basketball scientist

April 17th.

In the evening in Atlanta, the blue sky slowly turned into bright red, then grayish yellow, then dull grayish blue, and finally to black that was particularly deep under the stars.

Under the dark and bright sky, the road to the Phillips Center was busy with traffic, and the headlights of various private cars flashed.

The parking lot of the Phillips Center was already overcrowded, and the vehicles behind them formed a long queue. They could only move slowly inside. Above them was the dazzling LED sign of the arena.

Several entrances to the arena were also crowded with people. The chatter and laughter of thousands of people gathered together, as if the buzzing of mosquitoes was amplified a thousand times, stirring up the already restless spirits of the fans and making them queue up.

As I entered the venue, I became more and more excited.

In one hour, the Eagles' first game on the road to defending their title, a home game against the Wizards, is about to begin. Before the game, in the locker room, Ke Yan looked very calm. This is already his fourth time leading the team in the season.

In the playoffs, he has never fallen in the first round. What's more, the opponent in front of him, the Wizards, is also an ideal opponent.

As time passed, the long queue gradually shortened. Spectators entered the arena, walked through the fan aisle, and came to the auditorium to find their own seats.

Ticket prices for the playoffs are much higher than those for the regular season. Take the Eagles as an example. The average ticket price for the team's regular season is US$50 to US$60, while the lowest ticket price for the playoffs is US$150.

.Not to mention the ticket prices in the front area of ​​the infield or in the "boxes" have already reached five figures.

However, it doesn’t matter that the ticket price is high. Atlanta is a famous gathering place for the rich in the United States. There are more rich people living here than in Silicon Valley. 430 of the top 500 companies in the United States have set up branches here, and there are also the headquarters of hundreds of companies.

Located in Atlanta.

For Anthony Ressler, the benefits of owning a strong Hawks team are not only reflected in the "increase in the team's market value", but also an expansion of his personal network. When other "big shots" come to the arena to watch games,

Sometimes, you might have the opportunity to have an "accidental encounter".

In an instant, the lights in the Phillips Center suddenly went out, and flashing lights wandered around the auditorium. The big screen in the middle of the stadium first went dark, and then suddenly lit up. The Eagles' logo exploded on the screen, and then started playing.

The team's playoff promotional video, and the fans cheered.

As the Eagles players appeared on the screen once, the passionate sound of the live DJ resounded throughout the Phillips Center!

Wizards starting lineup: Antonio Daniels, Stevens, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Haywood.

With Arenas last season, the Wizards did not make the playoffs; without Arenas this season, the Wizards advanced instead. However, this does not mean that Arenas has a negative effect on the Wizards. On the contrary, the more reason is that

The Hawks believed that the Wizards would have no threat without Arenas, so they did not engage in any "micro-management".

The Eagles' starting lineup has not changed much, and the team has an absolute advantage in terms of strength. This series is more of a process of adapting to the playoff atmosphere.

"drop--"

The referee blew the whistle and threw the ball into the air. Garnett and Haywood immediately became entangled. Garnett took advantage of the speed of the ball and touched the ball in the air first, and pushed it towards the Hawks backcourt. Joe was caught.

Johnson picked it up and quickly passed it to Paul, and the game officially started!

Paul held the ball in the middle to face the frame, Diaw pulled out for a pick-and-roll, and Garnett provided Joe Johnson with an off-ball screen on the left.

With the help of Diaw's pick-and-roll, Paul passed Daniels, and Haywood switched defense in time. Paul forced a three-step layup that missed due to interference, and Butler retreated to get the rebound.

The Wizards attack, and the main attacker is Caron Butler. This is also the Wizards' only advantage in this series.

Butler and Jamison used a pick-and-roll to attract Garnett to switch defenses. The ball passed to the middle. Faced with Battier, Jamison feinted and relied on his height advantage to make a jumper and score. 0 to 2.

As an insider with outstanding shooting ability, Jamison's proportion of pick-and-rolls is not very high. He is better at holding the ball and facing the frame in singles or taking advantage of the opponent's shortcomings of being unable to defend the inside and shooting;

Changes, it can be seen that they are adjustments made specifically for the Eagles.

When the Eagles attacked, Paul brought the ball to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Joe Johnson on the left. The latter received the ball and directly made a three-pointer, which was slightly too strong and missed.

Jamison grabbed the backcourt rebound and did not launch a fast break. Instead, he held the ball through half court and played a positional battle attack.

Butler pulled to the wing to catch the ball, singled out Battier, lowered his head and made a sudden advance. As soon as he entered the three-point line, he took three steps, relied on his strength advantage to suppress Battier and forced a layup, and relied on his physical advantage to push away Battier.

Er, score the ball, (0:4)

Butler scored a superstar goal, and before he had time to score, the Hawks had already sent a baseline kick. Diaw passed to Paul, who advanced quickly, relied on his speed to disrupt the Wizards' defense and then cleverly distributed the ball. Joe came in behind.

Johnson didn't even need to make any adjustments when receiving the ball. He made a smooth layup, completed the score, caused Haywood's foul, and then made an extra free throw. (3:4)

Haywood is the guarantee of interior defense and rebounding for the Wizards. If he cannot control fouls well, the Wizards will also be in danger!

