Chapter 161 u1s1......

"Tough love" (Note 1) is, in Su Feng's opinion, quite fitting to describe the current Raptors.

Because after his yell, the team's spirit immediately changed...

In short: Mental preparation is key to maintaining a team's combat effectiveness.

In the third quarter, the Raptors, awakened by the Pistons, gradually began to seize the initiative in Game 1.

Of course, one factor was the Pistons' declining stamina.

After all, they had just finished a life-or-death battle with the Heat the day before, and today they were running at full speed with the Raptors for an entire first half. Even if everyone on the Pistons was superhuman tonight, their stamina was bound to suffer.

On the court, in the third quarter, led by Su Feng and starting with defense, the Raptors continuously widened the point difference to double digits through fast breaks.

At TNT, Smith commented, "Although the Pistons played a very good first half tonight, when you face a top team like the Raptors, even one mistake can be fatal."

As everyone knows, when a weak team plays a strong team, if the weak team can't reduce mistakes, the strong team will continue to snowball their advantage.

And tonight, with their stamina clearly inferior to the Raptors, how could the Pistons achieve zero turnovers against the Raptors' unrelenting defense?

However, just as the Raptors fans at the arena and in front of their TVs were marveling at "how strong we are," an event in the latter half of the third quarter once again alerted Su Feng.

Because at the Air Canada Centre, after noticing that the team's momentum was gone, Carlisle made a decision that Su Feng considered incredibly wise.

That was:

"Tactical retreat."

With two minutes left in the third quarter of Game 1, Carlisle actively substituted out key players like Hill and Hughes, leaving only Stackhouse on the court.

As a result, with Stackhouse unable to replicate his magical touch from the second quarter, the Raptors' lead quickly expanded to 19 points after three quarters.

In the final quarter, the Pistons, starting with an all-role-player lineup, were hit with a 9-0 run by the Raptors right from the start.

"It looks like the Pistons aren't planning to bet any more on this Game 1.

After removing all of the team's key players, coach Rick Carlisle has chosen to hand over this Game 1." Smith said on TNT.

"Although we often say that in a best-of-seven series, losing one or two games isn't a big deal.

But isn't it a bit of a pity to give up on this Game 1 like this?" Drek added from the side.

It had to be said that being able to see that the Pistons players' stamina was insufficient to compete with the Raptors in serious mode, despite the Pistons players being in good shape tonight...

In Su Feng's opinion, Rick Carlisle was no ordinary person.

In Su Feng's past life, many fans, when reviewing Nowitzki's "single-core championship" year, often only saw Nowitzki's steel-like willpower and his reverse aging.

But they forgot Carlisle, who had laid a trap for James and Wade behind Nowitzki.

If you know enough about the Mavericks' history, you'll know what kind of mess Little General Johnson left for Carlisle.

In the NBA, despite being full of mediocre coaches, there are also excellent coaches like Carlisle.

And if we continue with Smith's commentary, then in Su Feng's eyes, the Pistons weren't giving up on betting on Game 1.

They were just placing their chips on the rest of the series.

Su Feng noticed this during the fourth quarter when the camera focused on the various expressions of the Pistons players.

Because unlike most teams, who would show some disappointment after a defeat...

In the fourth quarter, when Carlisle subbed out Stackhouse, the only remaining key player, the Pistons players, led by Hill, and even their benchwarmers, didn't show any obvious signs of disappointment on their faces.

On the contrary, from the Pistons players' micro-expressions at the time, Su Feng read an emotion called, "We might really be able to compete with these Raptors."

"It's going to be a tough series after all."

In the final quarter, Su Feng, who had already returned to the bench to rest, looked at the scoreboard and sighed silently.

……

In the end, relying on their excellent performance in the second half, the Raptors successfully secured their opening victory in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The final score of the game was 99 to 118.

Throughout the game, Su Feng made 11 of 21 shots, including 3 of 6 three-pointers, and 7 of 8 free throws, scoring a team-high 32 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Carter scored 17 points in the second half, contributing the team's second-highest 24 points and 5 rebounds.

Ben grabbed 18 rebounds, including 9 offensive rebounds.

For the Pistons, Hill contributed 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Stackhouse made 6 of 13 three-pointers, and with free throws and two-pointers, scored a team-high 27 points.

In the post-match interview, Su Feng was most often asked about the upcoming announcement of the NBA's various awards for the 99/00 season.

While still trying to figure out how to steadily win the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Su Feng didn't forget to provoke the shark swimming in the sewers of Los Angeles.

