April 16, 2011, Indianapolis, Conseco Arena.

Starting today, the fierce playoff battle will be in full swing. Every team will fight until the last moment for their honor.

The fiercest physical confrontations, the fiercest clashes, and the most exhilarating battles are about to kick off in Indianapolis. And this place, for four whole years, has not experienced the baptism of such a tragic battle.

Therefore, before the game began, almost all eyes of the world were focused on the Magic team, which had just played the Finals two years ago. And the most eye-catching of the Magic team is undoubtedly the super center Howard, who is second only to Rose and James in the MVP rankings.

"Our goal is to win the championship, so we're going to do our best to make it to the end." Howard flashed his trademark charming smile as he faced the cameras of reporters on the sidelines.

And his phrase "our goal is to win the championship" can also be interpreted as "we can't capsize in the gutter in the first round." ”

Sure enough, Howard immediately added: "Indianas better be careful, Superman will destroy everything that stands in his way!" ”

After saying that, Howard punched the camera.

Seeing that his half was deserted, reporters all gathered around the players of the Magic team to interview, but Henson was not envious. After 82 regular season games, it's not the first time he's encountered this kind of thing.

Before the playoffs began, the media was almost unanimous in favor of the Magic. Whether or not the Magic can win a championship is another matter, but no one thinks they'll be eliminated in the first round.

And the Pacers' round of tours sounds much more "reasonable".

That's the habitual thinking that even if the Pacers outrank the Magic in the regular season, people will habitually think that the Magic are stronger.

But it's good that there are no reporters to interview them, at least it will make the little guys who are playing the playoffs for the first time less nervous.

"Dwight looks confident, this guy is the darling of the public everywhere." Looking at Howard, who was surrounded by reporters, Vogel was really a little uneasy. Henson's plan to "consume" Howard seems a little too risky.

"You have to admit that Dwight is a heartthrob. But it's a basketball game, Frank, not a talent show. In basketball, popularity is worthless! ”

Henson put away his usual hippie smile and looked extremely serious. At this time, the buzzer sounded suddenly.

The battle horn has been sounded.

※※※

"Hello everyone, this is Kevin. Harlan, I'm next to Reggie. Miller, today we will bring you the commentary of the game. ”

If the electronic beep is what gets the players into the game, then Kevin. Haalan's voice is what gets the fans around the world into the groove of the game.

The starting five on both sides have already taken up their designated positions, and the Magic's starting line-up is no different from the regular season.

Starting center Howard, power forward Bass, small forward Tecoglu, and shooting guard Jason. Richardson, the No. 1 spot is former All-Star guard Jameel. Nelson.

The Magic's lineup looks full of attacking power, but if Henson evaluates it, it's a far cry from the one they had when they played in the Finals two years ago.

On the Pacers' side, except for Dunleavy for George, the other four positions remained the same. Henson knows that Turkish forward Turkoglu is 2.08 meters tall, but he is an indispensable offensive playmaker for the Magic.

Sending a better defensive No. 3 to mark Turkoglou would undoubtedly put the Magic's offense in trouble. George's rise to prominence in the regular season allowed Henson to feel comfortable pushing him into the starting line-up.

The cheers in the Consec arena were deafening, after all, the fans here hadn't experienced such a revelry in four years.

The referee blew the whistle and threw the orange basketball into the air. Howard used his terrifying bounce speed and bounce height to fight for the Magic to attack the ball first, and the first playoff game for Henson and his Pacers officially began!

Howard looked very excited, the guy was waiting impatiently for this day. Being overtaken by the Pacers at the end of the regular season and losing home-court advantage made Howard very unhappy. And Howard's easy double-double in the final game of the regular season made him think he would do whatever he wanted within the Pacers' three-second zone!

"The Pacers were just slaughtered by the Magic in their last game, and I think they ...... today."

Kevin. Before Harlan could finish speaking, there was a loud bang in the stadium. Looking up, Howard grabbed the basket with both hands, and he completed his first dunk of the day!

