Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 200 The Biggest Coward Appears
Brandon Roy is the only fig leaf of the "06 generation".

His averages of 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game made him the "Best Rookie" of this season without any suspense.

The league gave the "Best Sixth Man" award to Manu Ginobili of the Spurs.

"Super Sixth Man" began to appear on the historical stage.

To be honest, from Manu to Jason Terry, and then to "Los Angeles's Dad" Louis Williams, including JR Smith and Jamal Crawford during that period, we can see the characteristics of the "Best Sixth Man":
"Nervous knife"!
Not only does he have the strength to play as the main force, but he can also be unstoppable when he goes crazy.

This gives the "super sixth man" a unique temperament.

In fact, many fans do not like various core players, and prefer "super sixth men" like JR Smith and Crawford who have the "nervous" attribute to the fullest.

The playoffs officially started on April 4.

The Pacers' first-round opponent is the Orlando Magic.

经过又一个赛季的成长，04年的“状元郎”德怀特-霍华德场均数据来到了17.6分12.3篮板1.9助攻1.9盖帽，投篮命中率60%，俨然成为了联盟一线内线。

The Magic also successfully made it to the playoffs this season.

This is Howard's first playoff trip in his career.

However, the outside world is quite pessimistic about the result of Howard's first playoff trip. Most media people believe that the Magic can only drag the game to the fifth game, even if they succeed.

There is no way. Although they are ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference, they only have 40 wins and 42 losses this season, not even a 50% winning rate, and they are 72 wins behind the Pacers with 10 wins and 32 losses!
Such a gap is glaring and cannot be ignored.

And when the record gap is so huge, no media person dares to say that the Magic can beat the Pacers even in one game.

Not to mention that during the regular season, the Pacers won by an average of 24 points against the Magic, and no game was suspenseful.

With this set of data in front of us, it’s no wonder that these media outlets think so.

Similarly, the Golden State Warriors, who are 1 wins behind the Western Conference No. 23 Mavericks, are also considered successful if they can make it to Game 6 of the series.

In fact, their regular season record against the Mavericks was pretty good, 1 win and 2 losses, although the Mavericks deliberately let the Warriors win in the third regular season meeting. That's right, when the Mavericks noticed that the Warriors were eighth and would meet them in the first round, they did not choose to fight to the death and drive them out of the playoffs, but chose to let them in.

Such an action itself shows that they do not take the Warriors seriously.

Even before the series against the Warriors began, the Dallas media was still frantically promoting Dirk Nowitzki's regular season MVP award.

The Pacers ultimately only tied the best regular season record in history, which means Dirk Nowitzki still has hope of competing for the award.

The Indiana media was also not idle. The 72-10 regular season record was enough to make this year's regular season MVP basically unquestionable, but they still had to publicize how difficult this matter was:

“公牛队从90~91赛季开始，缔造了他们第一个‘三连冠王朝’，而在这个王朝的第一个赛季他们的战绩为61胜21负，等到第三个赛季他们的战绩为57胜25负！”

"At the beginning of the 95-96 season, the Bulls created their second 'three consecutive championship dynasty'. In the first season of this dynasty, they achieved the best record in history with 72 wins and 10 losses. In the third season, their record was 62 wins and 20 losses!"

"As for the Lakers' three consecutive championships from 00 to 02, the same is true..."

"They won 67 games in the first season of the dynasty, and by the third season of the dynasty, the Lakers' final record was only 58 wins!"

"The Pacers are the only team whose record has continued to improve during this period!"

"From 54 wins at the beginning to 62 wins last season, and then to 72 wins and 10 losses this year!"

"In the history of the NBA, no team that has won three consecutive championships has been on the rise like the Pacers!"

……

This difference has caused discussions from the outside world and has also made this Pacers team more special and successful.

However, the Indiana media soon discovered that they were worrying too much...

Now is not the time for Dirk Nowitzki to consider whether he can win the regular season MVP.

Just one day after the Pacers easily defeated the Magic 118-89 and won their first playoff victory of the season, the Mavericks also faced the first game of the series with the Warriors.

