I’m Really Playing Basketball

May 9, 2009, American Airlines Arena, Miami.

G1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Bobcats and the Heat has not yet started, but Heat fans have already packed the venue.

The reason why Heat fans, who have always been undisciplined, came so neatly is certainly not because they have changed their undisciplined character.

It's entirely because their leading player Dwyane Wade put his MVP award ceremony before the game.

This is not because Wade has any other intentions, he simply wants everyone to be lively and happy, and he also hopes that Chen Xiao can come to the scene in person to applaud and congratulate him for this significant MVP.

The relationship between Chen Xiao and Wade, in the United States, as long as fans who know a little bit about basketball will know that it is really a ferromagnetic relationship.

Many people say that the past four years have been the era of the Heat, the Heat's dynasty.

As long as the Heat can successfully win the championship this season, the Heat can achieve three championships in four years.

Three championships in four years is not a standard three-peat dynasty, but considering the Heat's record and dominance in the past four years, there is no problem saying that they have created a dynasty.

That's why so many people say that the last four years of the NBA belong to Wade, Yao Ming and the Heat.

However, there is also a different voice, that is, if the time is extended to seven years, the time when Chen Xiao, Wade and Yao Ming entered the NBA will be counted.

So in the past seven years, except for this season, there has been no winner. Chen Xiao has won three championships, and Wade and Yao Ming have won two championships.

Therefore, this era should not be said to belong to Wade, Yao Ming and the Heat. This is too narrow. This era also belongs to Chen Xiao.

In the era created by Chen Xiao and Wade Yao Ming, only Duncan led the Magic to a championship.

It can be said that if it were not for Duncan's crucial championship, then Chen Xiao and Wade would be invincible in their era.

The reason why those who say that this era belongs to the era of Chen Xiao and Wade dare not say that Chen Xiao and Wade created an invincible era is mainly because Duncan has been Chen Xiao's bitter hand in the past seven years. Defeating Chen Xiao head-on was also Wade's fault, destroying the Heat's supposed dynasty head-on.

However, even with a legendary troublemaker like Duncan, it still cannot cover up the shining light of Chen Xiao and Wade in this era in the past seven years.

Back then on the campus of Marquette University, the two of them were chasing, running, and laughing wildly with each other. I'm afraid they never thought that one day, they would create an era that belonged to them in the NBA.

According to Barkley, the on-site commentator of this game: "Wade and Wonder Boy, they are each other's closest friends and also each other's most powerful opponents. In this era, because they have each other, they will not be alone. Their relationship is enviable. When Wade thanked Boy Wonder when he lifted the MVP trophy, and when Wade raised the MVP trophy and Boy Wonder applauded him from the bottom of his heart, I think Michael must have felt envious and complicated. of.

The most regrettable and powerless thing about Michael is that he cannot create powerful enemies for himself like the Wonder Boy did, and partners who can accompany him to move forward! "

Listening to Lord Barker's explanation on TV, many fans and viewers in front of the TV were moved.

Especially Larry Bird and Magic. They were almost in different spaces and exclaimed at the same time: "That's so well said!"

They agreed with Lord Ba's words from the bottom of their hearts.

In Larry Bird's heart, he has been accompanied by Magic in his career. This is not unlucky for him, but lucky. Maybe not having Magic would be better for his achievements, but MVP, FMVP, championship, these great achievements The achievement of the future will eventually become a cold object.

In the minds of players at their level, these achievements, or money, or fame, will slowly fade away and become cold in the future. Perhaps the only thing that remains hot is the kind of chasing the same goal together and joining hands on the road to basketball. The heat and blood of going forward.

Of course, for Larry Bird and Magic, although their relationship is very close and very hostile, it is still not as good as Chen Xiao Wade.

They are close, but not as close as Chen Xiao and Wade.

They are hostile, but not as hostile as Chen Xiao and Wade in the NBA.

After all, they belonged to different leagues back then. In the NBA playoffs, they only faced each other three times. Although that era was the era of the Magic Birds, it was not actually an era where the Magic Birds competed with each other. To be precise, it should be the Magic Birds era. The age of both competing and ruling together.

In those eight years, the Magic Birds won seven championships together, and then came the bad boy legend of the Pistons, and then the era of God came.

Compared with the competition between Magic Bird, the competition between Chen Xiao and Wade is much crueler.

The two of them are in the same division, and they are both at the top now. How will they fight in the East in the future?

It's scary just thinking about it.

Of course, after Barkley took stock of the grievances between Chen Xiao and Wade over the years, what was even more terrifying was not the ordinary audience, but the teams and players in the Eastern Conference.

They really didn't notice this until Barkley took stock.

Because there are teams rising every year in the East.

