With three points at the start, Nash begged for a maximum salary to renew his contract

Chapter 113 The Eastern Conference Finals, against the Celtics
In the next few rounds, the Magic used the elevator door tactics to help Wang Chao cover the space involved. In the middle of the game, they scored 3 points in a row, and in the blink of an eye, they chased back the 3-point difference.

The Pistons immediately called a timeout to adjust the situation. However, the unsolvable part of the elevator door strategy is that even if they know that the opponent is going to play like this, there is no way to do it. Except for the violation of the mobile pick-and-roll, the only thing that can be gambled is that the shooter does not feel good. Can't make a shot, but this doesn't hold true for Wang Chao.

The Magic also know how to accept when they see a good result. After overtaking the score, they did not continue to use this trick frequently, but returned to normal Wang Chao and Howard's pick-and-roll cooperation to consolidate their lead.

The advantage that was finally established was reversed and overtaken by a wave, which caused the morale of the Pistons to plummet. More importantly, the first show of the elevator door tactic made them a little confused, and they had no way to deal with this tactic.

104:97, this is the final score after the game. The Magic defeated the Pistons and won the first game of the series with a total score of 1:0.

“Congratulations to the Magic for winning this game. Although the game was ups and downs, the Magic fell behind by 8 points in the fourth quarter, but under the guidance of Wang Chao’s 13 points in a single quarter, the team successfully reversed and won. Contest."

Director Yu said: "Wang Chao shouldered the team's offensive banner in this game, scoring a game-high 31 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, shooting 56% from the field and 52% from the three-point range, especially in the fourth quarter. The three consecutive three-pointers in the process are the key to the Magic's ability to overtake the score!"

魔术队这边除了王超的31分4篮板6助攻外，霍华德同样有27分13篮板的表现，王超的6次助攻全都是与霍华德挡拆配合后传给对方篮下吃饼刷出来的。

The super magic combination scored 58 points, which is also the key to the Magic's victory in the game.

After the game, the head coach of the Pistons, Philip Saunders, looked uneasy. It doesn't matter if he loses a game. After all, the playoffs are 7 games and 4 wins.

But what made him feel great pressure was the elevator door tactics used by the Magic in the fourth quarter.

If there is no way to crack this tactic, then in the following games, once the game is deadlocked and the Magic uses this trick again, the Pistons will have no resistance and can only face the result of defeat!
At the press conference after the game, Sanders vaguely mentioned that during the game, the Magic was suspected of moving the pick-and-roll, but the referee did not whistle, which made him very dissatisfied.

I have to admit that although it is the class to succeed Larry Brown, during the coaching period of the Pistons, especially after Ben Wallace left the team, he can still bring the Pistons to the Eastern Conference Finals every year. Sanders' coaching The level is pretty good.

Although it was the first time he saw the elevator door tactic, he immediately noticed the problem with this tactic, that is, the suspicion of moving pick-and-roll with double pick-and-roll cover.

But this kind of thing itself is a question of the strength of the penalty. Even the Warriors won 73 regular season wins and got Durant in the summer to form an unprecedented luxury lineup, which caused great dissatisfaction among all the teams in the league. After that, they united to put pressure on the league, forcing the referee to whistle and move the pick-and-roll to become stricter.

In contrast, the Magic have just started using it, and they use it very carefully, only using it a few times at critical moments. In addition, the Magic itself is not the top team in the league, so there is no need to brag about it.

Taking a step back, as far as the league is concerned, the Magic and the Pistons must be the former who is more popular with Stern.

Both Wang Chao and Howard are popular superstars in the league. Although the Magic are also a strong defensive team, their offense is not as procrastinated as the Pistons. The Magic's offense is also very gorgeous when they are playing the original version of the Magic Ball.

Therefore, the Magic's entry into the Eastern Conference Finals and the winner of the Celtics and Cavaliers matchup will definitely gain more ratings than the Pistons' entry into the Eastern Conference Finals.

In order to promote James, the league can ignore even six-step layups. What is there to care about with a merely suspected mobile pick-and-roll?
On the second day after Sanders publicly questioned the referee's call, the league publicly stated that there was nothing wrong with the referee's call in the G1 game between the Magic and the Pistons, and it was completely reasonable and compliant. Inappropriate speech, was fined $5 as a warning.