The Dallas media thought this would be a one-sided massacre without any suspense.

result……

The Warriors, ranked eighth in the Western Conference, led by Baron Davis, turned the tables and entered the second quarter with a 23-17 lead. Except for the second quarter when the Mavericks regained some initiative, the Warriors took the initiative on the court in the other two quarters.

They eventually defeated the Mavericks by 97 points, 85-12, and won the first game of the series.

Nowitzki, who was desperately hyped as the "regular season MVP" by the Dallas media, made 16 of 4 shots in this game, with a shooting percentage of 25%, and only scored 14 points. Although he had 12 rebounds, including 5 offensive rebounds, everyone knows that the Mavericks want to win not by relying on him to grab rebounds, but by requiring him to pose enough threats on the offensive end.

Barkley commented on Nowitzki in this game: "Obviously, the Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas' eyes is not the same Dirk Nowitzki we see!"

The Indiana media cut out all the shots Nowitzki missed in this game and wrote: "This may be the number of shots Suwan misses in a season!"

Faced with these ridicules, even the Dallas media had to shut up.

After losing the game, no matter you are from the Dallas or Los Angeles media, you have no right to speak. You can only wait for the Mavericks to win the game, or...

Waiting for the Magic to win!

The Dallas media instantly turned into Magic fans, cheering for Howard.

It's just a pity...

You can't expect the Magic to beat the Pacers just because they can't climb a tree.

Essentially, the Magic's style of play is also fast-paced. Howard, the "jumping man", simply cannot bring his running and jumping abilities into play in positional battles. This is his most outstanding ability, and all other techniques under the basket are empty.

The fast-paced style of play is exactly what the Pacers are best at.

In the end, the score was 123 to 101, a huge difference of 22 points. The Pacers easily won the first two home games and set off for Orlando.

The Dallas media can only hope that Dirk Nowitzki can bounce back quickly.

It was clear from the shift in their coverage when they began analyzing the Warriors that they were uneasy.

Various expert analyses of the first game between the Mavericks and the Warriors have come out. The Warriors' defensive method against Nowitzki was exactly the same as that of the Pacers in last season's finals, both of which attacked Nowitzki's lower body and prevented him from shooting steadily.

This trick worked last year and it works again this year!

more importantly……

Last year, Nowitzki didn't recover in four games.

This time...

The Dallas media is also afraid that yesterday will happen again.

The good news is that Nowitzki finally rebounded in the second game, making 15 of 7 shots and scoring 23 points.

In addition, Baron Davis, who scored 30 points in the previous game, was in poor form in this game and only scored 13 points. The Warriors lost the second game of the series 99-112.

Stephen Jackson scored 30 points in vain.

The first generation of "Bearded" players can be considered as representative players of pure talent.

After entering the NBA, he has been playing with the money he had saved up, and he has become one of the best point guards in the NBA. In the 04 playoffs, he was beaten by Wade and made him doubt his life.

Now the price is gradually emerging. His state is extremely unstable. In the last game, he was in such a good state that he could go to heaven to challenge Erlang Shen, but in the next game, he might even be killed by an elite monster while picking herbs on the roadside.

But before the Dallas media could smile, the third and fourth games of the series were played in Golden State, and the Mavericks lost two games in a row, 91-109 and 99-103 respectively, and the score became 1-3 at this moment.
The Mavericks, who are first in the Western Conference, second in the league in record and 23 games ahead, are now just one step away from being eliminated.

The Dallas media was completely panicked.

They dare not mention the regular season MVP anymore. Now their whole attention is on the Mavericks' lineup changes, hoping that they can complete a 1-3 "Jedi comeback" after falling behind 4-3.

Not to mention, this kind of thing is difficult to accomplish in the later rounds, but it can be done in the first round of the series. Didn’t the Pistons team win three games in a row after falling behind 1-3, making McGrady a joke?
If they can, why can't the Mavericks?
This is the only way the Dallas media can comfort themselves now.

