readytorunbook Chapter 255 The gods descend to the earth and advance to the finals!
Chapter 255 The gods descend to the earth and advance to the finals!
Chapter 255 The gods descend to the earth and advance to the finals!
The Eastern Conference Finals G1 Bucks won the Nets by 24 points. If this is used as a basis to infer, the Nets still have a big gap in strength compared with them.
However, when the Bucks were a little slack, the Nets immediately took advantage of the gap in the G2 game and began to counterattack.
Fortunately, the Bucks discovered the problem earlier, and the game only played one quarter.
After the first quarter, the Bucks trailed the Nets by 2 points. Fortunately, there was only a 2-point gap. It seemed that the Bucks could easily find a chance to recover the point difference.
Speaking of the key factor for the Bucks to fall behind, it's not that the Bucks' outside shooters don't feel very good, but that Kidd, the leader of the Nets, made a three-pointer from the outside.
The Bucks' strategy to defend the Nets is to put Kidd and strangle other outside shooters.
After the Nets traded Keith Van Horn, the outside shooter became even more scarce.
The Bucks let Kidd, who is the most unstable in shooting the Nets, shoot outside, because he is sure that Kidd alone can't kill them with three-pointers.
And when the Nets have no one to shoot three-pointers, it is difficult for the Nets to rely solely on reaching the basket. Under the Bucks' defense tactics, it is difficult to be effective, and they may not be able to have much confidence in hitting the mid-range.
As long as the Nets are really as big as the Bucks planned, the game will be easily won by the Bucks.
But today, Kidd doesn't know whether it's his touch or his three-point ability. In the first quarter, he made 8 of 5 shots from the outside and added 2 free throws. He scored 17 points in a single quarter, which is terrifyingly efficient.
Since the two teams had almost the same number of rebounds in the first quarter, and the possession of the ball was almost the same, even if the Bucks scored a few more conversions, the overall score was still 2 points behind the Nets with a normal shooting percentage from the outside.
Speaking of which, the Bucks are still a little bit stubborn.
Kidd's state today was actually foreshadowed as early as the beginning.
Kidd started with a 3-of-2 three-pointer, but the Bucks didn't pay attention at the time.
After all, they are all NBA players, and they have the basic shooting ability as a perimeter player, and everyone may have the experience of eating dumplings during the New Year, so Kidd feels a little bit explosive, and the Bucks don't care too much.
After the first quarter, the Bucks came back to their senses, only to realize that Kidd had to treat this point with caution.
It's not that point guards can hit critical strikes these days. Penny Hardaway is a point guard, and Iverson also started as a point guard.
According to Kidd's current shooting method, in today's game, the Bucks are likely to be shot to death by Kidd alone.
And the most noteworthy thing today is that Kidd feels good and should have shot more, but Kidd didn't make it. This is the strangest point.
It was also because Kidd didn't take too many shots, and his performance on the field was as normal as before. This made the Bucks not aware that the problem was Kidd for a while.
The Bucks didn't pay too much attention to Kidd. During the first quarter, they continued to let Kidd open shots.
But now that there is a problem, it is difficult for Kidd to continue to obtain such a shooting space and a mobile phone opportunity.
"Fight a few rounds of positional warfare first!
We can play offense and defense against Jason Kidd.
Consuming his physical strength through confrontation affects his shooting touch.
After a while, I will be playing and running, continue to let him go, and see if he dares to make a shot, and whether he can make a shot. "
Before the start of the second quarter, George Karl arranged like this.
Originally, He Li played and led the team at the beginning of the second quarter, but in order to target Kidd, he did not do so today.
The Bucks started the second quarter with Kwame Brown, Barkley, Big Dog, Reid, and Cassell.
The three outsiders can hold the ball and play against Kidd one after another. The wheel battle consumes Kidd's physical strength and affects Kidd's shooting touch through physical confrontation.
Barkley came on to ensure consistent scoring early in the second quarter.
Even if the Bucks' scoring efficiency in singles from outside is not high, there is Barkley who relies on his big butt to get into the inside and score in singles at the basket.
As for why they didn't send Ewing with them, they were still worried about the Nets running away.
Put two old guys on the field, the inside defense speed is slow, and they can't keep up with the rhythm when running. It's not good to be hit by the Nets 5 to 3.
"The adjustment of the Bucks' lineup has had a certain effect. It has to be said that the depth of the Bucks' bench is also an advantage."
"The staffing of the Bucks can play multiple tactics and gain advantages with multiple people as the core, instead of blindly carrying the team forward."
"Today's game may be He Li's most relaxed playoff game."
The Bucks had a certain effect on Kidd's targeting. Kidd couldn't shoot from the outside and could only score by killing the basket or mid-range.
But in this field, the Big Dog, Cassell, and Barkley are all good players.
