The Celtics played well together, and when they met those fish belly teams, they could almost slip away.

But not in front of the Cavaliers, the Cavaliers are not particularly good defensively, but the individual defense of Zhang Xiaotian, James and others is very good, plus the young talents of the Celtics are playing the playoffs for the first time, and after the Cavaliers increase their defensive intensity, it becomes very difficult to score.

Just four minutes into the second half, after Evan Turner was fouled defensively, Coach Brad Stevens couldn't sit still and had to call for an early substitution.

Although the team supports him a lot, and Coach Stevens usually looks like he has a wisdom bead in his hand, in fact, he still has pressure in his heart.

It's okay if they don't make the playoffs, but after seeing the playoff hopes in the second half of the regular season, the Celtics have completely revamped the team, and the shadow of the Big Three has been completely erased by Stevens.

In this case, entering the playoffs, even if he loses, he doesn't want the team to lose too ugly.

After Isaiah Thomas and Jay Crowder, the Celtics' offense improved, but Isaiah Thomas was a double-edged sword, not only for his defense, but also for possession.

Stevens didn't let Isaiah Thomas play directly because this guy is a core guard and has the same basketball philosophy as Rondo.

Of course, Isaiah Thomas shoots better, and Stevens wouldn't hesitate if he was of normal height, and his team philosophy basketball doesn't exclude players with a core style of play.

Truth be told, Isaiah Thomas isn't the kind of All-Star caliber player who can tear apart the Cavaliers' defense on his own, and using him now is a bit of a thirst quenching.

Because team basketball still has a little hope of beating the Cavaliers, there is little hope for the spelling star.

But if the team doesn't score, it may be blown out of garbage time by the Cavaliers, and the Celtics can't help it.

To be honest, the Knights' hit rate is not high, but with their four strong points, there is always someone who can stand up.

In the third quarter, Lefu stepped up, and another big problem with the Celtics' interior line was also exposed, that is, rebounding, without help defense and rebounding, there may be a glimmer of life against other teams, and meeting the Cavaliers is basically a foregone conclusion.

The Cavaliers led by 15 points after three quarters, and the lead expanded to 20 points shortly after the start of the final quarter, and then it was basically garbage time.

The Cavaliers, just in case, withdrew their main force at the last minute and won their first playoff win steadily.

It's a pity that in order to adjust the feel of Irving and Lefou, who appeared in the playoffs for the first time, Zhang Xiaotian basically didn't make much of a move, and only scored 12 points.

He also laughed at himself when he took a shower after the fight, when he also paid attention to the data, or won and reused.

As long as he wins another championship, who dares to doubt his strength.

In another game in the East today, the Hawks had a thrilling win over the Nets.

The Hawks were the first in the East during the regular season, setting a single-season winning record in franchise history and the first time since 1994 that they were first in the East.

The local tyrant net entered the playoffs in a thrilling way. On the final day of play, they emerged victorious, while the Nets were able to get their last ticket by a tie advantage due to the Pacers' loss.

There won't be much suspense in such a contest, but the Eagles don't dare to take it lightly, because last year's scene is still in front of them. They led the Pacers 2-1 but were eventually taken to seven games and were overturned to go 3-4.

"When it comes to the playoffs, the rankings don't mean anything," Hawks center Al Horford said, "and last year was the best example of how we pushed the Pacers to their limits." So, we have to maintain a sense of urgency. ”

In fact, the Nets did have a chance in the game, but they didn't take it.

In the game between the Grizzlies and the Trail Blazers in the West, Aldridge was 32+14 difficult for the Grizzlies to score five double-doubles.

Aldridge seems to have been playing such a role, and he can get the data but he can't win.

In fact, the Grizzlies, who are fifth in the West, have a better record than the Trail Blazers, who are in fourth place, and the ranking is only because of the division, so it is not surprising that the Grizzlies won the game.

In addition, the Spurs lost to the Clippers, who are third in the West, even if they use the tactic of cutting Jordan Jr. to no avail.

The Spurs showed their old age in this game, in fact, they had one less win than the Clippers in the regular season, but in the game, Paul beat Parker completely, and Duncan couldn't stop Griffin.

On April 20, the Bulls beat the Bucks again, and Jimmy Butler cut 31+9, almost unstoppable.

Zhang Xiaotian is very envious, such rapid growth is the result of the opportunity given by the team.

It's just that his talent is not high, and he can't get any improvement by relying on the core position, and he can only envy it.

In this game, the Bucks' interior line was once again pressed to the point that they couldn't lift their heads, and they could only rely on Antetokounmpo to grab rebounds, which was also extremely sad.

In addition to the configuration problem, there are also reasons why several of their core players are playing in the playoffs for the first time.

Someone can shine in their first playoff game, but for most players there is an adaptation process.

In the game between the Warriors and the Pelicans, the Pelicans held on for three quarters before being shot to death by Klay Thompson.

The Warriors' two scoring strengths are both based on shooting as the main offensive means, which gives people the feeling that they can be restricted, but only when they really defend themselves do you know how powerful these two guys are.

For the Pelicans, who only have Anthony Davis as a strong point, it will be too difficult to beat the Warriors.

On April 21, the Cavaliers and Celtics continued to play on the Cavaliers' home court for the second time.

The starting lineups of both sides have not changed, and it seems that Coach Stevens is also a bit stubborn.

However, the Celtics really played better than they played, and the only advantage of the Celtics was that there were more people playing, and Coach Stevens was still more good at training young people.

The so-called large number of people means that when the main force fights, they desperately drag down the knights, and when they wait until the rotation period, they can exert their power.

Coach Stevens' trick worked well, with Isaiah Thomas, Jared Sallinger and Jay Crowder all playing well.

Although Kelly Olynyk, who was on the court, only played averagely, it didn't matter because they were all substitutes.

The substitutes on the Cavaliers' side are still a mess, Smith hits the iron all the way, and the others are more miserable, and they don't dare to shoot at all.

The more than a dozen points advantage brought by the main team was all buried during the rotation period, and David Blatter also had a headache, he didn't want to see the team only rely on stars.

However, the Celtics' tactics could not have been so smooth in the second half, without him, no matter how the Celtics rotated in the second half, the Cavaliers' main players would have a lot more playing time.

The opponent's substitute player has an advantage in playing the Cavaliers' substitutes, but it is also useless against the Cavaliers' main force.