NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 311 The competition is fierce. Last year, World of Warcraft was defended for a while, but this year there is no harvest?

As the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference and even the league, the Bulls' opponent in the first round of the playoffs is the Philadelphia 34ers, who are eighth in the Eastern Conference and have a record of only 48 wins and 76 losses.

A team like this that can enter the playoffs with only 34 wins in the regular season has no chance of winning against the Bulls with 68 wins.

In fact, since Wang Chong joined the Bulls, the Bulls have never missed the playoffs. At the same time, they have swept their opponents 4:0 in the first round of the playoffs without exception. It has been seven consecutive seasons now, and even this has become a A league record.

With only 34 wins, the 76ers were unable to prevent Wang Chong and the Bulls from extending this record.

4:0, clean and crisp, no suspense. Just like in the past few seasons, facing an opponent of this level, Wang Chongdu does not need to be serious at all. The performance of Curry and Gasol alone is enough. Easily defeat your opponent and win.

Almost every process in the four games was exactly the same. In the first quarter, the 76ers could barely compete with the Bulls who were not serious. However, starting from the second quarter, the Bulls began to gradually exert their strength, and in the third quarter The game played a strong offense and completely defeated the 76ers' defense. By the fourth quarter, the score difference was usually close to 20 points, leaving the 76ers unable to recover from the pursuit of points.

The simple, direct and efficient way to win has made many fans use a set of vivid adjectives for it.

"Simmer over low heat and reduce the juice over high heat. Familiar recipe, familiar taste."

After being eliminated 4-0, the head coach of the 76ers could only smile helplessly at the post-game press conference.

But the problem is that the Knicks can't be called a complete team now. Anthony and Rose also play independently and rely entirely on their super personal abilities to play.

The two teams fought to the tiebreaker. In the last game, Anthony felt cold throughout the game and shot less than 3% from the field. Rose was hit by Hibbert who was defending and sprained his ankle while forcing a breakthrough to the basket. He left the game due to injury after playing only two quarters.

Even if you can win a few games by relying on your personal abilities, you can't expect the star Cosmos to explode in every playoff matchup, right?

But in the playoffs, when the team needs someone to step up, who among this group of people can they expect to step up? Paul George, who has just made a name for himself and is still immature?

Obviously, the 76ers head coach has been convinced by the Bulls. It is completely conceivable that as the head coach of a team, how desperate confrontation will make him convinced of the Bulls and outspoken in front of the media.

In the end, the Knicks lost to the Pacers 3:4 and stopped in the first round, which also made many people realize that the Pacers are indeed very strong and not as weak as they thought.

Point guard George Hill, shooting guard Lance Stevenson, power forward David West and center Roy Hibbert are all good players. They have good chemistry together and their performances on the field are quite good. good.

In the Western Conference, the two matchups in the second round are the Spurs vs. the Lakers and the Nuggets vs. the Thunder.

This season, due to Granger's season reimbursement, Paul George became the core of the Pacers' main perimeter. He did perform well and was successfully selected as an All-Star substitute. However, his average data per game was only 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. That's it, the Pacers' record ranking fourth in the Eastern Conference depends on a relatively complete and excellent team.

Before the start of the playoffs, even though the Pacers had a better record, many media generally believed that the Knicks were more likely to win, because everyone knows that the playoffs are a stage for superstars. Although the Knicks have a better record in the regular season, Not good, but after all, the team has two major stars, Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose.

One of the more fierce confrontations is undoubtedly the showdown between the fourth-place Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference and the fifth-place New York Knicks.

You must know that the Knicks have Anthony and Rose. In such a key playoff game, they will definitely be the more dominant side.

Even though the Miami Heat next door swept the Milwaukee Bucks 4-0 in the first round, there was no such evaluation.

"Although our whole team doesn't want to end the game so easily, the gap in strength is too great. The Bulls are really too strong. They are a four-time championship dynasty team with the league's number one player Wang Chong. With the best team, I can't think of any team in this league that can stop them. Even the Heat, who had a 27-game winning streak during the regular season, failed to meet the Bulls four times in the regular season. It seems that They are about to win their fifth O’Brien Cup.”

