Legendary star

Chapter 140 Super strong final opponent

When the Spurs defeated the Lakers in the away game and became another team that entered the conference finals after the Pacers and Trail Blazers, perhaps because there were no other games, the tiebreaker between the Spurs and the Lakers was held the day after the game between the Spurs and the Lakers. The big battle has almost made the headlines of the sports section of all media.

"Flawless individual performance, ultimate teamwork, Lakers vs. Spurs, best series of the season."

"Sharks VS Stone Tower, Tim Duncan led the team to eliminate the Lakers without David Robinson, the strongest inside duel, each has its own merits"

"A triple-double again, a round of series, 5*5 in a single game, two triple-doubles in a row, after the downturn in the last round, Meng Xu finally proved himself, the best rookie of the season is well-deserved."

"Arrogant Phil Jackson, abandoning the queen bee Glenn Rice, eventually led to the Lakers being reversed by the Spurs." There is no doubt that this must be the headline of the New York Times. When the game between the Spurs and the Lakers has just ended, the New York Times has already begun. Phil Jackson, so under the leadership of the New York Times, almost all the New York media pointed their guns at Phil Jackson, but it was a little surprising that many Chicago media also joined in. Watching Phil Jackson go crazy, he even turned out the old sesame seeds and rotten grains from when he coached the Bulls.

Every year in the playoffs, there are always some players who will never worry about their entire career because of their performance in a round of games, and this is the case for Meng Xu in this round of the series. Meng Xu, who only averaged 5.3 points and 8 rebounds per game in the first game, averaged 7 points, 14.7 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 7 steals and 4.3 blocks per game in 2.1 games against the Lakers. At the same time, Meng Xu's big heart at critical moments has also won the appreciation of countless basketball celebrities.Regardless of Meng Xu's performance next season, it is certain that after Meng Xu's contract with the Spurs ends, there will be many teams willing to offer Meng Xu a lucrative contract.

And after the tiebreaker against the Lakers, due to the use of the enchanted potion, like the previous game, after the game, Meng Xu gained additional attributes again, gaining a total of backcourt rebounds +5, steals +3, Judgment +2, a total of 10 extra attribute points rewards, now Meng Xu's ability evaluation has reached 79, which is only a short distance away from reaching the B-level star level in the system.

When Meng Xu was still so excited to enter the Western Conference Finals that he couldn't sleep, the first thing Popovich did when he returned to San Antonio was to get into the video room and study with assistant coach Mike Budenholzer all night. , the way to deal with pioneers.Because the opponents of the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals are far more difficult than the Lakers. In terms of pure paper strength, the Blazers with all-stars on the bench are much stronger than the Lakers. What is more important is the style of play of the Blazers. It is extremely restrained by the Spurs, especially the Spurs' four irons on the perimeter. Facing Scottie Pippen, Damon Stoudemire, Steve Smith and other all-star perimeters, they are basically beaten all the way.In the four games this season, the Spurs have lost all their tempers. This is still the Spurs with the twin towers of Duncan and David Robinson.Although the Lakers have been eliminated in an extremely thrilling manner, it is hard to say whether they can avoid the fate of being swept by the Blazers without David Robinson's Spurs.But being Popovich is naturally not as simple as not being swept by the Blazers, defeating the Blazers, reaching the finals, and defending the championship is Popovich's goal.

But it is not so easy to defeat the Blazers. At the end of this season, in order to avoid the Blazers in the playoffs, Popovich selectively released water for several games, otherwise he would not be overtaken by the Jazz in the end. , and because of this, the Spurs have no home court advantage since the second round of the playoffs, and this is precisely the biggest advantage of the Spurs in this round. Facing their nemesis team, they have no home court advantage. Advantages, these two alone are already a huge gap.

After trading for Scottie Pippen from the Rockets this season, Mike Dunville seems to have found a way to knead a bunch of All-Stars together. The Blazers have the best record in recent years. In the playoffs, neither the Timberwolves in the front nor the Jazz in the back could cause the Trail Blazers the slightest trouble. Although the Timberwolves only ranked seventh in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves have Kevin Garnett, who has a team and a defense. There are also teams of Wallis Zebiak, Trier Brandon, Sam Mitchell, Anthony Peeler, Joe Smith, etc., but the Timberwolves are facing the Trail Blazers. At that time, there was almost no power to fight back.The Jazz is the third in the Western Conference this season. They only won 3 games less than the Blazers in the regular season, but the Jazz lost against the Blazers more simply than the Timberwolves. Basically every game is a big score, the only game they won , or rely on Karl Malone and Stockton's superb performance, otherwise the Jazz, who won 58 regular season wins, is likely to be swept by the Blazers.

According to the league's latest schedule, the first game between the Spurs and the Trail Blazers will be held on May 5, US time. According to the news from Su Qun yesterday, due to the performance of Meng Xu's Spurs in the playoffs, Excellent, in response to the request of the vast number of domestic fans, CCAV decided to broadcast the Western Conference Finals between the Spurs and Trail Blazers live. You must know that in the past, most of the live broadcast list on CCAV was the NBA Finals, and the few remaining games were also Games like the All-Star Game and the Christmas Game.

On May 2000, 5, the last game of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Heat played against the Knicks at the American Airlines Center, the home of the Heat, as scheduled. After experiencing the black 21 of last season, the Heat were once again pushed to the cliff by the Knicks this season. On the sidelines, the Miami Heat, ranked second in the Eastern Conference this season, faced their mortal enemy, the Knicks, ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference. The first 8 games between the two teams were tied 2-7. That is, you win one game and I win one game, and the score gap in each game is very small.The tiebreaker between the two teams was as intense as ever. The two teams tied at 6 in the first three quarters. After entering the last quarter, under the super defensive standards, the Knicks and the Heat almost smashed the basket. Yes, with the sound of iron hitting the frame, the score of the two teams has always been maintained within 3 points. In the end, relying on the madman Latrell Sprewell's shooting at the critical moment, the Knicks defeated the Heat 3 to 3. After last year's black 65, the Knicks, ranked seventh this season, once again blacked out the second-ranked Heat.

And this round of the series between the Heat and the Knicks, it is not an exaggeration to call it the most tragic round of the series in recent years. The number reached 7 times, and players were sent off every game, especially in the second game of the series. The two teams committed a total of 7 fouls and received a total of 24 free throws.

(End of this chapter)