First it was O'Neal's seven-star Nets, then Duncan's Magic, then Ray Allen's Bucks, then Nash's Raptors, and so on.

There are many strong teams in the Eastern Conference, and historically strong teams appear one after another, making people feel that the competition in the Eastern Conference is very fierce.

It seems to make people feel that there is no overlord in the East. Everyone is a competitor and there is no ruler.

But now that Barkley has gathered together, many people have noticed for the first time.

The east is not without hegemony.

The East is not the Heat with two championships in three years.

The Eastern Conference should be Chen Xiao and Wade, who have won five championships in six years!

In the past, the eastern part had always been ruled by Chen Xiao and Wade!

Especially with Duncan returning to the West, is there anyone in the East who can break the dominance of the two?

You know, Wade is only 27 years old now, and Chen Xiao is only 26 years old!

It seems that the East will still be under their reign of terror for at least the next five years.

"Another magic bird, another brilliant era for two people?!"

Many people were exclaiming, and these people also didn't know whether what they were exclaiming was true.

The contest between the Bobcats and the Heat has not been ignored because of the disparity in strength between the two teams.

It should be said that the contest between the Bobcats and the Heat will always be the focus.

The Heat's position as the league's first team is very stable now.

Chen Xiao's position as the number one star in the league seems to be very stable based on his popularity, strength and accumulation of honors.

Therefore, when Wade's MVP award ceremony and the warm-up of the two teams ended, and the ten starting players of the two teams came on the court, almost everyone in front of the TV was looking forward to this game.

After all, NBA players and teams cannot avoid the strongest people and the strongest teams. The strongest people and the strongest teams are what they have been studying.

Even though they have been studying it for so many years, they still have no solution.

Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, Tony Allen, Wade, Allen Iverson

Xiao Chen, Battier, Granger, Roy, Ross

Those who have been studying the Bobcats and Heat were not disappointed when the starting players from both teams took the court.

As expected, the Heat came up with the strongest starting lineup and mentioned Iverson to the starting lineup.

On the other side, the Bobcats did not test it and went straight to their trump card, the fifth grader.

After all, even Oden, the center of the Bobcats, can wreak havoc crazily. If he were in front of Yao Ming, he would probably become a scumbag without even trying.

Therefore, even if this five-small lineup does not have such strong three-point ability, Jordan can only take the risk and try it from the beginning.

Yes, the Bobcats' players' ability to shoot three-pointers is indeed not as threatening as the Bucks'.

But what if?

What if the Bobcats players are unlucky in this series?

People still have to have some ideals after all.

Therefore, the fact that the Bobcats entered the fifth grade was really not a surprise to Rick Carlisle. For Chen Xiao, who is very familiar with Rick Carlisle, he knows very well how smart and capable his former head coach is.

Of course, on the other side, the Heat's decision to start Iverson did not surprise Chen Xiao and Jordan.

Since Chen Xiao and Jordan believe in Carlisle's wit, they can definitely guess that Carlisle will not dare to let Sun Yue or anyone else be the starting point guard.

Compared with the five small Bobcats, the Heat lineup is already big enough. What is needed on the outside is no longer height, but speed.

Especially Iverson, who is extremely defensively aggressive and extremely fast.

Iverson may be a defensive cancer on other teams (Nuggets), but on a team with Yao Ming or Mutombo who are extremely defensive at the basket, he is not a defensive cancer.

The reason is easy to understand. Iverson's defensive position can be made up for by strong inside teammates.

With Mutombo and Yao Ming, even if you pass Iverson, can you get to the basket so easily?

Therefore, in the regular season this season, if the Heat beat the Bucks, Iverson will definitely play.

The effect is very good.

Of course, because the Heat played the Bobcats in the regular season, the Bobcats have never used the five small players, so I don't know how effective Iverson will be in the starting lineup.

By the way, this Iverson is no longer the same as the 76ers' Iverson. Historically, when Ai came to the Nuggets, he changed some of his bad offensive habits.

In this time and space, Boss Ai changed some of his bad offensive habits in the Nuggets, and after coming to the Heat, he also changed some of his bad defensive habits.

In fact, it's not a change, but more listening to the coach's words. After all, he is no longer young and no longer favored by everyone in the 76ers.

Now it's not others who beg him, but he who begs others.

Therefore, when he was in the Nuggets, his shooting percentage improved greatly. Everyone knows Ai's offensive habits. In the few seasons he was in the Nuggets, his shooting percentage could actually reach about 46%. This is very scary. The offensive habits of Boss Ke and Boss Ai can average 26 points per game and shoot 46%, which is very powerful and rare.

Boss Ai now has two points from long distance and two points from mid-range, which is very stable. Since he went to the Nuggets, these two areas have been above 42%.

