Chapter 680 The Hardships of the Three Consecutive Championships

The Pacers lost their first game, which was unexpected.

Maybe playing the Celtics in the first round was a bit too easy, but facing the Bulls in the second round, the Pacers players were a little uncomfortable.

Indeed, judging from the lineup, the Bulls and Celtics are not at the same level.

Bulls players are strong, experienced, and not lacking in talent.

It can be said that the semifinals will be a real test for the Pacers and Li Liang.

After the game, Bird called Mike Brown and Vogel for an emergency meeting.

Consultations were held on how to make adjustments for the second game.

Bird gave two directions to choose. One is to fine-tune the tactics without changing the lineup, and trust the players' state and morale.

One is to adjust the lineup, put Kevin Garnett in the starting lineup, and let Li Liang play small forward, so that he can compete with the Bulls for defense and position.

Vogel supports the second adjustment strategy. In this case, McGee will face Noah and let Garnett fight Gasol.

The two sides happened to be facing each other, and Garnett was not afraid of Gasol to be honest.

Brown objected, thinking that the lineup should remain the same, with me as the main player.

The Pacers' first loss was due to accidental factors. If they make adjustments so quickly, it will be a kind of mistrust for the players.

Moreover, Garnett's starting lineup didn't play many games, so such major adjustments and changes should not be made lightly unless it is absolutely necessary.

Besides, Garnett is no longer Garnett in 2008. Garnett was already at a disadvantage to Gasol in the 2010 Finals.

After all, Garnett is 4 years older than Gasol.

"If the original lineup is maintained, what will Bruce do? It is a waste to let him defend against Gasol, and he has to face Butler and the Bulls when he is attacking."

Vogel raised an important question. Li Liang actually suffered a disadvantage against Gasol in the first game.

No matter how slippery Li Liang's low-post defense is, facing Gasol's height and wingspan, he is really helpless in many cases.

Later, McGee was asked to defend, and as a result, there was some confusion in the inside rotation.

When Brown heard Vogel say this, he suddenly raised his voice and said: "Never! Never doubt Bruce! He can definitely do what he should do! Changing the lineup is a distrust and insult to Bruce! I won't allow it."

Vogel was startled by Brown's sudden roar.

After Bird was silent for a while, he said: "I agree with Mike, the original lineup will still be used for this game, and I also believe in Bruce."

"But we can't afford to lose in the second game..."

"We can't afford to lose every game!"

Bird interrupted Vogel with a very firm tone.

Bird thought in his heart that, in fact, regardless of whether the lineup is adjusted or not, the Pacers are still sure to win the second game.

But what Brown said touched Bird, and they had to believe in their ace players.

Because for the Pacers, Li Liang is their biggest reliance on winning the championship.

They have no Big Three, no Gemini, they are a single-core team.

The single-core team needs to help strengthen its own single-core team, whether it is tactics or confidence, it must give him enough support.

While the coaching staff made a decision not to change, Li Liang went home after the game and fell asleep.

Losing the first game of the semi-finals frustrated him.

However, he was not in a hurry to get angry, thinking about entering the system to get some props, or looking at the simulation results of the series in [Stern's Simulation World].

He just sleeps and gets up the next day to actually practice with the team.

After the training, I went shopping and eating with Zhu Shu, and played League of Legends with Zhu Shu for more than two hours when I got home, successfully bringing Zhu Shu from master to gold.

However, Zhu Shu was not angry either, instead she was worried that Li Liang would be unhappy because of losing the game.

"No, I'm not unhappy, I just lost the first game, not the series." Li Liang said.

"But... But after all, we lost. Everyone thinks we can win the first game."

Due to the Pacers' performance in the first round, most people in the semifinals are of course optimistic about the Pacers.

I didn't know that I was beaten in the first game.

Li Liangdao: "Hey, do you know that the road to three consecutive championships, the last championship is always full of hardships, so I have been mentally prepared for it. I only lost one game, so where is it?"

Li Liang now moved out the theory of three consecutive championships.

Yes, the last championship of their three consecutive championships is indeed the most difficult and arduous, but they are a team!

There is no one like you who pursues three consecutive matches alone, and it seems difficult to see if there will be anyone in the future.

As Li Liang, who has experienced two consecutive championships, of course he will not worry about the outcome of a game.

The key is that after the first game, he basically knows the strength and level of the Bulls.

At the same time, how to deal with the second game, I have also arranged plans and ideas in my mind.

The Bulls are currently one of the few teams in the league that still sticks to the style of play of the previous decade.

It can be seen from their starting lineup that Noah and Gasol are both center-forward insiders with no range.

Outside Butler and Rose are both strong backcourts with aggressive offensive and defensive styles.

Coupled with Thibodeau's tactical system, the Bulls are naturally tough.

Their scoring ranks in the middle of the league, while their losses are in the upper reaches of the league. They also have a very high number of front and rear rebounds and are one of the best defensive teams in the league.

In other aspects, such as three-pointers, free throws, etc., the Bulls are in the middle, not good but definitely not bad.

So overall, it's a very strong opponent.

However, Li Liang has faced many strong opponents, and the Bulls are definitely not the most terrifying one.

The so-called tough and easy to break, the Bulls' defense, or Thibodeau's defense, has some weaknesses.

One is that the Bulls' defense is still too conservative.

It can be seen from the Bulls' season steal data that a strong defensive team has the lowest average steals per game in the league.

In fact, the Bulls do not lack stealing masters. Butler, Rose, and Noah all have strong stealing abilities.

Therefore, one reason the Bulls have fewer steals is that Thibodeau's defensive strategy is conservative.

Pay attention to oppression, pay attention to the integrity of the formation, and would rather reduce aggression than leave a breakthrough for the opponent.

This kind of defense worked very well for the Celtics at the beginning, because the Celtics crushed their opponents in terms of lineup strength.

Therefore, if the Celtics don't make mistakes, it will be difficult for their opponents to win.

What about the bull? Are the Bulls crushing the Pacers in terms of strength?

Although the Pacers lost in the first game, it was actually more because of the Pacers' overall strike.

Throughout the game, the Pacers didn't make many mistakes, and their tactics were not messed up, but the players' state was messed up.

As long as the state is regained in the second game, what awaits the Bulls is a punishment.

Li Liang... Forget it, Li Liang didn't believe it, he couldn't trust JR and Finsen.

Believe in them, it is better to believe in yourself, let's shoot two more three-pointers.

In the first game, he made 2 of 7 three-pointers. This shooting percentage is too embarrassing. It is not as good as Corvo. How can we play this game.

Relaxed, a day later, on May 8, the second round of the Pacers and Bulls continued at the Conseco Arena.

The Conseco Arena is still full of seats, and the fans enthusiastically support their hometown team.

Tonight, the Pacers put on a bright yellow away jersey, and the Bulls on the opposite side still have the same red jersey for thousands of years.

At the opening jump ball, McGee seemed to be too nervous. He accidentally jumped too early. He even swung his arms round and swung towards the sky, but accidentally hit the referee...

McGee was busy apologizing to the referee, Li Liang thought, fortunately he didn't hit me today.

Re-jump the ball, Gasol dialed the ball, and the Bulls started their first offense in the first quarter.

Before the start of the game, the television cameras kept showing Li Liang.

The commentary on the scene tonight is none other than the former Pacers legend, Reggie Miller.

"Chicago is a strong opponent. Bruce didn't play his due level in the last game. Tonight, let us see what kind of performance the amazing Bruce will bring tonight."