The next day, the New York media praised the Knicks' performance, and the curse of trading Ewing was finally over, and the team was once again in a strong style.

The Knicks' opponents in the next round have not yet decided the winner. The Celtics lost their first home court and paid a terrible price for sending Perkins away.

Pierce chipped in 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Garnett had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Ray Allen also scored 15 points. None of their efforts could stop Dwight "Warcraft"? Howard. The Monster scored a big double-double of 44 points and 18 rebounds in the game, blowing up the Celtics' interior line. The rebounds are guaranteed, and the Magic's perimeter offense is also open.

In the second game, Rondo showed the level of a star guard, with 18 points and 14 assists, connecting the whole team. O'Neal Jr. also did his best under the basket, leaving the court with 6 fouls, and the Celtics also used the "shark slashing tactic" to make the overall score 1-1.

Just when people thought that the Magic were going to return to their home court to make the Celtics unable to eat and walk, the Magic outside players couldn't find a shooting crosshair, and Howard was also trapped by the Celtics' joint defense, and the 21 points and 15 rebounds in the game looked beautiful, but most of them were obtained from free throws.

The Celtics allowed the Magic to score just 81 points in a 91-81 win to regain home-court advantage.

Narrator Barkley unceremoniously taunted Howard. "Dwight is a star, but he's not a great player. I thought he would get better after leading the Magic to the Finals, but that didn't happen. I don't understand why he's still moving so badly in the low post, he's not improving at all. ”

Howard is really not a dominant force in the low post. The Celtics only need to arrange an interior foul after he grabs the rebound to stop the Magic's fast break.

In the fourth game between the two sides on the 25th, they were still fighting defense, and the Celtics sent the Magic two consecutive home defeats in a familiar way, slashing shark tactics, and strictly guarding the outside. The aggregate score was 3-1 ahead. Tekoglu shot 2-of-12 and only Arenas stepped up to score off the bench.

In the fifth game to the Celtics' home court, the Magic, who had no way out, fought back, and finally won another game by combining inside and outside, and the Knicks players collectively watched the live broadcast of this game. Magic's efforts gave them more time to rest.

It was an interesting series, with each side winning two home games against the other. The scores in each game are also relatively close, and the effect of home advantage is diluted.

Back in Orlando, the Magic want to go through a tie-break with the Celtics with a win. It's a pity that the Green Army didn't give them a chance, and Rondo stepped up again.

Rondo's jump shot has been criticized. This one unexpectedly made a lot of mid-range shots and a three-pointer, and the Magic's short-range plan was disrupted. Rondo had 22 points, 5 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Big Three all scored in double figures. The Celtics defeated the Magic 89-85 to advance to the second round 4-2 against the Knicks.

In other games, the Bulls defeated the 76ers 4-2, and both teams won the game on defense, and the offensive end mainly relied on the individual ability of the stars. Rose, Boozer, and Lore Deng have slightly better attack power than Iguodala, Brand, and Thaddeus Young.

The Heat defeated the Hawks 4-1. The scores of both teams are also very low, both rely on the stars to attack, and the others to defend. Joe Johnson was lost in the playoffs again, and the big heart of the "Eagle King" was only reflected in the regular season, which made fans very depressed.

In the Western Conference matchup, the Spurs eliminated the Rockets 4-1. In the game won by the Rockets, Hayes limited Duncan and kept the Spurs from playing low-post offense. And Scola relied on the mid-range shot and the "Argentine" tango, and scored 32 points and 9 rebounds in a super long play.

The series of Hornets vs Lakers shocked Lakers fans in a cold sweat.

Bryant? Bryant didn't score a point in the first half of Game 2, and the last time Kobe Bryant scored 0 points in the half was against the Timberwolves in the 2005 Western Conference Finals, but he scored 22 points in the second half and the Lakers won. Bryant seemed to want to replicate that game and started to storm in the second half. Unfortunately, he didn't shoot well from the field, scoring just 17 points in the game, and went off with a sprained left ankle at the end of the game.

Bryant's injury looked serious, but he was alive again in the next game, leading the Lakers to three straight wins and eliminating Paul's Hornets 4-1.

Finally made it to the playoffs, still going through the motions, Paul came off the court with a depressed expression and an interview made it clear that he wanted to leave.

The Mavericks swept the Trail Blazers and became the first team in the West to advance.

The Thunder and Nuggets also played a high score in the series, and the two sides fought hard to attack, winning three home games each. The tie-break was played at the Thunder's home court.

Durant had 35 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, beating Anthony with 24 points and 8 rebounds, winning the most reluctantly final victory. Anthony missed the game, making just 8 of 25 shots. Billups was also blown up by Westbrook, he was too old to keep up.

The second round of brackets was lined up.

Knicks vs. Celtics, Heat vs. Bulls. Spurs vs Thunder, Lakers vs Mavericks.

