May 29, 2004, Vancouver General Arena, Canada, this is the fourth game of the Eastern Conference Finals of the season between the Boston Celtics and the Vancouver Grizzlies, in the first three games, the two teams played a total of 2-1, and this one is the game that determines whether the final score is 2-2 or 3-1, it can be said that such a game basically determines the final direction of this series, and especially for the Grizzlies who are fighting at home, now this team has no way back, In this game, the only thing this team can do is beat the Boston Celtics and then chase the score to 2-2.

And in fact, judging from the last game, this team has such ability, especially in the last game when the Celtics were in such a bad state, so for this game, this group of Vancouver fans is very expectant and confident, and at the beginning of the game, these people also thought so, and did the same, these Vancouver Grizzlies fans almost overturned their home universal arena, but as the game progressed, as the atmosphere of the game became more and more tense, These Grizzlies fans don't have the madness of the beginning of the game, and instead worry about their own team, and in fact, they have that reason.

Because this team is now 10 points behind, and the game is only less than half time, such a situation has never appeared in the first three games, in the first three games, because of Carter's inside fulcrum, so this team has never worried about their own scoring problems, in fact, when this team has a person on the inside who can support, then the periphery such as Artest, Reed, Billups are the kind of players who can score, So in the first three games, Carter had the physical strength and energy to explode at the last moment to carry the team, no matter what the big score of the three games in the front panel was.

For the first three games, Grizzlies fans actually agree more, because in these three games, they can see the team's chance to win, and this chance to win is simply whether the Grizzlies can give Carter enough physical strength in the fourth quarter, and at this point, the Grizzlies did a good job in the previous games. It's just that in this fourth game, Grizzlies fans didn't see their team have the same performance as they played, this team was completely suppressed almost from the beginning, the Celtics' defense seems to have improved more than one notch, Carter's fulcrum role is getting weaker and weaker, and the Grizzlies' outside line is slowly unable to open, and finally the current situation on the court has once again become the Carter vs. Boston Celtics team like last season.

Of course, it's slightly better. Maddy, who had performed well in the previous game, was very limited in this game, and Artest's defense seemed to have adjusted, otherwise the team would definitely not have lost just 10 points now, and it is likely to be a bigger score. Seeing all this happening, it would be strange if these Grizzlies fans could still be happy, and in fact, this is the most worrying thing for these Grizzlies fans, they know too well what the trend will be after this game. If the Grizzlies can't change that, the outcome of this game won't be much better.

"Vince, are you alright?"

Billups looked at Carter who fell to the ground and hurriedly helped him up, this game of his own boss played too hard, this game The Boston Celtics' defense is like a seamless big bag, this game can be said to be the most difficult game played by Carter in the four games, in the first three games, the Celtics' stupid big word was constantly played by Carter, it can be said that it was expected by the Grizzlies, it can be said that the Boston Celtics were so defensive last season, but now, This big man doesn't play like that anymore, but stands in his place one by one, and he no longer pounces on Carter and no longer wants to fight with Carter.

In this case, the Celtics' defense in this game is like a bag to play, covering Carter fiercely, in fact, for a 1.98 meter player, their way to play the inside line is actually very simple, is to use their foot flexibility, especially when Carter does not have the weight of Barkley to snatch the opponent, Carter's statistics this season are excellent, it can be said to be a very dominant level of data, The fact that the data is dominant-level does not mean that he is really a dominant-level insider, which is still far from it, at least he can't eat a lot of big men behind his back now, such as Xiao Ao, and no matter how he tempts Xiao Ao in Carter.

And Xiao Ao is no longer fooled to seek singles, but takes a step back to cover Carter one-on-one, Carter only has two options, one is a helpless pass, back to Billups, and then reorganize, whether it is blocking or other methods, and the other is to forcibly pull out in front of Xiao Ao, but this is also very difficult, after all, Xiao Ao just took a step back instead of completely letting him shoot, and the other way is naturally to forcibly stick into his pocket, Regardless of whether you can pierce the pocket of the Celtics, prick it first, and this is also the reason why the Grizzlies' leading player has frequently fallen to the ground and frequently fallen off the court, in the face of the current Celtics' defense, he is still like before to complete the breakthrough alone, I don't know how much the difficulty has risen, and the defensive system that the Boston Celtics have practiced this season is not paper-paste.

