The first game of the Eastern Conference finals between the Magic and the Cavaliers ended with the Magic winning 102-89.

In the whole game, James can be said to be alone, although he scored 34 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, but the Cavaliers except for himself, only Mo. Williams' 16 points were passable.

Vince. Carter scored just 9 points on 4-of-10 shooting in the game, and neither against Vararo's defense nor Crawford's offense, Carter showed the ability and role of a giant.

On the other side, O'Neill is not much stronger.

O'Neal standing in the penalty area still has a certain amount of residual power, after all, the tonnage is really there, but wanting to enter the penalty area to show the ability to attack the frame is already a false proposition in itself.

As an imaginary playoff rival of the Eastern Magic, the Cavaliers' technical characteristics have long been thoroughly studied by the Magic management inside and out.

Of course, this is the same for the Cavaliers, who are well aware of Howard's shortcomings on the inside, and Howard, who is seriously lacking in interior skills, simply does not have the ability to hold the ball alone.

But the question is that Howard seems to be very single, since he doesn't have the ability to play singles inside, then I won't play singles? Almost all of Howard's offense in the whole game came from cutting into the basket and eating cakes after cooperating with Wang Chao to block and dismantle, which was simple and efficient, but O'Neal's heavy footsteps couldn't keep up at all, and in order to prevent Wang Chao from getting a vacant opportunity, even if he couldn't keep up, he had to chase him out of the line.

As a result, O'Neal only played a total of 19 minutes in the whole game before being substituted, got 7 points and 4 rebounds, and continued to keep O'Neal on the court, and the Cavaliers would only lose more scores.

"It turns out that all the big moves made by the Cavaliers last summer were just jokes, and the Big Three configuration obtained through the trade was simply vulnerable, neither O'Neal nor Carter could be James' right-hand man, and in the end, it was the same as last season, James could only rely on his individual ability to fight alone against Wang Chao and Howard."

The result of the game made Barkley and Smith shake their heads.

"I heard that the Magic team had the opportunity to get Carter, and the team management was also moved, and the deal was almost reached, but Wang Chao urgently called off the deal, so he even did not hesitate to threaten the team's general manager with a trade to apply, and then the Magic traded to Crawford and signed to strengthen Channing. Frye and Ariza and others were also carried out at the suggestion of Wang Chao. ”

At that time, this deal caused dissatisfaction among many fans in Orlando, but now it seems that Wang Chao's vision is really accurate, and there is no best sixth man Jamal. Crawford, who didn't have Channing in the starting lineup with three-point range to help pull space. Frye, although the Magic team still has the strength to compete for the championship, it is unlikely that they will have a 70-12 record in the regular season. ”

"Judging by the results of today's game, the Cavaliers may not be able to cause any trouble to the Magic in the Eastern Conference finals, and the difference in the lineup will make this series quickly decide."

Buckley's analysis was absolutely correct.

On May 18, in the second game of the Eastern Conference finals at the Magic's home court, the Magic won the game again 95-92.

Although the score of this game was very close, the Cavaliers still had no chances in the whole game.

However, compared to this game, the most desperate thing for Cleveland Cavaliers fans was the third game of the Eastern Conference finals on May 22 at the Cavaliers' home court.

Back on their home turf, with the blessing of their home court, the Cavaliers should have fought to catch up and try to rewrite the 2-0 score to 2-1.

But the result was a bloody 3:0.

The Cavaliers who returned to the home court did not perform as well as when they were playing away, the Cavaliers scored only 78 points in the whole game, and only 15 points in the first quarter of the game, and the Magic established a lead of more than 20 points before halftime, so that Wang Chao and Howard clocked out early after playing three quarters of the game.

Clocking out of work in the third quarter of the Eastern Conference Finals, this treatment is really a bit too much......

In this game, not only the other players of the Cavaliers pulled their hips, but even James was affected, shooting 7 of 18 from the field, 0 of 5 from three-point range, and relying on 8 of 11 free throws to get 22 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, while also having 7 turnovers.

