After the sixth game between the Clippers and the Warriors, the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Wizards in Game 6 in Washington, D.C., and won the opponent 4-2 to enter the Finals one step ahead of schedule.

Although everyone knows that the Eagles are studying with the prince in the Finals, it is still a time of joy for Atlanta fans.

This year, they won 60 wins in the regular season, and in the playoffs, there are no tigers in the mountains, and the monkeys are kings, and they have made it all the way to the highest stage, considering that the last time they reached the finals was in 1961.

At the time, the Hawks were still a Western Conference team, playing at home in St. Louis.

More than 50 years have passed, and the Eagles have finally had the chance to touch the championship trophy again.

Now, all eyes are on the Clippers and the Warriors.

This tiebreaker is likely to decide not just the Western Conference championship, but also the championship.

As important as this game is, at the end of the day, it's a playoff game, a 48-minute basketball game.

There are many games in NBA history that have been played as important, if not more important, than this one.

Fans are always anxiously waiting for the results before the game, and some concerned fans even dream of their favorite team winning the game.

When the game really starts, the more than 2 hours of competition time will pass as quickly as flowing water, and in the end it will inevitably end up being a happy family and a sad ending.

In this regard, the Clippers from the players, coaches, and then to the management are very indifferent, for them, the series has reached this point, both tactically and psychologically, they have an advantage.

Even if you lose the series, three consecutive championships are enough to leave a strong mark in the history of the NBA.

On the contrary, the Warriors, who have a strong belief in revenge, have begun to subtly change their mentality after losing Game 5 at home to the Clippers.

Of course, before the game started, everything looked like business as usual.

During the warm-up, the Warriors' players were expressionless, and James and Lillard were still talking and laughing.

Durant looked like he was in good hands, and his trial shots were quite accurate, and he didn't drop a single shot for five minutes.

Steve Cole spoke to reporters in passing and talked about his thoughts on the tie-break.

'It's a very crucial fight, it's a very normal game, we've won three of them and we're going to get back the experience and the feeling of winning three of them. The Clippers are a formidable opponent, and the tiebreaker was expected. It's great news for us to have a game like this at Oracle Arena, on our home turf! ”

Cole said two simple words, all of which were polite words, official words, and there was nothing to chew on.

Since the commercial value of the NBA has become more and more high, from players to coaches, they have become more and more cautious in their words.

All of them are at the level of the United Nations spokesman, and they speak without leakage, opening their mouths "greatest" and closing their mouths "amazing", and adding a lot of "you know" when they say that they are not good.

Even a coach with a lot of personality like Kerr has to restrain his emotions when interviewing on the sidelines.

In fact, he was nervous and terrified, and he had a huge fear of losing to the Clippers in the tiebreaker.

Kerr could feel that fear actually creeping in within the Warriors, but he couldn't puncture it, he couldn't say it.

After the end of the sixth battle, on the way back to Auckland by plane, the whole team did not talk much.

3:1 to 3:3 is a huge blow to the morale of the team, and someone has to step up and turn the situation around and change the psychological state.

This should have been done by the manager, but Kerr was disappointed to find it difficult for him to do so.

Especially in the fifth game, Min Congda woke up the players with a move to play in person wearing a Clippers jersey and finally letting himself be sent off, and Kerr asked himself if he could do it.

In Game 5, before the end of the first half, Kerr felt that the Warriors had touched the edge of the Finals, and according to the situation of the first half, the Clippers were about to be psychologically broken.

But he never expected that Smart, a person who does not play according to the routine, would have this hand, and he could still play like this, Superman transformed, which boosted the morale of the Clippers and made the Warriors a little overwhelmed.

Including Cole himself was at a loss, and at this time he really wanted to ask Min Congda and ask him, "Smart, if it were you, what would you do?" What does it take to get the players back in confidence? ”

It's a pity that he can't ask, and Min Congda can't tell him, they are enemies, the kind of people who live and die on the court.

No matter how warm and friendly the NBA players have become in public opinion, for those who have a strong desire to win in their hearts, when they come to the court, what they want to do most is to kill their opponents, from the outside of the court to the inside of the court, and completely destroy the opponent.

Unfortunately, Cole felt like he was about to be destroyed, or at least on the verge of being destroyed, and he was still struggling.

After the warm-up, the opening national anthem was performed, the players were presented, and the game kicked off at 3 p.m. Pacific Time.

The tie-break is usually scheduled in the afternoon.

