Chapter 272 The Toronto Raptors Lead the Series 2-0

　　At the end of the first half, relying on a scoring surge in the second quarter, the Raptors led the Pistons by 16 points going into the second half.

　　The score for the two teams at the half was 49 to 65.

　　In basketball, because offense and defense are closely related, the Raptors' fluid offense tonight has also affected the Pistons' offensive rhythm.

　　After the halftime break, the Raptors continued to field their "small-ball" lineup for the third quarter.

　　You know, after the Raptors' starting center, Da Ben, was sent to the bench, the Raptors fans in attendance felt that the Raptors' lineup seemed even taller...

　　Well...

　　It wasn't an illusion.

　　With Little O'Neal at center...

　　The Raptors' interior height was indeed greater.

　　On the court, in order to close the gap, the Pistons also adjusted their strategy to target the Raptors' new lineup.

　　Because Su Feng was still playing power forward for the Raptors in the third quarter, Carlisle initially wanted Joe Smith to post up Su Feng more often.

　　However, after a few possessions, Joe Smith was almost taken out of the game...

　　Joe Smith, who is "208" centimeters tall and weighs around 105 kilograms, couldn't gain any advantage in the low post against Su Feng, the "Elbow Emperor," in this era where elbows could solve everything.

　　Plus, Su Feng knew Joe Smith's strengths and weaknesses very well, so Smith had no secrets in front of Su Feng.

　　Therefore, despite Smith's height advantage, how could he use it if he couldn't create space to shoot?

　　In Su Feng's opinion, Joe Smith's strengths were his great athleticism and pick-and-roll ability with his teammates.

　　But if the Pistons put the entire offensive burden on him, his already subpar low-post game would only become a liability.

　　As the toughest 198 after Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan, Su Feng's low-post defense wasn't easy to crack.

　　However, Carlisle wasn't as stubborn as Van Gundy.

　　On the court, after Smith failed to score on Su Feng several times in a row, Carlisle decisively shifted the Pistons' offensive focus to Nash.

　　But...

　　With Su, Carter, and McGrady rotating on defense, the young Pistons point guard Hughes soon ran into a troubling problem.

　　Which was...

　　Is Nash your wife?

　　Do you have to play this hard to cover for him?

　　Are you even letting us play?

　　As everyone knows, when Nash is on the court, he automatically activates the Raptors' other players' full-defense mode...

　　Therefore, in the regular season, the Raptors' defensive efficiency in the second quarter was always much higher than in their other three quarters.

　　So, who says Nash is the Raptors' defensive liability?

　　On the court, the Pistons failed to catch up by the end of the third quarter.

　　Instead, the Raptors, who were getting more and more excited, collaborated on a brilliant fast break near the end of the third quarter, with Su Feng and McGrady combining.

　　McGrady took advantage of Hill's distraction while he was busy schooling Carter and stole the ball right out of Hill's hands.

　　Then, the Raptors launched a fast break, and after receiving McGrady's long pass, Su Feng used a one-handed tomahawk dunk to split the trembling Mount Hua in two again!

　　Throughout the third quarter, the Raptors maintained a lead of around 16 points, and as a result, the Pistons players' morale had gradually been worn down by the Raptors.

　　In the final quarter, after Su Feng came out and used two three-pointers to completely extinguish the Pistons' momentum, Carlisle gave up with six minutes left in the game.

　　In the end, 95 to 116, the Raptors won another game, leading the series 2-0 over the Pistons.

　　In the game, Su Feng shot 11 of 22, including 4 of 7 from three-point range and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line, for a game-high 35 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block, and 1 assist.

　　Nash also contributed a double-double with 19 points and 12 assists.

　　Little O'Neal was one of the Raptors' best players in this game.

　　He made 8 of 10 shots and set a personal playoff career high with 4 three-pointers in this game. In addition, with Da Ben being benched for the final three quarters, he and Su Feng successfully protected the Raptors' paint.

　　On the Pistons side, Stackhouse, who forgot his scope at home, only scored 11 points and had a poor performance.

　　As for Joe Smith, who had 10 points and 4 rebounds in the first quarter, he only managed 14 points and 7 rebounds after being matched up against Su Feng in the last three quarters, failing to provide Hill with more help.

　　After the game, many of Hill's fans online began to feel sorry for the "Jordan successor."

　　Because in recent years, limited by the Pistons' overall strength, Hill's performance in the playoffs has consistently fallen short of expectations.

