basketball never sleeps

Chapter 42, the finals, is in sight.

Carlisle didn't make excuses for the team's losses in the first two games. He knew very well what kind of strength the Pistons' own lineup could play with reinforcements like Rasheed and Mo Wen.

At the press conference, he attributed the loss to his mistakes in tactical adjustments, and wanted to reduce the blame on the players as much as possible.

But public opinion will not give up criticizing other Pacers players just because Carlisle took the blame.

The first person to be "named and praised" was Xiao Ao, who ranked third in this season's MVP selection list. He was completely unworthy of the title of "superstar" in the previous games, especially the performance in the second half of G2 was even more catastrophic. .

There was no point in the second half, and even the local media in Indiana didn't know how to help him.

Secondly, Ron Artest, who is the second in charge, will also be held in a meeting. His 17 irons in a single game broke Kobe's record of 16 irons in this year's playoffs against the Spurs.

When explaining the game, Yang Yi joked, "I thought Kobe was already invincible, but I didn't expect someone to be as strong as Kobe. Whose general is this?"

For Reggie Miller, people are discussing whether the old guy should retire.

As for the rest of the Pacers, role players are not blamed in this era.

Many experts think that the Pacers may be swept in the series, and they didn't show much blood at home; the regular season record is the first, but they can't hold a home game, this is not only ridiculous, it is ridiculous! .

In contrast, the Pistons, a "grassroots lineup" that many ordinary fans don't recognize all the players in the world, after showing the league's best defensive suppression in the second half of G2, has become the "Asian" favorite in the mouths of basketball critics from all walks of life .

Big Ben received the most praise, averaged 15 rebounds per game, and scored in single digits. He became the "No. [-] C in the East" in the media, and the photo of him and O'Neal's baby face in the newspaper highlighted the His ferocity.

During the two days of training in the team, Big Ben often laughed out loud - he finally found an insider with a lower shooting percentage than him.

Your brother averaged 40% shooting in the two games, while Xiao Ao's shooting rate in the two games was only 38%. Let's see who dares to say that I can't attack in the future!
Hamilton, who has been playing steadily, is getting more and more famous as the "Mask Man". If he didn't shoot 3-pointers very often, the group of media would have given him the title of "Reggie Miller's successor".

And Mo Wen became the rookie most incomprehensible to this group of media. He is the only player in the Pistons who can guarantee that he can score in double figures in every game, and he is the same as Wade's "one trick, change the world". Unlike other players, Mo Wen's stability depends on his versatility, which is counterintuitive.

According to common sense, the more difficult the game should be, the more specialized "tricks" are needed to attack, and players who are well-rounded often become useless during this period.

···
On May 5, in Game 22 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers had no choice but to fight with their backs.

In the playoffs, no team has ever been able to complete a comeback in a 0:3 situation. On the contrary, the probability of being swept 0:4 is very high.

In the Pacers' general manager's office, "Big Bird" leaned on an office chair and watched the live broadcast of the game.

He didn't expect to reach this level in the Eastern Conference finals. The entire team's player configuration in every position is stronger than the Pacers he led to the finals in the 99-00 season.

Carlisle also has real things, at least much better than Isaiah who is messing around in New York now.

But if you really want to talk about the team's first two games, you can only use two words to describe it - shame!
Larry Bird no longer expects the team to win the championship. The Pacers in this state are also delivering food to the finals.

But, you have to show some face when you come out, win a game or two, and give an explanation to the folks, so that you can look forward to next year.

Carlisle summed up the reasons for the defeat in the previous two games, adjusted the lineup, abandoned Foster, who had a more balanced offensive and defensive inside, and mentioned the pure defensive blue-collar Clothier, who has stronger frame protection ability and better athletic ability, as the starting lineup.

At the same time, according to the defensive habits of the Pistons players in this year's playoffs, a new offensive route has been formulated, which reduces Artest's task in attacking tough tasks-judging from Artest's shooting percentage in the first two games, this attack is helping who to attack. Really bad.

If you are defending with Piston Stud, then I will also follow the Pacers. If you have dpoy, so will I!

