The Whip of the God of Basketball

Before the game started, the Celtics as the home game did not get enough attention. The live ABC TV station has been broadcasting interviews related to Allen Iverson, and Iverson has just recently appeared Headline news on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. It wasn't until the game was about to start that a bit of Paul Pierce's pre-match interview was aired on TV, and then the footage quickly cut to the scene of the game, North Shore Garden Arena.

"This is Boston's North Shore Garden. This will be the 18th time in the history of the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers that they have met in the playoffs. Their last dialogue was last year. In the first round, the Celtics 3:2. Defeated the 76ers; and their earliest duel can be traced back to 1953! I believe that this year the Celtics and the 76ers will give us a wonderful round of playoffs!" ABC TV live reporter, Reggie -Miller's sister Cheryl Miller is reporting live.

She briefly reviewed the history of the Celtics and 76ers, the two oldest teams in the NBA in the playoffs. When the 76ers were still called the Syracuse Nation, the two teams began to face each other. With the joining of Chamberlain in the years, the 76ers became a stumbling block to prevent the Celtics from ten in a row. In the 1970s and 1980s, the battle between Dr. J. Irving and Larry Bird was basically able to summarize the entire content of the Eastern Conference playoffs in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Last year, the Celtics encountered the 76ers in the first round. After winning two games, they were pulled twice by the 76ers, and finally relied on Dennis Rodman's key offensive rebounds in the fifth game of life and death. With Pierce's jumper, the defending Eastern Conference champion was difficult to eliminate.

There have been changes in the lineups of both sides this year. The Celtics’ young people are more mature, and the inside line has the pillar of PJ-Brown; and the 76ers’ lineup is very much compared to the 01 peak season. Big changes, especially the inside, they sent away Mutombo, got Van Horn, signed Coleman, the inside offensive strength greatly increased.

Their performance in the regular season this season has improved a lot from last season’s plummeting state. The previous over-reliance on defensive play consumed the 76ers’ too much talent and health. After improving their offense The performance in the regular season is obviously more comfortable. Moreover, Iverson has played 82 regular-season games this season compared to the 22 games he missed last season. This is also his healthiest season since entering the league in 1996.

Therefore, even if Iverson’s scoring average has dropped to the lowest in four years, he is healthy, coupled with a more balanced offensive and defensive 76ers team, and experienced coach Larry Brown, no wonder this round of the series. Before the start, most people are optimistic about the 76ers, even if the Celtics defeated the 76ers in the playoffs last year, even if the Celtics are stronger this year, people are still more willing to believe that the omnipotent in the East "Answer" Iverson.

The game started quickly. The 76ers sent a different starting lineup from the regular season. Larry Brown put Van Horn at the small forward position and let Kenny Thomas play the power forward. Derek- Coleman plays center.

Obviously Larry Brown has considered the problem of matchups on the court. If Van Horn is asked to pay Antoine Walker one by one, he may be labeled as a cash machine. And let Van Horn go against Pierce, although it is also possible to be labeled as a cash machine, but Van Horn has a height advantage over Pierce after all, and although Van Horn can’t defend one-on-one, he has experienced enough time. After being tempered by the university, he still has a good defensive consciousness under the urging of Larry Brown's coach.

In the jump ball, Derek-Coleman took the lead to dial the ball, Allen Iverson held the ball. Wearing a black No. 3 jersey, he is still combing his iconic furrow head. Although he is only 6 feet tall, his limbs are long, like an agile gibbon. Compared with him, Arenas is a head taller, but his solid shoulders and a disproportionate lower body make him look like a stupid gorilla.

Leon is focused on Iverson and Arenas on the sidelines. He doesn't expect Arenas to limit Iverson by himself, but hopes that Arenas can at least not let go in the confrontation with Iverson. , Because he knows that the Celtics are still relatively weak at the point guard position, and he can't count on Steve Kerr in the last year of his career to fight Iverson.

But Iverson told Arenas at the beginning of the game what an NBA MVP is. He first dribbled the ball forward and shook the center of gravity of Arenas, then stepped back and shot directly within the three-point line.

Iverson's arms are long, his shooting points are high, and his shooting speed is fast. Arenas can't interfere with him at all. The ball goes into the net and Iverson scored the 76ers' first point.

Subsequently, the Celtics attacked, Pierce missed a jumper, and the 76ers quickly counterattacked. Iverson received Snow's pass and dribbled to the top of the free throw line, slowed down and observed it, and then suddenly jumped again. It's a two-pointer!

