NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 310 Advancing to the Finals

My mood was naturally different on the way back. When we came, the score was 1:1, but now it's 3:1; the situation is completely different.

Upon arriving in Atlanta, the Hawks began preparing for Game 5.

Predictions for this series have become completely one-sided, with everyone favoring the Hawks to defeat the Cavaliers and advance to the NBA Finals. Many believe that the Hawks' five-year streak of reaching the Finals is about to end.

Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be held on May 29 at Philips Arena, the home of the Hawks.

On the 28th, the Hawks held a practice session. For them, the situation was excellent; advancing to the Finals seemed only a matter of time. An optimistic atmosphere permeated the team, an atmosphere that made Jia Fei sense a hint of crisis. This lack of urgency was not suitable for the life-or-death struggle of the playoffs.

After training, Jia Fei gathered everyone together. This was the first time he had done this; usually, it was either head coach Budenholzer or veteran player Horford who did it. But this time, he did it himself because he felt it was necessary.

"Guys, we're now up 3-1 in the series. We're just one step away from making it to the finals for the first time in over 50 years. You all probably think there's no chance of anything going wrong. They only have one superstar. We can comfortably win the next game on home soil and advance to the finals. Everything will fall into place." Jia Fei finished speaking and glanced at everyone.

No one spoke, but it was clear that many people thought so.

"But have you all considered that if we lose Game 5 due to carelessness, Game 6 will have to be played back on their home court? If they're riding high then, and the referees give them a bit of a boost, and Kyrie comes back, and they manage to win again, we'll have to go to Game 7. Even though Game 7 is on our home court, the element of chance is huge. Even if we're on home court, their momentum might be unstoppable, and who knows what might happen? There have been instances in NBA playoff history of teams leading 3-1 and then being reversed. We're not leading 3-0; we don't have the right to be complacent. I don't want any surprises. Our goal has never been the Eastern Conference Finals; if that were the case, we would have made it last year. Our goal is the championship. I clearly stated that at the beginning of the season, and many people thought I was boasting, but I still say it now: our goal is the championship, and we must end this series at home!" Jia Fei finished speaking, glancing at everyone. "This is a do-or-die playoff series. They have superstars on the other side; don't underestimate any opponent. The series isn't over yet!"

After Jia Fei finished speaking, the smiles on many of his teammates' faces froze... Clearly, his words had poured cold water on these optimistic people. But the effect of this cold water wasn't bad; at least the optimistic atmosphere began to dissipate, and a sense of urgency gradually returned.

Jia Fei was quite satisfied with the result. He wasn't one to make grand pronouncements or give speeches in front of others in a bossy manner. He simply didn't want the favorable situation to be reversed. This wasn't unfounded worry; the goal was to minimize uncertainty.

Coach Buden had witnessed Jia Fei's performance firsthand. He was surprised that the young player was so calm and composed, without becoming arrogant despite the favorable situation. It was truly remarkable; it's not easy to remain so calm.

On the evening of the 29th, Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals took place.

When it was learned before the game that Kyrie Irving would not play, even those few who believed the Cavaliers could turn the game around began to waver.

The Hawks are incredibly consistent, and with a superstar in his prime supporting them, the chances of them completely faltering are virtually zero. To beat a team with such a complete system, great roster depth, and superstars, you either need to be a level above them in terms of team cohesion and synergy, or you need to completely overwhelm them in terms of raw talent.

The Cavaliers originally had a chance to overwhelm the Hawks with their raw talent (the Big Three), but unfortunately, two of the Big Three were sidelined with injuries, leaving them with no advantage in terms of talent. In addition, their system was inferior to the Hawks', so it's not hard to understand why they are now completely at a disadvantage.

The Cavaliers can't come up with anything new. They only have this roster, and even if the coaching staff wanted to make changes, they were powerless. Ultimately, the game is played by the players. Even with the abilities of a coach like Zhuge Weiwei, without reliable players, there's nothing you can do. The 08 coaching team, Doc Rivers, proved to the world that as long as you have a strong enough team, even a motivational coach like him, lacking substantial experience, can win a championship. And even someone as good as Zhuge Weiwei has never built a dynasty in his coaching career, not even consecutive championships.

After the game started, the Hawks continued their strategy of focusing on one-on-one defense against fast-moving players and limiting everyone else. The playoffs are all about counter-strategies, and the Cavaliers couldn't effectively break this strategy in Games 3 and 4, so why shouldn't I continue to stick with it?

The Cavaliers' problem is that while their defense is adequate, even championship-caliber, it's severely lacking on offense. Their strongest lineup, the "one star and four shooters," is hampered by injuries. Playing with a traditional big-man lineup fails to maximize the threat of their drives and passes, making the game very tiring for them.

But if he doesn't play like that, the Cavaliers' offense will be completely paralyzed, and they'll die even faster.

G5JR and Shumpert have both increased their individual offensive output, and even Dellavedova and Mozgov have increased their individual offensive output. The Cavaliers coaching staff's strategy is very clear: to reduce the burden on the "runners".

Unfortunately, these players simply couldn't hurt the Hawks. After Korver's season-ending injury, the Hawks no longer had any obvious weaknesses for you to exploit.

In the first half, the Cavaliers were able to maintain the score thanks to the Hawks' good stamina, but in the second half, the evenly matched situation began to end, and the Hawks started to take the lead.

It's the same plot again, without the slightest change.

The outcome of the game was not in any suspense. The Hawks did not become complacent and lost. They remained focused and hardworking from beginning to end until the very last moment of the game.

The moment the final buzzer sounded, the fans in the arena rose to their feet and applauded excitedly. The Hawks players rushed to center court, and everyone embraced. Confetti rained down, and after more than 50 years, the Hawks had returned to the NBA Finals!

Regardless of the final outcome of the Finals, at least at this moment, the Hawks have set a new franchise record. They've added another Eastern Conference title to their collection.

Many fans look down on the division champions, and in the eyes of many who hold the view that the winner takes all, the runner-up is tantamount to failure.

The runner-up is certainly not as good as the champion, but it is definitely not a failure. It is much, much better than not even making it to the finals and going fishing!