Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

"Shaq, what did you think of today's game?"

In the TNT studio, Barkley asked O'Neal with great interest.

The games of the Heat, the favorites to win the championship, will naturally be broadcast live.

O'Neal, who retired from the basketball court and came to the commentator's seat, was not timid at all. He was full of witty remarks and funny, and quickly became a basketball commentator loved by fans. Among them, his combination with Barkley became a column

The ace in the show often confronts each other tit for tat, providing the fans with a lot of jokes.

Especially when arguing about who is the best power forward in the league between Griffin and Love, the two decided to have a showdown in the game between the Clippers and the Timberwolves. Because Love killed his opponent, O'Neal, who lost the bet, was on the spot.

Taking off his pants and revealing his floral underwear became a ratings hit for the TNT program.

In fact, before Barkley opened his mouth, he guessed O'Neal's answer.

"Of course the Heat win!"

O'Neal said confidently,

"Not only do I think the Heat can win, I also think they can sweep their opponents!"

He made a sweeping gesture, indicating his support for the Heat to defeat their opponents 4-0 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Sure enough, it's the Heat.

Buckley chuckled inwardly.

After the Pacers eliminated the Magic and advanced to the second round for the first time in a long time, Barkley knew that O'Neal would not have a second answer to today's question.

Needless to say, Howard is O'Neal's favored center. The fact that the Heat have Wade and James who were teammates with O'Neal is enough to tip the Sharks' favor.

"Why Charles, you support the Pacers?"

O'Neal saw that Barkley was not paying attention and immediately asked.

"No, I also support the Heat. It's just that I think the Pacers can cause them enough trouble. It's possible for the series to reach a sixth game or even a tiebreaker."

To the surprise of the audience, Barkley also supported the Heat, but he thought the Pacers could win two or three games.

Obviously, almost all fans believe that the Pacers will be worse off this round, and the difference is just a few games home.

"Ha, that's impossible!"

O'Neal looked at the portraits of Pacers Granger, West and Hibbert on the screen and said disdainfully,

"Look Charles, I know you're going to say shit about the Pacers having a more complete roster, but we've all been players before, and you should know that to win in the playoffs, you don't need a bullshit complete roster, but a complete roster.

It’s a star!”

"The quality of the stars is the key factor that determines how far the team will go!"

"So far, I don't see the possibility of them winning even a single victory in the Pacers' lineup."

"Danny, David and Paul happened to face the Heat's LeBron, Dwayne and Chris. The Pacers were completely at a disadvantage. Do you expect George Hill and Roy Hibbert to lead the team to win?

?Under the premise that the forwards and defenders are beaten by opponents?"

"Calm down, calm down, Shaq!"

Barkley looked at O'Neal, who was getting more and more excited as he spoke, and asked him to calm down, and then expressed his point of view.

"Yes, almost all of the Pacers' strengths are suppressed by their opponents, but their inside line is much stronger than the Heat's."

Is it the lineup's restraint again?

O'Neal was about to retort when Barkley continued:

"Don't worry, I haven't finished my words yet. The Heat letting James play as a power forward can make up for the team's inside problem to a certain extent, but compared with Hibbert who is 218 centimeters tall, any effort will be difficult to make up for the rebounding problem.

"

"More rebounds means more offensive opportunities. You know this best."

"Yes, Hibbert will probably not lead the team to the final victory, but they will definitely not be swept out."

“Does the team that controls the rebounds control the game?”

O'Neal was somewhat moved by Barkley's point of view, but for the sake of the effect of the program, he still disdained and said,

"I won't change my opinion."

"Then let's make a bet."

As expected, the incident developed into a bet between the two.

"Dudududu!"

The referee blew the whistle to start the game and threw the basketball in his hand.

Haslem jumped hard and grabbed the basketball from Hibbert's head.

Chalmers advanced with the ball and handed it to James who came to the top of the key.

We have already reached the second round of the playoffs, and everything that needs to be done is already in place. The two teams did not try to improve themselves, but directly stepped up to the highest level of intensity.

Granger followed the opponent closely. Although he was squeezed away by the breakthrough, he still stayed close to the opponent and interfered.

"Clang!"

The basketball spun around and fell out.

George got the rebound and turned around and handed it to Granger. Granger's breakthrough layup also ended in a blackout under James' defense.

George steals Chalmers and Hill makes a three-pointer;

Wade scored two points, James stole Granger, and one and a half minutes into the first quarter, Chalmers caused West a foul and made two free throws to open the game.

"0-2."

Hill and West hit consecutive hits, and Bosh responded in kind, tying the score.

"4-4."

Three minutes into the game, the two teams actually scored a total of 8 points. The defensive intensity was staggering.

"Is this...the intensity of the playoffs for top teams?"

The audience in front of the TV felt suffocated across the screen.

Only 8 of the 30 teams were left in the second round. The defensive efficiency of the Pacers and the Heat, which specializes in defensive counterattacks, is among the top five in the league. Naturally, the intensity of the game will not be low.

"It won't be another iron fight today, will it?"

Many fans were a little frightened.

Every fan likes to watch exciting duels, but since 2005, they have an epiphany. They don’t like to watch exciting duels, but they like to see duels where the offense can show off their tricks and the defense is almost enough!

In 2005, the Spurs, whose defensive intensity was too high, faced off against the Pistons. Only one of the seven games scored more than 100 points. The Pistons even scored an ultra-low 69 points in a single game. It was difficult to attract fans.

Fortunately, the two teams quickly showed their offensive firepower.

George Hill received a high pass from West and scored a jump shot.

Then he stole the ball from Haslem, turned to Granger, and took the ball for a three-point jumper.

"Whoosh!"

Basketball hollow hit.

Hibbert and West also scored consecutively inside, widening the point difference in one fell swoop.

"13-4."

The Pacers went on a 7-0 run, extending their advantage to 9 points.

"I'll do it!"

Knowing that both teammates were slow to warm up, Bosh directly took over the offensive responsibility and asked for the ball to beat West in isolation.

West provided a counterattack and jumped to interfere the moment his opponent took action.

"clang!"

The basketball bounced out of the frame, and before the Pacers fans had time to rejoice, Bosh grabbed the offensive rebound and tipped the ball in directly.

"Dangdang, swish!"

"Dudu!"

The basketball staggered back to where it should be, and the referee's whistle sounded at the same time.

2+1!