Bab 203: Eastern Conference Finals, Bulls vs. Cavaliers Again
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Garnett, who joined the Celtics version, was a two-time first-team player in the 2007-08 season, and was also selected for the first team and first defense. His dominance was evident.
But in the Bulls, although Garnett's stats did not change significantly compared to the Celtics, he was still placed on the second team.
There's nothing you can do about it; there are only five spots in total for a team, divided by position, and only two spots for the forward position.
Wang Chong averaged 31+8+3 per game, and James averaged 30+8+7 per game. Both of them outperformed Garnett in terms of stats and were also the central leaders of the team.
In comparison, Garnett's personal stats were much lower. Even with his defensive contributions, it's not enough to compare with Wang Chong and James.
However, although he's not as good as Wang Chong and James, Garnett is the best among other forward players, so he easily earned a spot on the second team.
In this way, Garnett's honor this season is the second team plus a defense. Although it is slightly worse than the double first-team honor, it is enough to prove the gold content of his status as a top star in the league.
What is more surprising is that Wang Chong was once again selected for the second defensive team.
In fact, Wang Chong invested slightly less energy in defense this season than last season because his defensive role actually overlapped with Garnett's. With Garnett as the defensive core, Wang Chong often didn't need to worry about it at all.
But still, Wang Chong managed 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks during the regular season, with excellent defensive stats.
The reason for this is that the proportion of energy he needed to invest in offense has decreased.
Although the Bulls sent three players to trap Garnett, the offensive power of the Bulls increased instead of decreasing.
Garnett himself is a standout scorer, averaging more than 20 points per game for nine consecutive seasons.
James Jones is far inferior to Laga Bell defensively, but his offensive role is nearly identical to Bell's.
Even though Gasol is a rookie, his offensive scoring ability is actually several times better than that of Tyson Chandler and Ben Wallace.
Moreover, on the Bulls' bench, Paul Millsap and Gasol share minutes in the paint, and their personal abilities continue to grow.
This makes the Bulls less reliant on Wang Chong's offensive ability than in the previous two seasons.
Even Wang Chong's 31-point per game average this season was achieved by deliberately increasing the number of shots he took in order to retain the scoring title. Otherwise, his points per game average may not be as good as James's.
Of course, the main reason is that scoring is very easy for Wang Chong, and a slight increase in shots will not affect the record or the team's tactical execution. Under this premise, it's worth continuing to lead the team in scoring.
——The second round of the playoffs has started, and the calendar has entered May.
The Bulls' opponent in the second round is the Orlando Magic.
In fact, Dwight Howard's one-star and four-shooter system has taken shape now, but the strength gap with the Bulls is still quite obvious.
Still, the Bulls scored a clear 4-0, easily sweeping the Magic and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals without losing a single game, just like last season.
Everyone knew the Magic lost to the Bulls, but the process of the game was a bit surprising.
In particular, Dwight Howard, the star of the Magic who was expected to replace O'Neal as the new number-one center in the league, had a mediocre performance in the series, averaging only 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game.
During the regular season, Howard averaged 17.6 points and 12 rebounds per game. In the first-round series against the Washington Wizards, Howard averaged 22.6 points, 18 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game, including 10 offensive rebounds per game. His dominance inside was complete.
Before the second-round series against the Bulls, most fans generally believed that the Magic's only advantage was Howard in the center position.
The performance of the Bulls' main center, Marc Gasol, this season has been remarkable. As a second-round pick, his average of 10 points and 8 rebounds per game was unexpected.
With such statistical performance and the Bulls' regular season record, Gasol directly pushed Al Horford out and was selected as the best rookie center on the first team.
In terms of stats, Horford averaged 10 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, slightly better than Marc Gasol's 10 points and 8.4 rebounds.
However, there's a gap between the two in terms of playing time. As the Hawks' absolute starting center, Horford averaged over 31 minutes per game. In the 2007 rookie class, only Durant, who averaged 35 minutes per game, played more.
Although Gasol also serves as the starting center for the Bulls, much of his playing time is shared equally with Paul Millsap. This means that Gasol's average playing time remains around 28 minutes per game, which is the lowest among all rookies.
But considering the massive difference in records between the Bulls and Hawks, it is not surprising that the league eventually named Gasol as the best rookie center on the first team.
It is just that this is a bit embarrassing for Al Horford. He, too, was a 2007 rookie, the third pick in the draft, a favorite, and known as the second-best player in the 2007 class, a quality center just behind Oden.
As a result, after one season, his performance was comparable to that of Gasol, a second-round pick, and he was even defeated in the selection of the best rookie team. This feeling was much more humiliating than Wang Chong comparing himself to James, Anthony, and others. After all, Wang Chong was also a first-round pick and much better than Gasol.
As for the number-one pick, Oden, known as the future number-one center in the league... just like in the original story, he missed the entire season due to injury.
After selecting Oden, the Grizzlies, who hoped to build a championship lineup around the league's number-one center, still didn't realize the severity of the problem.
So what if he missed one year? When Oden returns from injury next season, everything will be fine.
Of course, the Grizzlies, who had these thoughts, did not know that the original Blazers had the same mindset.
Back to Gasol.
At first, the Magic didn't take Gasol seriously, even thinking that for Howard, manipulating the opponent on the court was as easy as playing a game.
However, when the two teams played against each other, the result was shocking.
The matchup between Howard and Gasol turned out to be much harder than expected. Not only could Howard not completely suppress his opponent in terms of rebounds, but he also faced offensive struggles.
Why did this happen? The whole Magic team, including Howard himself, was somewhat confused.
