The Suns said goodbye to everyone, but it wasn't a surprise, they could really win the Lakers.

This year, there are few dark horses in the east and west, and there are naturally very few underdogs, and the only two pairs of teams that are in anxious battle are still four or five in their respective regions, and the difference in strength is not large, and it is normal to be unable to fight quickly.

The Pistons suffered a narrow loss to the Hornets on the road an hour after the Lakers won.

This kind of competition between four or five places is about the same strength among each other, so the process is not very important, the result is the key.

In this best-of-five format, the third game is the "Battle of Tianwang Mountain", which is the most important game of the entire series, because the first side to win two will grab the match point.

The NBA's first-round series was mostly a Bo5 format, with three match points in the first two games, which seems unfriendly to teams without home-court advantage, but it also makes the regular season position even more important.

This is why the NBA only had one "Black Eight Miracle" before entering the 21st century, and that was a two-year trial season in the NBA with the first-round Bo7 format, the reason is that this Bo7 format greatly reduces the difficulty of the following offenses.

The biggest difference in the best-of-seven system is that the probability of wanting to turn the tables when falling behind 0:2 is much higher than the best-of-seven system.

After losing two games in Bo7, there is still a margin for error in two games, and as long as you win the third game, the form will become much safer, so losing two games in a row is not the end, playing your two home games well, but it will put pressure on the opponent.

But there is no such margin for error in the Bo5 format, and losing two games first means being given three match points, and the chance of turning the tables is not even 1%.

After the first three games of the first round, the six teams that advanced can continue to wait leisurely for the results of the Rockets vs. SuperSonics and Pistons vs. Hornets.

Zhang Mao, like the rest of the team, naturally wants these four teams to play five games, so that they have at least four days to rest.

On May 2, the game unfolded in the rhythm of Lakers players cheering on the Hornets and Bulls players cheering on the Rockets.

Both teams have their own selfish agendas, with the winner of the Hornets and Pistons taking on the Bulls, and the winner of the Rockets and SuperSonics taking on the Lakers, and the two certainly hope that the other side will not take advantage of each other.

"Do the Lakers want to pick the Rockets, or do they pick the SuperSonics as their opponents in the divisional semifinals?"

After Zhang returned to Los Angeles with the team, this is the question that was asked the most.

"To be correct, this question is not up to the Lakers, you should ask 'Rockets and Supersonics' who is qualified to be our opponent."

Zhang Qi's words were a bit rushed, but he was really qualified to say so, because it was true.

The Rockets and the SuperSonics didn't bother with anyone else, and neither of them wanted to be out in the first round.

The Houstonians paid the price of most of the starting lineup in the summer to win another championship, if they were eliminated in the first round, with Tang Shuai's status will not be blamed, then someone in the Big Three will inevitably be a scapegoat, and eighty percent will be the new Barkley, when the Big Three are more than fifty percent likely to break up.

The Seattlemen, who finished runners-up last year, have struggled internally this season, with rumours suggesting that they are showing signs of breaking up, and if they are eliminated in the first round this time, they will fall apart in the summer.

Therefore, neither team will allow themselves to be declared out in the first round, which means that they will be out of the first group of the championship in the past two years, and the negative knock-on effect of the heavy defeat will definitely destroy them completely.

Who loses in this series? Who will fall apart and be forced to tear down and rebuild!

And once forced to rebuild, it is unknown when it will be able to make a comeback.

It is not uncommon for the NBA to sink for more than ten or twenty years after winning the championship in NBA history.

In the end, it was the Lakers who had the last laugh.

Supersonic at home, combat effectiveness increased by at least 30%, especially the ability of role players is far greater than the Rockets, Schramf and Lao Huo can contribute stable tactical execution and firepower output to the team, so as long as you find a way to limit one of the Big Three, and then make the other person unable to explode, the remaining one, no matter who it is, it is difficult for him to win on his own.

