The rest is just noise

In the 1994-95 season, the Lakers ended the regular season with a record of 58 wins and 24 losses.

This record ranks third in the fiercely competitive Western Conference, second only to the 60-win Clippers and the 65-win Trail Blazers.

The fans have no dissatisfaction. At the beginning of the season, they were even mentally prepared to win 50 games to be considered successful.

Zhao Yuanzheng is indeed too young.

He exposed several problems. He was slow to respond and had rigid tactics. When he couldn't decide, he would rotate six people and rely on strength to overwhelm others.

However, the atmosphere within the Lakers team is good, which is his advantage.

Compared with other famous coaches, his professional quality is somewhat inferior, but he can improve the atmosphere in the locker room, which is also a reflection of his ability.

Wilson's charisma also made Pippen put aside the idea of ​​competing for the top spot.

The Lakers have safely weathered their internal crisis and made strides into the playoffs.

In the first round, the Lakers faced the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets began to rebuild after firing Doug Moe, and within a few years they had players like Grant Long and Tom Gugliotta, but it was not enough to make the playoffs.

So last summer, they first acquired Jason Kidd through the draft, who could immediately bring changes to the team, and then signed Robert Parish at a high price.

These two signings put them on the right track.

Kidd's statistics are bright but not eye-catching, averaging 10 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists per game.

If he adds 10 points to his score, even Glenn Robinson can't shake his roy (Rookie of the Year), but that won't be Kidd.

The great thing about Kidd is that his personal statistics are not outstanding, but he can bring real changes to the team.

Players whose role cannot be reflected in data like this will be called ball-blind evaluators in the future.

Having said that, the Nuggets' threat to the Lakers is still limited.

Game1 is Wilson's shooting performance.

Louie sat courtside and played a game with Wilson.

"Benj, can you control your holding time of the ball within 1 minute and still score 30 points?"

This means Wilson needs to run a lot to complete the ball.

"Is there any reward?"

"If you do it, I'll treat you to dinner tomorrow."

Wilson was possessed by the god for one of Louis' meals.

This night, he completely gave up holding the ball.

Through smart movement and reasonable use of screens, he made 16 of 25 shots from the field and scored 36 points without getting a free throw in only 58 seconds.

The Nuggets were blown away.

Louis was in a happy mood. If he was the captain of the ship preparing to arrive at Zihuatanejo, benj would be his first mate.

Jerry West also gave Wilson high praise.

"Benj's games often give me a creepy feeling." West said in surprise, "He always does the right thing and can't fault anything."

That's of course, don't look at who brought him out?

Louis raised his eyebrows proudly, but unfortunately West didn't notice him.

Game 2 is the only game the Nuggets can hope to win.

Kidd played perfectly. He usually shot less than 30% of three-pointers, but tonight he shot 40%. At the same time, he performed very well in breakthrough layups and post-up singles. He scored 27 points and 13 points in the game.

The tragic statistics of 11 rebounds and 11 assists were much worse in front of the god-like David Robinson.

Tonight, Robinson was a god of war. He hit the mid-range shot with perfect accuracy. He attacked Denver's interior with the ball from the wing and unstoppably scored 45 points and 16 rebounds, helping the Lakers seize the match point.

The Nuggets, whose military morale had been shattered, were unable to parry at home and were directly defeated by the smooth offense of the Lakers.

3 to 0

The Lakers advanced to the semifinals, where their opponent was the Clippers, ranked second in the Western Conference.

The Clippers' ability to win 60 games has exceeded many people's expectations.

Even if the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference win a record-breaking 75 games, Jeff Van Gundy still has a good chance of being elected as the head coach of the year.

Suddenly, the semifinals between the Eastern and Western Conferences turned into a civil war between Louis coaches.

On the west side, Zhao Yuanzheng's Lakers and Van Gundy's Clippers met.

In the East, Tomjanovich's Knicks and Phil Jackson's Magic met.

As for the unique Heat team under Billy Donovan, they went straight to the championship.

In the series between the Lakers and Clippers, both sides have absolute advantages and absolute weaknesses.

The Lakers' strength is the pressure created by Wilson and Pippen at the forward position.

The Clippers' strength is Barkley's destructive power at the fourth position.

·Green is one of the famous weaknesses of the Lakers. They are now in their prime as a center, but in fact, the talent reserve at the power forward position is also very rich.

It will be blown up every three or five times.

It was difficult for him to resist Barkley.

