NBA: Magic Johnson opens the season, crowned MOP

The playoff situation in the East is much clearer than that in the West.

The Miami Heat, led by the Big Three of the South Coast, are the only team that stands out, leading the league with 66 wins and 16 losses, and their 27-game winning streak is unprecedented!

This season, the new scoring champion Aguas led the team alone, and the Knicks had 54 wins and 28 losses, ranking second in the East.

As for the league...

they barely made it to seventh place, two wins behind the Golden State Warriors, who ranked sixth in the West.

The Pacers, led by the Indiana Five Tigers, also ushered in the peak season of"Eastern resistance to the Heat".

That is, this season, the Pacers, who ranked third in the East (53 wins and 29 losses), fought the Heat in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The inside combination of Hibbert and West almost played a double"20+10" series.

Joey, who was in the third team, led the team and almost overturned the Big Three. Then the league introduced the"Vertical Jump Defense Rules".

The Brooklyn Nets, known as the"Little Big Three" before the start of the season, are a"luxury battleship" composed of three semi-All-Star players: D'Antoni, Lopez, Joe, and former Elvis Wallace. They are ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference with 49 wins and 33 losses. Four of the five starting players have been selected to the All-NBA Team.���, the bench also includes Reggie Evans, CBA star Marshon Brooks, Watson, Stackhouse and other bench bandits.

In addition, with the training of two head coaches: P.J. Carlesimo and"Little General" Avery Johnson, they are also a force that cannot be ignored in the East!

The bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoffs is composed of the Bulls, Hawks, Celtics and Bucks.

The 76ers and Raptors played a high-winning schedule at the end of the regular season, but unfortunately failed to make the playoffs...

The first-round matchups in the East and West were also released -

East: Heat vs. Bucks (1-8)

Knicks vs. Celtics (2-7)

Pacers vs. Hawks (3-6)

Nets vs. Bulls (4-5)

West: Spurs vs. Lakers (1-8) Thunder vs. Rockets (2-7)

Nuggets vs. Warriors (3-6)

Clippers vs. Grizzlies (4-5)

As the first-round matchups in the playoffs were released, major TV stations also began to predict this year's championship:

ESPN's prediction of the defending champion's probability of achieving"two consecutive championships" is as high as 48%; the second and third Spurs and Thunder are both 12%; other than that, the probability of the remaining teams winning the championship is pitifully small.

TNT contracted writer Mark Reid and ESPN famous commentator Charles Barkley analyzed in a collaborative podcast:

"This year may be the most dominant year for the Miami Big Three. Putting aside the consecutive losses at the beginning of the season, they have 66 wins, 27 consecutive wins, the highest average points per game in the league for the starting lineup, and a defensive efficiency of 110.5.……"

"In addition, this season LeBron has completely developed the three-point shot and post-up offense, ranking top ten in the league with a 40.6% three-point shooting percentage. In addition, Ray Allen (43.9%), Chalmers (40.3%), Norris Cole (40.7%), and Battier (40.1%), the Heat now have at least five players with a three-point shooting percentage above 40%!"

"This is the peak state of this Heat team!"

Just as Barkley and Reed's podcast program caused a wave of heated discussions across the country, Popovich was"harassed" by reporters during the media talk day before the playoffs."——

A contracted reporter from Bleacher Report asked:

"Mr. Coach, we remember that before the start of the season, you announced in the press conference that your ultimate goal is to do your best to hit the O'Brien Cup this season.……"

"Does this mean that you have enough confidence to solve all the teams you meet in the West before the finals?"

This question is very sharp. If Popovich answers it inappropriately, he is likely to be attacked and targeted by the Western teams.

In this regard, Popovich's answer is very graceful and humorous.——

"You said this is our ultimate goal this season. My main task right now is to ensure that the Spurs don't get eliminated in the first round series against the Lakers and go home to fish.……"

After seeing that they could not dig out some"explosive" news from Sima Laozei, the media reporters shifted their focus and tried to get some"inside information" from other Spurs players at the scene."——

"Tim, do you think that if you meet the Heat led by LeBron and Dwyane in the finals this year, you can beat the Miami Heat who have the best regular season record in team history?"

Duncan, who was dressed simply and looked like he was attending his grandmother's birthday party, sat in a chair for a moment, and saw the flashing lights below the stage. It seemed that he had been thinking for a long time before he"woke up":

"All we can do is try our best, shed our last drop of blood, and……"

"We will not let down every fan who supports us!"

Duncan's tone was flat, as if he was talking about something very ordinary.

But anyone who saw his serious expression knew that once the playoffs began, for him - the low-key patron saint of the Holy City, this guy wearing the No. 21 jersey, his season would officially begin!

………

On the evening of April 19, the night before the start of the playoffs, in a brightly lit gym in the Holy City,

Joey and McGrady, who was wearing Spurs training uniforms, were practicing shooting on one half of the court.

On the other half, three new players, Joseph, Baynes and Leonard, were doing their own training with the help of the trainer.

"Pang——"

After making his 300th pull-up jump shot tonight, Joey's training suit was soaked with sweat, and McGrady urged him to catch the ball and shoot.

This was the fifteenth night that the two had been"training" together since McGrady was signed by the Spurs.

In Dio's unremarkable words, T-Mac had only played a few games since joining the team, but Joey had practiced a lot.

""Fuck!"

It was another half-hour long, high-intensity shooting training. Even Joey couldn't help but burst out the"national essence" and then collapsed to the ground.

"Hey! Hey! Rookie, stand up and don't be a coward. Complete the last 30 shots. Tonight's extra practice ends here!"

McGrady on the sidelines"scolded" loudly, and was secretly shocked by Joey's amazing endurance. After the high-intensity games every day, he had to do three to four hours of shooting and strength training.

If I had this level of physical strength back then, I wouldn't have been unable to break my first-round"virginity"...

Thinking of the playoff debut of his career, Joey gritted his teeth, flipped up from the floor, and then, with the help of McGrady on the sidelines and the training game, barely hit the last 30 jump shots.

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