eurekapd Chapter 457 New opponent
Chapter 457 New opponent
Chapter 457 New opponent
After sweeping the 4ers 0-76, the Pistons can sit back and relax in Detroit, waiting for their opponents in the Eastern Conference finals.Contrary to this set of matchups, the other set of Eastern Conference semifinals was full of sparks. Relatively speaking, Chang Wei hoped to face the Raptors, so that he could avenge last season, but in the first four games Among them, the Raptors actually tied with the Pacers.
This made a group of experts shout incredible, because judging from the player rosters of both sides, it is obvious that the Raptors have the upper hand. After all, they have McGrady and Carter, two top swingmen in the league.What about the Pacers?Their inside core is Jermaine O'Neal, and the outside line is led by Artest. Although their strength is not bad, it is still much worse than McGrady + Carter.
But unexpectedly, they were able to play inextricably with the Raptors. The experts said that they couldn't understand this matchup.In fact, the Pacers can compete with the Raptors, largely because O'Neal, who has begun to enter the peak of his career, almost dominates the inside on both offense and defense.Besides, facing the Raptors' two swingmen, the Pacers are not without a card to play. Artest and Harrington can play a huge role in the game with one offense and one defense.
While preparing for the Eastern Conference Finals, the entire Pistons team was also paying attention to the Pacers VS Raptors series, and Chang Wei watched it with great interest.Although Jermaine O'Neal and Artest are already the No. 39 and No. [-] stars of the Pacers, Reggie Miller, the top shooter in the history of the league, is still on the court. You must know that he is [-] years old this year. Said to watch one less one.Chang Wei missed the time when he confronted Jordan, so he had to hurry up and make up for it.
But Chang Wei will not feel pity for the Pacers because of this. Miller didn't get the championship ring in his previous life, so it doesn't matter if he does it again now!So Chang Wei was thinking about how to beat the Pacers while watching the Pacers game. Naturally, the Raptors were not in his eyes. Everyone was already familiar with it, so it would be okay to study it for a while.
But when Billups and the others asked Chang Wei in private who was more likely to advance, Chang Wei found it difficult to judge.The Pacers of the previous life naturally reached the Eastern Conference Finals this season, but they have not encountered the Raptors, especially the current Raptors. Whether they can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals is still a question worth pondering.
After 2 to 2, the fifth game is particularly important.The Raptors showed strong combat power at home. McGrady and Carter scored 21 points in the first quarter and helped the team take the lead.Although O'Neal can call the shots inside, as long as he catches the ball in the low post, he will immediately be attacked by the Raptors inside, forcing him to pass the ball out.It's a pity that the Pacers' main pitchers are in a sluggish state, and only veteran Miller can occasionally seize opportunities.The Pacers' sluggish offensive performance left them trailing 40-47 at halftime.
Fortunately, at the beginning of the second half, Artest made consecutive breakthrough layups to help the Pacers tie the score, and then the difference between the two sides never exceeded 5 points, and they took the lead alternately many times.At the last critical moment, Miller stepped forward and hit consecutive three-pointers from the bottom corner to help the Pacers temporarily open the score.Although McGrady also scored consecutive points from inside and outside, hoping to help the team save the situation, but they still couldn't stop Artest's breakthrough and O'Neal's low singles on the defensive end. In the end, the Raptors lost 96 to 98 After the battle, it is a pity to lose the most critical battle of Tianwangshan in this round of the series.
Chang Wei also felt sorry for McGrady and the Raptors he led.In the last 3.9 seconds of the fourth quarter, McGrady could completely kill the Pacers, and even dragged the game into overtime, but Davis, who was in charge of receiving the ball, made a mistake and was directly cut by Ellington The sideline eventually caused McGrady to lose the best chance for a lore, and the Raptors also regretted losing by 2 points.
But McGrady did not give up. After coming to Indianapolis, he showed the strength of a top point forward from the beginning of the game, completely dominating the entire offensive end.In the first quarter, he single-handedly scored 16 points and 4 assists. By the end of the first half, he had raised his personal data to a quasi-triple-double of 23 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists.
With McGrady's superb performance, the Raptors suppressed the Pacers almost all over the game, and even Artest, their most powerful outside defensive gate, was helpless when facing McGrady.In the end, the Raptors easily defeated the Pacers 102 to 88 in the away game. McGrady scored a large triple-double of 35 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, and tenaciously tied the big score again.
When the game returned to Toronto again, the Raptors' morale was booming, and they once took a lead of more than 10 points.But the Pacers did not give up. They simply put most of their energy on the defensive end and built a highly layered defensive system based on O'Neal and Artest. From the second quarter, the Raptors found them Scoring is not so easy anymore.
The Raptors, who scored 33 points in the first quarter, only scored 21 points in the second quarter, while allowing the Pacers to score 35 points. At the end of the half, they were already 12 points behind their opponents.After the start of the second half, Tracy McGrady and Carter teamed up to set off a wave of counterattacks. Seeing that the point difference between the two sides was about to come within 5 points, Miller stepped forward again and hit a three-pointer to widen the point difference.
In this campaign, Miller scored 6 points and 4 assists on 16 of 4 outside shots, helping the Pacers beat the Raptors in the brutal tiebreaker and became the opponent of the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.Chang Wei couldn't help but began to reflect on whether he was right to suggest that McGrady stay in the Raptors. Now it seems that if McGrady doesn't change his family, the championship will be difficult for him.
But now is not the time to consider this issue. The entire Pistons team is focusing on the next Eastern Conference Finals.During the regular season, they played against the Pacers 4 times and only lost 1 game. They still have a certain psychological advantage, but this can only be used as a reference in the playoffs, and it cannot determine the final outcome of the series. .
Relatively speaking, the Pacers are better than the Raptors, but since they can eliminate their opponents and reach the Eastern Conference Finals, they must have their uniqueness.Don't take it lightly in the face of any opponent. This is what Brown has always instilled in the Pistons players, and now that they are only one step away from the finals, they are even less likely to release water because of this.
(End of this chapter)