Basketball's most talented forward is on the left

"Hahahahaha, of course, leave a place for me." O'Neill readily agreed to Zuo Li's invitation.

Although he himself still doesn't know where his future lies and has not yet decided whether he will continue his career, he is still very happy to train with Zuo Li in the summer.

Because after two or three years of accumulation, Zuo Li's training camp in New York has become the most eye-catching presence every summer. All those who can participate are famous stars and potential rookies, as well as celebrities from all walks of life. This season, there are media in

According to statistics before the start of the playoffs, 17 stars who made it to the playoffs participated in Zuo Li's training camp in New York in the summer. Although this has nothing to do with Zuo Li directly, after all, there are too many factors to make it to the playoffs.

But we can also see the quality of Zuoli’s training camp.

It's great for O'Neal to have a place where he can join in the fun and still train.

For Zuo Li, O'Neal's arrival is also very critical for his improvement. Among the four major centers, only David Robinson and O'Neal have not trained with Zuo Li, although they may not necessarily bring much improvement to Zuo Li.

, but the learning experience is also very good for checking and filling in the gaps, especially for Ao Pang, the most dominant man in history at his peak, it is impossible without two brushes.

But now is not the time to talk about details. After the two briefly chatted, Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen, Rondo, Ou... a large group of people took turns greeting Zuo Li.

Finally, it was Rivers' turn to finish chatting with D'Antoni. The chicken soup master didn't say anything unconvincing this time, and sincerely wished Zuo Li the best to defend his championship.

In a subsequent interview, Rivers even stated that the Knicks were the strongest opponent he had ever encountered in his coaching career.

"Yes, they are the strongest and the most powerful opponent we have ever encountered, even surpassing the Lakers. Many people think that the past few years have been the experience of the yellow and green era. In fact, the Knicks' era is coming.

"

Rivers' words are not flattering. After all, the Celtics have been eliminated by the Knicks for three consecutive seasons. Judging from the results, the Knicks are no less important to the Celtics than they were when they suppressed the Bulls and Jordan.

Three years of Pistons.

Compared to the Lakers, whom they defeated in the 2008 Finals, the Knicks are undoubtedly more terrifying.

As for the era of the Knicks, how do you understand this sentence? From the championship point of view, the Knicks are obviously not qualified. But judging from the shock that the Knicks have brought to everyone in the past three years and their actual results, let’s talk about the Knicks.

The times are coming, and it seems that it is not too late.

After all, after sweeping the Celtics, the Knicks have reached the Eastern Conference finals for three consecutive seasons. This achievement has obviously created the best record in the history of the Knicks. At the same time, the Knicks are also the second team in the Eastern Conference after the Celtics, Bulls, and Pistons.

The fourth team to reach the conference finals three consecutive years.

This honor obviously has a certain degree of dominance.

Of course, the Knicks' goal is more than that. For them, the conference finals are just a stop on the way to winning the championship. Their goal is very clear, which is to defend the championship!

Therefore, at the press conference, Zuo Li did not deliberately create any suspense. When faced with reporters' questions about season goals, Zuo Li answered very simply: "Champion! Of course it is the championship! For us, the championship is the only goal.

."

Once the goal is determined, the opponents on the road to winning the championship will naturally be them, as well as the issue that the outside world is most concerned about.

The finals are still relatively far away, so people's eyes are on the Eastern Conference Finals.

"Zuo Li, which opponent do you want to face more in the Eastern Conference finals?"

"Of course it's the Bulls." Zuo Li replied without thinking: "I really want to play against Rose, and everyone knows that."

"Hahahaha~" the reporters laughed tacitly.

Zuo Li's choice is not difficult to understand. Compared with the Heat, Zuo Li obviously has a closer relationship with Rose, who was in his class, and the drama of the two heroes competing for hegemony in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008 was definitely exciting enough.

And... in this season, besides Heat fans, who doesn’t want the Heat to be eliminated?

But Zuo immediately added: "But I think the Heat may go to the side with a greater advantage."

The implication is that even though he wants the Bulls to advance more, he is more optimistic about the Heat.

Unlike the previous life, the Bulls did not collapse quickly after 1-1. Instead, they quickly adjusted their status after losing the crucial G3 in Miami. Rose had 28 points and 10 assists, Boozer had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Noah had 10 points and 8 assists.

With 6 rebounds and 3 blocks, the Bulls trio teamed up to score 48 points against the Big Three's 40 points. In the end, they won a hard-fought away victory in Miami and tied the total score at 2-2.

Compared to the previous generation where the Heat seized on their weaknesses and were quickly defeated after winning the first game, the Bulls in this generation obviously did better.

This is all due to Rose's progress. In this life, Rose, who had Zuo Li's personal experience, has obviously increased his training in outside shooting. In the past few games, he has averaged 2.2 three-pointers per game, which is more than a half-point improvement compared to the previous life.

This also prevented the Heat from blocking the Bulls by strangling Zuo Li like they did in the previous life. Instead, Rose, who was able to play both inside and outside, set the pace.

Everyone knows that when playing against the Bulls, there is a completely different difference between beating Rose and not being able to beat him. The Heat were defeated by Rose in the fourth game.

The fifth game of Tianwangshan will be played back at the Bulls' home court, so in fact the Bulls, who have a better regular season record than the Heat, are the team that the outside world is more optimistic about at this time, so what Zuo Li said still aroused controversy.

But there are reasons to stand on the left.

It is undeniable that Rose has improved and the probability of injury has been reduced, but it is undeniable that his three-point shooting is not stable enough. At the same time, it is also undeniable that the Bulls, in addition to Rose, lack a decisive figure on the outside.

Korver is now very much like Cole in the Bulls. Although he is good at three-pointers and has a high shooting percentage, he cannot make a shot without a wide open space. Even if it were Peja, Zuo Li felt that the Bulls had a chance to overthrow the Heat.

But now, once Rose misses a three-pointer, the rhythm will still return to the Heat. The Big Three who defend seriously are still very good. If Rose wants to kill the Heat, he needs stronger helpers.

But Zuo Li didn't say anything. What if Rose can still maintain his form in Game 4? What if the Heat just don't block Rose's three-pointer? Moreover, Zuo Li really hopes that the Bulls will advance.

Unfortunately, Zuo Li's expectations did not come true. In the battle of Tianwang Mountain, the Bulls at home were still defeated.

The course of the game was exactly as Zuo Li predicted. The Heat strengthened Rose's long-range shot blockade, close pressing, inside attack, big delays on the outside, plus Chalmers, Wade and James.

The three big men took turns defending, allowing Rose to make 0 of 6 shots from outside.

Although he still scored 25 points, his shooting percentage was only 35%.

Rose like this was naturally unable to drive his teammates, and the Heat won the away game 88-80.

This game also dampened the Bulls' confidence. Two days later, on May 12, the Bulls failed to complete redemption in Miami.

102-100, the Bulls were unfortunately reversed by the Heat. They lost another game at their home court and were eliminated by the Heat with a big score of 4-2.

The Heat successfully entered the Eastern Conference Finals!