Chapter 145: First Round of Playoffs

When the game came to the last four minutes of the fourth quarter and the 76ers called off the game early due to the huge score difference, Iguodala, who was sitting on the bench, had confusion in his eyes.

The previous youthful ambition has long disappeared.

When the game starts: If you can't defend, just keep defending. I don't believe that you really can't defend the opponent all the time!
Now: Damn, I just can’t defend against the opponent!

In this game, the 76ers head coach tried to let others defend Zheng Yang, but the effect was not as good as Iguodala.

Although Iguodala cannot be defended, at least he can make it more difficult for the opponent to score and consume more of his physical strength.

Therefore, in this game, as long as Iguodala is on the court, he will be asked to defend Zheng Yang.

This tortured Iguodala terribly, because he was really beaten by Zheng Yang in various ways.

Pull-up three-pointer, quick stop jump shot, turnaround fadeaway, change of direction breakthrough and more!

At the end of the fight, Iguodala felt that his opponent was deliberately using all the weapons in his arsenal on him, showing off his all-round abilities.

He didn't come here to play in the playoffs at all, he just came here to show off his offensive talent.

Therefore, when Zheng Yang scored 45 points in three quarters, the 76ers' original ambition was gone.

What's the point of fighting? Even our boss has been subdued by him, why should we put more strength on him? Just go home and take a shower and go to bed!

Since Zheng Yang had destroyed the confidence of the entire team, even though the Knicks made some random shots in garbage time, the 76ers were unable to close the score.

The final score was 85:105, and Zheng Yang's score was 45 points.

He didn't score a single point in the fourth quarter because he didn't play in the fourth quarter at all. People were originally thinking about whether he should come on to calm the situation at the critical moment, but who would have thought that the 76ers would just call it a day.

Larry Brown was also happy to let Zheng Yang rest for a while, so he didn't let him come up, and his score remained there.

Of course, even if he scored 45 points in the whole game, it would still be amazing, considering that this is the playoffs.

The defensive intensity and confrontation intensity in the playoffs are completely different from those in the regular season. To be able to score 45 points in such a situation is truly strong.

After the first game, Larry Brown was quite happy. Firstly, judging from the situation in the first game, there was not much suspense about the Knicks winning 4:0.

The second reason is that in the first game, apart from Zheng Yang's perfect performance, the performances of others were also good. For example, Crawford scored 20 points and Grant Hill scored 13 points. Although the others did not score many points due to the small number of shots.

But it's great that they can avoid making mistakes and underestimate their opponents on the court.

After last year's championship, this team has really become different. Perhaps some of their players have not improved but regressed this season.

But after the baptism of the championship, they are now able to fight tough battles. They will no longer be timid and afraid to fight the enemy like they were in the first few games of last year's finals.

Although even with this situation, they may not be a match for the Celtics and the Lakers, but at least their chances of winning have increased a bit.

While the 76ers were being beaten up by Zheng Yang, other teams had also finished their first playoff game.

In the original history, the Celtics' opponent should have been the Hawks, but due to changes in the Knicks, their opponent became the Toronto Raptors.

This should be good news for them, because in the original history, they were forced directly into a Game 7 by the Hawks led by Joe Johnson.

As for facing the Raptors, unless the opponent succeeds in making an unexpected victory, the result of this Celtics team cannot be worse than in the original history.

In the first game, they successfully defeated the Raptors team without Carter by 20 points. None of the Big Three scored more than 30 points, but none of them scored less than 20 points.

皮尔斯砍下28分6篮板5助攻，加内特砍下24分15篮板的完美两双，雷阿伦则砍下20分，三分5中3。

The strength of the Celtics' Big Three is indeed terrifying!
Let’s take a look at the first game between the Pistons and the Wizards. The Pistons narrowly won the game at home with a score of 86:90.

Although the current Pistons team is only one point behind Ben Wallace in the starting lineup compared to the 04 Pistons, their on-court dominance is no longer as strong as before due to a variety of reasons including an aging lineup and injuries.

Although the team has performed well in the regular season in recent years, it has lost its competitiveness for the championship in the playoffs.

There is a lower limit but the upper limit cannot be reached. For a team, it is not clear whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

As for the first round match between the Magic and the Cavaliers, it was a very close game. Howard, the No. 04 pick in , had shown his aggressiveness that year and led the Magic to the playoffs with a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

Facing LeBron James, the chosen one in 03, Howard also showed his No. pick strength in his first playoff game.

18投8中，罚球11投9中，砍下了惊人的25分22篮板，其中包括了6个前场板。

In the end, he almost defeated the Cavaliers with a slam dunk.

As for the Cavaliers, although LeBron James also scored excellent data of 33 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, the loss of the game means that even if these data are excellent, they are of no value.

In the playoffs, the team's victory is the most important thing.

Let’s look at the teams in the West.

湖人队以114：128的大分差成功拿下了跟掘金队比赛的第一场，阿伦.艾弗森砍下30分5篮板7助攻，卡梅隆安东尼砍下30分12篮板3助攻，其中还有7个前场篮板。

Two players with scoring abilities have already used their offensive capabilities to the fullest in this game.

But the problem is that this team's defensive problems are too big. If the two of them can score 60 points on the opponent, the opponent can score 70 or even 80 points on them.

看看湖人队这边，大加索尔砍下36分16篮板8助攻，科比砍下32分3篮板1助攻，奥多姆17分14篮板……

These guys really just scored on the Nuggets at will.

In the original history, the Lakers would directly defeat their opponents 4:0.

As for the first game between the Rockets and the Jazz, the Jazz defeated the opponent and won the first game 93:82.

Although the Jazz are ranked fourth and the Rockets are ranked fifth, the fact is that the Rockets have one more win than the Jazz, so it is not an exaggeration to say that the underdogs have defeated the stronger ones.

Let’s take a look at the first game between the Hornets and the Mavericks. In the first two quarters, the Mavericks had a firm control of the game situation, but in the third quarter the Hornets took the lead with a 36:20 wave.

Then in the fourth quarter, the Hornets continued to widen the score and eventually won 92:104.

In terms of player statistics, Nowitzki made 21 of 9 shots, 13 of 12 free throws, 31 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, but only 0 assists. Chris Paul played just as well, with 35 points, 3 rebounds, and 10 assists. He not only carried the score, but also perfectly connected the team.

He is worthy of being one of the three players with the greatest chance of winning the MVP this season...

Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 15 rebounds, including 7 offensive rebounds, a true rebound maniac. David West had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, becoming the team's second scoring point...

As for the Spurs and the Suns, it is no exaggeration to say that the two teams played fiercely, and the game went straight into double overtime. The Spurs once again successfully took the game away with the key mid-range shot by Ginobili.

115: 117!

小斯狂砍33分7篮板，纳什24分13助攻，他们的表现已经够出色了，只可惜对面的邓肯砍下40分15篮板5助攻1抢断3盖帽，再次展现了历史第一大前的真正实力。

Although Ginobili was very stubborn in the beginning, his final buzzer beater helped him to regain some dignity.

His performance in this game was like saving the team from a dire situation at a critical moment. As for why the team was in a dire situation, you'd better not ask...

This is the current playoff situation. Except for the Rockets who were defeated by the Jazz, all other teams won in the upper half.

The same is true even in the Western Conference, where competition is fierce and the gap is not obvious during the regular season.

The regular season rankings are actually quite valuable.

……

I have to say that in G1, Zheng Yang really made the 76ers lose their minds. They originally thought that even if they couldn't beat the Knicks, they would at least make them lose some skin.

After the first game, they became obedient. It was not the Knicks who suffered, but themselves.

Not only will they lose a layer of skin, but they will also be chopped into pieces by Zheng Yang!

