87 to 109. The Bobcats lost by 22 points at home.

Hayes had comprehensive stats, but he didn't shoot well from the field, shooting 10-of-27, 3-of-8 from three-point range, and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal. Azubuke had 22 points and six rebounds, while Weaver and Felton scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, and no one scored in double figures. Biedrins hit just four of his 14 free throws and became the culprit of the loss. Biedrins doesn't play offensively, but as long as he dribbles and wants to get to the basket, the opponent will choose to foul. Biedlings shot 49.2 percent from the free-throw line in the regular season, which is actually a bit worse. Because he didn't make many free throws in the regular season, his weaknesses are now on full display.

Vince Carter had 34 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the first game, Nelson had 12 points and four assists, and Turkoglu also had 10 points. Dwight Howard had 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

The defeat sent a 180-degree turn to the media that predicted the Bobcats to advance before the game, with the world believing that the Eastern Conference Finals would be a confrontation between the Magic and the Hawks. Dwight Howard and Yao Ming will prove who is the league's No. 1 center.

In his post-match press conference, D'Antoni put it very simply as the reason for the defeat. 'Gerard Wallace is injured, we're missing an all-round warrior who is the most important player outside of Hayes and we had good chances to chase down points but the easy ones we couldn't take them.

In an interview, Hayes tactfully expressed his dissatisfaction with his teammates. "I was so disappointed in today's game! Gerrard's injury was a big loss for the Bobcats, but even so, we still had a chance to win, and we lost on the free throws! One player sucked at free throws! What more can I say? Hopefully it won't happen again in the next game. (Isn't that straightforward?) It's very tactful...... Because what Hayes wanted to say in his heart was, "Biedrins, you piece of shit!" Go to hell! Go to hell! Bidrins, please die! The next day, Gerard Wallace underwent surgery to repair the fracture in his left hand, which is expected to require six weeks of recuperation, which will be reimbursed for the season. The Bobcats weren't strong enough on the outside, and without Wallace, the outside offense was even more unbearable, and the Bobcats lost their best outside defender.

Hayes was in a terrible mood. Fortunately, there are two beautiful women in the family who care and encourage, and his mood can calm down. But I lost 22 points in the first game, how will I play in the next games?

Bobcat held a mobilization meeting with all the staff.

D'Antoni announced that Hayes is the core in the offense, and when defending, the main perimeter defense, especially Vince Carter, should pay attention to the help defense and can relax the defense against Tony Barty. If Howard receives the ball in the box, he will be fouled and given a free throw.

After the start of the second game, the Magic were very resolute in the wrap-up of Hayes, making it difficult for Hayes to get a shot. The other players almost always shoot when they receive passes, with average shooting percentages and a lack of lethality in offense. The Bobcats' triangular offense was immature and relied too heavily on Hayes' individual abilities, and the others instead stood up for position.

91-99, the Bobcats lost again at home, trailing 0-2 on aggregate. Hayes' luxurious stats of 30 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists could not win a game for the team. Few teams have been able to come back from 2-0 down in the playoffs, and the Bobcats have lost two home games in a row, and the situation is already dangerous.

The Bobcats defended a little better in this game, but their offense was very bad. The Magic continued to take advantage of Biedlins' inaccurate free throws and sent Biedlings to the free throw line in a row to interrupt the Bobcats' offensive momentum. There is no strongman in the Magic's No. 4 position, but Stan Van Gundy has maximized the role of the power forward, their character is fouls, and the number of fouls will reach four as soon as possible, it doesn't matter if the Magic bench can't score, it doesn't matter if they can't grab the rebound, they just need to stop the Bobcats from hitting the counterattack. Biedrins grabbed the backcourt rebound and prepared a long pass, and the Magic player fouled him under the basket and sent him to the free throw.

In the final quarter, D'Antoni had no choice but to put the team's starting center on the bench.

D'Antoni became increasingly dissatisfied with Bidrins' performance, and in addition to the lack of offensive strength, De'Antoni was also angry that Bidrins was trying to avoid fouls and let the Magic players score easily several times. Even more angry Jeff Van Gundy, what he doesn't like the most is that his players don't defend with all their might, and it's in big games.

"Let's make substitutions for the next game. You can't use Biedrins anymore, his weaknesses are fully exploited by the Magic, and he doesn't work hard when he defends, so he knows that he brushes rebounds, Howard's violent dunks are all on his head, and Chuck has to go up to block fouls for him, what is this? He just wants to get good data and transfer in the summer, don't let him go, at least it won't affect the morale of the whole team. Although Kurt Thomas is a little worse off the fast break, he can at least shoot and make free throws, and he won't waste offensive opportunities in vain. Van Gundy angrily proposed.

"But in this way, we only have Gortat, Thomas, and Landry on the inside, and it is a bit risky to play foul tactics, and in the end, it is likely that the inside line will lack manpower." D'Antoni hesitated.

