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Chapter 376 [Destroying growth and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals]

Six Wizards scored in double figures, and the scoring points were scattered.

Hamilton made 8 of 16 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws. He scored 22 points and 6 assists without grabbing a rebound. This just shows that the Wizards have a clear division of labor. Hamilton is responsible for running, catching and shooting. He is active and quick when transitioning between offense and defense. He is not responsible for grabbing rebounds.

Stoudemire had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jordan had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Maggette had 14 points, Wesley had 12 points and Marshall had 10 points.

The Bulls' scoring points were particularly concentrated, with only three people scoring in double figures.

McGrady had 34 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Brand had 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Crawford had 15 points. Artest performed poorly, making 3 of 13 shots, 1 of 4 three-pointers, no free throws, and only scored 7 points.

The balance of victory began to tilt toward the Wizards. The only person who is more embarrassed is Jordan, who has been a spoiler in this series. His performance in the first round was average, and it was the worst playoff record of his career.

The Wizards' tactics in the playoffs are not centered around Jordan. Now, he can completely understand why Yang Rui didn't want veterans Oakley or Brian Russell last summer. If those two people came, they would definitely be idle in the team, otherwise the Wizards' extreme tactics of fighting for physical strength would not be possible. come out.

At the press conference, Yang Rui commented on the game and said: "The result is as I imagined. We have a way to target the Bulls' weaknesses. This is a victory for team basketball. The Wizards' cooperation is not the best in the league, but compared with perseverance, the Wizards will not Lose to any team."

The reporter asked: "How do you keep the players' morale high?"

Yang Rui smiled and said: "It's very simple. I tell them: failure is not terrible...the terrible thing is that you believe this sentence."

The reporters were all stunned for a moment, and then many laughed out loud.

Yang Rui continued: "Yes, we don't want to lose, so we must try our best and maintain our fighting spirit. If possible, I hope to win the championship every season and every team I lead."

"Failure is not terrible" is to comfort those who lose. If you have the strength, who doesn't want to succeed?

Yang Rui's words made headlines the next day, and the media began to watch the Wizards advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Although Game 6 was at home for the Bulls, everyone could see that the Bulls star was running out of energy.

On the 16th, before the start of Game 6, the media broke a piece of news that was very beneficial to the Wizards. McGrady has a waist problem. Even if he plays, he will play with an injury and his status is doubtful.

McGrady’s playing style is elegant,

He dunked a lot and took more shots after joining the Bulls. His offensive method is mainly pull-up jump shots. As we all know, this technique requires particularly high waist strength. McGrady has tried his best to win the team.

No matter who McGrady is guarding in this series, it will not be easy on the defensive end. He must run with him, which also increases the pressure on his waist. If he had listened to Yang Rui and been the sixth man in the Raptors and limited his playing time, although his statistics were worse, at least he would have been healthy. Now injuries have struck.

If you want to succeed, the most important thing is to clearly understand your talents and choose the right path. Those who choose the wrong path...if they don't work hard, they don't know what despair is.

When he first arrived with the Bulls in 2000, there was an appropriate word to describe Tracy McGrady at that time, and that was "reinforcing growth." The Bulls coach increased McGrady's playing time and asked him to do strength training. Now he is stronger than when he was with the Raptors.

He has indeed become dominant on the offensive end, reaching a height that he has never reached with the Raptors. However, the consequence of gaining weight is increasing the burden on his back and knees, and coupled with his spinal problems, it has laid hidden dangers for injuries.

It wasn't obvious in the first season, but in his second season with the Bulls, McGrady suffered back spasms and was unable to play. This season he was a perfect attendee in the regular season, but he finally couldn't hold on in the playoffs.

The Wizards' tactics are still the same as last game. Players are constantly moving, and McGrady is always being carried around no matter who he is guarding.

The Bulls could barely hold on in the first half, but were beaten in the second half.

Jordan and Wesley were convulsed and scored consecutively. Together with Hamilton and Bell's three-pointers, the Wizards killed the Bulls with 10 three-pointers in a single quarter.

In order to ensure the star's physical strength, Thibodeau shrinks the defensive formation too much and does not interfere enough with outside shots. Since the Wizards entered the playoffs, they have finally exploded with three-pointers.

The Bulls trailed by 22 points entering the final quarter. It was too late for Thibodeau to switch to man-to-man tactics, and the players had lost their fighting spirit.

The injury affected McGrady's shooting touch, and his physical strength could not keep up on the defensive end. The Wizards used a frontcourt press to target the Bulls' point guard's weaknesses. Crawford also made two pass mistakes and was counterattacked.

The score difference became wider and wider. In the second half, Yang Rui took the lead in replacing all the main players and entered garbage time.

The five Wizards Boozer, Wallace, Maggette, Hamilton, and Alston played small-ball tactics and still took the initiative against the Bulls' starting lineup.

At the end of the game with 4 minutes left, Alston dribbled under the crotch and behind the back from outside the three-point line, turned around and played tricks, delaying time and toying with Crawford, arousing Crawford's anger. Pushed down Alston who changed direction and broke through.

Even at the Bulls' home court, Crawford also aroused boos from some fans, which clearly shows that he cannot afford to lose.

Trailing by 28 points, there was no hope of a comeback. Thibodeau had no choice but to replace all the main players to prevent McGrady from continuing to hold on on the court. In the substitute battle, the Wizards had the upper hand, and the Bulls players had no morale and were like walking dead.

At the end of the game, 121 to 87, the Wizards defeated the Bulls by 34 points on the road, 4 to 2, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Thibodeau went to the court and hugged Yang Rui with a bitter smile: "Jerry, congratulations to you, I hope the Wizards can win the championship this season. You must beat the Nets. I don't like that team."

"Thank you for your kind words, I don't like the Nets either." Yang Rui smiled and said: "I wish the Bulls can find a good point guard in the summer."

Thibodeau sighed. The Bulls not only had problems with the point guard, but also with the center. Przbilla was almost abandoned in the next few games.

In this game, 6 Wizards scored in double figures. The best performer was Marshall, who made 9 of 15 shots, 6 of 10 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 26 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.

Wesley made 8 of 16 shots, 3 of 6 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 21 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Stoudemire made 9 of 13 shots and 5 of 6 free throws. He scored 23 points and 9 rebounds for a near-double-double.

Jordan continued to play soy sauce, only 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

On the Bulls side, the best performer was Brand, who scored 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

McGrady became a blacksmith, making 8 of 25 shots, 2 of 7 three-pointers, 4 of 6 free throws, and scored 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Barkley joked: "Brand's advantage is that he is stable, but his disadvantage is that he is too stable. His statistics in every game are similar, just those points and the same number of shots. I have never seen him shoot in a game. More than 30 times. Today the Bulls needed him to step up and score, but he still played as usual, lacking passion."

Smith said regretfully: "If McGrady had not suffered an injury and the team's substitutes had been stronger, the Bulls would have been promoted. A healthy McGrady can do anything."

No matter how strong an individual's ability is, basketball is an overall sport. Yang Rui feels that if this continues, McGrady may be in trouble. His biggest enemy in his career is injuries.

However, McGrady is no longer under Yang Rui's control.

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