NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

On the Western Conference side, one side is the 21st century Western Conference overlord, with the OK combination as the core, assisted by strong players such as Kirilenko and Prince. The Lakers have rushed out many times in the past few years and lost to the Pacers.

On the other side is the Timberwolves, a team that has been established for many years and only broke the first-round curse this year. It is a new dual-core team composed of Garnett, the loser who broke out of the first round, and Iverson, the "answer" who just joined the team, as well as outstanding players such as Sprewell, Cassell, and Szczerbiak.

Both teams have top five players in the league. Who is the best attacker of the 96 generation, Kobe or Iverson? Who will dominate the court between O'Neal and Garnett, two representatives of completely different styles of inside players?
Can Cassell Sprewell's experience prevail against the dynamic Kirilenko and Prince?
Who will be better, the Timberwolves shooters led by Szczerbiak versus the Lakers bench players led by Fisher, George, Fox and others?
In short, the highlights of this round of series will definitely make the league's ratings, which have been declining in the second round, reach a new peak again!
The Eastern Conference Finals on the other side was even more exciting.

The Pacers are definitely Lin Tian’s one-man team. He is the only core of the team. Can he lead the team to create another miracle and become the first team to reach the finals as the eighth place in the regular season?

Can Lin Tian lead the team to surpass the Bullets who won the championship that year with 44 wins and 38 losses, and become the champion with the lowest winning percentage and the lowest regular season ranking in the league's history?
The Nets on the other side are a completely different team from the Pacers. They have the most balanced starting lineup in the league. Kidd is the best traditional point guard in the league, and Carter is a top attacker who is very good at teamwork.

Coupled with their twin towers inside and the versatile forward Kittles, this starting five has no obvious shortcomings or defects in terms of personal ability, experience, technology and other aspects.

The Nets also have a microwave-type player like Al Harrington on the bench who is full of energy and passion.

They are a very mature team that has been together for many years.

The strength of this Nets team should never be underestimated!

They will definitely try their best to win the first championship in their team's history!
At the same time, they have become the last hope in the East!

They are the only team that still has a chance to stop the Pacers and halt their advance in the East.

The Nets, carrying the hopes of the entire Eastern Conference, waited for the challenge from the Pacers at their home court.

"You will never make it out this year! The championship belongs to us." When Kidd saw Lin Tian, ​​he couldn't wait to issue a declaration of war to him.

"You've said this to me at least 20 times, Jason. Do you want to change your words?" Lin Tian waved his hand impatiently and said, "Or you can talk to your boss. Doug's contract expires this year. You can poach him from Gaoxin as well."

"Anyway, you guys just like to snatch people from us. What, do you think our people are good?"

"Then why don't I just snatch you away? Doesn't your contract expire this year? Come on, come to New Jersey, let's create a new era together." Kidd immediately demonstrated the qualities that an excellent point guard must have.

shameless.

"Bullshit New Era." Lin Tian said directly: "You want to be my substitute?"

"We can play double point guard!"

"I only play point guard and don't consider other positions."

"I can play shooting guard." Kidd patted his chest, showing full confidence.

"Fuck you, you still call me shooting guard." Lin Tian couldn't help it anymore. He had never seen such a shameless guy in his life.

"Even if you go to the high school league, can you average 30 points per game? You're a shooting guard. My grandma is better at scoring than you! At least she won't lose all her shots and fail to make a jump shot in the skills challenge."

"That's too much of a personal attack!" Kidd punched Lin Tian and protested, "I'm seriously asking you to join our team!"

"I'm also seriously rejecting you! I'm telling you, after that series against the Pistons, I've had enough."

"I won't play with someone like you who can't score. It feels terrible to be double-teamed. I won't stand that anymore!"

"Brother Lin." Lin Tian was arguing with Kidd, and Yao Ming came over happily and said, "Are you still going to hold that training camp?"

"Yes! I do it every year, but now I don't go there myself. I leave it all to Dolan. What? You want to be a mentor?"

"I don't have the time this year." Yao Ming waved his hand and said, "I have a little brother who is very talented and should be able to play in the NBA. I thought if time permits, I would put him in to try and help him gain confidence."

"Isn't that how I gained confidence back then?"