The Lakers can also see that this is the tactics of the Seattlemen, and their defensive strategy for the Big Three is - put one, entangle one, trap one, and the specific execution order is judged according to the competitive state of the Big Three that day.

In the last game, Barkley's form was not good, and the SuperSonics chose to trap this big ass, use normal defense to entangle Drexler, and then appropriately let Olajuwon attack, and finally relied on their home court advantage and team lineup to defeat the Houstonnes' Big Three in a dignified way.

Today, Drexler is in a slump again, Olajuwon is in average form, and Barkley is ashamed.

Well, the Trailblazers adjusted the order of release, entanglement, and trapping, and finally used the dignified firepower advantage to grind the opponent to death.

"This style of play is kind of interesting!"

Zhang Qian feels that the supersonic defense is very smart, which is the advantage of watching the game, and they can steal the teacher beautifully.

The supersonic style of play is much more complete and reasonable than the strategy prepared by the Lakers at this stage.

This shows that the Seattlemen have been studying their most likely opponents since the regular season, but the Lakers can't put their energy on the Rockets so quickly, because they don't know if they will meet the Rockets or the SuperSonics in the second round.

Now looking at his team's lineup, Zhang Fu feels that the supersonic strategy should be more powerful if it is implemented by them.

First of all, he was sure that he would be able to entangle Drexler at least one-on-one, not even if he didn't have a chance to trap him single-handedly.

Mutombo's single defense is basically no play when he encounters a monster like O'Neal, which is a natural restraint, but if he is against the 34-year-old Olajuwon, the two-term Mr. DPOY is enough to wrap his feet alone, although eighty percent of them can't die, but eighty percent won't let him play well.

In the end, there's a big ass left.

The Lakers are still not worried, and they also have Mason and Ben Wallace to deal with this guy.

It really can't be done, just let Finley pester Drexler, and he will help get Buckley together.

The supersonic strategy is executed according to their own defensive ability, so they can only be released, entangled, and trapped.

The Lakers are different, they can choose more options, such as one release and two difficulties. One sleepy, two entangled. even entangled all three of them, and didn't let go of any of them......

On top of that, the Rockets and Supersonics are tied 2-2, which is excellent news for the Lakers, and they can rest for at least three more days.

Of course, the Bulls weren't too happy because the Pistons lost again!

And, don't think there's another chance, the Bo5 game means the Pistons are out after losing three games.

Grant Hill is really a little pitiful, the only improvement in reaching the playoffs for the second time is actually - this time he played four games and finally got the first playoff victory of his career!

Well, such an improvement, it is estimated that even Hill fans are embarrassed to mention it.

Now that seven teams from the East and West have reached the second round of the playoffs, the schedule for the next round is ready to be released.

Western Conference - Lakers vsxx; Jazz vs Clippers.

Eastern Conference - Bulls vs. Hornets; Heat vs Knicks.

In fact, the league announced the detailed schedule for the second round the next day.

May 4: Bulls vs. Hornets; Jazz vs Clippers.

May 5: Heat vs. Knicks; Lakers VSXX.

Today is No. 2, and the fifth battle of the rocket and hypersonic takes place on No. 4.

That said, no matter who makes it to the second round between the Rockets and the SuperSonics, their first games will be back-to-back away games, and that's the price to keep everyone waiting for them.

The Lakers' hearts are happy, back-to-back in the playoffs, the opponent is still the first in the league, how difficult is this?

Zhang Fu felt in his heart that the Lakers were basically equal to 1:0 in advance, and he didn't believe that he would lose the first game with such a huge advantage?

On Saturday, the day before the second round, the league announced several key prizes for the regular season.

First up is the "Best Defensive Player", and the winner of this award is also not in suspense, and the Los Angeles Lakers' Dicambe Mutombo has been elected DPOY for the second time.

Next up was the "Sixth Man of the Year" award, which was also won by the Lakers - John Starks received 81% of the votes and won the "Sixth Man of the Year" trophy by a landslide.