The alliance's tough attitude made the Pistons just shut up and prepare for the next game.

On May 5th, the second game of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the venue was still at the home court of the Magic. Facing the Pistons who had already lost a game but were still aggressive, the Magic won this game again with 5:100. The score is 93:2 ahead of the opponent.

王超得到22分5篮板5助攻，霍华德25分18篮板，尼尔森20分4助攻。

Three of the Magic scored 20+, 5 scored in double figures, and won the game.

When the score was stalemate at the last moment, the Magic followed suit and resorted to the elevator door tactic again. The Pistons, who had been prepared for a long time, had no choice but to watch the victory away from them again.

There's really no way around it.

In addition to calling a screen foul, the elevator door tactic has only one possibility to prevent it, and that is the touch of the player who executes the shot.

Why did the tactics that were born as early as the 80s not gradually show their power until the 13-14 season?Because before that, there was no team that could use this tactic to its maximum effect.

Looking at the entire league, before Curry and Thompson appeared, only Ray Allen's three-point shooting ability could support the requirements of this tactic.

Wang Chao, who has a full value of 99 in all three three-pointers and has the talents of marksman, quick shooter and sniper, is obviously a player who is more suitable for this tactic than Curry.

This is why Wang Chao is very cautious and tries to avoid using the elevator door tactic in large quantities. If possible, he wants to enjoy the convenience brought by the elevator door tactic as much as possible. The later the better, especially in the playoffs, it is simply a big killer like a bug.

The big score was 2:0, which caught many people by surprise.

Even with the home court advantage, it is still surprising that the Magic can win two games in a row against the Pistons so neatly. After all, the experience of the two teams in the playoffs is very different.

With two victories, the Magic headed to Detroit with great momentum. The next two games will all be played at the home court of the Pistons.

On May 5, the Pistons' home court was packed. For Detroit, a city that is experiencing economic turmoil, a large number of unemployment and bankruptcy, it is really rare, because the fans of the Pistons firmly believe that the loss of the first two games was due to the away game. For reasons of combat, when they return to their home court, the Pistons will surely win two games in a row, tie the score to 7:2 first, and then beat the Magic in one go, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth consecutive year.

However, the fans of the Pistons never expected that they enthusiastically came to the home court to cheer for the team, but what they got in return was the result of a collective early departure in disappointment after three quarters.

What is magic ball tactics?

The term was born when D'Antoni coached the Rockets.

The so-called magic ball, explained in the simplest way, is to abandon the traditional mid-range shooting and limit the main scoring methods to three-pointers and offense at the basket, focusing on maximizing efficiency.

Why this style of play is called magic ball is also because this style of play is very magical. Either it is a super god, or it is a super ghost. If a player feels cold, he can't face the weakest bottom team in the league.

During Howard’s peak period, the magic team’s playing philosophy was the embryonic form of magic ball tactics. The offense relied on a large number of long-range three-pointers. Except for Howard who was guarding the basket, all four positions on the court could shoot three-pointers.

The G3 game between the Magic and the Pistons happened to coincide with the time when the Magic's outside touch was overwhelming.

Not just Wang Chao, but Turkoglu, Nelson, Maurice Evans, Bogans and other players how to shoot from beyond the three-point line.

In the first half alone, the Magic made a frenzied 15 of 7 shots from outside the three-point line, and their three-point shooting percentage was as high as 46.7%!

Facts have proved that three-pointers can really shoot people alive.

Halfway through the third quarter of the game, the point difference between the two teams had exceeded 30 points, and the Pistons' defensive system had completely collapsed, completely powerless to resist.

At this time, the fans at the Pistons' home court had already left a lot.

Pistons head coach Flip Saunders stood impassive on the sidelines.

He doesn't have to worry about the elevator door tactic in this game, because the Magic don't use the elevator door tactic to create shooting space at all, but...

"3:0."

Although the game is not yet over, the 30-point difference, with the scoring ability of the Pistons, it is extremely difficult to catch up in the final fourth quarter of the game. Throughout the regular season, the Pistons scored more than 30 points in a single quarter There are very few games, not to mention that they have not been able to limit the Magic's outside shots so far.

121: 86.

At the home court of the Pistons, the Magic won the game with a huge lead of 35 points. Not only did they turn the total score into 3:0, they were the first to win the match point, and they were even more murderous, completely defeating the Pistons and the Ball. The confidence of the fans.

