Chapter 409: The Playoffs Begin!

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On the Jazz's offense, Hayward tried to get past Kobe Bryant's layup after shaking through the pick-and-roll.

But just as he was rushing in, there was a "snap", and the ball in his hand was directly cut off by Kobe.

After breaking the ball, Kobe Bryant saw that Russell had rushed forward, so he threw the ball out with a direct flick.

Russell rushed to the court and scored 2 points with a layup, and the Lakers tied the score!

The Jazz called a timeout.

The cheers at the scene were deafening, and I don't know who started, and the scene began to shout "MVP" frantically.

Tang Shuai and Su Mei were infected by the surrounding atmosphere and shouted along.

From trailing by nearly 20 points at the most, to tying the score, Kobe Bryant scored 55 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and there is no better script than this.

"Kobe Bryant, 60 points!" During the timeout, a front-row fan shouted at Kobe.

Kobe Bryant was listening to Scott's tactics when he heard the shouts and looked back at the fan, smiled and didn't speak.

After a timeout, the Jazz's offense failed to play under the Lakers' defense.

Turning around, Russell pushed to the front court and handed the ball directly to Kobe, who turned and hit Hayward with his back.

Hayward is one of the Jazz's duo, with a decent level of offense and defense.

Kobe Bryant didn't make any extra moves after playing, and turned around and leaned back. Hayward flew up and the defense worked.

Bryant's shot hits again!

Although the shooting stance was somewhat deformed under Hayward's interference. But he still scored a lot.

57 points!

The score is overtaken again!

And that wasn't the end of it, as the Jazz finally hit a pick-and-roll jumper from Hayward. Chased the score to 96-96.

At this time, there were only about 30 seconds left before the game, and the game was extremely intense.

The Lakers' offense, everyone else pulled away, and Kobe Bryant once again hit Hayward with his back.

The cheers of the fans at the scene burst into flames.

Kobe Bryant backs Hayward, once, twice.

Hayward was stubbornly on top, defending with all his might.

Bryant suddenly jerked to the right.

Hayward had suffered a loss and pounced straight to that side.

But at this moment, Kobe Bryant suddenly turned around. Then go straight to the bottom of your foot and make a quick layup.

Seeing that he couldn't defend, Hayward turned around and pulled Kobe Bryant violently.

Bryant threw the ball straight forward before his body lost his balance.

Twenty years of fighting has already formed the most basic memory in his body, after the basketball flew out, he crossed a small parabola in the air and fell straight towards the net bag.

"Wow", the ball is in! The referee's whistle followed.

2+1!

The ball almost ended the game!

Kobe Bryant himself couldn't help laughing, this goal was a bit unbelievable.

Tang Shuai couldn't help but shake his head at this time.

If Kobe Bryant hits the ball and it is 60 points, it is exactly like a script that has been written a long time ago. However, looking at this at the scene, the Jazz team is really defensive, and the two sides are fighting to the end, and there is no water in it.

Bryant walks to the free-throw line. This time there was no suspense, and the shouts of "MVP" resounded throughout the stadium.

Bryant took a deep breath and hit the free throw steadily. He scored 60 points and the Lakers stretched the score to 99-96.

At this time, there were only 20 seconds left to end the game.

The Lakers' defense is quite hard. The Jazz wanted to score quickly but didn't have many chances, and ended up giving the ball to Hayward. Hayward used Favors' block to break through, but at the moment when he burst in, it was Kobe Bryant again, who came out of the diagonal side and "snapped" to steal Hayward.

The whole arena went crazy.

Bryant's performance in the final moments completely dominated the game.

More people couldn't hold back their tears.

This is not the 28-year-old peak Kobe, but the veteran Kobe Bryant, who is already 38 years old and will retire in more than ten seconds!

Bryant made a steal and threw his hand to the fast-break Clarkson, who scored two points on the fast-break to stretch the score to 101-96.

With less than 10 seconds left in the game, there was basically no suspense in the game.

The Jazz didn't mean to call a timeout again, and Burke directly advanced the ball to the front court with a slow dribble.

The game is not over yet, and the cheers on the scene have already sounded like a beacon fire.

"Toot!"

The final whistle blew and the game officially ended.

"Bang! Bang! ”

The ribbons rushed into the air, the cheers of the scene were deafening, and the flashing lights kept flashing.

Bryant opened his hands and looked at the fans around him with red eyes.

It was the last time he faced the audience in this position as a professional.

"Kobe! Bryant! ”

The scene began to shout Kobe's name in unison, and this night was exclusive to a generation of legends.

