Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

San Francisco.

A group of Warriors players gathered to watch the Lakers vs. Pelicans game.

Just as Zhuang Yu is paying attention to the Warriors, the Warriors are also paying attention to the Lakers. Some people even think that the Lakers will be a tougher opponent than the Rockets.

The game was over at this time and a group of people started discussing.

"It's a shame. I thought the Pelicans could cause some trouble for the Lakers, but I didn't expect them to lose so easily."

"The gap between the two teams is there, not to mention that the Pelicans are missing Cousins. Looking at this situation, I'm afraid the Pelicans will be eliminated in five games at most."

"I hope we can play until the sixth game. It will be good to consume more energy of the Lakers players..."

The Warriors players were not surprised by the result of this game, but they felt a little regretful that the Pelicans were too weak.

Not tenacious enough.

In fact, the Pelicans are already very tenacious.

He never gave up until the very end and Davis played very well, but his overall strength was indeed not on the same level.

Curry turned his eyes away from the TV and said to Durant, Klay and Draymond Green: "It seems that our opponent in the second round is the Lakers, and the Pelicans will definitely not be able to hold on for a few games. We have to end this series as soon as possible."

Drummond-smiled: "Four games then."

"Just four games."

"enough."

Klay and Durant also laughed and agreed.

Maybe the Lakers only need five games to eliminate the Pelicans, but they, the Warriors, will definitely advance to the second round of the playoffs before the Lakers.

......

China.

A group of fans were cheering and celebrating.

The series has only been played for one game, but what does it matter? Can the Pelicans still make a comeback?

Some fans even shouted excitedly: "Lakers champions!"

One call and a hundred responses.

More fans also shouted: "Lakers champions!"

It would be great if the Lakers could win the championship.

More importantly, if the Lakers win the championship, Zhuang Yu will become the first Chinese player to lead a team to win the NBA championship as a team leader.

In the past few seasons, Zhuang Yu's performance has been getting better and better, and he has won almost all the honors except the regular season MVP and the championship.

The regular season MVP is not far away. With Zhuang Yu's performance this season, the only ones who can compete with him are Harden and Westbrook.

Compared with Harden, Zhuang Yu is the scoring leader and the steals leader, and the team's record ranks second in the Western Conference, not inferior to Harden at all.

As for Westbrook.

Although he once again averaged a triple-double, his points were less than last season and not as impressive as last season.

Last season, Westbrook averaged 30+10+10, but this season he only averaged 25+10+10. Although it is also very good, the team's record is not as good as the Lakers and Rockets. Moreover, he already won the "Regular Season MVP" last season, and he is likely to lose this time.

If Zhuang Yu wins the regular season MVP and then takes the championship... just thinking about it makes Chinese fans excited and tremble all over.

That will be the peak for Chinese players.

That will be a new milestone!

......

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

The first round of the NBA playoffs is in full swing, and some teams have even advanced to the second round, such as the Warriors.

The Warriors first won both games at home, making the series score 2:0, and then went to the Jazz's home court to win another game, taking the match point first.

In the fourth game, the Jazz played very hard. They were unwilling to be swept, but the Warriors did not give them any chance. The score between the two sides remained deadlocked until the last few minutes. It was in the last few minutes that Durant and Curry broke out together, the two stars shone, and won the game.

With a big score of 4:0 in the series, the Warriors swept the Jazz and became the first team to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Except for the Warriors, the Lakers vs. Pelicans series is already 3:0, and the Lakers took the match point first. The game between the Rockets and the Spurs is 3:1, and the game between the Thunder and the Trail Blazers is 2:1.

东部的比赛则比较焦灼，骑士vs步行者的系列赛打成了2：2，猛龙vs奇才2：1，凯尔特人vs雄鹿2：2，76人vs热火2：1。

......

New Orleans.

A game is about to start at the New Orleans Arena, the home of the Pelicans. It is the fourth game of the series between the Pelicans and the Lakers, and it is also a life-and-death battle for the Pelicans.

In fact, after losing three games in a row, everyone knew that the Pelicans had no hope.

There has never been a 0:3 comeback in the history of the NBA.

But it would be too embarrassing if we were swept by the Lakers 0:4.

The Pelicans don't want that, and neither do the Pelicans fans, so today's game is very crucial.

Even if they lose the series in the end, they have to win today's game.

Soon, the game begins.

Today's Pelicans are obviously different from the previous three games. The players all have a solemn vibe and sharp eyes.

The Pelicans scored points one after another from the beginning of the game. First, Davis scored 4 points in a row, and then other players also started scoring and quickly took the lead.

After just a few minutes, the score had become 13:6, with the Pelicans leading by 7 points.

