I’m Really Playing Basketball

After the regular season, the nation's attention is on the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.

As for this series between the Cavaliers and Pistons.

Reporters and experts across the United States have predicted that the Cavaliers will end this round of the series within five games, and the Cavaliers are most likely to sweep the Pistons to advance.

For this round of the series between the Cavaliers and the Pistons, the experts in the United States just made a little prediction, mentioned this round of the series, and then ignored it.

To be honest, there is really nothing to say about this round of the series between the Cavaliers and the Pistons.

Because there is really nothing to say. After Larry Brown left this season, the performance of the Pistons was so bad that the team was basically a mess.

It's not that the Pistons players don't have fighting ability.

Players such as Billups, Hamilton, Prince, and Ben Wallace are still there, so how can they not be combative?

It's just that the current head coach of the Pistons, Michael Curry, can't pinch the Pistons together.

The 36-year-old Michael Curry may be one of the youngest head coaches in NBA history. This young coach coached the NBA for the first time this season and played five seasons with the Pistons before retiring. The following seasons were basically half Player and half coach, he studied under Carlisle.

After Larry Brown came, he chose to continue to work with Larry Brown. However, neither as a player nor as a coach was he reused by Larry Brown.

After Larry Brown resigned, the Pistons searched for famous coaches, but they were all rejected. Joe Dumars thought of letting Michael Curry lead the team for one season.

Let's overdo it. Except for Rasheed's defeat of Larry Brown last season, the position of Pistons coach is indeed a bit hot.

Let cool first.

In this cooling season, the four crazy teams in the Eastern Conference have emerged, and the Pistons' record has also declined all the way to the bottom.

To be honest, with the strength of the Pistons players, even if they lack a famous coach or an ordinary mediocre coach, it will be difficult to achieve such a record.

45 wins is indeed too low.

Therefore, looking at Michael Curry, Pistons general manager Joe Dumars regretted every moment and thought about inviting his teacher Carlisle back.

I don't know why he lost his mind and kicked out Carlisle and chose Larry Brown.

Carlisle is a tall, round boy who is only eighteen years old.

And Larry Brown is Liu Tao, who is forty years old.

It’s not that the 40-year-old Liu Tao is not beautiful and charming. If he really wasn’t beautiful and charming, he wouldn’t choose her.

But it is obvious that Gao Yuanyuan may not be so charming now, but she will definitely become more and more charming in the future.

One is going up.

One is going down.

But he chose the one going down.

Joe Dumars is really feeling uncomfortable right now.

Especially when watching Carlisle lead the Cavaliers to great heights.

The entire league is mocking Carlisle for turning into a pig this season, but he is extremely eager for the return of this pig.

Back to business.

This series between the Cavaliers and the Pistons is basically nothing to watch for fans of the league.

Even for the players of the two teams and the two teams, there are no particularly big expectations.

The Pistons themselves never thought about winning this series.

However, what the world doesn't know is that Cavaliers head coach Carlisle has no intention of sweeping the Pistons to advance.

Before the Cavaliers may play the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, the only opponent they can train with is the Pistons.

In this case, how can you do it without practicing?

You know, Gerald Wallace has never been reused in the playoffs seriously.

Gerald Wallace has a lot of experience in the playoffs with the Kings. He has played 15 games in three seasons, but his average time is not even 4 minutes per game. This is not much different from basically not playing at all. Perhaps the only good thing is that, Gerald Wallace doesn't get stage fright about playing in the playoffs.

Although he is not familiar with the playoffs, it is not his first time playing, so he does not suffer from stage fright.

Therefore, in this series with the Pistons, Cavaliers head coach Carlisle plans to play a few more games to let Gerald Wallace become more familiar with the playoffs.

Moreover, according to Carlisle, it is impossible for the Pistons to beat us, but their players are very strong and are the most suitable grindstone for us.

Therefore, in this series, the most beneficial way for us is to defeat the Pistons 4-3 to advance.

Carlisle's plan was set.

But seriously, if you want someone to be a whetstone, will they be willing?

Of course I don't want to.

Do you think the score of 4 to 3 is easy to beat?

Of course it's hard to fight.

If you don’t want to win, then others can’t want to win?

If the opponent also gives up the game, there is no point in sharpening your sword.

Therefore, don't think that it is easy to sharpen your opponent's skills in the playoffs. In fact, it is very difficult.

In fact, in the history of the NBA, many teams will sharpen their opponents in the playoffs.

For example, Jordan and the Bulls are the most famous.

In another time and space in history, Popovich and his Spurs also liked to sharpen their knives, and the Spurs' head player Duncan was so deep in pretending to be dead. Do you think the No. 21 rookie was a joke?

