"Ah sneeze~"

Paul, who was preparing for training, sneezed violently.

I didn’t know who was thinking about me just now.

He rubbed his nose and then looked around at his teammates.

On paper, the Hornets introduced James Posey during the offseason and are even stronger than last season.

If Chandler can play now, it's not like they have no chance, and they may even have a good chance.

"Chris, close the door."

After training, he returned to the locker room and saw Paul coming in. West said.

This should be a preparation for talking about something in the locker room that the media doesn't want to hear.

"Chris, do you think we can win?"

When Paul sat down, West asked with some uncertainty.

Being reversed by the Spurs last season was already a bit self-defeating.

I strengthened during the offseason and tried to make a comeback, but found that my performance was not as good as last season.

This situation does make people a little worried.

The most authentic expression is that West asked, but after asking, everyone else on the Nuggets team looked at Paul in unison.

"David, you should know that the Houston Rockets once completed the sixth seed in the conference and finally won the championship."

Paul's answer, full marks.

In the 1994-1995 season, the Rockets ranked sixth in the Western Conference. They counterattacked all the way to defend the title, and the famous saying was born:

"Don't underestimate the heart of a championship."

Although the Hornets are not the defending champions, this example is appropriate.

Because they are not weak themselves, falling into this position is due to injuries just like the Rockets did back then.

Sure enough, because of his words, the morale of the Hornets team improved significantly.

They have a chance to replicate the Rockets' success!

On the same day, the playoffs officially started.

The Cavaliers, Pistons, Hawks and Heat in the East, the Lakers, Suns, and Trail Blazers in the West all appeared on this day.

After four games, three were big wins and one was a small win.

The small victory came from the Spurs and Trail Blazers. Although Duncan scored 27 points and 9 rebounds, and Parker also scored 24 points, no one else scored in double figures.

GDP, no less will do.

…

The playoffs continued the next day.

The Eastern Conference game still starts first.

However, what is different from the first day is that this day is full of surprises.

In the first game, the Bulls overturned the Celtics 105-103!

Rose entered the playoffs with the team in his rookie season, and then scored 36 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists in the first playoff game of his career!

Jordan: My successor is here!

Rose's style of play really hurts his knees, but he's still a million times better.

Then, the 76ers also defeated the Magic 100-98.

Howard made 11 of 13 shots and scored 31 points and 16 rebounds, but it was of no avail because the Magic only made 5 of 18 from outside.

This directly upset the Magic's Achilles' heel. Compared with Howard, three-pointers are the most critical factor in determining the Magic's victory or defeat.

Then, the Rockets, who took the lead in the Western Conference, lost to the Mavericks 91-101...

This day can be called NBA upset day.

Fans suddenly discovered that if the Nuggets also lost to the Hornets, all teams in the top half would be killed today.

Inexplicably, this game is more interesting than imagined.

The Pepsi Center Arena was packed with seats, a sea of ​​blue.

The fans were also extremely excited.

The team was already in excellent shape after the All-Star Game, and with this win, he was the most handsome player in the playoffs today. How could we not be excited?

Specifically, during the opening ceremony, the decibels of the cheers seemed to knock off the ceiling.

After the opening ceremony, the lineups of both sides were announced.

Hornets: Paul, Russell Butler, Peja Stojakovic, David West, Chandler.

Nuggets: Billups, Dengta Jones, Anthony, Lin Ying, Nene.

"beep!"

As the whistle blew, Nene jumped up and moved the ball back to the Nuggets half. The home team attacked first!

Before the game even started, Lin Ying and Billups looked at each other tacitly and got the same message from each other's eyes.

Chandler didn't jump high when jumping the ball, and his reaction was slow. The impact of this foot injury was obvious.

Billups raised his hands in the frontcourt to organize, Lin Ying and Nene picked and rolled without the ball.

Just when the Hornets thought the Nuggets were going to misplace their singles tactics, Billups had already sent the ball in with one hit.

Lin Ying caught the ball and faced Chandler, and a layup caused Chandler to foul!

Then, Lin Ying had a brief verbal exchange with Billups when he went to the free throw line:

"Create him again."

"Know."

Just, very targeted.

Chandler is the Hornets' inside barrier. If he is not injured, Lin Ying will most likely get a hat-trick if he challenges him like this.

But when I saw the details with a jump ball, and then used small tactics to test it, I found that his injury really had a huge impact.

So if this barrier is knocked down, the Nuggets will gain a huge advantage in the opening game.

Two free throws were made steadily, and the Nuggets took the lead to score.

Looking back, Paul and West started a pick-and-roll. After breaking up, they quickly changed direction and scored a backhand layup.

The speed of change of direction is indeed a bit like Iverson.

Just like Duncan before and after the injury, Paul was also the same. At this time, he had not been seriously injured. Not only could he fly and escape, but he could also run at lightning speed.

Looking back, at Billups's signal, Anthony held the ball, and Nene pulled out to play a pick-and-roll for him.

Let's stick with Chandler.

The one guarding Anthony was Russell Butler, who decisively double-teamed him at this time.

However, Anthony was in great form and managed to break out of the double-team and score a dunk.

An Fengxian has gained a reputation in vain!

However, it can also be seen from this ball that Chandler did not dare to reach out after a foul.

That's the details.

Even without beating Chandler, the Hornets' interior defense has already dropped a lot.

There's a reason why Billups is known to fans as the "ball-blind evaluator."

In games, especially in the playoffs, this kind of detail may be more useful than scoring 20 points.

Of course, it can also be seen from the looks in the eyes of Lin Ying and Billups that Lin Ying has become very sophisticated in terms of experience after following Billups for the past six months.

Paul repeated his old trick, this time after attracting a double attack, he knocked the ball back to West, who hit a mid-range jumper.

This wave of pick-and-rolls perfectly demonstrated Paul's strength. With a height of 1.83 meters, he can have such vision and pass the ball. He is worthy of being the first point guard candidate in history.

But looking back, at Billups's signal, Anthony broke through Butler with the ball, got to the basket and got up again to score again!

Paul missed a jump shot in the frontcourt. Turning around, Billups and Nene went to the basket for a layup in a pick-and-roll.

I just want to hit you inside, every time I hit you, I will hit you accurately!

Chandler kicked his foot in frustration.

Scott, the Hornets' "best coach" on the sidelines, also had a solemn look on his face.

The Nuggets are so targeted!

Moreover, the consecutive defensive failures also caused some problems on the offensive end of the Hornets.

West caught the ball and was guarded by Billups. When Paul wanted to return the ball, he didn't give it back and directly hit the ball in a misplaced position.

As a result, Billups fell to the ground as soon as his elbow was raised, and the referee's whistle also sounded.

Offensive foul!

What a detail!

This foul is undoubtedly adding insult to injury for the Hornets.

Originally, Chandler would throw a trap when he fouled, but now West also has it, and the interior defense has become a vacuum.

Lin Ying screened Anthony and inserted into the basket, getting into position.

Billups knocked the ball to Anthony, and Anthony shook West's hand.
To be continued...