The Hornets advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they will next face the Knicks, who reached the Eastern Conference finals two days earlier than them.

The Knicks have also exceeded all expectations in the playoffs this year.

Because with the main players in the team a year older, no one could have imagined that they would advance to the divisional semifinals against the Heat with a score of 4-1.

Only Wang Shuoda was convinced from the beginning that this Knicks were the strongest contenders for this season's championship.

In fact, as early as when Xiao Yao announced his retirement from the national team last summer, Wang Shuo had a hunch that the Knicks would return this season.

Wang Shuo knew very well that Xiao Yao's body in this life was far healthier than he remembered.

In Wang Shuo's view, Xiao Yao's previous decision to retire from the national team must be because he wanted to join forces with the Knicks' old guys to win another championship.

And then, the health strategy adopted by the Knicks in the regular season made Wang Shuo see the lofty ambitions of the Knicks.

You know, although in the past few seasons, the New York media has been quite lenient with Mike Brown, his successor......

But on the premise of missing out on championships for many years, Brown has also faced a crisis of confidence from the New York media and Knicks fans this season.

However......

Despite the doubts, Brown did not waver in his determination to stay healthy during the regular season this season.

Moreover, in previous interviews, the core players of the Knicks, led by Xiao Yao, Duncan and West, also supported Brown many times.

And this ......

It is enough to see that this Knicks is a consensus of the whole team from top to bottom.

Wang Shuo saw the unextinguished champion heart of this Knicks early on.

It is no exaggeration to say that this upcoming round of the East Finals is, in Wang Shuo's eyes, definitely the most difficult round of the series he has faced in his coaching career.

Right now, the Hornets' forward linebacker still needs time to develop.

And Curry, who just won the regular season MVP, is far from reaching his true prime.

In addition, after experiencing the test of the first two rounds of the series, Paul, who touched the floor of the division finals for the first time in his career, did not know when he would be ushered in......

Therefore......

In Wang Shuo's eyes, this series is a round of divisional finals between the Hornets and the Knicks.

Ha?

You said that the probability of the Hornets led by Wang Shuo advancing to the finals is only 70%?

I'm sorry, but it's ......

That's somebody's!

In fact, if it weren't for Wang Shuo's belief that his coaching ability was far above Mike Brown, in his eyes, the Hornets would only have a 10% chance of winning in this year's East Finals.

All right......

Although there is a little bit of ambition to destroy his prestige, as the head coach of a team, Wang Shuo is also very clear that a blindly optimistic ending will inevitably lead to the Hornets becoming the next Celtics.

After all, before the first round of the playoffs against the Hornets, didn't Ajan also think this year was his most promising year?

However, no matter how difficult this upcoming round of the East Final is......

These days, during the team's daily training, Wang Shuo is still the same as ever, using his signature composure to make the young players in the team feel what it means to be a spiritual pillar.

For the vast majority of players on the Hornets team, it is definitely something they would not have thought of before the start of the regular season.

Leonard, who was still playing as a substitute for Hayward last season, originally set himself a goal for the second season of his career just to be a starter for the team.

But this season, he not only became the most improved player in the NBA, but also, under the guidance of Wang Shuo, he also saw a bright future for Curry to become the king of this Hornets team.

Clay, Butler, and others were in a similar mood to Leonard.

As for Paul......

Through this season, Paul's heart has already been conquered by Wang Shuo at this moment.

In this year's playoffs, regardless of Wang Shuo's arrangement for Paul to play as a starter or a substitute, why don't I cry or make trouble?

Because right now, how is he not just a champion or two?

Tell the truth.

At this moment, Paul's goal has become to assist Curry in this Hornets team to win him five, six, seven or eight championships!

So, either Garnett came to his senses early?

Because even many fans don't understand why Garnett chose the Hornets over the Lakers......

But Garnett still resolutely chose Wang Shuo.

Don't ask!

Ask is that the past history has already told Garnett......

Even in the Wasp, he may have to accompany Wang Shuo for a year or two...... But before he retires, Garnett is confident that Wang Shuo will let him taste the championship again!

Before the start of the East Finals, through the first two rounds of the series this year, the fighting spirit and morale of the entire Hornets can be said to have reached their peak.