The other players slowly began to leave the game, but the fans at the scene refused to leave, kept shouting Kobe's name, and were not afraid of shouting hoarsely, just afraid that Kobe would leave like this.

Kobe Bryant kept saying thank you to the audience, wanted to leave several times, saw so many fans but was reluctant to go, and when he got to the back, his emotions were out of control, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

Many fans at the scene also cried and shouted.

This scene lasted for five or six minutes, and it didn't end until the on-site staff brought Kobe Bryant the microphone.

"Thank you, thank you, no amount of words can describe how it feels at this moment, I love you, I love each and every one of you." As soon as Kobe Bryant opened his mouth, more people burst into tears of excitement.

After Kobe Bryant finished speaking, he bowed deeply to the audience, and then turned around and walked to the players' tunnel.

"Kobe! Bryant! "The fans shouted again, and Kobe Bryant didn't come back.

And Kobe Bryant in the aisle at this time. Lying on the wall, he cried uncontrollably.

Anyone who has been on this stage for 20 years and ended his career in this way. It's unrealistic to try to control your emotions.

After the game was over, Su Mei wanted Tang Shuai to look for Kobe Bryant again. But Tang Shuai didn't go this time, he knew that Kobe Bryant must be very busy at this time, and most of the next time was reserved for friends and family, so he didn't need to forcibly intervene.

Coming out of the Staples Center, Tang Shuai was full of emotion, but he put away his thoughts and calmed down and focused all his attention on the next game.

The regular season is over, and the playoff standings are also decided.

The Warriors suffered their first consecutive losing streak of the season with back-to-back unexpected losses to the Celtics. However, he showed strong competitiveness in the following games, not only winning twice against the Spurs, but also winning all the way to the end of the regular season.

By the end of the regular season, they had a 73-9 record that broke the Bulls' 20-year record of 72-10 and became the holders of a new history.

Such a Warriors shocked everyone in the league, and Curry began to be compared to the "God of Basketball" Jordan, who would have thought that after winning the championship by a crushing margin last season, the Warriors who thought they were already at their peak. It can even go to the next level.

In addition to the Warriors in the West, the Spurs also quietly won 67 wins, which is even 10 more than the Cavaliers, who are the first team in the East......

After the Spurs came the Thunder, and the Clippers welcomed Griffin at the end of the season. However, Griffin's integration into the team was mediocre, resulting in the Clippers' final record not outstanding, and the Thunder sang all the way. Nearly unmatched wins ended the season, overtaking the Clippers to become third in the West.

Plus the clippers. That's the team in the top half of the Western Conference playoffs.

In the second half, the Rockets had a sudden brainstroke in the final stages and used Morris as the starter. That put their record back on track, overtaking the Trail Blazers in the final minute to move up to fifth.

Sixth through eighth are the Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, and Mavericks.

The top two in the East are still the Cavaliers and Raptors, and they are also the only two teams in the East with more than 50 wins, after which there is a situation that may not have been seen before, from third to sixth, all of them are the same 48 wins, relying on complex relationships to determine the final standings, third to sixth are the Heat, Hawks, Celtics and Hornets, the last two spots belong to the Pacers and Pistons, and the Bulls and Wizards were squeezed out of the playoffs in the final stage.

In this way, the eighteen playoff teams in the East and West are officially confirmed, and the eight groups of matchups are also hot.

The Clippers will face their old rivals, the Rockets, who were opponents in last year's Western Conference semifinals, in their next game.

The Rockets have had a bumpy season, with a poor record in the first month, McHale, who led the team to the Western Conference Finals last season, became a scapegoat and was fired, and then Bickerstaff, who took over after that, also proved to be a "no worst, only worse" coach, and the Rockets missed the playoffs for a time.

Fortunately, Morey traded Morris of the Suns before the trade deadline, and then slowly ran in, finally returned to the playoffs, and successfully rose to the fifth place in the West at the last moment by relying on the win-loss relationship.

Although the record is only 44 wins, 10 fewer than the Clippers, it is the best position they can achieve this season for the Rockets, successfully avoiding the Spurs and Warriors, as well as the Thunder, who have not been able to beat.

As soon as the playoff matchup table came out, the Rockets couldn't help but look forward to the playoffs.

Old Terry: The fateful matchup, everything seems to be yesterday, but this time it became a first-round encounter, and the players who eliminated the Clippers were basically still in the team, and they were also replenished with new strength, and we had only one goal, to eliminate the opponent again and reach the second round of the playoffs.

BEVERLEY: I'm going to lock Paul up again, that's my job, we're very united now, we're ready to win the first round in Los Angeles, we're confident like that.

