Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

The collapse happened too fast. Li Shengli and O'Neal didn't play in the last half of the quarter, but the Lakers led by 9 points in the middle of the quarter. By the end of the game, they still had that much, and they ended up with a score of 99:108.

O'Neal was really upset.

You must know that when the Celtics were leading in the Eastern Conference, they were playing this game as if they were the finals. But even if everyone tried their best, they still couldn't beat the Lakers. The result was too bad. Let him watch Li Shengli after the game. I almost want to spit.

…

"Li, you bastard, you won again!" O'Neal cursed after punching Li Shengli.

"Still not used to it? Best Rookie O'Neal!" Li Shengli took a breath and continued: "But to be honest, you are already very strong now. If you keep playing steadily and wait for me for another five or six years, the rest will be yours." .”

"Wait a minute. We'll see what happens in the finals this time. I'll wait for you!"

"What, no one in the east can stop you?"

"Who do you think can stop me?" O'Neal continued seriously: "The young are impatient and the resistant are old. In this era, only you and I are the strongest. You are second and I am second." one."

"Damn, why are you first?"

"If you don't care, I will decide this year's championship anyway."

After O'Neal finished speaking, he left the field in frustration, while Li Shengli could only shake his head... Hey, it's no wonder O'Neal's resentment is so deep since he has maintained a state of no results every year.

…

He turned around and walked to the locker room to prepare for the post-match summary meeting.

In fact, in the usual meetings, there is nothing to talk about whether they win or lose, but this time it was a little different. Although they won in the end, in the process... everyone in the Lakers felt what the Celtics had brought to the Zijin Dynasty that was about to be built. threaten.

Dynasty threatens O'Neal?

All joking aside, if we play another game right after...the same trap, the Celtics will not fall into it twice, and the attrition plan may not work, because no matter whether Harris uses Big Ben or Rodman, the opponent will Pitino will selectively leak defenses, and leaking these two people can prepare the necessary conditions for Garnett to cooperate with O'Neal's double team.

You know, the first three quarters of this game were all tied.

The Celtics' combat effectiveness in the first three quarters was definitely on par with the Lakers, but they would lose in the final quarter... It was because Li Shengli and O'Neal, as the core of the two sides' tactics, had a certain degree of playing time difference and poor physical fitness.

Although the score difference after the game was 9 points, the difference beyond the score was very small.

Because leaving aside the real attrition plan, assuming that Li Shengli and O'Neal are really completely in sync, and they are exhausted at the end, and then look back and consider the offensive explosion of both sides... Garnett and Pierce both have more or less explosive ability. As long as there is an explosion to replace O'Neal's firepower gap, it is enough. On the contrary, Barkley's explosive power is no longer what it used to be. Only Kobe can compete with the opponent.

Therefore, it is possible for the Lakers to lose, and the possibility is not small.

Of course, this only considers that there are no obvious fluctuations in the status of the main players of both sides. If there are fluctuations, it will be more troublesome, because the uncertainty of fluctuations will make it harder to predict the outcome.

No one knows which person's status will fluctuate.

The Lakers' advantage over the Celtics is not that obvious in the first place. If they really want to play in the Finals... if there is a downward fluctuation, it will be too fatal. However, due to injuries, Barkley and Rodman's performance is not that stable. good.

…

Harris' postgame wrap-up meeting was brief.

After clarifying the key points of this game, the Lakers realized that the threat of the Celtics had risen to a level that everyone had to pay attention to, but...the Celtics in the Eastern Conference will not be in the next regular season. We will meet the Lakers again, and what the Lakers have to do now is to establish their position in the West.

…

In a normal season, 20 games would be just the beginning, but now... the entire league has entered the final sprint stage. Even because there are so few games, one win can lead to a promotion, so many are lingering in the playoffs. Teams on the edge of the threshold worked hard.

But in the West, no matter how hard other teams try, the strongest teams are still the dominant Lakers and the reborn Spurs.

After beating the Celtics...

The Lakers' record is 16/5, while the Spurs' record in the same period is 17/4. The two teams have entered the battle for first place in the Western Conference, but the Lakers are temporarily one game behind.

…

Against the Jazz, the Lakers won easily.

The army at position 4 subdued Malone on the spot, and the Malone people were all dumbfounded.

Taking a look at Barkley, Ben, and Rodman taking turns, he felt that he had been targeted like never before. What was even worse was Li Shengli's inhumane beating of the center position, which caused the Jazz's inside line to completely collapse. The disk explodes.

…

The same thing happens to all teams with offensive duties at the fourth position.

Almost no one can withstand this uninterrupted pressure that lasts the whole game and never loses a second. And the fourth power forward is just a special situation this year. With Li Shengli at the center, he still maintains his lead over the entire league. Absolute suppression.

So, it started on March 10th and ended at the end of April.

In less than two months, the initial record was only at the forefront, but not the top, but in the later stage... the Lakers swept the Western Conference, from the original 16/5, all the way to 40/10, ending the shortened regular season.

As for the last 5 losses.

Barkley's old pelvic and ankle problems were a limiting factor. He missed 15 of the 50 regular season games. Although he was still playing in the last week, his time had dropped to less than 20 to prepare for the playoffs.

In addition, Rodman also has problems with his back injury.

However, his time has been compressed a lot, and his impact on the record is not as great as that of Barkley, but the preparation plan is the same. It can be said that the Lakers did not play much in the last week of games and the main players.

Of course it's not just the Lakers.

The teams with the best records have all begun to recruit troops, leaving only the teams at the threshold struggling, and the final Western Conference rankings...

The Los Angeles Lakers rushed to first place with 40/10.

The San Antonio Spurs ranked second with 37/13.

Utah Jazz 36/14, the Jazz, which has always been a strong team, entered the playoffs for the 15th consecutive time.

Outside of Triple-A, next are...the Trail Blazers in fourth, the Kings in fifth, the Suns in sixth, the SuperSonics in seventh, and the Rockets in eighth.

…

The west is out, and the east.

The Lakers' 40/10 record is 3 more wins than the second-placed Spurs in the Western Conference. What's surprising is... the Celtics led by O'Neal actually posted a 43/7 record. The problem is that Mo The Heat led by Ning had a final record of only 35/15, which was a total of 8 more wins.

The entire eastern part from top to bottom is...

Celtics, Heat, Pacers, Magic, Hawks, Pistons, 76ers, Knicks.

…

The Lakers played the Rockets, and Li Shengli faced Olajuwon.

The Celtics played the Knicks, O'Neal played against Ewing.

This first round is really like the handover of the two center eras, and O'Neal, as the leader of the strongest team in the Eastern Conference, has been very proud of himself recently, and it feels like he may have started a dialogue with Li Shengli in the finals for the first time.