After the confession failed, I went to the NBA to play and lose weight

Chapter 238 The first to advance
At least three games have been played in the first round of the East and West, and the situation is gradually becoming clear.

In the East, the Magic 3:0 the Eagles, the Raptors 3:1 the Pistons, and they were just short of advancing to the next round. The Celtics 2:1 the Phillies, and the Cavaliers 2:1 the Wizards. .

In the west, the Spurs 3:0 the Suns, the Lakers 3:0 the Nuggets, and the Jazz 3:1 Houston. The promotion situation is also clear. Only the Hornets 2:1 the Mavericks still have suspense, but the probability of the Hornets advancing is also very high. The first There is basically no chance of upset in rounds.

So now in the eyes of many people, the biggest focus is on the game between the Raptors and the Pistons. After all, this is likely to become the first and possibly the only series in this year's playoffs.

Of course, this has nothing to do with the Magic, because the fourth game is different from the previous three games, only two days apart, which means that they have shorter rest and preparation time, only stay in Orlando for one day, and the next day At noon, we will be ready to fly to Atlanta again.

On Monday, April 4th, still at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, the first round of G28 between the Magic and the Eagles officially started.

For the Eagles, this was a last stand. Smith continued his good performance and scored 29 points again. The fly in the ointment was 6 for 0 from beyond the three-point line.

The best performer of the Eagles became Johnson, who scored 24 points and 12 assists on 37 of 6 shots.

But the Eagles still lost the game, because apart from Bibby who scored 16 points, no one else could provide help at all.

Horford's instability as a rookie was exposed in this game. It may be because of fatigue, or it may be because his mentality has been affected. Not only did he miss all 7 shots on the offensive end, but he only scored 3 points with free throws. He was frequently fouled and made mistakes, and was finally beaten to 6 fouls and left the field, playing only 27 minutes.

However, Horford is already the best fifth position of the Eagles, and others are not as good as him.

霍福德不在的情况下，霍华德、李成名更拦不住了，霍华德砍下19分19篮板逼死强迫症，李成名拿到了整个系列赛最好的表现，23投16中、罚球6中6狂砍38分7篮板6助攻。

In the final quarter, the suspense of directly killing the game with 9 of 7 and 14 points in a row also made the Eagles completely desperate.

This game also made those voices who were still discussing whether Li Chengming was "revealed" and restricted in the playoffs disappear directly.

Li Chengming didn't look restrained, he was simply unstoppable.

After the game, Woodson said that "we were destroyed by Lee, who turned the last 3 minutes of the fourth quarter into garbage time." Smith also had to admit that the Magic was the better team, but He also said that they still have a chance, after all, they are still young, and they will come back next season.

The Magic did not bring the suspense back to Orlando. They easily swept the first round and completed the promotion first. On the same day, the Lakers also easily took away the Nuggets 4:0 in the game that started later.

Another failed season for the Double Guns has disappointed both management and fans, and they will definitely start looking for trades during the offseason.

However, under the circumstances that Anthony, as the core of the team, should not move, Iverson's current transaction value is relatively limited. Unless it is the kind of team that is in the rebuilding period, it is difficult to exchange for strong players or good enough players. The chips come.

Except for these two teams, the other teams all scored at least 3:1. The Pistons finally got back a victory after returning to the home court. Houston also took advantage of the home court to rewrite the score to 2:3.

(I made a mistake before. Although Houston is ranked fifth, it actually has a better record than the Jazz. It is only because the Jazz are ranked in the top four as the division champions, so the home field advantage of the series is still based on the record.)

This can't help but rekindle hope in the hearts of domestic fans. Although Dayao has announced that he will be reimbursed for the season, many people have become fans of Houston because of his relationship. If the opponent can succeed in revenge, it can be regarded as a regret.

Of course, everyone just thought it would be good if they could enter the second round together, and they didn't expect more.

During the 22-game winning streak in the regular season, I also imagined whether it was possible to join the Magic in the finals. After seeing the performance in the playoffs, I didn't think so much.

The most important thing is that although Houston's role players are strong enough, the performance of McGrady, who is currently the only core, is a bit disappointing.

However, in the next two games, McGrady gradually regained his feeling and seemed to be performing better and better. This is why Houston fans have hope. Flipping jazz isn't impossible.

……

For the Magic, there is actually no suspense in this series.

Not to mention the meaning of the 20-game win difference between the two sides, the Eagles basically have no advantage in each position.

The Magic have an absolute advantage in the interior, and these four games have also demonstrated it vividly.

Of course, as a rookie, it is not easy for Horford to survive until the last game before pulling his hips.

You can't compare him with Li Chengming. After all, Li Chengming's performance is something that can be counted in history, especially in the playoffs.

Therefore, after the first promotion, all members of the Magic team did not seem particularly happy. During the post-match press conference, when the reporters asked about their goals for this season, Li Chengming and Howard, who were two stars shining in this game, looked at each other and suddenly laughed. Laugh out loud.

Others were puzzled by this, but they didn't explain much either.

In fact, it was because when we were in the locker room before, everyone was still celebrating, but as soon as the head coach Van Gundy came in, he immediately cooled down the atmosphere in the locker room with a serious expression.

This is of course Van Gundy's intention. After all, he has coached a championship-level team like the Heat. It's just that the Heat had both a supernova like Wade and Shaquille O'Neal who still has a lot of power. On the contrary, he himself was a rookie. coach.

Coupled with the support of Riley and others behind him, it is not difficult to maintain stability in the locker room.

It’s just that in the 04-05 Eastern Conference finals, they originally led 2:1. They lost the tie-breaker when the outside core Wade was injured. In the end, they regretted not being able to reach the finals-of course, under that kind of injury situation, it is true. If they want to reach the finals and face the Spurs, they probably won't be able to beat them.

Therefore, Van Gundy is very aware of the truth of "half ninety for a hundred miles". Their goal this season has changed from reaching the second round of the playoffs and even the Eastern Conference Finals at the start of the season to competing for the championship.

After all, they are first in the regular season and have a historical record of 66 wins. DPOY and MVP-level Howard, best rookie Li Chengming, and former All-Star and quasi-All-Star Lewis and Turkoglu, such a lineup The configuration is not justified without a higher pursuit.

Of course, you still have to be happy when you should be happy. Can't you relax a bit after winning?

But it will be nearly a week before the second round, and there is plenty of time for them to relax. After all, they are still at the home court of the Eagles, so it is better to keep a low profile.

To celebrate, it is better to celebrate after returning to Orlando. It is estimated that there are fans there ready to pick up the plane. Although it is not early, it is common for fans to stay up late to watch the game, let alone this time.

(End of this chapter)