"Oh my God, Howard went straight into flames after receiving Nelson's pass, and Horford couldn't stop that taller and stronger No. 12 at all! The inhumane dunk, the Orlando Magic played a momentum as soon as it opened! ”

After the dunk hit the ground, Howard shook his fist hard, and he must now feel like the most unstoppable superstar on the planet.

In reality, however, Henson had no intention of stopping him.

"Steady and steady, attack patiently!" Henson clapped his hands, slightly calming the morale of the players. Unless Howard can score 100 points, the Magic won't want to rely on a superstar to win!

With Henson's encouragement, the Pacers' offense was not affected by Howard's dunk.

The players weren't in a hurry, and Holiday was patiently organizing from beyond the three-point line. Pacers are good at playing fast, but that doesn't mean they can't play slow.

The 32-year-old Turkish forward Turkoglou, who returned after a season and a half of wandering with the Raptors and Suns, has lost his peak form, and it seems that the edges and corners of this "tall magician" have been smoothed out in the days when the Raptors and Suns continue to lose.

Against George, who was racing across the half, Turkoglou felt it was a little difficult to keep up.

Don't look at George's height of 2.06 meters, but his athleticism is no worse than that of a small man.

Horford covers, George runs away, and Turkoglu is blocked. Howard doesn't go out to help defend easily, and his defensive ability must be in the box to be most shown.

As a result, most of the Magic's perimeter players need to get out of cover and continue to defend their opponents.

The Turks pushed Horford away and lunged at George. By this time, George had already received the basketball and was ready to shoot.

Seeing this, the Turks couldn't help but speed up their pace. Although the young man named George is not as consistent as Dunleavy's three-point shooting, absolutely no one will choose to let him shoot.

Just as Turkoglu was about to jump and block, George took the basketball back and then dribbled through! George actually prefers to get rid of the defense with the ball rather than shooting!

Turkoglu didn't have time to change his focus, and by the time he turned, George had already made a stop-and-go jumper.

The Consec Arena erupted like a tsunami, and George raised his right arm as if to tell the Magic players and Howard whose turf it was!

"The Pacers' offense is solid, and it looks like they're not afraid to challenge the strong!" Kevin. Harlan thought that the Pacers would have stage fright because of Howard's opening dunk, but he didn't expect that George, a young rookie, played with the confidence of the Pacers.

"Afraid of the strong? No, no, no, I have to warn you. In the regular season this season, the Pacers have three more wins than the Magic! The two sides are at most evenly matched, and it is not certain who is strong! "Reggie. Miller said proudly.

It's clear that Howard doesn't want his reign to be broken so quickly, and still by a first-year rookie.

So on the next offense, he jumped high after Turkoglou's shot missed, and forced Horford to complete the dunk.

While Horford is an All-Star backup center in the East, even Henson must admit that he can't match Howard in athleticism and box dominance.

However, what Henson saw in the defense just now was not Horford's miss, but Tekoglu's iron.

He was right, the rest of the Magic team couldn't help Howard much!

Horford looked at Henson aggrievedly and said he really did his best. But Henson didn't yell, just pressed down with both hands, signaling Horford not to worry.

Throughout the first quarter of the game, Howard smashed the Pacers' restricted area like Hulk in Marvel Comics. He played 12 minutes in a single quarter, scoring 12 points and four rebounds.

On the Pacers' side, whether it is Horford or McRoberts who came off the bench, there is no way to take this beast.

However, after the first quarter, even though Howard had played such a good performance, the Magic only led by 1 point at 19-18!

"Howard put on an extreme individual performance, but the Pacers unexpectedly withstood his offense!" Kevin. Harlan looked at the statistics of both teams in the first quarter in surprise and instantly found the reason.

In the first quarter of the game, except for Howard, the Magic team was the only starter to score, which is an extremely unbalanced scoring distribution!

On the Pacers' side, there are as many as 7 people who have scored data!

Harlan came to his senses and used the team against the individual, and this is not exactly Henson. Is Joe's kid a good job?