Throughout the history of the NBA, there has never been a team that has won 3 consecutive Jedi comebacks after falling behind 0:4 in the playoffs.

The Pistons are also hard to do.

After the Magic took a 3:0 lead, a tight string of the team suddenly loosened.

This loosening immediately caused a big problem.

On May 5th, in the fourth game of the series, the Magic were completely suppressed at the home court of the Pistons. How they shot and how they felt in the previous game disappeared in this game. Only two of the team scored in double figures, respectively. It was Howard's 10 points and 21 rebounds and Wang Chao's 12 points, 24 rebounds and 3 assists.

At 72:91, the Pistons won by 19 points at home, and finally managed to get back a little bit and save some face.

If this defeat has not alerted the Magic, then on May 5, the Magic lost another game at home at 13:88, and the total score was chased to 95:3, which made everyone alert.

The Pistons are really no rookie. The team that has been able to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for many years is one of the top teams in the East and even in the league. If you underestimate the opponent, you will definitely regret it.

The two defeats made Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy furious, and the team practiced extra after the game.

"We have no way out. If we lose the game in G6, the score will be 3:3! If we are really in a 3:0 lead and lose 4 games in a row, we will really be nailed. On the pillar of shame in history, whenever a playoff matchup reaches 3:0, it will be dragged out as a classic example and whipped over and over again!"

No one wants to become a classic case, just like the Mavericks who won 06 regular season games in the 07-67 season and were blacked out by the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, they are often mentioned.

Feeling the tremendous pressure, the Magic finally rose to prominence in the G5 series on May 15, 6:97, and won the game at the Pistons' home court, refusing the tie-break, and the score was fixed at 92:4.

The Pistons fans who had a little hope because the team won two games in a row were disappointed after all.

The Magic team cheered.

Before the start of the regular season, who would have thought that the Magic could achieve 62 wins in the regular season?And who would have thought that they could go all the way through and even defeat the Pistons to enter the Eastern Conference Finals?
You must know that in the last season, the Magic could barely enter the playoffs with the eighth record in the Eastern Conference, and then they were ruthlessly swept out by the Pistons 4:0 in the first round. They missed the playoffs, and even finished last in the league.

But this season, the Magic team has completed its rise and officially entered the ranks of the top teams in the league. In the eyes of many people, all of this came from a big gamble made by the Magic team last summer, with a super maximum salary plus a first-round draft pick , Wang Chao was snatched from the Suns.

Wang Chao, who averaged 26.9 points per game in the regular season, also showed a strong scoring ability in the playoffs, especially in the 6 games against the Pistons, Wang Chao averaged 24.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Compared with the regular season, it has declined, but that is because the team's overall score has declined compared with the regular season when facing the Pistons.

Wang Chao's average of 24.8 points per game is the highest of the two teams, and he has stepped forward many times in moments of crisis for the team, helping the team out of danger with his own scoring.

To put it bluntly, Wang Chao's importance to the Magic is no less than that of Warcraft Howard, who has the role of a sea god on the defensive end. He is fully worthy of the title of internal and external dual core.

What's interesting is that the Magic, which eliminated the Pistons 4:2, was actually the first to win the four matchups in the second round of the playoffs.

Another set of matchups here in the East is the Celtics against the Cavaliers.

The Celtics' easy sweep of the Cavaliers that many people thought did not happen. Although the Cavaliers did not perform well during the regular season, there is no doubt about their runner-up strength last season, or James is really strong.

尤其是在2:3落后，陷入绝境的时候，詹姆斯狂砍32分12篮板6助攻，硬生生的率领骑士队以74：69取得胜利。

When the team only scored 74 points, James' 32 points accounted for 43% of the team's points, which shows how powerful he is.

The two teams tied with a total score of 3:3 will have a tiebreaker next.

The situation of the two sets of matchups in the West is surprisingly similar.

The game between the Spurs and the Hornets has been fiercely fought to a 3:3 tie. No one expected that the Hornets led by Chris Paul would be so powerful that even the Spurs would struggle to cope.

I have to admit that Paul was really strong during this period. Even facing the top defensive team in the league like the Spurs, he can still contribute a stable double-double of 24+11 per game.

It is much more difficult for the Spurs to deal with Paul than it is to deal with James, even though the Hornets' lineup is much stronger than the Cavaliers in last year's finals, with David West and Tyson Chandler on the inside and Peja on the outside.

