Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

Chapter 311 Regular season honors announced!Fight again in the Eastern Conference!

Not long after, the "Qi-Kai Battle" also decided the winner. The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics 4-1 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Although the Celtics had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, ranking higher than the Cavaliers, the problem of the team's lack of top stars cannot be solved.

When role player Bradley averaged 19.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game and became the Celtics' scoring leader, fans really didn't know how the Cavaliers could lose.

If the Cavaliers configured by the Big Three lose to the Green Kai team with Thomas retired due to injury, there is a high probability that they will be disbanded.

It is true that the playoffs are a stage for stars. Unless a team that focuses on team offense ranks first in the league in defensive efficiency, like the Pistons' Fab Five, there will be no way to survive in the playoffs.

The Celtics mainly lost on the outside, and were penetrated by Zhan and Ou. They scored 33.6 points and 29.4 points respectively in the series. There was no way.

Lu Yong didn't pay too much attention to the Eastern Conference semifinals. In his eyes, whether the Cavaliers advance or the Celtics are upset, the Knicks have a huge advantage on paper.

Unless a core player is injured, the Knicks will have a minimum score of 64 against the Cavaliers.

In the second round of the Western Conference, only the Warriors and Jazz series had a winner, and they easily swept them 4-0.

The series between the Spurs and the Rockets did not go so smoothly. The two teams played very fiercely, and the Spurs temporarily led 3 to 2.

Harden's performance in the semifinals was a bit awkward, and his scoring average dropped to 24.5 points per game. Lu Yong felt that the Rockets were likely to be in trouble, and it would be difficult to even drag the series into a tiebreaker.

Of course, Harden's hip stretch in the playoffs is not a day or two. At least at this stage, he can't control his turnovers well. His average of 5.2 turnovers per game ranks first in the league, and he is often ridiculed by fans online.

The Spurs are no longer as brave as they once were. Since Duncan retired, the team's overall strength has become much weaker. Now the offensive end is entirely supported by Leonard and Parker. Even Ginobili is invisible from time to time. In the series, he averaged only 7.5 points, not far from retirement.

Lu Yong took a quick look at the Western Conference situation and found that the Warriors were indeed the dominant team, sweeping the series in two consecutive rounds and being quite dominant.

If the Knicks can defeat the Cavaliers and advance to the Finals, they will probably meet the Warriors this year.

After the semi-finals, the major awards for the regular season were announced one after another.

There is no suspense about the Rookie of the Year. In this competition between rookies, Brogdon of the Knicks broke through the siege, averaging 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and was successfully elected.

However, compared to his personal data, Brogdon's greatest strength is his efficiency. He became the first player in NBA history to be selected into the 180 Club in his rookie season.He shot 50.6% from the field, 41.1% from three-point range, and 90.3% from free throws. The word "stable as an old dog" is a perfect way to describe him.

Ranked second on the rookie list is Kings guard Buddy Hield, who averages 10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, and his three-point shooting percentage is 39.1%, which is not bad.

Unfortunately, Brogdon leads the 16th rookie class in terms of statistics, efficiency and team record. This award has no suspense as early as the middle of the regular season.

The Best Sixth Man is Eric Gordon of the Rockets, who averages 16.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He averages 3.3 three-pointers per game and has full offensive firepower.

Without Gordon to lead the second team to attack, it will be difficult for the Rockets to climb to the third position in the Western Conference this year.

Although Van Jordan and Harrell also performed very well, they were still a little behind Gordon and it was difficult to win.

The Most Improved Player Award goes to Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks, who averaged 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. All statistics have improved a lot compared to last year, and he was also selected as the Eastern All-Star.

Antetokounmpo, the Greek monster, has completely realized his talent. He will be a strong contender for the best defensive player in the next few years.

The best coach is D'Antoni of the Rockets. He led the team to improve 14 wins and climbed to third place in the Western Conference. He was elected for the second time in his career.

The best defensive player is Rudy Gobert, who averages 14 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. He is the unshakable defensive core of the Jazz inside.

After Snyder joined the team, he quickly turned Gobert into a top defensive center. In terms of usage rate and the defensive system built with him as the core, he was more thoughtful than the previous coach.

The regular season MVP was won by Seattle's Westbrook. For the first time in his career, he averaged 30+10+10 per game, becoming the first player in history to average a triple-double since "Big O" Robertson.

Even though the Sonics' team record this year is mediocre, the triple-double averaged per game is too gorgeous. Turtle successfully seized the opportunity when Durant was injured and won the most valuable honor in his career.

In addition to Brogdon winning the Rookie of the Year Award, the Knicks also had Butler and Jokic selected to the All-NBA Team.

