activa-t Chapter 157. 157. Entering the Finals
Chapter 157. 157. Entering the Finals
Chapter 157. 157. Entering the Finals
In the post-match press conference, Clippers head coach Dunleavy Sr. didn't have too many regrets, and even publicly praised Luke.
It was unexpected that the Clippers could reach the Western Conference Finals all the way. I am afraid that even the old Dunleavy himself did not expect the Clippers to stand in this position.
The Timberwolves have just achieved the best record in history of 74 wins and 8 losses in the regular season, and their overall strength is a level higher than that of the Clippers.
This situation made the old Dunleavy dare not expect an upset. Compared with the fanatical Clippers fans, the old Dunleavy seemed much calmer.
Dunleavy can clearly see the gap between the Clippers and the Timberwolves, although the loss of nearly 30 points to the Timberwolves in the first game is indeed something Dunleavy did not expect.
But as long as the Timberwolves don't feel cold, the chances of the Clippers winning the game are simply too low. After the first game, Dunleavy feels that this round of the series can be satisfied without being swept.
After all, in addition to being completely suppressed by the Timberwolves, the Clippers' lineup also lacks a master in the backcourt. This alone makes it difficult for the Clippers to hit the championship.
Now only Livingston can sort out the offense in the Clippers' backcourt. Apart from that, all other point guards are embarrassed.
In this year's playoffs, Livingston averaged 7.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. His shooting percentage of close to 48% is considered efficient, and there are no obvious flaws on both ends of the offense and defense.
However, the second-year rookie Livingston is only 21 years old, far from being called a "master of field control", and the opponent "glove" Payton is at a disadvantage in terms of body and experience.
At the critical moment, Livingston did not have the ability to lead the team to turn the tide, so he could only choose to hand the ball to Brand to play in the low post, transforming from a point guard to a "dribbling guard".
This is very fatal to the Clippers. If a team with big players as the core wants to win the championship, it must have a guard with excellent field control ability in the backcourt.
Until the Clippers solve this problem, there must be no chance of winning against the Timberwolves!
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The Clippers also struggled desperately in the next three games, but under the absolute strength gap, the Timberwolves still swept the Clippers 4:0 and played the easiest round of this year's playoffs.
With the Timberwolves sweeping the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals, the Timberwolves have entered the finals for two consecutive years and will wait for the winner between the Cavaliers and the Heat to stage the final round of the season.
At present, the situation in the Eastern Conference is still very anxious. The Cavaliers and the Heat are tied 2:2 after the first four games. Judging from the situation, it is difficult to judge which team will eliminate their opponents and advance to the finals.
Compared with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Heat have home court advantage. Once this round of the series reaches the tiebreaker, the probability of the Heat winning the series is slightly higher than that of the Cavaliers.
However, this year's LeBron James can be said to be a god for a season. For the first time in his career, he led the team to the playoffs so strong that the Heat's striker could not prevent James' breakthrough in the entire series.
Whether it is James Posey or Wayne Simien can only stand at attention and be beaten.
After Eddie Jones left the team, the Heat's forward defense dropped directly to a notch.
Otherwise, the Heat wouldn't have played so hard in this round of the series, and even needed Wade to face James head-on at critical moments, using a ten-centimeter shorter height to defend close to him.
On the other hand, the Cavaliers can play so stalemate with the Heat, thanks to Larry Hughes. After coming to the Cavaliers, Larry Hughes' offensive ability has declined seriously, but his defensive skills still exist.
Larry Hughes' candy-like defense made Wade suffer a lot. Since the Timberwolves set a precedent, the league's defense against Wade in the past two years has been relentless.
Even though Wade crazily practiced three-pointers in the off-season, his three-point shooting percentage this season has reached 32%, but Wade still likes to hit the ball to the basket at critical moments, and the problem of not being stable outside shooting has never been solved.
The Cavaliers just seized this characteristic of Wade and let Larry Hughes play defensively all the way, so that Wade's performance in the entire series was mediocre, and he did not have the arrogance of the first two rounds at all.