But the result was unexpected.

But even so, the Pacers' playoff journey ends here, because in the second round, they will face the Chicago Bulls, who are number one in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls and the Knicks are not at the same level in terms of strength. The Knicks' Anthony and Rose can cause so much trouble to the Pacers, not to mention the Bulls. Wang Chong alone can beat Anthony and Rose together.

On the other hand, the Pacers' biggest player is Danny Granger, who is out for the season.

Anthony and Rose did cause a lot of trouble for the Pacers. One averaged 28 points and the other 24 points per game, and their offensive firepower was completely full.

Like the Eastern Conference, there was no defeat in the first round of the Western Conference. The top four teams without exception successfully advanced to the second round. However, the Spurs and Lakers, the two teams with the best chance of winning the Western Conference Finals, strengthened in advance. In a forced encounter, no one really knows who will win.

At the end of the first round of the playoffs, the top four teams in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls, Heat, Celtics and Pacers, all defeated their opponents and successfully advanced to the second round.

The showdowns in the second round of the Eastern Conference are Bulls vs. Pacers and Heat vs. Celtics. The Heat and Celtics are already old rivals. The Celtics and Durant fell in front of the Heat in the playoffs before. Naturally, We have put a lot of effort into studying the Heat. Even the 12-13 Heat at their strongest stage will be a tough battle against the Celtics led by Durant and Rondo.

Judging from the lineup, the Lakers equipped with the top three giants must be the Spurs who have completely exploded GDP.

But this season the Lakers' problems are really emerging one after another, making people doubt their true strength.

Although the Spurs do not have such a strong superstar, their only superstar, Tim Duncan, is already 36 years old. He averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game this season. His statistics are on the same level as those of the Gasol brothers.

But the Spurs have never been a team whose strength is measured by the number of stars. The ultimate team basketball is really not something that can be achieved, otherwise it would be impossible to secure the first place in the Western Conference.

Regarding the duel between the Spurs and the Lakers, even the time traveler Wang Chong cannot judge the outcome. The Lakers have many problems, but the personal abilities of the superstars cannot be underestimated.

But overall, he is definitely more optimistic about the Spurs. After all, the Spurs were the only team that could threaten or even almost kill the Heat in the original 12-13 season. But in any case, there is one point of view that Wang Chong agrees with many people, that is, regardless of who wins in the end, the Spurs or the Lakers, they must be the champions of the Western Conference, because in the other set of matchups, whether it is the Nuggets or the Thunder If they win, it will be impossible for either Spurs or Lakers team to compete.
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After the first round of competition, it is the time for the annual season award selection to be announced as usual.

The first thing the league announced was the All-NBA and All-Defensive lineups.

This year's best lineup has changed again compared to before.

Howard, who has been firmly in the first team for the past few years, finally gave up his position in the first team, but there is no center on the list in the first team position. The one who appears in the center position is actually Wang Chong.

This season Wang Chong switched to power forward, and at some point he tested the feasibility of the five-point death squad in advance. Therefore, he briefly switched to the center position in some games, but there is no doubt that he is still a striker, but his position has changed. It's getting blurry. After all, Wang Chong averaged 11.2 rebounds per game this season, ranking in the top five in the rebounding list. Even if he is regarded as a center, there is no sense of violation.

The reason why the league classified Wang Chong as the center was of course because it would allow them to select James and Durant into the first team at the same time at the forward position.

Since his rise, Durant has been in the shadow of Wang Chong and James. For several years, he has only been selected to the second team. According to Durant's original career trajectory, he has been selected to the first team four times. Plus three scoring titles.

As a standard local star in the United States, the league hopes to support Durant and join forces with James to fight against Wang Chong, the big devil in China.

Moreover, considering that Durant has been the only star who can catch up with Wang Chong in terms of scoring in the past two years, and his performance in leading the team is not bad, it is reasonable to let him win a team.