Not even James, let alone others, O'Neal scored the team's second-highest 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, but this is because Howard was too lazy to defend against O'Neal in the back of the game, anyway, he relied on his slow two-point and two-point chase under the basket, and it would take until the year of the monkey to catch up with the difference.

The score of 3:0 was a direct death sentence for the Cavaliers' Eastern Conference Finals.

After all, there has never been a team in the NBA that can turn the tables back in a 3-0 situation.

The Cavaliers certainly can't, and at such a disadvantage.

On May 24, Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals series, the Cavaliers finally won a victory, and James, who had 38 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, successfully defended the last bit of dignity at home.

On May 26, Game 5 of the series, the Magic returned to Orlando, and the Magic didn't give the Cavaliers any more chance this time, winning 113-92 to defeat the Cavaliers 4-1 overall and reach the Finals for the third consecutive year.

After the game, James walked to the players' tunnel with a black face and no return.

This season, he's a complete failure!

Not only lost to Wang Chao in the competition for MVP in the regular season, but also lost to the other party head-on in the playoffs, although Wang Chao has not really been one-on-one with him in the entire series, but if this kind of thing is said to be more petty, this is a basketball game, if heads-up can solve the problem, why do the whole ten players grab a ball on the court to play?

James can already imagine what the media will say to him after the Cavaliers are eliminated, and to be honest, he's tired of the feeling of constantly facing defeat and never coming out on top.

"Damn ......"

It's been seven years in the league, and almost every year James and the Cavaliers are thinking about recruitment, thinking about how to get a player who is strong enough to support James through a trade.

In 07, they were infinitely close to getting Wang Chao, but in the end Wang Chao chose to join the Orlando Magic.

Now Howard and the Magic team have launched a second championship because of Wang Chao, but James and the Cavaliers can't even reach the Finals for the second time.

"Looks like it's time for a change...... If this continues, I will probably be like Barkley, Malone, Garnett, who have not won a championship in their entire career, so how can I surpass Michael as the best player of all time? ”

James, who was walking in the players' tunnel, had a flickering eye, and his eyes gradually became decisive.

At this moment, he had already made up his mind.

……

On the other hand, the Magic team will still enjoy the joy of victory on the court, and there are trophies awarded after winning the Eastern Conference Finals, although the championship trophy in the East and West is very different in value compared to the O'Brien Cup in the Finals, but it is still a symbol of honor, after all, even if it is the championship of the East and West, only two teams can achieve it every season.

Wang Chao also celebrated with his teammates with a smile on his face, but he knew in his heart that the next time he met James in the playoffs, it might not be a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, when James will be stronger and have a very strong team and teammates.

But that's all for later, and the season isn't over yet.

After winning the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic will enter the Finals and face the Lakers in the final matchup.

That's right, the final winner of the Western Conference Finals is the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Suns did re-show their championship-level strength after getting rid of O'Neal this season, but it was obviously still a lot worse than the Lakers.

4:2, the Lakers defeated the Suns to advance to the Finals, and completed the Finals with the Magic for the third consecutive season.

In the first two meetings, the Lakers and Magic won one game each, which can be regarded as a draw.

This third Finals meeting will really determine which of the two teams is the strongest team in the league in recent years.

From the perspective of the lineup, the Magic team with two players is more star-studded than the Lakers, although Gasol is also a star player, but it is still inferior to Howard, and it is difficult to have a conclusion about the scoring ability of Kobe Bryant and Wang Chao.

Kobe Bryant is recognized as the most scoring guard since Jordan, but Wang Chao is not bad, and there is a god quasi-three-point bonus that Joko does not have.

Especially in the past two years, Wang's average score per game in the regular season is higher than Kobe's, and he has also proved his scoring ability and stability in the face of various defensive giants.

Therefore, it is really difficult to judge which of the two is stronger in scoring ability.

Comparing the data of the two teams, the Lakers are better on the inside, even if Howard is much better than Gasol, but he is not a center with strong offensive ability after all, the blue-collar attributes are too heavy, and he cannot influence the outcome of a game on the offensive end, and the Lakers' interior line In addition to Gasol, there is also a small shark Andrew. Bynum.

