The Godfather of Basketball

Tang Tian couldn't laugh or cry when he heard Simmons' remarks after the game.

In the history of the NBA, there have been very, or maybe not at all, two rookies who are so back and forth.

On the bright side, these two have also attracted a lot of attention for the playoffs.

To be honest, in the previous life, the two also faced each other because of the matter of the best rookie, but now it is more direct than in the previous life. The two are going to directly confront each other on the stage of the playoffs.

Who is better, Simmons or Mitchell?

This has actually been discussed a lot in previous lives.

Simmons is more comprehensive, but he also has a fatal shortcoming of not being good at shooting.

Mitchell's scoring ability is stronger, but his talent is a bit worse than Simmons.

It was like this in the previous life, and it's about the same now.

But if Tang Tian had to choose, he would still choose Mitchell.

Mitchell’s competitiveness is something that most rookies, or even most players, don’t have. This is very important in the playoffs. This is why Mitchell was able to lead his team to the second round in his previous life, and why The reason why he would choose the latter between Booker and Mitchell.

And the fact that Simmons is not good at shooting is too fatal in the small ball era, better than James was forced to practice shooting in that era, let alone Simmons.

Of course, no one knows what will happen in the future, just like Griffin made his 20+10 debut, but then suddenly fell, Simmons seems to be the next James, who can guarantee that he will not be the next Griffin?

At least Mitchell can guarantee a better floor.

The 76ers won the tiebreaker, and on another field, Simmons developed the ultimate version of James. At the age of 34, he scored 45 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists at home with a large triple-double, abruptly leading the Cavaliers. Into the second round.

So far, the eight teams in the East and West semifinals have finally been released.

In the West, the Warriors will face the Pelicans who swept the Trail Blazers, and the Rockets will face the Spurs without Leonard.

In the East, the Nets will face the 76ers who advanced to the tiebreaker, while the Cavaliers, who have stumbled into the second round, will face the Celtics, who have been ready for a long time.

The Nets and 76ers are undoubtedly the most interesting.

Not only because of the entanglement between Simmons and Mitchell, but also because these two teams are upstarts in the Eastern Conference.

Needless to say about the lineup of the Nets, on the 76ers side, "The Great" Embiid, who was finally able to play, was 20+7+2 last season, and this season went further to 22+11+3. So far in the playoffs 22+12.6+3, the 76ers came back and waited for two years to finally pay off.

Simmons also took a year off. In his rookie season, he was 15+8+8, and he performed well in the playoffs with 16.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists.

Redick, who signed for 20 million a year, averaged 17 points and 42% three-pointers per game.

Saric, who is also in his second year as a rookie, is 14+7+3 in the regular season. He averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the 7 games of the playoffs, and he is like a master of inside support.

Belinelli, who was signed on the buyout deadline, was also able to score 13 points with a 35% three-point shooting percentage.

Plus the best 3D Robert Covington, the traded Ilyasova, and TJ McConaughey from the Nets, and the champion Lang Fultz.

The 76ers played a tiebreaker in the first round, but in terms of strength on paper, they have the capital to fight the Nets.

On April 30, US time, after two days of rest, the first game between the Nets and the 76ers finally kicked off in Brooklyn.

Barclays Center was crowded with people, and many fans held up signs supporting Mitchell.

"Beat that man!", "Donovan Mitchell, Rookie of the Year!", "Mitchell: I don't pay attention to Simmons either."…

Slogans like these fully express the inner thoughts of New York fans, who just want to watch the matchup between Mitchell and Simmons.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players of both teams came on stage one after another.

For the Nets, the team ushered in Irving's comeback, and Tang Tian also put him in the starting lineup.

Irving and Butler on the outside, George and Yi Jianlian on the front, and Jokic on the center.

For the 76ers, Simmons and Redick on the outside, Covington and Saric on the front, and Embiid at the center.

With the jump ball in the midfield, Embiid jumped the ball for the 76ers.

Simmons took the ball to the frontcourt and organized directly on the outside.

At this moment, the Nets' defense made the fans' eyes widen.

The Nets' defense is systematic. At this moment, Irving has already switched to Covington. George is directly facing Simmons. George is at least two meters away from Simmons. The team put Rondo exactly the same!

Redick was defended by Butler on the weak side, and Irving followed Covington to the bottom corner. Embiid and Saric cooperated at the free throw line, but George stood nearby, and their offensive space was compressed very little.

The Raptors and the 76ers played fast, and Simmons was like a fish in water, but Tang Tian would not do this. He would only seize the points that Simmons was not good at shooting and target to death.

When he coached the Rockets to play the Cavaliers in the finals, James was left on the three-point line for an entire series, and Simmons naturally couldn't escape.

And it was George standing in front of Simmons, even if he wanted to rush with the ball, George would not give him an easy layup.

Simmons is like a young James but not after all. It is difficult to suppress George to score one-on-one.

Simmons also knew this, so it seemed awkward to stand on the outside with the ball for a long time. Seeing that George had no sudden idea, but his passing teammates couldn't escape.

After hesitating until the half-ball was still in his hand after the final attack time, he could only signal Embiid to drop down and ask for the ball to play back.

But the Nets also expected this step before the game. Jokic went around and reached out to interfere at this moment, refusing to give Embiid an easy chance to catch the ball.

Simmons held up the ball for a long time but didn't send it in.

In the end, he had no choice but to give the ball to Saric at the free throw line. This was for him to organize, and he ran without the ball.

George posted it directly after seeing it, and didn't give him a chance to catch the ball.

Redick and Simmons ran for a long time without a chance. Saric could only hit Yi Jianlian hard, turned around to the basket and barely missed the shot. The defensive rebound was turned around and accepted by Yi Jianlian.

The strikers of Butler and George are really easy to use, and the 76ers can't fight at all.

Irving singled Saric with a cover in the frontcourt, and hit a jumper with an emergency stop after changing direction continuously.

Although he has just returned from injury, sufficient rest has allowed him to be in a very good state.

The 76ers sent the ball quickly from the backcourt, and Simmons ran forward with the ball. He wanted to take the initiative to speed up.

But the Nets retreated quickly. By the time he rushed to the frontcourt, the Nets' defense had completely fallen.

The live camera was shown to Simmons. He glanced at George who was standing two meters away from the free throw line, and his expression was a little at a loss.