Chapter 410 Watch the Heat in the playoffs, Mavericks!
On the first day of the playoffs, there are a total of four games, namely:
Bulls vs. 76ers; Hawks vs. Magic; Heat vs. Pacers; Mavericks vs. Hornets.
The Rockets did not play, but the players were not idle.
Mark Jackson gathered everyone in the video analysis room, and the players were preparing to watch two ball games together.
Let’s watch Heat vs. Pacers first, then Mavericks vs. Hornets.
After all, Shen Fei told them at the beginning of the season that the Heat and Mavericks are the two opponents that pose the greatest threat to the Rockets this season!
The first game was between the Heat and the Pacers.
The Pacers were the first team to make a deal with the Rockets after Shen Fei took over the team.
At that time, the Rockets used Zeiss Budinger, Jared Jeffries and the No. 14 pick in the first round to obtain the No. 10 pick in the first round and the No. 10 pick in the second round from the Indiana Pacers.
In the eyes of fans at the time, the Pacers took advantage of this deal.
After all, with the potential shown by Budinger last season, he even has the opportunity to compete for the All-Star substitute in the Eastern Conference.
But times have changed, and if this deal is graded again, the Rockets will definitely get an S, while the Pacers will get a D at most.
Because the Rockets selected George with the 10th pick in the first round.
This young wing is now the gateway to the Rockets' perimeter and has a certain chance of making it to the best defensive team this year.
With the No. 10 pick in the second round, the Rockets selected Stephenson.
In a subsequent trade, the Rockets acquired Griffin from the Clippers.
And Gifen has now become the team's main power forward.
After getting rid of the troubles of injuries, he has transformed into one of the most entertaining insiders in the league, with unlimited potential!
Looking at the Pacers, Budinger has been injured for 50 games this season, and his data has dropped significantly.
Aminu, whom they selected with the 14th pick, performed quite well. Of course, he cannot compare with George.
This result made Pacers general manager Larry Bird very angry.
Big Bird once said angrily in an interview:
"Paul (George) is a player I am very optimistic about. He should be the future of the Pacers."
"I have to admit that during the offseason, I was bewitched by Shen Fei. This was the darkest moment in my manager's career."
However, although the Pacers lost George, they still made the playoffs under the leadership of their main coach Danny Granger.
For this campaign, they put out the starting lineup of Darren Collison, Aminu, Danny Granger, Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert.
Before the game, basically all authoritative media predicted that the Heat would win the game without any blood.
But after the game started, the Pacers relied on fierce defense to hold on to the score.
The single-digit point difference remained until the fourth quarter.
This situation undoubtedly gave the Heat, who had just formed F4, a big impact.
The Rockets players far away in Houston also became wary of danger after seeing such a situation.
"Every team that can reach the playoffs should not be underestimated. The Heat's game is a good reminder for us."
Yao Ming commented.
"The Pacers cannot compare with the Heat in terms of talent."
"Apart from Granger, Hibbert, their big center, is the only one with good talent. But they can still hold on to the score with their fierce defense."
"As for our opponent, the Grizzlies, I think they are like an upgraded version of the Pacers. O.J. Mayo Conley, the black and white Bear, is more talented than the Pacers. So we cannot take it lightly."
Mark Jackson said seriously.
The Rockets generals nodded after hearing this.
"However, the situation should change in the fourth quarter. Those guys from the Heat need to be serious."
Maddie said with a smile.
............
Not long after McGrady finished speaking, it came true!
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the game entered the transition period.
Howard and Wade took a break, and James joined forces with Ray Allen to lead the bench.
Mike Bibby, Ray Allen, James Jones, LeBron James, Ilgauskas.
The five players who played, except James, are all shooters with three-point ability.
As for the Pacers, Granger's physical fitness has bottomed out and he can only rest temporarily.
The leader of the team at this time turned out to be Budinger.
Comparing the two, the difference is extremely obvious.
James becomes a point forward on the offensive end.
Facing Budinger's defense, he simply got everything he asked for.
If the opponent is defending one-on-one, James will use his strong body to directly crush him.
If the Pacers double-team, he will pass the ball out as soon as possible.
