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

Chapter 167 The finals, three games against the Lakers
The first game between the Magic and the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals ended with the Magic winning 102:89.

Throughout the game, James fought alone. Although he scored 34 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, the Cavaliers only had Mo Williams' 16 points.

Vince Carter only scored 10 points on 4 of 9 shots in the entire game. Whether facing Afflalo's defense or Crawford's offense, Carter did not show the ability and role that a giant should have.

On the other side, O'Neal was not much stronger.

O'Neal standing in the penalty area still has a certain amount of prestige. After all, the tonnage is really there, but it is already a false proposition to enter the penalty area to show the ability to attack the frame.

As the Eastern Magic's imaginary rival in the playoffs, the Cavaliers' technical characteristics have long been thoroughly studied by the Magic's management inside and out. Chance to catch the ball.

Of course, this is also the same for the Cavaliers. They clearly know Howard's shortcomings in the interior. Howard, who is seriously lacking in interior skills, does not have the ability to play singles with the ball.

But the problem is that Howard seems very bachelor. Since he doesn't have the ability to play singles inside, then I won't play singles?Almost all of Howard's offense in the whole game came from cutting down to the basket to eat cakes and scoring after cooperating with Wang Chao's pick-and-roll. If you can't keep up with him, you have to bite the bullet and chase outside.

The result was that O'Neal played only 19 minutes in the entire game before being replaced, scoring 7 points and 4 rebounds. If O'Neal continued to be on the court, the Cavaliers would only lose more points.

"Facts have proved that the various big moves made by the Cavaliers last summer were just jokes. The configuration of the Big Three obtained through the trade is simply vulnerable. Neither O'Neal nor Carter can become James' right-hand man. Just like last season, James can only rely on his personal ability to fight alone and fight against Wang Chao and Howard with his own strength."

The result of the game made Barkley and Smith shake their heads.

"I heard that the Magic had a chance to acquire Carter, and the team's management was already moved, and the deal was almost reached, but Wang Chao urgently stopped the deal, and even threatened the team's general manager by applying for a deal. The manager gave in, and then the Magic traded for Crawford and signed reinforcements for Channing Frye and Trevor Ariza, all under Wang Chao’s suggestion.”

"At that time, this transaction caused dissatisfaction among many Orlando fans, but now it seems that Wang Chao's vision is really outrageous. There is no best sixth man Jamal Crawford, and he did not rely on three-pointers in the starting lineup. Channing Frye, who has the range of the ball to help stretch the space, although the Magic still has the strength to compete for the championship, it is impossible for the Magic to achieve a record of 70 wins and 12 losses in the regular season."

"Judging from the results of today's game, the Cavaliers probably won't cause any trouble to the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. The gap in the lineup will make this series a quick winner."

Barkley's analysis is absolutely correct.

On May 5, in the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals at home, the Magic once again won the game 18:95.

Although the score in this game was very close, the Cavaliers still had no chance throughout the game.

However, compared to this game, what made the Cleveland Cavaliers fans most desperate was the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals at the Cavaliers' home court on May 5.

Back on their own territory, with the blessing of the home court, the Cavaliers should have been catching up and trying to rewrite the score of 2:0 to 2:1.

But the result was a bloody 3:0.

Back home, the performance of the Cavaliers was not as good as in the away game. The Cavaliers only scored 78 points in the whole game, and only 15 points were recorded in the first quarter. So much so that Wang Chao and Howard clocked out of work early after playing three quarters.

I clocked in and got off work in the three quarters of the Eastern Conference finals. This treatment is really a bit too much...

这场比赛不光骑士队其他球员拉胯，就连詹姆斯也受到了影响，全场18投7中，三分球5中0，靠着11中8的罚球才得到22分9篮板8助攻的数据，同时还有7次失误。

Not even James, let alone others, O'Neal scored the team's second-highest 9 points on 5 of 17 shots. Slowly chasing two points and two points, if you want to catch up with the point difference, you have to wait until the year of the monkey.

The score of 3:0 was simply a death sentence for the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

After all, there has never been a situation in the NBA where a team can come back from a 3:0 situation.

Of course, it is impossible for the Cavaliers, and they are still at such a disadvantage.

On May 5, in Game 24 of the Eastern Conference Finals series, the Cavaliers finally won a victory. James, who scored 38 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, successfully defended the last bit of dignity at home.

But this is just a dying struggle. On May 5, the fifth game of the series, the venue returned to Orlando. The Magic did not give the Cavaliers any chance this time. They won 26:113 and defeated the Cavaliers with a total score of 92:4. The team reached the finals for the third consecutive year.

After the game ended, James walked towards the player tunnel with a dark face and without looking back.

This season, he was a complete failure!
Not only did he lose to Wang Chao in the MVP competition in the regular season, but he also lost to him head-on in the playoffs. If you say it, it will look more petty. This is a basketball game. If heads-up can solve the problem, why do ten players grab a ball on the field to play?

James can already imagine what kind of tone the media will use to criticize him after the Cavaliers are eliminated. To be honest, he is tired of the feeling of constantly facing failure and never getting ahead.

"Damn..."

It has been the seventh year since entering the league. Almost every year, James and the Cavaliers are thinking about the issue of signings, thinking about how to get a player who is strong enough to support James through a trade.

In 07, they were infinitely close to getting Wang Chao, but in the end Wang Chao chose to join the Orlando Magic.

Now Howard and the Magic are no longer attacking for the second championship because of Wang Chao, but James and the Cavaliers can't even reach the finals for the second time.

"Looks like it's time to make a change... If I continue like this, I'm likely to be like Barkley, Malone, and Garnett, without even a championship in my entire career. How can I surpass Michael and become Best player of all time?"