Wang Chao knew that in this matchup, the Spurs could finally win and advance to the Western Conference Finals with their richer experience and background. On the contrary, it was another set of matchups, so he had no idea which direction the result would go.

Lakers vs Rockets.

This duel was definitely Wang Chao's fault. It was precisely because of his existence that the Magic did not give Lewis a contract worth [-] million yuan, and it also caused the Rockets to gamble and gamble to sign first and then trade for Lewis.

Although Lewis's personal strength is not top-notch, and the future [-] million yuan contract will become a classic garbage contract, but at this stage, Lewis is indeed a very high-quality shooter among power forwards, and he is good at long-range shots and can also be very good. Cooperate with traditional center Dayao.

The chain reaction brought about by Lewis joining the Rockets is that the Rockets did not have major injuries during the regular season, including Dayao, are in a relatively healthy state, even if the Rockets' record in the regular season did not There is an obvious improvement, but in the playoffs, it is really unimaginable how terrible a healthy Yao and the Rockets are.

The Lakers are in big trouble right now.

In the first two games at home, the Lakers won all of them steadily, but when it came to Houston's away game, they immediately lost their lead and the total score came to a 2:2 tie.

In the battle of Tianwangshan, Dayao broke out strongly and scored 28 points and 13 rebounds. At the same time, McGrady and Lewis also scored 21 points and 19 points respectively. The Rockets defeated the Lakers 100:92 in the battle of Tianwangshan, leading the upset Get match point.

Wang Chao was really surprised.

The Big Three of the Rockets don't seem to be as reliable and stable as the Big Three of the Celtics, but the Big Three are the Big Three after all, and their combat effectiveness is really strong.

Forced to a desperate situation, Kobe also broke out in the sixth game, scoring 44 points, abruptly dragging the Lakers back from the edge of the cliff, and the two sides fought to a 3:3 tie.

Next, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the Lakers, the two teams will have a final duel of life and death, and only the winning side will be eligible to participate in the Western Conference Finals.

Wang Chao really doesn't know who will win between these two teams. There is no doubt that Kobe is very strong, but when McGrady on the Rockets is in excellent form, his scoring ability is not inferior to Kobe at all, and besides him There are more helpers than Kobe.

The only difference is that if the Lakers win, the Spurs will have no chance in the Western Conference Finals, but if the opponent is the Rockets, the Spurs may still have a chance to beat the Rockets and reach the Finals.

It’s not that Wang Chao underestimated the Rockets. It’s because even with the Big Three, the Rockets’ stability and endurance are more worrying. Not to mention the overall strength of the Spurs, they did not hesitate to do anything to win during the game. .

Wang Chao was really worried that Bowen, the Spurs' queen, would give Dayao a slap in the face at the most critical moment in the Western Conference Finals.

The Olympics is coming soon, and he doesn't want Dayao to be injured and unable to play at this time.

Wang Chao waited for two days with some trepidation, and all the results of the three groups of confrontation between the east and the west came out.

Not surprisingly, the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals 4:3.

James gave everything in the last game. When no one on the team could provide him with enough help, James made 29 of 14 shots, 19 of 14 free throws, scored 45 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Apart from him on the Cavaliers side, only Delonte West scored in double figures. It is conceivable how desperate James is.

As the most popular Big Three team to win the championship this season, the Celtics did not play well in the playoffs. They played a tie-break with the Eagles in the first round, and were almost blacked out. In the second round, they were almost defeated by the Cavaliers. cornered.

This can't help but make people wonder whether the Celtics can win the championship?Let alone the finals, the Eastern Conference finals against the Magic may not be so stable. After all, the Magic eliminated the Detroit Pistons, the strongest in the Eastern Conference except the Celtics, 4:2.

On the other hand, the Spurs defeated the Hornets, and Paul, the king of the bees, was only one step away from the floor of the Western Conference Finals. At this time, Paul, who is young and energetic, has a very bright future, I am afraid that he would never have imagined that in the next ten years, the floor of the Western Conference Finals will become His nightmare was finally realized after joining the Rockets.

As for the Lakers vs. Rockets that Wang Chao is most uncertain about, it is the Lakers who have the last laugh.