And this is also the reason why Wang Shuo thinks that the Hornets can at least have a 30% chance of winning in this upcoming round of the East Finals.

Because......

As the god of coaching, Wang Shuo only needs to stand on the sidelines at this moment, and his team can often harvest morale buffs that cannot be obtained by the head coaches of other teams no matter how they pour chicken soup for the soul!

And, even on the Knicks' side, in the pre-game calculations, Brown also thinks that the Knicks have a higher probability of beating the Hornets......

But in the face of this wasp led by Wang Shuo......

Brown and his group of old buddies are still feeling the pressure like never before.

This is Wang Shuo.

In the first decade and the second decade of the 21st century, whenever you hear his name in the NBA, you will shudder as the god of coaching.

On the evening of the 21st, the G1 battle between the Hornets and the Knicks officially started at the Charlotte Spectrum Center.

In the visiting locker room, without even Brown mobilizing before the game, Yao, Duncan, West and Rondo showed a very different mental outlook.

As a team that has won the NBA championship three times in a row, the Knicks' group of players are well aware that there is no future for the Knicks at the moment.

Because with the age of Xiaoyao, Duncan and others, it is increasing year by year......

The next thing they do is only going to get weaker and weaker.

But what about the wasps?

Just look at the talent that the Hornets have shown this season......

All Knicks players know that Mike Malone's warning to all NBA teams in the division semifinals wasn't just an exaggeration.

Especially when the Knicks players enter the court to start warming up......

This feeling of not waiting for me swelled into everyone's hearts for the first time.

On the court, the Knicks players who visited the Spectrum Center with the team last season had just stepped on the floor with their front feet......

In the next second, they saw this basketball court, which was originally half of Jordan's attendance, and the earth-shattering momentum created by the home team!

Who says Charlottes don't want to watch NBA games because they don't like basketball?

In competitive sports, winner takes all is always an eternal truth.

This season, when Wang Shuo really led the Hornets to the Eastern Conference Finals, now, the Hornets have already become the pride of all Charlottes!

In the center of the spectrum, when the two teams had the entrance ceremony, the cheers of the fans at the scene for Curry that almost broke the dome "MVP, MVP" even Jordan was sour.

TNT TV, at this moment, Barkley also sighed: "I wouldn't say that the home court of the Hornets is the best home court in the NBA this season......

But I guess, it's true! ”

At the scene, after the appearance ceremony, the two teams were officially announced.

Knicks: Yao Ming, Duncan, Chandler, Korver, Rondo.

Hornets: Garnett, Millsap, Leonard, Klay, Curry.

This season, as Atay has grown another year older, Chandler has replaced him as the starting three for this Knicks team.

As an important addition for the Knicks last summer, the addition of Korver has greatly enhanced the Knicks' outside projection ability.

In Wang Shuo's previous life, Korver during this period had received a very loud nickname:

- "The most accurate man on earth".

At the peak of his career, Korver's three-point shooting rate was close to 50%, and basically as long as you dared him to shoot, he would use the whistle to sanction you on the court.

And what is different from the early years of his career......

Korver also made great strides defensively during this period.

Although in the game, against the vast majority of outside stars, Korver should still be blown up......

But under Brown's tutelage, judging from his performance with the Knicks this year, he is no longer the defensive black hole that people are familiar with.

In addition, this season, after coming to the East, which is stronger overall, with Wang Shuo, Curry also felt that he still has many shortcomings.

Whether it's the previous round of the divisional semifinals or the upcoming round of the divisional finals, Curry has to endure no match on the court.

Why?

Because in the past...... in the west

Curry simply wouldn't have encountered Westbrook and Rondo in this period before advancing to the Finals with the Lakers.

Westbrook in this life has a much stronger defensive attitude than Wang Shuo in the same period in history.

Therefore, in the previous division semifinals, Curry has been trying to use his "library gravity" to create opportunities for his teammates, except for a few more times when he feels particularly good.

Although, this is also a way to crack the other party's one-shot approach to him......

And, as long as he can win, Curry himself doesn't mind continuing to assist his teammates on the court like this.

However, as the NBA's new MVP, Curry also knows better than anyone that such an approach is only a stopgap measure after all.

