“MVP，MVP，MVP。。。。。。”

When the first quarter ended, one MVP after another shouted over the MCI Center, and these cheers were undoubtedly given to Gilbert Arenas, who had the best performance in the first quarter.

Because Eddie Jordan adjusted the Wizards' starting lineup in this game and strengthened his control over the rebounding ball, the corresponding Wizards were also significantly weakened a lot in terms of offense, and when the main point guard Stevenson was on the court, the Wizards could barely organize a smooth offense, and after Stevenson went off the court, the Wizards became a complete singles team, and throughout the first quarter, the Wizards' offensive tactics were very simple, that is, Arenas and Butler took turns holding the ball alone.

Singles tactics are the simplest of all basketball tactics, this tactic of tying the whole team's offense to one person, is also the easiest tactic to be defended and targeted, and the singles tactic is also the lowest ceiling of all basketball tactics, especially in the playoffs where the intensity of the game increases, the shortcomings of the singles tactics will be infinitely magnified, even if it is as strong as Jordan, when playing singles tactics, there is no way to lead the Bulls to make a breakthrough in the playoffs.

However, in today's game, the Wizards' single tactics have worked wonders, especially in front of Arenas' unreasonable three-point shots one after another, Tony Allen's defense is basically like air, every time Arenas receives the ball two meters away from the three-point line, Tony Allen will be very embarrassed, whether he steps forward to stick to the defense, and it is not to stick to the defense, because once Tony Allen comes forward to stick the defense, it is very likely to be broken through by Arenas, and not to stick the defense, Arenas is an ultra-long-distance three-pointer, In the face of Arenas's X**T strategy, Tony Allen is really a little powerless, if Arenas's X**T shooting rate is not good, it is good to say, Tony Allen can let him go and shoot casually, but Arenas's X**T shooting rate is still very good, in the first quarter of 6 shots, he hit 3 times.

"Eddie Jordan's tactics today were very good, the Pacers failed to grab an offensive rebound in the entire first quarter, and they also fell behind the Wizards in total rebounds, which is a big reason why the Wizards led the Pacers after the end of the first quarter."

When the first quarter of the game ended, taking advantage of the time to interstitute, Michaels also began to discuss with Magic Johnson the gains and losses of the Pacers and the Wizards in the first quarter of the game, this round of the series has played so far, the Wizards give people a feeling of getting better and better, and the more they play, from the fiasco of the first game to the defeat of the second game, they have always been ahead of the Pacers in this game today, maybe the Wizards have really found the feeling of the playoffs now.

"Brandon Haywood and Etang Thomas are really good at protecting rebounds in the backcourt, but the fly in the ointment is that the offensive ability of the two of them is too weak, Gilbert can't always maintain this feeling, once the Wizards' outside line can't open the situation, the situation on the court will quickly turn around." After Michaels finished speaking, Magic Johnson went on to say that the current situation on the court looks to be in the Wizards' favor, but it is all based on Arenas's unusually hot hand in the first quarter of the game, and once Arenas's hand cools down, the Wizards' style of play in the first quarter of the game, or they will cool down in a few minutes.

"Haha, Erwin, I think your concerns are obviously unfounded."

Just when Elvin Johnson was still talking about the situation that the Wizards would face after Arenas' hand cooled down, Arenas, who had returned to the court, hit a mid-range shot at the beginning of the second quarter, directly widening the gap between the two sides to 6 points.

"El, my worries are not unfounded, no player is going to be able to keep his hand hot throughout the game, and the same is true for Gilbert, as the game progresses, the Pacers are bound to step up their defense, and his stamina will gradually run out." Although Magic Johnson was slapped in the face by Arenas with facts, Magic Johnson still had a very confident expression, no player will always be iron, and no corresponding player will always be accurate, this is an iron law that no one can jump out, don't look at Arenas's hot hand now, maybe he will be so iron that he will even be afraid of himself in the next minute.

