Chapter 230: inside game
But this time, the media is not looking for Lian Dao, but for Millsap!
Millsap was a little surprised. You must know that his exposure in the Knicks has not been very high. Even David Lee has received more attention than himself. How come he is so popular all of a sudden?
After hearing the question from the reporter, Millsap also knew the reason.
It turned out that these reporters were so actively looking for him, not because of Millsap himself, but because of Warcraft Howard.
"Just now, Dwight Howard said in an interview that they are very happy to meet you in the second round. Howard said that the Magic will have an advantage against you. What do you think of Dwight Howard\'s remarks? Look, Paul!"
Millsap no longer had a smile on his face at this time, and Lian Dao, who was pitching next to him, couldn\'t help shaking his head at this time.
If this is really Howard\'s true thoughts, Lian Dao will feel very happy, after all, sometimes arrogance is the biggest cause of failure.
At the same time, this also means that Howard\'s mind is also immature.
In competitive sports, you must not expose any of your shortcomings, otherwise your opponents will catch them and chase after you!
It seems that this round of series will definitely be very interesting.
Howard\'s active attack in front of the media also made this game full of more highlights. Many netizens also want to see whether Howard is a powerful monster or just a talking king.
"God of War finally met World of Warcraft. They had four fights in the regular season. Although the New York Knicks were at a disadvantage, it was the regular season after all. Sickle didn\'t bring out many hidden things during the regular season."
"Of course, it is not ruled out that the Magic also has their hole cards, so this game has also attracted the attention of many fans. They also met again in the semi-finals of the playoffs! My name is Mike Breen, and welcome to the NBA playoffs Semifinals, Magic\'s first game against the Knicks."
Today\'s commentary is ESPN\'s famous mouth Mike Brin. In today\'s game, he partnered with Jeff Van Gundy to explain the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Magic and the Knicks.
The two have also commented on the NCAA semifinals before. At that time, the University of Southern California played against the University of Connecticut.
On the court, players from both teams have already started warming up.
The scene first gave a split-screen close-up of Lian Dao and Howard, who are the star players of their respective teams; secondly, a close-up of Howard and Millsap, who are the direct opponents in this game.
"Paul has made great progress this season, especially in the game against the Bucks in G1, he defended Bogut very well, especially his body is very strong, and the defense at the basket will not be afraid of big center players at all, and Defensively, he\'s also very strong."
"However, whether Paul can restrain Howard is still unknown. Moreover, Howard has also spoken publicly. The Magic have an advantage against the Knicks!"
"You know, Sickle is currently recognized as one of the most difficult players to defend in the league. The Bucks have proved Sickle\'s strength in the playoffs, especially the 47+ triple-double record in four games, which made everyone Call it a miracle, I don’t know what tactics the Magic have for this!” Mike Breen brought out the highlights of the game as soon as he came up.
Lian Dao\'s offense, Howard\'s peak inside strength, Millsap\'s defense!
The strongest outside line VS the strongest inside line!
At this time, on the Magic bench, Stan Van Gundy was still struggling to defend Lian Dao. In the regular season matchup, they had never restricted Lian Dao. Unexpectedly, he improved in the playoffs, not only Maintained the state of the regular season, but also developed a mid-range shot.
Especially the mid-range fadeaway jumper against the Bucks, Stan Van Gundy was terrified. He hasn\'t figured out how to defend Lian Dao until now.
Matt Barnes is a slender small forward. He is tough on defense but not strong enough, and his athletic ability is average. If he is put against Lian Dao, he will almost be sieved by Lian Dao\'s speed, or his physical strength direct rolling.
In addition to Matt Barnes, then only Michael Pietrus, his defensive ability is still good, especially the individual defensive ability.
He is the most secure defensive barrier on the perimeter of the Magic.
Strong upper body strength and good follow-up speed, coupled with high-quality defensive awareness make him one of the best defenders at the forward position.
Of course, sometimes too frizzy and rude personality also makes him often have too brutal actions when defending.
He is not a universal defender and is afraid of some super scorers, but Stan Van Gundy has no better way at the moment.
"Michael, you are starting today, and your only task is to prevent that Chinese kid who wears the No. 1 jersey!" Stan Van Gundy said, looking into Michael Pietrus\' eyes.
"Good coach, I will definitely complete the task." Michael Pietrus immediately agreed when he heard the coach asked him to start, no matter who he was defending.
Stan Van Gundy did not choose to double-team Lian Dao, because after watching the Bucks game, he found that double-teaming Lian Dao would give other Knicks players a lot of opportunities.
In many cases, Knicks players turned this opportunity into scoring. The reason is: Lian Dao is still a super passer.
In particular, he averaged 12 passes per game against the Bucks.
This is also the reason why Stan Van Gundy dare not double-team Lian Dao easily.
As a last resort, Stan Van Gundy is unwilling to use double-teaming tactics, unless other Knicks players have problems with the touch, so Howard sits at the basket, and double-teaming Lian Dao can achieve the greatest effect.
On the other side, on the Knicks\' bench, D\'Antoni looked at Millsap and said: "Paul, Howard will be handed over to you, push him out of the basket, don\'t let him have a chance to dunk under the basket, it is best to let him hit the basket." Shot from distance."
"Sickle, you should break through to the inside more often. David and Paul remember to set up pick and rolls for Sickle. Sickle looks for Howard more. If we can knock him off the field, we will have a much easier game!"
Five minutes later, the starting players of both sides entered the designated positions.
The Amway Arena was filled with jubilation. They believed that Howard, the head star who led the Magic to the Finals last season, even more firmly believed that this season, the semifinals would definitely not be the end of the Magic.
"Both players jump ballHoward easily jumps the ball! Stan Van Gundy starts Michael Pietrus in the playoffs and puts 3-point shooter Matt Barnes on the bench .”
"It has to be said that the height of these two players is not an advantage when they are in the third position. They are both less than two meters tall. However, Michael Pietrus\'s defensive ability is relatively stronger. The head coach of the team also hopes to use Michael Pietrus to limit sickle, but whether this substitution will work is still unknown!"
As soon as Mike Brin finished speaking, the Magic launched their first offense, and the basketball was passed on the outside many times.
They are waiting for Howard\'s position.
Howard is also very active, he must use his own strength to fulfill what he says, otherwise he is a pure mouth king.
With an expression on Millsap\'s face, he firmly resisted the tall Howard.
Millsap did not appear to be gnashing his teeth, nor did he appear nervous.
The experience of the first round of the playoffs has taught him how to deal with inside players who are taller than himself.
Howard had to stabilize his position, and then raised his right hand!
Lewis immediately lobbed the ball in, and the Magic had to hit the inside line as soon as they came up.
"Howard received the basketball, can Millsap defend this attack?"
In the audience, many people stood up, including Mike Breen.
The inside game between the two teams is also the first highlight of this game.
Because this offense is likely to be the whole game, a microcosm of the inside offense of the two teams. If Millsap can\'t defend this ball, it will be difficult to defend Howard basically throughout the game.