This season's Western Conference Finals start on May 22 against the Timberwolves and Lakers, while the Eastern Conference Finals start on May 23 against the Pacers and Heat.

In these two matchups, the battle between the Lakers and the Timberwolves is naturally the most concerned, and now almost everyone knows which team can break through from the West, then that team is basically equivalent to winning the championship trophy, although the strength of the Pacers and the Heat is also very good, but either of these two teams may not be able to enter the top four in the West, let alone the strongest Timberwolves and Lakers this season.

So, this is the battle of the Western Conference Finals, and it is also the Finals that will be staged in advance. Therefore, the outcome of this game is the most concerned thing for almost all media and fans in the United States. And the reports on the strength analysis of the two teams are also overwhelming.

"The strength of the two teams is equal, this is the real sense of equivalence, whether it is the strength of the team or the strength of the coach is extremely equal, first of all, the head coach on both sides of Coach Z and Coach Phil, both are one of the best three head coaches in the United States, they can bring qualitative changes to a team, in terms of Coach Phil, last season the Lakers were only six in the West, but this season ranked second in the West with a record record in team history, all of this is brought by Phil, if it were not for the Chinese, this year's Phil is even more dazzlingNow let's talk about Coach Z, coming to the Timberwolves for two years, every year is a big leap, because no one would have thought that the Timberwolves would have such glory, even if they invited the best coach in the NCAA, no one naively thought that the Timberwolves would become the biggest favorite for the NBA championship within two years, which is very unrealistic, but what is shocking is that Coach Z did it, which is a miracle for everyone. However, although Coach Z is considered to be slightly better than Phil in terms of ability, Phil is more familiar with the NBA than Coach Z, and Phil already has 6 NBA titles, so the two are tied in this regard."

"Now let's talk about the quality of the two teams. The Timberwolves have 4 All-Star players in the roster, even if Wang Zhizhi is excluded, there are still three, and the Lakers also have 3 All-Star players, which is a competition between the core lineups of the two teams, and in terms of role players, both teams have a large number of role players who can help the core players. For example, the Lakers' Hawley, Fisher's Timberwolves' Jackson and Mobley, etc., and the bench scores of the two teams have always been the top two in the league, so the strength of the role players of the two teams is also similar in this regard, but in this case there are still some differences between the two teams, and the Lakers' O'Neal has a lethality that no player in the league can match, in the last round of the Grizzlies matchup. The league's best center has twice beaten all of the Grizzlies' interior lines, the first player in league history to do so, and we all know that the Timberwolves' interior line, although very good defensively, is still known for their offense. Whether it is Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal, neither of these two can compare their physique with O'Neal, and although the substitute inside Wang Zhizhi once finished O'Neal in one game, it was just an accident, and Wang Zhizhi did not have such a dominant performance in the next few games, so O'Neal will still be the winner and loser of the Lakers in this round of games. For the Timberwolves, they don't have an absolute strong point like O'Neal, but they are average on every point. And their speed and integrity are better than the Lakers, and if the Timberwolves are to win this series, they will have to win as a whole, which is Coach Z's strength, and Coach Z has been recognized as the most holistic head coach, and all in all, for both teams, opponents can cause fatal problems for themselves. This is also a prerequisite for a classic game, and I believe that both teams can give a classic matchup for everyone. ”…,

Here's a preview of the series the day before the tournament on USA Today's front page headlines. Although USA Today is Zhuang Fei's mouthpiece media, this analysis does not have any tendencies, USA Today is now the most authoritative media in the national newspapers in the United States about basketball reporting, many times the tendencies and voices of the United States Today can represent the voices of other media in the United States, so the evenly contested competition that USA Today is naturally the general direction of other media, this is the first time that such a spectacle has appeared in the playoffs this season, that is, the supporters of the two teams are almost half divided, This also made the quarrel between the two voices extremely fierce.

"That's right, I'm a fan of the Timberwolves and a fan of Coach Z, so I naturally support the Timberwolves, in my opinion, the Timberwolves are stronger, and they will win in the end" When interviewed by the media, Jordan, who has been busy buying a team of his own recently, took time out of his busy schedule to talk about his views on this series, and it can be seen that he has a fanatical support for the Timberwolves.

"Hehe, I didn't have a choice. I can only support the Lakers, I like Coach Z, he's an amazing guy, but I still hope the Lakers can beat him, I know it's hard, but I think we can do it. "Lakers legend Magic Johnson is supporting the Lakers.

"If there is any team in the league that can beat the Timberwolves, then it can only be the Lakers, and similarly, if anyone in the league can beat the Lakers, then it can only be the Timberwolves" In the end, even the legendary cardinal of the Celtics came out to join in the fun, but his obviously double-meaning statement quickly drew an end to the final argument.

In the midst of all the rage, the Western Conference Finals finally took place at the Target Center.

The target center arena, the Timberwolves' locker room.

Just now, Zhuang Fei arranged the tactics of this game, and all the Timberwolves players looked at Zhuang Fei with a serious face, the locker room was extremely quiet, and Zhuang Fei could even hear the heartbeat of all the players.

"We're back here, and I know you're excited right now," Zhuang Fei glanced at the Timberwolves players and said with a smile, and the Timberwolves players all smiled and nodded.

Excitement, it's a must and a should, and now all Timberwolves players want to go one step further than they did last season.