If it weren't for Xiao Ao wanting to beat Carter too much, it is estimated that Carter would face such a dilemma in the first game, and the Grizzlies' adjustment this season is modeled after the Celtics last season, but it is clear that like the Grizzlies, the Celtics have actually been changing. Even more so than a grizzly bear.

"Carter hit a free throw, the Boston Celtics still have 7 points ahead of the lead, Carter is really difficult to score today, no, it should be said, the Grizzlies are really hard to score this year, the half is almost over. The current score between the two sides is actually 42-35, and it is difficult to say whether the Grizzlies can pass 40 at halftime, of course, the shooting rate of the Boston Celtics in this game is not very high, and I heard that they have not had a very good time in Vancouver in recent days. It seems that the Vancouver fans were too enthusiastic, but while the enthusiasm of the Vancouver fans affected their offense, not their defense, the Celtics played their best defense in all four games."

A commentary booth in the Universal Arena. TNT's commentator Ross Barkley also looked at the situation on the pitch and said with some joking that the game was a surprise from start to finish, because the first three games between the two teams were generally attack-oriented. But now it is a complete defense, especially the Celtics' defense in this game is simply suffocating, especially the restrictions on Carter are quite in place.

"Well, Jermaine O'Neal played very calmly today, and the Celtics also showed everyone their defensive system in the regular season, Carter is not a strong offensive inside, especially he is not a player who can face Jermaine O'Neal's strong attack, in this point he is very different from Sir Charles, in this case, his interior fulcrum can only use his skills and footwork to deceive opponents one-on-one, and in fact, before this season, The defense of Coach Z's team is one-on-one, and there is little coordination between each other, this kind of coordination we are talking about is not a package, but a sense of position in each other's defensive positions, when everyone stands in the defensive position of their own area, it is difficult for the opponent to find offensive opportunities on the court, in the regular season, the Boston Celtics have been doing very well, their vulnerabilities are better than any team of Coach Z before, and in this round of the series they seem to have lost such integrity, Fortunately, they got it back in this game, but I think the Grizzlies definitely don't want this to happen at this time, and now in the face of this pocket-like defense, Carter and the Grizzlies don't have much to do," Kenny Smith explained after Barkley finished speaking.

However, even in the face of such defense, Carter can still score to keep the difference between the two sides within 10, and he should have scored 20 points in the first half, right? The team scored a total of 35 points, and he scored 20 points alone, which is terrifying, and this is still a personal game," Barkley said with some emotion at the end.

"Although Carter scored 20 points, but the shooting rate of 7 of 17 is much lower than his previous efficiency, players of his level can get a minimum score no matter what defense they face, as long as they want to, but now it is even more disadvantageous for the Grizzlies is that they are now paying and using Carter in advance, I don't know if the second half, or the fourth quarter, they are really a little worried, definitely not the result that the Grizzlies want, However, the Celtics' defense was the best I've seen this season. ”

"Vince still can't be a real inside fulcrum."

Now the team's situation is very bad, it can be said that the offense is extremely unfavorable, this is the difficulty of the Grizzlies when they faced the Celtics last season, at that time the Celtics almost ate the team, although this season the Celtics did not dare to play a lineup of four small forwards, but there is no doubt that Carter is still unable to play a real role inside, and the ability to attack Xiao Ao is the biggest shortcoming, and at this time, the Grizzlies head coach looked at Juwan Howard sitting on the sidelines is distressed, The 7 million flowers are really not worth it, and when he looked back at the Chinese coach again, he shook his head again, this Chinese can always simplify the complex situation, and after simplifying, the situation will always be on his side, this time is the same, now the situation on the field is very clear, the same as last season, Carter vs Boston, who can win? The answer is clear.

"This team is really scary, the offense is scary enough, and now the defense is like this, is this the perfect team?"

After Carlisle sighed in his heart, the halftime was over, 44-37, and the Celtics led by seven points at halftime. (To be continued.) )