rpbooks Chapter 672 The King of the North
Chapter 672 The King of the North
Chapter 672 The King of the North
The smoke of the Western Conference Finals has not yet cleared, and the flames of the Finals have already ignited.
After the Thunder defeated the Warriors in seven games, the Raptors in the East had advanced to the Finals two days earlier.They didn't have an easy fight at first, after all, the Bucks' fighting power is quite strong.
Antetokounmpo has transformed this season.Throughout the season, he played 72 regular season games for the Bucks, averaging 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, leading the team to the No. [-] record in the Eastern Conference, second only to the Thunder in the league.Whether it is personal data or team record, Antetokounmpo is a well-deserved superstar.During the regular season this season, Antetokounmpo dominated the league.This can be seen from the ranking on the regular season MVP list. Antetokounmpo is at the top of that list most of the time.
In the playoffs, the Bucks performed even better.
From the first two rounds of the series, it can be seen that the strength displayed by the Bucks can be said to be bottomless.They not only have a strong starting lineup, but also a very solid rotation.In the first two rounds, Antetokounmpo and Middleton played quite easily.
Antetokounmpo averaged 31 minutes per game by sweeping his opponents in the first round.Of course, the difference in strength between No. 40 in the Eastern Conference and No. 33 in the Eastern Conference is too great. It is normal for Antetokounmpo to take the opportunity to "paddle".But in the Eastern Conference semifinals, their opponent is the Celtics.Last year, Antetokounmpo and Middleton played more than 35 minutes a game.This year, the two of them eliminated each other with a big score of 4:1 in [-] minutes and [-] minutes in the other.
It can be said that the Bucks before the Eastern Conference finals have not yet displayed their strongest combat effectiveness.
Compared with the Bucks' triumphant progress, the Raptors' journey to the playoffs is much more difficult.They didn't just rely on Leonard to reach the Eastern Conference finals, but Leonard was at times turning into last season's LeBron James.
This can be seen in the 76ers series.When Leonard was on the court, the two sides came and went, and the game was very anxious.When Leonard rests, the 76ers will quickly open the score.Then Leonard came on, desperately closing the score.When he was off to rest, the score was once again opened by the opponent.
Nurse's response is to maintain the rotation intensity of the starting lineup, let Leonard and Lowry average 40 minutes per game in double-doubles, and cut off the rotation of Powell, Van Fleet and others.This has a very obvious effect.They brought the 76ers to the tiebreaker, and then relied on Leonard's historic three-pointer to get close to the Eastern Conference Finals.
When the tired Raptors came to Milwaukee and met the energetic Bucks, they did not continue the miracle of killing the 76ers.They were beaten to the ground by the opponent and lost two games in a row.This time, Leonard was powerless.
Although purely in terms of size and matchup defense, the Bucks' defense will not be more exaggerated than the 76ers with Simmons and Butler guarding the flanks and Embiid defending the penalty area, but they are also a team with strong ability to control the basket. , A team with excellent frame protection.Big Lopez can block the penalty area, Antetokounmpo withdraws to assist the defense, and a bunch of long-armed monsters wait for an opportunity to recover and block the passing line.The end result is that the Raptors can't hit the basket, can't rush to the rebound, can't make many free throws, and can't pass many long passes across the half.
Judging from the performance of this season's playoffs so far, the Raptors' ability to hit the penalty area is very ordinary.The first ball holder Leonard is not a breakthrough player; while Lowry, who is in charge of breaking points and connecting teams, has a decline in his ability to attack the frame.Siakam does have that ability, but no one would expect him to keep breaking through against Antetokounmpo.
In this case, the Raptors had to rely on a large number of shots with the ball to create scoring opportunities.However, in the current Raptors, Leonard is the only one who has the ability to hold the ball and shoot stably.
Just when everyone thought that Antetokounmpo and his Bucks would defeat the Raptors and advance to the Finals in one go, the Raptors suddenly broke out.
Leonard, Siakam, Lowry, Ibaka, Gasol and others who returned to the home court played even better.But the biggest change in the Raptors came with VanVleet off the bench.This player, who has always been criticized by everyone, became a "superstar" after his son was born!
Not to mention the first two rounds of the playoffs, in the two games after entering the Eastern Conference Finals, Van Fleet played a total of 46 minutes, took 21 shots, and hit 7 of them.The three-pointers that performed well in the regular season only made 11 of 1 shots.Its performance was simply appalling.But Nurse is still willing to give him a chance.It was this kind of opportunity that made Van Fleet finally do what he should do, and he did better than Nas expected.
In the third game, Van Fleet made 11 of 7 shots and scored 21 points, becoming the most accurate arrow for the Raptors.With a reliable helper, Leonard broke out with even stronger fighting power.The Raptors pulled back a victory cleanly.Taking advantage of that strength, they made persistent efforts in the subsequent games and evened the big score.
The Raptors' strategy is actually exactly the same as that of the Celtics.They all chose to pinch Antetokounmpo who was holding the ball, pulling the latter to collect the ball, blocking the opponent's turn angle, and then using pocket arrays to suppress Antetokounmpo's breakthrough.
When the Raptors' defense limited Antetokounmpo and their offense was guaranteed, the Bucks were in huge trouble.
In the last game between the two sides, the Bucks took a lead of nearly 20 points at halftime.In this game, Lopez and Brogdon gave Antetokounmpo and Middleton enough help.But what they faced was a runaway Leonard and an unreasonable Van Fleet.The former scored 21 points alone in the third quarter, shooting more than [-]% of the shots; the latter made three consecutive ultra-long three-pointers when the Bucks opened the score again, stabilizing the situation of the game.In the end, the Raptors won four games in a row and won the Eastern Conference Championship.
As a recruit in this league, it is also the only team not in the United States.In the first 23 seasons of joining the NBA, the Raptors advanced to the playoffs 10 times and missed the finals.Sui was called the King of the North, but he was still unable to rush out of the east to get the chance to be crowned.However, this season, they have made history!
(End of this chapter)