At this time, the Heat's four top shooters on the perimeter will take turns firing to punish the opponent for double-teaming!
In just three minutes, James made 3 of 3 shots, scored 7 points, and provided 4 assists.
The Heat launched a 19:5 shock wave, widening the point difference to 18 points in one fell swoop!
The walkers who persisted all night were defeated.
On the bench, Granger shook his head helplessly, unable to accept such a result.
He played the first three quarters, and thought that if he took a 3-4 minute rest and then came on for a final try, he might have a chance to upset the team.
Unexpectedly, it seems that there is no need to return to the court now.
Of course, the Pacers will definitely not give up easily.
After a timeout, they replaced all starters and responded with a 6:0 spurt.
Five minutes into the fourth quarter, the score difference between the two teams was back to 12 points.
At this time, Heat coach Spoelstra waved his hand and replaced James to rest.
The Pacers generals were overjoyed to see this, because they saw a glimmer of hope for a comeback.
"While LeBron is not here, we can chase the point difference to about 5 points and maybe have a chance to win!"
Granger gathered his teammates around him and said seriously.
The generals of the Pacers nodded one after another, and their morale was high for a while.
At the same time, here is the Rockets.
Mark Jackson asked the players: "Do you think the Pacers still have a chance?"
As soon as this statement came out, whether it was young people like Curry and George, or Mesozoic people like Tony Allen and PJ Tucker, they all shook their heads.
"Wade and Howard are definitely going to be on it."
"Once these two people join the team, the Heat will adopt a different style. The Pacers' inside line will not be able to handle it."
Curry analyzed.
"Hibbert acted like Yao when he met the Heat's backup center."
"But when he met Howard, he instantly became an ordinary blue-collar insider."
Tony Allen looked at Yao Ming beside him and said with a smile.
"In insider competition, sometimes the big fish eats the small fish, and the small fish eats the shrimp."
"Hibbert is like a small fish. He will be eaten alive in front of big fish like Howard, but when he encounters the Heat's backup insiders, he becomes a predator."
Ben Wallace, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
This metaphor is very vivid, and everyone nodded when they heard it.
"Then...if we really meet the Heat in the finals, will Howard be a big fish or a small fish?"
Lori asked with a smile.
This question is actually difficult to answer, because even Yao Ming and Ben Wallace dare not say that they are better than Howard.
After all, Warcraft was originally the league's top center and has made considerable progress this season.
But Lori was a bit naturally stupid and had some rough edges, so he asked directly.
"Hmph..."
"If it's just me, I might be a small fish, but with Ben and Blake, we are definitely a big fish compared to the Heat's big men."
Yao Ming once again showed high emotional intelligence and perfectly answered Lowry's tricky question.
While everyone was talking, the game had started again.
............
After the timeout, the Heat replaced Howard and Wade as Curry said.
These two are paired with three outside shooters: Jones, Mike Miller, and Chalmers, and the lineup is quite balanced.
As soon as he came up, Howard hit Hibbert in the low post.
Despite Hibbert's dark and tough appearance, he is still taller than Warcraft.
But in front of Howard, he is indeed a "little fish".
Warcraft used his strength to hit Hibbert twice with his back, then carried Hibbert into the three-second zone, then pushed Hibbert up and directly pulled him up...
"bang!"
A thunder on the ground!
Howard actually hit the ball into the basket through Hibbert.
After completing the dunk, Warcraft also pulled the basket in order to maintain his center of gravity.
In an instant, the entire basket rack shook.
"ohh~~~"
"omg, this is a monster!"
"Dwight, I'm going to give birth to a monkey for you!"
The Heat fans at home were instantly excited.
Howard raised his right arm and kissed his biceps.
During the transition between offense and defense, Granger was eager to respond, so he singled out Wade on the outside.
But the Flash's defensive ability is also top-notch among shooting guards.
Although he is only 193cm tall, his wingspan reaches a terrifying 210cm!
Coupled with his powerful explosiveness, Wade's number of blocked shots has topped the league's defense lines in recent years.
In the game, you can even see him blocking the opponent's center's shot one-on-one!
