Chapter 148: Competitiveness
Located on the Atlantic coast of the northeastern United States, Boston was founded in 1630 and is one of the oldest and most culturally valuable cities in the United States.
In 1630, China was in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
Hundreds of years of precipitation have created a rich historical atmosphere in Boston.
Boston has a very strong academic atmosphere, with more than 100 universities throughout Boston's metropolitan area, known as the "Athens of America".
Like the city's long history, the Celtics are among the pioneering veterans of the NBA.
But if you want to talk about Boston's most high-profile sport, it probably belongs to the Boston Red Sox. The latter is the top club in baseball, having won numerous championships.
In addition, there are the New Ireland Patriots (football), the Boston Bruins (ice hockey).
These clubs in Boston are all giants in the league, and Boston is simply the "hometown of giants".
The fans here were fanatical, and when the 76ers' bus pulled into TD North Shore Garden Arena, it was already disturbed by noisy boos.
"Go back, Phillys! This is not the place for you! ”
"Don't cry if you lose!"
.......
Wang Tomorrow was speechless, obviously it was the 76ers who led 2-0 at this time.
The players enter the pitch for a pre-match warm-up.
It can be said that the entire Celtics team is in the same state as the fans of the whole city, not in the slightest frustrated by the 0-2 deficit, and even full of fighting spirit.
There wasn't much talk between the two teams, and in the face of the media, several Celtic giants were very cautious, talking less and doing more, and focusing on the court.
The G3 battle, for the Celtics, is a battle of life and death.
The Celts, who had one foot on the edge of the cliff, burst out with amazing energy.
Ray Allen scored a team-high 29 points, Pierce 25, Garnett 24 and the Big Three combined for 78 points, each playing more than 40 minutes.
Paul Pearce played a whopping 44 minutes and did not rest for the entire second half.
Among the Big Three, Paul Pearce is the youngest, born in 77, and now he is only 31 years old, at the peak of his prime.
And Pierce is very talented, his physical recovery ability is the first in the league, and after his regular season playing time is reduced, he is desperate for the playoffs at this moment.
If it weren't for Iguodala, who was also physically and defensively strong, he would definitely have more than just this tepid performance.
Rivers has a lot of trust in Paul Pearce, and in the pattern of winning championships in recent years, the play of the wing scorer has been crucial.
Let's say 06 Wade, 05 Ginobili and so on.
In the G3 battle, the 76ers' performance was also remarkable.
In addition to Iverson, who scored a game-high 33 points as always, Pau Gasol also had a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds inside, basically maintaining his regular season performance.
Bowler was a poor performer, with only five points and six rebounds, and six fouls to go off.
The 76ers eventually lost the G3 game 93-102, leading 2-1 overall.
......
Two days later.
May 26th.
G4 battle.
The race started in a hustle and bustle.
At this time, Wang Mingming, who was on the bench, suddenly opened his eyes, and a glimmer of light flashed.
Skills are competitive and unleashed!
Wang Tomorrow broke through to level 40 at the beginning of the season and obtained this skill to compete.
Competitive (Intermediate) – After losing to one team, the next time a team faces the same team, the whole team is in better shape (2 percent), morale is high, and the fighting spirit is high.
Lost to the Celtics, and the next game is against the Celtics, and the passive skill is activated.
Before the game started, Wang saw the blood in the eyes of the 76ers players tomorrow, which was better than the effect after he encouraged him thousands of times.
After the game began, the 76ers took the lead and took the initiative.
Iverson assisted Andre Iguodala to complete an air cut, and Pau Gasol hit a small hook inside to give the 76ers a 10-2 lead in the opening game.
After the timeout, the Celtics held their ground.
"Watch out for Paul Pearce's step-back shots." Wang said to Iguodala tomorrow, telling him to use more flexible footwork when defending Pierce, "His feints at the beginning are more difficult to defend, but if you find the right rhythm, you can still form a strong interference." ”
After playing three games, Wang Tomorrow has realized that the Celtics' offensive starting point is Paul Pierce, and suppressing Paul Pierce means winning the game.
Some teams that have suffered from the Celtics have already realized this, such as the Lakers, who are looking for small forwards who can defend ball carriers.
Iguodala went all out to defend Pierce, who was greatly inefficient.
Relying on Garnett and Ray Allen alone, the Celtics' offense was disjointed, lacking not only internal and external links, but also insufficient positional destructiveness.
The 76ers also didn't get into foul trouble, and they played well in the first quarter, mainly on the back.
25-21 ahead of the Celtics by four points.
The Celtics suddenly played in the second half of the second quarter, with Ray Allen and Pierce hitting long-range shots to help the Celtics quickly close the score.
Wang Tomorrow repeated the old trick and ordered the players to perform a "shark slashing tactic" against Rajon Rondo.
Rajon Rondo looked dazed.
Shark hacking has never been used on a defender since its inception, Wang Ming is the first coach to do so, and Rondo is the first player to be treated with such courtesy.
Wang Mingming doesn't really want to rely on cutting sharks to open up the difference, but to regain the initiative on the court and not let the Celtics get up.
There was boos at the scene.
"A good Eastern Conference Finals, it turned out to be like this, ugly!"
Rondo doesn't shoot free throws well, and in his rookie season last year, he only averaged 64.7 percent of his free throws per game, which is far below the league average, and is very unqualified.
This year, probably for the confrontation, I have increased my strength, my muscles have been developed, and my free throw shooting rate has dropped by one level, averaging only 61.1 percent per game.
You must know that players like O'Neal and Howard, who are often cut, also have a free throw shooting rate of more than 50 percent.
Rondo walked to the free-throw line and hit one of two free throws.
Rivers' face turned pale.
After slashing twice, Wang found that the effect was not good, and Rondo was basically able to stabilize at one out of two, and it seemed that the free throws in this game were at his normal level.
Wang won't cut it tomorrow, but the Celtics' rhythm is also chaotic, and they can't find the momentum just now.
At halftime, the 76ers still led the Celtics 51-45.
Victory or defeat is only between the best, and winning depends on the ability of the team's stars to perform key balls.
At this time, all the coach can do is adjust the details.