This nickname is more than just saying that he is evergreen.

In short, before the first game between the Pistons and the Cavaliers on April 23, after Carlisle made a plan to sharpen his knife with the Pistons, the Cavaliers were thinking about how to play dead in order to be just right. No one can notice it, and at the same time, it evokes the struggle of the Pistons who are waiting until the end of this season.

This is a very difficult task, much harder than letting the Cavaliers players sweep the Pistons.

For the Pistons this season, it is actually not that difficult to sweep them.

"Xiao Chen, are you okay?"

After finishing the team meeting, James was a little confused when he saw Chen Xiao's frown on his face.

Although the task assigned by Carlisle is not easy, it’s not like he’s frowning like this, right?

If you can do it, do it; if you can't do it, don't do it.

"I'm fine."

Recently, I have been thinking about the fact that I won the MVP from James, and Chen Xiao has a headache and feels uncomfortable.

He is indeed in a bad mood now.

Regardless of whether Xiao Zhan's MVP is qualified or not, in short, according to the rules, what is his is his.

David Stern and the NBA, in order to take care of the NBA's face, forcibly took it from Xiao Zhan's hands and put it in his hands. This kind of thing is really difficult for Chen Xiao to accept.

He feels that he has always been a very loyal person.

He really couldn't do this kind of thing.

However, the NBA forced him to do it.

In short, after a brief moment of surprise at winning the MVP, Chen Xiao fell into deep guilt and self-blame.

To be honest, if Chen Xiao could really accept this MVP calmly, he would not have gained so many friends in the United States and the NBA.

What Chen Xiao has been thinking about now is if he returns the MVP who is about to get it, or even hands it to Xiao Zhan.

On one side is his brother Xiao Zhan, and on the other side are Teacher Zhang and his friends who are very good to him.

What he did wasn't good enough, that is, he would definitely hurt one side, or even both sides.

This is something Chen Xiao doesn't want to see.

Even if one of them is bad, even Wade will be hurt.

If David Stern and NBA officials finally give him the MVP and he wants to return it but doesn't want it, what will Xiaotai think?

Give it back to James, why not give it back to me?

Well, I probably wouldn't think so.

Xiaotai should be thinking, if you beat me, you deserve it, why should you retreat? And you are giving it back to James, are you humiliating me?

With Xiaotai's character, no matter how much he hurts him, he will not be angry with himself, but he will definitely vent his anger on Xiaozhan.

In the eyes of the world, his well-deserved MVP was actually stolen.

It would be fine if he could not see it, but if he knew it, he would not be able to do it.

To be honest, Teacher Zhang was still too excited.

After all, the Chinese players are about to have an MVP player. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for Teacher Zhang not to tell Chen Xiao the good news.

This would really be a pain for Chen Xiao.

In short, Chen Xiao fell into a very tortured situation.

At this time, looking at James next to him who didn't know this yet and still cared about him very much, Chen Xiao felt even more uncomfortable.

"Xiao Zhan..."

?

"Sorry, I'm fine."

Chen Xiao patted Xiao Zhan on the shoulder with a wry smile and finally shook his head.

Keep thinking about what else you can do, but you can't make a living person suffocate to death.

In short, President, this time you really gave me a super test question for the sake of the authority and dignity of the NBA.

On April 23, 2005, the Gund Arena in Cleveland was already full 15 minutes before the game started.

Although the Cleveland Cavaliers are not the NBA's number one favorite to win this season, the performance of the Cavaliers this season must be outstanding.

No one dares to say that the performance of the Cavaliers this season is so-so.

Such an excellent team performance, coupled with Chen Xiao's and James' performances are so superb.

Seriously, this season, both Cavaliers fans and Cleveland fans are extremely enthusiastic.

A few seasons ago, a team that could no longer afford to be weak in the Eastern Conference has now become a powerhouse in the league. It also has Chen Xiao and James, two players who are related to the future of the NBA.

This feeling is really good.

On the court, the starting players of the two teams all stood in the center of the court after warming up.

The starting players for the home team Cavaliers in this game are center Chen Xiao, power forward Diaw, small forward Gerald Wallace, shooting guard Barnes, and point guard James.

The visiting Pistons' starting players are center Ben Ben, power forward Antonio McDyess, small forward Prince, shooting guard Hamilton, and point guard Billups.

The starting lineup of the Pistons is actually not a small lineup of five forwards, because Big Ben and McDyess are real insiders, pure insiders.

This is a standard position formation.

But because both Big Ben and McDyess are only 2.06 meters, although the Pistons' lineup is relatively small like the five-forward tactics.

