novelhk Chapter 591 The Second Round of the Playoffs Begins! Believe it or not, I'll take your billions
Chapter 591 The Second Round of the Playoffs Begins! Believe it or not, I'll take your billions
The San Antonio Spurs, who are third in the Western Conference, faced the Denver Nuggets in the first round, who were also led by Darko Milicic, a representative of the 03 draft class!
Milicic has continued to improve this year, averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds per game, making him the team's absolute core and mainstay.
With the addition of strong players such as Andre Miller, Nene Hilario, Greg Buckner, Marcus Camby, and Earl Boykins, the Nuggets, who have been lying low for a long time, have finally awakened.
The 03 domestic rivalry between James and Milicic, as well as the matchup between the Spurs and the Nuggets, were both quite exciting!
The Spurs initially held a commanding lead, holding a 3-1 advantage in the first four games. However, upon returning home, they failed to capitalize on this momentum and secure the win. Darko Milicic recorded a massive double-double with 35 points and 15 rebounds on the road, leading the Nuggets to a comfortable victory on the road.
They won Game 5, and although they are still behind, they have the opportunity to continue the series at home.
Unfortunately, in Game 6 of the series, both James and McGrady unleashed incredible offensive firepower, with James scoring 35 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists, and McGrady scoring 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists!
With the two players combining for 72 points, the Nuggets were unable to counter their firepower and suffered a heartbreaking loss at home, bidding farewell to the playoffs!
The Spurs, who will advance to the second round, will face the Suns, who are second in the Western Conference!
What kind of sparks will these two teams with such different styles ignite in the playoffs?
The last remaining series in the Western Conference is undoubtedly the most anticipated and exciting of the eight first-round playoff matchups.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves!
These two teams have met in the Western Conference Finals and Western Conference Semifinals in the past two years, and the two teams are currently tied 1-1.
This third consecutive showdown this year is naturally attracting attention and making everyone look forward to it!
But once the match started, what unfolded left everyone utterly disappointed.
In Game 2 of the series, Garnett, who had just returned from injury at the end of the regular season, sprained his knee again. Although it was not serious, he would have to rest for at least two weeks, which meant he was out of the series early!
The game went straight from two stars versus two stars to the Lakers ganging up on Iverson!
With the Lakers' current lineup of four big men—Kobe, Kirilenko, Prince, and O'Neal—and their defensive system, they are practically the nemesis of smaller players like Iverson!
If Iverson had Garnett by his side at that time, or even if Cassell hadn't left, the Timberwolves would definitely still have a chance to fight back.
The problem is, when all the pressure is on Iverson, and when he's the only one on the team who can do it, it's really too difficult for the Timberwolves to beat the Lakers in front of them!
The series only lasted five games. Apart from his explosive performance in the third game, where he scored 45 points with a combination of inside drives and outside shots, Iverson's shooting percentage did not exceed 40% in the other four games. He had to keep shooting in every game against strong opponents.
Although he was inefficient, he had no other choice.
If the Timberwolves don't go on a shooting spree these days, then the team can really just surrender!
With Iverson unable to carry the team alone, this highly anticipated Western Conference matchup ended with the Lakers easily advancing with a 4-1 victory!
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves, who fell in the first round of the playoffs, have been in a worse state year by year for the past three years. From reaching the Finals to falling in the Western Conference Semifinals and then being eliminated in the first round this year, the team's situation has deteriorated year by year.
Logically speaking, this is the time when the team's management should consider changes and use trades to transform the team.
Many people believe that after such a crushing defeat in the first round this year, Iverson has most likely played his last game with the Timberwolves and will probably be traded by the team this summer.
Allen Iverson's career in Minnesota is likely coming to an end.
Of course, this is not something that will happen in the near future, nor is it the most important topic to discuss right now.
The second round of the playoffs is about to begin!
The Lakers' opponent will be the top-ranked Mavericks in the Western Conference!
But of course, the Lakers aren't afraid of the Mavericks, not at all!
Because O'Neal is already fully resurrected!
They've already proven it in the first round: their 53 wins aren't because they can only win that many, but because 53 wins are enough!
With this, the first round of this year's NBA season has come to a close, with all teams having determined their winners and losers. The remaining eight teams will be divided into four groups to compete against each other!
The Knicks' opponent is the Washington Wizards, who were formed this year and have emerged as a dark horse, led by Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison!
After the farce involving Jordan in the early 2000s, the Wizards have experienced many ups and downs over the years. The Wizards have undergone countless changes in personnel. The only person left on the team who experienced the Lin Tian and Jordan era is the team owner, Pollin.
In other words, everyone who had a grudge against Lin Tian and Jordan left.
