The seventh game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Celtics took place at the Celtics' home court, TD North Shore Garden. As before, between the Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, defense was the first theme, and intensity was the second.
Second theme. From the first second, the game entered an intense stage of physical combat. From the first second, the game was blocked from any possibility of ending easily.
Paul Pierce and LeBron James became the protagonists of today's game. LeBron James played 47 minutes. Except for a rest of less than a minute at the end of the first quarter, he almost played the entire game.
The whole game. He made 14 of 29 shots, 3 of 11 three-pointers, and 14 of 19 free throws. He scored a game-high 45 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and two steals. And his opponent, Kyle
Paul Pierce, the small forward of the Special Team and one of the Big Three, is not far behind. He is almost as far behind LeBron James in terms of playing time and field statistics. He played 44 minutes and made 22 shots.
13, 4 of 6 three-pointers, 11 of 12 free throws. 41 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in a single game. Although there is a slight gap from James in terms of statistics, Paul Pierce has the advantage in terms of efficiency.
Whether it is field goal percentage, three-point shooting percentage or even free throw percentage, it is higher than LeBron James.
In the case where the core players of the two teams have similar statistics and have almost the same effect, the key role played by Kevin Garnett has become a heavy weight in determining the outcome of the two teams. Although the game only scored 13 points, ten
The shooting percentage of five out of three shots was not very impressive, but Kevin Garnett still grabbed 13 rebounds and scored a double-double. Five of the 13 rebounds were offensive rebounds. Especially in the final moments of the game.
It played a role in deciding victory or defeat.
Ray Allen only took six shots in 30 minutes of play. And he only hit one of them, scoring four points with two free throws. In addition, his rebounds and blocks were zero, and he had one assist and one assist.
Steals and three fouls.
From the data point of view, Ray Allen can be called a sleepwalker on the court, simply a disappearing existence. However, anyone who has watched the game carefully understands that Ray Allen burst out with a lot of energy today, but this energy is not
On the offensive end, the second is on the defensive end. On the defensive end, he not only allowed his opponent Pavlovic to only score eight points, but also constantly cooperated with the Celtics' defensive tactics to participate in the defeat of Delonte Weiss.
Special and LeBron James' defense.
It was precisely because of Ray Allen's all-out defense that LeBron James only made three of 11 three-pointers. LeBron James was once again forced to be in the same state as he was in the Finals with the Spurs. At the end of the game
At that moment, he could hardly get close to the basket and could only gamble on shooting three-pointers.
The final score was 97:92, and the TD North Shore Garden Arena cheered like thunder. Although the process was very difficult and the Celtics were only one step away from being eliminated after several stumbles. But the Celtics finally defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers and resumed their career again.
Back on the stage of the Eastern Conference Finals.
After this game, Stan Van Gundy had a dark face and asked the team to stop training against the Cavaliers and return to the previous training content. The Eastern Conference finals are not easy to play. This is Stan Van Gundy's idea. If the Eastern Conference
The opponent in the final was the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stan Van Gundy could easily find the weaknesses in the Cleveland Cavaliers' tactics. More importantly, he had the best weapon to directly attack this weakness.
Unfortunately, that's not possible now, and the Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
It is not easy to judge who is stronger or weaker between the Celtics and Cavaliers. But for the Magic, the Celtics are obviously a much more difficult opponent than the Cavaliers.
Stan Van Gundy is worried just because he feels that the Celtics are a more difficult opponent to deal with than the Cavaliers. But Adrian is also depressed, even more worried than Stan Van Gundy, because Adrian feels that Kevin
The Celtics' road to the championship did not seem to be greatly affected by the slight historical changes caused by the extra self. The seven games with the Atlanta Hawks and the seven games with the Cleveland Cavaliers
, the process is almost unchanged.
If nothing else goes wrong, Ray Allen will show his fangs on the stage of the Eastern Conference finals and transform into a cold-blooded killer who will not let go of any opportunity. At that time, the last shortcoming in the Celtics lineup will be
After being successfully supplemented, the Celtics at that time suddenly showed an unstoppable championship appearance.
But now, the Celtics seem to be still the same.
Of course, there are differences, that is, the Celtics' opponent in the Eastern Conference finals has changed from the aging Detroit Pistons to the hungry and rising Orlando Magic, and to themselves. And Kyle
Once the Celtics advance to the finals, their opponents in the finals will inevitably become different. The Los Angeles Lakers, who also form the Big Three, are not inferior to the Celtics in terms of lineup strength.
However, the Los Angeles Lakers also have a fatal flaw, that is, the Los Angeles Lakers lack players who can open up the situation in the low post at critical moments. Kobe has not been beaten by Pierce with a back in the finals. At this time, he is still superstitious about himself.
Breakthroughs and shooting are the best offensive methods in the league. Although Pau Gasol's post-up offense is good, facing a defensive player like Kevin Garnett, he may not be able to use his post-up offense.
As for Dwight Howard. In fact, from practical considerations, it was a complete mistake for him to go to the Lakers, both for the Lakers and for himself. For Howard, Dwight, who went to the Lakers without core treatment -
Howard is a blue-collar player who defends well. Maybe he can still grab a lot of rebounds, maybe he can still block a lot of shots, and maybe he can still dunk at the basket.
But his role in the Lakers is just that. The role of the defensive center in the triangle offense is far inferior to that of the organizing center. Even an alternative monster like O'Neal used his fierce offense to complete what was originally supposed to be an organizational center.
The role that can be achieved in the triangle offense.
