First in scoring

Chapter 546.fofofo!

At 8 pm, the first game of the series between the Bobcats and the Bulls will start.

Compared to the final game, the Bulls started much more aggressively.

Skiles knew that Carlisle couldn't do anything with the combination of Hinrich, Sefolosha, Ronald Murray, Luol Deng and Yao Ming, so he increased the playing time of this lineup.

效果很好，首节26比20、第二节28比23，公牛队半场打出了41投22中的高命中率，以54比43领先山猫队11分！
However, in the third quarter, Zhang Yang, who made only 10 of 3 shots in the first half, finally started to soar. He made 9 of 6 shots in the quarter, including 3 of 2 three-pointers. Without getting any free throws, he scored 14 points in a single quarter. Together with Felton who scored 9 points and 4 assists in a single quarter, the two led the team together and beat the Bulls with a single quarter score of 36 to 24!
79 to 78, the Bobcats played a dominant quarter and reversed the score!
The Bulls wanted to make a comeback in the final quarter, but their overly aggressive strategy at the beginning consumed too much energy in Yao Ming's game. Yao Ming, who had scored 19 points in the first half, only scored 5 points in the third quarter. He ended up with nothing in the final quarter. The Bulls' overall offense also declined, and the team only scored 15 points in the final quarter.

Zhang Yang continued to soar in the final quarter, making 7 of 4 shots, including 5 of 2 three-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, scoring in double digits again in a single quarter, getting 12 points and leading the Bobcats to a score of 24 to 15.

26投13中，其中三分球10中4，加上4中4的罚球，张杨拿到34分10板3助攻；费尔顿20分9助攻，两人携手率队完成下半场大逆转，以103比93击败公牛队，守住第一个主场！
Yao Ming had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists in the first half and 24 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in the whole game. After the game, commentators from major TV stations said that Skiles made an extremely wrong decision this time because he and Zhang Yang went all out at the start.

Yao Ming's playing time was relatively less in November, and increased after he got into good form in December. From January to March, his playing time was around 11 or 12 minutes. In April, he averaged 1 minutes per game to adapt to the rhythm of the playoffs. His playing time in the four quarters was often 3%, 4%, 33%, and 25%, similar to the Zen Master's allocation of playing time for O'Neal in a single game in 10, 25, and 40. Skiles' control in this aspect was so excellent in the regular season, but he got confused in the playoffs.

With the Bulls' three All-Stars in such excellent form tonight, they could have won if they had played normally. However, due to overly aggressive adjustments, they didn't even have hope of winning. In the second half, facing Zhang Yang who scored 26 points, they couldn't even fight back.

This game also let the fans see the difference between Zhang Yang's playoffs and regular season. The first round against the Bucks was not considered a playoff game for the Bobcats. Although the score difference was getting smaller and smaller, they actually played more and more easily and casually. Zhang Yang's score also dropped from 46 points in the first game to less and less later. In Barkley's words - he is really a bad boy, all his thoughts are on bullying the rookie.

But in the game against the Bulls, Zhang Yang faced a more targeted defense from the Bulls' second perimeter defense group in the first half than in last year's playoffs. He focused entirely on trying better shooting methods during his 21 minutes of playing time, and then scored 24 points in his 26 minutes of playing time in the second half!
That kind of ferocity is rarely seen in this regular season. He has made a big improvement in this regular season - the control of his own offensive rhythm.

At the same time, this game also showed the difference between Zhang Yang and last season. Last season, when facing the outside groups of the Hawks and the Bulls, he could only grind his way through, leading the entire team, motivating his teammates, and feeding back to himself, and finally defeating the opponent. This time, in the second half, he directly shot through the outside group of the Bulls!

Skiles' defensive strategy of one big and four small players made it difficult for Zhang Yang to create mismatch shooting opportunities, so he just shot the ball against the defense!
...

After a day of rest, on May 5th, the Bobcats and the Bulls faced off again at the Turkish Airlines Arena.

The attempt in G1 failed, and Skiles switched back to his regular style tonight.

