Before the playoffs, the Bobcats had a day off, and then they returned with all their hands to start preparing for the playoffs.

The Bobcats are already very familiar with the Pacers, because in the playoffs last season, they fell at the feet of the Pacers and fell in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

This season, however, the Bobcats have improved significantly, while the Pacers have regressed significantly, and the two teams have created a stark contrast, and ultimately, this contrast is also reflected in the playoff standings and matchups.

The Bobcats became first in the East, while the Pacers were eighth in the East, and the two teams met in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

"Let's talk about the Pacers' main lineup this season, the point guard is Jamal Tinsley, it was him last year, the scoring guard is Fred Jones, the dunk king, the small forward Stephen Jackson, the outside three are basically fixed, and it is difficult for them to make any changes."

During the break, Joe had a coaching staff meeting in which he analyzed the Pacers' lineup.

"The reason is that the Pacers have no one on the bench who can replace these three, and on the outside bench, they only have Anthony Johnson and the king of Europe, Jasco Waisius, barely available."

"Inside, they're more lacking, there could be three starters, Jermaine O'Neal is fixed, but he could be a power forward, he could be a center, two different situations, his partner could be Austin Crohill or Jeff Foster."

"So, from the perspective of this lineup, their strong point is obviously Jermaine O'Neal, for us, the focus of this series is whether we can lock Jermaine O'Neal, if we can lock him, the victory will be very easy."

"Of course, Stephen Jackson can't be ignored, but our wing defense is strong, and no matter how good Stephen Jackson is, he can't break down our wing defense."

"So, the point on the defensive end is to lock up Jermaine O'Neal!"

"Offensively, we don't need to change too much, and the Pacers' defense definitely has only one move — defensive expansion."

"After the Pacers sent away two Davises, they lacked a qualified rim-protecting center, and in the case of weak defense in the restricted area, they want to limit our offense, and they can only defend outside, so our way to deal with it is very simple, impact the restricted area, cut more and run more, pass the ball more, and be patient."

……

On April 23, the first round of the playoffs began.

In the morning, the Bobcats had a simple condition-keeping session, and then, by three or four o'clock in the afternoon, they were already at the Time Warner Center, ready for the evening game.

At the same time, the Times Warner Center also appeared in North America, the Celestial Empire and major media in Europe, as the second in the league and the first in the East this season, the Bobcats have attracted much attention.

With less than three hours left before the start of the game, Craig Sager, a man in a colorful suit, appeared on the sidelines, holding a microphone, pointing at the camera, and began to warm up before the game.

"There were still three hours before the start of the game, and the Charlotte fans were already entering the stadium one after another, and we even found that Qiao Hai was at the entrance of the players' tunnel at one point, but now, he has withdrawn."

"For the Bobcats, the first-round round match against the Heat should be a great schedule because they can get revenge on last year......

Qiao Hai did show his face at the entrance of the player's tunnel, but when he saw Craig Sager, he immediately retreated, he didn't want to be caught by the man in the costume and then asked a series of questions.

……

In the locker room, with an hour left before the start of the game, the players were already wearing their jerseys, braces, knee and arm pads, and they were ready.

Qiao Hai knocked on the tactical board, time was running out.

"Alright, boys, our playoffs are going to begin, it's going to begin!" There was excitement in the locker room, the playoffs were coming again, it was harvest season.

'We've been practising the tactics of this game for two days, so before the game, we don't need to stress how to play this game, remember, be patient and we can win.'

"In this game, our opponents, the Indiana Pacers, last season, they beat us, but now this season, we are first in the East, and against the Pacers, who are eighth in the East, we deserve to win! You have to win, too! ”

There was a roar in the locker room: "Victory! ”

"Victory!"

“……”

……

At Time Warner Center, after a brief appearance ceremony, the Bobcats and Pacers were already on the field, and the warm-up in the arena had begun, at this time, there was still half an hour left before the start of the game.

Qiao Hai has been avoiding the man in colorful clothes, but now, he finally can't hide.

"Joe, can I give me an interview? I don't think you're doing much right now. Craig Sagar asked, and Qiao Hai could only nod.

"Tell me what you think of the Pacers this season, last season they were second in the East, but this season, they became eighth in the East, and the decline is obvious."

"Rankings don't mean everything, the Pacers' record is down because they had some injuries during the regular season, which affected their record, and in terms of quality, this Pacers team is still very good, so we have to be careful to deal with it."

The first question, Qiao Hai's answer is very low-key, he recognizes the strength of the Pacers, and it is actually the same, this Pacers, under the leadership of Rick Carlisle, have excellent offense, top defense, and are not bad.

"So, let's predict the final total score for this series."

Qiao Hai nodded: "4:0 or 4:1, we win." ”

"Can you tell us why?"

Qiao Hai on the front foot has just recognized the strength of the Pacers, and the back foot is also known as the Bobcats can win by a big score, which is already a bit inconsistent, and Qiao Hai naturally has to give a little reason.

"Quite simply, we're the stronger team and we have what it takes to beat the Pacers."

Before the game, Qiao Hai's prediction for this round of the series was a Bobcats sweep or a 4-1 victory over the Pacers, and Rick Carlisle on the other side also gave a pre-game interview to Craig Sager.

As for the prediction of the total score, Rick Carlisle directly waved his hand and refused, he was reluctant to make a prediction.

……

After the warm-up, the game begins.

"The game started, the two starters were already on the field, and on the Bobcat side, their starting lineup was completely unchanged from the regular season."

In the playoff matchup between the Bobcats and the Pacers, TNT finally sent Jeff Van Gundy and veteran coach Hubi Brown to commentate, and the game was about to start, and Jeff Van Gundy also began to introduce the starting lineups of both sides.

"Point guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Michael Reed, small forward Andre Iguodala, power forward Josh Smith, center Kendrick Perkins."

"On the Pacers' side, their starting lineup hasn't changed much, with point guard Jamal Tinsley, scoring guard Fred Jones, small forward Stephen Jackson, power forward Jermaine O'Neal, and center Jeff Foster."