no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 257 The 2015~2016 regular season ends

After the game, Xu Yong took the initiative to walk to the Lakers half court, preparing to congratulate Kobe.

But at this moment, there was a commotion on the Lakers bench. The team doctor was checking Kobe's knee. Kobe looked a little painful.

This scene was projected on the large LED screen, which also made Xu Yong stop in his tracks.

The scene became restless.

After a while, Kobe stood up with the help of the team doctor. He tried to walk back and forth, but the last squinting look proved that it was not possible.

Finally he sat back on the bench, chest heaving and breathing heavily.

Looking at Kobe's expression, Xu Yong realized that Kobe may not have entered the white-hot space at the beginning, but he should have entered the final reversal of the game.

In the white-hot space state, all perceptions will be enhanced, and the impact of injuries will be ignored. However, once out of that state, fatigue will increase dramatically, and if there are injuries, it will also be aggravated.

And Kobe's final result was not just caused by the fatigue of tonight's game. You have to know that in this year's history, the Lakers not only failed to make the playoffs, but were also last in the Western Conference. During their retirement tour, basically everyone Just give the ball to Kobe at night and enjoy the game.

But it's obviously different now. Kobe has been working hard with the team for the playoffs all season.

Tonight's performance was like a peerless master who had run out of fuel and burst out with a devastating momentum at the last moment. He did it, but it was over.

Kobe's body tensed and his eyes were bloodshot, full of reluctance.

He had a chance to play in one last playoff game.

But gradually, his tense body relaxed, and then his expression also relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face.

This scene was projected on a large LED screen, and the fans at the scene felt distressed and uncomfortable watching it.

Everyone can see Kobe's condition. Everyone knows that Kobe can't play in the playoffs.

Or in other words, in tonight's game, although Kobe tried his best to bring the Lakers into the playoffs, tonight is also the last game of his career.

Xu Yong also smiled like Kobe at this time, and then continued to walk over.

Although it is a bit regretful, in fact, the Lakers entered the first round of the playoffs and played the Warriors, and their hope of advancement basically remained in theory. Even judging from tonight's game, there is a high probability that they will not be able to escape the outcome of being swept.

Therefore, Kobe's career is set tonight, with 60 points at the buzzer and leading the team into the playoffs. This is already the best ending.

Kobe saw Xu Yong coming and reached out to hug him.

"Your career has been completed." Xu Yong said.

"From now on, I can only watch your games as a spectator." Kobe said with a smile. His words revealed his mentality and showed that he was relieved.

"I'm waiting for you." Xu Yong patted Kobe on the back.

After Kobe said hello to Xu Yong, he staggered towards the center of the field.

His teammates tried to help him, but he waved them away.

Xu Yong also followed him with his eyes.

The host over there responded very quickly. Seeing that Kobe seemed to have something to say, he quickly walked up and handed over the microphone.

When Kobe was seen limping to the center of the field and picking up the microphone, there were overwhelming cheers and whistles.

Many fans even shed tears watching it.

And that kind of sound kept going on. Kobe might have wanted to say something, but his emotions were stuck in his throat and he couldn't say anything.

At the end, after more than a minute, when the cheers finally died down, Kobe picked up the microphone and waved to everyone with a smile:

"What can I say? mamba out."

After saying this, he blew a kiss to everyone present.

Perhaps, it was also given to myself.

The cheers and whistles of the fans started again.

Kobe Bryant, can't say goodbye.

……

Kobe's 60 points plus the curtain call set a new record for an NBA player to score in a retirement game. It is unprecedented and will most likely be unprecedented.

He instantly made the headlines of major media and attracted heated discussions from countless fans on social media.

"Kobe's retirement marks the end of basketball at the beginning of the century, and there is a high probability that Duncan, Garnett, and Nowitzki will retire after the end of this season, marking the end of a generation's youth."

"Kobe's era is over, but the youth of a new generation has begun. Now is the era of Xu, Durant, Leonard, James, and Curry."

"There's a weird name mixed in here." Comment from "KBfnas".

"I think this is Xu's era, and the others are more like Jordan's opponents in the 90s."

"Jordan, Kobe, and Xu have one thing in common. They did not choose to run away when the team was in adversity, but led the team back to the top. This is the best inheritance of the basketball spirit."

"We should be grateful for the emergence of Xu. Without him, the league would definitely be a team-building trend. The most important thing is that the league has a person who wins championships by team-building. It must be a disaster for the NBA."