On the other hand, the Indiana Pacers easily won two games at Conseco Fieldhouse. When they came to the Magic's home court, they did not feel any obstacles and won two more games without any bloodshed. In the end, they won 2 games in a row with an average of 23.5 points per game and eliminated the Magic with a score of 4-4.

苏万在这四场比赛场均32.5分6.5篮板3.5助攻2抢断1.5盖帽。

O'Neal Jr. averaged 23.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.

Howard, who participated in the playoffs for the first time, also encountered the "playoff rookie syndrome", and his average points per game shrank to 15.5 points, but his rebounding number increased to 13.5 rebounds per game. However, he was fouled 5 times by O'Neal in two games, and in one game, he was fouled out by O'Neal.

To a certain extent, O'Neal Jr. can now be regarded as an "enhanced version" of Howard.

He has more ways to score than Howard, and has more experience in defending the outside than Howard. In all other aspects, he is stronger than Howard.

Not to mention that O'Neal Jr.'s lower limb strength, which he acquired in order to practice low-post singles, made a qualitative difference in the comparison between the two of them.

As we all know, Howard's weak lower limbs are the biggest reason why he is always not a threat in singles under the basket.

But in Barkley's opinion, Howard's biggest problem is that he is in the same class as Suwan: "If he was not the No. 04 pick in the draft, the exposure he could get would definitely be more than this!"

But there is no if...

Suwan made the entire "04 generation" dim. Even though Howard's performance this season has been a first-class inside player in the league, in the eyes of most media:
just so so!

The Pacers became the first team to advance to the second round this season.

The Mavericks then won the second game of the series with great difficulty at their home court.

The overall score is 2 to 3.

But the Dallas media dare not slack off at all, because every step the Mavericks take is now on the edge of a cliff, and they can't see them completely out of danger, so the Dallas media can only remain worried.

They didn't worry for too long.

Two days later, the Mavericks' game against the Warriors moved to Golden State.

The Dallas media's hanging hearts finally died!

In Game 111 of the series, the Warriors defeated the Mavericks 86- at home.

Nowitzki completely fell into the abyss in this game, making only 13 of 2 shots and scoring only 8 points.

Bill Walton commented: "Donnie trained Dirk Nowitzki, and now he has killed him with his own hands!"

What awaited Dirk Nowitzki after the game was "endless ridicule."

Nowitzki's poor performance in the series, coupled with the backlash caused by the Dallas media's continued hype for him to defeat Suwan and win the regular season MVP, swallowed him up completely.

"Suwan will never play this bad, Dallas!" - Indiana Star;
"Dirk Nowitzki is undoubtedly the biggest wimp in NBA history!" - The New York Times;
"It's time to rebuild, Dallas, the next core, please keep your eyes open!" - ESPN;
To be honest, the doubts Nowitzki is facing right now are absolutely historic, comparable to Michael Jordan who has not won a championship in his seventh season.

But even in this situation, he did not leave Dallas, but slowly adjusted and waited for the "flowers to bloom."

On the other hand, after someone lost in 2010...

There was even a large group of media trying to whitewash him, using Michael Jordan as an example, expecting him to regroup. However, in less than two months, he chose to take his talent to the South Coast and took a difficult road.

He single-handedly distorted the entire 10s.

It wasn't until Leonard joined the Raptors in 19 and created the "Myth of the North", and then "Antetokounmpo" staged the "Dirty Legend" in the playoffs, and then the Nuggets' Jokic and Murray "set things right", that the league finally stopped blindly forming "multi-giant" teams.

Suwan has always believed that after 2010, LeBron is no longer qualified to participate in the discussion of "the best in history".

When it comes to competitive sports, how can a deserter have the qualifications to talk about "greatness"?
The Warriors became the first team to complete the "black eight" after the implementation of the best-of-seven system in the first round, and this was with such a significant difference in wins.

This is also why this Golden State Warriors team is so special in the history of "Black Eight".

The "Golden State Gang" was once famous.

It was after this series that Stephen Jackson truly made a name for himself.

Su Wan probably became the biggest beneficiary.

