Vol 3 Chapter 502: King of the North

The smoke of the Western Conference finals has not yet cleared, and the beacon of the finals has already been burning.
After the Thunder defeated the Warriors in seven games, the Eastern Raptors have advanced to the Finals two days in advance. They didn't play easily at the beginning, after all, the Bucks' combat effectiveness was quite tough.
Antetokounmpo has completed the transformation 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 Eastern Conference record, second only to the Thunder in the league. Whether it is personal data or team record, Antetokounmpo is a well-deserved superstar. In the regular season of this season, Antetokounmpo dominated the league. This can be seen from the ranking on the regular season MVP list. Antetokounmpo has been at the top of that list most of the time.
In the playoffs, the Bucks performed even better.
It can be seen from the first two rounds of the series that the strength of the Bucks can be described as bottomless. They not only have a strong starting lineup, but they also have a solid rotation. In the first two rounds, Antetokounmpo and Middleton played quite easily.
In the first round, he swept his opponents and easily advanced. As the leading star Antetokounmpo played 31 minutes per game. Of course, the strength difference between No. 1 in the East and No. 8 in the East is too great, and it is normal for Antetokounmpo to take the opportunity to "pitch". But in the Eastern Conference semifinals, their opponent is the Celtics. Last year, Antetokounmpo and Middleton played more than 40 minutes in each game. This year, the two of them eliminated each other by a big score of 4:1 in 33 minutes and 35 minutes.
It can be said that the Bucks before the Eastern Conference Finals have not yet displayed their strongest combat effectiveness.
Compared to the Bucks' triumphant advancement, the Raptors' playoff journey is much more difficult. They didn't just rely on Leonard to reach the Eastern Conference finals, but Leonard will become the LeBron James of last season from time to time.
This can be seen in the 76ers series. When Leonard was on the court, you came and went, and the game was very anxious. When Leonard comes off to rest, the 76ers will soon pull the score away. Then Leonard came on and desperately pushed the score closer. When he rested, the score was once again opened by the opponent.
Nas' response is to maintain the rotation intensity of the starting lineup, allow Leonard and Lowry to average 40 minutes per game in double doubles, and cut the rotation of Powell, Van Fleet and others. This has a very obvious effect. They took the 76ers to the tiebreaker, and then relied on Leonard's historic three-pointer to get close to the Eastern Conference finals.
When the exhausted Raptors came to Milwaukee and met the energetic Bucks, they did not continue the miracle of killing the 76ers. They were beaten by the opponent to lose their helmets and armor, and they lost two games in a row. This time, Leonard could do nothing.
Although purely in terms of size and matchup defense, the Bucks' defense is not more exaggerated than the 76ers with Simmons and Butler guarding the flanks and Embiid defending the penalty area, but they are also a strong ability to control the basket. , An excellent team to protect the frame. Lopez was able to block the penalty area, Antetokounmpo recovered to help defend, and a bunch of long-armed monsters waited for the opportunity to recover to block the pass. 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 through the half court.
Judging from the performance of the playoffs this season so far, the Raptors' ability to hit the penalty area is very ordinary. Leonard, the first ball holder, is not a breakthrough player; Lowry, who is responsible for the sudden points and series of teams, has declined. Siakam does have that ability, but no one would expect him to keep breaking through Antetokounmpo.
In this case, the Raptors have to rely on a large number of ball-holding shots to create scoring opportunities. However, among the current Raptors, Leonard is the only one who has the ability to keep the ball stable...
Just when everyone thought Antetokounmpo and his Bucks would beat the Raptors to advance to the Finals in one go, the Raptors suddenly broke out.
Leonard, Siakam, Lowry, Ibaka and Gasol, who returned to the home court, played even better. But the biggest change in the Raptors came from Van Fleet on the bench. This player who has always been criticized by everyone has become a "super star" after the birth of his son!
Not to mention the first two rounds of the playoffs and the two games after entering the Eastern Conference Finals, Van Fleet had a total of 46 minutes of playing time, 21 shots, and 7 of them. The three-pointer that performed well in the regular season, and only hit 1 of 11 from the field ~ EbookFREE.me ~ its performance is simply terrible. But Nas was still willing to give him a chance. It was precisely this opportunity that allowed Van Fleet to finally do what he should do, and did better than Nas expected.
In Game 3, Van Fleet made 7 of 11 shots and scored 21 points, becoming the Raptors' most accurate arrow. With a reliable helper, Leonard broke out even more powerful combat effectiveness. The Raptors pulled back a city cleanly. Taking advantage of that momentum, they continued their efforts in the subsequent game to tie the big score.
The Raptors' strategy is actually the same as the Celtics. They all chose to clamp Antetokounmpo who held the ball, pull the latter to close the ball, block the angle of the opponent's turn, and then use their pockets to suppress Antetokounmpo's breakthrough.
When the Raptors' defense limited Antetokounmpo and their offense was secured, the Bucks were in huge trouble.
In the last game between the two sides, the Bucks took a nearly 20-point lead at halftime. In this game, people like Lopez and Brogdon gave Antetokounmbo and Middleton enough help. But they are facing Leonard in a runaway state and an unreasonable Van Fleet. The former scored 21 points alone in the third quarter, shooting more than 80%; the latter made three consecutive ultra-long three-pointers when the Bucks reopened the score, which stabilized the game. In the end, the Raptors won four consecutive games and won the Eastern Conference Championship.
As a recruit in this league, it is also the only team outside of the United States. In the first 23 seasons after joining the NBA, the Raptors advanced to the playoffs 10 times and missed the Finals. He was called the king of the north, but he was still unable to rush out of the east to get the chance of being crowned. However, this season, they have made history!