Although media experts scolded him harshly and even local fans in Chicago were scolding him, he was upset about the failure in Game 1, but he did not regret trying. He was only upset that his outside scoring ability was not good enough. Yao Ming had 19 points in the first half, and Hinrich and Luol Deng only scored 15 points in the first half together, which did not achieve the ideal inside-outside connection effect at all.

Hinrich is okay, he is not a scoring point guard. Offensive organization, rhythm control, key shots and defense are Hinrich's strengths.

Luol Deng really disappointed him. He had carefully trained him for six years, but he could only score a dozen points in each game, which was far from the expectations of the long-term plan made after getting Yao Ming in 6.

After switching back to their regular style of play, the Bulls controlled the rhythm better and did not allow the Bobcats to gain a clear advantage, but they themselves were not able to gain a clear advantage either. They had their climaxes, but were quickly returned by the opponent.

首节比分24比23、第二节比分16比18、第三节比分22比24、末节比分25比27……比赛结束时，比分定格在87比92，公牛队5分憾负山猫队，客场0比2落后！

Skiles was really helpless when he saw that the team played back and forth with the Bobcats in regular time, but Zhang Yang relied on his personal ability to gain a slight advantage at the end of the third and fourth quarters, suppressing Hinrich and eventually getting 29 points and 6 assists to lead the Bobcats to victory.

This is why he tried new tactics in G1. He really couldn’t compete with Zhang Yang at the critical moment!
Next are two rest days, during which the league announced the final regular season awards and held the draft lottery.

The lottery has nothing to do with the Bobcats. Since the Bobcats' record in the Southeast Division is slightly better than the Suns' record in the Pacific Division, the Bobcats ranked higher and moved a little later in the draft, getting the 27th pick, while the Suns got the 26th pick.

篮网队和勇士队，今年摆烂摆出了新高度，篮网队10胜72负、勇士队12胜70负，为这赛季常规赛出现了多达9支55胜球队做出了卓越贡献。

The Warriors were lucky, as they were second to last and got the second pick, but the Nets were unlucky, as they were last and only got the third pick. The Wizards, with 3 wins and 20 losses, got the first pick with a relatively low probability.

It is hard not to suspect that the league has done something fishy, ​​because Wizards owner Aby Pollin has already sold the team and is just waiting for the owners to vote on it at the end of the season. This No. 1 pick looks like a 'starting gift package' for the new Wizards owner.

The final award has a lot to do with the Bobcats.

Best team:
First team: Zhang Yang, Kobe, James, Durant, Howard.

Second team: Nash, Wade, Nowitzki, Stoudemire, Yao Ming.

Third team: Rose, Roy, Duncan, Bosh, Okafor.

Best defensive team:
First team: Zhang Yang, Kobe, James, Gerald Wallace, Howard.

Second team: Wade, Sefrosa, Luol Deng, Josh Smith, Duncan.

All-Rookie Team:

First team: Jennings, Curry, Evans, Casspi, Gibson.

Second team: Marcus Thornton, Collison, Holiday, Jerebko, Blair.

Sports Illustrated Online Special Review: As we enter a new decade, the group of veterans who entered the NBA more than a decade ago are still outstanding, but signs of a changing era can already be seen...

Duncan's name was mentioned specifically, which probably meant that Duncan was old and could no longer maintain his dominance in the late season. He had the worst performance in his 13-year professional career and couldn't even make the second team. He might have to retire.

When Zhang Yang saw this report, he seriously suspected that Popovich had bribed the editor of Time Warner.

Just watching a few Spurs games, you can see how stable Duncan's performance was in the middle and late stages of the season. He scored 14 or 15 points, 8 or 9 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in almost every game, and he got these in 27 or 28 minutes of playing time per game.

That is to say, James, Durant, Nowitzki and Stoudemire performed too well, so Duncan was relegated to the third team.

It's a pity for Paul. He played 58 games and averaged 21+5+11, but he was injured in mid-March and didn't play the last 3 games. Before he was injured, the Hornets had 20 wins and 37 losses. After he was injured, the Hornets had 25 wins and 5 losses. He could have competed with Kobe, but in the end he didn't even make the best team.