The two sides launched a jaw-dropping iron feast. There was no fast break, no tactics, only defense, desperate defense.

The Pacers' overall defensive ability is definitely weaker than the Pistons, but the Pistons' offensive ability is not necessarily good.

In the first half, except for Hamilton who still had a certain shooting percentage after the screen, the other starting points all depended on Meng; the Pacers killed a thousand enemies and lost 999. They have seen it in the regular season, and it is considered a success if they can make a shot.

The Pistons trailed the Pacers by 17 point at 18:1 in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Mo Wen seldom replaced Hamilton for 5 minutes. This was actually telling Hamilton that you don’t even want to rest for a minute.

In a game of this intensity, Mo Wen didn't have many chances to find, and the referee just relaxed the penalty scale and didn't give many home whistles. Mo Wen made 3 of 1 shots and was replaced after only scoring one 3-pointer.

At halftime, the score of the two teams-the Pistons 34:36 Pacers.

Not to mention the spectators watching the game at home, the fans at the scene were all sleepy.

The commentary in the studio is predicting how long the two teams can maintain this intensity of defense.

The answer given by the two teams is - until the end.

The final score of the two teams was 67:71. The Pistons, which felt worse, lost by 4 points, and the Pacers struggled to regain a victory.

"Uh, although the game was once difficult under the high-intensity defense, I have to say that this game is definitely the game with the highest gold content in the Eastern Conference this year."

"Both the Pistons and the Pacers showed their suffocating defense. In this game, you can't see violent dunks, elegant passes, and smart breakthroughs. There are only players on both sides that kill everything. and a death-defying belief."

"I think all coaches should record this game and watch it over and over again. It's every defensive battle without mistakes."

TNT's commentator Albert is still trying his best to whitewash the game, saying some nonsense that even he himself doesn't believe.

"Oh, I almost got the groom (Albert). If you want me to say that this game is shit in shit, it can't be worse than this." Barkley, with his arms dragging his face, would rather be fined than complain. .

"Ben and Ron showed their strength as the best defensive players, Rasheed and O'Neal also put their energy into defense, and then everyone else had no time to play. I feel like I can explain it in four words. A game: shooting—interference—strike—rebound, oh, in order to be worthy of my salary, add the corresponding name to these three words”

"Jermaine (Jermaine) shot, Rasheed interfered, hit the iron, and Ben grabbed the rebound."

"Hamilton's shot, Miller's interference, slamming, Ron's rebound."

"Okay, okay, don't talk about Charles, I'm already sleepy." Kenny Smith quickly interrupted Buckley's spellcasting.

After smoking a whole cigar, Larry Bird finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the game was over, and finally saved his face.

But the problem with the team is still there.

The Pacers lack reliable assaulters or singles players, and Miller is old. In the three playoffs, Miller's performance was not as good as one round. It is not easy to count on him to keep running out of open spaces and scoring on the outside like he was when he was young. Reality is also unreasonable.

Larry Bird on the Pistons bench was also very greedy. He saw himself in Mo Wen, but the Pistons could not trade with them, and Bird also knew that many teams were interested in the Chinese. The price given is what Bird can't give.

Fortunately, he still has options.

·······
In the next two games, the Pistons did not give the Pacers a chance to comeback.

Carlisle gave up his habit of sticking to the main force, and kept trying to change formations, but he failed to break the high wall he had built with his own hands.

Xiao Ao finally stood up in the last game and scored 20+10 data, leading the team to lead by 10 points before the end of the third quarter.

But after the start of the fourth quarter, Mo Wen made a three-pointer from the screen, and Rashid made a three-pointer from the corner, which instantly melted the difference between the two teams. If it weren't for Miller's roar, the Pacers' morale might have been worse It collapsed in an instant.

At the last moment, Prince, who replaced Mo Wen, also completed the greatest defense of his career so far.

He chased down Miller, who shot the game-winning shot, although he fell hard into the crowd of fans for this.

The whistle sounded at the end of the game, and the Pistons players roared with forgetfulness in the silent Conseco Arena.

The finals are in sight.

　Hey, forgot to post

　　
　
(End of this chapter)