First in scoring

Chapter 490 488. This year's first round is really lively

At noon on the 3rd, the Bobcats left Miami and flew back to Charlotte.

On the way, Zhang Yang sat by the window, reviewing the series and adjusting his mentality.

This first round, the Bobcats won very easily, and they almost lost in Game 1. But it was precisely because Wade exploded in the first game and scored 39 points and a triple-double that the Bobcats played more easily than initially expected.

如果韦德的爆种在G3或者G4，或许能像07年季后赛首轮科比拿到26投15中拿到45分率队爆冷击败太阳队那样，从他们手里偷走一场胜利。

If they win the first two or three games easily, they might become uncontrollable and careless later on, and then the Heat will have a chance.

But Wade unexpectedly put in an excellent performance in the first game, and they were on full alert. The three young players focused on steady consumption from the first quarter of G2... The Heat had no chance at all.

In Zhang Yang's opinion, the Heat, with only Wade, should be the weakest among the 16 playoff teams this year. The head coach has ideas but is inexperienced. The team has top-level combat power but few can play. The second weakest team, the 76ers, does not have top-level combat power, but has one or two capable players at positions 1 to 5, not counting Brand in a suit.

So Zhang Yang told himself seriously that in this series, there are many things that cannot be taken seriously.

For example, his exaggerated hit rate of 50.7%+48.5%+92%.

Wade's defense on him was actually very effective, but it collapsed very quickly. He had opportunities to score in the middle and end of every quarter in the first half, and he had opportunities throughout the second half.

Wade is at his peak, and his physical strength seems to be about the same as Zhang San's in the early part of last season, and Wade's playing style is much more tiring than his.

Once Wade's physical strength declines, the defense will relax in order to ensure the offense. Even with such adjustments, Wade only performed well in the last quarter of G1. He was weak in the last quarters of G3 and G4.

In addition, the reason why he had such an exaggerated hit rate was that Wade's outside partner was too poor in defense. Apart from Wade, the only one on the Heat's outside who could cause him some trouble was the backup pitcher James Jones.

As for the other two starters, Chalmers lacks size and athleticism, while Beasley has enough size and athleticism but poor defensive enthusiasm and ability. When the starters faced off in the second half, Okafor continued to attack with the ball in the low post. He used Felton and Pietrus' off-ball screens to hit the target with one shot. Later on, he had no chance to run for a three-pointer without the ball. The two players defending the pick-and-roll on the opposite side double-teamed him with the screens, and then his teammates had a burst of three-pointers and open cuts...

After sorting out these things, Zhang Yang's inflated emotions caused by his hit rate of nearly 190 were eased.

You must be happy that you played so well, but you can't let it affect your judgment of your own strength.

After arriving at Charlotte International Airport, Zhang Yang did not go home immediately. He, Felton, Okafor, Hill, Millsap... and others went to the Turkish Airlines Arena with the team and attended the press conference held by the Bobcats for Carlisle at 3 pm.

早上联盟公布了本赛季最佳教练奖项，拿到12月、1月、4月这3个月的东部月最佳教练，率队拿到70胜，攻防效率双前十……卡莱尔拿到115张选票中的49张，击败36票的波波维奇、16票的斯坦-范甘迪、14票的迈克-布朗，职业生涯第二次拿到最佳教练！
The last time Carlisle won the best coach award was during his rookie year, the 01-02 season.

Several awards have been announced in the past few days.

The Best Manager Award went to Celtics general manager Danny Ainge.

From being the leader in the Eastern Conference in losses to being fourth in the Eastern Conference with 44 wins, Ainge, who was criticized to death last summer and worked shoulder to shoulder with the Suns general manager, has seen his reputation soar in just one season.

After receiving the award, Ainge said at the press conference: "As long as we want, we can return to the playoffs at any time, but I want more than that..."

他这句话被解读为表达对老板没耐心、皮尔斯不信任、里弗斯不支持的不满……然后当晚皮尔斯就暴走，24投14中、其中三分球11中6、外加9中8的罚球，拿到季后赛生涯第二高的42分。

The Most Improved Player Award went to Danny Granger, the leader of the Pacers. This season he became a top scorer with an average of 25.8 points per game and was selected as an All-Star. As a technical player, his future is highly anticipated.

The competition for the best sixth man is extremely fierce. This season, a total of 61 substitute players averaged double-digit points per game, with an average of two or more per team, setting an NBA record. Even in the 1s when scoring soared, the average was not that high.

