Bishop of the Devil

The reason why Danny Ainge wants to use these methods in this series.

In fact, it may not be that he doesn’t want to mess with Richard.

With the current situation, Lukai is about to be swept away. Naturally, he doesn't want Richard to pass the test so easily, and wants to set up some difficulties for Richard...

For example, if the locker room does not provide heating or hot water, if a few Pistons players really catch a cold, then even if Green Kai does not benefit, Richard will definitely have a hard time. Got killed in the Eastern Conference Finals...

But now Danny Ainge really doesn't dare to use these tricks.

…

The game on the court has begun, and the Pistons still have a considerable advantage.

On the court, Pierce and Billups played a little carelessly and seemed to be preoccupied.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the Pistons won this crucial match point game and led their opponents with a big score of 3:0.

Just after the game ended, Richard walked onto the field and wanted to ask the two of them what happened.

However, the two of them did not speak. They smiled bitterly and shook their heads and said it was okay.

The family scandal should not be publicized, and they were too embarrassed to tell Richard about it.

Richard was confused by this matter and had no idea what was going on...

In the next fourth game, the Pistons easily defeated Green Kai and successfully got a ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals.

…

The other Eastern Conference semifinal matchup in the East was not as smooth as the Pistons' mistakes.

After their four games, the two sides reached a 2:2 situation.

The 76ers won a victory at the Nets' home court, and the Nets also responded by winning a victory at the 76ers' home court.

The direction of this series may depend on the variable Da Zhi.

If Dazhi can break out, then the 76ers will have a chance to defeat the Nets and meet the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Look at the two games the 76ers lost, they really lost because Dazhi didn't break out...

In terms of the reasonableness of the overall lineup, there is no doubt that the Nets will beat the 76ers, but the 76ers have two magical figures, one is Iverson, and the other is Da Zhi. If the two of them break out, it is likely to decide the game. direction.

It is difficult for Iverson to break out under Kidd's defense...

However, the defensive intensity encountered by Dazhi is not that great. Whether the 76ers can pass this series depends on Dazhi's performance.

…

In the Western Conference, the Trail Blazers also directly swept the Mavericks and qualified for the Western Conference Finals.

As for the other matchup, the Kings are currently at a disadvantage. They were beaten by the Spurs with a score of 3:1.

It is estimated that this year's Western Conference Finals in the Western Conference will undoubtedly be a showdown between the Trail Blazers and the Spurs.

Originally, Richard was thinking about whether there would be an upset, such as having the Kings and Lakers play in the Western Conference Finals...

In this way, no matter which opponent the Pistons face, they will definitely be able to pass easily.

But now the opponent is either the Trail Blazers or the Spurs, both of which are definitely difficult to deal with.

Now that the Spurs' GDP combination has taken shape, Richard has a principle that is not to interfere in players' team selection.

After Ginobili's contract with the Trail Blazers expired, he went directly to join the Spurs, and the Spurs offered him a maximum salary contract.

So the Spurs are also quite strong right now. Whether the Trail Blazers can defeat the Spurs is really a matter of opinion.

…

On May 16, the 76ers and Nets finally decided the winner.

To everyone's surprise, the Philadelphia 76ers finally won this series.

The last game was the Nets' home court. As a result, Zhi didn't break out, but Iverson did break out. The breakthroughs throughout the game were so grim that the Nets complained endlessly.

Iverson scored 22 free throws in the entire game. Under normal circumstances, Iverson's free throw shooting rate is not too high.

But thinking about when he was playing at Purdue University, Richard strongly asked Iverson to practice his free throws, so now Iverson's free throws are quite good, reaching an 85% level.

In this crucial tie-break, Iverson scored 20 points just by relying on free throws. He scored 51 points in total and directly led the team to kill the basket. net, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Richard became amused. He had a lot of fun playing in the playoffs this year...

After the three-round series, it turned out that the top players on the opponent's team were all West Lafayette players, and the three-round series was all a West Lafayette derby.

Richard also knows that it is not uncommon for this kind of thing to happen. After all, the West Lafayette players have grown up now, and most of them have become the mainstay of the league.