Anthony missed a lot of games in the second half of the regular season and was not eligible for selection. He got nothing but scoldings throughout the season, which was a loss to his grandma's house.

Anthony was obviously scared at this moment. He found that the Knicks seemed to be a top team without him, and they swept the playoffs in two consecutive rounds and were unstoppable.

He is worried that if the Knicks beat the Cavaliers again and reach the finals, how will he be able to hang out in the league in the future?

If the Cavaliers win, the fans and media will still side with him, thinking that his absence led to the loss to the Cavaliers.

But once the Knicks defeat the Cavaliers and advance to the finals, the popularity and reputation Anthony has accumulated over the past two years will be completely over, and he will never be able to shake off the label of being a big fan.

Best team: Westbrook, Butler, Leonard, James, Jokic.

Second team: Curry, Harden, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Gobert.

Third team: Thomas, Wall, DeRozan, Green, Anthony Davis.

The five players selected for the All-Defensive First Team are: Paul, Butler, Leonard, Green, and Gobert.

Second team: Beverley, Tony Allen, Andre Robertson, Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis.

After two days of rest, the Eastern Conference Finals officially begins.

Before the game, the media predicted the game, and most people were optimistic that the Knicks would advance.

The Knicks' momentum in this year's playoffs is unstoppable. They have proven their strength by sweeping two rounds. Even without Anthony, they are the favorites to win the Eastern Conference.

Looking back at the Cavaliers, although the Big Three configuration is very strong, being eliminated by the Knicks for many years in a row still makes people inevitably step into the role of challenger.

This year may be the year when the Cavaliers' Big Three have the best chance to defeat the Knicks, but the outside world is still not optimistic about it. This makes Tyronn Lue very distressed and holding back his energy to prove himself.

The first game of the Eastern Conference Finals was broadcast live across the United States. The ratings were ridiculously high from before the game started, and live tickets were even harder to come by.

Tonight, Lu Yong resumed his starting lineup against the Pacers in the first round, including Brogdon, Butler, Artest, Harris, and Jokic.Van Jordan is on the bench. Against a team like the Cavaliers with many forward stars, Artest is more effective. Regardless of strength and experience, he can match up with James, and Butler will not have to face off against Lao James the whole time.

Although Butler was selected to the All-Defensive Team, his physique is still too thin compared to James. It is no problem to lead the defense for a few rounds occasionally, but to defend an entire game alone, he must consume a lot of energy, which will affect his performance on the offensive end. .

Artest can well share the pressure for Butler, and the two position battles echo each other to limit James' breakthrough to the greatest extent.

Cavaliers starting lineup: Irving, J.R. Smith, James, Love, Thompson.

Tyronn Lue is still the same as before. Compared with the tactics of giving the ball to James, he rarely takes the initiative to adjust the lineup.

Jokic was lucky enough to skip "Eight Wise Kings" Thompson, and the Knicks got the first attack.

Brogdon dribbled the ball across half court, and Jokic pulled him outside the three-point line to screen him. He used his body to block Irving who was chasing behind him, and helped Brogdon get rid of it.

Brogdon took a step inside and made a fake move without passing the ball. He turned up the arc toward Thompson and shot from close range.

Thompson stretched out his long arm to slightly interfere. The effect was indeed good, but he missed Jokic who was ambushing behind him.

As the basketball bounced out of the frame, Jokic easily grabbed the offensive rebound. He made a strong second attack in the penalty area and hit the layup with his right hand.

2 to 0.
The Cavaliers attack, and the Knicks guard man-to-man.

Thompson is at a disadvantage when playing against Jokic. His only role is defense. On the offensive end, he is almost useless except for grabbing rebounds. The team's offense is all launched from the outside.

Brogdon also suffered a lot against Irving, as he was far inferior in speed, skill and experience. However, Lu Yong had already thought of this and assigned him a relatively simple defensive task.

When encountering a pick-and-roll, just chase him from behind without thinking about stopping him. Irving will have someone on the wing to help defend him. As long as he doesn't rush to the basket for a layup, Lu Yong can completely let him go in the mid-range.

It's not that Irving's mid-range shots are inaccurate, it's just that compared to Irving's flashy breakthroughs and pull-up three-pointers, the benefits of letting him make mid-range shots are greater, just like the Spurs' routine when defending Harden.

You can shoot casually from mid-range, but you must guard against three-pointers and breakthroughs.

Irving used the pick-and-roll to break through and pass the ball to the weak side. Love glanced at J.R. Smith and didn't pass the ball. He leaned against Harris twice, turned over to the center and missed the jumper. The rebound was protected by Jokic.