……

The Rockets players are full of confidence, in fact, not only the players, but also head coach Bickerstaff.

Bickerstaff: We had a good chance, the results don't speak for themselves, Griffin has dropped significantly since he returned from injury. And we're done with it, and we're going to win this series. That's my promise to the players.

The Rockets are very high-profile, in comparison. The Clippers are going to be much more low-key, the playoffs are not yet coming, and the players are working hard to train and run in.

At the end of the day's training, after taking a shower, Paul came out of the shower room and reached out and kneaded his wrist back and forth.

"Chris, are you alright?" Tang Shuai saw Paul's movements and asked suspiciously.

"It's nothing, it's just a little sore, just rest for the night." Paul said with a smile.

"That's good. The training intensity is a bit intense these days, so you should pay attention to it. Tang Shuai said with concern.

"Haha, I know, it's weird to be reminded like this by a rookie, but thank you for your kindness, Don, and pay attention to yourself." Paul said with a smile.

Tang Shuai smirked and scratched his head, since Duffy and Procopio negotiated the offseason, he had more or less communicated with the league's chief trainer. This made him more careful about the intensity of his training, which was why he said this to Paul, but when he said it, he found it a little out of place.

"Hey, Don. You're not gone yet? Griffin came out and sat down in his chair with an ice pack floating on his knee.

"Are you alright?" Tang Shuai saw Griffin's movements. Said with some concern.

"It's okay, it's still holding on." Griffin said with a smile.

Tang Shuai nodded and didn't ask again. However, the look of worry in his eyes did not subside, and Griffin's injuries this time were more serious. After the injury, the team doctor recommended surgery to avoid another injury, but if the surgery did, it would mean that his season would end early and he would not be able to participate in the playoffs.

The playoffs are not as good as the regular season, the regular season relies on Tang Shuai to share the scoring pressure, and they can withstand it, but the playoffs are completely different, the playoffs are really played point by point, the competition between the coaches of the two sides, the targeted deployment, the change in tactics, everything will become different, if Griffin is absent, it will definitely be a big loss for the Clippers.

After weighing up, Griffin chose conservative treatment, which is why he was able to return to the court quickly after a more than two-month hiatus to catch the final train to the playoffs.

"I'll go back and help you ask if there's any good way to protect it." He then looked up and said that there is a restorative training method for injuries, and I believe that Prokopio will also have a unique method.

"Well, thanks." Although Griffin didn't know why Tang Shuai said this, the relationship between the two was good, and he didn't doubt it.

"Then you should go back and rest earlier." Tang Shuai was ready to leave after a word of advice, he also had some back pain in this day's training, and he had to do some recovery training according to Prokopio's method when he went back.

Griffin nodded, then lowered his head to gently massage his knee, and could see that his injury wasn't completely healed.

Coming out of the locker room, Tang Shuai walked out while taking his mobile phone from his pocket, and at this moment, a familiar figure came in front of him.

Billups was heading towards the coach's office with a tactical hand test in hand.

"Coach, you haven't gone back yet?" Tang Shuai put the mobile phone he had just taken in his hand back into his pocket, and greeted Billups with a smile.

"Well, the playoffs are coming up, and I'm going to have to talk to Sam about tactics again." Billups said as he took the tactics manual in his hand.

"Oh, yes, yes, for the playoffs, everybody is doing their best, and I'm going to train harder." Tang Shuai followed.

"Don't, the training is moderate, the training intensity is enough now." Billups immediately stopped Tang Shuai.

"Well, yes, if you get injured like Blake, then the whole season's hard work will be in vain." Tang Shuai nodded and said.

Billups nodded, and when he heard Tang Shuai talk about Griffin, he followed up and asked, "By the way, how is Blake recovering?" ”

He ...... I feel like he's not fully recovered, and his comeback was supposed to be for the playoffs, so I'm a little worried......" Tang Shuai told the truth.

"Alas, the biggest fear of a player is injury, I can understand his feelings, there is no player who has played a season and is willing to sit on the pitch at the most critical time." Billups said with emotion.

"Well, by the way, coach, I think it's okay to limit Blake's playing time, Rockets. I think even without Blake, we have a lot of hope to win. Tang Shuai followed.

"Team Rocket's words. Be cautious, but I'll consider your proposal. Billups nodded thoughtfully.

"Hmm. Then coach, you should be busy first, the time is not early, finish the conversation early and go back to rest early. Tang Shuai looked at the time and saw that it was not early, and then said.

"Rest well." Billups nodded, then turned and walked away.

