Van Gundy was also poor at this time, and the Magic's tactics were retro, and he used this lineup of centers and a group of shooters to beat the Celtics and Cavaliers in a row to reach the finals. But he didn't expect to be pressed on the floor by the Warriors in the first game.

The Warriors' three-point ratio is incredible, with all four positions all but the center having a very high three-point shooting percentage. The Warriors' defense is also difficult for the Magic to contend with, and the defensive tactics of the outside swingman lock up the Magic's three-point shooters, and they can only break through inside.

Thinking of the inside line, a trace of despair appeared on Van Gundy's face, the Magic, like the Cavaliers, is still a single-core team in nature, and Howard the Warcraft is their only core.

However, Howard's performance in this game was not good, O'Neal was the first to resist energy, and Jordan Jr. was not the aging Wallace and Big Z, and the scoring in the penalty area was not very smooth.

Originally, Van Gundy was counting on the bench to play, but as soon as the second quarter came up, the Warriors went on an 8-0 run. He wanted to make a substitution, but there was no one to use magic. The Magic made a deal with the Bucks in the middle of the game, trading shooting guard Bogans and a cash compensatory for the Bucks' playmaker Tyronn Lue, but in the playoffs, Tyronn Lue didn't even make the 13-man roster.

Tyronn Lue came to the Magic and couldn't adapt to their system at all, playing the game was like sleepwalking, and the second team didn't have the right to organize, and the Magic trade was a failure.

At halftime, the Warriors led the Magic by 20 points at 52-32, and the gap between the two sides was too big.

The Magic continued to struggle, but the outside shooter continued to slump under the Warriors' pursuit. Redick and Petrus, who had high expectations, performed poorly and couldn't count on them at a critical moment. In the third quarter, Li Zhi played only 8 minutes before being replaced by Nelson, and so far he has scored 21 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

At the beginning of the fourth game, Nelson did not let Lee Zhishang, but sent a lineup of Crawford, Nick Young, Jackson, David Lee, and Milicic. Howard is invincible on the inside, but the outside shooter is cold and hopeless.

In the first game, the Warriors slaughtered the Magic away, winning 120-90 and 30 points.

Li Zhi played 30 minutes, 9 of 13, scored 21 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and completely exploded the Magic front.

Eight Warriors scored in double figures, starting five and three off the bench. O'Neal played 26 minutes and finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Jackson had 10 points, Milicic had 14 points and seven rebounds, Crawford had 14 points, Nick Young had 15 points and David Lee had 10 points.

On the Magic side, the highest scorer was Howard with 20 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, looking at the data is very ferocious, he actually only hit 3 shots, and 14 points were exchanged for 24 free throws. Turkoglu was even worse, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists on 4-of-12 shooting. Lewis scored 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

The three cores of the Magic are bad, and it is too difficult to win. Only Nelson scored 14 points off the bench, and it was normal for them to lose miserably.

The Warriors returned to the hotel after celebrating, fearing a block from Magic fans. The 30-point margin was the second-largest margin in the Finals, the first being the 33-point margin in the 1992 Bulls' victory over the Trail Blazers. The Magic team has lost all 5 finals since its establishment, continuing to have an embarrassing record.

Fans who know the ball can see that the Magic are not as good as the Lakers and Trail Blazers.

The Warriors players are very low-key, although everyone shouts "sweep the magic" in their hearts, but they don't say it. The media is advertising that these are the two weakest finals teams in history, and they are also the two teams with the largest gap in strength.

When the Magic players heard this, they were very depressed, didn't that mean that the Magic was the worst team in the finals? Howard smashed his phone in the locker room, and his mood was terrible.

The media is not only questioning Magic's strength, but also questioning him. Is Warcraft the first center?

After the first game of the finals, people found that the Magic didn't take much advantage of the Warriors' interior line, and as for going to the free throw line, it was not that he attracted the bag, and people couldn't prevent him, but that he was better at the free throw line than others to shoot. The whole game was all one-on-one defense against Howard.

Barkley said in his post-match comments: "Against the Celtics, Dwight always complained about his lack of shots and monotonous tactics, but his offensive methods are monotonous!! ”

Now Howard is clearly aware of his lack of offensive means, and his psychological shadow is also quite large, quite a bit like O'Neal's first Finals.

In an interview, O'Neal mocked Howard: "Oh, I think I should go and comfort Howard because they're going to be swept away." ”

O'Neal's big mouth was no less sarcastic about Howard, and when Richie asked him why he did it, O'Neal said it was a psychological tactic. The next day, O'Neal tweeted: "Howard is a new generation of entertainment stars in the NBA, and every trick he does is what I play leftovers." Imitate me, and you will never reach my height! ”

The media said that "Howard is the second O'Neal", and O'Neal reposted and commented: "Let's wait until he has 4 championship rings, no, it should be 5 after this season!" ”

Magic fans are disappointed, the 23-year-old Howard does have a lot of O'Neal in him, they are also cheerful, and he has the potential to be like O'Neal. However, there is one thing that he is inferior to O'Neill, and that is his character.

Howard didn't fight back, he was more about showing his smile, and he would never learn to roar like O'Neal, and that's the difference between them. A character like Howard's is not actually suitable to be a leader.

Just as stressed as Howard is Magic's head coach Van Gundy, who knows that the Magic's tactics have been seen through by Nelson. The Warriors defend Howard alone and defend the outside, even if Howard scores more than 30 points, he must have relied on too many free throws in exchange, and there is no dominance. As long as the Magic can't open the perimeter, Howard doesn't have that chance.

There are also point guards, Alston and Nelson can't match the intensity of the Warriors on the defensive end, and in comparison, Nick Young and Crawford don't defend well, but the Warriors have others who can help them wipe their butts, and the Magic don't have such people.

Before the second game, in the Magic locker room, Van Gundy cheered up the players: "Although we lost the first game, we didn't have no chances, and the first loss was my mistake, so don't take it seriously." The Warriors are just like us, they have weaknesses and we will definitely win! ”

No one for the Magic players to respond to him, most people have no confidence in their hearts, can they really win?

On the Warriors' side, Nelson was explaining the tactics to the players, and after speaking, he looked at the players and said, "Three games left!" ”

The Warriors were shocked when they heard this, and Nelson finally said this, Nelson is going to sweep the Magic! The effect of such a sentence is more exciting than a thousand words of encouragement, and since the coach has this ambition, they will naturally not let the coach down.