no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 117 The end of the regular season, appointed by the king
The season is drawing to a close, and the battle for the playoffs has entered a fierce stage.

Especially in the west, it can be described as hand-to-hand combat.

The Lakers are temporarily ranked first, but they are only 2 games ahead of the Nuggets behind them.

And that's the status quo of the top nine teams in the West.

The Lakers, Nuggets, Mavericks, Rockets, Suns, Spurs, Trail Blazers, Jazz, and Thunder are ranked differently, but their record does not exceed two wins, and even those with the same record are better than two.

This is unique even if you look at the entire NBA history. No one can analyze who will be squeezed out in the end, including what matchup will be in the end.

The situation in the east is relatively less intense, but the competition between the same echelons is also coming and going.

The first is the Cavaliers and Magic, who compete for the top spot in the East. The two teams have formed a broken lead over other teams. They have at least 6 more wins than the third-ranked Eagles, but they are only 1 win away from each other.

The Cavaliers lineup is unprecedentedly strong, and the Magic are not far behind.

In addition to basically retaining the lineup that made it to the Finals last season, the Magic also exchanged Turkoglu from the Nets for Vince Carter, plus Jameer Nelson, who was traded last season, and played this season. Howard, who has the highest shooting percentage in his career, aims to complete a double play against the Cavaliers.

The Eagles, Celtics and Heat in the second echelon are also entangled in the competition for the upper half (top four).

But the most intense is the competition for the second half of the playoffs. The Bucks, Bobcats, Bulls, and Raptors are competing for the final three playoff spots.

Although the season is drawing to a close, the competition is unprecedentedly intense.

Unknowingly, the time has come to early April, when the season has ushered in the real end.

At this time, except for a few rankings that have not yet been determined, most of the rankings and even the matchups have been determined.

Cleveland, Cavaliers locker room.

At this time, the Cavaliers are preparing for the last game at the end of the season, and their opponent is the Bobcats.

This is a very delicate game, because the Bobcats are now ranked eighth with 43 wins, only one less win than the seventh Bulls, but they have a head-to-head advantage.

Because the Cavaliers have won two games with the Magic at this time, and they have confirmed the No. [-] position in the Eastern Conference, so they can decide who to play in the first round of this game.

If they win this game, there is no doubt that they will play the Bobcats in the first round.

And if they lose, the Bobcats will have the same record as the Bulls, and they can rise to seventh place by virtue of the hand-to-hand advantage.

In that case, their first-round opponent will be changed from the Bobcats to the Bulls.

At this time, general manager Danny Ferry and head coach Mike Brown came to the locker room and called James out.

In a private office on the second floor, the three of them had a conversation.

The content of the conversation is naturally about the last game of this season tonight, or it can also be understood as deciding who to play in the first round.

Originally, this kind of thing was a matter for discussion between the coaching staff and the management, but because of James' special status with the Cavaliers, the management gave him treatment beyond that of a player.

"This is the first time the Bobcats have entered the playoffs. They have no experience, and their inside line is very weak. The starting center is 37-year-old Ratliff. It is not a matter of consideration to choose them." Brown gave himself the opinion of.

His idea is very simple, not only will such opponents not have any risks, but they can also reduce consumption, allowing them enough time to prepare for the second round.

Because the Celtics are currently ranked fourth, although they are too old, their strength with the addition of Rasheed Wallace should not be underestimated.

Ferry nodded, then looked at James.

Brown's opinion can only be used as a reference at most, and what is more important is James' attitude.

It sounds absurd, but it seems reasonable when James is likely to jump out of his contract in the summer.

The Cavaliers have become a strong team in the league because of James, and they can't afford to lose James.

Or in other words, realistic but not so nice, the Cavaliers dare not go against James' ideas at all now.

"Bulls." James gave the answer almost without thinking.

The answer made Brown's eyelids twitch.

"The Celtics are a difficult team to deal with. We must play out the state before playing them." Immediately afterwards, James gave his reasons.