　　And this year, they finally ushered in the Pistons' most promising year, but in the semi-finals, their opponents, the Raptors, were so strong...

　　According to the schedule, the next games between the two teams will be moved to Detroit.

　　With the Raptors leading 2-0, many experts in North America believe that the Raptors have already secured their spot in this year's Eastern Conference Finals.

　　But Su Feng wouldn't choose to believe these experts' judgments.

　　Because for Su Feng, who is well-versed in the "Steady Scriptures," the suspense in this series will remain unless the Raptors eliminate the Pistons.

　　After the game, in the press conference, Carlisle gave a very high evaluation of Davis's bold lineup change.

　　And in his words, you could clearly feel the young coach's confidence in this Pistons team.

　　Hill also hadn't given up. In an interview, he said that he hoped fans would come to support the team when they returned to their home court. "Being down 0-2 isn't the end of the world. As long as we can win the next game, the momentum of this series will shift to us."

　　Da Ben, who had been abandoned by Davis, became the target of the reporters' jokes at the press conference.

　　This season, as one of the leading candidates for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, who would have thought that Davis would abandon Da Ben in such a crucial battle?

　　Therefore, everyone was curious whether Da Ben's mentality would be affected.

　　As a result, the reporters who wanted to see a spectacle were disappointed.

　　Because Da Ben said calmly, "Maybe today I'm a substitute, maybe tomorrow it's Steve or Vince, who knows?

　　This is the Raptors, we're gathered together to win.

　　No one understands how to win games better than I do.

　　For me, sitting on the bench isn't a problem as long as we can win the game."

　　Su Feng also spoke up for Da Ben, saying, "Ben is an indispensable member of our team, but in this game, the team chose to sacrifice him because of tactical needs.

　　In my opinion, this is a very courageous decision, and for Ben personally, it's also a great quality.

　　Because even when he's on the sidelines, he's helping us by waving towels and encouraging his teammates."

　　Su Feng knew that if he didn't stand up for Da Ben, Da Ben would likely be labeled as "unimportant" or "insignificant" by some people with ulterior motives after this series.

　　And in that case, even if Da Ben had a good attitude, he would inevitably have some other thoughts.

　　After all, no matter how much you exploit a tool, you still have to talk about the "Tool Man Rights Law."

　　According to Su Feng's own plan for this Raptors team, he didn't want to see any internal strife before the end of his five-year plan in Toronto.

　　"Su, actually, I feel okay about being a substitute for the last three quarters of this game.

　　I'm serious, even if you didn't speak up for me, I wouldn't feel sad," Da Ben said calmly to Su Feng after the interview.

　　But with Su Feng and Da Ben's years of friendship, how could Su Feng not know that this tough guy wasn't saying what he really thought?

　　"Don't say that, Ben. In my eyes, other than Shaq, you're the best center in this league. So, I'm not trying to stick up for you, I'm just telling the truth," Su Feng said solemnly, patting Da Ben on the shoulder.

　　And upon hearing this, the gloom in Da Ben's heart immediately dissipated.

　　Because it didn't matter what other people thought of him.

　　As long as his position in Su Feng's heart hadn't wavered, Da Ben felt content.

　　After all, in the current league, how many people's words carry as much weight as Su Feng's?

　　...

　　On the 9th, the Raptors rested for one night and then headed to Motor City.

　　Upon arriving in Detroit, Davis didn't schedule any team training, but rather let the players rest in the hotel.

　　And early on the 10th, while Little Yao, who had come to Detroit with Su Feng as a member of Su Feng's family and friends group, was still dreaming of one-on-one matches against O'Neal...

　　"Young Ming, watch closely. Standing in front of you now is...

　　The 98/99 season NBA regular season MVP!

　　The 98/99 season NBA Defensive Player of the Year!

　　The 98/99 season NBA Finals MVP!

　　The 99/00 season NBA regular season MVP!

　　The 99/00 season NBA All-NBA First Team..."

　　In the hotel room, Little Yao felt goosebumps all over his body when he heard Su Feng's exclusive, cheesy nickname for him after Su Feng suddenly appeared in front of him.

　　Wait...

　　Brother Feng, how did you manage to open my hotel room without waking me up?

　　Eh, wait a minute...

　　After carefully pondering Su Feng's series of boastful lines, Little Yao suddenly realized the key point!

　　"Brother... Brother Feng, have the NBA individual awards for this year been announced?" Little Yao asked excitedly.

