"Adrian, you scored 32 points in today's game. You are the youngest player in NBA history to score such a score in the Eastern Conference Finals. How do you feel? Are you excited?"
"Oh, is that so? I just found out about this. I'm very happy that I can be the youngest one. It's always gratifying to achieve good results in such an important competition, and to be the youngest one
One is also exciting.”
"Adrian, you beat the Celtics today, how does it feel?"
"I feel quite excited, but I don't want to encounter something like this often. The Celtics are a very tenacious opponent. They have a long history and great tradition. It is very difficult to fight against such an opponent. To be able to win in this game
It is a rare experience to have a chance to win against them and succeed."
"Adrian, the two teams you played for, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic, reached the Eastern and Western Conference finals respectively. Which team do you think is better, the Lakers or the Celtics?"
"It's really difficult for me to make an accurate assessment on this. If we can have a fierce confrontation, maybe I can answer it after the confrontation."
"You mean, you want to lead the Magic to the Finals?"
"Why not? Although it is quite difficult to completely defeat the Celtics, we have already won one game, haven't we? We have an advantage under the current circumstances, since we have already reached the Eastern Conference finals.
, and have such an advantage, of course we must take the finals as our goal."
The press conference after the game was far more lively than before. After all, the stage of the Eastern Conference Finals is completely different from the regular season and even the previous two rounds of playoffs. It involves the ownership of the Eastern Conference championship and the list of finals.
.The Celtics and the Orlando Magic had another extremely fierce duel, plus the final buzzer-beater. All these classic elements were enough for reporters to report on it at length.[
Just the day after the first game of the series between the Celtics and the Orlando Magic ended, the battle for the Western Conference Finals was finally ignited after sufficient traffic. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol
, the Big Three Los Angeles Lakers composed of Dwight Howard were the first team in the Western Conference to reach the finals, followed closely by the Houston Rockets.
Before the playoffs, they lost their main center Yao Ming. No one thought that the Houston Rockets would be able to reach the Western Conference finals. But in fact they did, with Trace McGrady and Ron...
Artest's outside combination has the feeling of completely reborn the Houston Rockets. Ron Artest, the best defensive small forward with a strong body, plays a role not only in defending the opponent's outside scoring elite, but also in
What's important is that Ron Artest's presence has made the Rockets' perimeter tougher.
Before Ron Artest arrived, no matter how the Rockets played, they always gave people a feeling of being weak on the perimeter while defending as a team. Tracy McGrady was also a perimeter defender.
The Titans, as early as the Magic era, had stuffed their defense and toughness into the toilet and flushed it into the Pacific Ocean. Although Shane Battier's defense is good and can also have an impact on the opponent's perimeter offense, it can only play a role in
That's the end of his role. Whether on the market or off the court, he is well-educated and too gentle. No matter how hard he tries to defend and reduce the opponent's shooting rate, he can't create a deterrent that makes the opponent dare not attack easily.
.
And this kind of deterrence, after having Ron Artest, the Rockets have it.
At 9 o'clock in the evening on May 21, the first game of the series between the two sides started at the Staples Center, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers. The two sides did not play fiercely at first, and both offense and defense seemed a bit loose.
In this case, the Rockets took the lead and Tracy McGrady hit consecutive pull-up jumpers, helping the Rockets gain a 27:20, 7-point lead.
After falling behind suddenly, the Los Angeles Lakers became nervous, both offensively and defensively. However, as the Lakers' most reliable scoring tool, Kobe Bryant had to face the turns of Artest and Shane Battier.
Defense. As the two top perimeter defenders in the league, it is already very difficult to face only one of them, but now Kobe has to take turns to accept the test of both of them.
Under the joint control of Artest and Shane Battier, the entire Lakers' perimeter offense was completely unable to open up. If the outside offense was unable to open up, the Lakers could only rely on Pau Gasol in the low and high post.
The back-and-forth between them gave them a certain advantage, but it was really difficult to suppress the Rockets with just one Pau Gasol.
