"The Lakers in the playoffs are different, the OK combination seems to have become a whole, Kobe Bryant is in such good shape, he is always able to help his teammates open up space while taking care of individual scoring, and organize the team's offensive ......"

"Shaquille O'Neal is as stable as ever, or there is no team that can completely limit O'Neal, which makes him a stable existence......"

"At the same time that Kobe Bryant can do a good job of organization, the OK combination is naturally bound, and the OK combination in the bound state is already the effect of 1+1 greater than 2, in the face of such a different Lakers, I am not sure that the Grizzlies can defeat the Lakers so easily......"

Different Lakers, Qiao Hai also observed a change from the five games in the Western Conference semifinals - Derrick Fisher started!

Phil Jackson finally woke up, relying on an aging Ron Harper, the Lakers' starting game is naturally at a disadvantage, so Derrick Fisher should be the Lakers' right choice.

In this way, the Lakers' starters will at least not suffer from the outside, and with the inside giant-like O'Neal, the Lakers' starters are at least dominant.

In the face of the overwhelming "Lakers in the playoffs are different", Qiao Hai was unmoved, no matter how different it is, the advantages of the Grizzlies still exist.

The interior line is roughly Ewing, and the defense is not as good as the Spurs twin towers, but it is not much worse, and the two can add up to at least limit O'Neal a little.

Outside Maddie vs. Kobe, Billups always has an advantage over Fisher.

Sean Marion has blown up Rick Fox both offensively and defensively.

Therefore, counting the huge disadvantage of the inside, as long as there is no problem with the state, the Grizzlies' starters will not suffer too much.

Then, the Grizzlies have a huge advantage in the bench rotation lineup, and the Grizzlies are naturally the advantage......

So, Qiao Hai is not worried.

……

……

Before the Eastern Conference semifinals were over, reporters came to the door.

The Western Conference finals are obviously starting to warm up, but Phil Jackson doesn't like this kind of warm-up, because the question he faces is always the same: "After being killed by the Grizzlies four times in the regular season, do the Lakers still have a chance in the playoffs?" ”

Or: "Is there anything you would like to say about your team not having a win against Joe?" ”

These problems always embarrassed Phil Jackson, a senior of his own, but was completely blown up by Qiao Hai, a young coach, and his grievances with Qiao Hai, combined with these records, Phil Jackson felt even more embarrassed.

Faced with so many similar questions, Phil Jackson's answer was unanimous: "The regular season is not the playoffs!" ”

Qiao Hai's side was also harassed by a large number of media, the opponent was the Lakers, Qiao Hai was different from Phil Jackson, facing a large group of reporters, he talked about the upcoming Western Conference finals.

"The West Finals against the Lakers, it's a really good opponent, I know the Lakers very well because I won the championship with this team, it's a good team, but alas, they ran into me, which means they've lost this Western Conference Finals......"

Qiao Hai suddenly appeared very confident, which made many reporters feel uncomfortable.

But Qiao Hai's self-confidence meant a lot of news material, so they were still very quiet and listened to Anxi very excitedly.

"The Lakers weren't our opponents, there's no doubt about it, they've lost four straight games in the regular season, and the playoffs are no exception."

"The regular season doesn't equal the playoffs? It's just what you think, but in my opinion, the regular season is basically the same as the playoffs, and if we can beat them in the regular season, we can beat them in the playoffs! ”

Qiao Hai is very confident, and this self-confidence, after being interpreted by the media, has become conceited.

As a result, there was an uproar in North America.

ESPN's report wrote: "Before the game started, Qiao Hai said that he had won this Western Conference Finals, he looked a little rampant, and he didn't know where he got his confidence......

The Los Angeles Times used three rhetorical questions: "The Grizzlies have won four regular-season games, but the question is, will they be able to kill Shaquille O'Neal in the playoffs?" Will they be able to restrain Kobe Bryant? In the face of an OK combination with 1+1 greater than 2, can they really guarantee a win? ”

Finally: "If you can't, then Qiao Hai's self-confidence is conceited, and he will have to pay the price after all!" ”

Public opinion in North America has exploded, and in the east, the two tie-breaks have also ended at this time.

In the 76ers and Raptors' tie-break, Iverson scored 21 points on 8-of-27 shooting, and Carter was not much better, scoring 20 points on 6-of-18 shooting.

Both teams were driven by role players, with Antonio Davis on the Raptors' side having 23 points and nine rebounds on 11-of-15 shooting, and Aaron McGee on the 76ers shooting with 22 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-16 shooting.

In the final moments of the game, the two teams played various irons, only Dell Curry scored a three-pointer, but the Raptors naturally trailed by 4 points, and a three-pointer only narrowed the gap to 1 point.

In the last 1 point, Iverson hit the iron, and Carter's killer ball also hit the iron.

In the end, the 76ers narrowly won 88:87, 1 point, and defeated the Raptors with a total score of 4:3 in the series and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals!

The Bucks and Hornets split the tiebreaker early, and by the end of the third quarter, the Bucks had a 0-point lead.

In the fourth quarter, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson scored back-to-back points to take control of the situation.

In the end, the Bucks defeated the Hornets 104-95 to win the tie-break, and defeated the opponent with a total score of 4-3 in the series and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

In this way, the final matchup in the East has also been decided, and the 76ers will play against the Bucks, which is the top two matchup in the East, and it can be regarded as an expected matchup.

……

……

Vancouver, the day before the game, the Lakers flew into the city.

Since Qiao Hai came to Vancouver, the city has become the focus of North America, where various focus battles have begun, and Vancouver International Airport has become a permanent residence for many journalists.

As soon as the Lakers arrived, a group of reporters surrounded them.

After the Western Conference Finals were decided, before the game began, Phil Jackson only responded to the outside world: "The playoffs are not the same as the regular season." ”

Qiao Hai confidently said that he had won the Western Finals.

After that, Phil Jackson has not responded, and the reporters want to hear Phil Jackson's response, so they can only chase Phil Jackson and keep asking.

At the airport, perhaps annoyed by the group of reporters, Phil Jackson kept waving his hand at first, pushing away all kinds of reporters with the assistance of security.

But in the end, he stopped: "For this Western Conference Finals, I'm only going to make one last response—"

There was a pause: "- The regular season is not the same as the playoffs, the Grizzlies just won the regular season, the playoffs are completely different games, this Western showdown, we have only one way to go, win!" We have no choice but to win! ”