"Then continue to use Biedrins and tell him plainly that as long as he plays, he has to defend with all his might. Howard must be fouled if he can't keep the basket, and as long as the Magic fouls more than 4 times, we will replace him to avoid the opponent's foul tactics. And even if there are a lot of fouls on the inside, Barnes can go to the power forward position, no problem. Van Gundy said.

D'Antoni agreed to Van Gundy's offer to have a pre-match showdown with Biedrins and sit on the bench if he didn't execute his tactics. Biedrins didn't want to fall out with the coaching staff, saying that he was willing to use foul tactics when defending Howard, and going all out to defend would not allow Magic players to score easily under the basket.

The third game between the two sides was played at the Magic's home court, and the Bobcats' players gave their best in the third game, and the interior defense was much tougher.

Luck was still on the Magic's side, and Howard was contained in this game, but with the cheers of the home fans, Nelson played at a super level, scoring 31 points, 5 assists and 3 steals with consecutive shots.

The Bobcats perimeter players stepped up their running and breakouts, and they didn't play badly. Hayes came on as a swingman up front and pulled to the perimeter to attack. People are more likely to grow in adversity, and the Bobcats' performance in the positional offense has a faint hint of Princeton.

Weaver came off the bench to score a playoff high 24 points, Calderon had eight points and 11 assists, and Hayes had a game-high 33 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

In this series, Hayes completely suppressed Howard. Compared to Howard, Vince Carter looks more like a Magic team leader. Howard didn't even match Nelson on the offensive end, but the Bobcats lost again.

Hayes hit a low-post offensive pick-and-roll with 23.4 seconds left before the end to lead the Bobcats on a 10-2 run to tie the score at 87-89 by just two points. But at this time, the Bobcats only implemented "foul tactics", Nelson made two free throws at the critical moment to stabilize the situation, and then Hayes missed the outside shot, Gortat grabbed the frontcourt rebound and got an excellent opportunity to chase the points, but Gortat was slapped by Howard for a dunk that he was aiming for, and the Bobcats had to continue to foul, and Nelson continued to hit both free throws, and the score became 87-93. The Bobcats had only 11 seconds left to attack, and Azubuike missed a three-point shot, ending the Bobcats' hopes.

The Bobcats trailed 3-0 on aggregate, a result that was undoubtedly dark to the extreme. After the game, Magic fans already had champagne to celebrate the home team's advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Stan Van Gundy praised the players at the press conference, saying they played great games, especially Nelson, who proved he can be an All-Star caliber defender. Carter played at the level of his prime, and their play was the main reason why the Magic led 3-0 in this series.

D'Antoni said in frustration: "Injuries are the main reason for the Bobcats' loss in this series, Hayes can play at a super high level in every game, but his teammates don't support him enough, if Wallace hadn't been injured, everyone may be seeing a different situation now, I think our team is better than the Magic, unfortunately luck is not on our side." ”

According to statistics, a total of 98 teams in NBA history faced a 0-3 situation, and all of them were eliminated, and 59 of them ended up being swept 0-4. The reality is harsh, and it may be difficult for the Bobcats to return to their home stadium to play.

When a team is in a disadvantageous situation of being down 0-3, the players will be under a lot of psychological pressure. No one wants to be swept out, and that's a shame. The more you think about it, the more likely it is that the mentality of the players will be unbalanced. It's like a soldier in war, the more afraid he is, the faster he tends to die.

Many Bobcats players thought in their hearts that their next game might be their last game of the season. The only consolation is that they have the best record in the team's history, and two big players are out injured. Wallace is the team's second-in-command, and Bagnani didn't perform badly before the injury, and it seems that he can be considered the team's third. The Bobcats lost because of injuries, not lack of strength, and fans will understand that.

But Hayes didn't want to be swept away. In an interview with reporters, he said: "The Bobcats haven't lost yet, we still have a chance!" Don't say that there has never been a team that has turned the tables after falling behind 0-3, history is created by people, there was no in the past, it does not mean that there will be no in the future! We have a lot of chances to win this game, so why can't we win it? And then the next one, can't we win? We've found a way to deal with the Magic, and they're not invulnerable. Three games, I don't even think they played well, it's just that we made too many mistakes as a team. As for being out, I never wanted to be swept out of the playoffs! Never! ”

The reporter asked: "Do the Bobcats have the confidence to turn the tables in the next game?" ”

"I don't want to say too much, there are only two possibilities, win or lose," Hayes said. I hope my teammates can calm down and keep their confidence. The Bobcats are a young team and sometimes my teammates think too much and it leads to dysfunctional performance, so hopefully everyone can stay calm and play to the best of their abilities in the next game. ”

In the next game, can the Bobcats really avoid a sweep? Hayes didn't know. He just wants to win the next game!

(To be continued)