场均19.6分的贾森-特里，拿到了115张第一选票中的36张，击败场均15.5分的吉诺比利、场均16.2分的内特-罗宾逊、场均17.1分的科里-马盖蒂、场均15.2分的JR-史密斯、场均15分的莱昂纳德-巴博萨、场均13.9分3.6板3.3助攻的维斯布鲁克……拿下这次竞争激烈程度有史以来最高的最佳第六人。

The first four games of the first round of eight series have been played, and the voting for the last three individual awards of the NBA regular season has also ended and will be announced soon.

...

After the press conference, Carlisle distributed to the players the scouting reports and game video clips of the team's next round of imaginary opponents.

Zhang Yang took a look and, as he expected, their imaginary opponent in the second round was the Eagles.

Although he did not pay attention to the other seven series, he knew about them.

Currently, the Hawks lead the Celtics 3-1 and have entered the match point. There is still a gap in strength between the 50-win team and the 40-win team, but the Hawks did not have an easy game. In G2, if Pierce had not made 4 three-pointers and scored 22 points in the final quarter, the Celtics would have taken away the home advantage... Note: Although the Celtics are fourth in the Eastern Conference, their record is worse than that of the Hawks. The Hawks are fifth but have the home advantage.

The tough twin towers of Al Jefferson and Gooden protect the rim, the first-level defensive player Tony Allen focuses on the outside defense, and the second-level defensive player Josh Smith provides tandem defense...they are very tough in the playoffs.

The Bobcats are the only team that swept and advanced in the first round this year. The Bulls and Cavaliers both had big advantages, but they both lost Game 4 the night before and failed to complete the sweep. They are currently leading 3-1.

In the West, the Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies played the most intensely, with the score tied at 2-2. So far, there has not been a single game with a double-digit score difference.

The Lakers and Mavericks played very passionately and the overall score was tied at 2-2, but the play of these two teams was quite special.

The Lakers won the first game 120-101 by 19 points; but in G2, the Mavericks responded with a score of 118-110, scoring 14 three-pointers in a single game and taking away the home-court advantage; in G3, the Mavericks' home-court advantage was taken back by the Lakers before they could even warm up, but the score difference was very small this time. The Lakers narrowly defeated the Mavericks 106-100, and Kobe made consecutive mid-range shots at critical moments, killing the Mavericks; in G4, the Mavericks' long-range shots went wild, and the team scored 15 three-pointers, defending the second home court with a score of 120-111 and tying the score. After Zhang Yang read the battle reports of the first four games between the Lakers and the Mavericks, he felt that the Mavericks did not play well, and Billups' control was locked by Kidd, which was a natural nemesis.

The two games they won were both due to three-point explosions, that is, Billups and Terry were on fire. When these two players couldn't continue to run, the Mavericks could only score over 100 points despite their best efforts.

Nowitzki's skills have indeed improved this season, but it is only one season after all. He is still unable to compete with Kobe at critical moments and is severely restricted by the three towers of Garnett, Kwame Brown and Gasol Jr.

The Lakers' offense was very solid overall, with balanced scoring inside and outside. They scored more than 105 points in every game. Their overall performance was a level higher than the Mavericks, mainly due to Kobe, who averaged 48.5 points per game with a 34% shooting rate. No one on the Mavericks could match him.

The scores of the other two series in the West were both 3-1.

The Nuggets led the Hornets 3-1. Paul felt the feelings of another No. 3 superstar in the East. He tried his best to drag the team into the playoffs, and then met another No. 3 superstar...

The Spurs...are trailing the Jazz 1 to 3!
The playing style has changed, but one major characteristic of the Spurs has not changed - stability.

They are still a "push-forward" team, and they still use the "kingly" style of play. If they can't beat them, they really can't beat them... The only win was in Game 2, when Ginobili scored 16 points in the final quarter and 31 points in the whole game, and together with Duncan, who made 8 mid-range shots and scored 27 points in the game, they shot the Jazz to death.

During the first four games of each series, the media and fans' attention gradually shifted from the "four major No. 4 superstars" and the "super center showdown" to the Spurs and the Jazz...

In the evening, Zhang Yang returned to his parents' home with 8 tickets for the first game of the second round, including tickets for his parents, younger brother, Little Bitch, Ronaldinho, Erha, and the Tatum brothers. The tickets for the last four were in the first row, and his parents, younger brother, Little Bitch's tickets were in the second row behind the four.

Zhang San was so happy when he thought of the scene where Qiao Tu's pen almost bent when he signed the ticket.

