern Conference. The Heat, which has won 66 games this season, and the Bulls, who are coming back from serious injuries, had already reached 3-1 in the series a day ago. Tomorrow, This game is likely to be the Bulls' last dance of the season.

The situation in the West is equally unexpected. The Thunder, first in the West and the only 60-win team in the division, were beaten 3-1 by the lower-tier Memphis Grizzlies. The old and tough Spurs led the Warriors 3-2. If nothing else, the Western Conference finals will be a showdown between the Spurs and the Grizzlies.

The next night, the news came that the Heat easily eliminated the Bulls at home in Game 5 of the series and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Wizards and Heat met in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year!

Last season, Li Kaiming led the Wizards to a difficult victory over the Heat in a tiebreaker. This season, the Heat, who are obviously stronger, have made a comeback. What kind of sparks can the two sides create?

The showdown in the Western Conference also quickly decided the winner.

The Grizzlies swept the Thunder 4-1. Under Tony Allen's personal defense, Durant's most proud scoring efficiency was limited to 42%.

This is the strength of the best defensive team. I don't understand offense, so don't even think about it.

In another matchup, the Spurs sent the Golden State Warriors out 4-2 and met the Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals. If nothing else happens, the series between these two teams will be an unprecedented defensive battle!

But for the Wizards players, what happens in the West is not something they have to consider, and the Heat in front of them is not a good one.

"Okay guys, we are familiar opponents again. Their lineup this season is much stronger than last season. We need to cheer up and fight them hard!"

In the Wizards' video room, head coach Sanders clapped his hands, and at the same time, the Heat's tactical clips began to play on the projector in the conference room...

At the same time, various sports media and basketball commentators in America also started heated pre-game discussions.

Although the Wizards are not a traffic team in America, their opponents are traffic teams!

Li Kaiming has been the Eastern Conference vote king for two consecutive years, but he can't compare with the number of fans of James, Wade and Bosh. In addition, the other party has the bonus of his motherland and the identity of America's son. All this. All of which make the Heat the team with the most fans.

Of course, there are many people who support the Heat, and there are also many who hate the Heat. The unprecedented Big Three have also accumulated a lot of negative fans.

Last season, Li Kaiming and the Wizards prevented the Heat from entering the Finals. This season, they also became the vanguard against the Heat's Big Three. Therefore, this round of duel in America has become a battle between the fans of the Heat's Big Three and the anti-Heat camp. duel...

Countless fans and media people expressed their opinions about this game on social media and forums. Of course, in the eyes of most people, this series will at least be a very interesting game.

After a five-day break, on May 5, during the prime time at 5:21 pm, during the pre-match interview, the speech of Heat player James was undoubtedly the most concerned about by all reporters.

"They defeated us last season and are ranked first in the league this season. They are the most powerful opponents. All we have to do is be ourselves and play hard..."

The Big Three have not won a championship for two years, which has made James restrain a lot in front of the media. The James who was "not one champion, nor two, three, four... or even seven" has been hidden in the media. From the bottom of my heart.

The interviews conducted by the Wizards are relatively formulaic. Each player seems to have said a lot, but upon closer analysis, it is found that he actually said nothing.

This is Sanders' teaching and regulations to the players, and of course Li Kaiming also supports it very much.

After experiencing the conflict with Arenas in the rookie game, Li Kaiming understood one thing. It is very normal for a team to have conflicts and conflicts, but the sign of a mature team is that it can resolve conflicts and conflicts internally. If the conflicts within the team are all over the media, the team is basically on the verge of collapse.

Besides, the Wizards are completely on the right track at this time, everyone is performing their duties, and there is no need to disobey the coach's instructions.

During the warm-up session before the game, Li Kaiming followed his usual practice and came to the sidelines to take photos with the children and then sign autographs.

The Wizards know that Li Kaiming has this habit, so every time they put some children from poor family conditions into this position for free. This is what the NBA does better, humanistic care!

The time came to 8 o'clock in the evening, America's prime time, and the starting lineups of both sides appeared on the big screen above the MCI Center.

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

Heat: Point guard Mario Chalmers, shooting guard Dwayne Wade, small forward LeBron James, power forward Chris Bosh, center Udonis Haslem.

The popularity of this series is definitely the highest since the playoffs began, which can be seen from the arrangement of TNT's commentators.

Sitting in the commentary box tonight, except for the veteran commentator Consol at home, the remaining two people are TNT's ace team Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley!

The pre-match ceremonies and advertisements are all over, and the war is about to begin!

"Reggie, from the lineup of both sides, which one do you think has the more obvious advantage?" Charles Barkley, a loyal fan of Li Kaiming, shook his bald head and asked Reggie Miller sitting next to him.

This question also caught Consol's attention. He looked at Reggie Miller with interest, wanting to hear what the Hall of Fame player and gold medal commentator thought.

Reggie Miller pondered for a while, "It's hard for me to see the difference in the lineups of both sides. In other words, in my eyes, the two sides are almost the same in terms of player configuration."

Barkley's eyes widened, "Reggie, what the hell are you talking about? This is the Heat, the Big Three with James, Wade and Bosh. They are not just cats and dogs. You actually think that they and the Wizards players are the same." A level one?”

"Don't get excited, Charles. I don't mean that Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson are the same as Dwayne and Chris. On the contrary, I think the latter two are obviously better than the former..." Seeing Barkley so excited , Reggie Miller quickly explained.

Leonard and Thompson are not as good as Wade and Bosh, so how do you say there is not much difference between the lineups of the two sides? Barkley curled his lips and was about to retort when Reggie Miller spoke again.

"What I mean is that Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson are not as good as the opposite part, and Li Kaiming has made up for it..."

Reggie Miller's words were a bit convoluted, and the other two people in the commentary box were stunned for a long time before they came to their senses.

After thinking about it, even Barkley stared at Reggie Miller's side face in surprise!

What Reggie Miller means is that although Thompson and Leonard can only be counted as 1.5 giants together, Li Kaiming alone can equal 1.5 giants!

In public and in full view of everyone, Reggie Miller actually commented on Li Kaiming like this!

This is simply not taking LeBron James seriously!