On the night when the Knicks created the Black Eight Miracle, the third-place Hawks in the East, led by Wilkens, defeated the Pistons led by Alvin Gentry and entered the second round with a score of 3:2.

So far, the top four in the East have all qualified:

Knicks (8) vs. 76ers (4) – Hawks (3) vs. Pacers (2)

In the West, the Jazz at home relied on the home court advantage to defeat the sixth-place Kings and qualified for the first round!

So the matchup situation for the Western Final Four is:

Spurs (1) vs Lakers (4) – Jazz (3/2) vs Trail Blazers (2/3)

Philadelphia, the old capital of the United States, is one of the oldest and most historic cities in American history, also known as the "City of Love", and the largest city in Pennsylvania, just across the river from New Jersey.

In terms of urban population, Philadelphia is the 5th largest city in the United States, behind New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, and if you count the population of the entire metropolitan area, the Philadelphia metropolitan area is the 4th largest metropolitan area in the United States, after New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

In the 21st century, the development of the Philadelphia area has been slower, and it is gradually inferior to the greater San Francisco area (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland) and greater Washington, D.C., especially during the financial crisis, many people have moved away, but the gap between these places is not too large.

If New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago are the first tier of ball markets, then Philadelphia and Washington, San Francisco (Oakland), Boston, Dallas, Houston, Miami and other places can be called second tiers.

The owner of the first gear ball market only needs to lie down at home and sleep, and the money can roll in (Clippers owner Sterling praises), and if it is run well, it can even gain fame and fortune, such as the Lakers' owner Buss. The second-tier ball market, as long as the owner is not too brainless, will definitely not lose, if it is run well, like the Celtics, it can also make a lot of money.

If you don't count the New Jersey Nets across the river, the Philadelphia 76ers are the closest NBA team to New York, just over 100 kilometers between the two places, which can be reached in two hours by car.

When the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks meet in the playoffs, many New York fans will drive to Philadelphia to cheer on their teams.

The Bulls, Heat, and Pacers are the Knicks' rivals in recent years, but when it comes to history, New York fans hate Boston and Philadelphia teams the most!

Just as the Yankees in New York and the Red Sox in Boston are rivals, the Jets in New York and the Patriots in Boston are rivals, the Phillies and Mets in Philadelphia are rivals (baseball), the Philadelphia Hawks and the New York Giants are rivals (football), and the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers are rivals (ice hockey).

Rugby, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey are the four major sports in the United States, and the three major sports in both places are full of rivalry, and the fourth sport, basketball, is also particularly eye-catching.

What's more, it's not all about the Knicks and the 76ers.

When Li Wei entered the league, he had a conflict with two head coaches, one is Larry Bird and the other is Larry Brown. Although Bird is a relatively high-profile person, every time Li Wei meets him, Mars hits the earth, but on Larry Brown's side, no one will forget!

Whenever the two teams play each other, the media and reporters will bring up the old story!

"Coach Brown, your 76ers will face the New York Knicks in the second round, this is the second year that Coach Lee led the team to the second round, in the first year they were the black seven, and now they are the black eight, how do you evaluate Coach Lee's coaching ability?"

Larry Brown frowned: "I think Riley has lost unjustly in the past two years, Coach Lee, how to say it, good luck, very good, I can't comment on the rest." ”

"Coach Brown, you mean to say that as long as the Knicks don't have good luck, they're going to be eliminated by the 76ers, right?"

Larry Brown said: "I mean, whether they're lucky or not, the 76ers can knock them out. ”

"Coach Brown, Nowitzki, who led the Knicks to a big comeback in the final quarter, was acquired by the Knicks after trading draft picks from you, what do you think of this rookie?"

Larry Brown said: "Nowitzki is a rookie with a lot of potential, but I don't think he's quite as good as the big Z. It's just that our luck is relatively poor, Big Z is injured, otherwise the 76ers would have a better record. ”

At the time of Brown's interview, the entire Knicks were on their way to Philadelphia.

Due to the relative proximity of the two cities, the Knicks bus did not leave until 9 a.m. and arrived in Philadelphia just in time for lunch. In the afternoon, the whole team came to the home court of the 76ers again for field adaptation training, and the game between the two teams will officially start in the evening.

The 76ers' home arena is a new arena that was just completed in August '96 and has a capacity of 20,478 spectators. When it was first built, the name of the arena was the Core State Bank Arena.

The core state bank is the original National Bank of Philadelphia, which was renamed the core state bank after merging several banks such as the Bank of Hamilton of Pennsylvania. In '98, the Core State Bank was merged by First Union Bank, and the arena was renamed First Union Bank Arena.

In the previous life, in 03 years, the arena was renamed the United Bank Arena, and in 10 years, it was renamed the Wells Fargo Center Arena, in fact, the arena has always been the same, but because the bank with the naming rights is constantly being merged, so the name is constantly changing.

Like Madison Square Garden, First Union Bank Arena is not only home to the Philadelphia 76ers, but also home to the Philadelphia Flyers (ice hockey), Villanova University Wildcats (NCAA), and Philadelphia Wings (hockey).

When Li Wei came to the First Union Bank Arena, countless media and reporters immediately flocked to him and asked all kinds of questions.

A reporter from USA Today asked: "Coach Lee, Philadelphia fans think that you eliminated the Heat and did the 76ers a favor, and they will definitely reach the Eastern Conference Finals this year, what do you think?" ”

"Philadelphia is a dream city, so some fans love to dream, but I hope they wake up and see reality. The fact that the Knicks can eliminate the Heat is enough to prove that we are a stronger team than the Heat. The 76ers should be trembling and terrified when facing a team that has beaten the first place in the East. ”

The reporter of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Coach Lee, Coach Brown said that the 76ers will definitely eliminate you, what do you think of Coach Brown?" ”

"Actually, I've always thought Larry Brown is a good coach, and two years ago, our general manager, Dennis, and I brought Coach Brown to the Knicks' gym in the hope that he would be the team's head coach. However, he didn't approve of my team building philosophy and finally chose the 76ers team that was more suitable for him.

At that time, the situation for the Knicks was very difficult, the team was rebuilding, there was no suitable head coach, I failed to hire Larry Bird, I failed to hire Brown, Chuck was not in good health at the time, and he didn't want to be the head coach, so I had to shoulder it myself.

Now, two years have passed, last year we made the playoffs, the 76ers didn't, and this year they have a better record, fourth in the East, but I don't think the Knicks are worse at all. I hope to prove through this series that the Knicks are a more successful team. ”

"Coach Lee, are you trying to prove that you're better than Coach Brown?" A reporter from the Philadelphia Daily News said.

Li Wei groaned for a moment, shook his head and said, "No, I don't want to prove how good I am, but I want to tell Larry Brown that you have lost an opportunity to create a dynasty!" ”

The reporters were in an uproar: "Coach Li, do you think this Knicks can create a dynasty now?" ”

Li Weidao: "The team is on the right track, and I believe that the current Knicks will be the most competitive team in the league in the next few years, and we have the ability to create a dynasty!" ”