A legitimate reason.

"LeBron is right, Mike, our main force needs a truce tonight, and we are going to lose this game." Ferry said directly.

Brown didn't come back to his senses for a while.

"Mike?" Ferry called Brown again.

Brown came back to his senses, and then nodded.

Having made up his mind, James left the office and went back to the locker room.

After James left, Brown shook his head bitterly.

James' reason sounds reasonable, but analyzing it is simply nonsense.

What team is the Celtics now?It was the team that played two rounds of tie-breakers before reaching the Eastern Conference finals, and finally defeated the Lakers to win the championship.

Experience and tenacity are their labels, and while they're two years older than they were then, this season they added Rasheed Wallace, a guy who also has that label.

Against a team like this, your best bet is to save as much energy as possible and be ready to play them seven games.

Of course, he actually understands why James chose this way.

Because James lost face in the season opener, and he lost face even more in the previous dunk contest, he needs a chance to regain his place. Is there any better opportunity than the playoffs now?

But to do so is to risk the future of the team, because the Bulls are only young, and the configuration is not bad, especially compared with the Bobcats.

"Relax, relax," Ferry said after seeing Brown's reaction, approaching him.

"Didn't we just beat the Bulls just now? Our season record is also 3 wins and 1 loss. As long as we are serious, there is no difference whether it is the Bobcats or the Bulls." Ferry continued to explain.

"I hope you are right." Brown smiled helplessly.

The decision has already been made, and there is no point in opposing it.

Seeing this, Ferry reached out and patted Brown on the shoulder, and said something meaningful: "Think about how to win."

In fact, everyone knows that if the Cavaliers can't win the championship this year, then James will probably leave the Cavaliers.

This is the reason why they smashed the lineup crazy this season.

And once James leaves, whether he or Brown, he will be unemployed immediately.

With the Cavaliers missing their main players and losing to the Bobcats on the bench, the 2009~2010 regular season officially came to an end, and all the Eastern and Western Conference rankings were released.

In the West, the Lakers ranked first with 56 wins. Although they did not perform well at the beginning of the season, with the return of Gasol, they quickly entered the state, and it is worth mentioning that, Bryant not only showed improvement in footwork, he also contributed 6 lore in a single season;

The Mavericks are second with 55 wins, adding Caron Butler and Haywood to give the Mavericks a thick front and backcourt that looks like a championship-caliber team again since 2006 Team;

The Rockets ranked third with 54 wins. The addition of Hamilton has brought the Rockets to a higher level. It is unbelievable to say, but they seem to be stronger than Yao Mai's period;
The Suns ranked fourth with 53 wins. Selling away O'Neal allowed fans to once again see the strength of this running and gun team. The addition of Channing Frye seemed to be just the right time. The only thing worth assuming is that if the Suns got Without Xu Yong, what heights can they reach;
The Nuggets, Jazz, Spurs and Thunder ranked 5th to 8th, and the Trail Blazers became the team that was finally squeezed out of the playoffs.

In the East, the Cavaliers topped the list with a record of 60 wins. Although they won 6 games less than last season after adding O'Neal and Jamison consecutively, this does not affect their strength.

The Magic are second with 59 wins;
The Eagles, Celtics, Heat, and Bucks ranked third to sixth respectively.

The Bobcats and Bulls both ended up with 44 wins, but because the Bulls had a record of 1 win and 2 losses against the Bobcats, the Bulls ended up in eighth place.

……

Chicago, United Center training facility.

"Who would have thought that we would actually face the Cavaliers in the first round." After training, Noah said while wiping his sweat.

"They chose us." Xu Yong reminded.

"Yes, they chose us." Noah nodded, eager to try.

In the past two months, he has put in double effort, and what he has gained is not only a stronger body, but also stronger self-confidence.

"Do we have a chance?" Just then, Brown on the side asked.

Although it took a month to find a rotation position in the Bulls, it is unrealistic for a guy who has lost his confidence for a decade to regain his confidence all at once.