But this is an inevitable result in Wang Chong's opinion.
Although Howard was very dominant at his peak, he was essentially a workhorse center whose defense far outshone his offense.
More than 60% of Howard's offensive points come from dunks under the basket and second-chance points after grabbing offensive rebounds.
It cannot be said that his footwork inside and his shooting are absent, but they are just average—meaning he can use them as a regular means of scoring day-to-day, but not as a decisive weapon in critical moments to have the final say.
What limits Howard's offensive capabilities the most is his playing style.
Howard is an inside player similar to Garnett. He's fast, explosive, and has excellent jumping ability. With these characteristics, Howard's defensive coverage is massive and can support a team's defensive system on his own.
But to maintain enough mobility, Howard cannot be a heavy center. Even if his tendons seem very strong, they are mostly concentrated in his upper body strength, and Howard's lower body strength is insufficient. His post-up moves inside are not effective. They are pretty good.
This is one of the reasons why Yao Ming always had an easy time controlling Howard when facing him. At his peak, Yao Ming's lower body strength was only surpassed by O'Neal. Additionally, Yao Ming had an absolute height advantage and could easily shoot mid-range shots. His playing style was a natural killer for Howard.
Originally, given Howard's technical characteristics, developing mid- to long-range shots like Garnett and using his mobility to stretch the space would be the best option. However, the strong muscles Howard has developed have condemned him to fail to develop his shooting ability.
Of course, in the NBA, even relying on his body, Howard is enough to thrive. At his peak, he became a player who could only be replaced by James. However, as he grew older and accumulated injuries, Howard lost the speed and agility on which he relied to survive. After becoming explosive, he could only become a true workhorse center.
Combining Howard's technical characteristics, Wang Chong gave Gasol some advice before the game.
On the defensive side, Gasol won't have difficulty guarding Howard. There's just one thing he must do: anchor himself in the paint and use his weight advantage to block position in advance.
If you have the ability, beat me with a mid-range shot. Don't even think about cutting into the paint to attack the basket without the ball
. If you want to get a second-chance score, I'll just put you down completely with my body, and don't even think about it.
On offense, use more of the open mid-range jumper.
That was a serious problem. The defensive core of the Magic's interior system is Howard, so Gasol should start from mid-range distance to keep them distracted.
If it's next year's Magic team, Howard is fully grown and at the top of his game. Coupled with Turkoglu's rise, there is a chance to win some games against the Bulls, but provided the Bulls have the opportunity. The Wang Chong + Garnett setup is impossible to lose against the Magic team that lacks an offensive core.
The Bulls swept the Magic 4:0 and became the first team to advance to the second round of the Eastern and Western Conferences. Another showdown in the Eastern Conference is the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Detroit Pistons. to decide the winner.
The Pistons are missing Billups. While their combat effectiveness is still there, the top and bottom lines have weakened significantly.
In the final analysis, Monta Ellis may have better scoring ability than Billups, but there is still a big gap between his all-around ability as a defender and championship defender, including game experience.
In the game against the Cavaliers, Ellis charged forward and used his speed and ability to get open on the ball, causing a lot of problems for the Cavaliers defense.
The Cavaliers replaced O'Neal as the interior center. While the interior's offensive firepower has improved qualitatively, the defensive ability inevitably weakened. O'Neal can no longer be expected to defend in the penalty box.
In fact, even in his heyday, O'Neal's defense was slightly inferior to that of the best inside players at the same level, such as Olajuwon and Duncan.
It's not that his defense is poor, but with his size and strength, O'Neal has all the pressure even if he stays under the basket, and it's hard for any center to take advantage of him.
However, O'Neal, who is big and slow-moving, has trouble taking on small, extremely quick defenders because his speed is too slow.
In the 2000-01 season, O'Neal was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team with an average of 2.8 blocks per game. However, in the Finals, when he faced off against grandmaster Allen Iverson, O'Neal couldn't get anything going. Although the Lakers had an absolute advantage, they won the Finals, but Iverson averaged even more points per game than he did.
Of course, Ellis can't compare to Iverson in his prime, but O'Neal is not the same person he was a few years ago. Once Ellis breaks through the defense and runs into the penalty box, he can only shuffle his heavy steps and watch. the opponent scores a layup.
As eye-catching as Ellis' performance is, the overall strength of the Pistons and Cavaliers is still very different. The partnership between James and Ray Allen is still quite powerful after the latter gradually adapts to James' style of play.
Someone once said that players like Klay Thompson are undoubtedly the most suitable teammates for James. In his heyday, James, like Howard, played a four-shooter one-star tactic, but unlike Howard's four shooters, he is responsible for catching rebounds. 'Four shooters get in position to create forward space for James and then wait for James to pass and shoot.
In this case, there is no need for the ball. Players who are better at catch-and-shoot and who have excellent three-point skills are obviously well suited.
Ray Allen wasn't originally a star who played off the ball, but it didn't matter. After coming to the Celtics, especially after Rondo grew up, Ray Allen gradually transformed into an off-ball shooter, and his technical characteristics did as well. He is fully qualified for this position. Even if he's not as good as Klay Thompson, he's definitely the best off-ball shooter in the league.
The huge gap in the lineup meant that even though Ellis played very well for the Pistons, after four games, the score between the two teams was still 3:1. The Cavaliers won the match point and it was only a matter of time before they could. advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals question.
Once the Cavaliers reach the Eastern Conference Finals, the Eastern Conference Finals will be exactly the same as last season, Bulls vs. Cavaliers.
With both teams equipped with the Big Three, there really is a bit of suspense as to who can win and make it to the Finals.
End of this chapter
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