"Ya Lian, right?" Lin Tian immediately thought of who Yao Ming wanted to help him get into the NBA. In this era, who else could China have the talent to play in the NBA? Isn't it just Yi Lian?

"You can ask him to come over right now and practice with me! I have the final say over the Pacers. It's just like playing with two people. You are the top player in the team now. You don't have even this little privilege, do you? Tell me the truth, did Jason bully you?"

"Thank you, Brother Lin!" Dayao didn't respond to Lin Tian at all. He just smiled and ran away quickly with his long legs.

He would not give Lin Tian any chance to stir up trouble. Although it would not affect his relationship with Kidd, Lin Tian had a dark heart and a big mouth. If he could say a good word, Yao Ming would write his name backwards.

So, stay away from it!
If we can't afford to offend, we can afford to hide!
"Okay, you guys, are you done chatting? If you are, hurry to the center circle and prepare to pick up the ball!"

Tonight's referee also walked onto the court, signaling everyone to hurry over and prepare for the jump ball.

The main players of both sides stopped exchanging pleasantries and stood in their respective positions. Yao Ming and Miller stared at the basketball in the referee's hands, ready to jump at any time.

"Dudu!"

With a whistle, the referee threw the basketball into the air. Given Yao Ming's altitude, his jump ball success rate has always been no problem. After jumping up, he flicked his wrist and the basketball fell into Kidd's hands. All the Nets players immediately walked towards the frontcourt.

Don't be hasty or slow, fight a positional battle first!
Kidd firmly controlled the basketball in his hand, then watched his teammates running back and forth, then he passed the ball to Carter, who directly threw the ball into the inside and passed it to Gasol.

The position where Gasol got the ball was very close to the basket. He turned around, raised the ball high and easily put the basketball into the basket.

Haslem is still too short. If you add the arm span between the two, the height difference is at least 20 centimeters. Once Gasol gets into position, Haslem really doesn't have many options.

What's even more frustrating is that Haslem can't be allowed to switch defense.

If he switched defense, he would be facing Yao Ming, who was 30 centimeters away from him.

There was no way to defend against it. When I stretched out my hand, I hoped I could only touch Yao Ming's armpit.

"In the first attack, the Nets played very clearly! They went straight to the inside and took advantage of their absolute height advantage!"

Barkley, who had completely removed all the disguises and wore a Nets uniform underneath his suit without even a shirt, ignored Kenny who didn't want to talk to him at all, and said, "The Nets have the best inside partner and the best point guard."

"So the Nets will definitely win this round of the series!"

"Yes, yes, the Nets will win. The Nets will win." How does that saying go? If you can't beat them, join them!
Kenny has now joined Barkley anyway.

Just think of it as playing with the kids.

The Nets started the game by attacking the inside to show their absolute advantage in height, and the Pacers naturally played to their advantage.

A misaligned duel.

Lin Tian set a screen and let Gasol defend him. Then he easily dribbled the ball between his legs and made a change of direction, and a huge gap was immediately created!
"Shh!"

There was also a crisp sound, and Lin Tianchang made the two-point shot!
His touch was fully back as early as the seventh game of the first round. Without the Pistons' terrifyingly strong team defense and physical confrontation standards, how could they contain Lin Tian?

Stop dreaming, Lin Tian is now back to his regular season average of 39 points per game!

In the next few rounds, the coaches of both teams knew that they didn't have many ways to take advantage of the opponent's advantages. The Pacers were simply too tall to reach the Nets' twin towers, and the Nets were also helpless against Lin Tian's one-on-one play.

In the first quarter, the two sides fought back and forth, with one side focusing on the position and the basket, while the other side focused on transitions and mismatched duels.

As both sides attacked their own advantageous points along the way, the success rate was not low.

Then at the beginning of the second quarter, both sides entered the rotation lineup, and Harrington and Parker, two strong contenders for the best sixth man, kept scoring!
Tonight, both the main players and role players of both teams played very well and were in excellent form.

Until 4 minutes into the second quarter, the two sides were still in a balance.

35: 36!

The Pacers were temporarily trailing by one point, and Carlisle called a timeout after Harrington scored two points in another strong shot under the basket.