Moreover, the injury is very serious. If he returns in the future, he will most likely lose his ability to provide a backup that is comparable to that of James.

...

After two rest days, the home and away games changed. On May 5, the Bobcats came to the United Center in Chicago to continue their away game against the Bulls.

这是两队两年季后赛交手中打得最惨烈的一场，首节比分12比17、第二节比分14比11，两队半场干了个26比28，山猫队落后公牛队两分进入中场休息！
电视机前的球迷看着这比分，想想昨晚湖人队和马刺队的G3，首节38比40；太阳队和小牛队的G2，半场69比65……这是一个联盟的比赛吗？
However, thinking about the game between the Cavaliers and the Magic before the game between the Bobcats and the Bulls, the two teams went into overtime and the Magic narrowly won 86 to 82... The gap in playing styles between the East and the West is a bit too big!
In the third quarter, the scores of the two teams finally looked a little better. Thanks to Millsap's tip-in at the last minute and Brad Miller's foul, the Bobcats won 2-1 over the Bulls by 23 point. At 22-1, the Bobcats entered the final quarter trailing the Bulls by 49 point.

In the final quarter, it is Zhang Yang's "solo dance" moment again!
虽然三分被防得单节4投仅1中，但他中距离4中3！加上一次欧洲步上篮、一次反击攻框被犯规两罚全中，张杨末节狂飙13分，率领山猫队打出了25比20的比分！
上半场12中3拿到8分，第三节9中4拿到9分、末节8中4拿到13分，张杨29投11中拿到全场最高的30分，强压拿到21分的姚明一头，率领山猫队以74比70险胜公牛队，大比分3比0领先！

In this game, fans, whether they watched the live broadcast or not, were shocked by the result.

Fans who only watched the results after the game never expected that the Bulls would be behind 0-3!

The fans who watched the live broadcast were even more shocked. They always felt that the Bulls had a chance to win, and they thought so in every game since G1. The Bulls did always have a chance to win, but in the final moments, they were killed by Zhang Yang's shots from the high post and outside the three-point line!
Fans who had the opportunity to watch the entire game live, even the Bulls fans, were convinced by Zhang Yang this time.

It’s not that the Bulls played badly, the fans’ feeling while watching the game was fine. Except for the collapse in the second half of G1, the Bulls had a chance to win the next two games. Before the critical moment of G3, the Bulls even took the initiative, but in the end, they all lost to Zhang Yang without exception!

Originally, they thought that the Bobcats would play like they did in the regular season finale at the critical moment, with Zhang Yang and O'Neal, who was using his energy to slow down, finally fighting against the Bulls' three All-Stars.

It is true that O'Neal played a role at the critical moment, but Carlisle did not use him to attack at all. Instead, he rotated O'Neal + Perkins at the center position, Okafor + Millsap at the power forward position, Hill and Marion took turns defending Luol Deng, and the offense was left to the double guns, or to Zhang Yang!
3场比赛，张杨在末节分别以7中4拿到14分、9中3拿到11分、8中4拿到13分，以45.8%的命中率场均12.6分！
...

Either they were reversed, or they were killed by Zhang Yang's shooting after a tense whole game. Even though they had a superstar like Yao Ming and a big-hearted player like Hinrich, the Bulls, playing at home, lost their mentality in Game 4.

For a team like them, the manifestation of a broken mentality is definitely not losing fighting spirit or shooting randomly, but playing too aggressively.

The Bulls' double-team defense seemed too aggressive, and the Bobcats seized the opportunity to make many cuts, receive the ball and pass it; the one-on-one defense was also very anxious, and they committed many fouls.

This is determined by the lineup structure. The Bulls have many players with strong individual defensive abilities, so it's no problem if they don't play impatiently, but once they get impatient, everyone is more willing to believe in their own personal abilities.

On the contrary, it is difficult for the Bobcats to make such a mistake, because when they built their defensive system last season, there were not many players with strong individual defensive capabilities. Carlisle has been emphasizing teamwork for a long time in the regular season. Even Zhang Yang, who was selected for the first defense, and Okafor, who often entered the second defense, all prioritized team defense. This habit has been maintained after Millsap and Afflalo's defense was further improved and excellent defensive players such as Collison and Marion were introduced.