Logically speaking, the combined strength of Wilson and Pippen should be stronger than Barkley's matchup advantage.

However, the game process did not go in the direction Zhao Yuanzheng expected.

In the first game of the semifinals, Wilson had poor shooting touch and relied on breakthroughs to score 30 points. Instead, Pippen shot well and scored 27 points, but Robinson failed to break Mutombo's defense.

On the Clippers' side, Sprewell's performance was explosive.

This person is a rare magic ball swingman in modern times. His offensive range is basically the basket and outside the three-point line.

Moreover, he has the first step that even Pippen and Wilson find difficult to react.

Dale Ellis can't guard him at all.

The domino effect was that the Clippers' other wings also opened fire.

Robert Horry made several key scores in the fourth quarter to curb the Lakers' counterattack momentum.

Chinese player Du Shuai has also emerged. He is the only reliable singles player on the Clippers' bench. As a bench gangster, he has to score points as soon as he comes on the bench.

The Clippers defended their home court with a better performance, leading 1-0.

"I don't see any chance of winning!" West was furious, "How is this game played?"

His roar echoed throughout the Forum offices.

Then, Wilson showed him a winning chance.

In the second game, Zhao Yuanzheng let Wilson control the ball and dominate the team's offense.

Wilson kept holding the ball to blast through the Clippers' defense, compressing the opponent's defense, and then passing the ball to Ellis.

The never-relenting assassin hit seven three-pointers in a single game. Coupled with Wilson's dazzling 38 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists, the Lakers defeated the Clippers "away" and took away the opponent's home court advantage.

Fortunately, they don't have to fly home, which is the beauty of a local derby.

In fact, the Clippers have no advantage at home at all.

Even at the arena where they play - the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 2 - most of the audience is Lakers fans.

Their screams could easily drown out Clippers supporters.

In other words, the Lakers actually have seven home court advantages in this series.

Then, in Game 3 of the series, Robinson stood up, but Mutombo's defense was still overwhelming.

Wilson still has an excellent shooting touch, but Pippen was frustrated by Sprewell's defense and could hardly score in positional battles.

Barkley went on a killing spree, turning the game into a true scoring battle.

But while the two sides were scoring points, Mutombo's presence made the Lakers' shooting rate at the basket less than 40%.

118 to 112

The Clippers won the game and took the lead again by a big margin.

Louis decided from the beginning that as long as Zhao Yuanzheng didn't ask for his help, he would just watch.

But West couldn't stand it, and he came to Louis to review the game the day after he lost.

"Jerry, what are you worried about?" Louis smiled, "Coach Zhao will find a solution."

West sneered with disbelief: "His solution is to shorten the rotation!"

In the end, West really got it right.

game4

Zhao Yuanzheng adjusted the rotation from 8 to 6 players. He wanted to ensure that the team could maintain high-intensity offensive and defensive pressure throughout the game.

"Coach Zhao is the least leader-like among all the coaches who have worked in the Blue Palace."

This is Hubie Brown’s evaluation of Zhao Yuanzheng.

Coaches from the Louis team all like long rotations. Van Gundy, for example, is already relatively conservative, but he insists on playing an eight-man rotation in the Clippers.

Zhao Yuanzheng often rotates seven or six players, which in the eyes of the outside world is a sign of eagerness for quick success.

The game fell into the control of the Lakers from the beginning.

Robinson, as the team's anchor, played a very eye-catching performance.

In the past three games, Robinson has been criticized a lot, mainly because of his aggressiveness.

He can contribute 25+10 per game, but fans expect him to play 35+10 or even 45+10. However, Mutombo's penalty area defense is unparalleled in the world. Although Robinson is an insider who transcends the times, he does not have the skills to transcend the times.

.

Zhao Yuanzheng's strategy still worked.

All five starters played more than 40 minutes, and the Clippers obviously failed to keep up with this intensity.

107 to 102

The Lakers narrowly defeated the Clippers at the Forum Arena, with the score tied 2-2.

On the same night, the Eastern Heat defeated the Hornets 130-98, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals with unstoppable momentum.

An NBC reporter asked Donovan if he was worried about the Knicks, who have been on a sharp rise recently.

Donovan replied: "I'm just worried that they won't be able to come here (Eastern Conference Finals)."

1 Chief mate: refers to the ship driver whose position is only lower than that of the captain.

2. Don’t ask me cute questions like “Isn’t Memorial Coliseum the home of the Trail Blazers?”

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