On the contrary, the Nets don't have this ability. They can come and go with the Bucks second team and bite the score.
"Coach George, then I'm not going to go."
Seeing such a scene, He Li stayed off the court with peace of mind.
After all, the second team played very well, and the offense and defense were not sloppy at all. He Li playing at this time will destroy the effect of their chemical reaction.
Knowing that He Li didn't want to play so soon, George Karl also expressed his willingness.
It is good to win the game, not to say that He Li must lead the team to win the game to be a victory.
In fact, He Li was not on the field to preside over the work, and George Karl was able to win the game through lineup adjustments and tactical arrangements, which also showed George Karl's ability.
As the head coach of the NBA, who doesn't want to get rid of the shackles of the stars and monopolize all the glory alone?
However, before the second quarter was over, the Nets called a timeout first.
The head coach of the Nets, Byron Scott, had just picked up the tactical board and arranged tactics for the players, but Kidd was suddenly impatient to take the lead and seize the power.
Byron Scott felt that the coach's authority was violated and argued with Kidd, but most of the Nets players listened to Kidd.
Kidd held the tactical board and turned his back to the Nets Byron Scott, pretending not to hear.
The other Nets players immediately surrounded Kidd and listened to Kidd's tactical arrangements.
Byron Scott saw this helpless.
But when the timeout was about to end and Kidd returned the tactical board to Byron Scott, Byron Scott still couldn't help but threw the tactical board to vent his anger, but fortunately he didn't hit anyone.
There was a lot of movement on the Nets' bench, and the Bucks also noticed it.
Seeing that the Nets were defeated by the Bucks and there was internal strife, the Bucks players would be more or less affected, and most of them were gloating.
Even He Li will inevitably have similar behaviors and thoughts.
However, I never expected that the Nets, who came back from the timeout, under the leadership of Kidd, reorganized their offense smoothly.
Kenyon Martin didn't continue to squat in the paint, but went up to the free throw line and took Boozer, who had just played, away from the basket.
After Kenyon Martin was in position, he used this cover to break out from outside the three-point line and quickly ran to Kidd, who was dribbling at a 45-degree position on the left.
At this time, Corey Kidders followed Kidd's buttocks, and then ran to the top arc to land.
Corey Kiddles one step forward is the free throw line, one step back is the three-point line.
When Kidd is double-teamed by the Bucks outside players, Corey Kiddles will have a certain open shot.
At this time, He Li was assisting defense near the free throw line, and noticed Corey Kiddles in his field of vision, so he immediately gave up the idea of double-teaming Kidd, and made up defense in front of Corey Kiddles.
Unexpectedly, Kidd, who was double-teamed at this time, did pass the ball, but it did not pass to Corey Kiddles, but to Kenyon Martin who finished the screen and went down.
Although Boozer is right next to Kenyon Martin, Boozer is not a very good inside defensive player.
Kenyon Martin's athletic ability is indeed excellent. After receiving a pass from Kidd, the next step to the basket is a jump and dunk.
Kwame Brown reacted and took off to make up the defense, but it seemed a little hasty and lacked strength.
Of course, it is also possible that the hand was too small to cover it, and even though he caught the ball, he was smashed head-on by Kenyon Martin instead.
In the end, Kenyon Martin dunked Kwame Brown to the ground and successfully scored the two points.
The on-site referee didn't go too far, because Kwame Brown slapped the ball and missed anyone, so he didn't give Kenyon Martin an extra free throw to help the Nets chase points.
Facing the situation where the Nets came back from a timeout and directly scored two points, the Bucks were not afraid.
However, because Kwame Brown was dunked and fell from the air because he couldn't block the shot, he still cared about him, so he didn't play a fast break.
When the Bucks re-attacked, this offense also failed to score under the defense of the Nets, and the offensive rebound was not grabbed, so they could only quickly return to defense.
This attack continued after Kidd broke through to the free throw line with the ball.
And Kenyon Martin, who had already pulled out from the inside, immediately cut to the basket with the help of Richard Jefferson's screen.
Kenyon Martin arrives, and so does Kidd's ball.
The ball was sent to Kenyon Martin, this time Boozer and Kwame Brown were on guard.
But Kenyon Martin made a backhand pass to Jason Collins for an alley-oop.
Soon, relying on Kidd's influence on the court, coupled with the selfless and tacit cooperation among the players, the Nets scored 2 points again.
The Bucks were beaten 0-4 by the Nets, which is still very rare.
However, the Nets' fluent offense has not ended so quickly.
After He Li misplaced Kidd to return a mid-range single, the Bucks once again used Kidd's breakthrough to get the opportunity to rush to the basket and score.
He Li sensed that the situation was wrong, and quickly took command on the field, telling Boozer and Kwame Brown how to defend.
He also notified Cassel that he would strictly guard Kidd in the future, and try to prevent Kidd from reaching the three-point line and create opportunities for the Nets' inside players.
