With the Bucks out early in this year's playoffs, many people think that Green Kai rushed out of the East to stabilize. After all, Philadelphia's overall strength is not as good as Green Kai, and the Heat injured Teddy Hiro and Oladipo, relying on Butler's "supergod" to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
Unfortunately, in the Green Kai vs Heat series, the two teams did not play inextricably, and the Green Kai, who had a more dominant lineup, did not have the advantage. Instead, the Heat won G1, G2, and G3 in a row, and was once forced to the adversity of 0-3 behind.
In the context of Green Kai's 0-3 down, combined with 150 examples of 0-3 backward reversals in NBA history, even the most "hard-mouthed" people have to admit that this round of the series Green Kai is difficult, they can not be swept out by the Heat is already a blessing, it is impossible to complete the feat of "letting three chase four".
After all, the Western Lakers are a good example, they eliminated the Grizzlies and Warriors in two consecutive rounds, and also showed a certain degree of championship strength. However, under the premise of trailing 0-3, the Lakers were not only directly eliminated by the Nuggets, but also tried their best not to get a victory...
Even the Lakers with James + thick eyebrows have not been able to turn over in the face of 0-3 down, and the outside world naturally does not have much confidence in Green Kai. But in the adversity of 0-3 behind, Green Kai was not swept out like the Lakers, but withstood the pressure and won G4 and G5 one after another, showing extraordinary resilience and big heart...
So, from losing three games in a row to winning two games in a row, how exactly did Green Kai do it?
1. Retrieve the three points in time and suppress the Heat's three-point play. Over the years, as Green Kai's tactics and Tatum's playing style have become more and more "magic ball", the team's three-point shooting proportion has also increased. Just like the Warriors back then, as long as Green Kai made a three-point shot, almost no team could beat them head-on.
In the first two rounds of this year's playoffs, Green Kai shot 40.5% from three-point range against the Hawks and 38.8% against Philadelphia. This is one of the main reasons why Tatum's form was up and down in the first two rounds of the series, but Green Kai was always able to be the final winner.
However, in the Eastern Conference finals against the Heat's defense, Green Kai's three-point shooting rate in the first three games slipped to 34.5%, 28.6%, and 26.2%. They are averaging less than 30 percent three-point shooting (29.7 percent) per game, which is far behind the Heat's 46.8 percent three-point shooting in their first three games.
Under the premise that Green Kai's overall three-point shooting is not open, and Jaylen Brown's performance is far from the first two rounds - the average has slipped to 16.7 points + 37.8% shooting per game, it is difficult for them to win. Unless Tatum can stand up at a crucial moment and score 50+ points in a single game...
And G4 and G5 Green Kai won, in fact, Tatum did not completely explode, they won because the team recovered three points in time and limited the Heat's three-point play. In the past two games, Green Kai has recovered the three-point level in time, with 40% and 41% three-point performances respectively. The Heat, under the unlimited change of defense of Green Kai, fell to 25% and 39.1% from three-point range.
2. While limiting the Heat's offensive, it did not let Butler break out. In fact, judging by the results and form of the regular season heat this year, it is difficult for them to make a difference in the playoffs, especially Oladipo and Teddy Hiro are still injured and unable to play, resulting in a further decline in their overall strength.
However, the Heat eliminated the Bucks and Philadelphia in succession and successfully advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The key to the Heat's promotion in these two series lies in Butler's play. In the first round of the series, against the strong Bucks, who also had alphabet brothers, Butler averaged 37.6 points, 6.0 boards, 4.8 assists, and shot 60.9% from the field.
And the crucial G4 also shot 67.9% from the field for 56 points and 9 boards, which allowed the Heat to win the first-round series. In the second round, against the Knicks, a team that is not very strong in comprehensive strength, Butler also averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 boards, 6.0 assists, and shot 43.8% from the field.
Judging from the first two rounds of the series, Butler's individual performance can be described as both "explosive" and stable, but there are ups and downs in the face of the Green Kai defense. Green Kay vs Heat Series G3, Butler shot 5-of-13 from a single game, scoring only 16 points, 8 boards and 6 assists. But fortunately, Vincent and Duncan Robinson broke out, scoring 29 and 22 points respectively.
Coupled with the fact that the Green Kai "double prospect" fell into a slump - Tatum 14 points (6 of 18) and Jaylen Brown 12 points (6 of 17), the Heat were able to win G3. Originally, after being won by Green Kai, G5 Butler should have played explosively, but he only scored 14 points in a single game, which was completely short of the requirements for leading the team to win.
Coupled with the fact that the overall three-point recovery of Green Kai and the "double prospecting combination" no longer pull their crotches at the same time, it is not surprising that the Heat have lost consecutive games. After all, after Oladipo and Hiro retired from injury, the comprehensive strength of this Heat team is actually inferior to Green Kai. As long as you don't run into Butler Supergod + the overall play is normal, in fact, Green Kai's winning is just a matter of course...