"Of course there is a chance! You forgot that we beat them in the opening game!" Noah waved his fist the size of a sandbag.

Xu Yong also nodded affirmatively, and then said with a smile: "The team that was chosen this way last time was the Mavericks three years ago."

When he said this, Noah immediately nodded "Yeah", and the dead memory in Brown's mind also resurfaced.

At that time, he was still playing for the Lakers, and the Lakers also made the playoffs. His impression should be the deepest.

And it really counted that the Mavericks were even more outrageous at that time, because if the Mavericks beat the Warriors in the penultimate game at that time, the Warriors would not even make the playoffs.

As a result, the Mavericks also came off the bench in that game, sending the Warriors into the playoffs.

Then there is the "Warrior Black Eight" that fans are familiar with.

Baron Davis and his Golden State gang sent the Mavericks home in the playoffs, not only costing the Mavericks a chance for revenge (the 2006 Finals was reversed by the Heat), but also costing Nowitz After being eliminated, Key received the regular season MVP trophy that almost represented a shame.

That is, after that, Nowitzki was almost synonymous with the soft guy, and there was no doubt about it.

"Do they really not know how to study history?" Brown asked puzzledly. Just like Xu Yong said, that was only three years ago.

"They just underestimate us." Noah sneered.

"Okay, let's go back and rest early." Xu Yong said and got up.

Noah and Brown nodded when they heard it, then packed up and left the training hall.

After they were all gone, Xu Yong turned back and practiced an extra wave of shooting.

Others may not think of it, how could he not think of the reason why James picked the Bulls.

More than half of it was because of him.

Although psychologically, they will not lose confidence because of the occurrence of the Warriors' black eight.

But things like Hei Ba belong to a small probability event.

In terms of strength, the Bulls are not as good as the Cavaliers.

So this is an opportunity for the Bulls, but it is very difficult to do it, and it is only basic to do our best.

When Xu Yong practiced extra late at night, the social media became lively again.

The moment the two sides in the playoffs are confirmed, that is the carnival night for Jamies!
You must know that the last slam dunk contest suffocated them out of internal injuries, and now they finally have their chance.

"Some people think that they are so good after winning the slam dunk contest. Can the slam dunk contest champion help him win even a playoff game?!"

"It's 3-1 in the regular season, and they lost a big loss in the last match. Does the Bulls have even the slightest chance?"

"Sweeping, it's impossible for a gentleman to sweep, I said, it's useless when God comes!"

……

However, as in the past, the user named "KBforever" staged another Changbanpo, killing him seven times and seven times out with these Jamies.

"How much do you care about the slam dunk contest champion? He won't leave you without mentioning him once?"

"Well, that's what Dallas people thought three years ago, and then you know."

"You are really good fans, put pressure on the Cavaliers in advance, what if you lose a game?"

……

Durant's mansion in Oklahoma.

While puffing and puffing in the room, he looked at the phone screen and laughed.

Harden is enlightened so quickly.

At this level of slander, he has almost caught up with half of his skill.

Moreover, this feeling that the master brought out the apprentice gave him a sense of accomplishment.

Of course, it also made him interested.

He put the mosaic cigarette in his hand aside, then cut numbers one after another, and started his performance.

"Some people won without mentioning it once, and some people lost, like a scar for a lifetime." Comment from "KBfnas".

"After all, I was dunked and dunked, and then I was thrown out of the slam dunk contest." A comment from a "loyal Lakers fan".

"Why are you showing the facts, a bunch of black people." Comments from "Guardian of Cleveland Kingdom"
"Big courage, bullying my young Zhan again, stabbing Orlando!" Comments from "KBfnas".

"God may not hear your prayers, but he can certainly sense your arrogance." Comment from "Los Angeles Nation".

……

It was late at night, but the sound of keyboard tapping became more and more intense.

　Showing cuteness every day, begging for tickets, begging for subscription~~

　　
　
(End of this chapter)