However, what caused Curry more of a headache than the previous division semifinals was......

Now, at this moment......

He had to face Rajon Langdo, the NBA's strongest defensive point guard of the period, without Kobe.

When he played for the Lakers, Curry, who has always been self-aware, never thought that he could maintain the upper hand in the record against Rondo because he was capable of beating Rondo.

Because the Lakers Curry still has Kobe Bryant, the big brother, so in the two finals that the Knicks played against the Lakers, how could the Knicks focus all their defensive attention on Curry at that time?

Curry knows he's struggled all the way to the actual battle with Rondo.

As a person who has come over, Wang Shuo also knows better than Curry how much he is afraid of Rondo during this period.

In Wang Shuo's previous life, in the 22 meetings with Rondo, Curry's overall shooting rate was only 43%, and the three-point shooting rate was only 35.5%.

Moreover, Rondo can not only limit Curry's shooting percentage on the court, but he can even limit Curry's shots.

If Wang remembers correctly, in the 22 meetings with Rondo, Curry averaged just 14.8 shots per game.

In the NBA, as a team's leading star on the outside, such an average of shots per game is undoubtedly unqualified.

Because on the basketball court, especially on the perimeter stars......

You don't have a certain number of shots, how can you possibly soar high on the court?

Wang Shuo knew that before Curry completed the muscle gain according to Grover's five-year muscle gain plan, Rondo, who could follow him on the court and run around with him, and at the same time had strong blocking ability and one-on-one single defense ability, was definitely his only nemesis in the league today.

Because compared to Westbrook, which occasionally overheats the CPU on the court......

Rondo's high-quality CPU determines that no matter how tricky Curry is, it will be difficult for Curry to escape from his palm.

No doubt.

This round of Eastern Conference finals will also be a test for Curry himself.

Because from this point on, he has to learn how to stand out against a top team like the Knicks after leaving Kobe.

In the center of the field, after the jump ball, the game officially began.

In the jump ball session, Xiao Yao unsurprisingly failed to jump off the opening opening attack for the Knicks, and the Hornets had the ball.

In the tsunami-like cheers of the fans at the scene, just after half the dribble, Curry was locked by a strongman from Rondo.

Rondo's initiative to press this time was excellent both in terms of timing and position.

Because Curry chose to pass through the half-court position closer to the left side of the court, and the players who came up to pick up the Hornets were still some distance away from him, it was difficult for Curry to attack at the first time even if Rondo was passed by Curry at this position.

On the Hornets bench, as an experienced point guard, after seeing this, Paul immediately got up and shouted to Klay: "Klay, go up and pick up Stephen!" ”

At this moment, Paul stood up and shouted to Klay because he knew very well that Curry was in a rather awkward position with the ball at the moment.

Paul knows that in this position, once Curry makes a mistake......

The rest of the Hornets players simply didn't have time to step back.

Still, Paul's cry was a beat slower.

Because at this moment, Klay, who was busy with the bottom line, didn't notice that Curry had been forced into a corner by Rondo.

And on the court, with Rondo cornered, Curry also took the worst of his options.

Before Wang Shuo crossed over, this was what Curry was most criticized about......

That is, when he shouldn't dribble behind his back, the frequency of his back dribbling is really a little high.

In the center of the spectrum, Rondo, who has an amazing arm span, noticed that the moment Curry took the dribble behind his back, he directly laughed at the ball given to him by Curry himself, and took the lead for the Knicks through a dragon layup!

2 to 0.

In basketball, at any given time, this kind of low-level mistake on the court by the star of the house can be a huge blow to the morale of his team.

But fortunately, just as Curry ran back to his half with a depressed face, the calm and composure shown by the man on the Hornets bench quickly brought him out of the shadows.

On the field, back, the Hornets attacked.

This time, although under Rondo's high-pressure pressing, Curry almost made a mistake again......

But after it stumbled to get rid of Rondo......

Curry quickly ignited the atmosphere of the scene with a drifting three-pointer in the next second!

As Curry's guide in this life, Wang Shuo certainly knows that Curry will always make some low-level mistakes on the court.

Can......

If you don't dare to waste on the field......

How could that kind of Curry be able to accomplish one day after another on the court?

……