James' eyes flickered as he walked in the player tunnel, and his eyes gradually became decisive.

At this moment he has made up his mind.

……

On the other hand, the generals of the Magic team are still enjoying the joy of victory on the court. After winning the Eastern Conference finals, there will be trophies awarded. After all, it is a symbol of honor. After all, even if it is the championship of the East and West, only two teams can achieve it every season.

Wang Chao also celebrated with his teammates with a smile on his face, but he knew in his heart that the next time he meets James in the playoffs, it may not be against the Cleveland Cavaliers. A very strong team and teammates.

But that's all for later, the season isn't over yet.

After winning the Eastern Conference finals, the Magic will enter the finals and have a final showdown with the Lakers.

That's right, the final winner of the Western Conference Finals is the Los Angeles Lakers.

After getting rid of the oil bottle of O'Neal this season, the Suns have indeed regained their championship-level strength, but they are obviously still a lot worse than the Lakers.

4:2, the Lakers defeated the Suns to advance to the finals, and completed the finals meeting with the Magic for the third consecutive season.

In the first two confrontations, the Lakers and Magic each won one game, which can be regarded as a tie.

This third meeting in the finals will really determine which of the two teams is the strongest team in the league in recent years.

From the point of view of the lineup, the Magic team with two first-team players is more star-studded than the Lakers. Although Gasol is also a star player, he is still inferior to Howard. Kobe and Wang Chao have better scoring abilities. Weakness is hard to come to a conclusion now.

Kobe is recognized as the guard with the strongest scoring ability since Jordan, but Wang Chao is not bad, and he also has a super-accurate three-pointer bonus that Joko does not have.

Especially in the past two years, Wang Chao's scoring average in the regular season is higher than Kobe's, and he has also proved his scoring ability and stability in the face of various defensive champions.

Therefore, it is really difficult to judge who has the stronger scoring ability between the two.

Comparing the data between the two teams, the Lakers are better inside. Even though Howard is much stronger than Gasol, he is not a center with strong offensive ability after all. He is too blue-collar and cannot decide the outcome of a game on the offensive end. , and the Lakers inside besides Gasol also has a gradually growing little shark Andrew. Bynum.

This season, Bynum has finally begun to show his talents in the long-term training of the Lakers. During the regular season, he averaged 15 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, which is the third scoring point in the Lakers team after Kobe Bryant and Gasol.

After entering the playoffs, although Bynum's average data has declined due to playing time, Bynum, who is 2 meters tall and weighs close to 13 kilograms, is still very impressive when he stands at the basket.

The Lakers have every reason to believe that Bynum will become a great weapon for the Lakers against Howard.

Facing the Lakers, the Magic's advantage is naturally outside.

The Lakers outside have three players who averaged double figures per game, Wang Chao averaged 30+ per game, Crawford averaged 17+ per game, and Nelson averaged 12+ per game. Artest is the one who got the shot, but Artest's shooting percentage is not very good, shooting 41% from the field and 35.5% from the three-point range. During the regular season, he only averaged 11 points per game, and he played more roles on the court. Still defensive.

Both sides have their own advantages and disadvantages, and it can be said that they are evenly matched. At least the finals will not appear one-sided due to the gap in strength like the Eastern and Western finals.

……

The first game between the two sides will be held on June 6. The venue is still the home court of the Magic. With a record of 3 wins and 70 losses in the regular season, the Magic have home court advantage no matter what kind of opponent they face.

On the day of the game, the entire Amway Arena was full of seats, and the white representing the home color of the Magic rendered the entire player.

The Magic started as usual, Nelson, Afflalo, Wang Chao, Channing Frye, Howard.

The Lakers starting five Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol, Bynum.

Both sides have strong substitute players sitting off the court. The Magic have Crawford, Ariza and others, while the Lakers have Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown.

Howard still won the jump ball, and then he received a pass from Wang Chao at the basket. With his excellent explosive power and speed, he passed Bynum and scored a dunk for the Magic to take the lead.

Unlike the game against the Cavaliers, against the Lakers, restricting Kobe alone will not solve the problem. Gasol is much better than the aging O'Neal.

The Lakers started off the same way as the Magic. They first focused on the interior offense, and the basketball was handed over to Gasol, who played against Channing Frye. Gasol, who has offensive skills at the basket, and Channing Frye, who is not good at defense, are obviously difficult to parry. After being shaken by the opponent, he scored a layup.

In the first few minutes of the game, both teams were in the testing stage. Wang Chao and Kobe, the two strongest offensive points of their respective teams, did not rush to attack, but left more opportunities for their teammates to help them warm up.

In terms of passing assists, the current Wang Chao is obviously much better than Kobe.

Under his threading, the Magic began to show their firepower from outside. Nelson and Channing Frye all had open three-pointers.

On the other hand, the Lakers' main offense revolves around the twin towers of Gasol and Bynum, but what they have to face is Howard who guards the basket.

Howard's offense is not strong, but the defense has no opponents in this league.

In this case, the score of the Lakers began to be gradually widened.

Seeing his teammates' poor performance and being suppressed on the offensive end, Kobe began to be impatient and gradually increased the number of shots.

With Kobe's performance, the Lakers were not opened up by the Magic in the first quarter. The two teams scored 28 points and 26 points in the first quarter, and the Magic entered the second quarter with a 2-point advantage.

6投3中，罚球5中4的科比单节得到10分，是湖人队主力得分点。

As for the Magic, the highest scorer in the first quarter was Howard, who scored 8 points. Wang Chao scored only 6 points in the first quarter, all of which came from outside three-pointers, and made 3 of 2 shots.

Although he didn't take many shots, Wang Chao sent out 4 assists in a single quarter. Under his needlework, the five starters of the Magic all played well.

(End of this chapter)