When the award is presented here, the average person understands that this year's individual award is afraid that it will be contracted by the Lakers.

The third announced award is "Best Coach", well, many people don't even bother to see who the winner is, because they can know with their butts that except for the Lakers' head coach Del Harris, no one can get involved in this award, and the vote rate is afraid to reach 100%.

In the end, it is naturally the heaviest MVP trophy, but the answer still does not need to be seen, the trophy was unabashedly transported to Los Angeles by the league three days ago, this will not be awarded to O'Neal, right?

"Give it to me, why not?"

Of course, O'Neal knows in his heart that this is impossible, but he doesn't feel that he really can't compete with Zhang Zhu, if he doesn't strategically retain his strength in the regular season, he is fully capable of competing for the MVP trophy.

Well, that's the excuse O'Neal has been giving to his regular-season laziness, but seeing him shine in the playoffs isn't exactly an excuse.

In the first round of this year's playoffs, the best player was O'Neal, the shark who scored 40+ in three consecutive games, averaging 43 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks per game. This kind of performance is really dominant, but I don't know if this fat man can still deliver a dominant performance after meeting a real strong team, such as the next round opponent Jazz.

The next day, as countless fans began to nitpick and criticize the Lakers' monopolistic behavior, they seemed to forget that last year's Bulls were just as big. It should be said that any team with a 70+ win rate will occupy an enviable and jealous result when it comes to awards, but this is exactly what the players strive for.

The "MVP" and "DPOY" announced yesterday are the most eye-catching individual honors in the NBA every season, but they were eaten by the Lakers in one bite, which made countless people blush.

Today, two of the most important team honors, "Regular Season Team of the Year" and "Team of the Year," were also announced, which show the true status of each star, which is also eye-catching, and there are still many Lakers players with their names popping up here.

1996-1997 Regular Season All-Season Team List -

This year, Zhang Mao and Michael Jordan both received perfect marks in the selection, each grabbing a position; O'Neal finally defeated Olajuwon and Ewing this time and grabbed the center position; Malone defeated the young Mourning, relying on the same consistency and excellent team record as always; The last guard position was somewhat unexpectedly grabbed by another Hardaway, Tim Hardaway.

Gary Payton has a monstrous opinion about this decision! Last year, he was killed by Hardaway of the Magic. This year, that guy was injured for half a season, and he thought he was stable this time, but he didn't expect to be robbed of his position by Hardaway of the Magic team again...... This is really unbearable, do all the people surnamed Hardaway have a grudge against him?

In the "second lineup", you can find some guys who are not convinced, such as Gary Payton, who will become sad and angry when he hears the word "Hardaway"; Scottie Pippen, who couldn't get into the first team after Zhang Yu arrived; and Olajuwon, who was finally squeezed down by O'Neal, Da Meng originally wanted to dominate the first team for two more seasons and then let it out, but he didn't expect to be kicked down.

Of course, there are also two players who have been recognized by the league for the first time — Kings guard Mitch Richmond and Hornets forward Glenn Rice, both of whom are on the second team for the first time.

The players in the third team are a bit of a consolation prize, and the five are: John Stockton, Anfernee Hardaway, Grant Hill, Vin Baker, and Patrick Ewing.

"Hill didn't make the second team?"

Zhang Wei was a little surprised, he thought that Pippen would be squeezed into the third lineup, but he didn't expect that it would be Hill who was squeezed into the third team, I don't know if it has anything to do with him?

Finally, there is also a "Best Defensive Team", Zhang Fu was not selected for the first defensive team last year, and he did not go further this year.

In the "Defensive Formation" selection, Mutombo scored a top 50 points. He was followed by Jordan's 45 points, Pippen's 42 points, Gary Payton's 38 points, and Malone's 33 points.

Zhang Qi is a pity, his 31 points are very close to Ma Long, and he almost rushed into the "defensive one".

However, even if there is no one formation, there must be him in the "defensive second formation".