"Elwin, let's wait and see, haha." Watching Magic Johnson being slapped in the face, Michaels was also very dark, although Michaels also knew that Arenas's hand could not be good all the time, but he couldn't bear to see his partner being slapped in the face, and he gloated, how could he be worthy of the partnership between the two for so many years.

"Is Rick Carlisle ready to watch Arenas keep scoring like this?" When Arenas hit a goal again in the next offense, Magic Johnson's brows involuntarily furrowed, it stands to reason that at the end of the first quarter, Rick Carlisle should have adjusted his defensive strategy against Arenas, but Rick Carlisle did not do this, but insisted on letting Tony Allen go to defend Arenas alone, Magic Johnson couldn't understand what Rick Carlisle was thinking, did he want to wait for Arenas's hand to cool down? It's hilarious to pin your hopes of victory on your opponent's mistakes!

Soon after Arenas hit two goals in a row, the Pacers' defensive position changed, Meng Xu replaced Tony Allen to defend Arenas in person, and Tony Allen should go to change Butler, as for Tyshawn Prince, who originally defended Butler, took Meng Xu's position and became entangled with Antoine Jamison. It seems that at the time of the timeout, Rick Carlisle had already arranged everything in advance, if Arenas' hand declined, then the Pacers would continue to maintain the original defensive strategy, if Arenas's hand was still hot, then Meng Xu would personally go out to defend Arenas.

There is no doubt that the Pacers, with Meng Xu, James Posey, Tyshawn Prince, and Tony Allen, are the strongest team in the entire league on the outside defense, James Posey is physically strong, has excellent defensive prediction, has rich experience, and can defend from the No. 1 position to the No. 4 position, Tyshawn Prince is tall and has long arms, excellent defensive awareness, and is good at defending all types of swing guards, Tony Allen is physically strong, and his defensive ability is top-notch, and he is a nightmare for all No. 1 positions in the entire league, but whether it is James Posey, Or Tony Allen and Tyshawn Prince, they all have their own weaknesses, James Posey moves a little slower, Tyshawn Prince is not strong enough, Tony Allen's weakness is height, it is considered to be an upper-average height in the No. 1 position, and it is completely in a slight position in the No. 2 position, so once the Pacers meet a player that James Posey, Tayshawn Prince and Tony Allen can't defend, Rick Carlisle will arrange for Meng Xu to shoot in person.

"Meng, I've finally waited for you." Looking at Meng Xu who was standing in front of him with his arms outstretched, Arenas, who was not smiling throughout the game, suddenly laughed, after Meng Xu's conversation to himself after the first game, Arenas felt that his mentality had completely changed, in the past, when encountering setbacks, Arenas would show that he didn't care, and even gave up on himself, but now, no matter what kind of situation he faces, even if it is an irreversible desperate situation, Arenas has only one thought, that is, fight, fight!

"Congratulations, Gilbert, congratulations on finally getting rid of your last obsession!" To be honest, Meng Xu was still a little surprised by Arenas' current state, Meng Xu learned from the system that Arenas' potential level is A, that is to say, Arenas's strength evaluation can reach a maximum of 94, that is, the strength evaluation that Arenas now has, but to Meng Xu's surprise, since the first game of the series, Arenas's state in the system has begun to fluctuate, and there is only one situation in this state, that is, Arenas is now on the verge of a breakthrough, A player with a potential level of A is attacking the next level of A+, which is definitely a very rare thing, perhaps this is the legendary change of fate, whether Arenas can successfully complete the breakthrough this time, his entire career will change qualitatively.

Looking at each other very tacitly and smiling, Arenas' body moved, in previous games, Arenas rarely played breakthroughs in the face of Meng Xu, because Arenas knew that it was very difficult to get rid of Meng Xu calmly with his own strength, but this time, Arenas was confidently ready to try it, because in Arenas's heart, there was always a voice shouting, come on, Gilbert! Ah, even if it's a momentary power, you can't be a coward.

