Fans know that the 2006-2007 season was strong in the West and weak in the East. The Pistons, who have the first record in the East, have only 53 wins, and the Cavaliers, who are in second place, have 49 wins.

The Cavaliers made it to the Finals with just LeBron James with a bad team. According to expert analysis, if the Cavaliers are put in the West, it may be difficult to break through the first round. In the Western Conference quarterfinals, except for the Clippers, who are slightly worse, the Cavaliers have no advantage over the other 7 teams.

The gap between the eastern and western teams was evident in the Finals. The Rockets, without All-Star Chuck Hayes, were able to beat the Cavaliers in just three quarters.

The second game. The Cavaliers opened the game to defend the joint defense, allowing Gooden to defend Yao Ming in front of him, and the other players were at any time to try to limit Yao Ming. The same wrap-and-clamp tactics, the same face of close defense, Yao Ming's performance was completely different from the regular season, the ball passed through Yao Ming's hand and then passed, and David Lee's two shots announced the failure of the Cavaliers' tactics.

Yao Ming's personal ability has not improved much, but he has played smarter. He learned something by watching Duncan and Gasol play the ball after attracting the pack.

The best way to deal with a forward defense is to quickly move to the other side, or rely on teammates to pull the inside line and squeeze in the inside line and wait for a teammate to drop the ball.

However, this method is not easy when the opponent uses a bag and goes around with an agile interior player. For example, the current Gudeng goes around the front, and Ilgoskas defends the top, and Yao Ming is basically at a loss when he encounters this situation before, so he can only hand it over to his teammates. This time, under the disadvantage of slow movement, he decisively took advantage of his height, raised his hands high, and asked the ball to be held high on the spot.

Yao Ming's upper body strength is not too strong, but the tactics of holding high and hitting high will definitely not suffer against the speed-type inside line, and Gu Deng can't jump up in the grab with Yao Ming. In this game, Yao Ming's hands are held high when he asks for the ball or when he receives the ball, Duncan has done a particularly good job in this regard, Yao Ming has done a lack of details before, he likes to sit low and ask for the ball sideways, and when the ball comes, he likes to hold it on his chest to protect it, but can this really protect it? In this way, it will only be ruthlessly slashed by the opponent, and the NBA's interior competition is extremely fierce, and some stealthy or normal physical contact foul referees will not pay attention to it at all.

Yao Ming just lifted the ball high, not only did it make it difficult for the opponent to encircle and suppress, but it was also difficult for the opponent to make small movements, and the foul was relatively clear, which made the referee blow the whistle reasonably!

Yao Ming's offensive ability has reached its peak this season. His individual offensive ability is too strong, and in the opponent's individual defensive state, he has reached the point of perversion of scoring whenever he wants to score when holding the ball. This forced the Rockets' opponents to wrap Yao Ming. Too many packs can cost one-fifth of the defense on the court, so the Cavaliers need to be extremely cautious about their opportunities and timing, not to mention the Rockets and Maddie.

This season, with a good group of role players, the Rockets began to use Yao Ming as cannon fodder to attract "packs" as a core tactic, so as to win the team's more flexible tactical space and the opponent's weakest overall defense. It's a whole new model to try, and if there's one difference from the previous two seasons, it's that the Rockets have gone from being afraid of the bag to being welcome to being packed. Yao Ming no longer dodges the bag, but faces the bag, and for this reason, he has been practicing passing all season.

Yao Ming's surname has changed in the welcome bag, and his greatest value lies not in scoring points, but in forcing opponents to make tactical changes for them.

The Rocket's tactics are very simple, if you don't trap Yao Ming, you will turn around and jump and shoot you to death, so the opponent must wrap up. Then Yao Ming only needs to pass to David Lee, or Maddie, who is standing in a straight line with him, and the battle can be resolved!

The final score was 105-84, and the Cavaliers lost by 21 points without any suspense. Yao Ming had 24 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks. Maddy had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. James still played very aggrieved in this game, with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and the shooting rate was only more than 30%.

The media exclaimed that this was the most disparity in strength they had ever seen! It turned out that the rocket did not need Hayes at all.

Don't Rockets need Hayes? The answer, of course, is no.

But there is no Hayes, and the Rockets still have Yao Ming. Yao Ming is not as good as O'Neal and Duncan in their prime. But when the Rockets resolutely attacked with Yao Ming as the core, Yao Ming began to rise from star to superstar height.

That's why Marion and Jamison can also get 20 plus 10 data, but experts rate them much lower than Duncan and Garnett. Because they can only score, they can't attract the bag. In the past, Yao Ming also used a knife to kill the other party. Now, he knows how to use the knife in his hand to force his opponent to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff. If you don't score a goal, you will die even worse.

In the face of Yao Ming, who was holding high and fighting, the defense of "Big Z" and Gooden was like "Pursuit": "Didn't Asakura jump? Donta also jumped? Now you can jump in too. Jump, jump! ”

Hayes' knee is almost good and he feels ready to play, but Ranton and Lovan insist he has to rest for two weeks before he can return until Game 5.

Looking at the state of both sides, will there be a fifth game between the Cavaliers and the Rockets? Hayes was very skeptical. He hopes that the Rockets will sweep the Cavaliers and win the championship easily, but he doesn't want to look at the first Finals like this.