This situation lasted until the end of the third quarter before things changed.
During the Houston Rockets' offense, Artest drove Luke Walton towards the basket with his back, and was fouled by Kobe from behind. In terms of nature, this was a rather bad foul, and Kobe immediately also
He realized that he had done something wrong. At this time, he had committed a serious foul and might even be sent off. So after the foul, he immediately raised his hand in cooperation and stepped forward to show that he wanted to help Ah.
Test's actions.
But after Artest, things took a turn for the worse. After Kobe approached Artest, he took two steps back and then fell to the ground, clutching his stomach, showing a look of pain.
"Sex". This was like igniting a powder keg, causing an uproar in Staples.
No matter what happened, in the eyes of most people, Kobe was retaliated by Artest when he helped Artest with good intentions. The boos and roars were like a wave.
’ There was a general turbulence. Players from the Lakers and Rockets immediately surrounded him. The Lakers players tried to rush to Artest’s side, while the Rockets players protected Artest.
Artest seemed to be confused by what happened suddenly. After sitting on the ground for two seconds, Artest suddenly jumped up from the floor, like an angry beast, roaring loudly and about to attack someone.
Kobe, who was lying on the ground in the distance, rushed over.
The chaotic situation completely angered the referee on duty, who whistled two technical fouls in a row and drove Artest off the field. Kobe also returned to the locker room with the support of his teammates, about three minutes later.
Minutes later, it reappears.
Artest was forced to leave the game, and the Rockets lost one of their big pincers to suppress Kobe. It was difficult for Sean Battier alone to control the Lakers' outside performance. In the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant scored in a single quarter.
He scored 19 points and led the Lakers to reverse the unfavorable situation and win the first game of the series 97:90.
"I didn't use any force at all, that guy, he is a liar!" After the game, Artest roared loudly at reporters: "That's fake, he was performing! I may have raised my elbow, but
I didn't even touch him! That's a hypocrite, he won the game by cheating!"[
Although Artest roared and complained, not many people were willing to believe him, because as a 'villain' Artest had a reputation far and wide, and the melee at the Palace of Auburn Hills completely destroyed his reputation.
It was ruined. Although Kobe's reputation in the league is not very good, he is cleaner than Artest, and the two are not players of the same level.
Most of the media unconsciously favored Kobe Bryant in their reports, and believed that Artest's "bad habits are hard to change." Of course, there are also media that support Artest, but most of these media are accustomed to using shocking headlines
They attract attention with their different viewpoints, but not many people really believe in the fairness of their reports.
But no matter what, at home at Staples, with Artest ejected, the Lakers won the first game of the series and took a 1:0 lead.
Adrian watched the game, but his focus was not on the farce that happened at the end of the third quarter. He was more concerned about the Lakers' performance in this game and the tactics they implemented.
"It seems like Howard can't be fully integrated into the Lakers' tactics." As a bargaining chip for trading with himself, Dwight Howard's performance is what Adrian focuses on. Judging from the performance in this game, De
White-Howard's situation with the Lakers is still far from success. Although the Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals, Howard really didn't play much of a role.
Judging from this game, he is simply a rebounding defensive coolie. Even because he has to cooperate with Paul Pierce, he doesn't even grab as many rebounds as before. He doesn't have the performance of a star player at all. Especially when the Lakers
When the outside line is contained, the Lakers can only rely on Pau Gasol for inside offense, and Howard is like a soy sauce player. He wanders inside the frontcourt, unable to find a position, and cannot catch the basketball.
"If this is the case, even if they play against the Lakers, the Magic will have a chance of winning." Such a thought suddenly popped up in Adrian's head.
But this is just a thought. Before thinking about the finals, let's first consider how to pass the Celtics. The Celtics are definitely not an easy opponent to deal with. In the first game,
After the confrontation, Adrian has clearly understood this. If he concentrates all his energy, the Magic still has the possibility of winning. If he is distracted by the Lakers, he is almost seeking death. (To be continued...)