山猫队在上半场打出了30比22和27比18的比分，半场以57比40领先公牛队17分！
In the second half, the Bobcats' offensive efficiency was also dragged down by the Bulls' rough confrontation and fouls, and they only scored 19 points and 22 points, but they also limited the Bulls' score to just over 20 points, leaving the Bulls no chance to turn the tables.

At 10:20 pm, the final whistle sounded.

张杨打出了这个系列赛效率最高的一场比赛，22投13中，其中三分球7中4，加上12中11的罚球，狂轰41分！外加8板1助攻3抢断，率领山猫队以98比84强势击败公牛队！
With a big score of 4-0, we swept into the second round!

相对的，姚明打出了加入公牛队以来最差的一场季后赛，15投仅5中，加上4中4的罚球，拿到14分15板2助攻4盖帽外加5失误和4犯规。

Also, the player with the most shots tonight, if free throws are not counted, was not Zhang Yang, but Luol Deng.

In this series, Luol Deng was badly criticized and his scoring performance was far below expectations, averaging only 16 points in the first three games.

He was criticized by the media, fans and experts. He threw 24 shots tonight, but only scored 6 goals, including 6 of 1 three-pointers, plus 5 of 3 free throws, but still only got 16 points...

After the game, the fans at the scene started to curse Luol Deng. The nickname "British Jordan" now seems like a joke.

When Zhang Yang and his teammates were celebrating, they heard the noise of the fans at the scene. Looking at Luol Deng, who was walking towards the player tunnel with his head covered by a towel, he felt that this guy was very unlucky.

The Bulls selected two 'Jordans' in 04, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, both of whom they had high hopes for.

When trading for Yao Ming, the Bulls management chose to keep Luol Deng, which was a correct choice. Ben Gordon was very dependent on point guards, and he soon wilted after signing a contract extension with the Rockets with an average of 900 million US dollars per year. However, he became more resilient after being traded to the Kings to play as a substitute.

As for the Bulls, after winning the championship, they fell into the aftermath of trading Yao Ming. They had no trading chips, no draft picks, and no salary space to introduce players, so they could only tap into their internal potential. Luol Deng, who was only 23 years old at the time, was given the important task. The Bulls trained him to be a top scorer, giving him tactical space and the right to shoot the ball.

It's not that Luol Deng didn't work hard. When opportunities came, he tried his best to fight for them. But he is not a player with top scoring talent either.

Like Iguodala, averaging 18 or 19 points per game in the regular season and 15 or 16 points per game in the playoffs is Luol Deng's limit. The Bulls' operation is purely forcing a duck to climb the tree.

This is also related to Granger. There are rumors that after the Bulls saw Granger take off at the beginning of last season, they further increased their efforts to train Luol Deng based on the internal decision made during the offseason.

But Granger is a core player who can be trained to be a championship contender, while Luol Deng is just 'Deng Yingqiao'.

However, being able to sweep the Bulls for two consecutive years... When he went on the court, Zhang Yang must have been thinking of winning every game, but it was still a bit surprising that they actually swept the team.

The sweeping process had little to do with their preparations before the second round.

At first, Carlisle really intended to grind out the game in regular time, and use him and Old Shark to fight against the opponent in the critical moment. However, the Bulls' radical adjustment in Game 1 forced him to score in double digits in two consecutive quarters in the third and fourth quarters. Carlisle's mind became active again... Let O'Neal save his energy to protect the rim in the critical moment, let him face Hinrich and Luol Deng alone, and bet that he can win.

This is actually very radical, but since they won, no one cares whether they are radical or conservative.

...

Judging from the regular season matches between the Bobcats and the Bulls, many people think that the Bulls can beat the Bobcats. Even those who think the Bobcats can win feel that it will be a very difficult game and they may even go to a Game 7.

