On May 1, 2008, the Los Angeles Clippers got off to a flying start with a big win away to the Utah Jazz.

In the first game, the twin brothers both had the best table, and they blew up the Jazz's interior combination.

The Clippers had a 58-41 advantage in overall rebounding and a 20-7 advantage in frontcourt rebounding, which was key to the Clippers' game-winning victory, as they dominated the rebounding ball.

Since ancient times, those who have an interior line win the world, which is the number one rule for a team to survive in the playoffs, and having an excellent interior line is equivalent to holding victory in your hands. In fact, the first round of the season showed that in full, teams with strong interior lines won without exception, and the Jazz were no exception. And the rocket that lacks Yao Ming, in the face of the powerful Jazz inside line, still has the intention to kill the thief after all, and has no power to return to the sky.

The Clippers won more than just rebounding, as they made 33 of their 40 free throws and shot 82.5 percent overall, with the twins missing just one free throw combined. Looking at the Jazz's free throws, they made 41 free throws, more than the Clippers, but they only hit 29 of them, and the more free throws resulted in worse goals than the Clippers, and the Jazz lost for one more reason.

In the end, another reason for the Clippers' win was the bench players' effective play, contributing 13 points to the game, the old cat Mobley, who made a three-pointer from the outside every time he appeared, helped the Clippers extend the score advantage, and he and Thomas's excellent appearance in the bench period opened up the difference, allowing the Clippers to establish a game advantage and lead all the way until garbage time.

"We're in a good situation right now, but the toughest test we're facing right now is mentality. Pride is the biggest enemy of all leaders, and before a lead is time to sit back and relax, the big guys keep our excitement in their hearts until we are eliminated or win the championship! ”

When Dunleavy Sr. returned to Los Angeles, the first thing he did was not to lay out the tactics for the next game. Instead, I taught the players a lesson, and the theme was to remind the players not to underestimate the enemy!

On May 2, 2008, the second round of the Western Conference playoffs continued, and the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Hornets will play the first game of the second round of the playoffs.

As the second-most championship-winning team in NBA history, the Hornets are too inexperienced compared to the mighty Purple and Gold. But after all, they eliminated the Phoenix Suns, and the New Orleans are ready to continue fighting.

The Hornets made the playoffs for the first time in nearly four years this season, and they were impressed by the series in which they eliminated the Suns, but when they faced the Lakers, people still used to see them as underdogs. For this, Hornets center Tyson. Chandler expressed his displeasure: "I don't know if there are a lot of people in this team who see themselves as underdogs, but for some reason we've been labeled like this. We've been seen as underdogs, but we don't mind that because it looks like people change their attitude if you win a few more games, so hopefully we can win a few more games. ”

Shortly after the Hornets advanced, the Lakers eliminated the Mavericks in the same five games. Hornets coach Byron. "The Lakers have a better playoff table than they did in the regular season, you can't leave them out, they know how to win games," Scott said. ”

The New Orleans eliminated the Suns with a total score of 4-1 in the first round to advance. Chris. Paul's excellent performance was a big reason for the team's success, and they are looking to win the second round off to a good start at home today; The Lakers want to continue the glory of the Purple and Gold, trade to Gasol this season, and the Purple and Gold eliminated the Dallas Mavericks with a, and they obviously want to do it again with the Hornets, at least not worse than their neighbors.

Xinke "Coach of the Year". Byron. Scott inspired his players in the usual way before the game, showing the Hornets boys three championship rings — with the Lakers in the '80s. This was the first time he led the team to a playoff encounter with his old club since the '03 Finals.

This year is also the first time in six years that the Hornets have reached the second round. The team reached the second round for the fifth time in its 20-year history. In the previous four second-round trips, the Hornets had never won their first game. If they beat the Lakers today, it would be the equivalent of making history.

"We knew we could play against them, and knocking out Phoenix made us understand that we're one of the best teams in the West," Scott said. I feel like we've proven ourselves in the first round and they know we're going to challenge them as well, because the Hornets are young, but they're a great young team and we're confident of winning this series. ”

The Los Angeles media ridiculed the Hornets: "Look, this is a team without a foundation, just a little good result, and accidentally break the team record." If someone scores 50 points, maybe he breaks the team record; But you've got 60 points in Staples, sorry, you're still far behind......"