"Yes, I can't imagine what a league like that would be like. There is a high probability that it will lose a lot of viewers! Instead of reaching an unprecedented prosperity like it is now, I think basketball has reached its most glorious stage after three generations of development. time."

"I'm really torn this year. I'm looking forward to a duel between the Bulls and the Warriors in the old and new eras of basketball, but I also really want to see the confrontation between Xu and Leonard, two monsters of offense and defense, and even Xu and Du A second battle for the rand.”

"It's probably a happy worry."

……

Amid the discussion among fans, the 2015~2016 season officially came to an end, and the rankings of the Eastern and Western Conferences were also officially determined.

In the Western Conference, the Warriors' final record was fixed at 69 wins. Although they failed to break the best record in history, they still won the league's first record and also broke the best win record in team history.

Curry had a brilliant season of his personal career, averaging 30.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game. As a guard, he shot 50.4% from the field, 45.4% from three-point range (11.2 attempts per game), and 90.8 free throws. %, achieving the "180 Club" achievement.

There is a particularly unexpected thing here. Curry did not become the league's dunk king, but he stole 169 times in a single season and won the season's "steal king".

除此之外，汤普森场均贡献22.1分，三分球命中率42.5%（场均出手8.1次）；格林场均14分9.5板7.4助攻。

Moreover, the Warriors' team's three-point shooting percentage this season reached 41.5%, which is an extremely terrifying statistic.

It is also worth mentioning that because [Yellow Miracle] Bogut was injured unexpectedly after the trade deadline and was reimbursed for the season, the Warriors made Jason Thompson, whose contract expired at the buyout deadline (a bargaining chip in the previous David Lee trade). ) reached a buyout and signed Zaza Pachulia who took the initiative to reach a buyout with the Bucks.

Pachulia is 31 years old this year. As a white inside player, he has a strong style of play, flexible feet, and can shoot mid-range shots and provide support. He is the most ideal substitute the Warriors can get.

As for Pachulia, as a member of the 03 golden generation, he has been a starter in the NBA all year round, but has never won a championship. At this stage of his career, he has the opportunity to join a championship team and serve as a starter. The price was only a small financial loss, which he couldn't ask for.

在为勇士队出场的22场比赛里，他场均上场23.7分钟就能贡献8.3分6.8板2.6助攻，是勇士队在赛季下半段连续遭遇强敌，却最终能够拿下69胜的重要因素。

The Mavericks are in second place with 66 wins.

This is also the best regular season record in the history of the Mavericks.

Leonard averaged 25.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2 steals per game, and his three shooting percentages were 50.4%/44.3%/87.4% respectively. He has reached the peak of his career, and as fans said, he is a rare combination of offense and defense in the league. Super giant.

In addition, Aldridge averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, Nowitzki averaged 12.4 points per game, and Rondo averaged 10.2 points and 11.4 assists.

The Thunder ranked third with 58 wins.

杜兰特场均28.2分8.2板5助攻，三项命中率分别是50.5%/38.3%/89.4%，依然保持着高效。

哈登场均24.5分5.7板8.5助攻，三项命中率分别是43.9%/35.9%/87.4%。

Judging from the overall data, Harden does not seem to have dropped much compared to last season, and his assists have even increased. However, his efficiency has dropped a lot, and his average of 4.6 turnovers per game is also a career high. Kardashian's [Best Defensive Player] lives up to his name.

The Spurs, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Lakers ranked 4th to 8th respectively.

The Pelicans finished ninth in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs, but Westbrook was the data king this season. He averaged a triple-double of 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game. He also averaged a triple-double per game for the second consecutive season. season.

His performance made fans feel that while Robertson's historical status continued to plummet, it also made them realize the fact that there is a huge gap between statistics. Much easier than imagined.

In the East, the Bulls finally ranked first with a record of 65 wins.

徐永场均30.5分6篮板6.1助攻2.1抢断1.7盖帽，三项命中率分别是51.9%/39.4%/88.4%。

巴特勒场均21.3分4.3板6.1助攻2抢断，三项命中率分别是47.6%/36.4%/85.2%。

Adams averaged 12.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and shot 58% from the field.

David West averaged 8.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

史蒂芬森场均11.5分3.4板4.2助攻；约基奇场均8.2分5.2板2.4助攻；凯尔·安德森场均5.2分2.6板1.6助攻。

The Cavaliers ranked second with a record of 62 wins.

