On May 23, U.S. time, the Western Conference Finals started first.

The Rockets vs. the Mavericks, this game was basically a duel between Yao Ming and Dirk Nowitzki, but the final result was that Wade came out of the army, directly cutting down a 33 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, and scored 11 points in a row in the crucial third quarter, helping the Rockets defeat the Mavericks 121-108 and win the first game of the Western Conference Finals.

The next day, the Eastern Conference Finals finally began.

The Bobcats have home-court advantage, so the first game of the Eastern Conference showdown was played at the Time Warner Center, and the scene was packed.

Before the game, Qiao Hai was interviewed by reporter Doris Burke on the sidelines, and Doris Burke asked: "This season to the Eastern Conference Finals, you played against the Detroit Pistons, which is a strong defensive team, but you are an offensive team, when the style is completely different, what will you use as the key to victory?" ”

"Do you mean offense or defense?" Qiao Hai asked rhetorically, and he saw Doris Burke nodding, so he continued to answer: "Then I think it should be defense, the reason is that you can't just see our offense, at the same time, you should also see that our defense is not bad, if we slow down the pace, our defense will be the top level in the league." ”

"So that means you're going to have a series of defensive battles with the Pistons, right?"

Qiao Hai suddenly shook his head again: "No, we will use our offense to defeat the Pistons." ”

Doris Burke was stunned for a moment, but Qiao Hai gave completely opposite answers to the two questions, in terms of her ability to understand, she really couldn't understand.

However, the two commentators on the commentary seat, Magic Johnson and Reggie Miller, quickly helped Qiao Hai explain.

"Qiao Hai should mean that the reason for their win will be successful defense, but their goal is to play an offensive battle with the Pistons as much as possible!"

This is the explanation given by Magic Johnson, and Reggie Miller nodded: "That's right, that's what it means, Doris's first question is how the Bobcats will win, and the second question is what the Bobcats' strategy is, so it's actually two completely different questions." ”

"It just looks the same."

Magic Johnson smiled: "So from the side, this Bobcats seem to be a super strong team with good offense and defense, and this season, they should be very close to the championship." ”

……

On the sidelines, Qiao Hai finished the interview, and the game was about to start.

The starting debut of the two teams, on the Bobcats' side, the starting five remained unchanged, point guard Paul, scoring guard Michael Reed, small forward Andre Iguodala, power forward Josh Smith, and center Kendrick Perkins.

On the Pistons' side, the starting five Tigers are point guard Steve Francis, scoring guard Richard Hamilton, small forward James Posey, power forward Rasheed Wallace, and center Ben Wallace, which is also a regular starter with no changes.

The Pistons won with a jump ball and opened the game first.

Steve Francis took control of the front court and faced Andre Iguodala's defense, and Chris Paul had already switched to James Posey.

Francis held the ball for a moment to watch the defense, and then began to break through in a tank, and after a screen, he went straight inside, but the Bobcats switched defenses directly.

After the switch, Francis had little chance and could only pick up a pull-up jumper.

With a bang, the first goal of the opening game was ironed.

Under the basket, Perkinska took the rebound and passed to Paul on the sideline, who held the ball and accelerated directly to the frontcourt, trying to play a wave of counterattacks.

But in the playoffs, the Pistons' defensive intensity has improved, and they attach great importance to the Bobcats' counterattack, so they retreated at the first time.

The counterattack didn't work, and Chris Paul walked inside and stepped back to face the basket guarded by Ben Wallace.

The Bobcats switched to positional battles, with outside passes and cuts, and Paul and Michael Reed cut inside with the ball in succession, and then popped up.

After constantly covering and cutting in to cooperate, Ben Wallace defended out, and there was an open space under the basket, and Josh Smith ran back and rushed in, receiving a pass directly from Paul.

Big Ben defended at this time, but it was already a step too late.

Bang!

Josh Smith finished the frame, and Time Warner Center cheered.

The Bobcats' patient passing and cutting helped them score their first opening points, and Larry Brown was naturally unhappy, standing on the sidelines and expressing his displeasure.

And then, the Pistons' offense, the strong-side Pistons two together, Francis and Rasheed Wallace cover.

Under the basket, Big Ben gave the empty cut Richard Hamilton an off-ball screen, and on the other side, James Posey was already standing in the bottom corner of one side.

In this way, the Pistons were a formation that was pulled apart on both sides, Steve Francis broke through after the cover, the Bobcats changed defenses, and the Pistons still didn't get too good opportunities.

Francis passed the ball to Richard Hamilton on the weak side, and the mid-range shooter received the ball and made a pull-up jumper, and with a bang, the Pistons' offense hit the iron again.

But this time, Big Ben on the inside squeezed Perkins directly from the side at the moment when he was in the position, but he successfully completed the card position and grabbed the rebound directly.

Then he passed the ball directly to Francis, who cut into the interior at high speed, Francis received the ball and hit a layup, and the Pistons also scored, 2:2.

Bobcat's offensive round, this round, Bobcat still played positional attack, but this time, Big Ben was stubbornly defending the basket, and Bobcat kept tearing, but in the end he couldn't tear up even a single gap.

Michael Reid missed a mid-range shot against the defense, and Big Ben grabbed the rebound again.

Then, the Pistons' offense, they directly played a wave of quick counterattacks, and the Bobcats were unprepared and were directly chased by Steve Francis for a layup.

The layup also caused a foul on Paul, who was on the defensive back.

After hitting the free throw, the Pistons were already 5-2 ahead of the Bobcats.

After the opening game, Qiao Hai also became serious, and Elvin Gentry beside him also found that it was indeed as Qiao Hai said, the Pistons' defensive intensity in this game was greatly improved, and this game was indeed not as simple as he imagined.

The Bobcats' offense is still the outside line's passing and cutting cooperation, but this time, under the remote control of Qiao Hai on the sidelines, Michael Reed went directly to the weak side, and the strong side became Iguodala and Paul's passing and cutting cooperation.

Both men have the ability to advance with the ball and the ability to organize attacks, while Michael Reid went to the weak side and was more threatening.

So for this ball, Richard Hamilton kept staring at Michael Reid on the weak side, and then, there was a gap on the strong side, Chris Paul ran back into the interior line, leaning on Steve Francis for a layup and scored 2 points.

Then, looking back, the Pistons' offense hit the iron, the Bobcats' offense also hit the iron, the ball went to the Pistons again, and they continued to look for another opportunity to counterattack, but the Bobcats had already been on guard and didn't give a chance at all.

After the positional battle in the frontcourt, the unbelievable happened, and with Josh Smith's defense not out of position, Rasheed Wallace scored a three-pointer straight away!

So, at the beginning, the Pistons actually beat the Bobcats with a wave of 7:4, and the situation has completely exceeded Qiao Hai's expectations, which surprised Elvin Gentry.