Now, Wade used his agile pace to defend Granger.
When the latter forced his start and tried to use his height to attack the basket, the Flash jumped up again and nailed the ball directly to the backboard.
This is not over yet!
Wade immediately took off twice to collect the rebound, then turned around and headed towards the Pacers half court.
When he started, there were two Pacers players in front of him.
But three seconds later, the only thing left in front of Wade was the basket!
This is the speed of the Flash!
"bang!"
After a powerful one-handed dunk, the Heat's lead expanded to 22 points.
In the next few minutes, the Pacers still could not recover the score.
The game also entered garbage time with 4 minutes left.
............
"Okay, that's it for this game. How do you feel after watching it?"
Mark Jackson asked with a smile.
"I think...the Heat have a very diverse lineup in the transition period, which is a bit similar to ours."
"We can study several of their commonly used substitute lineups and think about how to deal with them."
Yao Ming was the first to speak.
"The Heat's most lethal weapon is their fast-break counterattack after high-pressure defense."
"But in the last month and a half of the regular season, we practiced a lot of positional warfare offense."
"As long as the success rate of the attack can be guaranteed, it is equivalent to banning the Heat's biggest weapon!"
McGrady added.
Then several more players spoke.
Generally speaking, the Rockets generals are still very confident in defeating the Heat.
"Okay, the game between the Mavericks and the Hornets is about to start, I'm going to change the channel."
Mark Jackson said with a smile.
The next moment, the picture on the big screen switched to the American Airlines Center Arena in Dallas.
At this time, players from both sides were doing their final warm-ups.
"The starting lists of the two teams are out, let me read them to you."
"The Mavericks' starting lineup is the same as when they played us, Kidd, Terry, Marion, Nowitzki and Chandler. It seems that Caron Butler has completely become a substitute."
"The Hornets' starting lineup is: Paul, Ariza, Belinelli, Landry and Emeka Okafor."
Mark Jackson looked at the phone and introduced.
"This game is quite interesting. The two teams have beef before even playing."
Curry said with a smile.
"This kind of explosive competition is the most interesting thing to watch haha~"
Lori looked equally excited.
It turned out that before the game, a reporter asked Paul what he thought of his first-round opponent, the Mavericks, and whether the Hornets had a chance to defeat them?
The queen bee smiled slightly and said confidently:
"We will win. I am a natural competitor. Any time you ask me if I can lead my team to win, my answer is yes."
"Moreover, the Golden State Warriors could create miracles back then, so why can't the Hornets?"
After Paul's answer was posted on the Internet, it attracted complaints from Mavericks fans.
"We did get hacked, but that was a miracle that belonged to the Warriors. Don't make it sound like it's easy."
"You can show off your competitiveness if you want, but please don't poke people's pain. Think about it for a second. If Kidd was being interviewed and used the 58-point score that the Hornets were beaten by the Nuggets two years ago, would you be happy?"
...
It's not unreasonable for Mavericks fans to be so excited.
Since the 21st century, the Dallas Cowboys have had two major pains - one was being defeated by the Heat in the Finals in 2006 (the whistleblowing that year was very controversial), and the other was being eliminated by the Warriors in 2007.
.
You know, the Mavericks that year were not only ranked first in the Western Conference, but Nowitzki also won the MVP due to his super dominance.
But just when the fans thought the Mavericks could challenge for the championship again, the Golden State Gang used a wonderful "small ball" tactic to defeat the top and defeat the Dallas Cowboys!
That series also became a pain in the hearts of the Mavericks, from the management to the fans.
Paul's answer is simply a matter of not opening the pot and picking up the pot.
There are many examples in history that can be compared to the above, but he chose the Mavericks' pain point.
This also makes the series full of gunpowder before it even begins!
The Mavericks’ number one star, King Nowitzki, also responded to this in an interview the next day:
"The series hasn't started yet, and the current score is 0:0. The Mavericks and the Hornets are on the same starting line, so I don't think we are in a higher position."
"What I can promise you is...my teammates and I will work hard to play every game without any reservations."
The first game between the Mavericks and the Hornets started in this atmosphere!