詹姆斯场均25.3分7.4板6.8助攻，欧文场均23.8分，乐福场均16分6板，戴维斯场均13分10.8板3.1盖帽。

The Pacers are third with 58 wins.

The Raptors are fourth with 57 wins.

The Heat ranked fifth with 48 wins.

The Hawks, Celtics, and Magic ranked 6th to 8th respectively.

……

Looking at the final season rankings, Xu Yong feels that this year's division playoffs will be much more intense than last year.

Antetokounmpo on the Raptors has grown up, and in terms of lineup configuration, Lowry, DeRozan, James Johnson, Antetokounmpo, and Valanciunas have no weak points in this starting lineup. In addition, there are Corey Joseph, Terrence Ross, Norman Powell, Biyombo, etc. on the bench.

That is because the starting small forward Carroll they signed in the summer was reimbursed for the season after less than two months of playing. Otherwise, their record this year would be better than the Pacers.

If nothing else, the Bulls will have a big battle with the Raptors in this year's semifinals.

"Senior, leave the PG to me." After calling Anderson up from his seat, Butler sat down and said.

"No, he is mine." Xu Yong shook his head.

Because George has not suffered the serious injury in history, and because he is well fed with the ball in the Magic, he has improved rapidly and is now considered the leader of the second tier below the first tier.

And his talent is much better than Butler. Butler will suffer more when defending him.

Butler hesitated to speak, but finally nodded.

……

Two days later, the Bulls were at home to face the Magic.

It is worth mentioning that this is the first time the Magic have returned to the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season.

In total, only three seasons have passed, and the Magic's rebuilding process is much faster than in history.

During the warm-up before the game, Paul George was also given a lot of shots. He is the most critical factor in the Magic's rapid rebuilding.

There are even split shots between him and Xu Yong, which shows how much the league supports him.

As fans say, with the curtain call of Kobe, Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki and others, the old era is over and the new era needs new stars, and George is definitely one of them.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Magic: Payton Jr., Oladipo, George, Aaron Gordon, Dwayne Dedmon;
Bulls: Dellavedova, Butler, Xu Yong, West, Adams.

Adams moved the ball back to half court, officially kicking off the game.

At this time, in the matchup on the court, Payton Jr. defended Butler, Gordon defended Xu Yong, and the two offensive arrows of George and Oladipo were protected on the defensive end.

Xu Yong started the game on the weak side, allowing Butler to attack on the strong side.

Butler and Adams played a pick-and-roll, and after removing the ball, they got stuck and rushed to the basket.However, George reacted quickly at this time and saw the right opportunity to shrink the basket.

Seeing this, Xu Yong knew that the ball was safe.

Most players don't know how to deal with this kind of help defense, but for Butler, it is his favorite rhythm, because he is the kind of player who is more inclined to organize than to score.

However, Butler's choice was a bit unexpected by Xu Yong, because Butler chose to attack after seeing George.

George's body shape is very similar to that of Xu Yong. He is 2 meters tall and has a wingspan of 06 meters, which is one size larger than Butler. Although his jumping is not as good as Xu Yong's, his defensive awareness and judgment are very good. After a personal confrontation, he finally took Butler's shot.

There was a commotion at the scene, and the Bulls had a bit of a bad start to this year's playoffs.

On the contrary, the Magic were a little frightened when they were playing in the playoffs for the first time, but George's big shot in the opening game directly made them more energetic.

The Bulls sent the ball out in the frontcourt. Butler's shot after receiving the ball was a little deflected due to interference from Payton Jr., and the rebound was collected by Dedmon.

The Magic advanced to the frontcourt and George ran without the ball, but Xu Yong stayed close on the defensive end and blocked him as soon as he received the ball.

George immediately changed direction and started, but as he accelerated over, the ball in his hand disappeared with a "pop".

Xu Yong completed the [robbery] directly.

In fact, Xu Yong had another reason to defend George by himself before, which was to reduce consumption in the first round and end the series quickly.

Then guarding George is the most effective way.

Xu Yong pushed for a fast break, reached the front three-point line and threw the ball to Butler, who scored a fast break dunk.

George continued to run without the ball in the frontcourt. This time he went around two screens in a row, but when he caught the ball, he only stopped for a moment and Xu Yong was in front of him again.

George was eventually forced to return the ball to Oladipo.