This is definitely the highest-level game among the four duels so far. The scores of the two teams have been stalemate since the beginning of the game. At the time of the biggest point difference, the difference did not exceed 5 points. In the end, the Lakers won 108:106 In the game, the score difference was only 2 points.

科比砍下全场最高的34分8篮板6助攻，而勇士队那边，大姚得到21分10篮板，麦迪19分4篮板8助攻，刘易斯16分……

Facts have proved that the Big Three of the Rockets are not particularly reliable. McGrady has passed his peak period, and his explosive power has plummeted due to injuries. The fastest first step in the league back then no longer has the lethality of holding the ball. It has changed to mid-range and long-range shooting, and Lewis is not strong enough to attack with the ball. Under the oppressive defense of the Lakers, how can the shooting rate be high if he does not break through and only makes mid-range and long-range shots?
Kobe is completely different here. Almost all of his points come from breakthroughs with the ball, and he made as many as 17 free throws in the entire game.

A little bit, just a little bit worse.

The Rockets fell in front of the Lakers, and the matchup in the Western Conference Finals will be the Lakers vs. the Spurs.

Dayao and the Rockets lost the game and were eliminated. Although Wang Chao felt a little sorry for Dayao, he was also relieved.

In the 7 games with very high confrontation intensity, Dayao was not injured and has been quite active all the time. Judging from his competitive state in the games, he will definitely be able to compete with the best in the Olympic Games in a few months later. Played in good condition.

……

The list of finals in the East and West has been released, and the game will start immediately.

Now that the Rockets have been eliminated, all Huaguo fans who supported the Rockets and Dayao naturally turned to support Wang Chao's Magic. After all, the Magic has been regarded as the second home team of Huaguo fans this season.

By the way, the Lakers are considered the third home team. On the one hand, Kobe has a terrifying number of fans in China. On the other hand, the right to sign Chinese player Sun Yue is in the hands of the Lakers. A signing agreement has not been reached with Sun Yue, but it has been reported early that the Lakers want to inspect Sun Yue, who represents the Huaguo men's basketball team, during the Beijing Olympic Games. If he has a certain ability to play in the NBA, he will sign a contract with him. .

In the eyes of Chinese fans, it is only a matter of time before Sun Yue lands in the NBA and joins the Lakers.

The fact is indeed the case. After the Olympics, the Lakers officially signed a contract with Sun Yue, and won the championship in the 08-09 season. They also awarded a championship ring to Sun Yue, who was so soy sauce, which also made Sun Yue become the next player after the bus. The second Chinese player to win a championship ring in the NBA.

These are all later stories.

In the Eastern Conference finals, against the Boston Celtics, this will be the strongest opponent the Magic have encountered so far.

Unlike the Pistons, the Celtics of the Big Three are really strong and terrifying. The two teams met four times in the regular season, and the Magic lost all four games and didn't even win a game.

In terms of defense, the Celtics' defensive ability is stronger than that of the Magic. Although Garnett is not as powerful as Howard, he is not inferior to Howard in other aspects, whether it is jumping, blocking, or mobility.

Therefore, Garnett's defensive deterrence at the basket is completely comparable to Howard.

Howard was only selected to the best defensive second team this season, but Garnett is the best defensive first team, and he is also the most popular for the best defensive player DPOY award.

As a time traveler, Wang Chao knows that the best defensive player this season is Garnett's.

While they don't have an advantage on defense, the Magic also don't have much advantage on the offensive end.

The core of the Magic's outside scoring is Wang Chao. During the regular season, he averaged 26.9 points per game, and he performed equally well in the playoffs.

But the Celtics have Pierce and Ray Allen's dual-core drive on the perimeter.

Although Turkoglu is very good, he can't compare with either of the two.

There is an obvious gap between the two teams in the lineup, which cannot be smoothed out anyway.

Wang Chao knew from the beginning that with the current strength of the Magic, it was still too difficult to defeat the Celtics. Howard had to become stronger and achieve the dominance at the basket at his peak, and he also needed to go further. Completely evolved into Kobe, a top scorer at James' level, will really have a chance to compete with the Celtics.

The team is able to stand on the stage of the Eastern Conference finals, and both the management and the players of the Magic are already very satisfied.

Regardless of the outcome of the Eastern Conference finals, they were greeted with warm applause when they returned to Orlando.