But just one week after the start of the second round, the Bobcats advanced to the divisional finals first!
Instead, the Spurs, who were underestimated once again, surprised people again. As of the 14th, they were tied with the Lakers 2-2!
In the first round, there was a lot of hype about the Thunder's dark eight, but in fact, many people were just joining in the fun.

The vast majority of fans really believe that the Spurs will be eliminated in the second round, and even Texas fans are pessimistic about this.

Because the Spurs have lost to the Lakers too many times since the new century.

Except for the year 03 when the Lakers' three-peat ended, the Spurs were swept by the Lakers in 01, lost 02-1 in 4, lost 04-5 in 0.4, lost 6-08 in Game 1 after Fisher's buzzer beater in Game 4, and lost - in the most recent year of . But in fact, the Spurs were the second-best team in the West when they lost to the Lakers, especially in the early s when the East was at its weakest. As long as they beat the Lakers, the Spurs were basically sure to win the championship.

This time, the Spurs held on in their first two home games, winning 123-109 and 115-111 respectively. After losing by 100 points in the first away game 115-15, they took the initiative in the second away game and were leading by 3 point with 1 seconds left.

It's a pity that in the last moments, Kobe received the ball at the sideline, turned around and hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer that flew out of bounds to complete the lore. The Spurs lost 111 to 113 and were dragged into the decisive battle by the Lakers.

However, although Kobe scored the buzzer-beater for the Lakers in Game 4, it was Kidd who played a huge role in regular time. In addition to helping the Lakers score 110+ points, he also dealt with the young Conley and George Hill, and indirectly dragged down Ginobili. Ginobili had already scored 23 points in the first three quarters, but after playing for another 6 minutes in the final quarter, his total score was still 23 points.

In the first four games, Gay was defended by Kobe and had a shooting percentage of only 4%, which was 44 percentage points lower than the regular season and the first round. He averaged 6 points per game, which was 13.5 points lower than the regular season, which was considered a drag.

Kobe was supposed to defend Ginobili, but he is over 30 after all. It was okay for him to defend Ginobili when he was holding the ball from the outside, but Ginobili did not confront Kobe head-on. Instead, he ran without the ball and cut in to fight. Kobe had a hard time defending him. Ariza was on duty from the beginning of G2, and the effect was only defensive. So the Lakers took a roundabout route on the defensive end to block Conley and Gay and let Ginobili play more.

The style of another series in the Western Conference, between the Suns and the Mavericks, is completely different from the Lakers-Mavericks battle, with two games with a score difference of less than 5 points.

In Game 1, the Mavericks won by 123 points, 101 to 22. At that time, people thought that the Suns would be beaten by the Mavericks after being beaten by the Grizzlies. However, in Game 2, the Suns responded with a massacre, 119 to 98, and snatched the home-court advantage.

But when people started to call Nowitzki a softie again, in Game 3, Nowitzki made 26 of 14 shots, including 9 of 6 three-pointers, and made all 17 free throws, scoring 51 points, getting his second 50+ point game in the playoffs in his career, and leading the Mavericks to a 117-101 away win over the Suns, regaining the home advantage.

Stoudemire defended Nowitzki's turnaround jump shot, and he slapped Nowitzki's forearm every time he defended. He was fouled out before the end of the third quarter and was completely made a fool of.

It is worth mentioning that Nowitzki's first playoff game in which he scored 50 points was also against the Suns.

This game gave Nash a new nickname - the ATM of his old partner.

The day after the Bobcats swept the Bulls, on the 16th, the Suns played their second home game. Nash scored 2 points and 16 assists, leading the Suns to a 21-116 victory over the Mavericks, tying the overall score.

In this game, Zhang Yang, who returned to Charlotte, watched the live broadcast. Thinking about the scores of the previous games, he felt that the match between Son of Wind and Silver Horn King could be described in one sentence - a head-on bayonet fight to see who stabs whom to death first.

We've been playing for a week and there hasn't been a single-digit score difference in any game!
The inside combination of Nowitzki and Dampier really can't defend against Stoudemire + Frye. It is difficult to limit Nowitzki when he plays center and Artest when he plays power forward. They can only fight head-on on the offensive end.