Harris is not at a disadvantage when defending Love alone. He is not tall enough and does not have the wingspan to make up for it. As long as James is not in position, he will almost not be beaten.

After landing, Jokic looked up at the frontcourt and immediately launched a counterattack. A pass was passed to Butler. The latter dribbled the ball to attract Irving to attack, and then distributed the ball to Brogdon who was following up from behind.

Brogdon caught the ball and accelerated in a straight line, blocked Irving with his arm in the air to block the shot, and scored by licking the basket from a small angle with his left hand. 4 to 0.

Barkley exclaimed: "Beautiful! Brogdon didn't play like a rookie at all. Regardless of his reaction after receiving the ball or protecting the basketball in the air, he looked like a veteran who has been in the league for many years. He really deserves to be. He was selected as a player in the 180 Club in his rookie season.”

Kenny Smith said: "Brogdon played really well in the playoffs this year. No matter who he played against, his performance was as stable as ever. He always had a way to put the ball in the basket."

The Cavaliers attacked. Thompson picked up the ball after picking up the ball. He was stuck outside the three-second zone by Jokic and could only move quickly, and then waited to grab the board.

According to Lu Yong's arrangement, Jokic stayed in the three-second zone and seldom went out. One was to save energy, and the other was to protect rebounds and share the defensive pressure with his teammates, even if he let go of the mid-range.

Thompson's biggest advantage is that he is very fierce in rebounding. He averaged 3.8 offensive rebounds per game in this year's playoffs. Without Jokic guarding the basket, the Knicks' protection of rebounds will become very weak.

Lu Yong knows how to deal with this Cavaliers. Even if he has no previous experience, he has already been familiar with them since they have met in the playoffs for many years.

Love received the ball from the outside without shooting, and distributed the ball to James at the top of the key.

James glanced at Artest in front of him and missed a three-point jump shot, and the rebound was grabbed by Butler.

James has shot well from three-pointers this year, hitting 1.7 in the regular season (36.3%), and his postseason production increased to 2.4 (41.1%).

However, compared with his breakthroughs and counterattacks, Lu Yong is still more willing to let James shoot three-pointers. He cannot float outside and play the whole game like Curry. Without Lao Zhan's breakthrough goals to drive teammates, several other Cavaliers The starting threat will be reduced.

In the positional battle, Brogdon and Jokic played a pick-and-roll in the middle.

Jokic's huge body helped Brogdon get rid of the pursuit. He changed direction and used speed to drive straight to the basket, attracting JR Smith to help defend and quickly distribute the ball to the middle.

Butler cut in like a ghost, and before Thompson could react, he made a layup with a lever in the air, 6-0.

The Cavaliers attacked. Irving played Brogdon in isolation after a pick-and-roll. He dribbled the ball from behind to the left and passed the defense. He finally made a mid-range jumper, 6-2.

The Knicks attacked, and after Jokic picked and rolled, he pulled outside the three-point line. Brogdon rushed to the three-second area and was blocked, turned around and passed the ball to the top of the key.

Jokic took a look and saw that Thompson did not step forward to get close to him, and the three-pointer from the mid-open space hit the net.

Swish!
9:2.

The home fans burst into loud cheers!
After beating the Cavaliers 9-2 at the beginning, the Knicks' offense was still as sharp as ever!
In the next round, James used a pick-and-roll to hit the basket. Harris helped defend on the weak side and teamed up with Artest to knock the ball down one after another.

James missed a layup due to interference, landed on the ground without returning to defense, turned to complain to the referee, and spread his hands to indicate that there was a foul on Artest's hand.

However, the Knicks would not miss the opportunity to counterattack. Jokic protected the rebound and immediately passed it to Butler.

Butler took the fake move to the three-point line and passed the ball from JR Smith's crotch to Harris who was running to catch up.The latter caught the ball and leaned against Love, turned around sharply to avoid the block, and hit a layup with his left hand, 11-2.

Barkley laughed: "The Knicks' offense was so smooth tonight!"

"Four of the starting five have already scored in double figures. This goal came from Jimmy Butler's crotch pass in seconds, locking in the top five goals in advance!"

Kenny Smith nodded and sighed: "Jokic can always play the ball accurately as the coordinator of the Knicks' counterattack. He reminds me of Sabonis of the Trail Blazers back then, but currently it seems that his talent is greater than Sabonis is better."

Lu Yong stood on the sidelines and applauded with the home fans.

Jokic and Butler have handled the ball very neatly in these rounds. Without Anthony around to disturb them, the performance of the two in the playoffs was simply amazing.

(End of this chapter)