In addition, the Los Angeles Lakers' defensive ability at the small forward position is also very weak. Neither Lamar Odom nor Luke Walton is a good defender. The Los Angeles Lakers' defensive void at the small forward position may lead to
The result is that players like Paul Pierce are as active on the court as a duck to water. In history, it is precisely because of this that Paul Pierce won the Finals MVP. Even without Trevor Ariza, the Lakers
The small forward position is even weaker than it has been historically.
However, those who are thinking about these issues now are idiots. What Adrian, and even the entire Magic, need to consider now is not what is going on in history, but how to defeat the Celtics in the upcoming Eastern Conference finals and succeed.
This allowed the Magic to return to the Finals stage again after more than ten years!
For the Magic, they have a slight advantage in the current situation. After all, they have played one less game than the Celtics, and because the Magic's entire schedule is relatively early, the Celtics' entire schedule is relatively late.
, the result of this is that the Magic have four days more rest and preparation time than the Celtics, which allows the Orlando Magic to face the Celtics in the most complete state. At least in terms of physical strength, they occupy a considerable amount of time.
Advantages.
As the Celtics and Magic prepare for the upcoming fierce battle, the Western Conference showdown also has a winner. Yao Ming is injured but has a healthy Tracy McGrady and the league's best perimeter defender.
There were seven fierce confrontations between the Rockets and the New Orleans Hornets of two strong contenders, Sean Battier and Artest. In the end, in the tiebreaker, Tracy McGrady broke out as the two-time scoring champion.
Full strength. He took 29 shots in 46 minutes and hit 14 of them. He made 4 of 6 three-pointers. He made 16 of 18 free throws. He scored 48 points and 8 assists, helping the Rockets break through the first round of the Magic.
After that, he continued to break through the second round and entered the roster of the Western Conference Finals.
There was also a fierce competition between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. In the end, with Kobe's perfect performance of 38 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the Spurs 4:2 in the away game, and also entered the Western Conference Finals.
The Rockets successfully reunited.
No one expected that the Rockets could reach this point without Yao Ming, but the Rockets also paid a heavy price. Muttom seemed to have a second spring in the playoffs, and was able to average a double-double per game.
In Game 6, Beau had his eyebrow bone broken by an elbow from Hornets general Tyson Chandler. In Game 7, he insisted on playing through the injury and had a fierce collision with David West after a dunk.
In the end, Mutombo, the evergreen NBA legend, fell in pain together with David West during the collision.
Shane Battier hit his hand on the floor while fighting for a rebound, causing a fracture of his index finger. Both of them will definitely miss the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, and whether they can return after that is still unknown. Two people are missing
Only God knows whether the Houston Rockets, with their top players, can break through the Lakers' glorious camp in the Western Conference Finals. But Orlando doesn't care about that now. All they care about is the upcoming Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals with the Celtics two days later.
A game.
Orlando seems to be celebrating a holiday these days. The team has reached the Eastern Conference finals again after more than ten years. The fans certainly have reason to celebrate. After celebrating, they naturally want more, since they have already played
After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, why can't we win the Eastern Conference Finals and compete in the Finals?
Although from the perspective of the media, the current Orlando Magic with Adrian as the core has only been established for a short period of time. It has only been full for half a season. The configuration of the lineup is not reasonable enough, and the team's running-in is not reasonable enough.
They have not been able to reach their best form. Although they have made it to the Eastern Conference finals, their future is still worrying. The Celtics also have problems with running-in, especially in the first two rounds of the playoffs, where the Celtics stumbled.
They almost couldn't enter the Eastern Conference finals, but after all, the Celtics took longer to adjust than the Magic. Even in terms of offense, the Celtics did not have any mature and stable tactics, but there was a flash of inspiration between the three giants.
Clever cooperation is even more difficult to detect. Unlike ordinary inherent tactics, as long as you study it thoroughly, you can carry out targeted defense. This kind of flash of coordination is absolutely impossible to carry out targeted defense. More importantly,
The only thing is that the Celtics are better defensively than the Orlando Magic. Offense wins the audience, and defense wins the championship. This sentence has been circulating in the league for so many years, and until now, no one can prove that this statement is wrong.
, almost every team that wins the championship, no matter how the offense is, the defense must be airtight and strict.
On defense, the Magic have quite a few shortcomings, which are caused by flaws in the lineup. In a short period of time, at least in the few days leading up to the Eastern Conference Finals, it is impossible for the Magic to change their defense.
defects on.
This has also led various experts and professors to say that in the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics are more likely to win the final victory.
But Magic fans don't care about this. They will not pay attention to the opinions of experts and professors now. After entering the Eastern Conference Finals, Magic fans' confidence has skyrocketed. They have no reason to believe and support their team in the upcoming fierce competition.
After winning the final victory in the game, Adrian's jersey was once again sold out after the Magic advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Otis Smith smiled from ear to ear. Trading Adrian was definitely the wisest decision he made since becoming the general manager of the Magic. The profit from the jersey sales alone made the Magic a huge profit, not to mention
other economic benefits derived from it.
Adrian was very worried. He only hated that time passed too quickly and prevented him from being fully prepared. In fact, his opponent was this almost perfect Celtics team. Adrian felt that no matter how many
It seems that the preparation time is not enough. But no matter how worried Adrian is, time will never stop according to his will. At 8:30 pm on Wednesday, May 21st, the Orlando Magic will travel to Boston to usher in the Eastern Conference Finals of this season.
’s first game.
Challenge the Boston Celtics away from home!
This much-anticipated game finally kicked off amidst the hustle and bustle of the room. (To be continued...)
