Chapter 705: Live hope

The result of the Pacers and Cavaliers game is still as expected.
In the first two series of Li Liang and James, Li Liang won the first game.
Plus this time, James faced Li Liang's first game in the series and has been losing.
The victory or defeat in the first game can often set the tone for the entire series. From this point of view, Li Liang is still superior.
The day after the Eastern Conference Finals, the Western Conference Finals also started at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
The Golden State Warriors reached the division finals again after 39 years. The last time they reached the Western Conference finals dates back to 1976.
At that time, they were defending champions. In the face of the Suns, the team boss Rick Barry and his teammates were frustrated. They refused to shoot in the second half of the life and death battle. Instead, the team lost the chance to enter the finals. It can be said that it is the most willful player in history. One more.
The Spurs reached the division finals for the third time in four years, and the GDP of oil in the fuel tank continued to hit the championship trophy.
One is the upstart, the other is the old honour. Cole also won the championship under Popovich's team. It is Tim Duncan's teammate. The collision between the two sides is very promising.
The Spurs' first game at Oracle Arena gave the Warriors a lesson.
They beat the Warriors at 4:1 at 101:97 away, leading by 1:0.
In this game, Popovich can be described as skillful. Leonard defensively contained Green. Defensively led by Ginobili, various bombing pull points, the largest point difference on the field was once pulled to 18 points.
In the fourth quarter, the Warriors used five small lineups to chase points in a frantic manner, once reducing the difference to 1 point.
At a critical moment, Duncan's defense and Leonard's singles holding the ball helped the Spurs maintain their advantage, winning the first game in Oakland and regaining their home advantage.
...
On the day of the first game of the Western Conference Finals, Li Liang watched the game all the way home.
He sat on the sofa, eating chips while watching espn's live broadcast, listening to Jeff Van Gundy's commentary.
Van Gundy's commentary is still very professional, that is, Li Liang will be blown from time to time.
Because the last game was just over, Van Gundy still remembered Li Liang’s excellent performance, and this time there was a comparison with Leonard. As a famous fan of Li Liang, Van Gundy always mentioned "Bruce Lee" from time to time. .
This made Li Liang embarrassed, and then renewed the espn TV fee for two years.
Looking at the game from the beginning to the end, Li Liang interpreted the game from the perspective of his "NBA's most valuable coach (self-proclaimed)" and gave the Warriors and Spurs a threatening rating. I think the Warriors are more threatening. .
The only problem with the Spurs is Duncan's aging.
Watching the game, Duncan really deteriorated a lot.
Last season, Duncan was still at the All-Star level on the defensive end of the playoffs, and occasionally has a huge star performance on the offensive end.
This season, Duncan has slipped beyond the All-Star level on the defensive end, the offense is more crotch, and the low-level offense is basically gone.
The Spurs' center of gravity has completely shifted to the outside, Leonard's growth, and Ginobili's state of continued rejuvenation, so that the Spurs' offense still maintains sufficient vitality.
It's just that without Duncan's defense, they can win one or two games, and it's very, very difficult to win the Warriors for the entire series.
The problem with the Warriors is still lack of experience.
At a few obvious time points that could be turned over, the Warriors were not sure, and was broken by Popovich, the trader.
If Li Liang participates in this game, he has 80% certainty at those few points, turning the game over.
And as soon as the Warriors were targeted by the Spurs, Cole's response was slow.
It was only in the fourth quarter that it fully reacted and launched a big counterattack.
The Warriors' counterattack strength and ability are much stronger than the Cavaliers.
Like the Cavaliers who lost 18 or 20 points in the division finals, they were basically over, but the Warriors were different. They had a strong explosive force on the offensive end. They chased it back in the first quarter, but they didn’t finish well in the end. Plug-in).
So in my heart, Li Liang has silently regarded the Warriors as his biggest potential opponent in the finals.
In fact, he also wanted to meet with the Warriors, playing the Spurs to tell the truth, there are still some difficulties in the finals.
Last year's Western Conference finals were already the most fearful series that Li Liang played.
It is really likely to be eliminated. That is the Clippers with 70 wins. The Pacers this year do not have the strength of the Clippers last year.
So Popovich and the Spurs are so old-fashioned, whether they can touch or not, let them fall in the Bay Area to feed the fish.
...
After a day of rest, on May 22, the Cavaliers and Pacers continued their second game at Conseco Arena.
