It may be a little unbelievable to say it, but by the time Rose made free throws, the Bulls had a huge advantage tonight, and it could even be said that they had a victory.

This is due to the [excellent] level of management of the Magic team.

In December last year, in the deal that brought back Tekoglu, they sent Carter as well as a "little man" Marcin Gortat.

Gortat, nicknamed "Polish Hammer", is 2.11 meters tall, can play two positions: center and power forward, his blocking and pick-and-roll is excellent, and those who know a little bit about basketball should have heard of "Gortat blocking"; The defense is fast, but as a big man, his lateral movement is surprisingly good; And the tactical execution is strong, and the style of play is tough.

Over the past few seasons, he has shown great interior quality in limited opportunities and is Howard's most reliable backup.

In 2009, when his rookie contract expired, the Mavericks offered him a five-year, $34 million contract, but the Magic eventually chose to match the contract.

It stands to reason that if you just continue to be Howard's backup, this contract should not be matched, and since it is matched, he should be reused, after all, in this era when the maximum salary is only 145 million, it is quite luxurious to play as a substitute for a team with an annual salary of 7 million.

As a result, Big Van Gundy really continued to use people as substitutes, and would rather use Brandon Bass than start this season.

Gortat is not a stand-up center, he is skilled, and his mid-range shooting is also stable, and in his first full season after leaving the Magic, he averaged a double-double of 15.4 points and 10 rebounds per game.

As a result, Big Van Gundy didn't use it, making Gortat's contract look like a premium contract, and finally matched the magic tube of the contract and chose to send him away.

Of course, if you don't open the eye of the sky, and Da Van Gundy doesn't want to use it, he will send Gortat away.

But the miraculous thing is that they didn't make any reinforcements to the inside line after sending them away!

As a direct result of this, Howard is the only center on the Magic's 15-man roster.

Yes, you read that right, there is only one center in Howard, and the tallest remaining are the two who play power forwards, the veteran Malik Allen, who is also 2.08 meters, and the sophomore Earl Clark.

No one knows what the Magic tube thinks, maybe as the fans say, they really think of Howard as "Superman".

As a direct result of this, Howard played a career-high 38 minutes after the trade.

Although Howard averaged 22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game throughout the season, in fact, the increase in statistics is more due to the increase in playing time.

What's even worse is this indirect result, because there is no substitute, once Howard suffers an injury or falls into a foul crisis, the Magic team doesn't even have anyone who can top up, so they can only rely on Clark or Buss to top the center.

That's why the Magic replaced Ryan Anderson as a power forward at this time.

This is where other teams can barely top it, but against the Bulls, do you think Yao Ming can't play or O'Neal can't play?

This is the two sides have done enough foreplay, riveted their strength, and set up a posture to do a big job, but just a minute has passed, and the Magic team said that they can't do it.

In the end, the Magic also disarmed in the third quarter and lost to the Bulls 76-101.

In terms of statistics, Rose scored 28 points in the third quarter and blew Niles bottoms clean.

Howard was plagued by fouls, playing only 21 minutes and scoring 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 5 fouls.

The Magic's top scorer was Turkoglou, but also scored just 18 points.

The game wasn't over yet, social media had blown up, and fans thought that the Magic would lose, but they didn't expect it to be this way, and they lost so completely.

"Dwight doesn't look like a 'monster' and more like a 'giant baby', doesn't he really know how to control fouls?"

"How the hell did he win LeBron?" From ". LeBron".

"I don't know, I just remember that Howard averaged 5.3 fouls per game, 3 of the 6 games and 6 fouls left the game, and the two most critical games in G3 and G5 were sent out, and he really didn't know how to control fouls." From the comment of "KBfnas".

"If I'm not mistaken, even then, Howard still scored 25.8 points and 13 rebounds on 65% shooting, and if it weren't for the fouls, he should be able to cut 30+15 data, and the Cavaliers would probably be swept by the gentlemen."

"Tsk, the peak demonic beast bullied you young Zhan? How can this be blown like this, and magic can still win? "From the comment "I'm going to bring the talent to the South Coast" (prestige-100).

"Don't you know how strong the Magic team was that year? Lewis and Turkoglou, who are all All-Star teammates, on the other hand, the Cavaliers are LeBron's one-core team, he averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8 assists per game that year, what do you want him to do? Comment from "Brownie Future Superstar".

