When the Bulls won another Magic game on April 26, Lu Yucai was surprised to find that he had to win four games in the first round of this year's playoffs to advance.
Unlike other players who paid attention to this rule change, Lu Yu never cared about it.
Because in his impression, the best-of-seven games in the playoffs is a natural thing. It was only the three wins in five games last year that surprised him. But last year, he was just used to winning three games in the first round and it was over. This year's sudden change only surprised him.
He discovered that the rules had changed.
This rule change is strongly requested by many team owners who are in the first round of the playoffs, because in the best-of-five games, they earn a lot more money from playoff tickets.
So we simply changed it to a best-of-seven game system.
In other words, the Bulls have to win one more game to advance to the second round.
On April 28, many Chinese fans sat down in front of the TV early because today was a key battle in the first round of the Bulls playoffs. This year's Chinese fans are happy and painful, because this year Lu Yu, Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi
All teams have entered the playoffs. Lu Yu is okay in the East. Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming in the West met in the first round. Anyway, fans have no days to rest. One day the game between the Mavericks and the Warriors is broadcast, and the other day the Bulls
Watching the game broadcasts continuously, whether you can go to work with peace of mind during this period is a question.
In the Western Conference, the Kings and Jazz have already played 3-0. It is also the only 3-0 series in the entire playoffs besides the Bulls.
The two elders of the Jazz, Xuan Ming, have given up on themselves anyway.
The Spurs and Suns tied 2-2, and both sides won a victory at the other side's home court. To be honest, it is not easy for the Suns, who are eighth in the Western Conference, to play like this.
You must know that the Spurs are very strong this year.
If solar energy wins, it may be the most valuable Black Eight Miracle in history.
Coincidentally, the Timberwolves and Lakers also tied 2-2. Like the Spurs and Suns, they will compete for Tianwangshan in two days. Whoever wins Tianwangshan will have a greater probability of advancing.
The score between the Mavericks and the Warriors, which attracted much attention from fans, was 3-1. The Warriors only won one game at home. Although the team lost, Yao Ming's performance was remarkable.
So far in the series, he has averaged 21.2 points, 13.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, becoming a key player for the Warriors to persist until the end in every game.
Next season, Yao Ming's tactical status will be improved. After all, this is only his rookie season, and it is already very good to be able to play like this.
Although Wang Zhizhi's statistics are not as good as Yao Ming's and he is only a substitute in the Mavericks, his role is irreplaceable and very efficient. He averages 14.6 points and 7.9 rebounds in only 20 minutes per game.
The Mavericks' first substitute.
In the East, the Pistons and Bucks tied 2-2, and they also have to compete for Tianwang Mountain.
Before the game, no one expected that the Bucks would be so tenacious. You must know that the Bucks' players are old and young, and there are not many who can fight, but they forced the Pistons to this level. It is also very powerful.
.
The game between the 76ers and the Hornets surprised everyone. They originally thought that the two teams were almost the same in strength, but now the 76ers lead by a big score of 3 to 1.
Iverson is expected to advance to the next round.
It's just that their opponent in the next round will be the Bulls, and that's almost it.
The games between the Nets and Celtics and the Bulls and Magic only played three games. Now the Nets are currently leading 2-1. Their game will be held on the same day as the Bulls. It is estimated that after the results come out, you can roughly guess the following.
The teams advanced in one round.
Today is Lu Yu’s second game in Orlando.
He left Jessica alone in Chicago without bringing her over, not because he was afraid of being distracted, but mainly because he wanted to be unrestrained and free.
While we were warming up, McGrady came over.
"Lu, I won't let you take away the victory of the game so easily."
McGrady was wearing a white home striped jersey and standing behind Lu Yu with a basketball in his hand. If the Bulls win this game, they will become the only team in the entire league to be swept in the first round.
Originally, the Kings also had a chance to sweep the Jazz, but their game ended before the Magic and Bulls game. The results came out. The Jazz came back and dragged the score to 3-1, so McGrady could not lose.
, it would be too embarrassing to lose.
Lu Yu turned around and said with a smile: "I am too tired from playing in the playoffs. How about I go back and buy two fishing rods. Just in time to finish this game, I can rest for a few days and go fishing with you.
.”
"Are you so sure I will lose?"
"Didn't you read what those basketball experts said? The probability of a black eight is very low, and the probability of a comeback in a 3-0 situation is also very low. Now you have both. Stop struggling and give up."
"..."
Maddie was speechless.
Black eight is often followed by another word called miracle, black eight miracle!
Beginning in 1984, the NBA playoffs began to adopt the current matchup format. The top eight teams in the East and West enter the playoffs. The regular season record ranking determines the matchup relationship. The first team vs. the eighth team, the second team vs. the seventh team.