Zhang Yang is just watching the games in the Western Conference for fun. What he is really paying attention to right now is the series between the Magic and the Cavaliers.

魔术队G1就在客场以97比86击败骑士队，把主场优势抢走了，但4场打完后，两队也打成了2比2平！
In G2 and G3, James made 8 of 4 three-pointers in two consecutive games. When he started shooting from three-point range, Nelson, who was defending him, had to stick closer to him. He had better starting conditions, and the defensive pressure on Howard, who was protecting the rim alone, increased suddenly, which in turn caused the Magic's flanks to shrink, allowing Mo Williams and Jamison to shoot. The Cavaliers won two games in a row and regained the home advantage.

但到了G4，詹姆斯三分投了个9中1，骑士队也以80比93惨败。

James's 1-point shooting occasionally disappears in a confusing way, a problem that also occurred during the regular season, with the most frequent occurrences in January and March.

However, in addition to James' own touch problems, the Magic team's defense also improved in this game. The Magic team gradually figured out James' three-point shooting habit. He always slaps the ball hard, then steps back or grabs the ball and throws it.

Zhang Yang thinks the Cavaliers still have a chance to win. He thinks the real basis for the Cavaliers to win two games in a row is not how well James shoots three-pointers, but the Cavaliers' overall defense.

The Magic's signature three-point rain never came once in this series. Without Turkoglu, the Magic's offense was organized by Carter and Nelson, and the passing game turned into singles and pick-and-rolls. This was easier to defend against the Cavaliers' "no center" formation and was enough to make up for the problem of not being able to withstand Howard without a center.

On this basis, as long as James can break through the Magic's defense, the Cavaliers have a great chance of winning.

The Bobcats, after two days of rest, began preparing for the Eastern Conference Finals.

The other three series have also come to an end one after another.

魔术队和骑士队的系列赛最早结束，89比83、95比84，魔术队连胜3场，从1比2落后，到4比2逆转。

The Cavaliers have the foundation to win. They did a really good job on defense, especially James. After gaining weight, he actually played as a power forward on the defensive end. Relying on his unparalleled physical condition and top-level awareness of help defense, his defensive performance in this series was not much worse than Howard's.

But relying on James' long-range shooting to open up the situation is still too unstable, especially since James' long-range shooting is purely ball-holding attack, and it is difficult to create a long-range shooting tactic related to him. In fact, it is simply a three-pointer threat to create better conditions for breakthroughs.

G4三分9中1后，詹姆斯G5又来了个5中1，到了G6投丢两个三分后就直接不投了……

Immediately afterwards, under the leadership of Nowitzki, the Mavericks won two consecutive games against the Suns with scores of 116-105 and 121-110, winning this scoring battle and also ending the playoff matchup with Nash with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss.

Nash won in the second round in 05 and Nowitzki won in the Western Conference Finals in 06.

The series between the Spurs and the Lakers, which started first, ended last. The two teams fought to a seventh game. In the end, the Lakers defeated the Spurs 97-86 in the seventh game and advanced to the Western Conference Finals with difficulty.

张杨眼睁睁看着两队得分从前4场动辄110+，到G5两队两队刚刚破百，湖人队靠着加内特补篮绝杀以102比100险胜，到G6马刺队以90比85扳平大比分……到最后马刺队抢七崩盘全队三分19中3、吉诺比利12投3中只拿到8分3助攻、邓肯15投6中只拿到14分6板。

Usually other teams outlast the Lakers, for example, the Cavaliers beat the Lakers in the Christmas game. I didn’t expect to see the day when the Lakers outlast the old man and win!
...

The Bobcats and Magic will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Lakers and Mavericks will meet in the Western Conference Finals. Many media outlets predicted this result before the start of the second round, but the process was different from what everyone expected.

Zhang Yang broke the Bulls' defense with shots from one step inside or outside the three-point line, leading his team to a 4-0 sweep of the Bulls. He has won two championships and can still surprise people in the playoffs.

It is a pity that James did not practice long-range shooting well in his early years. He only started practicing after the earliest development period and when the Cavaliers became a strong team. His personal age and team environment made it more difficult to develop long-range shooting.