Billups pushed the door into the coach's office, nodded, as if he had made a decision, and continued: "Sam, can we consider the feasibility of using Blake as a substitute......

The 2016 playoffs start on April 17. On this day, four teams from each side of the East and West began to fight each other, and the Clippers had a bye this round.

Because the next day was due to the game, Kassel deliberately reduced the training content of the players, and in the afternoon, it was a rare half-day vacation for the players.

In this half a day, Tang Shuai naturally didn't have the energy to hang out, find a video analyst, turn out the video of the previous game and look at it again, and find out some problems in the game.

It's not training on the field, though. But every time he watches this kind of video, he can benefit a lot, and this time it is naturally indispensable.

In the evening, the players were gathered in Kassel to watch the playoffs.

this day. In the East, it's the Pacers vs. the Raptors, Hawks, and Celtics, while in the West, it's the Warriors vs. the Mavericks. and the Thunder vs. Trail Blazers game, where they watched the Warriors vs. Mavericks game. According to the rankings, they will meet the winner of the two in the second round.

But it's the winner between the two. But everyone knows that the aging Mavericks are no match for the Warriors, and the main purpose of this game is to study the Warriors' tactical play in the playoffs.

The game started quickly, and the players rarely sat down to watch the games of other teams, and the mood was naturally extremely relaxed.

The Warriors' strength this season is obvious to all, and the Mavericks were stunned at the beginning of the game, and the Clippers players also acted as spectators, constantly shouting as Curry scored one wonderful goal.

Cassel stood next to him and frowned slightly, but he didn't say anything, just to relieve the pressure on the players.

At the end of the first half, the Warriors led by more than 20 points without any suspense, and when the third quarter came up, the Warriors made persistent efforts to expand the difference to more than 30 points, and the game basically lost its suspense.

Kerr also replaced all the main players off the court, and there was really no need to stay on the court at this time.

However, just when the players of the Clippers thought that the game was a foregone conclusion, the Mavericks showed people an immortal heart, led by the old driver and Delon Sr., and set off a wave of Jedi counterattacks in the second half of the third quarter, while the Warriors' benches were suddenly collectively dumbfounded, and the point difference was pressed a little bit.

By the end of the fourth quarter, the Mavericks were only 11 points behind as the veteran driver hit a big three-pointer from beyond the three-point line, recovering a nearly 20-point deficit in less than a quarter.

Cole couldn't sit still at this time, so he had to call a timeout and put the main force on the court again.

As soon as the main forces came up, the Mavericks' offensive was quickly contained, and the margin was not further narrowed.

But perhaps there was still some time before game time, and Kerr didn't replace the main players off the court, but left them on the court.

And it was in these few minutes that the accident happened suddenly.

When Curry was defending Delon, Deron shook him down with a false shake, and it was this time that he fell down, covering his knees in pain, and his face was hideous and scary.

The originally boiling Oracle Arena instantly turned into a deathly silence.

Tang Shuai and the players of the Clippers team were all stunned, all staring at the screen, as players, what they were most afraid of was that the players would be injured, not to mention that this scene happened in front of their eyes.

Curry was quickly lifted off the court by his teammates and was shortly thereafter helped into the tunnel by a bench player, and the scene immediately fell into chaos.

The Clippers look at me, I look at you, and the excitement is completely gone.

Depending on the situation, Curry didn't suffer a minor injury this time, otherwise he wouldn't have gone straight into the locker room.

While the Warriors are likely to be the Clippers' next round opponent, they are clearly not happy about Curry's injury, and the best way to prove themselves as a professional is to beat them openly.

The game ended quickly, and the Warriors suppressed the Mavericks' last-ditch comeback to win the game 118-102.

And just before the end of the game, there was news of Curry's injury.

Strained medial collateral ligament in the right knee and will be out of action for at least one to two weeks.

This time, not only the Oracle stadium scene, but also the Clippers players in the video room, the entire league was shocked.

Who is Curry, the undisputed MVP of this season, it can be said that half of the Warriors' breaking the team history record is due to him, and now, he is injured, and the injury is not light, how can such news not be earthquake-level.

Cassel also saw the frustration on the faces of the players, and when the game was over, he directly pulled the players to encourage them, so that everyone looked down on this matter, and drew inferences from each other, so that the players had to protect themselves in the following games, and finally announced that in order to protect Griffin, Griffin will play as a substitute in tomorrow's game.

[It's about to be 515, I hope to continue to hit the 515 red envelope list, and the red envelope rain will be able to give back to readers and promotional works on May 15. A piece is also love, and it must be better! (To be continued.) )