It seems to be the same as the Cavaliers.

And that's why Carlisle said the Pistons are very valuable as a whetstone.

The Pistons are really suitable for the Cavaliers' five-forward tactics.

The Cavaliers' five-forward tactics are used against the Pistons, and Chen Xiao's offense can be used to test his offensive quality very well against Big Ben's defense.

When Diaw faces a veteran like McDyess, he can also learn from McDyess's way of playing in the NBA.

As for the Prince faced by Gerald Wallace, the Hamilton faced by Barnes, and even the Prince faced by James, they all have great training value.

According to Carlisle, not playing seven games against a team like this would really be a crime against oneself.

In the center of the court, Chen Xiao and Da Ben jumped the ball. Chen Xiao and Da Ben were both short centers who could jump. Da Ben had a very fast bounce speed, while Chen Xiao had long arms. In the end, this time it was a 'rookie interaction'. Pecking' the jump ball, Chen Xiao beat Big Ben.

After defeating Ben with a jump ball, Chen Xiao immediately advanced on the fast break. If Chen Xiao plays center against the Heat and faces Yao Ming, of course he must use speed and burst as weapons.

Although Yao Ming is not slow now, there is definitely no way to compare with Chen Xiao.

Of course, Chen Xiao faced Big Ben in this game, and Big Ben's speed was quite acceptable.

And this is why the Pistons and Ben are very valuable to experience.

"Wonder Boy's fast break push is very fast, but Ben Wallace's return defense is not slow at all."

"It's rare to see such a mobile center showdown between Wonder Boy and Big Ben in the NBA. This game should be very interesting to watch."

Under the commentary of Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, Chen Xiao had already put his money under the basket at this time.

This is not because Chen Xiao used his strength to force the ball to the basket.

It was Chen Xiao who pressed here with speed and explosiveness.

Although the Pistons and Big Ben's return defense was in place, it also pushed Chen Xiao into a very deep position.

Chen Xiao, who came to the basket with his back to Ben, received a pass from James who dribbled the ball beyond the three-point line.

Under Ben's full defense or ordinary defense, Chen Xiao made two fake moves to the left and right under the basket, then turned around and prepared to hook the basketball out of his hand.

Obviously, Ben didn't expect that Chen Xiao's steps at the basket were so good, so he was a little shaken.

It also gives Chen Xiao a certain amount of space for his hook.

But Big Ben is Big Ben. After being humiliated by Chen Xiao's footsteps, he put away his mentality of just passing this game. When Chen Xiao was about to hook, there was a bang, and Big Ben moved forward. He jumped up and pressed his body against Chen Xiao's body. At the same time, he stretched out his long hand to interfere.

Ben's defensive move was excellent. It looked straight up and down, but in fact, a huge force hit Chen Xiao when he came into contact with Chen Xiao.

If it wasn't for Chen Xiao being as tough as Da Ben.

If it weren't for Chen Xiao's excellent confrontation, strength and weight, to be honest, ordinary outside players would have been far behind.

Of course, Chen Xiao didn't drift and still hooked the ball out of his hand.

Bang!

Strike the iron!

After striking the iron, Chen Xiao was stunned for a moment.

At this time, Ben, who had just finished defending Chen Xiao, had already collected the rebound.

sharp!

After such a defense, he can still grab the rebound so well.

After collecting the rebound, Ben looked at Chen Xiao, who was looking at his right hand in a daze, and felt slightly shocked.

Chen Xiao’s steps just now were really good!

An outside player has such excellent footwork under the basket.

You know, in the last month of the regular season, Chen Xiao forced his feet to challenge various NBA insiders under the basket, but was laughed at.

An outside player can indeed play well as a power forward, but as a center, not all players can play center.

Moreover, Chen Xiao is not using his own shooting, but using his unskilled steps under the basket. Isn't this a waste of himself?

Therefore, if it were not for Chen Xiao's status in the NBA, many people would probably give Chen Xiao the pig-headed nickname Carlisle wears.

As one of the most popular players in the NBA, Chen Xiao has such a big thing happening in the NBA, so of course he is paying attention.

Moreover, as those people said, Wonder Boy's footwork at the basket is indeed terrible.

But just a short time later, Wonder Boy's poor footwork at the basket has already become so bad.

"Is this what many people say is one of the strongest golf IQs in history?"

A golf IQ comparable to Larry Bird's.

Daben felt that he had seen it.

Of course, at this time, Chen Xiao didn't know that Ben behind him was praising his steps under the basket just now.

Chen Xiao is still thinking about the hook just now.

At the moment when he hooked his hand just now, he thought about Xiao Zhan and MVP again.

To be honest, right now, he feels a little restless.