The Spurs are really getting stronger again, but the two veterans are still the backbone. Conley is steady but his progress is too slow, while Gay seems to be making great progress but he is unlikely to take on big responsibilities in the playoffs.

Nash encountered all kinds of hardships during his peak period. Now the team is back on track, but two years have been wasted. Of the luxurious frontcourt group back then, only Stoudemire is left. Dio and Marion have both left, and Frye has become the starting center. If one of Marion and Dio had stayed, the team might have won the scoring battle with their old partner this time.

The three teams that were eliminated all received bad news after the series.

After being eliminated in the second round, rumors of Duncan's retirement intensified.

James chose to opt out of the final year of his 3+1 contract and test the free market.

Stoudemire also announced that he would opt out of the final year of his five-year, $06 million contract that began in 5 and test the free market.

These are all worrying things for the three people, or the players related to the three people, or the fans of their teams.

As for Zhang Yang, after the Magic advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals on the 19th, he began to carry out targeted preparations with the team and devoted himself to training.

Two days later, on May 5, the Bobcats faced the Magic in their first Eastern Conference Finals match at home.

Before the game, many "20-year Magic fans" hyped up the Internet, saying that the Magic would defeat the Bobcats, advance to the finals, and eventually win the championship.

They proposed the "Magic team has the possibility of winning the championship theory", and the object used for reference was the Spurs... After losing Parker in 07 and being easily beaten by the Lakers in the 08 playoffs, the Spurs seemed to be on the verge of collapse, but they stood up again two years later and won the regular season championship. If the Spurs can make a comeback, why can't the Magic?

At first glance, any normal-minded netizen will find this statement to be very problematic.

The Spurs have indeed made an unexpected resurgence, but what does this have to do with whether the Magic can make a comeback?

But this inexplicable "possibility theory" has really been echoed by many people, which has made normal-thinking fans begin to doubt whether there is something wrong with their cognition...

However, no matter how loudly some people yell outside the stadium, it will not have any impact on the game.

In the first quarter of G1, Carter performed well, making 6 of 3 shots, including 4 of 2 three-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 10 points in a single quarter and leading the Magic to 26 points.

But Zhang Yang on the other side performed even better! Facing the defense of Matt Barnes and his old partner Pietrus, he made 9 of 7 shots in 4 minutes, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, plus 4 of 4 free throws, soaring 13 points, plus two assists, leading the Bobcats to 33 points!
From the first quarter, the Bobcats steadily suppressed the Magic, and eventually defeated the Magic 104-93, firmly holding their first home court!
Howard encountered the center rotation of O'Neal and Perkins, plus the power forward rotation of Okafor and Millsap, and he was directly defeated, making only 9 of 4 shots, plus 12 of 6 free throws, and got 14 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Looking at this game alone, Howard's performance was not bad. He was the strongest center left in the playoffs, no doubt about it. However, compared with his performance in the two series that the Magic won, it was not on the same level at all!
首轮打凯尔特人队，霍华德5场比赛场均18分16板5盖帽，第二轮打骑士队6场比赛，场均25.5分13板3盖帽。

It is said that the Cavaliers and the Hornets are one-man teams. If James and Paul don't play well, the whole team is doomed. In fact, the same is true for the Magic.

Howard didn't play well, and even though Carter exploded to get 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, it was no use. No matter how hard he played, he was not as good as Zhang Yangmeng who scored 33 points and 6 assists in a single game. He is no longer the demigod who competed with Iverson for 9+ in the playoffs 50 years ago.

In G2, Zhang Yang continued his performance from the first game, making 20 of 9 shots, including 9 of 4 three-pointers, and 10 of 9 free throws, scoring 31 points.

Carter really played for his life. It was his first time playing for a real championship-contending team, and he fought harder than he did in the early days of the Raptors. He successfully threw 24 shots, but under the defense of Marion and Hill, he only made 24 of the 10 shots, including 7 of 2 three-pointers, plus 4 of 4 free throws, and scored 26 points. Compared with G1, his efficiency declined visibly.