"It looks like the Pelicans are going to fight hard in today's game." Assistant coach Madsen said with a slightly furrowed brow. The Pelicans don't want to be swept, but the Lakers are not willing to continue to fight with the Pelicans. The Warriors have already advanced to the second round, and they are probably eager to wait for the opportunity.

"At this point, they naturally have to fight." Coach Scott narrowed his eyes, "but it's no use."

Soon, Coach Scott called a timeout.

After several players came off the court, Coach Scott spread out the tactical board and adjusted the tactics, calling for a double-team on Davis.

At the same time, he called Zhuang Yu and said, "We have to win this game. We can't continue to struggle with the Pelicans. There is still the second round waiting for us, and that will be the real test."

Zhuang Yu nodded: "I understand."

From the very beginning, the Pelicans were not an obstacle for them. The real opponents were behind them, the Warriors and other teams.

Now that the Warriors have advanced, the Lakers can no longer tangle with the Pelicans and must end this series as soon as possible so that they have enough time to rest and have enough physical strength to deal with the Warriors.

......

The pause ends.

As soon as he returned to the court, Zhuang Yu hit a three-pointer from the outside, and then on the defensive end, the Lakers began to double-team Davis, forcing Davis to pass the ball.

Although the Pelicans played very hard today and several role players seized their opportunities, the double-teaming of Davis affected more than just his scoring.

It's more about morale.

It was okay at the beginning. Davis was double-teamed and passed the ball to his teammates who were able to score.

In this situation, the Pelicans' points mainly come from role players. If they play well, it's fine, but if they encounter problems, it will be bad.

After a while, the Pelicans' role players' offensive efficiency began to decline.

Mainly on the outside, because Zhuang Yu and Holiday strengthened their defense.

Under the excellent defense of the two of them, the Pelicans' outside players began to miss shots. One or two times was no big deal, but after three or four times they started to panic.

At this time, the core players need to stand up and stabilize the morale of the team, but Davis was double-teamed...

Suddenly, the situation turned around and the Lakers had the upper hand.

As soon as he saw that the situation was not right, Coach Gentry immediately called a timeout and was very cautious.

After several players came to the sidelines, he first comforted them, and then emphasized: "Don't panic, slow down and play our tactics, and try to get the ball to AD. Rajon (Rondo), AD has to look for off-ball opportunities, and you have to give the ball to him as soon as he runs out of opportunities."

Rondo nodded: "Yes."

After some arrangements, the players returned to the court.

Now the first thing the Pelicans need to solve is offense. After Rondo arrived at the frontcourt, he gestured to his teammates to move, and Davis also moved. The Lakers double-teamed Davis, so Davis could not attack with the ball, but had to look for opportunities without the ball.

For example, at this moment he first played a pick-and-roll with his teammates, and then suddenly cut to the basket. Rondo immediately passed the ball to Davis, but the Lakers were prepared and quickly contracted their defense.

Davis frowned secretly, but gritted his teeth, rushed into the inside and jumped up, throwing himself into the air before shooting.

beep!

boom!

The whistle blew and the ball didn't go in.

The referee called a defensive foul and signaled Davis to go to the free throw line.

At this time, Davis had already fallen to the ground. He tried his best, which moved all the home fans.

Rondo pulled Davis up and patted Davis' butt. Davis stood on the free throw line, took a deep breath, and then made both free throws.

In the next few rounds, Davis played very resolutely. He attacked immediately after getting the ball without any delay and did not give the Lakers a chance to double-team him.

However, Zhuang Yu from the Lakers was also scoring.

Every time Davis scored a goal, Zhuang Yu would immediately retaliate by scoring one as well, which made Pelicans fans very depressed.

As time went by, although Davis's score was increasing, which seemed to improve the team's offense, Zhuang Yu was also scoring, and Davis' score was offset.

In fact, this situation continued throughout the first half.

Whenever Davis scored, Zhuang Yu would always retaliate. Although the two were not in the same position, everyone could see that this was a tit-for-tat confrontation.

At halftime, the two sides were tied.

......

After entering the second half, as Davis' physical strength declined, the Pelicans' offense began to weaken.

This is the effect Coach Scott wants. He asked the players to double-team Davis not only to limit Davis' scoring, but also to consume Davis.

Davis played for a long time in these games and was targeted by the Lakers' defense, which consumed a lot of physical energy.

It was the same today. After only three quarters, his physical strength had obviously declined and his offensive efficiency began to decrease.

On the other hand, the Lakers have more players who can score and can allocate playing time well, so the players have more physical fitness.

As one side gained strength while the other lost, the score began to widen.

"AD has no strength left."

"It's a shame. We played well in the first half. If it weren't for AD's physical problems, we might have been ahead at this time."

"Hey......"

In the audience, Pelicans fans were in a depressed mood.

Unfortunately, there is no "if", because everything has been predetermined. This is the difference in strength, not luck or coincidence.