It was the Pistons' turn to attack. The Pistons had no intention of beating the Cavaliers in this game.

Most of the Pistons players are thinking about getting through this terrible season quickly. The Cavaliers are not an opponent that can be defeated. They can do whatever they want. Anyway, they will lose in the end, sweep it, 4 to 1, whatever. It doesn't matter anymore.

In addition, the Pistons currently do not have a prestigious head coach, and the Pistons' offense is somewhat haphazard.

After Billups passed halftime, facing James' defense, he called a pick-and-roll, and the defensive player in front of him was replaced by Barnes.

Seeing the defensive player in front of him change from James to Barnes, Billups choked.

Damn it, the five-forward tactic is so unfriendly to defenders.

But it doesn't matter.

Billups faced Barnes' defense and threw the basketball out of the three-point line like a single.

If Larry Brown was coaching last season, of course he would not dare to play like this, but now, hasn't Larry Brown already left?

Bang!

There was a crisp iron strike.

Chen Xiao, who was a little distracted at the basket, was grabbed by Ben for a second offensive rebound and completed a dunk.

Big Ben's offensive rebounding is quite powerful.

Grabbing offensive rebounds and completing dunks really stimulates the players' fighting spirit.

At the very least, Ben felt like he was being stimulated.

For a moment, the Pistons, who were originally a little bored, actually felt a little more energetic.

Seeing the Pistons' sudden momentum, Pistons head coach Michael Curry was indifferent on the sidelines.

Instead, it was Cavaliers head coach Carlisle's eyes that were shining.

Especially when he saw the next attack, Chen Xiao used beautiful steps to sway away from the target and then missed the hook, the look on Carlisle's face became even more excited.

"How come the Wonder Boy's steps around the basket are so good?"

"Ben's defense is not false. Now the wonder boy can actually use his steps under the basket to get rid of Ben's defense?"

At this time, Carlisle's eyes were shining on the sidelines, and the eyes of the American commentator in the commentary box on the sidelines were also shining.

"However, Wonder Boy's hook was almost meaningless, but his excellent steps under the basket inspired Ben's fighting spirit!"

"The fighting spirit of the Pistons has also risen!"

Watching the Pistons players on the field with increasing morale.

Carlisle on the sidelines was about to applaud Chen Xiao's acting skills.

"Chen's acting skills are amazing!"

If you play too well, the Pistons will definitely collapse.

If you play badly on purpose, there is no training value.

What Carlisle wanted was something like Chen Xiao, who played well but not too well, not only training himself, but also boosting the opponent's morale.

And what Chen Xiao is doing now, isn't that perfect?

While exercising his footsteps in front of Da Ben, he was not able to hit the hook every time.

And when defending, that kind of inadvertent loss of focus is really very essence.

Therefore, I was worried that the Cavaliers players would not be able to complete his pre-game arrangements when they were playing against the Pistons.

But seeing the game now, Carlisle is completely relieved.

Chen Xiao's acting skills made him very relieved.

Of course, Chen Xiao, who was a little distracted thinking about Xiao Zhan and MVP on the court at this time, certainly didn't know that his performance made Carlisle so satisfied.

It even made Carlisle feel that he was sacrificing himself to win opportunities for his teammates to exercise.

Now he didn't deliberately face Da Ben and didn't hit the hook.

Rather, he really couldn't hit it.

As far as Daben's defense is concerned, if you can't calm down when attacking, then your offensive efficiency cannot be high.

Not to mention that Chen Xiao is under the basket, O'Neal and Duncan are under the basket, it's no different.

It's just that when the Cavaliers and the Pistons finally defeated the Pistons by a big score of 4 to 3 to advance.

Chen Xiao, who didn't play very well in this series because of distractions, was hugged gratefully by the Cavaliers players one by one at the end of the game.

Especially Xiao Zhan.

"Xiao Chen, you played really well in this series!"

"..."

After Xiao Zhan, the team's head coach, Carlisle, also slapped Chen Xiao's shoulder heavily.

That face is full of satisfaction.

"Chen, that's great!"

"Your acting skills are really good!"

"..."

Even the players from the Pistons, who played seven games with the Cavaliers and were beaten by the Cavaliers by 20 points in the last game, ran up to Chen Xiao with resentful expressions on their faces.

They were able to sweep us long ago, and they had to let us cooperate and play six high-intensity games.

Big Ben stood in front of Chen Xiao, looked at Chen Xiao seriously and continued, "Chen, you are already a very good center forward."

"Chen, your acting skills are so good in this series."

After Ben finished speaking, Hamilton next to him added another sentence.

"..."

ps: One chapter advances to one round