First in scoring

Chapter 497 495. Bad Boy VS Little Giant! (Happy New Year)
The result of the first game of the Western Conference Finals obviously exceeded most people's expectations.

Even those who firmly believed that the Lakers could defend their first home court did not expect the Lakers to win so easily.

After all, the Jazz played really well in the first two rounds, both times they defeated the stronger team with a huge advantage of 4 to 1. The media and fans all think that this team is like the '99 Knicks', a tough team with a style of play suitable for the playoffs. They have also performed well in the playoffs in the past two seasons, and they made it to the Western Conference Finals the season before last...

I never expected it to be such a one-sided massacre! The Lakers beat the Jazz to the point of collapse in the first quarter!

Zhang San, who knew that this generation of the Twin Demons would be defeated by the old blacksmith and collapse and disintegrate, and that Sloan would retire due to the chain reaction, didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

In America, the popularity of the Western Conference Finals is obviously higher than that of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Lakers, the Jazz, the black eight, Sloan, the Zen Master... these highlights have attracted many old fans from the 90s. Kobe and Garnett are both players who are currently very popular in the United States. Deron is also very popular among the new generation of talented stars. G1 is very popular in terms of both topicality and ratings. It ranks second among all the series played this year. Only the 1 generation showdown between the Lakers and the Nuggets is higher than this one.

But the situation in China was quite different. After the Bobcats narrowly won the series against the Hawks, the media and most fans focused their attention on the Eastern Conference Finals.

On the night when the Bobcats advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals Beijing time, even the court’s comprehensive TV station spent dozens of seconds reporting that Zhang Yang and Yao Ming would face off in the playoffs.

Bad boy vs. little giant, even the old blacksmith who is extremely popular in China can hardly get much coverage at this time.

Just look at this: the Lakers’ Game 1 victory over the Jazz was only on the headlines of the country’s largest basketball portal, Dayan Sports, for less than two hours before being removed from the headlines.

Because at noon Beijing time, after the Chaoting TV station finished broadcasting the live broadcast of the Lakers and the Jazz, the next program was the documentary "Bad Boys and Little Giants Meet in the Eastern Conference Finals". As soon as the TV station finished broadcasting, Big Eye Sports put the video on the shelves.

This "documentary" is actually edited from some relevant content found in the two people's respective documentary materials.

An employee of Chaoting Sports Channel revealed that there is a room in the TV station building that is used to store the documentary materials of the two. In less than four years, Zhang Yang has accumulated more than 4 large-capacity CDs of materials, while Yao Ming has even more. They started filming in 700, and 99 years have passed, with nearly 10 discs. One room can no longer hold so many boxes, so the TV station is preparing to separate the documentary materials of the two into two separate rooms.

A documentary was actually edited last year, but the two didn't meet, so it was re-edited this year. At noon on the day when the Bobcats advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Imperial Sports Channel announced the broadcast time of the documentary. Major portals rushed to buy the copyright, hoping to get the traffic from the match between Zhang Yang and Yao Ming...

时间来到北京时间5月26号早上8点40分、美国东部时间5月25号晚上7点40分，夏洛特土航球馆，客场作战的公牛队入场了。

The game hasn't even officially started yet, it's just an entrance ceremony, but the live broadcast of the NBA game on Chaoting Sports Channel has broken the record, surpassing last year's highest-rated finals in history!
...

The focus is on the competition scene.

Zhang Yang looked at Yao Ming who was the last one to walk out of the player tunnel on the opposite side, and his already excited mood rose again!

Last night he was indeed envious of the old blacksmith's good luck as his opponent in the Western Conference Finals was the new duo. Judging from the performance of the Western Conference teams in this year's playoffs, for the Lakers, besides the Spurs, the best opponent is the Jazz. The old blacksmith is a natural nemesis of these two teams.

But the moment Yao Ming appeared in his sight, all other opponents were no longer important.

In his mind, any opponent pales in comparison to this opponent in his eyes!
The Jazz should just be the punching bag for the old blacksmith, because Zhang San wants to beat the little giant! After the entrance ceremony, the two sides took the time to do the greeting work well, so that the cameras of the court station could take enough pictures. After tonight, the players of the two teams might not cooperate so well in the following games.

Zhang Yang's family and friends also showed up. DeRozan looked cool and aloof, Harden tried to steal the spotlight but was pushed away, his parents were too embarrassed to say hello and ran away, and the little bitch and little Wukong stood in the C position with him, Zhang San.

When Zhang Yang and Yao Ming were interviewed together and answered questions, when the reporter asked them how they felt about finally facing each other in the playoffs, Yao Ming, who was experienced in dealing with the media, had nothing to say.

Since the morning of the day before yesterday, he has been hounded by major domestic media with questions about this matter, and he has said everything he can say.

At this time, we still have to look at Zhang San...

Zhang Yang said seriously: "Since the first time I stepped onto the basketball court, playing against you, Brother Yao, has been my dream. Every time I play against you, it is a dream come true."

When the game was about to start, Yao Ming was still moved when he heard these words.

It has to be Zhang San! Look, how nice he speaks!

At this time, the little giant was immature and asked subconsciously: "What does it look like in your dream to fight with me?"

Zhang San immediately responded: "Shout 'Cut the Ruyi Divine Sword in Two' and then fly up and smash the ball into the basket over your head."

Little Giant: I really want to slap my mouth! No, I have to smile and do business.

The pre-match process took about 10 minutes. When Zhang Yang returned to the bench, there were only a few minutes left before he started. Fortunately, Carlisle had rich experience in playing in the "China Derby". After the warm-up, he had already made pre-match arrangements. Now he just needed to emphasize the key points.

A few minutes later, the referee notified both teams of their starting lineups.

When Zhang Yang stepped onto the court, he took a deep breath to calm his excitement. His fighting spirit could be high and his playing style could be wild, but his heart had to be calm.

The Bobcats switched back to their regular starting lineup tonight: Felton, Zhang Yang, Pietrus, Millsap, and Okafor.

The opponent still has the same starting lineup after the All-Star Weekend: Hinrich, Sefolosha, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, and Yao Ming.

Zhang Yang came to the top of the three-point line and looked at the three-man lineup on the opposite side. It was obviously the same three people, but meeting them on the court again after more than a month, the feeling was different.

This is the role of winning awards. When Sefrosa and Luol Deng were also selected to the All-Defensive Team, their status automatically rose! The starting lineup of the outside line composed of three second-tier defense giants!

(End of this chapter)