　　Upon hearing this, Su Feng stroked his thinning hair and smiled, "Yes, Ming. Remember, when introducing me to others in the future, please remember to add the 99/00 season NBA regular season MVP."

　　The joys and sorrows of people are not connected.

　　Because while Little Yao was happy for Su Feng for winning the NBA regular season MVP again...

　　In Los Angeles, looking at his teammates' concerned eyes, O'Neal forced himself to suppress the grief and indignation in his heart and said with a pretended calmness, "Actually, I feel okay about not winning the regular season MVP."

　　So now the question is.

　　If O'Neal feels okay...

　　Then was Wang Zhizhi's locker room cabinet that was smashed in by Kobe's iron fist?

　　On the morning of the 10th, after the NBA officially announced the winners of the 99/00 season's major awards, it was a time of joy and sorrow.

　　This year's Rookie of the Year was won by Francis.

　　Due to historical changes, Francis made the playoffs with the Nets in his rookie season in this world, and Francis's individual stats were better than in Su Feng's previous life. So, Brand didn't share the Rookie of the Year award with Francis like Su Feng remembered.

　　The Most Improved Player award was won by McGrady.

　　This season, as the Raptors' third offensive option, McGrady averaged 16.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in the regular season.

　　His field goal percentage was 45.9%, his three-point percentage was 37%, and his free throw percentage was 78%.

　　According to ESPN's commentary, McGrady has shown the world his potential to become a superstar this season.

　　In addition, Nash took home the Sixth Man of the Year award.

　　There's no way around it. A star player coming off the bench, how are other players supposed to compete?

　　And it's worth mentioning that this year's Defensive Player of the Year was won by Duncan...

　　Honestly, although in Su Feng's eyes, Duncan has always been one of the best defenders in the league, seeing Duncan actually win the Defensive Player of the Year award made Su Feng feel like his youth had completely ended!

　　Ironclad proof of a shady league!

　　To be fair, in Su Feng's opinion, the fact that Duncan never managed to get a single Defensive Player of the Year award in his previous life was already quite outrageous.

　　And in this life, whether the league wanted to create balance in the awards selection or they really wanted to give the award to Duncan, in Su Feng's eyes, it was a great regret that had been filled for many Duncan fans.

　　But, no bias...

　　In Su Feng's opinion, he definitely deserved two-thirds of the credit for Duncan being able to win the Defensive Player of the Year award in this life.

　　Because...

　　The Raptors won so many awards this year, how could others compete if the league gave the Defensive Player of the Year to Su Feng again?

　　In the Coach of the Year selection, Davis unsurprisingly received a whopping 76 first-place votes, crushing Jackson, who received 19 votes, and successfully won the 99/00 season NBA Coach of the Year.

　　And in the Executive of the Year selection, the Raptors' general manager, Glen Grunwald, was also successfully elected.

　　In addition, the Raptors had as many as four players selected to the All-NBA teams, becoming the biggest winners.

　　99/00 season NBA All-NBA First Team:

　　O'Neal, Duncan, Su Feng, Kobe, Kidd.

　　99/00 season NBA All-NBA Second Team:

　　Mourning, Garnett, Hill, Carter, Payton.

　　99/00 season NBA All-NBA Third Team:

　　Da Ben, Malone, Pippen, McGrady, Marbury.

　　And in the All-Defensive Team selection, the Raptors also had three players selected.

　　99/00 season NBA All-Defensive First Team:

　　Mourning, Duncan, Su Feng, Kobe, Kidd.

　　99/00 season NBA All-Defensive Second Team:

　　Da Ben, Garnett, Pippen, McGrady, Payton.

　　Honestly, after the results of this year's major awards were announced, although in the eyes of the world, the saddest person should be O'Neal, Su Feng felt the most sorry for Garnett...

　　Because the Wolf King, who should have achieved an All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team selection this season, only managed to get a Second Team and Second Defensive Team selection because of someone...

　　Can you believe it?

　　Of course, for countless honey fans, other players' self-pity and sadness had nothing to do with them.

　　Because as the saying goes...

　　The joys and sorrows of people are not connected.

　　Now, no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing...

　　In the words of the honey fans, as long as you are a fan of Su Feng, you should raise your hands to celebrate this historic moment.

　　Because in the 99/00 season, the NBA regular season MVP was won by Chinese player Su Feng!

　　...

　　ps: Sneaking in a second update, hopefully no one will notice? Mwah!