In fact, the matchup between the Warriors and the Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals last season can fully explain the problem.
Last year, the Warriors swept the Grizzlies 4-0. There was no suspense. The Grizzlies had no ability to parry, not even the possibility of resistance.
This summer the Warriors recruited a number of capable players, and the Splash Brothers finally united, making the Warriors even more terrifying!
The Grizzlies personnel basically remain unchanged, and the players are one year older!
In comparison, the Grizzlies actually regressed.
So there is no suspense in this series.
Many neutral fans and media people madly advocate that the Grizzlies' style of play is the Warriors' natural nemesis. In fact, they know that this is only a theoretical possibility.
If the Grizzlies perform against the odds, their style of play can indeed restrain the Warriors, but the question is how likely is this?
The Grizzlies' extraordinary performance meant that Randolph hit Yao Ming in singles and hit every target accurately;
When the Warriors double-teamed, Randolph made no mistakes and accurately found open shooters;
Conley’s pull-up jumper is as accurate as Curry’s;
An open Tony Allen can put the ball in the basket as solidly as Klay;
Pondexter and Mayo's defense is as strong as Prince and Tucker;
Abandoned Arenas is back on top;
All eight players available to the Grizzlies are on stimulants, and they are not tired no matter how long they play;
…
All of the above must happen at the same time!
In addition, the Grizzlies have to hope that the Warriors will perform abnormally.
Is it possible?
Yes, but very little!
Or it’s simply impossible!
…
The Warriors don't follow martial ethics, and they lose the game in a single quarter, and the subsequent process is meaningless.
In the second quarter of the game, the Grizzlies starter came up and pretended to make gestures for a few times, and then the substitutes came on to "take over" the game.
There was no suspense in the game. The fans of the home team began to cheer for the visiting team. The substitutes of the two teams played very harmoniously on the court.
The game ended soon, and the final score was fixed at 132:98.
The Warriors once again defeated the Grizzlies. The series score between the two teams became 3:0. The Warriors are expected to advance.
…
In another matchup in the Western Conference semifinals, the Thunder returned home and easily defeated the Spurs 102:82.
In this game, the Thunder took full advantage of their physical advantage on the defensive end. They caused 21 turnovers for the Spurs and only 7 for themselves.
As long as the Spurs make a mistake, the Thunder, which has an absolute physical advantage, will counterattack quickly, and as long as they run, the Spurs' defense is useless.
By causing more turnovers and grabbing more rebounds from the Spurs, the Thunder got 12 more shots than the Spurs.
On top of that, the faster, better-bouncing Thunder limited the Spurs to 39.5% from the field while shooting 45.5% of their own.
Through the previous two losses, the Thunder realized one thing, that is, they cannot compete with the Spurs offensively or with outside shooting.
People age first, and their legs age first. The older a basketball player gets, the harder it will be on defense, but the hand will tend to get better and better.
In addition, the longer you play and work together, the better your tacit understanding will be and the smoother your teamwork will be.
Therefore, the Thunder cannot compete offensively with the Spurs and must work hard on defense.
In addition, the Thunder also learned a lesson from the Spurs in the first two games: share the ball.
Only by letting the ball move can the opponent's defense be truly broken down.
I have to say that young people have strong learning abilities!
In Game 1, the ratio of assists between the Thunder and Spurs was 18:22. In Game 2, the ratio of assists between the two teams was 19:27.
By the third game, the ratio of assists between the Thunder and the Spurs was 23:18, and the Thunder led by 5 times.
I can learn from your experience, but you cannot have the physical advantages I have. This is the scary thing about young people.
In the entire game, four Spurs players scored in double figures, but the highest score was only 16 points from Parker and Jackson.
Durant scored the most points for the Thunder, and he only scored 22 points. However, five members of the Thunder team scored in double figures, and their firepower was very fierce.
By winning this game, the Thunder also turned the series score into 1:2. This matchup between the two teams is getting more and more exciting.
…
In the East, the Celtics easily defeated the 76ers 107:91 on the road.
The two teams are very similar in strength. The first two games were tied with a total score of 173:173, and the big score was also 1:1.
Obviously, with two teams that are good at defense, home field advantage is no longer important.
This was the case in this game. Although it was an away game, the Celtics performed even better. Five of their team members scored in double figures, and three of them scored over 20.
Among them, Garnett performed particularly well. He made 12 of 17 shots from the field and scored a team-high 27 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists.
Rondo also performed very well. He scored 23 points, 14 assists, and only one turnover. The assist-to-turnover ratio was astonishingly high.
Although the 76ers also had 5 players score in double figures, their shooting percentage was much lower than that of the Celtics.
After the whole game, the 76ers shot only 40.7%, while the Celtics shot as high as 51.9%.
The difference in offensive success rate is so huge, it is not surprising that the 76ers lost.
After this game, the series score between the two teams became 2:1, with the Celtics leading.
…
In another matchup in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Pacers, who returned home, easily defeated the Heat 94:75.
In fact, the Heat have been in trouble since the first game of the series between the two teams.
Before the end of the first half of Game 1, Bosh strained his abdominal muscles after a dunk. Post-game examination results showed that he will miss the game for 2 to 4 weeks.
In the last game of the Heat, only Wade and James scored in double figures, and the rest of the team only scored 5 points.
It can be seen that the Big Three are indispensable. No matter which one is missing, it will have a great impact on the team's offense and defense.
However, the Heat's management believes that even without Bosh, relying on the super personal abilities of James and Wade, it shouldn't be a big problem to win against the new Pacers.
It is essential for the team to go through a period of pain, but after losing a game and adapting, the problem should be solved.
But what was unexpected was that the Pacers, who returned home, were extremely ferocious. They defended the Heat completely and only scored 75 points in the game.
Under the Pacers' airtight defense, the Heat were completely restricted. Only three people on the team scored in double figures. The second giant Wade made 2 of 13 shots and only scored 5 points and 1 assist.
There were 5 mistakes.
The Heat's top scorer turned out to be Chalmers, who scored a team-high 25 points. James made 10 of 22 shots and scored 22 points.
James and Wade couldn't open up, and the Heat's offense stagnated. They had only 9 assists in the game, while the Pacers had 20 assists.
In terms of three-pointers, the Pacers are also much better than the Heat. The Heat made 4 of 20 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of only 20%, while the Pacers made 8 of 14, with a shooting percentage of 57.1%.
Playing better on both offense and defense, it's not surprising that the Pacers won this game.
After this game, the big score in the series between the two teams became 2:1, with the Pacers leading.