"Both teams were in good shape tonight, but I always feel that height is more important than speed, and the success rate of attacking under the basket is definitely higher than relying on shooting and conversion." Barkley continued his nonsense. He has found the ultimate happiness in reverse poisonous milk.

"More importantly, both sides are clearly in the process of testing each other so far tonight, and neither has come up with a targeted offensive and defensive strategy against their opponent. But after this timeout, I think both sides will come up with some ways to target the opponent's advantages."

"But I always believe that Coach Scott of the Nets has seen a lot of storms and has rich experience both on and off the court. He will definitely be better able to handle the current situation and make timely adjustments!"

"Just shut up." Kenny couldn't help it anymore. What the hell was this fat guy talking about?
Is Scott good at adapting? If the old man is good at adapting, the Pacers wouldn't be unable to win even once.

Besides, even if you, Scott, are good at adapting, who are you competing with?

Comparing adaptability with Carlisle?
Take a shower and go to sleep!

Then, Kenny suddenly made up his mind.

You, Barkley, are talking nonsense, right? Okay, I’m talking nonsense too!
Wait!

Here, Kenny has already started to think about how to defeat and deal with Barkley's nonsense commentary. The timeout on the court has ended, and players from both sides have already walked onto the court, ready for the next game.

At this stage of the game, both teams have almost put out their full main lineups.

The Pacers took Haslem off the court, replaced him with Parker, and played with a super-small lineup again. It was obvious that they wanted to maximize their speed and fully utilize their advantages in speed and shooting.

The Nets temporarily replaced Kittles with Harrington. They were the opposite of the Pacers, with a large lineup of 3 inside players and 2 guards!

High versus fast, the game continues!
In the first attack after returning to the court, the Pacers played to their advantage. Lin Tian broke through and attacked the inside, then passed the ball to Parker who was following behind him. Parker rushed to the basket and turned around before passing the ball to Artest in the mid-range.

After getting the ball, Artest slammed it hard on the floor, then forced his way into the inside, and taking advantage of the brief moment when Yao Ming and Gasol had no time to turn around, he sent the ball into the basket with one hand!

When the Nets were attacking, Kidd was about to pass the ball to the inside at the top of the arc, but suddenly found that the Pacers' defense had changed!
They no longer played man-to-man defense, but instead used a 2-3 zone defense!

Miller guarded the basket, while Artest and Christie sat on both sides of the baseline.

Lin Tian and Parker were on the line to deal with the two guards of the Nets.

"Change of tactics! The first one to make the move was Carlisle! He is one of the best and fastest coaches in the league! He is truly a genius! He actually used a zone defense to target the Nets' offense at this very moment."

As soon as Kenny saw that Barkley wanted to speak, he immediately took the lead and started talking nonsense in an exaggerated manner.

"As we all know, the 2-3 zone defense is a set of defensive tactics aimed at the opponent's big men playing one-on-one. It can effectively curb the opponent's top inside players' one-on-one defense. As long as the inside players have the ball, they will increase the intensity of defense at any time and then double-team the inside players."

"If you want to crack this defense, the method is not difficult. You just need to do two things."

"Guards need to shoot accurately! Because the zone defense has a very low level of defense against outside shots, but everyone knows that the Nets have Kidd, and letting him shoot is something that many Nets opponents will choose to do. The Pacers' tactics have a great chance of success!"

"I think they will open up the score within 5 minutes!"

"You're wrong!" Barkley quickly retorted as soon as Kenny finished speaking: "To break the double team defense, it is indeed necessary for the guards to shoot accurately, but not every guard needs to be accurate! Carter and Harrington of the Nets are quite accurate."

"Secondly, the center needs to stand at the free throw line to assist and set screens, provide hand-to-hand screens for teammates, and pass the ball to teammates who cut to the basket. Coincidentally, Gasol of the Nets is a top expert in this! Even after Divac aged and Webber was injured, he was the league's top assisting center."

"There's also Yao Ming. Although his ability to pass the ball cannot compare to Gasol, it is definitely first-rate. If you play double team defense against these two inside players, you will most likely die without knowing how you died!"

"Ridiculous." Kenny snorted and said, "Gasol is too soft. Artest can beat him! 'The Beast' can make 'Little Noodle' unable to stand steadily, and Yao Ming's support is indeed okay, but you want him to leave the basket and the low post and go to the free throw line to support?"