But having said that, he is already on the stage of the Eastern Conference finals, and he has to fight anyway. Besides, Wang Chao also has the unique trick of elevator door tactics, so there is still a chance to fight.

On May 5, the first game of the Eastern Conference finals officially started.

This is the first time the Magic have played without home court advantage since the playoffs, and it is also the first time they have experienced the horror of the home court of the Devils in Boston.

At 91:98, the Celtics won the game.

Facing the stronger defense of the Celtics than the Pistons, and the strong sense of oppression brought by the Devil's home court, almost all members of the Magic were affected, and their performance was generally below the average level, with Wang Chao being the only exception.

After the game started, the Celtics sent Garnett to defend Wang Chao. Garnett has a better height and wingspan than Wang Chao, and his foot speed is not too slow. Garnett at his peak Both speed and agility are around 80. Even Garnett, whose athletic ability has declined slightly during the Celtics period, is at least above 75.

Moreover, the slight decline in athletic ability is replaced by richer experience than when he was young. Garnett's average per game during this period may be a little worse than in previous seasons, but his strength is indeed at the peak of the real, the so-called grouping in old age It's just a joke. I have never heard of a player who has entered his twilight years at the age of 31.

The Celtics thought that with Garnett marking, Wang Chao would definitely be pressed to death, without any chance of scoring.

This was indeed the case at the beginning of the game. Garnett was like an all-round enhanced version of Kirilenko. In Wang Chao's eyes, he was like a hedgehog, completely helpless.

However, after Wang Chao was restrained at the beginning, he immediately told the Celtics with his actions that it doesn't matter if he can't beat Garnett, and labor and capital can shake people.

Wang Chao, who was very uncomfortable being defended by Garnett, directly called his good friend Howard for help, and used Howard's pick-and-roll to separate Garnett's gap, and hit consecutive three-point shots from the outside.

As a last resort, Celtics center Perkins had to follow Howard out of the line with his heavy steps, and went up to stop Wang Chao when he was about to shoot a three-pointer after the pick-and-roll.

Usually in this situation, the Magic's next step is to let Howard quickly go down and attack the frame after receiving a pass from Wang Chao, but after the pick-and-roll, the defensive target is changed. Garnett's defense also makes Howard quite uncomfortable, regardless of height. Or wingspan, Garnett has also achieved full coverage of Howard. Even the strength that Howard is proud of, at this stage, it does not seem to be much stronger than Garnett.

Therefore, after the pick-and-roll, even if Perkins makes up, the Magic will still play Wang Chao, but the shooting from outside the three-point line becomes an accelerated breakthrough with the ball.

Garnett can keep up with Wang Chao's footsteps, but Perkins is different.

Perkins, who weighs 122 kilograms, is a standard heavy center forward with heavy and clumsy feet, unable to keep up with Wang Chao.

与霍华德频繁的挡拆配合，让王超全场18投10中，三分球7中3，罚球6中5，全场得到28分3篮板。

But this is also the only time the Magic have scored 20+ points in this game.

尼尔森13投5中得到12分，特科格鲁12投4中得到10分，就连霍华德也只有14分11篮板入账。

There is no way, Howard, who can fly into the sky and escape from the ground, is most afraid of the real heavy center, because his strength is mainly in the strength of the upper body. In order to ensure sufficient mobility and jumping explosive power, Howard is not heavy and has the strength of the lower body. Not strong enough either.

This is why Howard is always beaten by Yao. During the time period when Shaquille O'Neal is getting old, Yao is the only traditional heavy center in the league. Howard can't stand Yao at all inside.

Although Perkins' weight is much lower than that of Dayao, and he doesn't have the excellent low-post offensive skills of the latter, his weight of 122 kilograms is still much heavier than Howard's, which is enough to cause Howard a lot of trouble inside.

In fact, even if there is no meeting in the Eastern Conference finals this year, the Magic will still meet the Celtics in the second round of the playoffs next year.

That season, the Celtics lost Garnett, who can be regarded as the most important main force of the team, in the regular season. However, even facing the Celtics without Garnett, the Magic had to fight the opponent in seven bloody games. He won the victory with difficulty, and eliminated the Cavaliers 4:2 in the Eastern Conference Finals to reach the finals. All Lakers fans know the story after that. With the help of the Magic, Kobe finally got the first place after leaving O'Neal A championship.