In addition, the 34-year-old "Shark" O'Neal's state has also declined more seriously. This year's playoffs, O'Neal's average data has dropped to 18 points, 10 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
This is the first time in O'Neal's career that he averaged less than 20 points per game in the playoffs.
O'Neal's decline made it possible for "Big Z" Ilgauskas and Varejao to deal with it. Ilgauskas is [-] meters tall and standing at the basket can cause a lot of trouble for O'Neal.
As for Varejao, the legendary "Brazilian actor", as long as O'Neal hit him hard, Varejao immediately fell to the ground.
The two sides played four games in this round of the series, and Varejao has made O'Neal six offensive fouls, averaging up to 1.5 times per game.
Varejao's superb acting skills made O'Neill couldn't help complaining after the game. It's a pity that Varejao didn't act in a movie. He even personally presented Varejao with an "NBA Acting Emperor Award"!
The intensity of this series between the Cavaliers and the Heat is cheaper than the Timberwolves. No matter which team advances to compete with the Timberwolves in the end, they will definitely be exhausted in terms of physical strength and state.
If the two sides reach the tie-break and struggle to advance, the Timberwolves may wake up laughing from their dreams.
After all, the Timberwolves easily swept the Clippers 4:0, and they can get a long rest period before the two teams advance.
This period of time is enough for the Timberwolves to adjust their state to the best, and the whole team will show their best attitude to welcome the finals of the 05-06 season!
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"Run, run! Make up, don't hesitate!"
"Back off! Back off! Let him go, don't pinch him, just put pressure on him!"
On the sidelines, assistant coach Raymond was clapping his hands and shouting loudly.
At this time, the Timberwolves are fighting in groups in the arena, but after staring for a while, you will find that this group confrontation is a practice based on tactics, rather than allowing players to play freely.
Otherwise, Gerald Wallace will definitely clip the "Madman"'s breakthrough, block the "Madman"'s breakthrough route at the first time, and force the "Madman" to pass the ball outward, instead of being urged by the assistant coach not to pinch and let him go break in.
"No way, Lu, are you really more optimistic about the Cavaliers?"
"Although the Cavaliers are currently tied with the Heat, the Heat's overall strength and experience in the playoffs are far higher than the Cavaliers. Once the game is dragged to the end, I think the Cavaliers will be in danger."
Lambiel observed Luke's expression while speaking, as if he wanted to confirm Luke's inner thoughts through his expression.
It's just a pity that Luke always looks indifferent when sitting on the sidelines, making it impossible to see what he is thinking.
"Shaq and Dwyane did not perform well in this round of the series, but the Heat still have many people who can stand up at critical moments, while the Cavaliers only have LeBron."
"As long as the Heat continue to flank LeBron to compress LeBron's offensive environment and prevent LeBron from scoring on the offensive end, the Cavaliers will not be able to find a No. 2 stable offensive point. avoid!"
Luke's expressionless face made Lambiel couldn't help but continue.
"What you see is only on the surface. The Cavaliers indeed only have LeBron as a star, but the performance of role players can also affect the trend."
"If you observe carefully in this round of the series, you will find that the Cavaliers' role players have performed very well. The Heat put all their focus on LeBron, and their neglect of role players is too obvious."
"LeBron has his own system in playing. Breakthrough is his trump card, but his killer trick is not only breakthrough."
"Until now, Riley hasn't found anything wrong. If the Heat continue to play this way and attack LeBron, Riley will pay the price sooner or later." Luke shook his head helplessly while sitting on the court. .
Lambiel didn't know whether Luke's helplessness was because he couldn't see the situation of the game clearly, or he was surprised that Riley's horse stumbled.
When Lambiel cast his gaze into the field again, he looked at Wallace, Garnett and others who were determined not to double-team during the game, and then at the helpless "madman" on the offensive end, and a group of players who were completely blocked. All the shooters, Lambiel seemed to understand something in an instant...
Ask for a monthly ticket, ask for a recommendation ticket, thank you, third child!
(End of this chapter)