Gilbert Arenas, the current leader of the Wizards, was even Lin Tian's younger brother when he played for the Pacers. To this day, the two still have a very good relationship and get together every time they meet.
This year, Arenas has reached the peak of his career, not only leading his team to the second round of the playoffs, but also being selected as an All-Star and made the All-NBA Team.
In addition, this year is his birthday celebration, and rumors are circulating that the Wizards have prepared a huge contract worth over 100 million dollars for him, and now they are just waiting for him to sign the contract.
Arenas has definitely reached the pinnacle of his life.
Besides him, the team's second-in-command is Antawn Jamison, one of the former North Carolina duo. After a few terrible years with the Warriors and Mavericks, he is averaging 20 points and 9 rebounds this season, making him a top-class offensive power forward.
Unlike Stoudemire's purely athletic style of play, Jamison's face-up skills are quite refined and excellent. Whether it's a floater, a shot, a pull-up jumper, or a layup after a drive, his face-up skills are simply at the level of a small forward!
He excels at doing everything on offense to get the ball into the basket. Of course, like Stoudemire, his defense is negligible. In fact, it's hard to say who has the worse defense between him and Stoudemire!
Then there's Butler, who's averaging 17 points per game this year!
Caron Butler was poached from the Heat by the Wizards with a big contract this year. Butler's performance this season has proven that the Wizards have a good eye for talent. His defense is the best among the Wizards' Big Three. His versatility and ball-dominant style of play can also be a perfect match for the two big men.
If Arenas is the general of this team, responsible for leading the way, and Jamison is the vanguard, responsible for charging into battle, then Butler is the glue that holds the team together. With him there, the team has chemistry and can play a reasonable and exciting game!
Apart from these three players, no other Wizards player averages double-digit points per game.
Besides them, the highest scorer per game is Antonio Daniels, who averages 9 points per game off the bench.
球队的另外两名首发分别是身高213公分，场均7分6篮板的蓝领中锋布兰登·海伍德，以及场均6分5篮板，身高211公分的大前锋贾莱德·杰弗里斯。
这两个超过210公分的大个子再加上203公分的贾米森和201公分的巴特勒，这支球队的首发阵容之中有4个人的身高都超过了2米！
Their level of achievement is absolutely top-notch, even considering the entire league.
Teams that are even better than them are really hard to find.
At the same time, it cannot be ignored that although this team is very big, their defense is terrible, or rather, this team doesn't play defense much and their main focus is on offense!
And it's also a rapid offensive during the transition between offense and defense!
Yes, this team is tall and big, but they play by running.
If you ask how to run and play when there are two inside players who are over 210 cm tall...
The answer is actually quite simple: just ignore them!
The Wizards' offense often involves the three musketeers dribbling the ball and shooting whenever they find an opportunity, while their two role-playing big men are truly ignored.
If they're in position, they're in position; if they're not, Arenas and the others won't wait for the center to get into position.
Why are we waiting for you to take your places?
Wouldn't that slow down your own offensive pace and give the opponent a chance to set up a defense?
This is something you absolutely must not do! Absolutely not!
It's fair to say that the Wizards are a rather peculiar and deceptive team!
A team with a tall starting lineup that completely neglects defense, a team with an absolute height advantage that almost never plays positional or back-to-the-basket games, and just runs around and throws the ball around the whole field.
But clearly, the Knicks aren't afraid of them.
Or rather, the teams that the Knicks fear no longer exist!
They have absolute confidence!
Don't say that the Wizards had 3 players running and 2 players watching.
Even if they were all five of them running together, the Knicks wouldn't be afraid of them.
In this alliance, no one can run faster or attack better than us!
This is the confidence the Knicks have now!
"Long time no see, Lin." At Madison Square Garden, Arenas ran over to Lin Tian with a big smile and gave him a hug. "It's so good to see you! After the game tonight, I'll treat you to some fun!"
"You decide on the venue, and I'll pay for everything, no matter how much it costs!"
Just by looking at Arenas's expression, you can tell that he must have received some information, or at least the management gave him a hint about how much money he could make this summer.
Otherwise, how could this kid be so excited and generous?
Lin Tian still remembers that when this guy was a rookie, he was so poor that he couldn't even afford a car. When they went out together, he secretly stepped on a few banknotes during the part where Webber was throwing money around. Then, while happily swaying with the dancers, he reached into his pocket to stuff the money!
It's only been a few years, and this kid is about to sign a contract worth over 100 million. Times have changed!
"Gilbert, have you signed your new contract yet?" Lin Tian asked with a smile. "Your old buddy Larry had his contract shrunk last season because of his poor performance in the playoffs. What about you? Are you ready?"
"Maybe we can't beat you guys," Arenas said, his eyes lighting up. "But against you, putting up some impressive stats is a piece of cake! Boss, don't you know what kind of defense you guys have?!"