On the Clippers' side, Gasol Jr. is still out due to injury, and Jokic continues to play at center.

Anthony Davis, Leonard, Butler, Curry, five people make up a balanced lineup both offensively and defensively.

James Harden was pressed to the bench by Min Congda, and Harden's performance in the first six games can only be described as so-so.

His role on the offensive end is unquestionable, being Curry's second-leading scorer and an important playmaker.

However, his leakage on the defensive end is a disservice to the Clippers' overall defense.

In particular, he couldn't keep up with Klay Thompson, which led to Thompson's consistent performance in each of these six games.

In the trade-off, Min Congda still promoted Butler to the starting lineup and put Harden as the sixth man.

Harden is still happy with his role as the sixth man.

He is the equivalent of Ginobili of the Spurs, and he has no problem with the starter or the sixth man.

The Warriors' starting lineup has also made significant changes, with the starting five being Bogut, Green, James, Durant and Thompson.

Lillard was placed on the bench, and the starting No. 1 position was replaced by James, allowing James to control the ball and play the offensive organization.

It was a bold change made by Kerr, and Lillard is a good young player, but he played well in the first four games.

But in the last two games, Lillard has become more and more of a hole on the court, and he has given too little help to the team other than a three-point shot.

It's not that he's too bad, it's that the game between the two sides is too high-end, especially Lillard's defense is full of holes in the face of Curry.

The five-small lineup, one Green was suppressed by Jokic, and one Lillard was beaten by Curry, which became full of holes, and James and Durant couldn't block it.

So, Kerr asked James to play the No. 1 position, and James played PG in his rookie years, and with his passing and controlling ability, he can be a core guard.

Min Congda saw Cole's adjustment and thought, Cole Ling was inspired by watching "Slam Dunk", right?

When Lingnan played Hainan, Coach Tian Gang asked small forward Xiandao to play the core guard, and he achieved good results with Amu.

But if you look at James like this, where is he like an immortal?

And Min Congda thought to himself: "Steve, aren't you afraid that LeBron will return to the way he played in the past?" You don't know how dangerous that is? It's going to destroy all your warriors. ”

Kerr did make a dangerous decision, and James spent the season trying a whole new style of play, less ball-handling, more central command, and more off-ball, and he worked hard to do that.

His efforts are admirable, and he did make a lot of changes to make a difference, but in this most crucial game, the risk of returning him to the familiar but failed style of play of the past is obvious.

Jokic and Bogut jumped the ball in the middle circle, and the game began.

The Warriors took the lead in possession, and James received the ball and began to dribble over half court to organize the offense.

At this moment, he hesitated and hesitated for a moment, and for a moment, he felt as if he was back in Cleveland.

With the ball in his hand and looking at the nine remaining men on the field, he had time to think quietly about how to play next and who to pass it to.

At this moment, he's the dominant man on the pitch, and everybody is a supporting actor – that's what he thought when he came on the pitch for many years.

When a person occupies too much space in his heart, there is little room for other people to do other things.

And the basketball court is huge, and there are many, many details in every corner, in every player.

Steve Kerr once told James to keep his eyes on himself and the ball, on his teammates, on his opponents, on those corners that are not easily noticed.

James did so, and he had an incredibly successful regular season, just as Wilt Chamberlain no longer just scored and learned to pass, James would have passed, but he had to do more, be more detailed, and become more comprehensive.

But why did you still come to a dead end?

Why do you still want to fight this extremely cruel tie-break?

Why, the ball ended up in his hands.

Is he still going to take the ball, make a desperate charge towards the basket, towards victory?

It was a question that reverberated inside James before the game, and until the game started, he was holding the ball and facing everything.

"Pass your damn balls! Get it out! ”

The dribble dangled around the perimeter for a while, but the Warriors' tactics still didn't come out because the ball was still in James' hands.

Steve Kerr couldn't help but shout and remind James, who gave the ball to Durant, who came over to pick it up.

There was not much time, Durant received the ball and made a loop, forced Leonard on the left side, and then made a pull-up jump shot......

The ball didn't go in, the offensive time was approaching, Jokic took the backcourt rebound, and the Clippers attacked.

It was Thompson who defended Curry, and Thompson put Curry's defensive pressure much better than Lillard.

The Clippers' first offense was also unsuccessful, and Leonard finally made a hasty shot and hit the basket.

In the tiebreaker, the defensive intensity of the two teams is very high, and the physical consumption on both sides is also very large.