When Xu Yong is focused, the defensive pressure is full, and although George is excellent, he has a weakness. Because of his small hands, it is difficult for his movement control skills to reach the top level. When facing a top defender of Xu Yong's level, he must persist The ball is very difficult to score.

Fortunately, Oladipo and George complement each other perfectly, and his strength is breaking through with the ball.

After changing direction to shake Dellavedova away, Oladipo accelerated to the basket, changed direction and passed Adams' sideways low shot for a layup.

The influence of the [vertical takeoff rule] is still there. Although Adams is tough enough, he does not dare to jump easily. Facing someone like Oladipo who is explosive and quick to change direction, it feels a bit like a tank meeting an assassin.

But the moment Oladipo took the shot, a figure rose into the air and nailed the ball directly to the backboard.

The scene instantly burst into cheers. Xu Yong had a strong presence on the defensive end tonight!

After completing the block, Xu Yong took advantage of the situation and directly picked off the defensive rebound, and then threw it to Butler.

When he was chatting with Butler before, he actually noticed Butler's emotional changes, but there were some things he couldn't say. For example, he said to Butler, "You and George have no advantage in playing against each other." This kind of statement is not as good as Butler's. On the contrary, the character may have to hold back his energy to prove himself.

So even though Butler's first attack was a bit reckless, he didn't say anything.

Or it can also be understood that allowing Butler to perform better than George in the first round will increase Butler's confidence and perform better in subsequent series.

You must know that Rose's absence is real. Although Stephenson's performance is surprising, his ability is not enough to fill the gap caused by Rose's absence.

So to solve this problem, we can only develop it internally. In addition to doing more himself, Butler's performance is also crucial.

Others may think that Butler's current performance is good enough to rival Pippen, but Xu Yong knows that he can do better.

During Butler's fast break, he took a European step to avoid George's chasing block and hit a reverse layup.

There were bursts of cheers at the scene. They couldn't see so many details on the court. They just felt that Butler was in a hot start tonight.

George continued to get rid of the ball in the frontcourt, but he still couldn't get rid of Xu Yong who was fully committed. In the end, he had no choice but to give up and watch the show from the weak side.

Oh no, he looked at Xu Yong helplessly.

He was really a little depressed.

First of all, he did not provoke Xu Yong.

Secondly, he regards Xu Yong as his idol!

This can be clearly seen from his attitude during the All-Star Game. He is basically Xu Yong's little fan.

Although as an opponent, you have to be clear on and off the court, but you won’t just defend me to death like this at the beginning!

Sure enough, the junior is the first, and the fan is not the first?

Xu Yong didn't pay attention to George's expression. If George's mentality was broken so easily, he would never become a first-tier superstar.

Of course, if George knew what Xu Yong was thinking, he would probably still scold her, because mentality is one thing and ability is another.

After all, the Luoyang Prefect next door has proven that when the ability is not enough, no matter how you adjust your mentality, it will be in vain.

In particular, when the two sides switched offense and defense and Xu Yong used his containment to give Butler a chance, he felt even more uncomfortable.

In the end, the Bulls defeated the Magic 106-93 after four quarters of fierce battle and won their first victory in the playoffs.

In terms of statistics, Oladipo, who scored the most points on the Magic team, scored a team-high 28 points, followed by "Mop" Harris on the bench, who scored 18 points. As for George, he performed under Xu Yong's high-intensity marking throughout the game. A big underachievement, shooting 17 of 3 and barely scoring 11 points on free throws.

公牛队这边，巴特勒23中12到了全场最高的30分，徐永只出手了15次命中了其中的8次，拿下23分8篮板7助攻5抢断3盖帽。

"I will vote for Xu in the voting for the best defensive player. I mean it." Barkley sighed at the end of the game.

If George's performance in the regular season this season is a flame, then Xu Yong is a fire extinguisher, and he was directly doused tonight.

After the game, on the Bulls bench, Butler hugged Xu Yong tightly.

"Thank you, senior!"

Not long after the game started, he actually felt Xu Yong's intention to let him attack more, but he didn't expect that this situation would last all night.

Xu Yong is really the best senior and the best boss in the world.

Of course, even at this time, Butler probably would not have thought that Xu Yong would play like this not just in one game, but in the entire series.

After the third game, he found Xu Yong and asked Xu Yong to play more.

But Xu Yong's words left him speechless.

"I'm here for the team."

In the end, the Bulls swept the Magic 4-0 and advanced to the second round.

