ESPN reported the next day: The fifth game of the Western Conference Finals gave birth to the highest single score in this year's playoffs, and the fox brother of the Clippers cut a new personal playoff high - 66 points!

It was another breakthrough after Fox scored 64 points last season, and he overtook himself on the night.

Perhaps, as Fox himself said after the game, any star with less than three championship rings will be behind him, and if Fox can get more than six championship rings by the end of his career, then he will be the new emperor of basketball.

However, it is not only the fox brother who has the qualifications to become the new ball king, there is also a panda in the east that has a chance to be crowned the throne, and the best basketball player of the 21st century is likely to be born from between two animals. Perhaps from the moment they were born, they became lifelong rivals.

After the first five games of the Eastern and Western Finals, both sides played 2:3, although the Nets and Clippers breathed a sigh of relief, but the match point was still in the hands of the Bulls and Mavericks, and the sixth game will decide the life and death of the four teams.

The current situation can be described by a simple example.

At the moment, the Clippers and Nets are standing on the edge of the cliff, with two cows in front of them, crashing into them at full speed.

If the horns hit the target, the two teams on the edge of the cliff will say goodbye. But if it hits the air, the whole situation will be reversed, the Nets and Clippers both have home-court advantage, and once the total score is 3:3, the last one who rushes off the cliff will become two stupid cows.

On May 23, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be played in Chicago, which is also the Bulls' last home court. Can we grasp this last home field? Not only did it decide the fate of the Nets. At the same time, their own fate was also decided.

Ji Guoqiu was interviewed by reporters at the airport on his way to Chicago, and he said: "We know the importance of the next game, and if we lose, then we will undoubtedly push ourselves to death." The veterans in our squad are very experienced, they've all been through high-pressure games and now it's our turn to prove ourselves. ”

The New York Times released stats on several of the Nets' role players before the game. One of the most inconspicuous of them, Korver's performance in the Eastern Conference Finals turned out to be better than that of the Western Clippers. Aaron is even better.

In the first five games of the Clippers vs. Bulls, Korver averaged 15 points per game and scored nearly 20 points in three games, shooting 50% from three-point range, and was very consistent and efficient.

Reach. Sabi thinks this low-key man is a bit underrated.

"Hmmm! That's his style, and he's always unnoticed. Before boarding the plane, the Zen master said this about Kovor.

The sharpshooter, whose playing time was once compressed during the regular season, continued to play well in the playoffs. As long as Nash and Ji Guoqiu pass open shooting opportunities, Korver's grasp is always the highest on the team.

The Zen master gradually increased Korver's playing time in the playoffs. Even at the expense of Tony. Allen and George's playing time.

Ji Guoqiu commented on his teammates: "Fans always pay attention to the guys who play big slam dunks, and ignore the players who shoot on the screen, because it is a bit boring. ”

Thibodeau found that the media seemed to be focusing on the Nets' shooters before the game, and he secretly got his heart to it, and flipped out the video overnight to study the running positions of the Nets' shooters.

The next day, when Bryant learned that the coaching staff had been studying the Nets' outside runs all night, he scorned his coach in an interview.

Peter Pan scoffed at the media coverage and his coach's reaction: "I know him so well that every time he plays an important game, he releases that fake news to confuse the enemy. Yesterday the New York media suddenly reported on Korver and Novak en masse, and I knew they were unleashing smoke bombs and that the Nets wanted to cover up their true intentions. ”

When Thibodeau heard the news, he was very unhappy, and said in his heart, you can just tell us about this kind of thing, and stab the media, isn't that treating us all as fools?

Kobe Bryant's personality is like this, and he doesn't think there's anything wrong with doing that, Phil. Jackson also used this trick when he was with the Lakers, and he just told the truth.

The clock was fast approaching evening, and the game, which was extremely important for both sides, was about to begin.

Phil. Jackson was in the team's bus, looking at the report in the cat and fox tablet in his hand, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The trick released this time was not just to divert attention, although it did not confuse the Bulls, but the discord plan hidden in it succeeded.

In the eyes of the Zen master, the competition between the Nets and the Bulls, the Heat and other teams is not just a matter of one season, as long as the relationship between Kobe Bryant and the Bulls is constantly separated, a small crack will erupt sooner or later, which is the embankment of a thousand miles, collapsed in the anthill.