Scoring goals on the offensive end has become incredibly difficult, and both teams have been hitting iron frequently, giving the impression of a return to the 90s Eastern Conference meat grinder-like playoff game.

Like the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals tie-break, the Knicks beat the Pacers, and the two sides played 17:14 in the first quarter, and 10 Kobe Bryants were fighting on the court.

In the first three minutes of the game, the two teams, who are known for their offensive firepower and rank first and second in points per game in the regular season, did not score a single point.

The score of 0:0 remained until the first official timeout was approaching, and the referees finally couldn't stand such an ugly game, blowing Jokic a defensive defense for three seconds while the Warriors were attacking.

Then Thompson stepped up to the free throw line and hit the free throw, and the Warriors led 1-0 and finally scored.

But James' throw after breaking through with the ball on the outside still didn't go in, and Davis's help defense interference did a very good job.

Leonard took the backcourt rebound, dribbled himself to the frontcourt, and went straight to the basket for a layup, causing Green to foul.

Two free throws from the free throw line were hit, 2:1, and the game entered an official timeout.

The first quarter started for nearly 5 minutes, and the score turned out to be 2:1, and the defensive intensity of the two teams was staggering.

It's not easy for the Clippers to play every alignment, Jokic is not easy to play against Bogut and Davis is not easy to play against Green.

Thompson was staring at Curry, and James and Durant were facing Butler and Leonard.

In terms of alignment alone, the Warriors have an advantage, but it is not easy for the Warriors to score on the head of the Clippers.

After the timeout, the Warriors still took the lead in scoring in the athletic battle, Durant forced Leonard one-on-one, and the Golden Rooster hit an independent step-back jumper to break the deadlock on the court.

The Clippers also made adjustments, Jokic and Davis repeatedly blocked Curry, and Butler suddenly cut to the basket and received the ball with a left-handed layup - which he managed to shake off James.

When he made the layup, James' eyes were still on Curry.

With both open goals, the attacks of both sides began to flow more and more smoothly.

At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers trailed the Warriors by 2 points at 13:15.

Combined, both teams did not score as much as one team scored in one quarter in previous games.

The players gulped down water from the sidelines, and both sides began to deploy their troops.

In the second quarter, the two sides continued to struggle fiercely on the defensive end, with Harden and Lillard coming off the bench to bring some vitality to both teams' offense.

Harden used his breakthrough to open up the game for the Clippers, and his strong body slammed into the basket and scored four straight points with free throws.

And Lillard also hit consecutive mid-range shots, the scores of the two teams rose alternately, and the defensive intensity gradually relaxed, after all, it is difficult to maintain a high intensity all the time, and the physical consumption cannot keep up.

At the end of the second quarter, it is often when the two teams grab points, when the score of the two sides is 32:35, and the Warriors still lead the Clippers by 3 points.

When the two main players returned to the court, the Clippers made a sudden change, replacing Jokic with Zach Randolph, and Randolph and Anthony Davis partnered inside.

This was a problem for the Warriors inside - except for a brief appearance in the first game, Randolph almost forgot about the veteran later.

At this time, Randolph was suddenly replaced, and Green went to defend? Or is Bogut going to defend?

The result of the Warriors' on-court communication was that Bogut went to defend, but the blue fat man came up and pulled to the bottom, caught the ball and hit a mid-range jumper, scoring two points.

Then the Warriors wanted Bogut to play a low post, Randolph resisted Bogut, Bogut turned around and the fat man came to the bench, Bogut slipped and was sentenced to walk.

A mistake, the Clippers quickly counterattacked, Randolph cut in the middle, received Curry's hanging pass, shook continuously under the basket, or put the ball in the basket, and caused Green's defensive foul!

After the goal, Randolph clenched his fists and roared, shouting out all the resentment of this round of the series, and the veteran still has a time to come in handy after all.

Let him play for a long time, he will become a hole on the defensive end, but occasionally use it to steal points, it is absolutely useful.

With Randolph hitting a free throw, the Clippers overtook it!

By the end of the first half, the Clippers were 39:37 ahead of the Warriors by 2 points!

And looking at the statistics table, LeBron James, the main control, only scored 4 points and 2 assists.

Min Congda looked at James's soul-like performance on the court and thought, "LeBron, can't you still break your demons?" Or are you controlled by defeat and destruction and unable to break through yourself? ”

They haven't had any communication for more than a year, but Min Congda still thinks of him in his heart, this once very good friend.

(End of chapter)