cnatrainingtips Chapter 222 The last opponent who is not easy to mess with
Chapter 222 The last opponent who is not easy to mess with
While the Western Warriors finally advanced strongly to the Finals, the Eastern Conference Finals also came to an end.
No one expected that the No. [-] Pacers in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, whom Artest called "can beat any historically strong team," encountered Waterloo.
Pistons!Actually got the match point!
Under the leadership of O'Neal and Artest this season, the Pacers achieved an impressive record of 61 wins and 21 losses.
O'Neal averaged 20.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. He was selected to the second team of the best team and ranked third in the MVP selection. In front of him were two power forwards who later became legends: Garnett and Duncan.
阿泰斯特场均拿到18.3分5.3篮板3.7助攻2.1抢断，入选全明星替补阵容，如果不是张佑后半程发力他很可能继1995-1996年加里佩顿之后又一个拿下最佳防守球员的外线球员。
In addition to the internal and external dual-core of one offense and one defense, the Pacers' overall lineup is also quite good. Although the team history legend Reggie Miller has entered the end of his career, he can still provide good outside firepower.
Bench bandit Al Harrington ranked second in the selection of the best sixth man.
Plus, they have some memorable names like Jamal Tinsley, Kenny Anderson and Jeff Foster.
They look like they have everything to win a championship in this era: a dominant big man, a Defensive Player of the Year, a traditional sharpshooting shooting guard, top-level defense and a deep rotation.
But in this round of playoffs, they stumbled.
The two sides played an iconic defensive battle in the first game of the series, and finally the Pacers narrowly won 78-74 and got off to a good start.
The next two games were won by the Pistons. The Pacers won the fourth game with a greater advantage and dragged the series to Tianwangshan, but the bad thing was that the core of the team Jermaine O'Neal suffered a knee sprain in the fourth quarter of this game.
Although he insisted on playing in the following games, he only scored 5 points and 11 rebounds in G6, while Hamilton scored 33 points and led the team to a big victory.
April 6
The Warriors also paid close attention to G6 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It is very likely that the Pistons, who are defensive to the toes, will meet them in the finals.
Because Jermaine O'Neal suffered a knee sprain in G4 Pacers.
It is embarrassing that the core of the team suffered a knee injury in this intense playoffs.
But this is the NBA, injuries are part of the game, and there are only seven games in the series.
Jermaine O'Neal, who played with an injury in G5, continued to play in G6. There cannot be any retreat in such a game.
Jermaine O'Neal continued to fight toughly with injuries and scored 20+10, but in the last 4 minutes the two sides fought to a level of 59. Artest was not calm and boxed Hamilton's face and was called a malicious foul.
The Pistons scored 4 points with penalty buckles, which made the Pacers very passive. Although they once narrowed the point difference to 2 points, but at the critical moment, Miller's fast-break layup was chased by "Little Prince" Prince to kill the game. !
Reggie Miller scored 6 points in Game 27 and, to a standing ovation from the home crowd, had the same career as Malone...
The curtain call!
The winning Pistons lifted the Eastern Conference trophy on the road.
Their team does not have a particularly outstanding All-Star player, and their teamwork all the way through makes people seem to see the defending champion Spurs.
Their impenetrable defense seems to have inherited the tenacity of the Bad Boys of the 90s.
Coach Brown was also very proud after the game that the Pistons have come to this day under his guidance.
After all, they were not favored. They eliminated the Nets who had entered the finals for two consecutive years and killed the Pacers who were both offensive and defensive.
"It's important for our league that my players show kids that it's possible to be a team and be successful."
Coach Larry Brown's interview with the media was embarrassing.
It seems that he really didn't like Allen Iverson's performance of personal heroism during the 76ers period.
However, in the next finals, you still have to face such a guy! !
"Coach Larry, aren't you worried about Zhang You? There are also Richardson and Carter. They are all players with strong personal abilities. Zhang You's scoring ability even surpassed Allen Iverson."
"That's right, Zhang You won the defending champion with his miraculous solo performance, and even defeated the three-time winning OK combination with an 80-point performance."
Facing the reporters, he brazenly brags about the Warriors.
Coach Brown didn't want to explain anything and said lightly.
"Defense wins championships."
Coach Brown wants to use the civilian pistons he built and use the team to defeat individual heroic warriors.
After the Pistons eliminated the Pacers, the two teams will begin their Finals battle in four days.
The two teams also thanked guests behind closed doors for in-depth research on each.
Thanks to the effect of Zhang You's injury immunity pill, Richardson recovered very quickly, and even some minor injuries were recovered.
"Jason, you should be fine, right?"
Facing Mourinho's inquiry, Richardson showed off his biceps.
"I now feel like I can kill a cow! There's never been a better time!"
The players all smiled.
Such a relaxed state of fighting is necessary for them.
On the back line, both Lu and Claxton have participated in the finals in recent years and won the championship with the team.
Neither of them is the kind of core player with particularly good statistics, but both of them can cause trouble for the opponent's [-]st position like bulldogs on the perimeter.
Especially Lu, he won two championships with the Lakers, especially in 2001.
Coach Musselman also specifically confessed to the two: "Chauncey Billups, the engine of the Pistons, is not an easy guy."
Those who have a thunderous chest and a face like a flat lake can worship the general!
Billups is such a player and the most underrated super point guard.
Zhang You also nodded, he had already brushed up on Billups' talent.
"Chauncey usually takes assists as his own responsibility, but when it comes to critical moments, his consecutive scoring is unbelievable."
At this time, the team's defensive assistant coach Fizdale also analyzed the characteristics of each player of the Pistons and pointed out that they are a team with the ultimate team defense.
"The Detroiters crushed Reggie Miller's last dream like a machine. In these six Eastern Conference finals, the Pacers averaged only 72 points per game, and the average shooting percentage was even less than [-]%."
Everyone watched the video of the Pistons' Eastern Conference Finals thoughtfully.
Compared with their star performances with the Lakers, the offensive battle.
They're more like the Spurs, if not tougher than the Spurs.
Suffocating and terrifying defense, abundant physical fitness, and iron-like discipline.
All this indicates that these guys are not easy to mess with!
……