Chapter 322 The Fourth Battle of the Western Finals (2)
The reality is exactly what the Magic players thought.
The Magic returned to their home court with great momentum and played very aggressively from the start.
Howard creates damage inside, and the shooters are responsible for opening up the space. It is difficult for the Cavaliers to defend.
O'Neal is indeed old and it will be difficult to face Howard.
Without O'Neal, no one can limit Howard.
Although Howard is a rough guy, he is still very difficult to guard against if he really recognizes him.
Especially after Howard found his free throw touch!
If you can't defend yourself, you'll get free throws if you commit a foul. There really are free throws!
There's nothing you can do about it!
Howard opened the door first, and as soon as the Cavaliers shrank, the Magic immediately had a chance from the perimeter.
The Magic's perimeter quality can be said to be among the top three in the league!
Carter, Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Barnes, Redick, Ryan Anderson.
Almost all of these people are quality shooters.
The Magic also have one star and four stars, but the difference is that their star is more effective on the defensive end.
The most lethal thing about the Magic is their perimeter.
Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown certainly knows this, and his arrangement is to prioritize defending the perimeter.
But Howard can score no matter what, and even if he can't score, he can still cause a foul, which is troublesome.
In order to defend Howard, the Cavaliers subconsciously shrank into the penalty area.
You can't just let Howard dunk at will, right?
That’s great!
The result is that the Magic's perimeter is open!
Once the Magic's perimeter opens up, things will be difficult for the Cavaliers.
Howard couldn't be solved defensively, so the Magic had to open up from the outside, and the Cavaliers didn't have much to do offensively.
Why?
Because James can't break in!
Why can't I break in?
Because it’s an away game!
You are the number one player in the league, but Howard can still replace you alone!
What's more, the Cavaliers are leading 2:0, and the league will not take special care of James.
Playing more games in the series is the most important thing!
Money always comes first!
Not favoring magic is already giving you a lot of face, but I still want to favor you?
dream!
After leading teams in the NBA for many years, Magic head coach Van Gundy certainly knows these principles.
Therefore, before the game, Van Gundy repeatedly told his players not to give James an opportunity to shoot open shots!
Even if he breaks through to the basket, he must be pulled down!
This is our home court!
The referee will not be biased anymore!
Just do it!
Against a defense like the Magic, James' shooting opportunities are not very good.
Howard made a big push in the paint and rushed in to be blocked.
Even if Howard comes out, it will be difficult for James to get the whistle when he rushes in!
But there isn’t much room for outside shooting!
The Magic's defense was very tight, and James could only pull out to try his three-point touch.
But the more you want to make a shot and the more you rely on three-pointers, the tighter and more unnatural your shot becomes!
Why do shots get smoother when you're leading by a big score?
Why is it so difficult for everyone to score when the score is close?
That's the truth.
James made several three-pointers in a row, but only made one!
Dumplings are not something you can eat every day!
No one can celebrate the New Year every day!
James couldn't make a shot or breakout, and the Cavaliers' offense immediately came to a standstill.
One star spreads all over the place. When this star cannot be opened, all directions will be useless!
So when teammates are not playing well, it is most likely that the team leader is not performing well!
The Magic played very well offensively, but the Cavaliers had a very difficult time.
Comparing the two phases, the point difference quickly expanded to double digits.
There is nothing the knight can do.
Of course the Magic will not miss this good opportunity. They become more courageous as they fight, scoring three points one after another!
At halftime, the point difference between the two teams had expanded to more than 20 points!
There was no suspense in the second half, and the Magic were firmly in control of the game.
With home field advantage and a big lead, the game is certainly easy to control.
In the end, the Magic won the game 122:91.
31 points victory!
The big score became 1:2!
Howard performed well, making 8 of 11 shots from the field and a terrifying 18 of 23 free throws. He scored 34 points, 21 rebounds, and 5 blocks!
Three of them were given to James!
James' performance was sluggish. He only made 8 of 21 shots and made a poor 3 of 7 free throws. He scored 20 points, 7 assists and 11 rebounds, and also had 5 turnovers!
Winning this game gave the Magic more confidence.
If you win two games in a row, we can too!
I eliminated you last year, but I will send you fishing this year!
…
At 7:30 pm on May 23, the fourth game between the Lakers and Warriors started at Staples Arena.
The Lakers have lost three games in a row and the series is at stake.
Throughout the decades of NBA history, there has never been a team that fell behind 0:3 and then came back.
Even the defending champion is no exception!
Therefore, no media expressed optimism about the Lakers' prospects before the game.
However, not being optimistic does not mean that this game cannot be won.
The defending champion still has the pride of the defending champion!
The series can be lost, but a sweep is impossible!
Especially on your home court!
Before the start of the season, Lakers fans were full of confidence and felt that the championship was already in their hands!
Although there are many strong teams in the West, there are basically none that can compete with the Lakers.
The Celtics are too old, their lineup is seriously aging, and they have constant injuries.
The Magic are no big deal, the Cavaliers can't even beat the Magic, they're just a regular season team!
Many Lakers fans even think that there is no need to compete and just award the championship trophy to the Lakers!
Even if the Warriors suddenly emerge in the regular season and have the best record in the league, always suppressing the Lakers, Lakers fans still don't think so.
A team that has been weak for many years is just lucky!
Curry is great?
No matter how great he is, he is just a rookie!
It still takes time to grow if you want to dominate the alliance!
Kobe Bryant hasn’t been dormant for a long time!
Although the Lakers did not play too smoothly after the playoffs started, and they fought 6 games against the Thunder and Suns, Lakers fans still believe in the team.
Are the opponents in the Western Conference Finals the Warriors?
This is a series with no suspense!
Definitely easier than playing the Thunder and Suns!
What is a defending champion?
What does it mean to be an experienced veteran?
Is the combination of Kobe and Gasol comparable to Curry and Lopez?
Who is rookie Deng Fang?
Not even worthy of being a teaching assistant to Zen Master Jackson!
Even if they lost the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, Lakers fans didn't take it seriously.
Losing away from home doesn’t matter!
We will equalize the score when we return home!
We are not familiar with the new army, so we are careless!
If you don’t believe it, look, even though we lost, the point difference has been shrinking!
We will win!
It must be us who have the last laugh!
Lakers championship!
However, when they lost the third game again, and when Lakers fans saw the team being pressed to the ground and being rubbed at Staples Arena, the fans' confidence disappeared!
What replaced it was unwillingness and fear!
What a promising season was ruined by a stupid kid!