This season, Boss Ai has made a lot of changes on the defensive end. After all, after arriving in the Heat, Boss Ai actually doesn't need to attack so much. He can focus more on defense. His hard work on the defensive end makes people see that he was a partner with the 76ers. Mutombo's shadow.

And this is why many people say that the team Iverson is most suitable for is the Heat, and the Heat also need Iverson the most, a player who can share the pressure for Wade and is very similar to Wade.

The Heat's Yao Ming and Wade are stable enough. Their stability can support Iverson's wave.

Players are stable and lack explosiveness, and players are prone to sudden death. The real king is to be stable and lead the wave.

Of course, since they guessed that the smart Carlisle would use Iverson, how could Jordan and Chen Xiao not be prepared?

Iverson is Carlisle and the Heat's ace in dealing with the five smaller teams. When playing against the Bucks, Iverson can guard Curry and even his old rival Ray Allen.

But the Bobcats and Bucks are really different.

It's not just the three points that are different.

The players' styles are also completely different.

It is difficult for Curry to get past Iverson. Due to Iverson's pressing defense, his three-point stability is also very problematic.

Ray Allen is similar to Curry. It is not easy for him to get past Iverson now. He is pressed and defended by Iverson.

But Rose can beat Iverson!

And Roy can use his body to fight against Iverson and directly hit Iverson with his back in the mid-range!

The Heat play Iverson, this is the Heat's opportunity to face five small teams.

This is also an opportunity for the Bobcats!

Heat coach Carlisle also understands this, but he still plays Iverson, which shows that in his mind, Iverson still has more advantages than disadvantages.

At the same time, although the two teams have never played against each other like this in the regular season, the two teams that easily defeated their opponents in the first round had sufficient preparation time to simulate and study each other, and both sides were very well prepared.

Even a casual viewer can see this.

The Heat's first attack was the pick-and-roll between Wade and Bosh. After moving Battier away from Chen Xiao, Wade did not pass the ball to Bosh but smartly hit Yao Ming. Yao Ming easily Chen Xiao succeeded in beating him. He sat back very easily and then turned around and hit with a hook.

The Heat could actually let Yao Ming play Chen Xiao directly, but they took an extra step, which is to be fully prepared. They took into account that Jordan and the Bobcats would take advantage of Yao Ming's height and not so quick reaction to use two small inside players to attack Yao Ming and force Yao Ming to make a mistake. .

The defensive and mobile abilities of Chen Xiao and Battier are able to suddenly flank Yao Ming and then return to their respective defensive positions.

On the other side, although the Bobcats' first attack was not as easy as the Heat's, it was also full of routines. Chen Xiao, Battier, Granger, Roy, and Rose all pulled out to the outside.

The Bobcats' three-point shooting is indeed not as good as the Bucks, but except for Rose, everyone else can shoot three-pointers, and they are all above the NBA average.

The Bucks have one 100-point three-pointer, one 95-point three-pointer, and one 90-point three-pointer. On the Bobcats, although Chen Xiao is the only one with more than 90 points, there are three with more than 80 points.

Except for Rose, who is holding the ball, no one else's three-pointers can be released.

Therefore, even if Yao Ming was squatting in and could not come out, he had to come out a little.

Faced with his teammates opening up space for him, and facing Rose who was pressed closely by Iverson, this lean rookie did not stagger around when Iverson did it like Curry did, but used his strength to withstand it. After Iverson's first tackle, he actually still had the energy to turn his back and sweep away Iverson. He used his strength, speed, burst and super ball control ability to instantly break through Iverson!

When Rose started, not only Iverson behind him looked shocked, but even Yao Ming, who was about to return to defense, had his mouth wide open.

Because there is no way to go back!

Rose didn't give the Heat any chance to defend.

There was a clang!

Looking at Yao who was stunned by Rose's speed and explosion, Chen Xiao, who had just opened up space for Rose and pulled Yao Ming out, had a smile on his face.

Let’s not talk about the outcome of this series.

"Although we don't have three points, we have other things!"

A lot can be seen from the opening offense and defense between the Bobcats and Heat.

Not to mention those elite experts, media and reporters, but the most ordinary fans, they can clearly feel it.

"The Bobcats are not as good as we thought!"

Before the game, most neutral fans' view of this series was that Chen Xiao was very strong, but the Bobcats were terrible.

But judging from the opening of the two teams, it seems that this is not the case at all.

Bobcats really don’t seem to have that kind of food!

And the following games also very much verified their idea.

Because after the first quarter, the Heat, playing at home, did not open up the score as everyone imagined.

33 to 31!

The Bobcats were just 2 points behind on the road.

More importantly, Chen Xiao scored 6 points in the first quarter!

"Chen Xiao is very strong, and the Bobcats are also bad at it!"

"Facing the Heat, the Bobcats still have the strength to fight!"