This is not his fault. He said from the beginning that he would pay for the tickets. It was Boss Qiao who insisted on giving as many tickets as he wanted...

After G2 of the first round, the four brothers went back to their respective homes. They did not follow Zhang Yang to Miami for the last two games. The main reason was that G2 eliminated all suspense in the series, so they waited until the day the second round started before coming.

After eating a dinner cooked by my father, the family sat in front of the TV to watch the live broadcast of Game 5 between the Spurs and the Jazz.

After 2 hours and 18 minutes, the game was over.

邓肯19分10板、吉诺比利16分2板3助攻、盖伊14分、康利10分6助攻、芬利10分、迪奥11分6板3助攻……马刺队6人得分上双，但一个飙起来的都没有，邓肯、吉诺比利、盖伊三人得分还都低于前4场平均。

而对面，布泽尔21投12中拿到31分11板3助攻、德隆26分13助攻、基里连科14分6板6助攻3抢断3盖帽、拉加-贝尔16分，虽仅4人得分上双，但4人得分比对面6人都多！
107 to 96, the Jazz defeated the Spurs away and advanced to the second round with a score of 4 to 1!
...

Just one year after the Mavericks were eliminated in the first round, another team was eliminated in the first round, and it was the Spurs, the most stable team in the NBA in the previous 11 seasons. After the series between the Spurs and the Jazz ended, the topic was even hotter than the first round in 07!

King Silver Horn: Hahahaha, the stone Buddha was also killed!

Seeing so many people shocked by the Spurs' upset, Zhang Yang was puzzled. Didn't the Jazz have signs of being eliminated after Game 1? But the topic only became popular after Game 3.

On the contrary, the Heat lost Game 1 and some even called for a surprise elimination...

It would be normal if the Spurs-Jazz game didn't attract much attention, but the Spurs have been one of the top teams in terms of ratings since February, and the topic of Popovich vs. Sloan before the playoffs was very popular... Eh? Wait, a playoff showdown between the iron-blooded Popovich and the iron-blooded Sloan? Holy crap!
When he thought of the two being nicknamed "Iron Blood", he naturally didn't want to watch the game between the two teams, but he also wanted to analyze which team had the best defense during their strongest periods... Maybe this is the reason why the game itself was not popular, and the ratings for the first few games were low?
Zhang Yang didn't have much in mind to study the Black Eight this time. Compared with the time when the mad scientist defeated his old club, the strategic conception and on-the-spot response of the Black Eight this time were nothing worth analyzing.

The Jazz's defense restrains the ball from the wings and the top arc, and they have strong rim protection capabilities. Kirilenko's ability to link up with defense is also among the top in the league... The system is not perfect at the beginning, the defense can only be said to have not collapsed completely, Conley and Gay are still in the growth stage, and the Spurs, whose strongest mid-range shooting player is Duncan, were completely suppressed.

Popovich failed to respond effectively to this disadvantage, and the Jazz did not make any targeted adjustments throughout the process. The entire black eight process was incredibly smooth.

The Cavaliers and the Bulls also advanced tonight, but with the excitement of Duncan being eliminated in the first round, even if the league's top center was defeated in the first round, it couldn't steal the limelight.

On the next day, the 4th, the Bobcats began preparations for the second round.

In the evening, Zhang Yang just returned home and received a message from his assistant coach that the imaginary enemy failed to win the series in one go and lost at home in Game 5. The Celtics defeated the Hawks 92-88 away and dragged the series into Game 6.

It’s not surprising, the Kaizi led by Teacher Tony is so resilient.

The Celtics have Big Ai, which even Okafor can't do, let alone Horford who is only in his second year.

After dinner, Zhang Yang came to the home theater. Between the decisive battle between the Lakers and the Mavericks and the match point battle between the Nuggets and the Hornets, he chose the latter.

I don’t have much spare time, so of course I’ll choose to watch the games that decide the outcome.

After watching the first half, Zhang Yang went to take a bath. There was no suspense. The Nuggets won by 28 points in the first half. Paul made 7 of 2 shots and scored 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 turnovers. He was madly intercepted by his teammates. It can be vaguely seen that Paul was frustrated by his teammates in this series, and even his passing became casual.

More than an hour later, he changed into his pajamas and returned to the home theater, watching the score frozen on the giant screen...

Zhang San: Oh my god! The No. 3 superstar is never alone, after 55 Wei, 58 Cannon is here too!

(End of this chapter)