NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

The series between the Knicks and the Celtics was the last to end because of the start time.

But in fact, their group was not the only one that went to a tiebreaker.

Lakers vs. Timberwolves!
These two teams fought so hard in last year's Western Conference Finals that their brains were about to explode. Although this year's game was not as bloody as last year and they played more than 100 overtimes from start to finish, their situation this year is no worse.

Last year they almost beat each other's brains out, but this year they are about to beat each other's balls out.

前六场比赛，双方还是干成了3：3，两边是你一场我一场互不相让，从1：0到1：1，从1：2到2：2，最后一路干到抢七大战。

In these six games, the four major stars of both teams fully performed to their full potential.

For the Timberwolves: Garnett averaged 23 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists, Iverson averaged 33 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Szczerbiak also contributed 17 points per game, and as for the old goblin Cassell, who is one year older, although his form has obviously declined, he still had 13 points and 6 assists.

湖人队那边，常规赛装死的奥尼尔再次化身不可阻挡的巨无霸，场均34分15篮板3盖帽，科比则有场均30分5篮板6助攻的输出。

In addition, Kirilenko and Prince, the two forward defensive experts, can also deliver quite impressive results on both offense and defense.

With the first six games being evenly matched, the seventh game between the two sides became a well-deserved life-and-death duel!
In this seventh game, both teams chose to strengthen their defense and slow down the tempo. In each of the four quarters, neither team scored more than 4 points even once!
18:19
17:19
19:15
At the end of the first three quarters, the two teams had an extremely low score of 54:53.

Needless to say, this game naturally turned into a battle of missed shots and defense!
This extremely low score and efficiency naturally did not change in the fourth quarter. The scores of both teams increased slowly, and the players on both sides were exhausted early and fell into endless hand-to-hand combat, bloody fights and positional battles.

When the time came to the last minute, the score between the two teams was only 1:70.

The Lakers, playing at home, temporarily maintain a 1-point advantage.

At this point in the game, the main players of both teams had played for extremely long periods of time with almost no rest time, so they were naturally exhausted.

One sentence from the on-site commentator can explain the current situation.

"In the past 1 minute and 59 seconds, neither side has scored even a single point! They are all so tired that they can't even lift their legs, so what's next is a test of willpower. Whoever has stronger willpower and can summon even a glimmer of potential from a desperate situation will win!"

Yes, a test of willpower!
The Lakers were attacking, the basketball was passed several times and was about to fly into Kirilenko's hands, but before he touched the basketball, Iverson started!
His gambling-style defense was once disliked by every coach of his, and every coach who coached him hoped that this guy would give up this gambling-style steals.

Because if you succeed in this kind of shot, you are a hero and can show off a 1-on-0 dunk in the frontcourt, but if you fail, your teammates will need 4 to defend 5, the team's defensive system will collapse, and there is a high probability that the opponent will score this goal.

This is definitely not a 50:50 option. Even with Iverson's reaction ability and speed, he failed to steal the ball most of the time, leaving a huge gap.

So no coach likes his players to make those gambling steals.

The benefits are not great and the risks are too high.

But this time, he succeeded!

Iverson stole the ball from Kobe Bryant and Kirilenko, then dribbled at full speed and rushed towards the Lakers' basket.

If this goal is scored, the Timberwolves will directly overtake the score!

But at this moment when the entire Staples Center was so scared that they held their breath and dared not breathe loudly, Kobe appeared!
"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, Kobe slapped the basketball that Iverson had just shot onto the backboard.

He accomplished redemption!

He ran across half the court, caught up with Iverson, and blocked a shot!
After completing the block, Kobe didn't hesitate at all. He hugged the basketball and rushed to the frontcourt.

Then he faced Szczerbiak from beyond the 3-point line.

He slowed down the pace, waved to everyone to move away, dodged Iverson's sneak attack from behind, and continued to move towards his favorite 45-degree angle on the right.

Dribble, look at the watch, and suddenly shoot!

With only 25 seconds left in the game and 8 seconds left in the offensive time, Kobe suddenly pulled up and shot the 3-pointer over Szczerbiak.

After a long and short silence...

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, Kobe made a 3-pointer!
"Roar!"

"Kobe! Kobe!"

"FUXX!"

"He did it! Kobe did it!"

The entire Staples Center went crazy in an instant!
70: 74!

There are only the last 22 seconds left in the game.

Kobe's shot almost helped the Lakers secure the victory!

As everyone was celebrating wildly, Kobe clapped his hands frantically to get all his teammates to pay attention, while shouting, "Defense! Defense!"

The Timberwolves haven't given up yet!

So, in the blink of an eye, O'Neal blocked the baseline, opened his hands and frantically interfered with Garnett's serve. Kirilenko and Prince each found the person who was opposite to them, guarded them tightly and prevented them from receiving the ball.

Fisher used his remaining strength to entangle Cassell.