The Lakers finished 22-5 in 27 games Gasol played in the regular season, finishing second in the Western Conference in the regular season, so they have home-court advantage, and there is no doubt that more people are optimistic about the Lakers.

Phil. Jackson's triangle offense is a complex tactical system, but Gasol's ability to master the triangle offense is surprisingly fast. Wharton was amazed at Gasol's ability to learn: "He's barely transitioned, which is insane, and in the first week he has mastered the triangle attack, which he knows better than a lot of people who have been learning this tactic for a long time. ”

Gasol joining the Lakers is a win-win deal, the Lakers have greatly increased their strength because of Gasol, and Gasol has also rewritten his playoffs because of the Lakers' repeated swept doom, Gasol was excited to say when he defeated the Mavericks: "From being swept to sweeping the opponent, this feeling is completely different, it is a surprise to be able to join the Lakers, it is an honor, I am really lucky, I hope to be able to maintain my form to help the team." ”

Magician as the Lakers' 5% ownership. Johnson, however, thinks playing against the Hornets is harder than he thought: "I'm happy with the way the Lakers are playing at the moment, with the bench providing a role and the starting five working together. Bryant's leadership role this season has been shown, especially in the fourth quarter, when he was the undisputed king. But we also need to know. It's going to be a very tough game, the Hornets are well executed, and with two All-Stars, Paul is playing at the level of a superstar in the playoffs, so the Lakers need to focus on defending this little man. There is more energy in him than you can imagine. ”

In the regular season, the Lakers and the Hornets won 2 times out of 3 games, and the Lakers did not have Gasol in these three games, and today Gasol represented the Lakers for the first time against the Hornets.

There is an interesting thing about today's game, Kobe Bryant has become this year's MVP, but the trophy is not yet in hand. Originally, the league planned to award the trophy to him today, but there was an accident during transportation, and the MVP trophy was broken. That doesn't bode well for the Lakers or Kobe.

When Ji Guoyi saw the news at home, he was extremely excited, and he deliberately talked to his new friend. James Gorilla chatted for a long time from thousands of kilometers, and he almost didn't send a congratulatory message to Kobe.

The league has quickly brought in a backup trophy, and only the next game will officially award the MVP trophy to Peter Pan.

Lakers fans can't hold back, so in the game, Kobe Bryant will chant "MVP" as soon as he catches the ball!

Kobe Bryant also wanted to prove his worth, and he went on a killing spree in the first quarter, shooting 4-of-6 in the quarter, and scoring 15 points alone. Gasol also has a good table xiàn. He successfully restrained the Hornets' interior players, and he scored 4 points and 4 rebounds in the first quarter, and the Lakers led 25-24 in the first quarter.

Paul, who had a smooth first round, finally tasted the bitterness in Los Angeles. The Lakers' defense and the Suns are not on the same level, Phil. Jackson set up a net to greet the new superstar that Magic Johnson admired, and Queen Bee missed all 4 shots in the first quarter and scored only 2 points from the free throw line.

Chris. Paul finally faced a tough opponent in the second round of the playoffs, and he was still in poor form in the second quarter, shooting just 1 of 7. The Lakers would rather let others score than resolutely choke Paul's play. The targeted arrangement of the Zen master has obvious effects. As soon as Paul was restrained, the Hornets were immediately in a collective predicament. In the second quarter, the team shot just 7-of-25, including 1-of-7 from three-point range.

The Lakers took advantage of the opportunity to pull away, and with 1:54 left in the quarter, Bynum Jr. scored a dunk to give the Lakers a 17-point lead at 51:34.

In the middle of the third quarter, the Lakers took a 19-point advantage at 68:49, and the Hornets, who were behind by a large score, finally began to fight back, Paul finally found some ways to play half the game, and in the second half, the Lakers could no longer hold down this small point, and Queen Bee broke through the ball one after another and sent a wonderful pass to her teammates.

Five players on the Hornets court were activated by Queen Bee and hit a wave of 15:3* to tie the score at 64:71.