The Rockets won two games, and Hayes flew with the team to Cleveland to play the Cavaliers on the road. He was on the bench but couldn't play.

Cavaliers home fans watched the Finals on their doorstep for the first time, and emotions were high. James sprinkled magnesium powder before the game, causing fans to cheer even more. There aren't many people in the world who are optimistic about the Cavaliers winning the championship, but fans are hoping that the Cavaliers can snatch a win at home.

The referee of this game makes people suspect that it is "receiving money from others and eliminating disasters with others", today is the home court of the Cavaliers, and they want to blow the Rockets to death as soon as they come up. In the first 5 minutes, the referees gave Yao Ming two fouls. It's all on Vallejo. Once hit someone with the ball, once blocked.

Dribbling and blocking fouls are the most ambiguous and bizarre of the two rules of basketball, and the referees took full advantage of that today. The Cavaliers led 25-20 in the first quarter.

But in the second quarter, maybe God didn't want to see the Rockets hacked, and the peripheral players of the Rockets all became godshots with 100 steps, which not only overtook the score, but also made the Cavaliers dare not wrap up after Yao Ming returned to the court. As long as they choose to wrap Yao Ming, the Rockets can easily pass the ball to the open space, and a group of pitchers on the outside can make them worse than dead. Attacking inside, David Lee is not a fuel-efficient lamp.

Mike Brown changed his strategy and failed to trap Yao Ming in two consecutive games, and the Cavaliers simply put the main defense on others, pinning their hopes on Yao Ming's bad hand and the single defense interference of interior players.

As a result, Yao Ming got a lot of shots, scoring 18 points in a single quarter and making 8 of 8 free throws.

The score did not pull away. In today's game, as long as there is physical contact, it is basically a foul for the Rockets. The good old man Yao Ming actually got a technical foul because of his theory with the referee!

The Cavaliers chased the margin to just four points in the fourth quarter, but a look at the technical statistics will reveal how they bit the score.

The Rockets made 19 free throws and the Cavaliers made 41. Hayes had been watching several referees from the sidelines, and in the fourth quarter, their expressions were even more anxious than the Cavaliers fans in the audience.

Even so, the Cavaliers couldn't win the game, 98-90. The Rockets have won three games in a row. Yao Ming played 38 minutes, cutting down 32 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block, and Maddy had 27 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, and the two played to ensure the victory of the Rockets. James scored 31 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in this game, but his free throws were terrible, 9 of 16 free throws, and two missed free throws at a critical moment in the fourth quarter, ruining the Cavaliers' hopes of catching up.

In the post-match press conference, Van Gundy tactfully took on the role of referee. "It was a tough game, the three Cavaliers [referees] played really well, they didn't score, but they allowed the Cavaliers to take twice as many free throws as us, and luckily the opponent couldn't do it, otherwise we would have lost. It's the finals, and a lot of people around the world are watching, and I hope they don't see these three players again in the next game! In addition, Yao Ming played beautifully today, he is the kind of player who should take 30 shots in a game! ”

The reporter asked: "The Cavaliers have no injuries, so they will definitely continue to play in the next game." ”

"Oh, I'm just talking about my wishes. I also hope that Yao Ming can get more free throws in the next game. Van Gundy sneered.

Mike Brown said: "We lost again to Yao Ming, who is already the dominant No. 1 center in the league. As long as he receives the ball, it's hard to defend. We can only make it harder for him to catch the ball...... I'm sorry for the loss in this game. The players did their best and they did a great job. ”

After this game, the Rockets' championship is already in hand, and no team has ever been able to reverse it when they are 3-0 down, not to mention that the Cavaliers are a cut worse than the Rockets.

After the game, Hayes hastened to discuss with the team doctor.

He wants to play, even if he only plays two minutes after playing, he can be considered to have participated in the finals. As a result of the discussion, the team doctor agreed that Hayes could play in the fourth game, but he could not exercise vigorously, and could only run two laps in the fourth quarter garbage time. Even if you send a one-legged person, it doesn't affect them to win the game.

Van Gundy's words at the press conference played a role. There is speculation on the news that someone is trying to control the finals, and the referee is unfair! Stern still wants to favor his godson after the crab step, under the watchful eyes of fans all over the world. The third game was said to be a scar on the face of the NBA!

In the fourth game, the scale of the referee's penalty was changed from the previous game, and Yao Ming continued to attack and get free throw opportunities. In the NBA, you can "cut the shark", "cut Deng", and even "the emperor", but if you use foul tactics against Yao Ming, it is simply a point away.

Yao Ming missed just one of his 16 free throws, and with 1:11 left in the fourth quarter, the Rockets led by 12 points at 93-81. At this point, Van Gundy replaced David Lee for Hayes, satisfying his and his teammates' desire to win the championship together, and the Cavaliers gave up their defense in the final moments, and Hayes got a chance to shoot and hit a mid-range shot.

The Rockets swept their opponents 4-0 overall after beating the Cavaliers 95-87 on the road to claim the championship.

For the first time since 1995, the Rockets made it to the Finals and went back with a trophy.

Since the big dream of Olajuwon, another center of the Rockets has become a leader. Yao Ming has been consistent in four Finals games, is the biggest threat to the Cavaliers in the Rockets, and is also the highest scorer in the Finals, averaging 31 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. He became the first Chinese in history to win the title of Most Valuable Player of the Finals!

(To be continued)