The five-man list of this year's "defensive second team" is: John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Zhang Mao, Anthony Mason, and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Now the fans are frying again, the Lakers are even more perverted than last year's Bulls, and they actually have four players in the best defensive team?

This is terrifying, no wonder it can get 74 wins!

Lakers fans said that the Bulls had three players in the "best team" last year, and the Lakers only had one player in the "best team" this year, and all three were "best second team", which is really not much different.

Dennis Rodman must be very unconvinced, but who made him hurt more than 30 games this year, which is too bad in the selection.

In the afternoon, the game between the Rockets and the SuperSonics started first......

The Lakers watched the game on a projector in the training hall, and their opponent tomorrow is out in just over two hours.

The 5th battle was a life-and-death battle between the two teams, and both sides used their life's work.

After the test of the first quarter, the supersonic came up with the old way to deal with the rocket.

Tomjanovic also made a surprise move, giving the veteran Eddie? Johnson was in charge, and the 38-year-old veteran actor really became a lethal X factor, scoring 28 points in 28 minutes of play, and playing supersonic by surprise.

The SuperSonics have had a lot of dips defensively this year, and the premise of this strategy is that no other Rockets players have stepped up.

However, the Rockets coach won a hand of "inspiration" today.

Tang Shuai has a unique skill in motivating veterans and young players, and today he used his personal charm to activate Eddie? Johnson, the star defender of the eighties, played the role of a surprise soldier, and the supersonic defense was immediately poked a big hole.

It's not that George Carr doesn't want to make a decision on the spot, but for a while, where is he going to find a perfect solution?

Fans often see in front of the TV that the head coach is difficult to make timely changes when the situation is unfavorable, and feels that even he can see the problem, but this stupid coach is indifferent, which is simply mentally retarded.

But in reality, it's not that coaches don't want to make changes, it's that they can't make changes a lot of the time.

"Changing formations on the spot" has always been a taboo, and if you have not conducted a drill in advance, you will definitely be affected by the whole body.

In any team competition, the most feared thing is that the coach suddenly gives an order that they are not prepared for, and then it is not at a disadvantage, but the whole line collapses!

The embarrassment now is that how to deal with the Rockets' Big Three, the supersonic players know what to do, and they all know their position and role.

But because of this, they don't have the extra energy to deal with Eddie? Johnson this accident.

If someone leaves their duties to deal with him, his place will be filled by another teammate.

But if you don't practice beforehand, there will be chaos in the game.

The three elders of the rocket are not rookies, if you have a little chaos, you will be caught and amplified by these three big guys, and then there will be an even worse chain reaction.

George Karl's set-up in midfield was to ignore him and defend as he had been before the game. But on the offensive end, they need a surprise player on their side to step up, and they need a hero to neutralize Eddie? The damage Johnson inflicted on himself.

It's a pity that heroes don't come out often, and it's not easy to come out.

George Karl is not good at motivating players and making chicken soup for the soul, and the absence of these two aspects is very detrimental to this kind of life-and-death battle.

Tang Shuai is a coach who is deeply loved by the players, and he can make the players feel like they have been beaten through his passionate speeches in key games.

The end result was that the Houston three veterans combined to score 58 points, plus the veteran Eddie? Johnson's miraculous performance finally defeated the supersonic four Japeyton, eliminated the strong opponent 106-98, and reached the division semifinals.

As for the superSonics, the future of this team is not very good.

Of course, the Lakers made a note in the small notebook after the game: be careful and keep a hand to deal with possible surprises.

Zhang Yu didn't think that the Rocket's Wonder Soldier would work for his team, that Eddie? If Johnson wants to break out against the Lakers, he will have to pass the Starks first. Even if he really passes, the Lakers' backcourt is full of players who can defend two or three positions, and he, Finley, and Kidd can all go to learn it.

Who wants to break out? Unless it's going to spiral into the sky, there will be four best defensive lineups watching you here!