"What's the difference between this and letting O'Neal go outside the 3-point line to prepare for a shot without the opponent guarding his -pointer? Both are extremely stupid choices!"

The quarrel between Kenny and Barkley has really reached a metaphysical level and has completely become a model of nonsense.

On the court, the Pacers' first zone defense was very effective!

After Kidd discovered that the opponent was using a double team defense, he immediately asked Gasol to move up and then hit the ball to the free throw line.

Then he immediately started to roam around, looking for opportunities to catch the ball and shoot.

Well, this process was actually quite redundant, because no one on the Pacers paid any attention to him. For Kidd, it was so easy to find an open shot opportunity!
Just stand still.

Gasol came to the free throw line, raised the ball high with both hands, and looked for opportunities on the court. It was not difficult to find opportunities, Kidd was very open.

But Gasol hesitated and chose to ignore Kidd, and instead gave the ball to Harrington who was cutting towards the basket from the baseline.

Gasol's pass was beautiful, quick, accurate and ruthless, but the Pacers' contraction was even faster. They completed the contraction in the blink of an eye and blocked the 3-second zone tightly. Harrington's impact and vitality were indeed good, but his passing ability was not that good.

Facing the Pacers' shrinking defense, he did not stop or pass the ball, but instead stood up forcefully, trying to force a final shot.

However, facing the siege of Miller and others, Harrington's shot was obviously disturbed and he missed.

Artest controlled the rebound and then passed the ball to Lin Tian. Lin Tian immediately dribbled the ball to launch a counterattack and charged towards the frontcourt. Although Kidd tried his best to stick to Lin Tian to prevent him from counterattacking, Lin Tian suddenly passed the ball from behind to Parker who followed up.

Kidd could barely cover Lin Tian.

But no one on the Nets can keep up with a guy like Parker who is as agile as a sports car.

Drive straight into the basket.

"Shh!"

Parker easily broke through the Nets' defense and made a layup, scoring 2 points for the team.

The Nets' next attack was to pass the ball to Gasol at the free throw line.

This time he did not look for teammates who were cutting to the basket. Instead, he attracted the defense and made a signature high-low post combination with Yao Ming, and passed the ball to Yao Ming under the basket.

After Yao Ming got the ball and was about to dribble for a one-on-one play, Christie rushed over to help defend him. Yao Ming knew that if he put the ball down to dribble even once, Christie's hand would come down without hesitation and cut off his ball.

But if he doesn't dribble, his current position is a bit far from the basket and he can't make a direct shot at all.

In desperation, Yao Ming could only pass the ball to Kidd who was left open outside the three-point line. After getting the ball, Kidd pretended to make a shot fake, but unfortunately no one on the Pacers team paid any attention to him. This guy's shot fake was more like performance art than trying to dodge people.

Yes, Kidd's 3-point shooting percentage this season seems to be 30%, which seems to be pretty good, but if you think about it deeply or watch the Nets' games, you will find that his 30% shooting percentage is meaningless.

The opponent really doesn't guard against his shooting.

As threatening as he is as a passer, he's just as threatening as a shooter.

Opponents will be wary of his breakthrough, passing and organizational abilities, but shooting?

Just shoot! If it goes in, it's my bad luck!

“Shoot, Jason, shoot!” Lin Tian’s eyes were all on Carter at the moment. He stood between Kidd and Carter, not letting Kidd pass the ball to Carter easily: “If you make it, I’ll consider you awesome!”

"Who are you looking down on!" Kidd glared and retracted his feet.

Then he bravely pulled up and shot.

"No basket! No basket! Pay attention to the rebound! Get in position!" As soon as he saw Kidd jump, Lin Tian immediately shouted at his teammates under the basket, asking them to pay attention to the rebound.

Whether it is a baseball field or a professional game, saying "no basket, blocked" to someone who is about to shoot is definitely a very hurtful thing.

Could you at least lend a hand to interfere?

Lin Tian: You can’t interfere. Once you interfere, this guy’s shooting posture, arc and shooting force will be passively changed. If they are passively changed, the ball that was originally missed may go in.

But now it doesn't matter at all, it all depends on Kidd's own shooting ability.

Totally not worth watching.

"Boom!"