Butler averaged 27.5 points per game in four games, and what is more surprising than his scoring is his stability. His psychological quality is very strong.

After this series, many people's views have changed.

Is Butler's ceiling just Pippen?
Maybe it was before this, but after this, many people can no longer make such a judgment.

On the other hand, George was really shut down by Xu Yongzheng. He averaged 15 points per game in four games, which was more than ten points less than his season average.The hit rate is still just over 30%.

However, after the fourth game, Xu Yong shook hands with George. When he saw the bitter expression on the latter's face, he said to him: "I have time after the Rio Olympics."

Xu Yong naturally knows the difference between on and off the field, and also knows that George is his fanboy, so the meaning of this sentence is very clear, asking George to train with him after the Olympics.

Of course, George was not stupid. He breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then said, "I also have time before going to the Olympics."

Xu Yong smiled and patted George on the shoulder.

This is an affirmative expression.

While the Bulls swept the Magic, the series between the Warriors and the Lakers in the Western Conference also ended. The Warriors also easily swept the Lakers 4-0, with an average winning margin of 20+ points per game.

This is similar to Xu Yong's previous expectation. Even if Kobe can play, it will not change this situation.

And you can feel the Warriors' relaxed state during the game. Like last year's Bulls, they are now very physically fit, which will greatly increase their chances of breaking through in the Western Conference.

Because the Raptors and Heat are still fighting, and the two sides are tied at 2-2, the Bulls will have a relatively long waiting period.

However, with the lessons learned from last year, during these days of waiting, the Bulls also maintained high-intensity training despite Xu Yong's torture.

After this day's training, I returned to the locker room. After sitting down, the players all fell down on the chairs from exhaustion. Xu Yong was really cruel.

"Boss, the MVP results are out." Anderson suddenly said.

His words also instantly attracted the attention of others.

There is one thing that others may ignore, but they all know that if Xu Yong wins the MVP again this season, he will be able to complete three consecutive MVP awards. This is the most direct and powerful proof of a player's dominance.

Although the Bulls have 4 fewer wins than the Warriors in terms of record this season, Xu Yong is still slightly better than Curry in terms of statistics, especially on the defensive end.

"Is it Xu?" Seeing that Anderson didn't continue, Hinrich couldn't help but ask.

"It's...Stephen Curry." Anderson scratched his head, he was a little excited just now.

"come. on!"

The locker room immediately resounded with dissatisfaction and the voices of Bulls players getting up.

"The alliance did it on purpose." Butler also said for Xu Yongping.

Apart from anything else, even if the match is evenly matched, Xu Yong's status as No. 1 in the alliance should be a bonus.

"So, isn't this one more reason to win the championship?" Xu Yong said calmly.

After he said this, there was a burst of whistles and cheers in the locker room.

"Get rid of those guys in Jinzhou!"

"They better make it to the finals!"

"Boss is so right!"

……

After taking a shower, everyone left the locker room and went back to rest. At this time, Xu Yong also returned to the villa with Anderson and Jokic.

"Boss, I think this MVP should be given to you." Jokic couldn't help but said.

"I think so too." Xu Yong replied with a smile.

"But you have to know that there is something called aesthetic fatigue." Then he looked at the stunned Jokic and said.

If there was no aesthetic fatigue, Jokic would also have won three consecutive MVPs, but in the end he became the most deserving MVP in history.

"Yes, even Michael failed to win the MVP three times in a row, and he failed to win it twice. To be more precise, it should be after 1986. This situation has never happened again." Anderson understands NBA history It has to be more detailed.

Of course, what Xu Yongyong didn't know was that this guy had already searched hard for information because of his previous rashness in the locker room.

"I probably understand." Jokic nodded with enlightenment at this time.

"Because the boss is strong enough, even if he performs like that, everyone will only think that this is what the boss should do. But as for Curry, he only averaged 23 points per game last season and suddenly 30 points this season. The feeling is that he can still play so well, so I want to vote for him."

Xu Yong smiled and said something rough but not rough, which is what he meant.

"But there are still opportunities." Xu Yong put away his smile and said seriously.

Anderson's knowledge was something that Jordan had never done before, which made him more competitive.

In fact, in addition to aesthetic fatigue, another reason why the Bulls lost to Curry this season is that the Bulls' record is not as good as the Warriors.

If it exceeds, the result will definitely be different.

So next time, he won't let such a situation happen again.

(End of this chapter)