"Oh, don't you say I almost forgot, averaging 15.7 free throws per game, more than Howard, then he must have blown up the Magic's interior line, no wonder Howard has so many fouls, it turns out that LeBron can't be prevented and can only be stopped by fouls." From the comment "I'm going to bring the talent to the South Coast" (prestige-999).

"I think it's the Magic management that's more problematic, they didn't even have a replacement for Howard." From ". LeBron".

"Yes, it's not surprising to make a management that asks O'Neal if it's worth a 100 million contract and then lets Maddie accompany Hill to recover from his injury at his peak." Comment from "Brownie Future Superstar".

"It's pretty quick to change the subject." From the "I'm going to bring talent to the South Coast" review. (This user has been reported)

……

"I don't think it's our real level, I'll fix my foul problem in the next game and Superman will be back." In the post-game press conference, despite losing G1, Howard was still the sunny boy and full of confidence.

This also keeps the outside world focused on this series, after all, Howard is right.

However, this attention was attracted by another match the next day.

On the second day, the other two groups of the divisional semi-finals also met one after another.

The Heat defeated the Celtics 93-88 for their first victory.

There wasn't much to say about this game, and although James played mediocre and scored only 20 points on 7-of-19 shooting, he couldn't stand Wade's 38 points on 14-of-21 shooting and almost single-handedly won the game.

What really caught the attention of fans was the game between the Lakers and the Mavericks, who were considered the least suspenseful in the series, but the Mavericks took a 96-94 lead.

Kobe Bryant scored 36 points on 14-of-29 shooting and 4-of-9 three-pointers, but he couldn't stand the Lakers' interior line being blown up by Nowitzki alone.

Nowitzki scored 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting and took the game away with a last-minute free throw.

In fact, the Lakers' lead even reached 16 points after the opening two minutes of the third quarter, but in the end they couldn't win the game.

Some fans are starting to feel that the Mavericks are underrated, but more are still like the Comey views on social media.

"G1 was just an accident, and the Lakers would still win the series 4-1."

……

The Bulls are preparing for the game for G2.

After training, Xu Yong was resting on the sidelines, and O'Neill walked towards him with a smile.

"When will you eat that pancake bun?" O'Neill said and subconsciously wiped the corners of his mouth.

Xu Yong's description to him before made him very fascinated, but the last time Xu Yong mentioned this was before the playoffs, and now he still hasn't eaten after more than one round of playoffs.

Xu Yong was stunned for a moment when he heard it, he didn't expect O'Neill to still miss this thing, O'Neill didn't say that he was about to forget it.

"When the series with the magic is over, I'll make it for you myself." Xu Yong replied with a smile.

He may not be very good at cooking or anything, but he still handles it by hand.

"Then we'll have to hurry." O'Neill said with a serious face.

There's nothing stopping him from eating good food, not training, not going series.

Xu Yong couldn't help but be happy when he saw this, O'Neill's funny character was really likable.

"The next game won't be as easy as it was before." Xu Yong reminded.

The Magic team is a mature team after all, Howard plays normally, and the Magic can definitely bring more difficulties to the Bulls than the number man.

"As for Dwight, I didn't say it, but I can still handle him now." O'Neill looked dismissive.

Xu Yong nodded, although Howard was not as deflated as Yao Ming when he faced O'Neal, he was indeed very restricted.

Because in terms of size, O'Neal is one size bigger than Howard, and it is difficult for Howard to break out on the front.

"Just like him, what is he still called 'Superman', has he achieved anything? The winner of the slam dunk contest? O'Neill was in a broken mind.

Xu Yong couldn't help but laugh when he heard it.

A piece of trivia, in fact, in addition to the nickname of the big shark, O'Neill also has a nickname, yes, it is Superman.

So when Howard snatched the title in the slam dunk contest, O'Neal was always obsessed.

Coupled with the fact that the media always likes to compare Howard to him, it makes him even more unhappy.

For a historic center like O'Neal, he looks up to Yao Ming because of Yao Ming's strength and skills, but Howard's guy is still a rough guy after playing for so many years, how can he get into his eyes.

To put it bluntly, this kind of supergiant with status and strength, the most despised is the kind of player whose skills are obviously rough, but they are praised by the media.

However, O'Neal has this thought, which shows that he also wants to beat Howard.

G1's words are because of Howard's foul crisis, and he has no chance to play against Howard.