"Guys, you've been perfect this season, really perfect, blameless. I didn't want to say that in this round, I wanted to save that for the finals, but in the end I suddenly realized that I couldn't do it myself, and I felt more about this game than I dreamed of the finals, guys. This is the Grand Final, and this series is the last hurdle for us to get to the top. ”

"Crossing this obstacle is taking off, breaking this obstacle is the beginning of a dynasty, tell me, can you do it," Zhuang Fei said, and finally roared at almost all the Timberwolves players.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Perhaps he was shocked by Zhuang Fei's passion. The Timberwolves players almost all shouted with Zhuang Fei for a while.

"Very good, warriors, this is the first battle of your dynasty road, come on!"

The Target Center is still packed, and it's still so lively, whether it's a fish belly or a big opponent, the fans here will never forget to give their warmest applause to the Timberwolves players who are fighting here. When Zhuang Fei and the Timberwolves players appeared in the arena, all the 20,000 spectators at the scene were boiling, and even the fans outside the target center were boiling when they saw the Timberwolves players on the big screen in the square.

Target Center, Target Center Plaza, Apolis City, Minnesota. All staring at the same place at the same time tonight. …,

When the Timberwolves players stepped on the court to warm up, Zhuang Fei gently sat on his seat when he felt that his mood was extremely complicated for a while, once upon a time he entered the NBA has always regarded the Lakers as his biggest imaginary enemy, this Laker will appear in his dream almost every night, this is a team that haunts his dreams, when he really stands on the same court with this team, he finds that he is not as excited as he imagined. Excitement is natural, excitement is natural, but it is not as strong as I imagined. Zhuang Fei felt a sense of relief.

"If I beat them. Do you feel empty in your heart? Zhuang Fei couldn't help but sigh bitterly when he thought of this.

"Zhuang, look over there"

Just as Zhuang Fei was secretly thinking to himself, his assistant D'Antoni next to him touched him lightly, and then pointed his finger at the court.

"Huh? What's going on? ”

Now the Timberwolves players and Lakers players on the court are actually gathered together, could it be that the two teams clashed just now, just as Zhuang Fei was thinking, the head coach of the Lakers, Phil Jackson, immediately got up from his seat and quickly ran to the sidelines to shout to the Lakers players on the court, and then all the Lakers players on the court walked away.

"Just now, Shak O'Neill went over to demonstrate to Wang Zhizhi. Jermaine and Kevin surrounded him, and then the two teams clashed," D'Antoni explained to Zhuang Fei with a smile.

"Huh. So that's the case" Zhuang Fei's face is also a stretched smile, it seems that O'Neal has been holding his breath, recently O'Neal said the most in the media is that he failed to meet the Spurs in the first round, so that he missed the opportunity to kill Duncan, Carter, Zhuang Fei, the first center is now in a hot mood, this is the revenge battle he has been waiting for for 4 years. However, it is clear that Phil Jackson does not want the team to have an accident because of the conflict, and it is clear that the famous coach has ideas for this game

"Haha, I didn't expect the two teams to surround each other directly before the game started, Karim, Kevin, did you have such a situation when your two teams played each other in the finals" In the media commentary seat of this game, ABC commentator Michaels smiled and asked the two guests on both sides of him, the commentators of this game are Kevin McHale, the general manager of the Timberwolves, and Abdul-Jabbar, the legendary center of the Lakers, it is obvious that ABC TV also has some thoughts.

"No, Larry Bird's bastard was very arrogant back then, we wanted to fix him for a long time, but in the end we didn't, Shaq is good, he really did it," Abdul-Jabbar said with a smile, obviously he was protective of O'Neal, and described O'Neal's pre-match provocation as a very good move.

"Hehe, hopefully Shaq can be like him in this game" McHale is smiling but obviously spitting soft nails, the league's current No. 1 center will not perform well when he meets the Timberwolves due to various accidents.

The game did not start, and the smell of gunpowder on the court actually put on the commentary seat directly, and the smell of gunpowder from Abdul-Jabbar and McHale was naturally what ABC wanted to see, which is why they invited two guests in this game.

"Kevin, I think Coach Z will line up a three-inside formation in this game, and this formation will perform very well against the Trail Blazers," Michaels was interrupted by McHale before he could finish speaking.

"No, the Trail Blazers and the Lakers are not comparable, O'Neal's offensive ability is too strong, which will amplify the defensive holes of this formation, although O'Neal's defensive enthusiasm is not high, but his block is very big, his feet are very good, and his deterrence under the basket is very good, which makes the power of the three-inside tactic under the basket will be greatly reduced, so in this game, Coach Z will not send that tactic in the center" McHale shook his head and said.

"Really?" Michaels was a little skeptical, but soon when the Timberwolves' lineup came out, not only was he stunned, but even McHale next to him was also shocked.

"It can't be true, can it? Pierce on the bench? ”

There were no changes to the Lakers in this game, center O'Neal, power forward AC Green, small forward Glen Rice, scoring guard Kobe Bryant and playmaking guard Fisher, while the Timberwolves withdrew one of their main players, Pierce, to the bench, and the lineup was center O'Neal Jr., power forward Garnett, small forward Jackson, scoring guard Bowen and playmaking guard Nash.

"Is Coach Z ready to put Pierce in the second team and then upset the balance of the two teams' second team? But is Coach Z so confident in himself? Kevin: What do you think? Michaels shouted confusedly.

"I don't know," McHale shook his head and continued, "I don't think it's that simple, maybe Coach Z has other intentions."

And Phil Jackson of the Lakers bench is also frowning. It was a big surprise that was beyond his expectations.