The Wizards attacked and almost ran out of 24 seconds. Daniels missed a jumper due to Paul's interference. Garnett grabbed the rebound and launched another fast break. This time, the person holding the Wizards' defense in check became Joe Johnson.

After attracting double-teams, Joe Johnson passed the ball to Paul who was in an open position, and the latter easily hit a mid-range hit near the baseline. (5:4)

With Arenas absent, the Wizards' offense really has a big problem; in the next round of offense, it was still Butler and Jamison's pick-and-roll, but Garnett and Battier, the strongest defensive forwards, did not give any

Any chance they had, almost 24 seconds passed before the attack time. Butler forced a layup, but was blocked by Garnett. The ball was picked up by Battier. He failed to launch a fast break immediately and had to fall into position.

war.

Looking back, the Wizards also successfully defended the Hawks. Paul held the ball for too long and failed to cooperate with Diaw. He had to hand the ball to Garnett for a "catching ball". The Wolf King turned his back.

He leaned on Jamison and missed a jump shot.

After the opening, there were some problems with the Eagles' offensive options. In addition to scoring in both offensive and defensive transitions, the positional battle was not good; but even so, their strong performance on the defensive end was still something that the Wizards could not break through.

Mountain.

"The Hawks really let the Wizards into the playoffs~" Eddie Jordan said regretfully with some frustration in his heart.

For the Eagles team in front of us, even if Arenas is healthy, they can only win one game in a series. If they are lucky, they may win two games, which is the limit!

Sure enough, when Paul and Joe Johnson found their touch in the second half of the first quarter, the gap in strength between the two teams gradually became apparent.

The two core players of the Eagles, Paul and Garnett, are both relatively "stable" players. Sometimes even if they don't feel good on the offensive end, they can contribute to the team in various ways, so the Eagles

The lower limit is very high, especially when playing against weak teams, and there is rarely a situation where "the ship capsizes in the gutter".

This is also the reason why the Eagles' record is outstanding despite the overall decline of the Eastern Conference. In the entire Eastern Conference, at least two-thirds of the teams have no way to compete with the Eagles in terms of strength.

After the first quarter, the Hawks led the Wizards by 8 points 30:22.

In the second quarter of the game, the Eagles continued to crush the lineup. Ke Yan sent Barea, Sefolosha, Joe Johnson, Anderson and P.J. Brown to the outside.

The position battle is left to Barea and Joe Johnson to initiate the pick-and-roll, with Sefolosha as a qualified outside shooting point to open up space, and Anderson and P.J. Brown are responsible for eating the cake and fighting for offensive rebounds.

On the defensive end, the two insiders are very capable of protecting the frame. They immediately counterattack after grabbing the ball. Barea's impact is still very strong.

Sefolosha, who has always been known for his defense, suddenly played the role of a shooter on the offensive end, hitting two three-pointers in the corner, helping the Eagles open the point difference to double digits.

As for the Wizards, the starting lineup cannot keep up with the intensity of the Hawks, and the gap between the bench lineup is even greater! Compared with the cheating Ke Yan, Eddie Jordan's level of building the team's bench lineup is much different!

After half a quarter, Ke Yan replaced Paul, Garnett, and Joe Johnson and continued to play. Ke Yan used his players without reservation, hoping to seal the victory at halftime.

The Wizards have also replaced their main players, but their offense is still weak.

At halftime, the Eagles' lead reached 20 points.

In the second half of the game, Ke Yan consciously began to "boil the frog in warm water" and "test" the lineup more to prepare for the following games.

Taking advantage of the moment when Ke Yan started to reorganize, the Wizards took the opportunity to recover some points. However, as soon as Paul, Battier, and Garnett came on the court, the Eagles' defensive intensity increased, and it was difficult for the Wizards to score.

The gap was easily widened again by the Eagles.

In the end, the Eagles maintained their advantage until the end, getting off to a good start 113-95.

Although it is the playoffs, the playing time of the Eagles players is still balanced. Except for Joe Johnson, who played 33 minutes, everyone else played less than 30 minutes. Five players on the team scored in double figures.

Joe Johnson made 9 of 18 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 5 of 5 free throws. He scored 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block. He was awarded the best player of the game.

"We performed well in this game, and the process of the game is basically under our control. The players' attitude towards the game is suitable for the playoffs, which makes me more confident in defending the title." The press conference after the game,

Ke Yan took the initiative to bring up the topic of "defending the title".

There is no point in keeping a low profile. At this time, you can say some cruel words to cheer up!

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In the second game of the series on April 20, the Wizards still struggled to cause trouble for the Hawks. Anderson cooperated with Garnett to control the penalty area at both ends of the court. In the whole game, the Wizards entered the three-second zone 41 times.

Hitting 17 goals, the efficiency can be said to be appalling!

If the "General" is here, with his shooting ability, the Wizards can win with their outside firepower even if they can't get into the penalty area; but the Wizards led by Butler and Jamison still rely a little on Butler's singles and

Attacking the frame.

The Hawks completely controlled the penalty area, and the Wizards had no choice but to choose mid- and long-range shots, which was tantamount to admitting defeat.

In the end, the Hawks defeated the Wizards 100:79 and won two home games in a row!