After four days of rest, the smoke of the regular season slowly faded away from the media discussion. At this time, the flames of the playoffs were also ignited.
Eight teams from the East and West will compete for the highest honor, the O'Brien Cup!
Because their record is at the forefront, the Lakers have home court advantage. In the first game of the playoffs, the Lakers faced the Denver Nuggets at their home Staples Center.
The two stars in the Lakers' backcourt vs. the two golden guns in the Nuggets' backcourt. This game is considered to be a relatively important one among the first eight rounds of the series.
Because it’s so gimmicky!
Both teams are teams with strong offensive power in the backcourt. Iverson, Kobe, Adrian, and Anthony, four backcourt All-Stars gathered in one game.
But relatively speaking, before the game started, there were more comments supporting the Lakers. Without him, the lineup has an advantage. There is never a shortage of discerning people in the world, and naturally everyone can see the Nuggets' lineup.
Although the offense is powerful, he has quite a few deficiencies in defense. George Karl has always been a coach who attaches great importance to offense and neglects defense. Paying attention to offense and ignoring defense may not be a problem in the regular season.
Because you focus on offense, you may play better and more beautifully in the regular season, and achieve better results.
But in the playoffs, it's different.
The playoffs are the stage for defense!
Offense wins, defense wins championships!
This sentence is not just talk. Since the establishment of the NBA, there has never been a team that can win the championship by relying solely on its strong offensive power. The teams that have always won the championship have always had a balance of offense and defense.
Teams such as the Bulls, the Lakers, the Spurs, etc., or the Detroit Pistons use a rock-solid defense to bury their opponents in their own muscles!
No one has ever won a championship by relying on offense!
In contrast, while the Lakers' offensive power is equally strong, their defense is stronger than that of the Nuggets. It can be said to be a balance of offense and defense. This is what makes most people think that the Lakers and Nuggets are about the same strength on paper.
Next, I instinctively think that the Lakers have a greater chance. Of course, there are some reasons why the head coach of this Lakers is Phil Jackson. After all, compared to George Karl, a head coach with empty hands, nine championship rings
In hand, Phil Jackson, who has made outstanding achievements, is more reassuring, and it is also more interesting to see his performance in the playoffs.
In the pre-game analysis, various media outlets and experts wrote articles. Most people believed that the Lakers could win within five to six games. They also predicted that this round of playoffs would be a very fierce one.
After all, both teams have very strong offensive power.
In response to these remarks, the Denver Nuggets certainly cannot have no reaction! Whether it is Anthony or Iverson, or Camby and Nene, no one wants to be regarded as a soy sauce by others. In the three games in the regular season,
Although they lost two of them and were at a disadvantage, the two losses were actually not a big disadvantage, which made the Nuggets think they had the power to compete.
"The regular season is the regular season, and the playoffs are the playoffs. We don't come here for a stroll and then go back. We have only one goal, and that is the championship!" Facing the media interview, the Nuggets star card
Melon Anthony seemed confident and was not affected by the media at all.
In addition to the Lakers vs. Nuggets series, the other series are also very fierce. Mavericks vs. Warriors, No. 1 in the Western Conference vs. No. 8 in the Western Conference, is probably the most clearly defined game in the entire Western Conference series.
Almost everyone is optimistic that the Mavericks can defeat the Warriors in at least five games to advance.
To be precise, this should be almost everyone except Adrian!
The strength gap between the two teams is really too big. One is first in the Western Conference and won the first place in the Western Conference with the best record in team history. The other is eighth in the Western Conference and was only comparable to the previous season in the final stages of the regular season.
The last train of the playoffs. In the eyes of almost everyone, the Warriors are destined to be a loser in this year's playoffs. Being able to win one or even two games with their home court advantage is considered a very good performance.
Well, if the performance is poor, there is a high chance that the Mavericks will sweep them in four games. No one believes that the Warriors can defeat the Mavericks.
The Spurs vs. Jazz series is also a bit suspenseful. Both teams are old and strong teams in the Western Conference. After the Jazz lost Malone and Stockton, they have already ushered in a revival this season. Under the old coach
Under the leadership of Jerry Sloan, they entered the playoffs again, obviously not planning to escape from the first round of the playoffs. It's a pity that they ran into the Spurs. The Spurs with Tim Duncan have always been
One of the most powerful contenders for the championship, most people believe that meeting the Spurs in the first round would be the worst outcome for the Jazz. Although the Jazz are not without a chance, most people are still optimistic about the Spurs.
In five to six games, they defeated the Jazz and advanced to the second round.
Phoenix Suns vs. Houston Rockets, D'Antoni's running and gunning offense vs. Van Gundy's tough defense. This is another contradictory offensive and defensive battle. In addition, the Houston Rockets are backed by the entire Chinese market. This series
The game has become the most watched round among the four-round Western Conference series.
On April 23rd, the Lakers sat at Staples at home and faced the challenge of the Denver Nuggets!
In the 2004-05 season, after the Sharks traveled east, the Lakers entered the era of Kobe Bryant's single-core, and ushered in the inevitable decline after prosperity, and the magnitude of this decline was shocking! That season, the Lakers were not even able to enter the 2004-05 season.
Playoffs!
The Lakers' decline was so fast and violent that it was shocking, and Kobe's ability was unanimously questioned.
In the 05-06 season, Kobe started a crazy scoring mode, easily winning the scoring title with an average of 35.4 points per game. He also scored the second-highest 81 points in a single game against the Raptors, second only to Chamberlain's 100 points. Kobe almost single-handedly
Led the Lakers, the seventh seed in the Western Conference, to force the Suns into a tiebreaker. However, due to the power gap, the Lakers were reversed 4-3.
Then came this season. From the stumbling at the beginning of the season to the rapid progress in the middle of the season, Adrian, the point guard who came to the door, seemed to help the Lakers complete their revival overnight. Kobe continued to win the scoring title, and Adrian also appeared on the court.
With an average of 11.7 assists, he suppressed Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash and was elected the league's assist king!
This convinced Lakers fans that after just two years of silence, the Lakers have ushered in the best opportunity for revival. The first reaction when projected on the court was that in the first game of the Lakers vs. Nuggets, Sri Lanka
The Staples Center was overcrowded! The uniform Lakers jerseys turned the Staples Center into a sea of purple and gold!
From the moment the Lakers players entered the arena, the cheers never stopped! (To be continued.)
ps: ps. After a busy night last night, I finally cleaned up the water at home. Today is a sunny day and the air conditioner is broken again%...