Kobe personally stared at Iverson and began to press him throughout the court from the moment Iverson received the ball.

The two most outstanding stars of the 96 generation kept entangled and tearing each other back and forth, all the way to the frontcourt. Then Iverson tried his best, coupled with Garnett's cover, and finally got rid of Kobe. Then he had no time to think, he only knew that there were only 13 seconds left in the game.

He could only pull it up and throw it away.

But a black shadow that was countless times bigger than Kobe flew towards him.

"Snapped!"

After another crisp sound, the basketball carrying the hopes of the entire Minnesota was slapped back to the Timberwolves' half by O'Neal. Kirilenko, who was tall and had long arms, ran quickly, hugged the basketball, then quickly rushed to the basket and dunked it again!

70: 76!

After the Lakers added another 2 points, the suspense of the game was completely gone.

The overall situation is decided!

After the Lakers lost in the seventh game last year, they finally got their revenge this year!
They did not lose to the same team for two consecutive years. They took revenge on the Timberwolves and advanced to the divisional finals!
Waiting for them this time is the Phoenix Suns, who, like them, successfully took revenge in the semifinals!

The only difference between them and the Lakers is that the Lakers are avenging the team's elimination last year.

The only person on the Suns who successfully took revenge was Nash.

Nash avenged the team for kicking him out last year and not wanting to renew his contract!
No matter what the reason, last summer, the Mavericks rejected Nash's application to stay with the team, rejected his proposal to take a pay cut and reduce his years of service, and resolutely rejected Nash's desire for the team, watching him leave for Phoenix.

A year later, Nash became the 'Son of the Wind', the MVP, and the top star of the league's top team!
In this series, Nash humiliated the Mavericks, beat up his former teammates, and after the team successfully advanced, he refused Mark Cuban's request for a hug, ignored him, and walked away. What he left behind was Cuban, who was completely stunned, booed and cursed at Cuban in the American Airlines Arena, and his friend Nowitzki bit his lip and sighed helplessly.

这轮系列赛一共打了六场，纳什3场比赛轰下40+，其中包括一场45分15助攻的大号两双！他整轮系列赛场均36分12次助攻，3项命中率达到了夸张的55%，45%和98%！

The performance of almost 200 clubs made Cuban's face swollen.

The Mavericks brought in Jason Terry to replace Nash. This guy's performance in this series was not very bad. His average of 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game was worthy of his status and ability, and also worthy of his salary.

But the problem is, no matter how you look at it, it would be stupid to replace Nash with him!

Nash's performance in this series was even crazier and more extreme than the one Lin Tian knew. After all, according to Lin Tian's memory, Nash's average stats in this series this year should be 'only' 30+12.

I don’t know if it’s because his best partner, Stoudemire, is not here, or because Lin Tian pioneered the offensive point guard game too early, which made Nash’s numbers in this series even crazier.

But that is obviously not something Lin Tian needs to worry about, because the Suns still have to face another peak showdown with the Lakers in front of them!

As for the last group of matches in the East, it is also the one with the least suspense among the four semi-finals.

In the other three playoffs, two groups went to seven games, and the first four games between the Suns and Mavericks were tied at 2:2, with the victory and defeat being just a matter of millimeters.

But the Pistons vs. Nets game this round...

The Nets were completely torn apart!
In the first three games, the Pistons beat the Nets 3:0. During the three games, not only did Kidd perform poorly with a shooting percentage of less than 3%, but even Carter, the team's top scorer, was targeted by Artest and Hamilton, averaging only 33 points per game with a shooting percentage of less than 17%.

As for the two big men in the interior, they can indeed rely on their height and comprehensive skills to compete with the two Wallaces. At least they are not inferior in terms of data and performance.

But the problem is that with Kidd and Carter being completely contained, Yao Ming and Gasol were obviously unable to fully support the team and were unable to prevent the team from suffering three consecutive losses in the series.

Although the Nets managed to win the fourth game with Yao Ming's 20+20 and Gasol's 19 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, all they could do was to avoid a sweep.

As for the rest, they really can’t come.

In the fifth game of the series, Kidd had an epic performance of missing shots, and Carter was completely suppressed. Brown also changed his strategy and began to double-team Yao Ming, which resulted in Yao Ming only getting 17 points and 10 rebounds that night. As for Gasol who was selectively released, although he scored 27 points, it was of no help.

The Nets lost another away game cleanly, 4:1, and were swept out by the gentlemen!

Looking at the entire playoffs, the gap in ability between the two teams may not be obvious. The Nets' four big stars are not weaker than the Pistons' starting five, at least on paper.

Even if we only consider something as intangible as "starlight", the Nets still have an absolute advantage!
But after the actual fight, the gap between the two sides in hardness, pressure resistance, defensive ability and system building became apparent.

They are totally not on the same level of team!

This Pistons team represents the pinnacle of civilian teams!

