The Warriors defeated the Thunder with a score of 4:1. This result surprised many people.
What was surprising was not that the Thunder lost, but that the Thunder lost in such an embarrassing manner and that Westbrook was so vulnerable in a key battle.
Originally, everyone was not very optimistic about the Thunder. After all, they were only ranked third in the Western Conference. However, the Thunder defeated the powerful Spurs 4:2 in the Western Conference semifinals, which made people understand how strong they are.
That was the Spurs team that created the best record in the team's history, with a GDP combination and rising star Leonard!
In front of the Thunder, the Spurs' regular season record is of little use, and they lost with no temper.
In this case, is it possible to counterattack and defeat the Warriors?
This is what many people think, and it is true historically. The Thunder almost did it.
However, the series was completely different from everyone's imagination. The Warriors' defense was very targeted. Their move of leaving Westbrook open was unexpected, and completely leaving Robertson open also embarrassed Donovan.
Deng Fang just gambled, betting on Westbrook's low shooting percentage, betting on Robertson not making three-pointers!
Facts have proved that Deng Fang’s bet was right!
Westbrook's shooting is really bad, Robertson really has no three-pointers!
Similarly, Durant's shooting percentage dropped a lot when he was closely guarded, and his passing ability was indeed not very good.
On the other hand, the Warriors played very well. Deng Fang completely believed in Curry and gave him all the offensive rights. He ran without the ball, pick-and-roll, and one-on-one. Curry was used to his advantage by Deng Fang!
The final big score also proved that as the core of the team, Curry is better, and Curry is more suitable to be the leader of the team!
Of course, the reason why the Warriors were able to easily defeat the Thunder was mainly because Deng Fang was very familiar with these two teams.
The Thunder are indeed very strong, but they have a weakness, which is their lack of shooting ability!
Robertson has no three-pointers at all, which reduces his playing time a lot. Westbrook also has no three-pointers. The mid-range shot also depends on the weather. Even Ibaka's three-pointer can't kill anyone!
This is the lifeblood of the Thunder!
The Warriors are different. The Warriors' best thing is their shooting. Their three-pointers are very accurate. Even Barnes, Green and Iguodala's three-point shooting percentage has reached the league average.
Of course, the Thunder's impact is very strong, but shooting is the essence of basketball after all!
Without certain projection ability, no matter how good a breakthrough is, it will be compromised!
Deng Fang took full advantage of this point in the Thunder to win the series.
…
At the same time, the Eastern Conference Finals also entered the most critical moment.
The two opponents in the Eastern Conference Finals are the Cavaliers and Raptors. These two teams are also ranked first and second in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavaliers had an easy road to the playoffs. They eliminated the Pistons 4:0 in the first round and the Hawks 4:0 in the second round. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals without any effort.
The Raptors were different. They narrowly defeated the Pacers 4:3 in the first round, and narrowly defeated the Heat 4:3 in the second round. To be able to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, the Raptors consumed almost all their physical energy and energy.
So no one is optimistic about the Raptors in this series, and everyone thinks there is no suspense in this series.
But the results were quite surprising.
On May 17, the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors started. The Raptors started: Carroll, Patterson, Biyombo, DeRozan, Lowry. The Cavaliers started: James,
Love, Thompson, Irving, Smith.
The Raptors took the lead in the opening game and took a 7-0 lead. James scored first for the Cavaliers. Irving and J.R. Smith scored one after another, chasing the score to 9-11. DeRozan scored two consecutive jumpers and the Raptors 15-9. James stood
He came out and scored four points in a row for the Cavaliers. Love contributed a three-pointer from the outside and scored two free throws. The Cavaliers went ahead 18-17. DeRozan scored two consecutive jumpers and the Raptors led 21-18. Love hit a three-pointer.
Tied the score, Irving succeeded in counterattack, and the Cavaliers led by two points. Raptors DeRozan and Rose shot accurately, while Cavaliers Irving and Smith dominated the last ten minutes of the quarter. Irving scored four points in a row to end the first quarter, and the Cavaliers led 33-28
.