Then there was a muffled sound. Artest trapped Gasol outside the restricted area, while Yao Ming was squeezed behind by Miller. With the two inside players being blocked, Christie easily grabbed the defensive rebound.

Then he took a look and did not give the ball to Lin Tian, ​​but passed it to Parker.

Because Carter and Kidd both moved towards Lin Tian first, Parker was missed!

Although Parker's speed is not the fastest in the league, he is still among the top ten in the league!
Once he has fully charged forward, it will be extremely difficult to catch up with him!
"Shh!"

Parker rushed to the basket, jumped up easily and made another layup!

After Parker scored 4 points in a row, the Pacers began to take the initiative in the game.

In the next few minutes, the Pacers' double-team defense really worked wonders.

The core of their zone defense is very simple: let Gasol assist, and as long as he doesn't go inside, he can do whatever he wants at the free throw line.

Miller pushed Yao Ming away from the basket as much as possible, at least to prevent Yao Ming from launching an attack immediately after receiving the ball. He pushed him to an area where he had to dribble the ball at least once before launching an attack.

As long as Yao Ming wants to dribble, or just receives the ball in the paint and prepares to launch an attack, Christie or Artest's help defense will come quickly and double-team Yao Ming.

At this time, Yao Ming would either force dribbling at the risk of being intercepted, or turn around and play hard regardless of the consequences, or pass the ball to Kidd who was missed and had an open position.

Giving the ball to Kidd basically meant that the offense returned to the starting point, but there was little time left for offense.

Of course, it’s not that Kidd can’t make a 3-pointer, nor is it that he is completely incapable of making 3-pointers.

Even when he was eating dumplings, there were nights when he made 3 or 5 three-pointers and scored 30 points in a game.

He's not the type who can't score at all.

But the problem is that he is indeed unstable.

I still say, if you, Kidd, can make an open three-pointer and make it in a series, then you are awesome!

Unfortunately, Kidd was obviously not that good tonight.

Under the Pacers' strategy, the Nets' offensive rhythm almost completely stagnated, and they had no way to deal with the Pacers' sudden double-team defense.

For a full 5 minutes, the Nets only scored 3 points by relying on a strong 5-pointer from Carter and a mid-range shot from Gasol.

As for the Pacers, although they were no match for the Nets in terms of height and size, they were very motivated and Artest, Miller and others had excellent positioning skills, so they did a very good job of protecting the rebounds.

The Pacers' strategy is also very simple: the most important thing is the backcourt rebounds, which must be protected. The second is to play fast breaks if possible, but they will never lose rebounds for the sake of fast breaks.

Under this strategy, the Pacers protected the rebounds and made several beautiful counterattacks. In addition, their double-team defense completely restricted the Nets' offense, so in the next 5 minutes, the Nets had a 15:5 offensive climax.

They successfully widened the score to double digits!
But later on, Carter's 3-point shooting touch suddenly kicked in. He made a 3-pointer on each wing, from the left to the right!
Considering that the double team's defense against 3-pointers was already poor, and the Nets' top scoring point was in good form again, Carlisle reacted quickly and didn't even gamble that Carter's third 3-pointer wouldn't go in. Instead, he changed his defensive strategy again and went back to man-to-man defense.

As for zone defense, although the NBA allowed this defensive tactic many years ago, the research on zone defense by the teams in the league is still quite superficial. This thing is just a supplement to their defense and something they temporarily try out.

It takes 3-5 minutes to gain some advantage, and then when the opponent finds a way to deal with it, you can quickly switch back.

Don't be greedy for cheap things, and don't be too greedy.

But it was thanks to the advantages accumulated from this wave of double-team defense that the Pacers maintained their lead at the end of the third quarter and still had a 10-point advantage.

And in the fourth quarter, although Carlisle did not put out the double-team defense, the team was still able to maintain its advantage in the score. They kept the gap of about 10 points until the last 3 minutes of the game.

At this point, the Nets, anxious to catch up, no longer played with the twin towers. After a timeout, they took Yao Ming off the court and replaced him with the more aggressive Harrington, launching the final counterattack!
"The last minute!" Carlisle pointed a finger at his players and said, "Hold on! Hold on for the last minute, this is their last counterattack! Hold on for this minute, and we'll get off to a good start!"