At the pre-match press conference, Ji Guoqiu said: "We are in a very dangerous situation, playing away, and we are facing the danger of being eliminated, the whole team must do their best to win this game." ”

Bryant said: "It's time to end this series today, and we should treat Game 6 as a do-or-die battle so that we can send the Nets home early and go back to sleep with peace of mind and not have to worry about that giant panda anymore." ”

Ross also said: "We have to win the home game, the best option is to win the sixth game, we can't play with baggage, we can't be happy that we have two games left, we have to play with energy and passion at the beginning of the game. ”

Speaking of vitality, the Bulls said the entire team said they had to limit Ji in Game 6, especially in the fourth quarter, and try to keep him away from the ball.

"It's even more terrifying when he stops playing like a magician and goes it alone like Jordan!" Bulls head coach Thibodeau said of the bag, "The best way is for him to catch the ball from beyond the three-point line, but I don't think we can do that, he's going to put us in the throat in the low post and at the free throw line." ”

Game 6 was crucial, but Thibodeau was confident in his team's ability to play on the road, threatening that even if the Bulls lost Game 6, they would still have a chance to advance. That being said, everyone knows that Game 6 at home is the best and probably the only chance for the Bulls to advance.

The Bulls are slightly higher than the Nets, but overall, the two teams are still evenly matched, so the dispute over the referee's decision adds some drama to the already exciting matchup, and the emotions of the fans of the two teams seem to be quite emotional now.

Bulls fans have been scolding the referees for taking black money from the animal brothers, and Nets fans have been scolding the league for manipulating the referees to kick them out.

Both teams know that when absolute strength is not enough to overwhelm their opponents, the referee's decision can be the decisive part.

In other words, whoever gets the judge's favor has a better chance of winning.

The Zen master is so good at planning details outside the field, naturally he will not be unaware of this, but he knows even more that the referee is just a disguise, and standing behind is the top of the league, it is David. Stern.

If these people are determined to let anyone lose, even if Zhuge Qin Demon is alive, there is no way.

Phil. Jackson's pre-game talk to the referees was on point, saying, "It's no different now than what I've been through with the Lakers, and that's how it is in the playoffs. In the past, when we played against the Spurs, every time we played in San Antonio, O'Neal would definitely get two fouls in the first two minutes of the game. It's a fact that sometimes the final victory in a series will depend on who has home field advantage and who thinks they will get home field advantage after the game. ”

The Zen master emphasized, "We don't want to cause more trouble at this time, we don't want to focus on irrelevant things. There are a lot of things that happen in basketball, and even if you feel that sometimes the referee's decision is wrong or not good for you, there are still a lot of things you can do to affect the course of the game, and there are many other things that you can control. ”

The Nets are back in the Bulls' visiting locker room, and as long as they win this game, they will return to their own turf in the next game, and the Nets will be 90% sure of taking out the opponent.

It's just that today's level is really difficult.

There have been some changes to the starting lineup sent by Zen Master today, and the five starters are: Nash, Matthews, Korver, Ji Guoqiu, and Vallejo.

Tony. Allen had previously been the Nets' starting No. 2 position, and he was tasked with defending Kobe.

But five games down, Tony. Allen's defense against Kobe Bryant was not very effective, Peter Pan created too many free throws in the game, and Kobe's back-to-back attacks on the wings often made Tony . Allen was embarrassed, he could have avoided the head-to-head battle and chose to sit with his back to hit the opponent, and Kobe Bryant's often explosive step-back jumper made Tony, who was not tall enough. Allen is difficult to defend.

Korver can't defend Kobe's breakthrough head-on, but his back-to-back offense will have a better defensive effect, as for Kobe's breakthrough, Ji Guoqiu and Vallejo can help make up for the defense, and the Nets' two interior tasks will be heavier today.

But to win, the Nets have to have a better offense, Tony. Aaron's shooting skills were so poor that the Zen master had to remove him from the starting lineup.

There is hardly a single outside player in the NBA who relies solely on defense, and it is almost impossible for such a player to be an important substitute rotation player, and it is basically impossible to become a starter with consistent playing time.

Atai can hold the ball and attack, Pippen has star-level offensive firepower, Battier's three-point shooting is very stable, even if Uncle Bao was back then, people also have the ability to shoot three-pointers in the bottom corner with a shooting rate of more than 40%, but now Tony. Allen, in addition to being useful in the fast break, is not very useful on the offensive end at other times, so it is difficult to play the main force even if the defense is good. (To be continued.) )