After beating the Celtics, the remaining games were a bit of a stretch for the Bobcats, and they didn't give the Celtics a chance to overtake, finishing the 2007-08 regular season in third place in the East.

The result came as a surprise to a group of pundits who predicted before the season that the Bobcats would make the playoffs, perhaps a slight improvement from last season's seventh. But the fact is that the Bobcats have improved more than a little, and the huge gap between seventh and third means they have made a leap forward, and this is without much trade.

It can be said that the Bobcats team is a BUG, the team entered the playoffs in the first year of its establishment, and it can climb to the top four in the division in the second year. However, everyone gave credit to Crissis and Jackson, and few people knew that the key to creating such a Young Guard was the low-key Chinese on the sidelines. Of course, this is also what Chang Wei asked Chrissis, so he doesn't want to be chased around by reporters every day!

The Bobcats' strength puts pressure on their opponents in the first round of the playoffs, and the Hawks are sixth in the East this season. Joe Johnson quickly developed into one of the league's leading small forwards after leaving the Suns, and with the incredible physical talent of Josh Smith and young interior big man Al Horford, their frontcourt is also ranked among the best in the league.

Originally, the Hawks' backcourt was not excellent, but in the middle of the season, they traded for the Kings' old point guard Bibby, and with a veteran Anthony Johnson who is good at shooting three-point shots, at least the backcourt will not hold back the three people in the frontcourt. The Hawks don't really have any idea of making it to the second round, they just want to give the Bobcats a little color in the first round of the playoffs.

But the Hawks soon found themselves overthinking, especially their leading scorer, Joe Johnson, who was confronted by Ariza the Bobcats' top defensive gate on the perimeter. Ariza has improved a lot this season from last year, and although his steals per game have only increased from 1.4 to 1.7, he has only conceded 101 points per 100 possessions, his best performance since entering the league.

His presence made it impossible for Joe Johnson to catch and shoot in a comfortable position, and could only rely on the advantage of height and weight to grind under the basket little by little, and then it was a simple turnaround jumper. What made Joe Johnson even more uncomfortable was that every time he made a shot, Ariza always jumped high, stretched out his arm to try to block, and even if he didn't work, he would interfere with the shot. Joe Johnson's individual ability ensured that he was able to get the ball to the basket most of the time, but it also slowed down the team's tempo.

The Eagles' offensive and defensive tempo seemed very slow, which made them completely unable to withstand wave after wave of Bobcats' attacks. The Bobcats have an absolute advantage on the inside, and although Smith is very physical and Horford is very versatile, they can't take advantage of the more tall Milicic and Gasol Jr. on the inside, and they always let the opponent grab the rebound in the frontcourt. The Bobcats had five frontcourt rebounds in the first quarter and led the Hawks in total rebounds.

More rebounds meant more shots, and the Bobcats led by double digits at the end of the first quarter, and with the Hawks doing their best to defend, only Joe Johnson scored in double figures.

The Hawks tried to regain the initiative from the Bobcats, but Johnson has been unable to get rid of the opposing defense, and in addition to Ariza, Jackson's other defensive player for him is Allen, which has kept Johnson in high-intensity defense. Bibby could certainly have avoided passing him, but the Hawks would have lost their leading scorer, which was more than worth the loss.

Without Johnson's firepower, the Hawks' scoring burden could only be placed on the shoulders of the team's No. 2 scorer, Smith, but the flying power forward was basically unable to get close to the interior under the siege of the twin towers, and could only shoot ridiculous mid-range from the outside again and again, and most of his shots were converted into defensive rebounds by the Bobcats, and the difference between the two sides was further widened.

In fact, there was no suspense in this game, and after the Bobcats strangled the opponent's main scoring point, they won comfortably 104-90 on their home court and got the series off to a good start. The Bobcats didn't come as a surprise to everyone, but their performance in the game was so heavy that it was the scariest thing for other teams, especially the Eagles.

Woodson had to try to change the lineup, with Johnson playing at point guard, putting Marvin Williams as a starting small forward, and partnering Pachulia and Smith on the inside. The new lineup did cause a lot of problems for the Bobcats after the start of Game 2, as both Johnson and Marvin had a physical advantage against Roy, while Ariza was clearly unable to defend two men on his own, and Bibby was smart enough to pass the ball to the man opposite Roy every time.

However, the Bobcats quickly adapted to their style of play, and since they couldn't defend it, they stepped up their attack. Roy was simply a harasser on the defensive end, preventing the Hawks players from the outside of him, and when they got inside, Gasol Jr. and Milicic would call them out. Roy just needs to make up the scoring on the offensive end, and that's exactly what he did.

Roy, who didn't spend much on the defensive end, put most of his energy into offense, scoring 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and diching out three assists in the first quarter. Although the Hawks seemed to have found a way to break down the Bobcats' defense, they led 35-33 at the end of the first quarter because Johnson hit a three-pointer in the final minute.

The Bobcats weren't outraged, but they quickly fought back, and at the beginning of the second quarter, Royli scored consecutive points on a burst of outside shots, leading the team to a wave of 8-0 mini-climaxes and successfully overtaking the score. After that, the Bobcats didn't give the Hawks any chance, and the two sides fought against each other, but unfortunately the Hawks' firepower was far inferior to the Bobcats, and there was also a gap in the bench. The final score was 110-101, and the Bobcats defended their second home court without danger, making it 2-0.

In both games, the Bobcats showed their quality to outperform their opponents, and their performances on the court were dominant. This situation is very frustrating for the Eagles, and it looks like they can't even win a game in the first round, which is obviously a shame. Of course, there is a certain gap between the two sides, but the Eagles have no way to fight back, and they can only pin their hopes on the home court.