None of them is a top star, none of them will be trained and used as the core of other teams, and none of them has the popularity to be selected as an All-Star starter.

To put it more directly, none of the Detroit Five Tigers, namely Billups, Hamilton, Artest, Rasheed, and Big Ben, is among the top 20 players in the league.

But their victory lies in the fact that although these five players are not in the top 25 in the league, all five of them are around the top 35- players in the league.

Balance, the ultimate balance!

This Pistons team is somewhat like the Trail Blazers in the early 21st century. They are equally talented and full of talent, but they don't have any top talents or superstars.

But compared to the Trail Blazers team, which has two completely opposite attributes of great teamwork and great selfishness, this Pistons team is more united and more balanced!

Everyone here can play together. They are a real gang of villains. Everyone on the team is a good brother. Even Artest, who has only been with the team for half a season, has become friends with everyone else on the team early on and became the last piece of the puzzle of Bad Boys 2.0.

Artest provides this team not only with his best defensive player-level defense, but also with his uncertainty.

Although the original Pistons' defense was strong enough to suffocate all teams, they lacked some variety, especially on the offensive end, which was somewhat monotonous.

But now we have Artest, although his offense is not reliable and outside the system, but it is enough! For the Pistons, this is enough!
This is much better than adding a star but affecting the overall chemistry of the team!
This team is definitely stronger than the 04 Pistons and just as united.

Old Nelson was looking at the introduction of the Pistons and he felt a headache coming on.

Although this Pistons team does not have top-notch stars like Duncan or Pierce, it really gives old Nelson a headache.

Old Nelson has a way to deal with the Celtics, they have weaknesses.

But this Pistons team really has no weaknesses!
In other words, judging from the current abilities and levels of the Knicks players, the Pistons have no weaknesses.

Old Nelson could even foresee the situation in this series: everyone kept missing shots, dragging their feet, unable to keep up with the rhythm and confrontation, and could only watch Lin Tian alone carry the team forward on the offensive end, while the others could only worry but be powerless.

After all, whether it was Anthony who found his rhythm in the last two games of the last round, or Stoudemire who completed his redemption at the last moment, they are essentially not adapted to the high-intensity, high-confrontation playoffs. They couldn't even match the intensity of the Celtics, let alone the Pistons, who were more confrontational, dirtier and more fierce in defense than the Celtics?

If the Pistons were a group of hyenas that stood out from a pile of corpses, grew up eating corpses, and would do anything to survive and were extremely crazy.

The current Knicks team is made up of Lin Tian, ​​the lion king, and a group of newly born lion cubs who have not even learned how to hunt on their own.

In time, old Nelson is confident that he can use this group of people to defeat the Pistons.

But in this round of the series, old Nelson was worried that Lin Tian would not be able to handle it alone and would eventually be torn apart.

After thinking about it for a long time and failing to come up with a solution, Old Nelson stood up, walked out of his room, and knocked on Lin Tian’s door.

"Want to go out for a drink?" Lin Tian opened the door and saw old Nelson. He was not surprised at all. He smiled and said, "I can't sleep either. You must know where to find happiness in Detroit, Tang! You are an old 'hippie'."

"Of course! Let me tell you, even a shabby place like Detroit, which is full of steel, has its own characteristics! You know, in Dearborn, west of Detroit, there is the headquarters of Ford."

"Right at the back door of Ford's headquarters building, there is an elevator that goes directly to the 27th floor of the building. There... No, I'm not here to talk to you about this today!"

Nelson waved his hand, stopped his introduction, and got back to the point: "Let's talk? About this series?"

"You think we can't win?" While Lin Tian led Old Nelson to his room, he had already told him the purpose of Old Nelson's appearance.

"What do you think?" old Nelson asked back.

"Difficult! Quite difficult." Lin Tian did not hide anything and said directly while lying on his bed: "From all aspects, the Pistons are the team that can restrain us the most in terms of lineup and playing style!"

"If we play against the Suns, we have an 80% chance of winning. I am also more than 60% confident against the Lakers, but against the Pistons." Lin Tian shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's difficult."

Old Nelson could only sigh and said, "Their confrontation is stronger and more ruthless than the Celtics. Their dirtiness is basically hovering on the edge of flagrant fouls. They may not have the absolute strengths of Pierce and Duncan, but they are more balanced and they have no weaknesses!"

"For us, having no weaknesses is obviously more fatal."

"What can we do? We can just play and watch." Lin Tian suddenly sat up and said, "You are not going to spread this pessimistic mood to the entire team and let everyone know, are you?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot like Rivers?" Nelson cursed, then stood up and said, "I'm going to have a drink."

"We're not going to damn Dearborn, we're going to the bar downstairs, don't look at me like that, you bastard!"

"Oh, then I won't go." Lin Tian lay back on his bed in boredom: "I want to sleep." (End of this chapter)