NBA: James wants to team up with me

It is not unreasonable for the outside media to be unanimously optimistic about the Bulls' defending championship. Although the Bulls' regular season record is much more mediocre than before, it still has the best record in the league. Moreover, this season Wang Chong is in the water and will give more opportunities to newcomers. , everyone can see the development of the new force of the Bulls.

At this point, no one would blame Wang Chong, but would praise his behavior.

This is what a good team and a great leader should do.

It's not enough just to perform well on your own, you have to be able to make your teammates better. After all, basketball is a game between five people, not boxing or tennis, where you can win one-on-one as long as you are stronger.

Wang Chong did very well this season, although he lost the record that had lasted for eight years. The league's scoring champion was eventually won by Durant, who averaged 32.8 points per game. Wang Chong averaged 27 points per game and could only rank third in the scoring list. Five, even lower than Carmelo Anthony with 27.6 points, Kobe Bryant with 27.2 points, and James with 27.1 points.

But Wang Chong's sacrifice in personal scoring was rewarded with five members of the Bulls team scoring in double figures this season.

The statistics of Gasol, Butler and Thomas have all made great progress.

In terms of the strength of the entire team, there is basically no team in the league that can compete with the Bulls. The San Antonio Spurs, who achieved the second-best record in the league with 60 wins in the regular season and six players in the team scoring in double figures, can enter the discussion a little bit. .

However, the Spurs' style of play is too team-oriented. The highest scorer on the team is Tony Parker, who averages 16.7 points per game. Even the third scoring point for the Bulls, Gasol, averages 18 points per game.

Team basketball is great, but when the game reaches a stalemate, a star still needs to stand up and make the final decision. It is really difficult for the Spurs to find such a player.

As for the Miami Heat, they played against the Bulls 4 times in the regular season and achieved a record of 1 win and 3 losses. The only defeat was because Wang Chong's daughter was ill and Wang Chong did not go to Miami with the team and missed the game.

In other words, the new Big Three of the Heat are still hard to win against the Bulls.

Although the Bulls no longer have an inside advantage against the Heat, their outside advantage is still obvious. Even as Curry and Butler become stronger and Wang Chong strengthens his defensive ability against James, the outside advantage is also expanding. .

At critical moments, the Bulls often resort to shark-cutting tactics, causing Howard, who is as strong as Mr. Mighty in the paint, to wither in an instant.

Considering that Wang Chongdu didn't play seriously at all during the regular season, even if the Heat meet the Bulls in the playoffs, they are generally not favored by the outside world.
-
东部这边进入季后赛的八支球队，战绩从高到低依次是63胜19负的芝加哥公牛，然后是57胜25负的迈阿密热火，55胜27负的波士顿凯尔特人，54胜28负的印第安纳步行者。

Starting from the fourth-placed Pacers in the Eastern Conference, the Eastern Conference's record dropped sharply. The fifth-ranked Toronto Raptors only had 44 wins and 38 losses, which was a full 10 games behind the Pacers. They continued with the same 44 wins. The Washington Wizards were 38 losses, the New York Knicks were 42 wins and 40 losses, the Charlotte Bobcats were 40 wins and 42 losses, and the Atlanta Hawks were 38 wins and 44 losses.

The Knicks, who were on the edge of the playoffs during the All-Star stage, began to catch up as Rose returned from injury at the end of the regular season. However, they finally overtook the team at the last moment, not only firmly entering the playoffs, but also winning the championship. The sixth place in the Eastern Conference is enough to show that the strength of the two star partnership of Rose and Anthony cannot be underestimated.

However, sixth place in the Eastern Conference is not a particularly good ranking. Although they were able to avoid the Bulls and Heat who were first and second in the first round, the team they had to face was not weak. They were ranked third in the Eastern Conference and had Durant. The Boston Celtics of Lent, Rondo and inside double stars Jefferson and Millsap.

No matter how strong the combination of Rose and Anthony is, they still have no chance of defeating the Celtics. There is a high probability that they will be eliminated by a big score in the first round.

In fact, among the four matchups in the first round of the Eastern Conference, the first half of the division has an absolute advantage. Even the Pacers and Raptors, who are ranked fourth and fifth in the Eastern Conference, have a clear strength gap. At least compared to the Western Conference, the outcome of the duel is more difficult to predict. Much simpler and clearer.