Many media believe that if Dirk Nowitzki is the final regular season MVP this season, it will be the biggest joke since the award was created.

Dirk Nowitzki's chances of winning were slim to begin with, and after seeing his performance in the first round of the game, his hopes of winning the regular season MVP were completely gone...Even the Dallas media automatically shut down their microphones after the Mavericks were officially eliminated, and never mentioned that Dirk should have won the regular season MVP this season. Without their noise, the entire media circle became much quieter.

As the Warriors entered the second round, the remaining six matchups also had their final results.

In the Eastern Conference, in addition to the Pacers, the fourth-ranked Heat defeated the fifth-ranked Wizards and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, meeting the Pacers on the playoff stage for the third consecutive year.

But this time, it's on the Eastern Conference semifinals stage.

In addition, the Cavaliers also eliminated their opponents with a score of 4-1. LeBron reached the semifinals for the first time in his career, but his statistics were not good, averaging 23.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.

Shaquille O'Neal, who disliked him, not only supported Gibson on the outside to steal the ball from him, but also took away the backcourt rebound.

The "Big Shark" scored 21 points and 10.8 rebounds in this series. He would rather pass the backcourt rebounds that he couldn't grab to Channing Frye than to LeBron.

There was nothing the "king" could do, as he was good at grabbing backcourt rebounds with the help of the inside players.

Shaquille O'Neal didn't give him rebounds, and his rebounding average quickly dropped to his rookie season.

Barkley discovered this and pointed it out to LeBron directly: "The Chosen One's rebounding ability is not as good as we imagined, or rather, he does not put too much energy into rebounding. He always hopes that his teammates can give him the rebounds instead of fighting for the frontcourt rebounds with the opponent with the determination to win. He obviously has such strength, such speed, such tonnage, and such explosiveness. In his career, he averaged 7.4 rebounds per game, but 6.5 of them were backcourt rebounds? OMG, it's too miserable for a center on the same team with LeBron..."

"I think I now know why Big Z became a rebounding expert averaging 10.4 rebounds per game in the Heat!"

Although "Big Z" averaged only 7.3 rebounds per game in his career, 2.9 of them were offensive rebounds.

At his peak, he could grab 3.8 offensive rebounds per game...

This season, he averaged 3.1 offensive rebounds per game for the Cavaliers.

It was also after realizing this that Pat Riley, who originally wanted to trade him, saw that there was no market for him for the time being, so he let him continue playing and wait for the right price.

Unexpectedly, the Heat relied on him and Wade to eventually become the fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Now they have made it to the second round of the playoffs, and you should know that his annual salary is only half of Shaquille O'Neal's. But the Heat's performance does not seem to have declined much.

Looking at the statistics of “Big Z”, he averaged 18.6 points per game, plus 10.4 rebounds, and his main feature is “good quality and low price”!
Pat Riley believes that by the end of this season, the trading value of "Big Z" will definitely increase.

Of course, even if he fails to get the player he wants, he can accept the Heat continuing to play with Wade and "Big Z" next season.

Not to mention that the Heat gained more than just the rejuvenation of “Big Z”.

David Lee also gained a lot. This is the second season of David Lee's career, and his average statistics have soared to 10.8 points and 10.2 rebounds.

Yes, the Heat are one of the few teams in the league that has two players averaging more than 10 rebounds per game.

In addition, David Lee also has the potential to become an "all-around power forward".

Anyway, Pat Riley has discovered that he has good passing ability, but it takes time to develop.

The only pity is that he doesn't have the ability to shoot three-pointers and cannot help Wade create space to the greatest extent.

Fortunately, Wade's own breakthrough ability plus "bumping" ability can still tear through the opponent's defense and cause damage even when the space is not that large.

As for the shortcomings...

That is his almost non-existent defensive ability.

This also led to the Heat's particularly weak defense under the basket, and they often opened the door before others knocked on it.

Miami media believes that if the Heat can strengthen their wing defense, they still have a higher ceiling.

The most important thing:
After sending away one of the team's tactical core players, the transition was completed with almost no pain, which was not an easy task.