This season, Bynum has finally begun to show his edge in the Lakers' long-term development, averaging 15 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during the regular season, which is the third scoring point in the Lakers team after Kobe Bryant and Gasol.

After entering the playoffs, although Bynum's average data per game has declined because of playing time, Bynum, who is 2.13 meters tall and weighs nearly 130 kilograms, is still very impressive when he stands under the basket.

The Lakers have every reason to believe that Bynum will be a big weapon for the Lakers against Howard.

In the face of the Lakers, the advantage of the Magic team is naturally the outside.

The Lakers have three players who average double-doubles per game, Wang Chao who averages 30+ per game, Crawford who averages 17+ per game and Nelson, who averages 12+ per game, on the other hand, on the Lakers' side, in addition to Kobe, the one who can get his hands on the outside is Artest, but Artai's shooting rate is not very good, with a shooting rate of 41%, a three-point shooting rate of 35.5%, and an average of only 11 points per game during the regular season, and more on the court is defense.

The two sides have their own advantages and disadvantages, and it can be said that they are evenly matched, and the finals will not at least not be one-sided because of the difference in strength like the Eastern and Western finals.

……

The first game between the two sides was played on June 3, and the venue was still the home court of the Magic, with a 70-12 record in the regular season, giving the Magic a home-court advantage no matter what kind of opponent they faced.

On the day of the game, the entire Amway Arena was packed, and the white color representing the Magic's home court rendered the entire player.

The Magic started as always, with Nelson, Afflalo, Wang Chao, and Channing. Frye, Howard.

The Lakers' starting five are Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Gasol, and Bynum.

Both sides have good bench players sitting off the court, with Crawford, Ariza and others on the Magic's side, and Odom and Shannon on the Lakers' side. Brown.

Howard still won the jump ball, and then he received a pass from Wang Chao under the basket, and scored a dunk past Bynum in one step with excellent explosiveness and speed to win the first place for the Magic.

Unlike the game against the Cavaliers, against the Lakers, just limiting Kobe Bryant will not solve the problem, and Gasol is much better than the dying O'Neal.

The Lakers also came up like the Magic, focusing on the interior offense first, and the basketball was handed over to Gasol, who played against Channing. Frye, the two are relatively close in height and weight, but in the face of Gasol, who has rich offensive skills under the basket, Channing, who is not good at defense. Frye was clearly struggling to parry, and scored on a layup after being shaken up by his opponent.

In the first few minutes of the game, both teams were in the tentative stage, and Wang Chao and Kobe, the two strongest offensive points of their respective teams, did not rush to attack, but left more opportunities for their teammates to help them warm up.

In terms of passing assists, the current Wang Chao is obviously much better than Kobe.

Under his threading of the needle, the outside of the Magic began to show firepower, Nelson, Channing. Frye hit open three-pointers.

On the Lakers' side, the main offense revolves around the twin towers of Gasol and Bynum, but they have to face Howard under the basket.

Howard's offense isn't strong, but the defense can't find an opponent in the league at the moment.

In this case, the Lakers' score began to gradually be pulled apart.

Seeing that his teammates were not playing well and were suppressed on the offensive end, Kobe Bryant began to be impatient and gradually increased the number of shots.

With Kobe's play, the Lakers were not opened up by the Magic in the first quarter, and the two teams scored 28 and 26 points in the first quarter of the game, respectively, and the Magic entered the second quarter with a 2-point advantage.

Kobe, who shot 3-of-6 and 4-of-5 free throws, scored 10 points in a single quarter and was the Lakers' main scoring point.

On the Magic side, the highest score in the first quarter of the game was Howard, who scored 8 points, and Wang Chao only scored 6 points in the first quarter of the game, all from outside three-point shooting, 2 of 3 shots.

Although there were not many shots, Wang Chao handed out 4 assists in a single quarter, and under his needle, all five starters of the Magic team played well.

(End of chapter)