The Whip of the God of Basketball

The strong offensive power of the Celtics' starting lineup soon overwhelmed the Nets. In the entire first half, the Celtics grabbed 5 more offensive rebounds and 11 more free throws than the Nets, and continued to use breakthroughs in the offense. And score inside to tear apart the Nets' inside line. Kenyon Martin committed three fouls in the first half and had to sit out for the second half of the second quarter.

At 63:45, the Celtics led the Nets by 18 points in the first half, but in the third quarter they were not satisfied with this 18-point advantage. Instead, they continued their strategy in the first half, using simple and brutal offense. Strategy to overwhelm the Nets.

Kidd could feel that his pace was getting slower and slower. During the halftime break, he underwent physical therapy on his knee to relieve the pain. But after playing, as the score gap between the two sides widened, he could feel that the hope of winning was growing. A little bit of loss, because the Nets were completely unable to organize an effective offense and defense to resist the advancement of the Celtics.

Two years, just two years, the Nets went from defeating the Celtics to the finals, to now watching their opponents become an insurmountable mountain.

Kidd still strives to maintain his inner peace. Although he is a hot-tempered guy, that is off the basketball court. On the basketball court, he is a calm, wise organization master and defensive master. He knows that this is a series, and maybe they will lose miserably in this game, but this is only the first game. In the series, a defeat of thirty points is the same as a victory of only one point.

No NBA superstar will give up before the end of the series.

In the final stage of the first game, Nets head coach Frank replaced the substitute players, announcing the arrival of garbage time. 101:81, the Celtics won the first game of the semifinals with a 20-point victory. Winning a game and coming out on top. And it seems that the Celtics did not use their full strength in the game.

Two days later, the second game between the two sides started at North Shore Garden, but it seemed that this game was not much different from the first game, and the Nets' performance in the opening game was even worse. Because in the Boston hotel, they accepted the traditional courtesy of Boston fans, and a series of activities such as fire alarm harassment in the middle of the night, firecrackers setting off outside the window, etc. troubled the players.

As a result, on the day of the game, the players were in a sluggish state, and the Celtics, who were playing at home, were in high morale. The Nets were on the verge of collapse. They fell behind by 20 points again in the first half and had almost no power to fight back. Such a big hole is really impossible to fill even if you want to. 111:89, another big defeat. The Celtics are already leading 2:0, taking a powerful step towards sweeping the game.

However, Kidd said at the post-game press conference: The series has just begun, and I think we will have a better performance in New Jersey.

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On May 9, Leon went to New Jersey with the team, taking a 2:0 lead. This was the third time in three years that they went to New Jersey in May. This city is only separated from New York by a river. Leon is already very familiar with the city.

The Nets' home court is in East Rutherford County, which is not only New Jersey, but also a district of New York, so the Boston Celtics are equivalent to fighting New York teams for two consecutive rounds.

Because Boston is relatively close to New York, the whole team took a bus to the competition venue. When the bus entered New York, Leon saw "Welcome-to-New-York, Go-" on a billboard beside the road. to-hell-Celtic" slogan.

When the bus arrived in East Rutherford, the slogans erected by some fans on the roadside became even more explicit. Leon even saw his own cartoon portrait hung on a telephone pole by the roadside, with paint sprayed on it. "Get-over-yourself" (Don't take yourself seriously), apparently the Celtics and Leon want to sweep all the way to the idea, angered fans in the New York area.

Now, the unsatisfactory Knicks have been kicked out, and the New Jersey Nets will be the last hope to teach the Celtics a lesson. The media throughout the New York area are hyping up Game 3, as if they think that as long as the Nets win Game 3, they will win the entire series.

After arriving at the hotel, Leon issued a ban on the players, prohibiting the players from going to New Jersey at night to look for flowers. After all, this is New York and the nightlife is rich and colorful. Leon does not want the players to waste their energy on the bellies of New Jersey girls. Yes, I won’t have the energy to compete online tomorrow.

"Any slack is not allowed. We are the strongest team, and we must also exert our strongest strength. When everything is over, I will take everyone to Las Vegas for three days and three nights. , I’m the VIP there.”

Leon told the players this way. Leon knows that during the long regular season, the players may need entertainment adjustments, but in the sprint playoffs, it is very important to work hard in one go. He doesn't want the team to get into any long struggles. The Celtics don't need such promotion games to temper themselves. They have already had enough tempers.

On the evening of May 10, the day of the game, Leon and the players arrived at the Continental Airlines Arena early to start their warm-up training. Before the game, Leon spent a few minutes observing the situation of the Nets players. From the warm-up, he could feel that the Nets players were still very relaxed. After all, they were back at home, and being behind 0:2 was not a desperate situation. As long as they won the third place In the field, everything is possible.

As the time for the game got closer and closer, there were more and more fans in the arena. Leon could feel the deep malice from the New Jersey fans. Some people kept booing him from behind, and some Slogans mocking him repeatedly appeared on the big screen in the center of the arena, which was a great show for the live broadcast.

After several years of training, Leon didn't care about this. He gathered the players together and gave the last instructions before the game. This was his habit. Regardless of whether the players could listen or not, he had to give his own instructions. ideas are instilled in them.

The referee for tonight's game is Dan Crawford, a black referee from Chicago. Leon has never had a very good impression of him. Leon's brain is so easy to use. He has a referee database in his mind. Every referee in every game knows all about the Celtics' various penalties. Although the vast majority of referees are relatively fair, Leon's brain is so easy to use. , but she was still able to screen out several referees who were not friendly to the Celtics, and Crawford was one of them.

Sure enough, after the game started, Arenas was called for a foul when he made a layup with the ball for the first time in the first quarter. He pushed Kidd with his arm when he was going for a layup. In the first two games, the referees muddle along with such actions. Tonight was different. As soon as the referee came up, he used his whistle to tell Arenas and the Celtics players that it would not be that simple to use this barbaric method to score on the head of the Nets again.

On the contrary, on the Nets side, once the Celtics' offense is not so fierce, Kidd can devote more energy to organizing the offense. Tonight, Nets head coach Frank made an important adjustment, which is to let Rodney Rogers replace Gittles in the starting lineup, let Jefferson go to the shooting guard position to face Reid, and let Rogers strengthen the basket. The ability to protect backboards behind the net.

This move had a very good effect in the first half. The strong Rogers effectively resisted the impact of the Celtics on the backcourt rebounds from the outside. If it was just a two-person confrontation, Collins and Martin were not in vain. Garnett and Brown .

In the first half, with smooth ball passing on the offensive end and good rebound protection, the Nets, which had collapsed in the first half of the first two games, clung to the score - because of the offense of Pierce and Reid on the Celtics' side. Still unstoppable.

At 55:57, the Nets trailed the Celtics by two points at halftime. This undoubtedly gave fans at the scene a shot in the arm. Obviously, the Nets have hope of defeating the Celtics at home in this game. The key lies in the third quarter. .

During the halftime break, Leon looked at the team's statistics and was thinking about how to defeat the Nets in the third quarter in order to hurt their self-esteem to the greatest extent.