In the third quarter of the Lakers, only Kobe Bryant made a shot in the long 5 minutes, and the advantage of nearly 20 points suddenly shrank.

After three quarters, the Lakers only led 79-72.

Both teams didn't shoot well in the fourth quarter, with the Hornets shooting just 4 of 20 of the quarter, but they still relied on free throws to close the gap and trail 87-91 with 4:44 left in the game.

At the critical moment, Odom hit a shot, and then Kobe Bryant hit both free throws, and the Lakers stabilized their position.

The Lakers' home-court advantage came into play in the final showdown, as the Hornets failed to make a single shot in the last five minutes, and the Lakers scored three shots from Gasol to seal the win with 51.4 seconds left in the game, 101-90.

Bryant. Bryant scored 35 points and 7 assists in this game. Gasol contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Lamar contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds. Odom had 16 points and six rebounds and Bynum had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Chris. Paul lost his sense of touch under the key marking, and a poor first half caused his number to drop from the first* to 18 points, with only 5 of 18 shooting from the field, and finished with 18 points and 9 assists. Stojakovic 12 points and 8 rebounds. West had 24 points and 9 rebounds, and Tyson. Chandler had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Lakers won the first game and were not beaten by their own city rivals.

The Lakers were all excited after the game, a year ago, Kobe Bryant complained and insisted on leaving, and then he stayed on by mistake, and then achieved the first regular season MVP of his career in 12 seasons.

Now, Kobe Bryant is gone, and not only that, but he also expressed his hope after the game that he can end his career with the Lakers. That's right, Kobe Bryant said so, at the post-game press conference, when someone asked if he was willing to stay with the Lakers now, Kobe Bryant replied in an unquestionable tone: "Absolutely!" ”

After the game, he thanked his teammates for their collaboration and helped him win his first career MVP trophy, having finished third in the voting last year and in the 2002-03 season, so Peter Pan said in his post-game press conference: "What's special about this award is that it was won by everyone's efforts, not just individual accolades, just like Hollywood movie scripts, where the perfect ending should end with a championship." ”

This bastard shows off the MVP trophy, but he still wants to win the championship trophy, many people secretly curse Kobe Bryant in their hearts to lose four games in a row and go home to fish, including Ji Guoyi and James, the curse of the two of them is the most vicious!

Bryant also praised Lakers general manager Mitch at the same time. Kupchak, it was he who "stole" Paul from the Grizzlies. Gasol has made the Lakers what they are today.

Kupchak also had a close relationship with Kobe: "I'm glad he's happy with his teammates right now, it's even more enjoyable than we won second in the West, and his willingness to play the Lakers for the rest of the day is the most important thing for the team." ”

Zen Master Phil. Jackson thinks Kobe Bryant deserves to win the MVP: "I don't know who else deserves this honor more than him, and I don't know anyone who can work harder than him." ”

The first game of the second round, after the game between the Lakers and the Hornets, was all over.

In the East, the Green Shirts defeated the Cavaliers 76-72, and the Gorillas have not had a good season, with the Cavaliers significantly inferior to last year, while the enemy is much stronger than last year.

The Pistons' 91-72 victory over the Magic was not unexpected, and the two brothers knew that in their original plane, the Pistons eliminated the Magic to the Eastern Conference Finals with Billups injured, and now they have Elton. Brand, an All-Star, the Pistons are not weaker than the Clippers inside, and the Magic are not the Pistons' opponents right now.

Warcraft Howard met Brand and was eaten to death, the old captain's lower plate strength can even resist Yao Ming, Howard's lower plate strength is just weak, with his body he can't squeeze into the paint area, just rely on his small hook hand to no threat at all.

In the first game, Howard made an embarrassing 4-of-15 shooting and 7-of-15 free throws, and although he grabbed 18 rebounds, he was still hacked half to death after the game. Everyone's requirements for him are not all, look at the giant panda over there, Howard's cousin is not much better than this first-year rookie.

The first match of the second round is over:

Clippers vs. Jazz - 1:0

Lakers vs Hornets - 1:0

Celtics vs Cavaliers - 1:0

Pistons vs Magic - 1:0 (To be continued) R466