In the second quarter, the Cavaliers' substitutes Frye and Dellavedova scored two three-pointers in a row. Dellavedova hit another "2+1" successfully, and the Cavaliers led 42-28. After Biyombo scored two free throws, James
After completing an alley-oop with Della, LeBron slid down the baseline and scored a one-arm dunk. The Cavaliers launched a 16-2 offensive wave and led 49-30. The Raptors, after falling behind by 20 points, played 10-2 to narrow the point difference.
However, the Cavaliers played another 8-0, and the lead returned to 20 points. Biyombo scored a layup, James counterattacked with two points, and the Cavaliers led 64-44. Thompson dunked to end the half, and the Cavaliers led 66-44.
The Raptors hit 7-0 in the second half, and James hit Carroll "2+1" at a critical moment. The Cavaliers led 69-51. Irving and James teamed up to hit 8-2, and the Cavaliers' lead expanded to 24 points. James missed a layup.
This was his first missed shot of the game, making 10 of his first 11 shots. Johnson hit a three-pointer for the Raptors, Lowry missed consecutive shots, and the Cavaliers maintained a lead of more than 20 points. Frye hit a three-pointer, and the Cavaliers were 95-95.
67 leads to end this quarter.
In the fourth quarter, with the Cavaliers leading by a big score, James, Irving and Love all rested off the court.
In the end, the Cavaliers defeated the Raptors 115-84, leading the series 1-0.
For the Cavaliers, James had 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, Irving had 27 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds, Love had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Smith had 5 points and 3 assists, and Dellavedova had 9 points.
For the Raptors, DeRozan had 18 points, Lowry had 8 points and 5 assists on 4-of-14 shooting, Patterson had 8 points, Biyombo had 12 points, and Johnson had 10 points.
…
On May 19, the Cavaliers faced the Raptors in the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals at home.
At the beginning of the first quarter, DeRozan made a layup and quickly helped the visiting team break the deadlock. But then the Cavaliers continued their hot touch in G1. James scored consecutively with a strong attack. JR Smith and Love also hit three-pointers one after another. The home team had a small climax.
, leading 14-7. But then the Raptors showed a tough side. On the defensive end, they successfully blocked James' assault route. On offense, DeRozan was in excellent condition and scored 8 points in a row. With Terrence Ross
A three-pointer hit the net, and the Raptors took the lead with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. But before the end of the quarter, Irving stood up and jumped into the net twice. After the single quarter, the Cavaliers temporarily led 30-28.
In the second quarter, the game entered James' performance moment. He first completed a trademark two-handed dunk with both hands after a steal. Then James received a penetrating pass from J.R. Smith.
With almost losing his balance, he smashed the ball into the basket. These two goals greatly boosted the morale of the Cavaliers. In the latter part of this quarter, the Cavaliers re-established their advantage under the leadership of the Big Three. Love made a foul and made a free throw.
Another pass from James made a layup, and the Cavaliers widened the point difference to double digits. James made a layup to make it 2+1. At the end of the half, the Cavaliers continued to lead the Raptors 62-48.
After changing sides, the Cavaliers continued to expand their advantage. Irving succeeded in a layup. The home team once led the opponent by as many as 17 points. James also made a layup, and his personal score reached 19 points. After that, the Cavaliers still firmly controlled the battle situation. In the latter part of this quarter,
Irving scored 6 points in a row, and Love frequently hit the net with free throws. On the other hand, the Raptors could only rely on piecemeal scoring by role players like Joseph. Rose made free throws, and after three quarters, the Cavaliers continued to lead 86-69.
In the final quarter, the suspense of victory quickly lost, and the game inevitably entered garbage time. In the end, after the whole game was played, the Cavaliers once again defeated the Raptors at home 108-89, changing the total score of the series to 2-0.
For the Cavaliers, LeBron James made 7 of 13 shots and scored 23 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Irving made 12 of 22 shots and scored 26 points, 3 assists and 4 rebounds. Love scored 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Tristan Thompson
Contributed 9 points and 12 rebounds, J.R. Smith scored 12 points.
For the Raptors, DeRozan scored 22 points. Lowry's performance was sluggish. He made only 4 of 14 shots, scored 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, and committed 5 turnovers. Three substitutes, Terrence Ross,