Before the game, ESPN invited 14 more basketball experts to make predictions. The results showed that the support rate of the Knicks and the Heat was 100%. They are both bullish on both teams to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Western Lakers and Spurs have a larger winning rate, but some people are optimistic about the Thunder and Mavericks to advance.

Five pundits believe the Knicks will settle the battle in five games, seven pundits favor the Knicks to eliminate the Celtics 4-2, and the remaining two pundits predict a tie-break for the two sides, citing the Knicks' lack of playoff experience and may be out of shape.

The Celtics have exposed many of their weaknesses in the game against the Magic. The first is that the offense relies too much on the three veterans of Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen, and Rondo's shooting still makes people feel unremarkable.

Zhou Xuan will not take this lightly, and he said in an interview after training: "The Celtics are a good team, a team that has won championships, they have a great coach, and they have a lot of experience in the playoffs. They beat us in the regular season and we have to give it our all. ”

Zhou Xuan has become the spokesperson for the Knicks, and Stoudeyer and Miller are not good at analyzing too much in front of the camera. It's just a simple way to unite and struggle.

On the Celtics side, Garnett also praised the Knicks. "They have two superstars, and I think Zhou Xuan and Stodameyer are in very good shape right now. But we don't want to be eliminated by our opponents like we did last year. ”

The two coaches had a tacit understanding to show weakness one after another, remain modest, and did not say a word about the tactics that could be played.

In addition, fans of both sides engaged in a war of words in support of their respective teams.

There are also fans who give advice to the Knicks. Hopefully, fans will be able to dress uniformly in the playoffs as well. Fans of teams like the Heat, Thunder, and Mavericks will uniformly dress to support the home team when they get to the playoffs, which can boost morale. Especially the heat is a white ocean, which is very scary! It's like an ancient Chinese funeral.

The last thing New York lacks is money, and fans would like to see Madison Garden dress uniformly, but the management has no intention of doing so. There are similarities between the Knicks and the Lakers, there are many celebrities and rich people who come to watch the game, and they like to dress differently than others.

In the training session on the morning of the game, the Knicks practiced shooting as a team, and there were no running tactics.

The three Mikes all know that the Celtics' biggest specialty is joint defense, especially the protection of the restricted area by compressing the defense is very good, and the best way to break them is to shoot three-pointers, so that their formation can be expanded, and then the outside players can find breakthrough opportunities.

The Knicks have no shortage of shooters, and when several people practice out, Redick has the highest three-point shooting percentage when no one is defending, followed by Anderson. Zhou Xuan only has a high three-point hit rate, and the bottom corner is still not strong enough. He is used to finding a board when shooting, so he ensures the shooting rate, and the bad situation is that once he can't see the rebound, he will feel very awkward and not grasp the distance.

D'Antoni said to Woodson and Malone on the sidelines: "Do you have any good ideas on how to deal with the Celtics defensively?

"Like them, they can switch between 23 and 32 at any time, and they have two consistent three-point shooters," Woodson said. ”

Malone has a different view, saying: "I suggest mixed defense, when playing Magic, the Celtics have a lot of pick-and-rolls on offense, and they don't just rely on star singles. They're constantly running for opportunities. Although the man-to-man will be misplaced when encountering a pick-and-roll, it can ensure that there is someone to defend in front of everyone. ”

Whatever the method, the defense must be strengthened. The Magic's offense in the regular season was not bad, and when they met the Celtics, they scored less.

On the Celtics side, they also discussed defensive methods, but not for all players, but for Zhou Xuan and Stoudamier. In the regular season, Rondo was beaten by Zhou Xuan, and it was difficult for him to break through Zhou Xuan's defense.

Rivers asked: "Rajan, you must follow Zhou Xuan on the outside this time, prevent his breakthrough and interfere with the shot." As long as you don't lose your position on the perimeter, there will be someone to help defend near the three-second zone, and your task is the heaviest, so work hard. ”

"I'm not going to let him get by." Rondo said harshly.

Rivers said to Ray Allen: "They could also play a two-guard and if that's the case, you're going to have to watch Miller or Beverley. ”

Ray Allen nodded as well.

Rivers said: "The Knicks have young players, they have a stronger impact than us, they can fight in positions and they can run and shoot, but you have to remember that teams that rely purely on offense don't win championships, the Suns haven't made it to the Finals in a few seasons, and there's one thing they're far from being as good as us, and that's experience." In 2008, we played seven consecutive tie-breaks with our opponents and won the championship. Suppress them with experience! Also, you have to fight tough! ”

"Good!"

The players are full of confidence, Garnett, Pierce and others have seen countless big scenes.

At this time, Rivers was a little bit thinking about Thibodeau, and now the team's defensive coach is using the defensive system left by Thibodeau, and he is not good enough in terms of on-the-spot adaptation. It's true that the Knicks don't defend well, but offense isn't necessarily something they can defend.