西部这边，季后赛的八支球队战绩从高到低依次是60胜22负的圣安东尼奥马刺，57胜25负的洛杉矶快船，54胜28负俄克拉荷马雷霆，51胜31负波特兰开拓者，50胜32负达拉斯小牛，48胜34负洛杉矶湖人，同样48胜34负金州勇士以及46胜36负的孟菲斯灰熊。

There's a lot to be said for the Western Conference record rankings.

Needless to say, the Spurs are at the top of the list. In the past two years, the Spurs are definitely at the top level in the league, and there is nothing wrong with being ranked first in the Western Conference.

The Clippers' ability to rank second in the Western Conference with 57 wins exceeded everyone's expectations.

This season, Chris Paul joined the Clippers, which gave the Clippers a qualitative leap in their overall strength. Although the backcourt partnership of Paul and Harden seemed a bit out of place, the actual effect was unexpected.

Harden has averaged 26 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists per game this season and is very efficient. Complementing this is Chris Paul, who averages 19 points, 4 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game. These two players form a double backcourt. Even Wang Chong was a little surprised by the extremely strong burst of strength.

It seems that the two best defense awards won by the two after they partnered with the Rockets were not in vain. It seems that it is difficult to distribute the ball rights when the two big ball-carrying cores are on the same team, but Both players are very smart types and can still coexist peacefully without obvious conflicts.

And the Clippers are not the only two people. Although the No. 1 pick Blake Griffin was replaced by Harden, the other member of the Clippers' original inside duo, DeAndre Jordan, is still on the team, and due to lack of qualifications Because of Riffin, Jordan's tactical position in the Clippers is even more important. Even if he has no independent offensive ability on the offensive end, after all, he is still very good at alley-catching and eating cakes under the basket.

With Paul and Harden, two guards with excellent passing skills, feeding him the ball, Jordan had a great time this season. During the regular season, he averaged 16 points, 13.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. Although Howard was not injured, he did not have the ball. He was able to win the rebounding title in the 13-14 season as he had in history, but his scoring average of 16 points per game was a level he had never reached even in his future career.

With Paul, Harden and DeAndre Jordan reluctantly added, the Clippers can be considered a Big Three configuration. Although the configuration is slightly lower, it is still strong in the Western Conference where stars are increasingly declining, at least better than Ray Allen. As they age, the Thunder's Big Three, whose competitive status will further decline, will become stronger.

The Thunder have obviously become weaker this season, first of all because of Ray Allen's age.

In the 13-14 season, Ray Allen is already 38 years old and his competitive status has declined seriously. During the regular season, he averaged only 9.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Although his field goal percentage and three-point shooting percentage can still be maintained at 44% and 38%, Such a performance can only contribute to the team as a role player and can no longer be called the Big Three.

Therefore, the Thunder also degenerated into a dual-core team. Russell Westbrook is the same as Rose. Because of the butterfly effect, he avoided the season-ending injury that he should have suffered. His personal data performance has also improved significantly, reaching an average of 25 points, 5.5 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game. He has already had the future. The shadow of a data maniac who averaged a triple-double for three consecutive seasons.

Blake Griffin's average of 21 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season is still at the same level.

In fact, Griffin's career is a typical debut and peak type.

Although his rookie season was reimbursed due to injury, and he officially made his debut in the second year, he averaged 22+12 per game in his debut season, which not only amazed the fans, but also made people wonder about Griffin's future development prospects. Thinking.

However, in the following seasons, although Griffin has always been able to play close to 20+10 statistics, he has never been able to go further. Even with the accumulation of injuries and the decline of explosive power, Griffin averaged rebounds per game. It dropped again and again, and the only seasons where he averaged double figures in rebounds per game were in the first two seasons of his career.

Is Griffin good? Of course it's awesome. From entering the league to announcing his retirement in 2024, Griffin averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists per game in his career. If it weren't for the few seasons at the end of his career that held him back, his career statistics could easily reach 20+9. Around +4, he will definitely leave a place for him at the power forward position.

But it is a pity that as the No. 09 pick in , two historical superstars, Curry and Harden, appeared among the players in the same period, which makes him seem to be inferior to the No. pick.

