The rest is just noise

The 2002-03 NBA playoffs were the most intense in twenty years.

Due to Garnett's injury and absence, the defending champion Lakers are no longer favored.

They stumbled into the Western Conference Finals and showed weakness against the high-spirited Dallas Mavericks.

After three games, the Lakers trailed 1-2.

When can Garnett return? This is what fans are eager to know.

The Lakers are also anxious about this, but the results of Garnett's re-examination are not satisfactory.

The team doctor believes that if Garnett is forced to return, it may lead to more serious consequences.

Just when Garnett was determined to take risks like an old-school player, Bird stopped him.

"Don't think that this team can't survive without you. We still have Bean. We all believe in him, and you have to believe in him too!"

From that day on, Kobe's offensive firepower was completely unblocked.

Starting from Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, Kobe averaged 45 points per game and made a season-saving three-pointer in the last 0.8 seconds of Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

But in Game 7, all this was meaningless. Without Garnett, the Mavericks' offense was unstoppable.

Nowitzki used 40 points and 15 rebounds in a single game to defeat the Lakers, who wanted to complete consecutive championships, and then won the first ticket to the Finals in team history. 4 to 3

"Mark Cuban can finally pay the luxury tax with a smile!" On the other hand, things are even worse in the East.

This year, the pattern in the east has changed somewhat.

Perennially ranked among the top three in the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks' defensive system collapsed due to Ewing's departure. Moreover, Zach Randolph's dissatisfaction with playing time led to a series of harmful incidents in the locker room, which made them in the regular season.

Losing the game in a row at the end.

The Celtics and Knicks are not teams of the same level at all, but they can create considerable difficulties for them in the series. This is enough to make people reflect.

Then, in the conference semifinals, the Knicks faced the Philadelphia 76ers for two consecutive years.

They won last year and they can win this year too.

The entire Knicks thought so, and as a result, O'Neal scored 46 points and 18 rebounds in the first game.

The Knicks woke up and began to use double-teaming and shark-cutting tactics to restrict O'Neal.

As a result, 36-year-old Benjamin Wilson showed off his might, scoring a season-high 51 points and 8 rebounds, allowing Philadelphia to capture two consecutive Knicks home games.

There's nothing worse in the playoffs than losing two home games in a row.

"Patrick Ewing not only took away his inside presence, but also took away the Knicks' iron core. I don't see any fighting spirit in this group of people!"

Spike Lee, a die-hard Knicks celebrity fan, yelled at the camera.

Sometimes it's hard for fans to understand the factors that undermine a team. They never imagined that just a few guys dissatisfied with playing time could turn the Knicks into a mess.

In the third game of the series, McGrady and Hill combined for 60 points, Webber scored a triple-double, and the Knicks pulled back one victory.

But when Game 4 came around, the Knicks were falling apart from the inside out. No one knew what was holding them back.

Except for McGrady, everyone is abnormal. McGrady alone cannot stop Philadelphia. 3 to 1

Veterans such as Stockton and Miller were unable to hold down the court. Neither Tracy McGrady nor Hill had the leadership ability of a boss. Weber, an outsider, never integrated into the Knicks. The leaderless Knicks ushered in the most miserable situation.

The end of the season.

117 to 101

The 76ers defeated the Knicks by 16 points and reached the Eastern Conference Finals again after 20 years.

This is also the first time in the O era of the Philadelphia 76ers that they have reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

Before the playoffs, Wilson had announced through his agent that he would test the free market in the summer. This will be the last season for the O team.

vs. 76ers

For fans, this is also their last hope.

If the team can win the championship, then Benj may be able to play in Philadelphia until he retires.

However, if the 76ers want their dream to come true, they still have to look at the attitude of the people next door. The Miami Heat had a bloody battle with the Indiana Pacers, the No. 1 defensive team this season, in seven games.

In terms of style, the Pacers are the team that restrained the Heat the most among the teams in the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals.

They want offense and defense, rhythm and defense, tactics and defense. In their eyes, everything can be solved with defense.

This team gathered three members of the All-Defensive Team and the Defensive Player of the Year.

They allowed Duncan to shoot an average of 43% from the field and made Liu Yuqing unable to shoot accurately throughout the series.

However, as the series progressed to Game 7, their offensive inability limited them from going further.

The Heat entered the Eastern Conference Finals under Duncan's dominant performance of 25+20+7+7.

Before the start of the Eastern Conference Finals, the league announced the candidate for this season's MVP. Kevin Garnett, who was considered the favorite for MVP, narrowly lost to Tim Duncan.

Duncan won his second MVP trophy. Although this incident caused a lot of controversy in the media circle, the controversy was mainly about whether Garnett deserves the MVP, not whether Duncan deserves it.

As for Duncan, everyone has no objections, but Garnett, who performed excellently in transitioning to playing center but was eliminated due to injury, is a bit cruel.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat and the 76ers heightened the atmosphere to the extreme. The point difference in each game was no more than 4 points, there were 5 overtimes, and two buzzer-beaters.

Wilson, who gave everything he had, finally showed his GOAT spirit in Philadelphia, averaging 34 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in the series.

In the tiebreaker, Wilson played the entire game and scored 40 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. O'Neal also had 30 points and 20 rebounds. In the last 0.4 seconds of the game, the two sides were tied. Then, in a controversial moment,

Liu Yuqing picked up the rebound from the outside and took a quick shot, beating the 76ers at the buzzer.

The reason why that moment is controversial is because from the perspective of time, Liu Yuqing did not have time to complete the shot after picking up the rebound.

But he completed the shot and it was ruled valid.

This three-pointer recorded in history created the greatest moment of Liu Yuqing's NBA career, but for the Philadelphia people, it was as disgusting as Maradona's Hand of God to the British.

Heat coach Billy Donovan concluded: "I hope the fans don't blame the referees. The situation was chaotic and they couldn't make the right judgment. We should appreciate Jiang Duo's shot. Was it timed out? Maybe,

This is an accident of history and a small willfulness of the goddess of luck."

This is not the first time Donovan mentioned luck.

When they got Kang Chengbiao from the Cavaliers almost empty-handed, Donovan said they were lucky.

During the season, Duncan played a heavy workload, but he was not injured like Garnett, which is also lucky.

Liu Yuqing's 0.4-second kill was also lucky.

Lady Luck's favor for the Miamians was not over yet. In the Finals, Dirk Nowitzki, the core of the Mavericks, suffered a knee injury during the third game.

The German wanted to play through injury, but coach Nelson forcibly stopped him. Without Nowitzki to involve Duncan in the paint, the Mavericks could only rely on the outside if they wanted to win the championship.

Bodiloga averaged a triple-double of 34 points per game, but Nash failed to reach his true level under endless defensive pressure.

Nash's misfire exacerbated the Mavericks' collapse.

In Game 6 of the series, the destined Heat defeated the Mavericks with a huge score and won the third championship in team history.

Duncan averaged 32 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks per game and was undoubtedly elected as the Finals MVP.

This championship is of great significance to Duncan. He became another player after Bodiloga to win MVP and FMVP in a single season.

The honor bonus of the season Grand Slam, plus the honors of 2 MVP and 3 FMVP, make

He's officially the best power forward of all time.

But, there is a problem.

"Tim Duncan is the GOAT at the power forward position, but the best power forward in history has spent most of his time playing center since entering the NBA. So, is he really a power forward? Is he really a power forward on earth?

Can there be a power forward who can post up Shaquille O'Neal and average 32 points per game?"

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