In the seven games against the Celtics, Howard averaged 16.4 points, 17 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. He did a very good job in terms of rebounds and blocks, but compared to the 20+14 data in the regular season, his scoring Apparently it's still limited.

Perkins, who was facing him, also performed well in this round of the series, averaging 10 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, and his shooting percentage reached 52.4%, almost equal to Howard. As a standard blue-collar center, During the regular season, Perkins' average data per game could not reach this level at all, and it is definitely a super-level performance.

It's not that Howard's average of 16 points and 17 rebounds per game against the Celtics was not good enough, but in the 08-09 season, as the most representative season of Howard's career, he won the rebounding, blocking, best team, best Various awards such as the first defense and the best defensive player are also among the best in the regular season MVP voting.

Such a top player can't win a blue-collar center, which is somewhat unreasonable.

Of course, if you look at it from the perspective of Wang Chao, a time traveler, it actually makes sense. Perkins is a blue-collar center, isn't Howard?
Although Howard played like a superstar, even in his peak season of 08-09, he was still just a super blue-collar center forward, without the ability to play singles with his back, and he did not have the ability to support the ball.

This is also one of the main reasons why Wang Chao would consider choosing the Magic. This super center, who claims to be able to replace James alone, has a completely different level of possession of the ball than James. Wang Chao can enjoy a lot of ball possessions from the Magic on the court with peace of mind. The right to shoot, play excellent data, and under the guarantee of Howard's defense, the team's record is also guaranteed, which is simply flattering.

The topic is a bit far away, so let's get down to business.

首战告负后，魔术队紧跟着又在5月22日97:103输给凯尔特人，总比分2:0落后。

In this game, the players on the Magic team got used to the Celtics' home court, and their shooting percentage began to pick up. Howard scored 19 points and 15 rebounds. Turkoglu, Nelson and others also scored in double figures. Performance, a total of 6 players in the team scored in double figures, including Wang Chao who scored 25 points.

However, the Celtics, Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen scored 26 points, 25 points and 25 points at the same time. The Big Three scored 76 points and won the second game at home. Eastern Conference Finals.

"Sure enough, although the newly emerging Magic team is strong, compared with the Celtics' Big Three, it lacks a lot in terms of strength and experience."

"The Magic's journey to the playoffs may come to an end here, stopping in the Eastern Conference Finals. This report card should be enough to satisfy Orlando fans. Their core players are still very young, whether it is Howard or Wang Chao, There is a lot of room for improvement, and the Magic will definitely become a powerful team in the league in the future!"

After the two games, the major media have already begun to summarize the season for the Magic. In their view, it is only a matter of time before the Magic lose.

However, the tenacity of the Magic is far beyond their imagination.

Back at their home court, the Magic team won two consecutive games and brought the score back to a 2:2 tie!
The Magic rely heavily on the touch of the outside line to return to their normal state without being affected by off-court factors at home. At the same time, Wang Chao frequently used elevator door tactics in these two games to maximize the firepower outside the three-point line. displayed.

In the G3 game, he made 15 of 9 three-pointers and scored 34 points!
In the G4 game, he made 18 of 10 three-pointers and scored 38 points!
With Wang Chao's scoring and the recovery of the Magic's outside shooters, the Magic scored two hearty victories.

With a score of 2:2, the game venue came to the home court of the Celtics again, the fifth game of the Eastern Conference Finals, the battle of Tianwangshan.

The profound background allowed the Celtics to win the key Tianwangshan. Garnett scored 33 points and 16 rebounds, Ray Allen scored 29 points and made 9 of 6 three-pointers. , The Big Three once again combined to score 18 points, showing their strength to the league.

For the Magic, Wang Chao scored 26 points, while Howard had 25 points and 14 rebounds, but he was still unable to turn the tide.

The total score is 3:2!

On May 5, Game 30 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

主场作战的魔术再度展现精准的外线三分命中率，全队在比赛中狂投37记三分球，命中了18个，命中率高达48.6%，魔术队也以119:102大胜凯尔特人17分！将比分顽强追平至3:3！

The 17-point difference is the most disparate game among the six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Such a difference also made Boston fans start to panic.

The belief that my team would definitely win could not help but start to waver.

Can they... really win?

It was also the tiebreaker, and the Magic brought them a completely different feeling from the previous Eagles and Cavaliers!
(End of this chapter)