"I know our defense is bad," Lin Tian said with a wicked grin, "but my defense is good! Believe me or not, I can reduce your 100 million yuan contract to 80 million yuan?"
After Lin Tian finished speaking, he patted Arenas on the shoulder, whistled, and left.
He's happy; it feels so good to bully others!
Ignoring the dejected Arenas, Lin Tian went straight back to the bench. Old Nelson had already gathered all the players together to give them a final rundown of the key points for this series.
"Just play like before. Their defense is even worse than ours. At least we have a few elite defenders. They're nothing. Okay, go."
Don Nelson waved his hand and plopped down on the bench. He didn't want to say much against a team like the Wizards.
When the team falls behind, then we'll figure out another way.
Lin Tian and the others were already used to Old Nelson's style. The five starters walked together on their own, formed a circle, put their hands together, and shouted.
"Championship!"
"Victory is certain!"
The players, united in purpose, marched onto the field together, ready for the match!
The Knicks, of course, didn't change any of their starting lineups. Don Nelson wasn't going to bother with this kind of game. The Wizards did the same, fielding their strongest five-man lineup.
Arenas, Butler, Jamison, Jeffries, Haywood.
Haywood walked straight to the center of the field and stood with Okur. With the referee's whistle, the game began!
"Snapped!"
The basketball was picked up by Okur, who immediately passed it to Lin Tian. Lin Tian was stunned when he received the ball.
There are too many empty seats!
The Wizards' defense is damn much better than the Knicks'!
Stoudemire had already run to the vicinity of the three-point line, but nobody was paying any attention to him.
Anthony was on the other side of the three-point line, and Jamison was a good 2 meters away from him.
Houston was secretly running towards the baseline, and Butler, who was supposed to be guarding him, was nowhere to be seen.
With so many opportunities, Lin Tian was momentarily at a loss as to how to choose!
I hesitated!
Lin Tian hesitated on the court, which was extremely rare for him!
This hesitation caused all three opportunities to disappear.
After all, everyone is an NBA player. Even if their defense is terrible or perfunctory, they still have some basic standards. It's unacceptable that the Knicks would get so many open shots for so long without any tactics being implemented at the start of the game.
"FUXX!"
Lin Tian couldn't help but curse. This time, he finally understood what it meant to be overwhelmed by a dazzling array of choices.
There are too many; it can be overwhelming.
"Come on, Lin! Come on!" Arenas also got into position, waiting for Lin Tian to attack him.
This guy is 191 cm tall with a wingspan of over 2 meters. In addition, his super hard training has given him an unrealistically strong upper body. By all accounts, this guy is a defensive powerhouse.
Unfortunately, Lin Tian knew all too well what kind of person this guy was; his defense was all show and no substance.
Lin Tian slowly walked to the frontcourt, then took an attack step forward, and then changed the direction of the basketball from left to right. He stepped forward with his left foot on the inside to block Arenas' position, and then Lin Tian accelerated again!
"Whoosh!"
Arenas is gone, and Lin Tian has left him far behind!
Whether it's positioning, distance sense, lateral movement speed, or anticipation and blocking, Arenas is terrible!
Lin Tian blew past Arenas in one step, drove straight into the paint, and then threw the ball high into the air.
Stoudemire, who was following up in the middle, arrived in a flash. He jumped high, caught the ball with both hands, and then, as if he had arrived at Mount Hua, he used all his strength to slam the ball into the basket!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Stoudemire cleaved Mount Hua with both hands, opening the scoring for the Knicks!
Cheers erupted throughout Madison! This was the game they came to see!
Stimulate!
The Wizards weren't intimidated by the Knicks' fierce start either. Arenas easily received the ball and started advancing the ball.
"Boss, you're not really going to beat me to death, are you?" Arenas asked, trying to get closer to Lin Tian while dribbling the ball. He might not look very smart, but he was a guy who had trained so hard and knew his place. More importantly, he had worked with Lin Tian for two years!
He knew all too well what kind of person Lin Tian was.
You shouted that you wanted to settle things with him, but Lin Tian will show you who the real father is today.
But if you open your mouth and call him "Dad," then Lin Tian will be a little gentler.
At the very least, they won't go all out with full-court press!
Arenas saw Hughes' situation very clearly last year!
Before the series against the Pistons, the Wizards' management and six or seven other teams in the league indicated that they would offer Hughes a five-year, $60 million contract.
But after that series, his average salary dropped to around $800 million. If the Cavaliers hadn't been so eager to recruit him and willing to offer him a premium contract, Hughes might have only been able to sign a short-term contract to prove himself in the offseason.
Arenas wouldn't make such a mistake! (End of Chapter)