Pat Riley's trade last summer is more and more amazing!

The team that will meet the Cavaliers in the semifinals is none other than the Pistons, which only has "four tigers" left.

They were originally supposed to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals.

But this time the Pacers dominated the Eastern Conference, causing the second and third teams in the Eastern Conference to meet in the semifinals ahead of schedule.

This is the situation in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In the Western Conference, except for the Warriors who completed the "black eight", there were no surprises in the other three teams that entered the Western Conference semifinals. They are the Lakers, Suns and Spurs.

The Spurs, ranked fourth in the Western Conference, eliminated the Nuggets, ranked fifth in the Western Conference, and faced the Warriors, who completed the "black eight".

The Suns met the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals for the second consecutive year.

It can be said that the Suns dodged a disaster.

If the Lakers hadn't risen, their original opponent would have been the Spurs.

Nash was knocked flying, his nose was bloody and he needed 6 stitches. As for the others, they all encountered various "black hands" and ended up being covered in scars. The Spurs had to step over their corpses to get through the semifinals.

It is said that LeBron does not have a real championship, but if you really look closely at the Spurs, every championship they have won is stained with blood.

It is also worth mentioning that the Lakers advanced to the second round, and the opponent they defeated was none other than the Utah Jazz, the Rockets' former nemesis.

Jerry Sloan did the same as before, double-teaming in the high post, defending in front of the basket, and using the shooting range of Okur at the fifth position to kite Yao Ming.

The result was still very successful.

But it was useless, Kobe single-handedly knocked down the Jazz's wing.

The biggest difference between McGrady and Kobe is that when Yao Ming attracted a huge distraction in the interior, he might not be able to completely blow up the opponent's wing. But Kobe could, even if Kirilenko gave him a "five-game winning streak", he still beat Kirilenko in the end, and the team advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 4-1 record.

There are 4 sets of matchups, and the first one to start is the match between the Pacers and the Heat.

The Heat spent six games to beat the Wizards, with only two days of rest, including a non-stop trip from Miami to Indiana.

The Pacers, who were well-rested, used a small lineup from the beginning, trying to take advantage of the Heat's lack of mobility in the interior and make the Heat flustered.

Spoelstra, who had just become the youngest head coach in NBA history, had collected sufficient intelligence before the game. He had already told "White Chocolate" that he must keep the rhythm steady in this game.

When he first entered the league, Jason Williams confidently told the media that "I will show you some skills that Michael Jordan has never accomplished", and then he became the most gorgeous and most feared number one player in the league.

But after being abandoned by the Kings and going through the hardships of life, he shed his flamboyant appearance and began to become more serious.

He also accomplished what Spoelstra asked, "keep the tempo steady."

The first quarter of the game was basically a confrontation between Suwan and Wade.

Suwan had a very good touch tonight, whether he was shooting himself or catching the ball, his shooting was so stable that Wade shook his head and called him "abnormal".

Wade's condition was equally excellent, whether it was sharp breakthroughs or stable "Wade falls".

Su Wan once heard a saying that real "super giants" all explode with each other and no one can defend against anyone else.

Su Wan experienced this tonight.

He felt that he had defended well, but he still couldn't defend Wade.

Of course, Wade shook his head repeatedly after scoring the goal, which also showed that he felt that his defense was very good, but he just couldn't prevent Suwan from scoring.

The turning point of the game, after "Big Z" had physical problems, once David Lee moved to the five position and the Heat took Haslem, the Heat had a problem, their inside rim protection ability was insufficient, and the top defense under the basket was not strong enough.

David Lee is just a decoration. Haslem is quite motivated, but his height limits his ability to interfere in the basket.

Especially when O'Neal rushed, it was even more...

unstoppable!

最终全场比赛结束，韦德砍下了36分6篮板5助攻，跟33分7篮板2助攻的苏万“互爆”，可热火队这边没有其他人可以匹配上25分13篮板的小奥尼尔。

The Heat eventually lost the first game of the series by 90 points, 101-11.

Spoelstra looked serious after the game.