The Cavaliers' last defeat on the road was related to James' accidental sprained ankle.
After the game, James checked it, and it didn't matter. After a short rest, there was no problem in the second game.
Sure enough, it is an iron body. James, who has been in the league for more than ten years, is still very strong.
Another important factor for the Cavaliers' defeat is Paul George's poor play.
He didn't defend against Li Liang, and George's play on offense was a mess.
I don't know if I came to Indiana because of a revisit. I was a little embarrassed when facing my father in the hometown. George's last shot was out of the sky. He shot 2 of 13 and the basket was distorted by him.
With such a poor performance, the Cavaliers certainly cannot compete with the Pacers.
In the second game, George ushered in a recovery.
He felt hot in the first quarter. He made two 3-pointers and two hits on the outside. Then he scored 5 points in a fast-break counterattack and scored with a penalty. He scored 11 points in the first quarter to help the Cavaliers score in the first quarter. Lead.
In the second quarter, the Cavaliers still maintained a leading advantage. James played more patiently and more stable than the previous game. He was very careful in controlling the situation on the court and helped the Cavaliers 51:45 in the first half, leading the Pacers. 6 points.
The Pacers' offense played quite badly. The Cavaliers were very determined. From the opening, James was defending Li Liang and George was assisting.
At the same time, hide this point of Irving and let George deal with Hill.
JR-Smith's last game had various three-pointers in the second half. This game naturally requires iron and iron, otherwise it will not be JR.
The Pacers habitually attacked the misfire.
But in the second half, one of the Pacers stood up-Danny Granger.
In the case where Li Liang was heavily guarded by the Cavaliers and George was going to deal with Hill again, Granger had more room to play.
He scored 15 points in the third quarter of the single quarter. When the two sides tied in the middle of the third quarter, Li Liang received a counterattack and made a three-pointer to help the Pacers overtake.
This is a turning point in the game.
When Granger fired wide open, the Cavaliers' defensive center of gravity had to be distributed towards Granger, and the relative Li Liang got a better chance.
In the first three quarters, Li Liang scored a total of 13 points, which is the key to the Cavaliers leading most of the time.
But in the beginning of the fourth quarter, Li Liang suddenly broke out, another three-pointer, two three-pointers, plus the inside break to get 4 points, 10 points in a row, a wave overwhelmed the Cavaliers.
James can be said to be extremely depressed, how could it be another wave?
It has been guarded against danger, but still failed to escape the doom of sudden death.
Then, the Pacers relied on the defense like steel, and after the lead, "injured each other" with the Cavaliers.
I don’t score, and you don’t want to score, relying on the same routine as the last game, dragged the game to the end.
98:92, no longer a big win, but the Pacers still laughed to the end.
They achieved a 2:0 lead in the series and the Pacers have never been so close to the finals.
Two days later, when going to Cleveland, the Pacers could have gone further. If the 3:0 lead, the Cavaliers would have no chance.
Li Liang also didn't want to give James any chance to turn over, but the league didn't think so.
In the third game, Li Liang made two fouls on the defensive end of the first quarter.
After playing for three minutes in the second quarter, Li Liang was blown with an offensive foul... The referee for this game was Crawford.
Li Liang TM's speechless, just target me?
Bird had no choice but to replace Li Liang for the break.
And Li Liang is too important for the entire Pacers. Without him, the Pacers are a second-rate team.
How could it be an opponent of the Big Three Cavaliers?
As a result, the Cavaliers hit a 38:22 single quarter climax in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, the Pacers led a counterattack under the leadership of Li Liang~EbookFREE.me~ But the difference was a bit big, the key was that Li Liang did not dare to act on the defensive end.
If there is a fourth foul in the third quarter, will it be over?
You know, Li Liang's role in the Pacers defensive end is also very obvious.
Without him, the Pacers will collapse.
In the fourth quarter, Li Liang still didn't withstand Crawford's bombing, caught his fourth and fifth fouls, and finally couldn't help but rushed towards Crawford and ate another skill. foul.
Bird couldn't help but complain loudly to the referee. The referee was not sympathetic and gave a technical foul.
Li Liang understands that this team has no chance of winning. After all, 3:0, there will be no suspense in the series. Who will watch the next game?
At 104:94, the Cavaliers won a victory at home, retaining the hope of life.