Arenas has almost no way to face Iverson. Although his steps are fast enough and his wingspan is fine, his defensive position and hand skills have always been below the average line, even if Siegfried gave He couldn't change him with a small stove, after all, he was a sharp dagger, and blocking was not his strong point.

Iverson scored four points in a row and replaced it with Arenas in the regular season. At this time, he had to do it alone anyway. Either break directly or catch up with a three-pointer, but Arenas did not. He appeared Quite calmly, holding the ball for half the time, then a lob was given to Brown, who was inside, and Brown squeezed Coleman away with a back cut and succeeded in a layup.

The Celtics rely on the inside to get the first point of the opening, which is quite rare in the Celtics game, because they are a team known for shooting, and the inside offense has always been their weakness.

The 76ers' attack on the Celtics continued. Iverson broke through the ball from the center, and Van Horn, who was 45 degrees on the right, received the ball and hit a 3-pointer! 7:2, the 76ers turned away at the beginning, leading the Celtics by 5 points.

Afterwards, the Celtics still tried to play from the inside. Antoine Walker forced Kenny Thomas to foul Thomas. Walker, who was on the free throw line, made two free throws, 7:3. The Celtics were still behind. .

The 76ers' hand style was very smooth. Snow suddenly made a pass from outside the three-point line and penetrated the Celtics' defense. Coleman made a layup and returned Brown.

What's worse is yet to come. Arenas made a pass error in the counterattack and was cut off by Iverson. The ball almost went out of bounds from the left line. Iverson rushed out to retrieve the ball before it flew out of bounds. Snow's hands.

Iverson, who stepped out of bounds, immediately rushed into the bounds, and then went straight to the Celtics’ basket. Snow made a short pass that was just right. After receiving the ball, Iverson didn’t need to dribble and started to lay up and hide. Opened Michael Reid's block and made a layup!

After scoring the goal, Iverson pointed his right hand to the sky, as if provoking Boston fans, telling them who is the MVP of the East, and he wants to rediscover the dignity he lost here last year.

Leon got up from the bench. The referee Steve Jarvie thought Leon was about to call a timeout, bit the whistle in his mouth and looked at Leon, but Leon did not respond, he just stood up and left. Two steps, he sat back on the bench.

On the other side, Larry Brown is also a little strange. He thinks the Celtics will definitely call a timeout so that he can also implement the next tactical plan. At least so far, his plan is quite successful. Van Horn mentioned the small forward. , Kenny Thomas' decision to play against Walker undoubtedly targeted the Celtics' strategy of opening the game and opening up the shooting space.

But it seems that Leon and his players are not impatient. They still insisted on going inside. PJ-Brown hit Coleman in the low post on the right, a turnaround jumper that turned inside, and barely shot against the blocked shot. In. PJ-Brown seemed to be the Celtics' only firepower in the opening game.

When the game continued, Iverson's fiery touch still did not disappear. This time he faced Arenas and forced a breakthrough from the right, and then succeeded with a throw. Everyone knew that Iverson had a way to go, but knowing that, many times he couldn't stop him.

On the Celtics side, Michael Reid missed a three-pointer, PJ-Brown grabbed an offensive rebound, and then caused a foul by Van Horn. He got to the free throw line and made two free throws. In this way, on the Celtics side, PJ-Brown scored 6 points in 7 minutes alone. This is also an unprecedented situation before this season. The touch of the other Celtics players seems to have been sucked away.

"Should we call a timeout?" Cowens asked when he saw the current situation on the court. He felt that the Celtics' state was not very normal. On the contrary, if the 76ers were allowed to play offensively, the following game , The Celtics will be very difficult~www.readwn.com~No, wait... They just haven't found a suitable rhythm yet, they are adjusting, I can see it... wait. Leon replied. He still remembers what he said to the players before the game. He still remembers the strategy the team made during the training the day before yesterday. He still remembers the sweat and effort the players put in during training.

They are like pliers that have just been oiled, slowly applying force.

When Iverson broke the ball to Van Horn again, Van Horn tried to repeat the same technique to directly catch the ball and jumper, but this time Pierce's fingertips hit the ball and the ball fell in midair.

PJ-Brown squeezed the 76ers like a bulldozer to grab the backboard, and then gave a diagonal pass to Arenas on the right sideline. Arenas caught the ball and quickly advanced from the sideline, and then passed, Paul -Pierce catches the ball and dunks with both hands!

The North Shore Garden Arena, which had been silent and suppressed for nearly 5 minutes, finally broke out like a tsunami. After the goal, Pierce roared, as if telling the 76ers and Iverson, the real Boston Celtics. Only now begin to compete with them.

To be continued.)