Third versus sixth, fourth versus fifth.
Since there is a considerable gap in strength between the first-ranked team and the eighth-ranked team, it can be regarded as a miracle that the eighth-ranked team defeats the first-ranked team, which is called the "Black Eight Miracle".
From 1984 to the present, there have only been two black eight miracles in the playoff matchup between the first and eighth players, and they were all in the best-of-five playoffs before 2002.
In the 1993-1994 season, due to "Uncle Mu" Dikembe Mutombo's ruthless blocking, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, the first team in the Western Conference, 3-2.
In the 1998-1999 season, thanks to "Central Shooting King" Alan Houston's buzzer-beater, the New York Knicks defeated the Eastern Conference's No. 1 Miami Heat 3-2.
Just these two times.
As for wanting to make a comeback in a 3-0 situation.
The NBA has not yet appeared.
"Just because the probability is low, we have to create a miracle. Just because it hasn't happened before doesn't mean it won't happen. This game is the starting point for miracles to happen!" McGrady forcibly injected himself with chicken blood.
It's a pity that if the chicken blood was effective, Rivers would not become the king of reverses.
After the game started, Lu Yu scored frequently, and the Bulls also confirmed their lead from the beginning. The atmosphere in the away game became more and more silent, and this silence was the best encouragement for the Bulls.
Although Lu Yu and Tracy McGrady are in different positions, they often face each other because they are both convinced that they are the only ones who can defend their opponents and score points. However, after every game, they find that they have failed to defend themselves.
In fact, it's not that I didn't guard against it. It was very successful to limit the opponent to more than 20 points.
If someone else was on defense, maybe both of them could score 40 or 50 points.
Lu Yu is a complete villain in the eyes of Magic fans. Whenever Lu Yu gets the ball, he will be booed by the fans in the audience.
But for Lu Yu, the more the away fans boo him, the better his performance is. If the away fans shout MVP at him, then he may not even be able to attend the Magic team's celebration banquet after the game.
McGrady hit the basket and forced a layup.
Under Lu Yu's defense, he cut inside from the left and then jumped back to shoot... The posture was picturesque, but it was a pity that he didn't score.
Miller used his body to resist the Magic center. Unexpectedly, McGrady rushed into the paint again, took off and dunked the ball back into the basket.
And caused Miller's foul.
Miller raised his hand helplessly: "I saw him flying over and subconsciously wanted to block it with my hands, but he was called for a foul. I'm really a big grievance."
Cartwright immediately called a timeout. Although the team still maintained the lead so far in the first quarter, if McGrady's defensive problem is not solved, sooner or later it will be a hidden danger.
In the fourth game of the first round of the playoffs, everyone wants to end this series as early as possible so that they can have enough time to better study their opponents in the next round.
In these games, Lu Yu's defense against Tracy McGrady has always been Lu Yu's. It's not that Lu Yu's defense is not good, Lu Yu's defense is pretty good, and the team also won the victory.
But in this game, McGrady seems to be unable to hold on.
"Carlos, come down and take a rest. Ron, come on. I'll give you the task of guarding Tracy. Lu Yu, you go inside." Cartwright arranged.
He is alleviating Lu Yu's defensive tasks.
The Magic's inside line is not strong, and Lu Yu is more than enough to top the inside line.
"no problem."
Lu Yu said excitedly that Cartwright couldn't understand why Lu Yu was so excited.
How did he know that Lu Yu had always wanted to go to the inside during this period. Among his breathing methods, only the rock breathing method had a slow growth rate. In the past, he could improve a little through team and inside training, but later he simply stopped training in the team.
, I only occasionally check the inside progress bar during the game.
There are not many opportunities to go inside in an open and honest manner.
Artest also came on the field with a mission. The only thing he did when he came on the field was to look down on McGrady. Although his footsteps could not catch up with McGrady, he did not suffer in terms of height and weight. In addition, he often adapted to the confrontation inside, so
In terms of confrontation, he was not afraid at all. He just kept pushing McGrady there, which made McGrady very depressed.
As for McGrady entering the paint, isn't there Lu Yu?
As long as he enters the defensive end, Artest has nothing to do and follows McGrady every step of the way.
"You're as annoying as a follower!"
"Do you think I want to follow you? Don't you know how strong the smell of sweat is on your body? Ugh, I really can't stand it anymore."
"..."
McGrady was silent for a while, then reached out to his teammates for the ball: "Give me the ball!"
Everyone has to admit that Cartwright arranged for Artest to defend McGrady, which became a surprise player in this game. Not only did he not let McGrady continue his offensive, but he also seemed to be able to continue to open up the score.
Magic guard Darrell Armstrong glanced at Artest, who was pestering McGrady like an octopus: "I want to give the ball to you, but the key is that I can't pass it...