96 to 88, the Bobcats defeated the Magic again and took a 2-0 lead!

During the two-day rest period between home and away games, the "maybe theory" disappeared, and the hot topics about the Eastern Conference Finals became the Bobcats fans shouting "fofofo" and how long Carter's outburst could last?

At 5 p.m. on May 26, Game 8 of the Eastern Conference Finals will kick off at the Amway Center in Orlando.

It is not known how long Carter's outburst can last, but he is still playing for his life. An insider revealed that he confided in his friends that this may be his last chance to compete for the championship as the top outside star, and he is unwilling to give up and wants to fight to the end.

今晚他又扔了26次，26投10中，其中三分球11中4，加上8中6的罚球，拿到了今年季后赛新高的30分！
But he took more shots than G2, and this time he was forced to do so.

He didn't give up, he wanted to fight, but the boss shot... 5 of 3 shots, plus 4 of 1 free throws, Howard only got 7 points, 10 rebounds, and only 1 block!
尽管卡特打出了赛季季后赛新高，但魔术队却以71比106狂负35分，大比分0比3落后！

Howard has never concealed his unhappy expression since G3.

After the game, some media revealed that the reason why Howard was unhappy this time was that Lewis' performance made him despair about the future.

现年30岁、6年1.1亿大合同刚执行到第3年的刘易斯，30而崩了，常规赛场均14分5板、季后赛场均10.9分4板。

So far in the playoffs, the team has averaged 6.8 out of 2.1 three-pointers per game, with a hit rate of 30%. In Game 2, they were left open by Millsap and Okafor, so Carter and Howard were subject to tighter defense in Game 2.

And now Lewis is obviously the 'best Lewis', but things will get worse and worse. Next season, Lewis' salary will exceed 2000 million, which is tens of thousands more than Zhang Yang and Paul. The next season will be 2160 million. Although only 60% of the last year is guaranteed, the space currently occupied in advance is 2376 million.

It was May 5th, the 28th day of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Magic faced the Bobcats in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals at home. In the first quarter, the Magic beat 4 to 17... The unique scenery of the South Coast began. As soon as the second quarter began, the fans of the Amway Arena began to leave.

Tonight, Howard strangely played for only 21 minutes. He was replaced by Van Gundy less than two minutes into the third quarter. His statistics were 4 of 2 shots, plus 4 of 2 free throws, for 6 points and 6 rebounds.

According to stadium updates reported online during the game, Howard and Van Gundy had a heated argument in the locker room, but the exact reason is still unknown.

On the other hand, the despair and unwillingness in Carter's eyes were clearly visible on the camera. The 33-year-old threw 29 shots tonight, once again setting a new playoff high in the past four years, but he only made 4 of 29 shots, including 10 of 12 three-pointers, plus 3 of 7 free throws, and only scored 5 points.

ESPN commentator Mark Jackson, a passing guru who played with Carter for a season, lamented in his commentary: "If it was Carter back then, he would definitely be able to wake up Howard, but he loved to play too much back then. Now he's beginning to desire honor, but he's no longer the same person he was back then."

The player who got the highest points tonight was Carter. The Bobcats entered the team basketball mode early on. The highest scorer in the team... Okafor, made 12 of 7 shots, plus 10 of 7 free throws, and got 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks.

张杨19分5板7助攻、费尔顿14分5助攻、奥尼尔13分7板、米尔萨普8分3板3助攻、科里森14分、马里昂和伊巴卡都拿到8分……

首节31比17、第二节29比22、第三节26比17、末节26比26……山猫队以112比82再次屠杀魔术队30分，大比分4比0，率先挺进总决赛！
12 consecutive wins led to the finals. After the Eastern Conference Finals, the basketball world went crazy!
After G2, when the "maybe theory" fell silent, Bobcats fans and Zhang Yang fans attracted attention and shouted the slogan "fofofo". They certainly hoped for that, but it was more of a counterattack against the previous remarks of the "20-year Magic fan".

As a result, the Bobcats really swept the Magic in one go! And the last two games were a massacre! It's hard not to think of the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Spurs 9 years ago...

(End of this chapter)