But in this way, the Bucks' defensive tactics against the Nets from the very beginning were self-defeating.
The Bucks' defense has become one-on-one defense, so that wing players Richard Jefferson and Corey Kiddles both have good outside singles opportunities.
Richard Jefferson hasn't developed the three-point ability yet, but Corey Kidders' three-pointer is not bad.
Of course, outside singles opportunities are not limited to three-pointers, sometimes being able to shoot mid-range shots and scoring when the team needs to score is also very important.
I don't know if the Nets were lucky, or the Bucks didn't defend well enough.
Kidd's three-point threat is gone, and he has no chance to make a move. He can only barely break through and score the ball, but because the tactics are not working, the Nets' scoring depends entirely on the player's personal ability.
But under such circumstances, the overall scoring efficiency of the Nets did not drop too much. On the contrary, it was the Bucks who felt cold because of the rush.
After the second quarter, the Bucks actually lost to the Nets by 1 point.
In the two quarters, the Bucks ended up trailing the Nets, which is a bad sign.
Both He Li and George Karl had similar premonitions, so in the third quarter, they relied on their personal strength to win without playing any tactics.
He Li played with Ray Allen. With the help of Ray Allen's off-ball ability, He Li not only made three-pointers from the outside after opening up the space, but also broke into the inside again and again, scoring a lot of points at the basket.
He Li played the entire third quarter, also relying on the efficient performance of the combination of surprise shots. In the third quarter, he made 13 of 8 shots, 5 of 3 three-pointers, and 4 of 3 free throws. He scored 22 points in a single quarter, helping the Bucks to turn defeat into victory in the third quarter.
The Bucks entered the fourth quarter relying on the 7-point advantage led by He Li. As the leader of the Nets team, Kidd wanted to turn the tide at a critical moment.
However, Reed broke out one after another. Kidd made a three-pointer and a breakthrough shot. The Big Dog and Reid basically responded. If Kidd missed the shot, the Bucks could still score in the next round.
Before the real time for He Li to exert his strength, the Bucks had already established a ten-point advantage.
He Li, who was going to have a big fight in the fourth quarter, took a few sips of Gatorade to suppress his shock.
Looking at it like this, the thermos cup was saved.
This is indeed the case. With Ray Allen hitting the last goal of the game and the last three-pointer, the Bucks won the game by 8 points.
Although the game was quite tense and exciting, the Bucks finally won the game without any risk.
Achieved two consecutive victories in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It is said that the Bucks defended two home games, but they are not too optimistic about the next schedule.
This game of G2 reminded the Bucks, never underestimate your competitors.
The Nets can reach the Eastern Conference Finals, there is always something.
Especially if you can win two consecutive tie-breaks, it is even more admirable and worth studying.
As an opponent, the Bucks don't want the Nets to continue to be so lucky, so try to get rid of all external influences as much as possible, and try to win this round of the series in the next two away games.
In terms of star configuration, lineup depth, and tactical reserves, the Bucks have advantages in all aspects.
Logically speaking, the Bucks should not lose.
However, in the first away game in New Jersey, the Bucks suffered a black whistle, and they were also hit by the Nets.
Under the leadership of Kidd, this Nets does have an inexplicable tenacity.
And sometimes when the game goes well, everyone in the Nets is a savior, that is, they can continue the offense one after another.
The Bucks are already the number one offensive team in the league, and it's no different when they encounter the Nets, where all the people are soldiers and the momentum is like a rainbow.
This is the case in the regular season. The Nets are not as well configured as the Bucks, but they have repeatedly turned defeat into victory with small gains.
However, the Bucks lost G3, and they only lost G3.
Before the start of G4, the Bucks had a hard time learning from the pain, and it was not too late to show their cards directly, giving full play to the Bucks' greatest advantages, allowing He Li to play singles on the outside.
Originally, with He Li's size and height, there is no solution for one-on-one outside shots.
He Li still has such an excellent three-point ability. As long as He Li misplaces his shots, scoring 10+ points in a single quarter is like drinking soup.
In order to ensure the victory of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bucks' All-Stars sacrificed the ball and tactical status, basically serving him.
He Li didn't need someone to control the ball for running and bombing, so he spent his energy on advancing with the ball and connecting the team's offense.
He Li is attacking, attacking with all means.
In the end, He Li also gave the Bucks a satisfactory answer.
In G4, He Li made 29 of 17 shots, 15 of 7 three-pointers, and 16 of 11 free throws. With such a godlike performance, he scored 52 points and led the team to victory.
After the Bucks returned to Milwaukee, the Bucks wasted no time.
The Bucks adopted the same style of play. Driven by He Li who scored 41 points in a single game, the Bucks successfully ended this round of the Eastern Conference finals and advanced to the finals.
(End of this chapter)