Legendary star

Chapter 621 The Pacers Can't Do It?

"Who will be the new king? The Heat? Or the Suns?"

"The Pacers are not dominant, and the road to defending is difficult!"

As the 2004-2005 season of the NBA regular season draws to a close, the voices of bad-mouthing the Pacers are getting louder. It’s not that these media don’t want to brag about the Pacers. It’s that the Pacers are too weak this season. They won 74 wins last season. The Pacers, with 8 losses, actually lost 20 games this season. Compared with last season, they won 12 games less. Double-killed, double-killed by the Mavericks, double-killed by the Suns, and lost three of the four games against the Heat. With the Pacers so weak, it is difficult for the outside media to think about the Black Pacers, let alone the Pacers. Those media who had already disliked the Pacers.

Although the Pacers finally won the first place in the regular season with a record of 62 wins and 20 losses, but compared to the Pacers who blocked and killed God last season, the Pacers this season are really There is no dominance anymore, and several strong-strong dialogues are all in a weak position, so although the record of the Pacers is still the highest in the league, the voice of bad-mouthing the Pacers is very popular.

This season's Western Conference can be described as a big change. The Timberwolves, who also reached the conference finals last season, missed the playoffs this season despite little change in the team's overall lineup, which is really shocking.Contrary to the Timberwolves, the Suns, who missed the playoffs last season, became the top powerhouse in the Western Conference after signing Nash. After the regular season, the Suns even topped the Western Conference with a record of 61 wins and 21 losses. First, second in the league. Compared with last season's record of less than 30 wins, the changes in the Suns this season can be described as earth-shaking. It is precisely because of the huge changes in the Suns that they joined this season because they were abandoned by the Mavericks The Sun's Steve Nash, from an abandoned child, has become a favorite for the regular season MVP.

Compared with the sudden increase of the Suns, the performance of the Mavericks this season is also somewhat surprising. After failing to hit the championship last season, the Mavericks with five All-Stars officially disintegrated, and Don Nelson resigned , Steve Nash was waived, Antawn Walker and Antawn Jamison were traded, but the Mavericks after the disintegration did not sink as fast as the media predicted, but rookie head coach Avery Johnson And under the leadership of Dirk Nowitzki, they achieved an excellent record of 58 wins and 24 losses.

The same is the Supersonics that missed the playoffs last season. After trading for Ray Allen and forming Ray Allen and Rashad Lewis' backcourt double guns, the Supersonics have also achieved good results this season. Record, and finally ranked fourth in the Western Conference with a record of 52 wins and 30 losses.

As for the Rockets, who traded all two star players from the Magic for McGrady, their performance this season has lived up to expectations. Although the record of 51 wins and 31 losses can only rank fifth in the Western Conference, the Rockets are competing with other strong teams in the league. In the strong dialogue, but never lose the wind, especially the home victory over the Pacers, and the two games against the Spurs are particularly classic, and it is precisely because of the strong dialogue with other strong teams in the league. Strong, so that the Rockets are now blown into the championship favorites.

In the opening game of this season, the Rockets showed a very strong strength and lost to the Pacers by only 3 points. In the middle of the season, when the Pacers were a guest in Texas, the Rockets returned to their home court. With Yao Ming contributing 74 points, the Rockets beat the Pacers by 18 points at home. The 18-point difference is also the worst game the Pacers have lost in recent seasons. Rockets, Spurs, Mavericks , the top three in Texas teamed up to give the Pacers the longest three-game losing streak of the season.As for the game between the Rockets and the Spurs at home, it was a classic among the classics. When the game was about to end with 40 seconds left, the visiting Spurs still led the Rockets by 8 points, but in the next 35 seconds, McGrady made a three-pointer. He made 4 of 4 shots, 1 of 1 free throws, and scored 13 points in a row, helping the Rockets reverse the Spurs. After this game, the NBA has another McGrady moment after the Miller moment.

Compared with other teams in the rankings, the San Antonio Spurs are still as stable as ever. In the words of the New York media, they are as stable as old dogs, with 59 wins and 23 losses. This is the record that the Spurs have handed over this season. It's not clear how many consecutive seasons the Spurs have won around 60 wins. If we talk about stability, there is no team in the entire league that can beat the Spurs.

Unlike the big changes in the Western Conference, the ranking of the Eastern Conference seems to be a bit "class-solidified". The Pacers have ranked first in the Eastern Conference for four consecutive seasons. After the Pacers, compared with the top three in the Eastern Conference last season, There has been no change. The Heat ranks second in the East with a record of 59 wins and 23 losses behind the Pacers. After the Heat, it is the Pistons with 53 wins and 29 losses. Quite stable, if nothing unexpected, the Heat and the Pistons will still be the Pacers' biggest opponents in the playoffs.

After the Pistons, they are the Bulls with 46 wins and 36 losses, the Celtics with 45 wins and 37 losses, the Wizards with 44 wins and 38 losses, and the 43ers with 39 wins and 76 losses. The New Jersey Nets, the powerhouse in the East, fell into a quagmire after All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin chose to join the Nuggets because of a bigger contract. Not relying on the win-loss relationship with the Cavaliers, the Nets may not even make the playoffs this season.

Compared with the somewhat sad Pistons, the Cavaliers are undoubtedly even more tragic. The Cavaliers, who were ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference in the middle of the season, have experienced a series of turmoil such as changing bosses and coaches. At the end of the regular season, there was even a wave of inexplicable losing streak, and finally missed the playoffs with the same record of 42 wins and 40 losses as the Nets. If the Cavaliers did not have so many disturbances in the middle of the season, perhaps in This season, the Cavaliers can return to the playoffs.

After a short break, the playoffs of the 04-05 season will begin. The 16 teams from the east and the west will once again join the battle for the championship. As the defending champion, the Pacers will On the 4th, he ushered in his first opponent in the playoffs, and also his old opponent in the playoffs, the New Jersey Nets.

(End of this chapter)