The upper limit of strength is there, and the dual-core partnership of Griffin and Westbrook will hardly make a difference no matter how good they play.

Ignoring the other teams in the Western Conference, the Lakers, who ended up with 48 wins and 34 losses and entered the playoffs with the sixth record in the Western Conference, were slightly beyond expectations.

In the original 13-14 season, with Kobe retiring for the season and Howard leaving for the space city of Houston, the Lakers F4 fell apart and the entire team collapsed. The regular season ended with 27 wins and 55 losses, ranking second to last in the Western Conference.

But in this time and space, Kobe did not suffer serious injuries. At the same time, Howard's departure also brought a valuable asset to the Lakers, All-Star power forward Chris Bosh.

Although the Lakers were once passive due to Kobe's large number of shots and inefficient offense at the beginning of the regular season, the dual-core combination of Kobe and Bosh is still competitive in the Western Conference. With the running-in and adjustment of the two in the second half of the schedule, , Kobe began to take fewer shots, and although his scoring average dropped from 28 points to 27 points, his shooting percentage improved. As a result, the Lakers' record also recovered slightly, eventually reaching sixth place in the Western Conference.

Despite successfully entering the playoffs, Lakers fans did not feel so happy or joyful, only a touch of sadness and melancholy.

The former championship has fallen to the present day, what's so happy about it?

Even if the Lakers make the playoffs this season, so what? Not to mention competing for the championship, whether they can qualify in the first round is still a question.

The most important thing is that this season is like this, what about the future?

Next year, Kobe will be 36 years old. How many years can he maintain this state? If the Lakers want to get back into contention, they must make trades and reinforcements. But with the team's current situation, how can they be strengthened?

Andrew Bynum, who was signed last summer, has been waived due to his excessive performance. The only player with trade value on the team is Chris Bosh, but who can be exchanged for only one Bosh?
There are many big-name free agent contracts expiring in the free market this summer, including Wang Chong, James, Wade and other well-known big-name players from the 03 class. However, with the Lakers' current salary space, unless Bosh does not renew his contract, otherwise It is simply impossible to provide top players with maximum salary offers.

The question is if even Bosh is let go, what attractiveness will the Lakers have for other stars to join?

There is no hope. The future of the current Lakers is gloomy, with no hope of revival at all.

Some bolder fans also proposed the idea of ​​trading Kobe away from the team to free up sufficient salary space to rebuild the team, but they were immediately spitted to death by the Komies.

Are you sick? Trade Kobe? The volute is the totem and flag of the Lakers! Even if his contract of up to 3000 million almost fills up most of the Lakers' salary space and is the main reason why the Lakers cannot use big contracts to attract other stars to join, even so, it is absolutely impossible to send Kobe away.

To sum up, the current situation of the Lakers is basically unsolvable, unless a certain star suddenly becomes kind-hearted and is willing to come to the Lakers to do charity, but even then, at best, it can only turn the Lakers into a strong team in the Western Conference. It is still difficult to compete for the championship.
-
In late April, the first round of the playoffs officially started.

In the Eastern Conference, as everyone expected, the four teams in the top half easily crushed the second half.

芝加哥公牛4:0横扫亚特兰大老鹰，迈阿密热火4:0横扫夏洛特山猫，波士顿凯尔特人4:1击败纽约尼克斯，唯一战况略微胶着一些的，是4:2淘汰了多伦多猛龙的印第安纳步行者。

As a result, the second round matchup list in the Eastern Conference has also come out, and it is exactly the same as last season, Bulls vs. Pacers, Heat vs. Celtics.

The same script has a high probability of the same outcome. Even with the sudden emergence of George, the Pacers are still no match for the Bulls, and the Celtics led by Durant may not be able to withstand the ferocious offensive of the Heat's new Big Three.

The finals in the Eastern Conference will most likely be a Bulls vs. Heat drama.

The situation in the West is much more chaotic. The Spurs easily eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies 4:1, and the Clippers defeated the Warriors effortlessly. Both teams were unlucky ones whose strength was drastically reduced due to Wang Chong. .

The Grizzlies did not have the inside pillar Gasol, and they also selected the parallel import No. 1 pick Oden. It took many years to barely enter the playoffs.

The Warriors are even worse. To break it down, three players including Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have been poached by Wang Chong. (End of chapter)