The Wild West playoff first round battle ended with victories for the Jazz, Supersonics, and Spurs.

The overextended Suns in the regular season lamentably lost to the Jazz in the Game 7 showdown at home.

Kirilenko and Boozer's spectacular play helped the Jazz clinch this heart-pounding shootout on the road.

Throughout the game, the original Russian "AK47" racked up 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks.

In the game, Boozer, frequently matched up against Stoudemire through pick-and-rolls, made 16 of 24 shots, hit all 6 free throws, and scored 38 points, with 12 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Suns' unexpected first-round playoff exit objectively reflected how wise the Warriors were in formulating their "prioritization" strategy before the regular season began.

Perhaps, going all in every night could help the Warriors win more games in the regular season...

But come playoff time, the Warriors would inevitably become as drained as the Suns were this year.

Chris Paul, facing Steve Nash, produced an outstanding series performance with averages of 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Despite his small tricks inherited from Stockton, he couldn't prevent Nash from averaging 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 11 assists per game for the Suns...

Yet in this era where victory defines kings...

With his teammates' stellar performances, Paul, only in his second year, managed to defeat Nash and was crowned "God of Point Guards" by a mysterious commentator from the East.

In the Game 7 duel with the Lakers, the Supersonics, forced into a do-or-die situation at KeyArena due to underestimating their opponent, executed a flawless half-court offensive and defensive scheme, leaving Kobe to accompany the Los Angeles dawn alongside the Suns.

The ambitious Lakers struggled to unleash the full power of the triangle offense in this series.

Tagged as "soft" by Qin Yue, Pau Gasol was further reduced to soft dough by "Intense Defense" on the court.

Following the Game 7 loss, Gasol inevitably faced severe criticism from the Los Angeles media.

However, an upset Kobe still stood by Gasol, stating, "Losing wasn't Paul (Gasol)'s fault.

He's the smartest big man in basketball today, and we didn't let him do what he excels at on the court."

Gasol's strengths are his mobility, his facilitating ability, and his elegant offensive skills.

In this year's Lakers first-round playoff series, Gasol was burdened with heavy rim-protection duties, essentially pitting his weaknesses against his opponent's strengths.

Phil Jackson, along with his think tank, had anticipated this during the latter part of the regular season.

However, the Lakers had no time to trade for a reliable center by "robbing."

After all, even if Qin Yue traveled back in time, wanting the Dallas Mavericks to foolishly trade Luka Doncic to my Lakers...

He'd still have to adhere to the "basics of robbery."

That same night.

Watched by the entire Warriors team, the Game 7 clash between the Mavericks and Spurs became the most "heartbreaking" series for Qin Yue and his teammates.

If the Warriors were to face the Mavericks in the second round, Qin Yue had even prepared to open the champagne flown in from Istanbul to celebrate the Warriors' advance to the Western Conference Finals.

However...

The Little General Johnson inevitably became the fatal flaw in the Mavericks' lineup.

Despite Kidd, who usually enjoys taking over the coach's tactics board, holding down Johnson's restless, self-destructive tendencies multiple times during this series...

Johnson still, mindlessly, dragged the entire Mavericks into the abyss in Game 7.

"Dirk had already scored 25 points for them in the first three quarters... Why did they use Josh Howard as the main attacker in the fourth quarter?" Baron Davis asked in disbelief.

"In my opinion, that's not even the most absurd part... The most absurd part was that they planned on using Jason Kidd to close the game."

In this Game 7 against the Spurs, Kidd attempted 15 shots and only made 4.

Moreover, during the crucial final quarter, Kidd was responsible for 5 shot attempts.

If Josh Howard, who had taken the baton from Nowitzki, could at least use his solid fundamentals to punish the Spurs' wing defense reliant on grit and toughness...

Then expecting Kidd to seal the game was simply Avery Johnson's wishful thinking.

According to the schedule, in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Warriors will face the Spurs, while the Supersonics will clash with the Jazz.

Given this year's playoffs allowing for more intense defenses, the Warriors must forget their delightful experience of defeating the Spurs last year.

Every season is a new beginning.

In Qin Yue's memory, the Spurs, who are set to win the championship this year and use it to retain Duncan, are undoubtedly a very tough opponent.

As for the Supersonics...

The Jazz's style, which counters theirs, will certainly drag them into a tough series.

With Garnett backing Yao Ming, they're indeed less intimidated by the double cannon setup of Okur and Boozer.

However, the Supersonics' weak point guard position had already quietly set the stage for Paul to strut his stuff.

The 37-year-old Sam Cassell, the 38-year-old Gary Payton, and the similarly-statured Earl Watson compared to Paul...

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