The players on the verge of breaking through are crazy, their physical state, and game state are not much different from when they entered the demon, so what Meng Xu is facing now is not Arenas in a normal state, although Meng Xu has been mentally prepared in advance, but this time the defense, Meng Xu still failed, although after being broken through by Arenas, Meng Xu posted it again in a very short time, but this moment of disposition, still gave Arenas a chance, and the jump shot hit, Arenas scored 7 points in a row after the opening of the second quarter.

“MVP，MVP，MVP。。。。。。” When Arenas broke through under Meng Xu's defense and hit the shot, the MCI center instantly exploded, and more than 20,000 spectators shouted the MVP slogan in unison again, at this moment, Arenas was the only protagonist of the MCI center.

"Interesting, looks like I'm going to sweat a little more today." Looking at Arenas who opened his arms after the shot and accepted the cheers of the audience, Meng Xu just smiled and threw himself into the offense, and this series with the Wizards, because the strength of the Wizards is too weak, Meng Xu didn't play much on the offensive end, in the first two games, Meng Xu's score did not exceed 20 points, and the playing time was only about 30 minutes, originally Meng Xu thought that this state would continue until the divisional semifinals, or the divisional finals would end when he met an opponent who could fight, But now, Arenas has successfully aroused Meng Xu's desire to score.

Although after Meng Xu personally defended Arenas, Arenas still scored again as always, but Rick Carlisle, who was sitting on the sidelines, was still very calm, Rick Carlisle, who had won two championships and won two 70+ wins, had never seen any scenes, and Rick Carlisle believed that Meng Xu could cope with this kind of small scene.

If you want to say that Rick Carlisle's trust in Meng Xu is built through several seasons and one victory after another, Rick Carlisle was a person with independent thinking and dreaming of becoming a head coach like Auerbach, but after taking charge of the Pacers, Rick Carlisle is now about to become a nanny coach, which can also show Rick Carlisle's trust in Meng Xu.

In this offense, Meng Xu, who ran to the frontcourt, after receiving a pass from Tony Allen, did not pass the basketball to a teammate with a better chance after attracting the Wizards' defense as before, but leaned sideways on Antoine Jamison to slap the basketball, obviously preparing for his own singles.

In the face of Antoine Jamison's close defense, Meng Xu didn't even make a feint when he started, and turned around directly to the left side of his body to break through, although after Meng Xu's back turned action was completed, Antoine Jamison followed Meng Xu's pace closely, ready to prevent Meng Xu's further breakthrough, but when defending Meng Xu, once Meng Xu finished the action and completed the acceleration, it was too late.

So after Meng Xu completed his back turn, although Antoine Jamison did not lose his defensive position, Antoine Jamison was still given by Meng Xu in one step.

"Caron, make up for it." After Meng Xu got rid of Antoine Jamison, Adie Jordan, who was standing on the sidelines, immediately called out and asked Caron Butler, who was closest to Meng Xu, to make up for the defense, with Meng Xu's super layup and foul making ability, as long as Meng Xu rushed to the basket, even O'Neal couldn't stop it, let alone the Wizards' two inside lines.

"One step too late."

Even though Eddie Jordan was yelling on the sidelines, Caron Butler still didn't block Meng Xu, and when he rushed to the place where Meng Xu had just dribbled, Meng Xu had already rushed to the basket, and Caron Butler, who had no way to stop Meng Xu, could only watch Meng Xu dunk Brandon Haywood, and at the same time that Meng Xu dunked the basketball into the basket, the referee on duty also blew Brandon Haywood's defensive foul.

After Meng Xu's slatch, the MCI Center, which was still in high atmosphere just now, fell to the freezing point in an instant, and most of the audience at the scene looked at Brandon Haywood, who was shut-off by Meng Xu, with a sympathetic face.

Meng Xu, who walked to the free throw line amid the boos of the audience, glanced at Arenas standing near him again, and looked at each other, Meng Xu and Arenas both understood the meaning in each other's eyes.