Chương 66: Chapter 66: Suns vs. Lakers
In the second round of the playoffs, only the Suns have advanced to the conference semifinals.
The Lakers and Thunder have been dragged into a Game 7, while in the East, the Heat and Bulls are both leading 3-1, and barring any surprises, these two teams will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
So, the Suns' opponent could be either the Lakers or the Thunder, which is hard to predict.
Therefore, the Suns need to prepare for both scenarios. During the regular season, the Suns had a 1-3 record against both teams. They won against the Lakers thanks to Wade Dong's clutch performance, and they won against the Thunder before Wade Dong joined the league.
Anyway, Wade Dong is now unstoppable, and with the addition of Iverson, the Suns are confident against both teams. They are just waiting for the outcome of the Lakers-Thunder series to start the Western Conference Finals.
...
Three days later, all the second-round series were decided.
Wade Dong had become accustomed to the parallel world, which was very different from his previous life.
In the Game 7 battle, Kobe Bryant hit a three-pointer with two seconds left, leading the Lakers to a 119-118 victory over the Thunder.
So, the conference finals matchups were set:
West: Suns vs. Lakers
East: Bulls vs. Heat
If Wade Dong hadn't joined the league, fans would probably be most looking forward to the 23 vs. 24 matchup. But now, in China, fans have only one thought: Suns championship!
7 vs. 23, 7 vs. 24, isn't that more exciting than 23 vs. 24?
Wade Dong's jersey number is 7.
...
Before the game, Gentry also designed some tactics specifically for the Lakers.
During team practice, Gentry had the players run through the tactics a few times, but it still felt lacking.
In the end, Gentry decided that the best tactic was to give the ball to Wade Dong for one-on-one scoring.
Two days later, the Suns flew to Los Angeles again.
The Staples Center is a venue the Suns quite like, although the fans might not be too welcoming. A week ago, the Suns won two consecutive games here, which made the home fans feel very embarrassed.
When the Suns entered the Staples Center again, they were greeted by boos from the entire crowd!
When the home team Lakers entered, the cheers almost lifted the roof. The home fans were eager for the Lakers to crush the Suns and regain their dignity.
"The away fans are really not friendly at all," Wade Dong laughed.
Before the game, there was no interaction between the Lakers and Suns players.
Suns starting lineup: Wade Dong, Nash, Iverson, Hill, Gortat
Lakers starting lineup: Kobe Bryant, Bynum, Gasol, Fisher, Blake
Wade Dong was still playing the power forward position, which was the most suitable setup for the Suns at the moment. So, on paper, the Suns were not weaker than the Lakers.
1st position, Nash vs. Fisher, complete victory!
2nd position, Iverson vs. Blake, complete victory!
3rd position, Hill vs. Kobe, complete defeat!
4th position, Wade Dong vs. Gasol, complete victory!
5th position, Gortat vs. Bynum, emmm...
Of course, the game is not compared like this. For example, Kobe is a swingman, he can be considered a 2 or a 3, and peak Iverson and Kobe are evenly matched.
The game was about to start, with Gortat and Bynum preparing for the jump ball.
Wade Dong stood next to Kobe and said, "Idol, we meet again."
"Yeah."
Kobe kept his eyes on the ball in the referee's hand and coldly replied to Wade Dong, "This is my home court."
"Beep!!!"
The referee blew the whistle, and the ball was tossed into the air.
At this moment, Wade Dong's expression also changed, becoming even colder than Kobe's!
Gortat tipped the ball to Nash, and the Lakers players quickly retreated on defense.
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
The crowd chanted in unison.
After getting into position, Nash directly passed the ball to Wade Dong. Facing Gasol's defense, Wade Dong did not use his dream shake but instead pushed Gasol under the basket and jumped straight up!
"Boom!!!"
Wade Dong slammed the ball into the hoop.
0-2!
The Suns scored first.
Gasol rubbed his chest. Wade Dong didn't look very strong, but his power was immense, and Gasol couldn't hold him back at all.
The Lakers attacked, and Fisher dribbled the ball up the court before passing it to Kobe.
Kobe faced Hill's defense, made two crossovers, faked a move to create half a step of space, and then shot a fadeaway jumper.
Hill tried his best to block the shot, and the ball seemed to graze Hill's fingertips, but it was unclear if he actually touched it.
"Swish!!!"
The ball went straight through the net!
2-2!
Kobe responded to Wade Dong with a jumper, telling him that this was his territory, and no one was allowed to be presumptuous.
The Suns' offensive pace was very fast. Before the Lakers could fully set their defense, Nash passed the ball to the frontcourt, and Iverson received it. Facing Bynum's defense, Iverson drove straight to the basket and scored!
2-4!
The first quarter had just started, and both teams were shooting well, with the score seesawing back and forth.
Gasol, facing Wade Dong's defense, also scored twice using his height advantage, but most of the time, he chose to pass the ball because Wade Dong's defensive pressure was too strong.
On the other hand, Wade Dong was playing effortlessly. He scored six times, all from one-on-one moves against Gasol under the basket.
With one minute and thirty seconds left in the first quarter, Wade Dong had scored 12 points on six shots.
26-29!
The Lakers were still trailing the Suns by 3 points.
Nash and Iverson went to the bench to rest, but Kobe remained on the court, and so did Wade Dong.
Wade Dong switched from the power forward position back to the point guard position.
During the Suns' team practice, they often adapted to Wade Dong's role changes.
Having such a versatile teammate was both painful and joyful.
Fisher also returned to the bench, and now the Lakers had Barnes on the court. He was quite infamous but had briefly been Nash's teammate.
After entering the game, Barnes, while defending Wade Dong, showed no mercy for his former teammate and kept talking trash to Wade Dong.
"Haha..."
This trash talk had no effect on Wade Dong's mentality. He made two quick moves to get past Barnes and pulled up for a jump shot!
While the ball was still in the air, Wade Dong turned and ran back to the defensive end, shrugging at Barnes, who was chasing him, and saying, "You can't stop me, kid!"
"Swish!!!"
The ball went straight through the net!
Even when the Lakers were on offense, Barnes still stuck to Wade Dong and continued to talk trash.
"This is really annoying," Wade Dong sneered and suddenly asked, "How are your wife and Fisher doing?"
"Huh?!"
Wade Dong's question caught Barnes off guard.
In the NBA, talking trash and mentioning family members is common, but no one had ever shown concern for a player's wife and teammate like Wade Dong.
However...
Barnes had long suspected this!
How did Wade Dong know?!
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực