Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

In the NBA playoffs, the home and away games are based on the record comparison, and the 2-2-1-1-1 game system is implemented, that is, the top-ranked team first plays two home games, then two away games, and then the home and away games.

When it comes to the crucial tie-break, there will be one more home court than the opponent.

With the support of the entire audience, the momentum of the home team's players will inevitably increase greatly, and with the support of the entire audience, the visiting team's players will have greater psychological pressure. This is the so-called home field advantage.

The Pacers, who are third in the Eastern Conference, naturally have home court advantage against the Magic, who are sixth in the Eastern Conference. Before the start of the playoffs, the Magic received bad news.

After having multiple conflicts with the team and being plagued by rumors such as "Howard intentionally didn't play" and "Howard didn't want to play for Van Gundy", Howard, who missed two weeks of games due to a back injury, finally came out with the exact news:

Howard is determined to be out for the season due to needing surgery on his back injury.

ESPN, a well-known publicity figure, immediately gave the data:

The past five times a team's leading scorer has missed the playoffs, all five teams have been eliminated in the first round.

This news can be called a bolt from the blue, because not only the Pacers, who have reached the top four, are looking forward to entering the second round, but the Magic are also very lucky to have this playoff matchup:

Compared to the Bulls and Heat, who are obviously not good rivals, and even the Celtics, who are the Big Three, the Pacers are obviously the weakest opponent.

The fans are even ready to defeat their opponents and advance to the second round to compete with the Heat!

Of course, the Pacers are not without their own troubles:

Darren Collison was injured unexpectedly in the second half of the season, and George Hill successfully became the starting point guard, leading the team to a record of 7 wins and 1 loss. When the playoffs came, Collison returned!

It is obviously not a wise choice to directly let Collison continue to be the starting point guard.

Collison needs the ball to find his form, and the tacit understanding with his teammates needs to be re-educated. At this time, letting him come to the starting lineup to grab the ball is not good for everyone.

So head coach Vogel said in an interview:

"Even if Collison returns from injury, George Hill will still be assigned to start."

In addition to immediate worries, there are also long-term worries.

After Howard missed the playoffs, the Pacers' possibility of entering the second round has greatly increased, but they will face the comeback Heat in the second round and must be fully prepared in advance.

What, Knicks?

Jeremy Lin has torn the meniscus in his left knee and is out for the season. The Knicks are as fragile on the outside as they are seventh in the Eastern Conference. Can the lineup of Anthony Stoudemire and Chandler stop the Heat?

Of course, if the Knicks can counterattack and eliminate the Heat, Vogel believes that President Bird is willing to personally send them a pennant.

"All in all, we must treat today's game with caution and strive to win the first game for our home fans!"

Vogel encouraged the players before the game.

Entering the playoffs, the team's rotation must be shortened to avoid being caught by opponents, so Vogel has already delineated important rotations besides the main force in advance:

Collison, Qi Tian, ​​Hansbrough.

Amandasen can appear briefly and replace Hibbert for a few minutes.

As for the others, including Stephenson, they can only sit in the last seat and do a good job of cheering.

The referee signaled the players from both sides to come on the court, and the Magic sent out everyone they could: Nelson, Richardson, Anderson, Turkoglu and Glen Davis.

"Dudududu!"

The referee blew the whistle to start the game. Sitting on the bench, Qi Tian was excited. His first playoff journey in his career had officially begun.

The uniform yellow support T-shirts throughout the field showed the enthusiasm of the home fans, who all shouted the team's playoff slogan:

“Solidarity!”

Without Howard's inside deterrence, the Magic's initial offense was indeed very unsound, with one hit after another.

The Pacers were in full bloom. George, Granger, West and Hibbert hit consecutive hits. After Granger hit a three-point jumper, they launched an 11-4 attack wave at the beginning, igniting the enthusiasm of the home fans.

.

"Sweep them!"

"The horse-walking team must win!"

Turkoglu hit a three-pointer to keep the team alive, but then their offense stalled again.

"11-19."

"Substitute!"

Look at the 7 minutes that have passed in the first quarter, Vogel requested a substitution off the court.

Qi Tian, ​​Amandasen and Collison appeared one after another.

The Magic also put on a substitute.

"Seven, come on!"

The Pacers fans on the sidelines saw Qi Tian coming on the court and immediately shouted to cheer him on.

Last year, George surprised all Pacers fans in the playoffs and entered the starting lineup in one fell swoop. If Qi Tian repeats George's career trajectory this year, then...

Well, I'm afraid it will be more difficult to start, but becoming another new star of the team is not a problem.

Granger, who protected his teammates on the court, caught the ball and scored a jump shot, stably maintaining the point difference.

"14-22."

Redick made a decisive breakthrough and rushed towards the basket.

"What?"

Qi Tian could already feel the completely different atmosphere between the playoffs and the regular season. While distracted, he actually let his opponent break through and quickly pursued the defense.

Redick forced a breakthrough and shot directly for a layup without waiting for his opponent to arrive. Qi Tian jumped up behind him and tried to block the shot.

"Dang-dang-dang, swish!"

"Dudu!"

The sound of the basketball hitting the ball and the referee's whistle sounded at the same time, and the Magic fans at the scene cheered.

2+1!

Redick steadily hit the extra free throw, narrowing the point difference to 5 points.

"17-22."

Taking advantage of Granger's mistake, Clark scored a tip-in from a free throw, and then gave Collison a big block as he broke through.

Qi Tian grabbed the rebound and then broke through for a layup, causing Du Hong to foul and go to the free throw line.

"Huh~~"

Seeing that Qi Tian seemed to have adapted to the rhythm of the playoffs, the Pacers fans on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it is not plug and play, Qitian still has great potential.

Then Qi Tian gave the home fans a big gift. He adjusted his rhythm and ended up with two free throws, and did not get his first point in the playoffs.

The Magic continued their efforts, and Anderson successfully reduced the point difference to 1 point in the last 11 seconds.

Qi Tian's final buzzer-beating jump shot also missed.

"21-22."

The Pacers fans, who were familiar with the starting lineup digging holes and replacing them with substitutes, were somewhat speechless as they watched a few people walk to the bench.

The original lead was squandered after Collison and Qi Tian came on the scene. Instead, they were attacked by the opponent's substitutes.

In the tense playoffs, the gap between starters and substitutes is obviously much wider than fans thought.

"What happened to Qi?"

Seeing Qi Tian, ​​who only committed two fouls, hit two irons, and missed two free throws, the fans began to become anxious.

"Wake up!"