The Strongest Bishop in the NBA

Celtics head coach Rivers stood on the sidelines with his hands on his hips in silence.

He has made the greatest adjustments, trying to restrain the performance of the Wizards players, but in many cases, the game is not prepared in advance so that you can sit back and relax.

It seems that no matter how the tactical restrictions are arranged, players like Kobe and James can still easily score 30+40+ points.

It's just that he never expected that a little-known rookie on the Wizards team was actually the kind of player who couldn't be completely restrained by tactics!

Paul George!

Looking deeply at George, who was sweating profusely on the court, Rivers knew that this guy would soar into the sky and become one of the top small forwards in the league!

...

Soon, the Celtics gave up on George's targeted defense.

Compared with locking George but liberating other outside players, it is better to continue to let George continue to play singles. At least George's mid-range shooting is still not comparable to Curry and others' three-pointers in terms of lethality.

Just like in the last game, George played so well, the scores of the two teams are still very close, the Celtics still have a chance to comeback at the last second before the end of the game, but unfortunately they didn't grasp it.

Now, what Rivers can do is to let his players put on a posture and fight the opponent for real!

As a result, the game styles of the two teams suddenly changed in the second half. The most obvious change was the sudden increase in the offensive firepower of the Celtics' Big Three.

Taking advantage of the Wizards' lack of reaction, the Celtics first assisted Rondo and Ray Allen, who ran out of space, made a three-pointer. Success, not only accurately hit the mid-range shot, but also caused George to foul during the shooting process, achieving 2+1.

Subsequently, Garnett also frequently asked for the ball in the low post, facing Jamison's defense and resorted to a trick backward jumper.

In an instant, the Celtics once again widened the gap.

This time, however, the Wizards responded extremely quickly.

It is not free for the Celtics to strengthen their offense. Putting more energy into the offensive end will naturally reveal it on the defensive end.

Curry, who has been suppressed for three games, finally found a chance. He has been deflated for a long time, and he has no intention of letting go of the opportunity. Two consecutive three-pointers from the outside narrowed the gap, and Harden also found a chance to break through. The inside line hits the basket and makes a foul.

The two teams refused to give in to each other, and the competition was extremely fierce.

At the end of the third quarter, both teams scored more than 30 points in a single quarter, even close to 40 points.

The Wizards had 39 points and the Celtics had 37 points.

And just before the first quarter, the two teams scored only 16:25, the Wizards had 16 points, and the Celtics had 25 points.

There is such a big difference in scores before and after, if it is not for the fans who watched the whole process, I am afraid that they will have the illusion that they have misread the score at the first time.

However, when the game reached the fourth quarter, the Celtics inevitably had problems.

It is still a cliché issue-physical fitness.

The Celtics' Big Three are too old to support high-intensity games.

Rivers originally wanted to strengthen the offense, make a quick decision, and take the lead in advance.

But the facts have proved that the offensive rhythm of the Wizards cannot be challenged by any team.

When the fourth quarter lasted about five minutes, the Celtics' offensive efficiency had become uncontrollably low.

On the Wizards side, Curry, Harden, George and others are still taking turns to attack tirelessly.

The gap in the score was quickly widened.

Seeing that he was powerless, Rivers could only sigh helplessly, and replaced the Big Three who were still fighting on the court.

"Coach, don't give up, the game is not over yet! We still have hope!"

Off the court, a sweaty Garnett yelled at Rivers.

Pierce also stuck his waist in, nodding his head while panting and said, "That's right, coach, give me a little more time, and I will definitely blow up that rookie and recover the point difference!"

"It's enough..." Rivers shook his head. He knew very well that these three old men who refused to accept their old age would definitely not give up the game on their own initiative, but the reality cannot be changed simply by being stubborn. "In this game, we did lose. We have lost since Paul George gradually became able to deal with double-teams."

"Instead of being serious about this game that must be lost, it is better to retain more energy and prepare for the next game." Rivers looked at several people and said: "This game is counted, and the score will not come. It's only 1:3, the series is not over yet, there is no team in history that fell behind 1:3 and then came back from the Jedi, or do you have no confidence in yourself?"

Garnett and the others looked at each other and stopped talking.

They also understood that although they refused to admit defeat, they were indeed going to lose this game.

And what Rivers said, although very reasonable, but without exception, the Big Three are old fritters who have been in the league for many years, how could they not understand.

Even Rivers himself understood after saying this sentence that it was just empty words for self-comfort.

At their own home court, after making all possible preparations and tactics, the team still couldn't beat the Wizards. Next, what can they rely on to win at the Wizards' home court?

"Washington Wizards...Wang Xiao..."

Staring deeply at the other side, Wang Xiao, who was sitting on the bench and watching the game with all his attention, Rivers murmured in his heart.

"It's only two seasons, let this team at the bottom of the league reach such a level, this guy is really..."

Recalling last season's playoffs, the Celtics met the Wizards in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was a game without any suspense. The Wizards had no resistance at all and were swept out by them 4:0.

At that time, Rivers never dreamed that in only the second year, when he faced the Wizards again, the first to get the match point was the Wizards.

At 114:91, when the final score of the game was fixed on the big screen, the big score of the two teams also became 3:1, and the Wizards won the match point.

After losing to the Celtics in the first game, the Wizards actually won three consecutive games and directly won the match point, which many people did not expect.

But this is not the biggest upset of this playoffs.

After all, the Wizards are the first in the league with 68 wins, and the Celtics are only fourth in the West. Although it is surprising but reasonable to lose to the Wizards.

The real upset happened in the Western Conference semifinals. The defending champion, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had won two consecutive championships, was beaten 4-0 by the Dallas Mavericks without any resistance, and became the first team to be eliminated in the conference semifinals. team!