The three frontcourt spots on the best team are divided between Wang Chong, James and Durant.

The two spots in the backcourt are also somewhat unexpected.

Kobe's continued selection to the All-NBA First Team is something we have become accustomed to. Even if Kobe's performance this season is not that outstanding, and the Lakers' record performance is really average, at the shooting guard position, there is really no one who can shake Kobe's position. players.

Harden is barely good in terms of statistics, but his qualifications are still too young, and Wade is even more useless. Since giving up the position of the leader of the Heat, his statistics have plummeted, and he can only barely maintain the statistics of 20+5+5, let alone Competing with Kobe for the best team, the best three teams are a bit reluctant.

But the players selected at the point guard position surprised many people.

The Bulls' starting point guard, Stephen Curry, who averaged 24.8 points per game during the regular season, was actually selected to the All-NBA First Team.

When they heard the news, many people had an incredible feeling, but when they calmed down and thought about it carefully, they felt that it seemed reasonable.

From a statistical perspective, Curry averaged 24.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game this season, which is unique among point guards and unmatched.

比较有竞争力的几名球员中，保罗17分10助攻，托尼.帕克20分3篮板7.6助攻，威斯布鲁克23分5篮板8助攻，对比库里都没有明显优势。

From the perspective of the team's record, the Bulls' 68 wins in the regular season are unparalleled. None of these competitors can compare. Although the greatest contribution to the Bulls' record is attributed to Wang Chong, as Wang Chong's most capable right-hand man , Curry’s contribution cannot be erased.

Finally, from the perspective of progress, Curry, who was troubled by injuries last season and was reimbursed for the season, was able to perform such an outstanding performance after returning from injury in the new season. His rapid progress is also unmatched by others.

After comprehensive consideration, there is nothing wrong with the first team award to Curry, which is at least more convincing than the first team award to Tony Parker last year.

In this way, the Bulls finally have a star who can be selected into the best team at the same time as Wang Chong. Curry deserves to be called a giant again.

Not only Curry, but another Bulls giant, Marc Gasol was also selected to the best team. Although it was only a best third team, it was of great significance because this third team was obtained after Dwight Howard was squeezed out, and the gold content is not low.

Tim Duncan, who was pushed out of the first team, was selected to the second team. He was selected to the second team along with guards Chris Paul, James Harden, Blake Griffin and Carmelo Anthony.

The players selected for the third team are Tony Parker, Dwyane Wade, Paul George, Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol.

The cruelty of this best team selection can be seen from the selection of the three team players.

场均23分5篮板8助攻的威斯布鲁克，22分3篮板7助攻的罗斯，18分12篮板的霍华德纷纷落选最佳阵容。

Regardless of the comparison of team record or personal data, these people are qualified to enter the best team selection. Whether they can be selected depends entirely on the voting results of media reporters.

As a result, they lost to the players of the third team by a narrow margin, which made the fans who supported them extremely angry.

This is especially true of Howard.

Unlike Westbrook and Rose, Howard was an All-NBA player last season and won a championship with the team. However, he was directly eliminated from the All-NBA team this season? What international joke are you kidding?
But it is undeniable that Howard's statistics and performance on the field have indeed declined significantly this season. His average of 18 points and 12 rebounds per game does not look bad, but how do the statistics of Duncan in the second team compare with Gasol in the third team? Howard is bad?

Duncan has 18+10 and Gasol has 18+9. Even if his rebounding is slightly inferior to Howard's, it's not a huge gap. Moreover, the positioning of the two in their respective teams is very similar to that of Howard, both of whom are needed on both offense and defense. Worked hard and did a great job.

In fact, in the All-Defensive Team list that was updated simultaneously with the All-NBA Team, Gasol was selected for the first defensive team, and Duncan was selected for the second defensive team. Last year, Howard was a first-team defensive double. In just one season, he lost both players at the same time. Won the best team and best defensive team honors.

(End of this chapter)