The Western Conference Finals can be said to be the last stumbling block before the Grizzlies win the O'Brien Cup.

It's not that Qiao Hai underestimated those teams in the east, in 2000, or in other words, in the early 21st century, none of the major teams in the east could play compared with several strong teams in the west! Therefore, Qiao Hai predicts that this Western showdown will determine the ownership of the 2000 NBA championship.

Before the west duel, the east duel will fight first.

The Pacers played the first game at home against the Heat, and in this game, the Pacers broke out with Austin Crohill off the bench scoring a team-high 22 points, Reggie Miller also scored 19 points and 7 assists, Jalen Rose 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, Rick Schmitz 16 points and 5 rebounds, Dale Davis 14 points and 16 rebounds, and Mark Jackson 11 points and 13 assists.

Relying on a sudden outburst on the offensive end, the Pacers won the Heat and ushered in a good start to the Eastern Conference finals.

The East-West Finals, which started first, were not the focus of the nation, and all eyes were on the West.

"Qiao Hai fights the old master again, who wins and who loses?"

"The youngest champion young marshal vs. the godfather of the dynasty, who wins and who loses?"

"Qiao Hai rebelled against the old master, and Phil Jackson fought for his name!"

"0-4 in the regular season and meeting again in the playoffs, can the Lakers sweep away the decline?"

"Qiao Hai's prediction of a 4-0 sweep of the Lakers, can it come true?"

Before the game even started, the Grizzlies and Lakers were already dominating the front pages of major media outlets, with reporters, commentators and even fans discussing the series every day.

The playoffs have reached the third round, and there are more fans in the Hoop forum area, and a large number of water posts appear every day to discuss the situation of the Western Finals, compared with the Western Finals, the Eastern Finals are almost unattended, no way, Qiao Hai vs. Phil Jackson plus the Lakers, Maddie vs. Kobe Bryant and O'Neal, this group of matchups is too topical.

……

On May 20, the Lakers arrived in Vancouver, and Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals was about to begin.

In the press conference before the game, both teams were very low-key, and so was Qiao Hai.

Even if a reporter asked Qiao Hai if he had made a prediction before the playoffs, Qiao Hai's answer was all kinds of evasions: "Pre-playoffs predictions? I don't know, I've forgotten ......"

The reporters were speechless, and Qiao Hai actually learned to be laipi.

Both teams are keeping a low profile, with Maddy and Kobe Bryant being the only exceptions.

Before the game, Maddie said: "I will play against Kobe Bryant in this game, and I hope he can accept this challenge!" ”

Kobe Bryant was unruly and never convinced, so he naturally responded: "I will blow him up!" ”

Just under the low profile of the two teams and the mutual provocation of the top players of the two teams, the game began......

In the Western Conference Finals, the GM Arena is also becoming more and more lively, the entire arena is filled with Grizzlies fans, all wearing uniform T-shirts, and the slogan Make-noise is printed on the front of the T-shirt......

But when the Grizzlies came out, all the voices converged into frantic cheers and shouts.

“Let’s Go Grizzlies！”

“Let’s Go Grizzlies！”

“……”

"This atmosphere, this special warmth!"

The coaching staff also followed, and Byron Scott also exploded into a foul mouth.

Immediately afterwards, I discussed it with the coaches who came in the future.

Lawrence Frank saw celebrities sitting on the sidelines: "Look, who do I see? James cameron?! ”

James Cameron, born in Ontario, Canada, is the director of the movie Titanic, and the director of the later phenomenal movie Avatar, in this game, he is not only a Grizzlies fan, but also a Lakers fan.

It's just that in Vancouver, he wore a Grizzlies' No. 1 jersey (Maddy's No. 1 jersey).

"And Jim Carrey!"

Jim Carrey's fan attribute is very simple, he is a well-known Canadian-American comedian, and at the same time, he is also the most ardent fan of Canadian basketball, but he prefers the Toronto Raptors to the Grizzlies, but the Raptors were eliminated in the first round, and Jim Carrey can only run to Vancouver to support the Grizzlies.

There are many unknown stars on the sidelines, and from this point of view, this game is indeed highly anticipated!

The Grizzlies have already laid out their tactical play, and after a short warm-up, the Grizzlies' five starters are on the line.

Point guard Chauncy Billups, shooting guard Maddy, small forward Sean Marion, power forward Raheem, and center Brad Miller.

On the Lakers' side, the starters also appeared at the same time.

Point guard Ron Harper, scoring guard Kobe Bryant, small forward Bruce Bowen, power forward AC Green, center Shaquille O'Neal.

There may be a change in the starting positions of both teams, with players who are stronger defensively, while the Lakers are more of a veteran.

Phil Jackson likes the veterans he brings and reuses them, on the one hand, because these veterans are obedient and his descendants, and on the other hand, whether it is AC Green, or Ron Harper, Brian Shaw on the bench is an excellent role player who can quickly find his position.

Therefore, in this game, Phil Jackson still chooses to believe in these veterans.

In Qiao Hai's opinion, there are obviously stronger Derrick Fisher and Robert Horry on the bench, and Phil Jackson believes in these veterans a little too much, which is where the Grizzlies can take advantage.

The referee of this game, Dick Bavita, the oldest referee in the NBA, pinched the whistle in his hand, put the whistle in his mouth, held the ball with one hand in his right hand, glanced at the center of the two teams of jumping balls, and saw that both of them were ready.

"Beep!"

With a crisp whistle, the basketball is thrown into the air!

"The game is on, and Shaquille O'Neal wins the jump ball!"

NBC's commentary bench is still McBlin and Marv Albert, and at this stage of the playoffs, there are fewer and fewer games, McBrin and Marv Albert are fixed in Vancouver and Los Angeles, and during the Eastern and Western finals, they only need to explain the game between the Lakers and the Grizzlies.

The Lakers' first offense, Kobe Bryant got the ball.

In Phil Jackson's version of the triangle offensive strategy, Kobe Bryant is the dominant player of the ball in the opening game of the Lakers, and although Ron Harper is a point guard, he only has the right to dribble over half court, and the ball must be handed over to Kobe Bryant immediately after half court.

It was a choice made after Scott Pippen's rapid decline, Phil Jackson couldn't find a qualified ball master, and the No. 3 position could only be played by Bruce Bowen.

This choice is not good, Qiao Hai even thinks that this is a weakness of the Lakers, the ball is dominated by Kobe Bryant's paranoia, maybe when Kobe Bryant will be impulsive and stop passing, all kinds of individual singles, the Lakers' offense will also stagnate, and when the time comes, the Grizzlies can take advantage of this weakness and quickly expand the point difference.

However, at the beginning, Kobe Bryant was still quite sensible.

He caught up with Maddy's defense, and after a cover from AC Green, Bryant opted to attack the basket.

This is the most sensible choice, because the Grizzlies lack a rim protector, and Brad Miller, who is not good at rim protection, needs to take care of O'Neal's defense, so Kobe Bryant rushed into the restricted area in one step, quickly bounced up, dodged Sean Marion's supplementary defense, and raised his hand to make a layup!

Ball in!

Two points in the account!