"Kill them!"

After cheering the players on for the last time, the Pacers players also took to the court. Unlike the Nets who replaced a slow player with a fast one, the Pacers did not change their lineup and still used the starting five to play the final stage of the game.

When the Nets dribbled to the frontcourt again, the Pacers' defense changed again!

They used that zone defense tactic again.

We still have to address the shortcomings of Gasol being weak and Kidd not having a basketball!
But this time, Gasol played his most exciting round of the game!
He got the ball at the free throw line and pretended to pass it to Carter who was cutting to the inside. Just when the Pacers' defense shifted its focus, Gasol suddenly passed the ball from behind and quickly gave the ball to Kidd who was left open outside the three-point line.

After Kidd got the ball, he quickly glanced at the basket and found that no one from the Pacers was defending him. This time, he did not hesitate and took on the responsibility of a leader!
"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, Kidd finally made the three-pointer!
99: 92!

After this shot, he actually only made 7 of 2 three-pointers tonight!
But even so, old guy Kidd was still excited.

He beat his chest and roared in anger.

"Let me go? Let me shoot three-pointers? Huh? Keep letting me shoot!"

"Never scored a goal in your life?" Lin Tian looked at Kidd with disdain: "You look so inexperienced, which really fits the position of your lousy team."

"A redneck calling himself a New Yorker!"

"FUCK!" Kidd cursed, then suddenly stuck to Lin Tian and pressed him all over the court.

After making the three-pointer, this guy was completely excited. He was trying his best to force Lin Tian to make a mistake.

But unfortunately, he was facing Lin Tian.

Even though Kidd's defensive ability is among the best among the No. 1 position, it is still difficult for him to steal the ball from Lin Tian one-on-one.

Lin Tian was protecting the ball while advancing slowly towards the frontcourt, and then when he reached the three-point line, he stretched out a hand, as if he was going to call a tactical call to stabilize the situation. With the remaining time and the Pacers' lead, stabilizing the situation would indeed be a better choice!

But just when Kidd thought so and relaxed his vigilance a little, Lin Tian had already accelerated!

With a flick of his feet, the ball protector exerted a hidden force on Kidd behind him, making it impossible for Kidd to turn around and chase in the first time. Lin Tian took advantage of this opportunity and went straight into the inside!

At the moment, the Nets only had one Gasol in the inside. Lin Tian was not afraid of this European guy who looked like a pretty boy at all. He rushed towards Gasol without slowing down at all!

Yes, jump up with all your strength and smash it into the air!

Gasol originally wanted to open his arms to block Lin Tian's attack, but seeing Lin Tian's fearless spirit, which even made people feel that Lin Tian was filled with lightning sparks, Gasol became a little scared.

He quietly moved half a step to the left.

It was this half step that prevented Lin Tian from having any collision with Gasol, but Gasol was also unable to form any effective defense against Lin Tian.

His raised arms didn't even seem to be used for defense, but to cheer for Lin Tian.

"boom!"

After a loud bang, Lin Tian made a lightning breakthrough and slam dunk with one hand, widening the score difference to 9 points again!
"FUXX! Protect! If you keep defending like this, get off me! You can even elbow him and get a technical foul!" Byron Scott in the sidelines spread his hands and shouted. Gasol's defense in this round was so disappointing!
"He doesn't dare." Lin Tian happened to run past Scott and shrugged his shoulders and said, "You have been working together for so many years. Do I need to tell you what Bao can and cannot do?"

“None of your business!” Scott had a bad temper when he was playing basketball. Now that Lin Tian was looking for trouble and making sarcastic remarks, Scott was furious. He looked at Lin Tian and said, “If you have the guts, continue to play double team defense and let Jason go. Let’s see if he can kill you all!”

"He will continue to score 3 points until the score is even!"

"Wow! Wow! That's amazing." Lin Tian seemed to have heard a funny story and said to Kidd on the other side: "Jason, are you confident? Do you think you can make several three-pointers in a row?"

"Of course I can! If you have the guts, just let me go!" Kidd, at least on the surface, was full of confidence at this moment, as if he was possessed by Reggie Miller. At the same time, he once again demonstrated the traditional qualities of a top point guard.

Shameless! (End of this chapter)