Among them, Iguodala was the one whose mentality was most obviously affected. It's no wonder that he has a weak psychological endurance. No matter who comes, watching the opponent score goals in 360 different ways in front of him, he will feel unbearable.

Therefore, in the second game, Iguodala only scored 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, but made 5 turnovers.

Although Zheng Yang scored only 22 points, it was not because he was in bad shape, but because his teammates around him were in too good shape. Before Zheng Yang had a chance to exert his strength, the 76ers surrendered.

The same thing happened in the third and fourth games.

In the next two games, Larry Brown sat on the sidelines, not caring about the situation on the field at all.

All he could think about was how to beat the Celtics, the only opponent he had to consider in the Eastern Conference.

They will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals.

If you say that if the Celtics fail to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, then wouldn’t it be a waste of time for you to think so much about it now?

If this were true, Larry Brown would be more than happy.

It's just a waste of effort. If he can really avoid the huge mountain of the Celtics' Big Three, he would rather waste more time and energy.

第三场跟第四场同样没有出现太大的意外，郑阳分别砍下28分8篮板6助攻和31分7篮板5助攻的优异数据，带领尼克斯以雷霆之势4：0横扫了76人。

After the last game, Iguodala had a look of despair on his face. When they hugged each other after the game, Zheng Yang patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him.

"Come on, young people, the future is yours!"

Don't be discouraged. According to the original historical development, you may get an Iguodala Award in the future.

Iguodala nodded with a bitter face and said, "With your physical condition, you probably won't retire even after I retire."

Whose future does it belong to?

……

After easily defeating the 76ers, the Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals. At this moment, their opponent has not been determined. The Pistons and Wizards are still in a fierce battle, but the situation is still clear. After all, the Pistons are currently leading 3:1 and are expected to defeat their opponents within one or two games.

As for the Celtics, they are currently leading 3:1. It's really thanks to the Knicks that they came out to disrupt the situation, otherwise they would have to fight with the Hawks until the seventh game.

As for the Cavaliers and the Magic, although the Magic won the first game, since the Cavaliers changed their tactics in the second game and began to physically confront Howard in the interior, the chances of winning began to fall in the Cavaliers' favor.

Howard is not mature enough at the moment, and the lineup is not perfect enough. After all, the Cavaliers were a team that could reach the Eastern Conference Finals last year, so they can still seize the Magic's weaknesses and continue to attack.

Currently the score between the two teams is 3:1, and the Cavaliers have reached the match point. It is estimated that they will be able to win the game soon.

As for the Eastern Conference, the only team with a 4:0 record has already emerged, and that is the Lakers who defeated the Nuggets 4:0.

The only thing that the Nuggets deserve praise for is their offense, but even in G1 when the backcourt duo scored 30 points at the same time, they still couldn't win the game, let alone the following games.

It is worth mentioning that in G2, Kobe had a big outbreak, making 27 of 18 shots, scoring 49 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists, helping the team win the game.

Don’t forget who was the scoring champion in the 06-07 season. He is still at his peak!

As for the Jazz and the Rockets, the Jazz are currently at match point, with only one game left to win the game.

The series between the Hornets and the Mavericks has ended. Led by the young Queen Bee, the Hornets ended the game with a score of 4:1.

The Mavericks were eliminated in the first round for two consecutive years, but this year is better than last year, at least they didn't get eliminated in the first round.

I guess after this season, Avery Johnson will just leave.

Mavericks fans are very resentful of him. He was not fired last year because at least he had the best record in history in the regular season, but he did not play well in the regular season this year, nor in the playoffs.

Why keep a head coach like this?
In Cuban's eyes, the only person who cannot be traded is Nowitzki, not Avery Johnson.

As for the series between the Spurs and the Suns, it has also come to an end. The Suns' championship window has been completely closed. They were swept 4-1 in this round of the series.

If they want to win the championship next time, they can only seek change.

But no one can guarantee whether things will get better or worse after the change.

(End of this chapter)