Encounters in the playoffs in the future will definitely happen from time to time.

…

"Coach, we can have a good fight this time!" As soon as the series here ended, Iverson and Da Zhi called Richard with great excitement.

They had played against Richard's Blazers twice in the finals before, but both times were quite miserable and they were swept out...

Now they are meeting Richard in the Eastern Conference finals, and the two of them have already made up their minds to have a good fight with the Pistons.

…

"You two just don't cry when you lose..."

"I won't show mercy to you!" Richard joked with a smile.

"No need to be merciful, we have already thought of a way to deal with the Pistons lineup!" Iverson was quite confident.

Richard became amused. He liked Iverson's unwillingness to admit defeat. Even though the lineup was far behind the Pistons, they were still full of confidence.

"By the way, Dazhi, I will lead the team in this year's Asian Championships. Do you know this?" Richard asked with a smile.

"I know, I was notified a few days ago. Originally I didn't want to go, but since coach you want to go, I will go and join in the fun."

"Actually, it's the same with or without me. It's all a defeat anyway. It's enough for Yao Ming to lead the team by himself." Dazhi said with a smile.

Under normal circumstances, Dazhi did not participate in this Harbin Asian Championship.

But the reason was that Dazhi had a falling out with the country at that time...

Although Dazhi and China are relatively harmonious at the moment, Dazhi has no interest in this kind of rubbish competition.

It's just an Asian Cup, but it's not easy to win. Even if you win the championship, you won't get much credit.

He is different from people like Yao Ming. People like Yao Ming have to participate, no matter whether they are willing to participate or not. If they don't participate, they will get the best of them!

If Dazhi doesn't want to participate, no one can force him...

But now that Richard is coming to lead the team, he must still give Richard some face.

"Okay, let's take this opportunity to test the lineup and strive to achieve good results in the Athens Olympics." Richard said with a smile.

Iverson was standing next to Dazhi. Hearing Richard mention the Athens Olympics on the phone hands-free, he couldn't help but feel pain in his face.

"Coach, aren't you going to compete for the position of the U.S. Olympic men's basketball coach? I am preparing to participate in the Athens Olympics."

"Don't forget, you are an American. Don't you want to lead the American team to win the championship..." Iverson asked speechlessly.

Richard was also stunned. Good guy, I almost forgot that I am an American now...

Good guy, what would I have done if the Basketball Association of the United States had let me lead the American Dream Team?

"Ahem, Allen, let's talk about this matter. There are many talented coaches in the American basketball circle, and I am not the only one left. Let's talk about it when the time comes..." Richard coughed lightly and said with a smile.

…

Under normal circumstances, the coach of this Dream Team is Larry Brown. As for whether Larry Brown can still get this position now, Richard can't say yet.

Although Larry Brown was treated badly by Richard, he still has a status among the old and American coaches.

Those top coaches, such as Coach K, Nelson, Zen Master, Richard...

If they are not willing to go, then I'm afraid Larry Brown will really have to pick up the pointer.

Richard thought for a moment and didn't think too much about this matter. There must be a way to reach the mountain, and there will definitely be a way to solve this situation.

At worst, I'll trick Larry Brown again...

Anyway, I'm used to being cheated. Now that I don't cheat on Larry Brown, Richard feels like he can't sleep well.

…

The first game of the Eastern Conference Finals started, and what Richard didn't expect was that Rick Carlisle actually came up with a set of tactics that were relatively restrained by the Pistons.

Fast break!

This is also the essence of the tactics Carlisle learned when he was an assistant coach under Richard.

Needless to say, Iverson's speed. Although Da Zhi's speed is slower than that of backcourt players, he is still faster than Yao Ming.

Their current tactical purpose is to use the team's speed to offset the inside gap between the two sides as much as possible.

In front of the Pistons' Yao-Ke combination, the Philadelphia 76ers' inside combination is simply impossible to watch.

If they really sit down and play, the 76ers will probably end up not much better than the Magic and Green Kai, and they will definitely be swept.

Now we are playing fast breaks like crazy, regardless of whether we can win in the end, at least we can still find a glimmer of hope.