Chapter 1284 The Quarterfinals of the Playoffs Are Announced
Time has entered May, when the four top four teams in the Western Conference have begun to prepare for their respective opponents, the first round of the Eastern Conference is still filled with smoke. In addition to the Cavaliers and Magic who have already arrived, the other four teams will also compete in two games. A tiebreak was fought to determine the final two qualifying teams.
For Ji Feng, this period of time is a long-lost rest time during the playoff cycle. Like all Lakers players, Ji Feng lives a three-point-one-line life of home, training gym, and rehabilitation center every day. There are no parties. , no entertainment, even Ji Feng stopped his social account, everything is to continue preparing for the upcoming Western Conference semifinals.
In the eyes of many people, this kind of life is even a bit boring, and is not commensurate with the status of a billionaire. Especially Ji Feng's girlfriend is still filming in China and has to wait until June to come back, so Ji Feng's daily life is With a large group of rough old men, they are more monks than monks.
But in fact, this is the normal state of professional players. Of course, you can choose to have sex and indulge in night clubs, but for a professional player, this will greatly damage his condition, shorten his career, and waste his talent. There are countless examples like this. How many people have lost themselves in wine, meat and wealth, and ended up with regrets. Of course, there are also many self-disciplined guys like Ji Feng, and Ji Feng does not feel boring. Basketball is life. This sentence is definitely not true. I am just joking.
During these days, the most important thing is definitely the analysis of the opponent. An hour after the Rockets confirmed their advancement, all the Rockets' information had been moved to Zen Master's table, and the Lakers' coaching team also began A slice analysis of the rocket.
The Rockets' detailed information and all the videos of the first round were also studied by the Lakers coaching staff no less than ten times. Each Lakers player received the detailed information two days later, and Master Jackson also began to make targeted arrangements in training.
This is the speed of the NBA. In terms of professionalism, no professional league anywhere in the world can compare with this.
On May 2, the entire Rockets team arrived in Los Angeles three days in advance and began training to adapt to the venue. Ji Feng also invited Dayao, Tracy McGrady and other Rockets acquaintances to dine at a luxury restaurant in Los Angeles, playing the role of a landlord. Friendship, Uncle Mu who attended the dinner also posted photos on the Internet, triggering heated discussions among netizens.
That is, now, when the game starts, the two sides are enemies.
On the 3rd, the NBA continued to announce the regular season awards. This time it announced the General Manager of the Year. However, this award did not have a chance with the Lakers and ultimately belonged to the Denver Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentin.
This award is well-deserved. The Nuggets made the largest player trade in the league this season. At the beginning of the season, they traded their own Allen Iverson for Pistons general Billups. The transaction was not favored by people, but since then the team's record has shown a qualitative leap compared to previous seasons.
This season, they not only rose from eighth place in the Western Conference last season to second place this season with 54 wins and 28 losses, but their 54 wins also tied the best regular season record in team history.
In the first round of the just-concluded playoffs, they eliminated the Hornets 4-1. They also slaughtered the Hornets with a record 58 points in the fourth away game, creating the biggest tragedy in history, and finally advanced. This is also their Winning the playoffs for the first time in 15 years was also the first time Anthony led the team into the second round of the playoffs.
Under his operation, the Nuggets first traded for the two-time "scoring champion" Iverson from the 76ers, and then traded him for Billups. In addition, Warkentin also renewed the contract of the team's star Anthony with the team, re-signed generals Nene and Smith, and signed free agent Anderson. These are all big deals that can change the team.
On the night when this award was announced, the tiebreaker between the Celtics and the Bulls finally started at the North Shore Garden.
This game can be called a battle to save the honor of the Celtics. In the first six games, the face of their established team has been completely defeated by the young Bulls led by the new No. 1 pick Rose. If this game is in their own hands, If they lose again at home, the Celtics will probably be laughed at for three years. This is not an exaggeration. After all, if they lose the tiebreaker, the Bulls will have achieved a black seven!
Although Black Eight is very difficult, with only three occurrences in history, Black Seven is equally difficult, with only four occurrences in history!
The most recent time was 11 years ago, when it was still a three-win format of five games.
In the 1998 playoffs, the Heat and the Knicks met again after 1997. The two sides had had a fight the previous year, and the enemies were extremely jealous when they met. As a result, the two teams broke out again in the fourth game. A group fight broke out. Oakley and Mourning took the lead in the fight, and then all the players swarmed forward. In order to protect the players, Knicks head coach Van Gundy hugged Mourning's thigh tightly and was dragged on the floor by Mourning several times. Midor didn't let go, which is amazing. The classic scene of Van Gundy sacrificing his life to protect his players is still widely circulated to this day. In the end, the Knicks avenged their loss to their opponents the previous year and won the championship. The Heat eliminated the second-placed team in the Eastern Conference with a score of 3-2.
And the rate is even among the Big Three. If the team in last season's finals loses, this team will be disbanded soon.
And the probability seemed to be even greater in the first quarter. 27-22, the Celtics were beaten by the Bulls at their home court. Even the commentator on the sidelines of the Celtics panicked and once called Ray Allen by the wrong name.
But maybe it was God's will. Allen, whose name was called, broke out in the second quarter. He scored 4 three-pointers in a single quarter and a buzzer-beating mid-range shot. He led the Green Army to a 29-11 score in a single quarter and took off immediately.
Then the Bulls struggled to catch up, but in the end they unfortunately lost 108-104, a 4-point difference, and finally stopped in the first round 3-4.
Although the Green Army won, it didn't seem to be something to be happy about. They had too many shortcomings exposed in this series. Without Garnett, they no longer had the dominance they had last season. Seven, but no one seemed optimistic that they could continue to defeat the Magic this time.
Although they lost, many people are optimistic about the future of the Bulls. The Bulls will be a strong team next season.
A day later, another tiebreaker finally started, with the Heat facing the Hawks away from home.
Everyone hopes that the Heat can win this game, because then they can see the brotherly showdown between James Lao and Wade.
However, God did not follow people's wishes. The Hawks won easily at their home court, and the breakthrough point was still Beasley, an overrated rookie.
Josh Smith scored 32 points and 8 rebounds on top of him, directly destroying the Heat's third position, while Eagle King Joe Johnson and Wade played evenly, one with 24 points and the other with 23 points and 7 assists. However, Except for Wade, no one in the Heat can stand up. Beasley only had a measly 7 points and 4 rebounds, shooting 32% from the field, and 7-1 from three-point range. I don't even bother mentioning the shooting percentage.
With Beasley's assist, the Hawks easily defeated the Heat 101-78 at home, eliminating their opponents 4-3 and advancing to the second round. They will welcome James and his Cavaliers!
In this way, the top four in the Eastern Conference are all announced. They are the Cavaliers against the Hawks, and the Celtics against the Magic!