He knows very well that the biggest difference between the playoffs and the regular season is the competition system.

A series consists of 7 games, and it will take at least a week to complete them.

We face the same opponent every week, and what matters is the adjustment ability of both sides.

Therefore, the first game of a series is often a "testing game" between the two sides. The Heat not only lost the game tonight, but also discovered their weaknesses:

Big Z's physical fitness!
Big Z is the Heat's mainstay in positional warfare.

Only with him, the Heat can compress the space under the basket and control the rhythm, allowing Wade to slowly attack the Pacers.

If he is not there, O'Neal's attack on the basket cannot be restricted at all.

The problem is that defense itself is an energy-consuming activity.

Why are most stars unwilling to work hard on the defensive end?

Isn’t it because we are tired that there is no data to reflect it?

If the league really counted a player's number of "defensive slides", number of help defenses, and number of pick-and-roll defenses in a game, and awarded trophies for these data, perhaps some people would be willing to fight on the defensive end for these titles.

As Big Z is the mainstay on the defensive end, Spoelstra really doesn't have many ways to help him avoid the Pacers' targeted consumption.

In the second game of the series, Rick Carlisle restored the traditional lineup and used Foster to compete with "Big Z". All kinds of confrontations under the basket started from the beginning of the game. "Big Z" gritted his teeth and stayed on the court for 36 minutes and 15 seconds. He was a little shaky when he left the court.

But there was still a period of about 12 minutes when he was not present.

The Pacers took advantage of these 12 minutes and defeated the Heat by 108 points, 92-16, winning their second game in the series.

The score easily came to 2-0.

Barkley said: "There is a reason why the Pacers can win 72 games this season. They are really too strong, even stronger than they were last season!"

The most crucial point is that they can find a point on the opponent and hit him hard, and once they get a chance, they can hold on to it tightly. This way of seizing opportunities is very terrifying.

This will also make the opponent feel fearful and create pressure.

In the third quarter of the second game, the Heat made three consecutive turnovers from 6:14 to 8 minutes. This was because they were too afraid of the Pacers and they were caught by the opportunity. After a wave of "3-7", the Pacers secured the victory.

Next, when the team moved to Miami, Spoelstra took the initiative to change and tried to play a fast-paced game against the Pacers. Then Miami had a "three-point rain", and the Pacers gave Spoelstra a "rookie gift" with 17 three-pointers.

After the game, Spoelstra was badly criticized.

There were also calls for him to leave the get out of class.

Looking back at "Coach Scolari"'s entire coaching career, he encountered "dismissal crisis" quite a few times. The reason why he eventually became "Coach Scolari" who used his troops like a god was that Pat Riley had absolute trust in him.

Of course, he also repaid Pat Riley's trust, and the Heat team that made it to the finals after being eliminated from the "black eight" group was also an inspirational example.

It is also a textbook-level example for head coaches to use their troops.

And all this started with being beaten in the playoffs.

After 0-3, the Heat were already doomed. No media was optimistic about them anymore, and even they themselves had lost the mentality.

In the end, the Pacers won by 29 points, sending Wade and the Heat out of this year's playoffs.

韦德场均31.5分6.5篮板4.5助攻1.5抢断1.5盖帽，跟苏万的场均32分7篮板3助攻2抢断1.5盖帽难分难解，令迈阿密媒体喊出了“不要再耽误德怀恩巅峰期”的口号。

Despite being swept this time, Wade's mentality is still good.

This is the third time, you’ll feel numb even if you stomp on it!
Young girls are always shy when they have their first wedding night, but after a few times, their offensive and defensive postures will be significantly different.

After the Pacers swept the Heat 4-0, the Cavaliers quickly took a big lead in the game against the Pistons.

At the end of 5 games, they were leading 3-2, and after coming to Detroit, they finally won the 4th victory of the series after a fierce battle, but there was a problem... Shaquille O'Neal was injured in the last 2 minutes of the th quarter of this game.

Someone hit him on the buttocks, and he left the scene with his hands covering his face in pain.

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(End of this chapter)