"I've said many times before, I don't care who the MVP is given to. Because right now, for me and my team, the championship is our only pursuit.

In my opinion, at this time, it's foolish to spend time trying to get people to vote for me." Su Feng said in the interview.

In the Raptors' locker room, listening to Su Feng's answer, if the reporters remembered correctly, a day ago, last night, it seemed that a man named O'Neal was shouting in Los Angeles, asking the experts to vote for him...

Hiss————!

Honestly, it wasn't that the reporters wanted to stir things up, but after interviewing Su Feng, they found that Su Feng was even better at it than they were!

Because of Su Feng's remarks, if you said he wasn't mocking O'Neal?

Who would believe that?

"Su... do you really not need us to pass you more balls in the game?"

In the locker room, after the locker room interview, looking at Su Feng, who looked calm and was preparing to go scrub backs with Ben, Carter asked curiously.

In Carter's view, now was the critical moment to decide the regular season MVP, so he originally thought that Su Feng would drag everyone to the sewers with him like he did in the regular season...

However...

The longer he spent with Su Feng, the more Carter found that he really couldn't understand this rabbit in front of him.

"Vince, how many times have I told you, I'm a team player." Patting Carter on the shoulder, Su Feng said solemnly.

Carter: "..."

In fact, in Su Feng's opinion, Carter's worries were completely unnecessary.

Because the Raptors had already achieved a record of 74 wins and 8 losses, Su Feng was very clear that Stern would never let the regular season MVP fall into the hands of others.

Moreover, it was already 2000, and surely no one really thought that his performance in the first round of this year's playoffs was bad, right?

What a joke, with the Knicks only playing a few minutes each game before surrendering, even if you replaced Su Feng with Westbrook, that would also...

emmmmm...

Let's change the subject!

According to the schedule, Game 2 of the Raptors' series with the Pistons will be played on the 8th.

Compared to the Raptors' easy win in Game 1, Su Feng believed that the well-prepared Pistons would cause even more trouble for the Raptors...

……

On the 8th, at the Air Canada Centre, after the mutual probing in Game 1, the Raptors found themselves in a tough battle right from the start of Game 2.

From the two teams' lineups, the Raptors were definitely the more advantageous side, but as everyone knows, basketball is not a sport where the strength of the lineup alone can determine the outcome of the game.

Otherwise, with the Knicks' All-Star starting lineup, how many championships would they have won?

Because the Pistons could match up with the Raptors at every position, coupled with Carlisle's highly targeted tactics, many of the Raptors' advantages couldn't be fully utilized when facing the Pistons.

For example, the Raptors' speed and transition offense.

Matching small with small, after adapting in Game 1, the Pistons successfully and effectively limited the Raptors' fast breaks through quick retreats and man-to-man defense in the first quarter.

Although the Raptors' two wings had strong one-on-one abilities, Carlisle successfully resolved the Pistons' pressure when dealing with the Raptors' isolations through a simple math problem.

That was, no matter how efficient Su Feng and Carter were, the Raptors could only score through one of them per possession.

In other words, as long as the Pistons could play good offense and ensure that they could keep up with the Raptors' scoring pace when Su Feng and Carter were on fire, they could compete with the Raptors.

In Su Feng's past life, many fans, when seeing the lineup of the four-star Warriors, believed that the Warriors should win every game by 20 or 30 points, and win every game until they won the championship.

But in reality, if Kerr continued to insist on letting Durant isolate in the future Warriors-Rockets series, without finding a way to get the ball back to Curry, and if Paul wasn't injured, it was really unknown whether the Warriors could get past the Rockets.

To put it bluntly, in terms of lineup alone, the Warriors could completely dominate the Rockets in every aspect.

But because there was only one basketball, if the Warriors couldn't create synergy between the stars, then all they could rely on was Durant's scoring ceiling.

And once Durant's isolation couldn't hold up at a certain point, they would easily be pushed back by the Rockets.

The first quarter of this Pistons-Raptors game was the same situation.

In the playoffs, it was common sense to hand the ball to the franchise player as much as possible to avoid mistakes.

So, rather than saying that the Raptors were actively seeking to use their stars in isolation plays, it was better to say that, since Game 1, they had fallen into the one-on-one man-battle trap prepared for them by Carlisle.

Fortunately, Davis froze up at a critical moment.

Because the Raptors' real coach, after the first quarter, when he returned to the bench to rest, successfully found inspiration through an "MVP mascot" sitting on the sidelines.

