Chapter 933 This Is the Opportunity God Gives Us

Like Cole and Antetokounmpo before, Tang Tian also chose the best defensive player award ceremony before the start of the second round.

However, the award ceremony is expected to have to wait a few days, because their opponents in the next round have not yet been finalized.

The Mavericks, who were trailing 3-1, were already in trouble when they played away games in Houston.

But Butler once again stepped up.

Not only did he successfully defend Harden, he also scored a game-high 29 points, plus 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Under his leadership, the Mavericks narrowly defeated the Rockets 106-101 and successfully tied the score to 2-3.

The next game returns to Dallas' home court. The Mavericks have a good chance of dragging the game into a tiebreaker, and the suspense of the series begins again.

Before the start of this series, it was generally said that the Rockets are a superstar team and the Mavericks are an All-Star team.

But so far in this series, Butler is averaging 25.5 points, 6.1 baskets, 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game, shooting 49% from the field and 41% from three-point range.

This kind of performance is already at the level of a superstar, and this was achieved despite conflicts with Carlisle.

After participating in the Hard Training Brothers Training Camp for consecutive years, coupled with his training attributes like Matt Kay, he has really transformed into a superstar in the past few years.

The saying that the playoffs are a stage for testing superstars has been verified countless times.

The series between the Rockets and the Mavericks is not over yet, and the Pelicans' rest time has become longer again.

This is both good and bad.

The good news is that the players can get enough rest and have enough energy for the second round.

The bad news is that with the rest, maintaining the condition of the players is a problem.

Therefore, the team plays full-court confrontation almost every day, and also provides psychological education after the game.

Sometimes being too strong is not necessarily a good thing.

Two days later, Game 6 between the Rockets and the Mavericks began in Dallas.

Before the game, foreign media predicted that this would be a fierce battle, but the result was not what they expected.

Butler felt cold, Harris and Embiid also continued their poor form in the series, and the Mavericks did not cause much trouble to the Rockets.

In the end, the Mavericks lost to the Rockets 87-105 at home and were eliminated 2-4.

After the game, Butler, who scored 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals, stood in the field for a long time before leaving. It could be felt that he was unwilling to lose.

Mavericks owner Cuban also frowned on the sidelines.

The conflict between Butler and Carlisle, the team's unsatisfactory performance in the playoffs, Nowitzki is another year older, and there are too many problems left for him in the summer.

With the end of this game, the Pelicans' second-round opponent was finally determined.

The second season of the New Orleans Fire playoff series is about to begin.

The Pelicans are aiming to defend their title, while the Rockets are significantly stronger than last season.

This round of the conference semifinals is definitely the most interesting of the second round.

At the same time, all other group matches in the East and West also ended.

The Cavaliers swept the Heat 4-0.

Both James and Whiteside showed no mercy to their old clubs.

With the Heat being swept this time, Miami's Wade era will most likely come to an end.

The Knicks eliminated the Pacers 4-1.

The Raptors eliminated the Hornets 4-1.

Walker has player options this summer. After playing the peak season of his career, he needs to carefully consider where his next stop will be.

The Hawks eliminated the Bucks 4-2.

Antetokounmpo's performance in the last two games was a bit eye-catching. If his shooting does not improve this summer, his steps towards becoming a superstar will also stop.

The Warriors swept the Clippers 4-0.

In the playoffs, the Warriors' four-star performance was significantly better than in the regular season. Even players like Iguodala, who only had his coffin lifted in the playoffs, were in competitive shape. The Warriors in the playoffs were not so easy to mess with.

The Spurs swept the Trail Blazers 4-0.

Popovich gave Lillard and the Trail Blazers no chance.

This year's first round was as smooth as ever, with all teams in the top half winning.

All the matchups for the conference semifinals are also announced.

Cavaliers VS Hawks.

This is a gathering of enemies, and Budenholzer has a chance to avenge his previous sweep.

Of course, this chance still looks pretty slim.

Knicks vs. Raptors.

The suspense of the semifinals this time is much greater. The Knicks' Big Three have not taken long to adjust, and Howard's status in this year's playoffs is also a problem.

Lowry and DeRozan have the opportunity to take off their garbage brothers' hats through this series.

Warriors vs Spurs.

On paper, the Warriors are significantly stronger, but the Spurs led by Popovich are something no one can underestimate in the playoffs.

Especially this season, Leonard's performance has reached the peak of his career. No one knows what kind of strength he can bring to this kind of offensive and defensive performance.

Pelicans VS Rockets.

At the post-game press conference after Game 6 against the Mavericks, a reporter asked Rockets head coach D'Antoni about the second-round matchup.

"That was an opportunity God gave us."

D'Antoni used a very vivid metaphor.

"We failed last season. We were full of confidence but only won one game. That was a blow to us. We worked hard for a season and now we are stronger, so we are fortunate that our opponent New Orleans Pelicans, not Warriors, that's the opportunity God gave us."

D'Antoni's next words further demonstrated his confidence.

What he said was the Rockets' position, and what he didn't say was his own.

Because he chose the Pelicans and then changed his mind temporarily, he has been compared with Stevens all the time in the past two years, and it has never stopped.

And because the Pelicans have been so good, he's been the one being talked down to most of the time.

It was like a dark cloud hanging over his head, a lingering invisible pressure that made him unable to breathe.

Now he has a chance to remove this dark cloud himself, and the chance is very good.

The Rockets said this was their opportunity, and the Pelicans didn't take it lightly.

Although there has been no competition for nearly a week, the players are very serious.

This Rockets team is much better than the Thunder, and their 4-2 elimination of the Mavericks in the first round also proved their strength.

The new penalty scale, coupled with the playoffs, the gathering of superstars and strong substitutes, this is the standard championship configuration.

Stevens also discussed the game tactical plan with Tang Tian.

He will increase Tang Tian's ball holding rate.

This does not mean that training in the first round is meaningless. On the contrary, the training effect has been achieved.

Jokic, Davis, even Bojan and Williams are all in good shape, and this is the gain.

Facing an opponent of the same level as the Rockets, any further training would be to seek death.

Therefore, this series is a series of real battles between the two sides.