"What are you talking about?"

At this moment, Yao Ming also came over when he saw the two chatting and sat on the other side of Xu Yong.

Xu Yong looked at O'Neill, then turned his head to look at Yao Ming, and said with a smile: "I'm talking about how to beat Howard." ”

Yao Ming subconsciously laughed when he heard it.

……

The next day, Game 2 of the Bulls and Magic series continued at the Union Center.

There was also quite a lot of media at the scene of this game, and Howard's confident remarks after the last game earned enough attention, so when warming up before the game, the camera kept giving this "Superman".

Howard still has his trademark smile.

Should I say it or not, Howard's mentality is really good, no matter what situation he encounters, he can smile so brightly.

The warm-up ended quickly, and the scene entered the opening ceremony, and the starters of the two teams were released one after another.

The Bulls continued to use a one-big and four-small lineup, and the Magic continued to start with Nelson, and neither side made any changes to the starting lineup.

For the Bulls, there is no need to adjust when there is an advantage, and for the Magic, the lineup that the Magic have built for Big Van Gundy this season is also a must, and without Nelson, they can only use Arenas.

"Agent Zero" is 28 years old and has three years left on a contract with a salary cap that is higher than even Howard's, and he can't even compete with Nelson because of injuries.

Without a ten-year cerebral hemorrhage, this kind of lineup would never have been created.

And then you're actually smart, and you're probably going to find another problem, which is that the Magic team doesn't even have an elite outside defender.

Keith Bogans, DeSean Stevenson, Trevor Ariza, Courtney Lee, Michael Petrus, all of the defensive giants of the Howard era, are really not one left.

It's not appropriate to add chicken legs to such a magic tube, of course, it's the Bulls.

So this season, Van Gundy is a bit of a clever woman who has no rice to cook, and has to live a day.

The game started quickly, and Howard was really scrappy, jumping like a rocket at the beginning, and turned the ball back to the half court, officially opening the curtain of G2.

But the excitement is the excitement, and Howard hasn't gone up to play Yao Ming in the low post.

He still honestly played pick-and-rolls with Turkoglu and then cut to the basket.

This time, he watched out for a foul on Battier, stopped the ball and squeezed past Battier, only then jumped up and smashed the ball to the basket with both hands.

"Bang!"

However, as soon as the ball was pulled up, it was slapped away from behind.

Howard dunked straight to an empty basket.

The basketball smashed into the rebound and rebounded into Yao Ming's hands.

He gave Howard a familiar greeting gift at the beginning.

And after getting the rebound, Yao Ming turned around and threw the ball out.

After receiving the ball, Rose and Xu Yong went down quickly, and the front court played two and one.

After the fast break to the frontcourt, he saw the right moment and threw the ball directly into the air.

Xu Yong was led by the ball and soared into the air, grabbed the ball in the air and smashed it into the basket.

The United Center burst into flames in an instant.

They don't know if "Superman" will come back, but the team blocked and received the air at the beginning, which was very exciting.

The Magic continued to play in the frontcourt, and this time Yao Ming contracted the basket, and Turkoglu chose to play the board from the middle distance with a stop.

However, Battier's goal managed to cover the defense and interfere, and his shot was not able to score.

Yao Ming protected the defensive rebound, and the Bulls pushed the defensive counterattack but did not find a chance, and turned to the position.

The Bulls' style of play hasn't changed much from G1, with Rose continuing to break through Nelson with the ball.

Nelson learned from Fisher to pull up his trouser legs, but he couldn't keep up with Rose's speed, so he turned into a stake.

Rose went inside and jumped up for a layup.

Howard came out of the defense at this time, Rose lost the angle of the ball, adjusted in the air and stuffed the ball towards Yao Ming behind Howard.

Howard showed his DPOY strength with this ball, and after sensing that Rose was about to pass the ball, he turned his body to help defend in front of Yao Ming.

"Huh!"

Although, it didn't work for Embiid.

Yao Ming hit Howard's light hook hand after receiving the ball and helped the Bulls make another shot.

Thanks to a very good 5000 tip! Thanks to Yin Yin and Bai Yuexian for their 1500 tips! Thanks for the 1000 tip! Thanks to Xing Xiangcheng 5922, Yanyun Festival Envoy, Huoyan Yanyi K, Hope in the West, cowsing721, Emperor Da Da T_T Da Da

(End of chapter)