At that time, Stephen Curry was seen waving his little fists, constantly complaining to his younger brother Seth Curry that the Raptors had become a team that only passed the ball to "Uncle Melo."

Hearing this, Su Feng, who originally wanted to take advantage of Dell Curry's inattention to teach this damn brat a lesson, was inspired by Stephen Curry and saw the key to correctly opening this series.

In the second quarter, at the Air Canada Centre, just as Raptors fans were eagerly anticipating Su Feng to win his true man-battle with Hill to help the team expand their lead...

The Raptors' lineup change came.

Unlike previous games, Ben, who should have been bringing the reserves with Su Feng in the second quarter, was kept on the bench by Davis.

Replacing him at center was Little O'Neal.

In addition, Su Feng's position in the second quarter was also moved to power forward.

As for the small forward position, it was filled by McGrady.

The shooting guard and point guard were respectively Old Curry and Nash.

Tonight, after the first quarter of the two teams, many experts in North America believed that the Raptors should find a way to play defense like they did in the second half of Game 1.

After all, fast breaks were the Raptors' winning formula in the past two years.

Therefore, whether when discussing with his strategists or when thinking about how the Raptors should change their lineup to avoid being led by the nose by the Pistons, Davis had never considered abandoning Ben.

Similarly, because he had been playing a bit too much lately, Su Feng hadn't thought about this either.

However, Curry's words, as well as the mindset of the Warriors in the future, successfully inspired Su Feng.

That was...

Why should we think like that simpleton Van Gundy?

Why don't we try to find our advantage in other ways?

In this series, because the Pistons' lineup was fast enough to keep up with the Raptors, and because they had adopted a strategy of leaving Ben open, they were one of the few teams in the league that could force the Raptors to only use isolations to attack them.

But now, after the Raptors abandoned Ben, the situation was completely different.

Perhaps, the Raptors' defense would be greatly reduced.

But please, don't doubt the Raptors' offensive ability under the leadership of Steve Nash.

At the start of the second quarter, after Hill, who also insisted on playing without rest, scored the first point for the Pistons with a layup, Little O'Neal immediately hit a three-pointer for the Raptors at the top of the arc through a high pick-and-roll.

Immediately after, Stackhouse missed a jump shot, and the Pistons quickly retreated.

Just as the Pistons had just set up their defensive formation, Nash used an imaginative pass to directly penetrate the Pistons' entire defense.

In the paint, McGrady, receiving Nash's pass, easily made a layup.

29 to 34.

At the Air Canada Centre, after the Raptors played two consecutive smooth offensive plays that were rare in this series, Carlisle on the Pistons' bench suddenly felt a chill.

Because the problem that Davis had given him was obviously a bit out of syllabus...

Wait...

Why did you dare to abandon Ben?

And why can you still put out such a strong lineup after abandoning an All-Star player?

Unlike the Warriors in the future.

Because Su Feng's talent in organizing was limited, so when the ball was in his hands, most of the time, Su Feng thought about how he should finish the attack.

However, like the Warriors in the future, who had an imaginative MVP point guard...

Sorry, we also have an MVP-level point guard.

In addition, Little O'Neal, Su Feng, McGrady, and Old Curry all had some outside shooting ability, so all of a sudden, under Nash's mobilization, the entire Raptors offense became active.

In the NBA, although defense wins championships is a truth in many people's minds, in Su Feng's opinion, that was only because those offensive teams didn't have strong enough firepower.

Because, offense is the best defense!

Basketball games can be about who scores the fewest points, but at the same time, can't they also be about who scores the most points?

On the court, with the Raptors suddenly playing a wave of offense, cheers erupted at the Air Canada Centre!

The splash was rampant, and the waves were turbulent!

Without a doubt, tonight's Raptors, with the help of the Pistons, had once again evolved!

……

ps: Sorry, I had very high blood pressure yesterday and the day before, and after going to the hospital for an examination, I also found out that I had high blood sugar and other problems... Anyway, after the doctor's various professional terms, I always felt that I was going to die soon... (Not selling misery, just feeling anxious about my solid weight of 190 pounds)

I'll update one chapter first, please bear with me these few days, because I will occasionally faint suddenly these two days, and my back can't hold up, so I can't sit for long.

ps2: Note 1: "Jian Pizi" (贱皮子) is a local dialect, the meaning depends on the context, here it refers to the bad habit of the Raptors players who get cocky if they are not scolded.