Chapter 780: The Second Round Begins
In the Eastern Conference, most of the 1st round picture had already become clear.
The Miami Heat completed a 4 to 0 sweep.
Orlando put up some resistance in Game 1 and lost by only 6 points, but the other 3 games ended in comfortable Miami victories.
The result did not surprise anyone.
Before the Playoffs even began, Dwight Howard had announced that he would miss the postseason because of a neck injury.
Whether the injury was truly serious or whether Howard was using the situation to put more pressure on Orlando for a trade remained unclear.
The most difficult 1st round series in the East belonged to the Boston Celtics.
After Rose suffered his season ending injury, almost all of Boston's perimeter scoring burden fell onto Durant.
Durant fought valiantly through the first 4 games and averaged 34.6 points.
Unfortunately, his individual scoring could not completely carry the entire offense.
After 4 games, Boston and Philadelphia were tied 2 to 2.
The Celtics viewed Durant as their leader, but his natural role was still closer to that of a pure scorer.
A devastating scorer.
A player whose greatest value came from putting the ball in the basket rather than orchestrating every aspect of the offense.
After returning to New York, the Knicks received 1 full day off.
Chen Yan took complete advantage of it.
He spent the morning relaxing with Taylor Swift.
In the afternoon, he went golfing alone.
Chen Yan had always enjoyed games where the objective involved putting a ball into a hole.
That evening, he reunited with Taylor and watched the romantic film About Time with her.
For once, Chen Yan spent an entire day without doing anything related to basketball.
The break ended the following morning.
Chen Yan arrived at the training facility early.
That evening, he and his teammates gathered to watch Game 5 between the Nets and Pacers.
Yao Ming dominated.
He played 33 minutes and finished with 31 points and 12 rebounds.
It was an overwhelming interior performance.
Roy Hibbert managed only 11 points and 9 rebounds and was completely outplayed.
Yao had not produced a performance like that in a long time.
Over the past several seasons, he had gradually transformed into more of a facilitating center.
Fans had almost forgotten how devastating his post game had once been.
That night reminded everyone.
Behind Yao's explosion, the Nets captured Game 5 and moved 1 victory away from advancing.
But when the series returned home for Game 6, New Jersey stumbled.
Carmelo Anthony shot 8 of 21 from the field and finished with 23 points and 7 rebounds.
Deron Williams contributed 15 points and 7 assists.
Indiana's perimeter stars were far more efficient.
Danny Granger scored 31 points.
Paul George added 24.
The biggest concern, however, came from Yao Ming.
After pushing himself so hard in Game 5, he played only 11 minutes before leaving with an injury.
Fans immediately became anxious.
Had Yao been injured again?
Fortunately, the MRI showed no serious damage.
The Nets medical staff confirmed that the problem was not severe.
The coaching staff then used the situation to create uncertainty.
They publicly announced that Yao would miss Game 7.
Indiana did not fall for it.
The Pacers prepared as though Yao would play.
They were right.
When the decisive Game 7 arrived, Yao Ming was still in the starting lineup.
The game was fiercely contested.
Following the advice of the medical staff, Yao played only 23 minutes.
He finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Nets refused to overuse him.
His early exit in Game 6 had already served as a warning.
If the organization pushed Yao until he suffered another major injury, the backlash would be enormous.
With Yao limited, Carmelo Anthony stepped forward.
Anthony played 45 minutes and produced 38 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The game remained undecided until the final 2 minutes.
Then Anthony buried a crucial 3 pointer that gave the Nets control of the closing stretch.
Deron Williams also logged 43 minutes.
The Nets survived and advanced.
But they were exhausted.
That was exactly what New York wanted.
The Knicks had spent those days resting and preparing while the Nets were forced through a brutal 7 game series.
For Indiana, the loss also marked the end of an era.
This was Larry Bird's final season as the Pacers general manager.
Although Indiana failed to produce a surprise postseason run, Bird's work during his time with the franchise remained widely respected.
Finishing 4th in a strong Eastern Conference was a fitting reflection of the roster he had built.
Boston's series soon reached its conclusion as well.
In Game 7, Durant erupted for 47 points and dragged the Celtics into the next round.
Even with that victory, few people were optimistic about Boston's chances of advancing much further.
If Philadelphia had pushed them to 7 games, facing Miami looked far more dangerous.
In the Western Conference, the 4 teams moving on were the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Denver Nuggets.
Experience ultimately prevailed for the Lakers.
They eliminated Oklahoma City in 6 games.
Even in defeat, the series dramatically raised James Harden's reputation.
Kobe praised the left handed guard with the beard and openly acknowledged that Harden had the potential to become a superstar.
San Antonio and Memphis advanced as expected.
Denver produced the mild upset of the round by eliminating the Los Angeles Clippers despite the Clippers having 2 All Star players.
That series exposed nearly every major weakness on the Clippers roster.
Their bench could not produce enough offense.
Their role players lacked distinct strengths.
And when the game became difficult, nobody beyond Chris Paul and Blake Griffin consistently created tough baskets.
On May 14, the long awaited 2nd round finally began for New York.
The Knicks welcomed the Nets to Madison Square Garden for Game 1.
Even during warmups, the atmosphere was intense.
The Nets were one of New York's fiercest rivals.
Several fans held signs predicting a 4 to 0 sweep before the series had even started.
Chen Yan entered through a spectacular display of fireworks while his signature entrance music thundered throughout Madison Square Garden.
Kenny Smith looked toward the court.
"This matchup has another interesting angle tonight. We could see 3 Chinese players sharing the floor in the same Playoffs game."
Barkley smiled.
"And if Jeremy Lin checks in, that makes 4 Asian players involved. You do not see that every night in the NBA."
The players greeted one another during warmups.
Chen Yan, Yi Jianlian, and Yao Ming were naturally extremely familiar with one another from their time together on the national team.
Battier also warmly greeted Yao.
The 2 had spent several years together in Houston and had always maintained a good relationship.
Battier remained especially grateful for those years.
Playing alongside Yao had introduced Battier to a massive Chinese audience and eventually led to multiple endorsement opportunities with Chinese companies.
Chen Yan also had a good relationship with Carmelo Anthony.
During the Beijing Olympics, Chen Yan had even taken Anthony for a traditional Chinese massage.
Somehow, 4 years had already passed.
The greetings were friendly.
Then warmups ended.
Expressions changed immediately.
Friendship existed away from competition.
Once the game began, none of it mattered.
The court was a battlefield.
There were no friends during the next 48 minutes.
New York's starting lineup was Stephen Curry, Chen Yan, Shane Battier, David West, and Al Harrington.
Nelson made a deliberate choice to stay small.
He knew DeAndre Jordan was unlikely to stop Yao Ming anyway.
Instead of trying to match Yao's size directly, Nelson wanted to attack with speed and spacing.
The Nets started Deron Williams, Anthony Morrow, Carmelo Anthony, Sheldon Williams, and Yao Ming.
The players gathered at center court.
Yao Ming used his overwhelming size and reach to win the opening tip.
The ball went to the Nets.
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals was underway.
....
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