hotmtlnovel Chapter 530 The Playoffs Reignite! A Completely Different Playoff
Chapter 530 The Playoffs Reignite! A Completely Different Playoff
Coaches like Don Nelson are known for their capriciousness and arrogance. They either don't give rest days, or once they start, they give rest days until the very end.
For example, after Lin Tian was confirmed to be able to break the assist record, Don Nelson decisively started the rotation mode. In the penultimate game of the season, he directly rested 7 players, including the team's five starters plus Ward and Smith.
In the final game of the following season, Don Nelson continued his efforts, temporarily signing two players from the free agent market and then resting nine players...
Rest, rest to your heart's content.
Of course, the Knicks suffered a crushing defeat in these two games, conceding over 260 points and losing miserably.
After these two crushing defeats, the Knicks' regular season came to an end.
They finished the season with a record of 56 wins and 26 losses, ranking second in the Eastern Conference.
This is the first time in six years since the Jordan-Ewing era of the 1998-99 season that the team has won more than 50 games in the regular season!
The Knicks are back!
This season's Knicks can definitely be described as a complete comeback.
除了新加盟的林天本赛季场均拿到历史级别的24.8分14.8次助攻7.1篮板2.8次抢断和1.1次盖帽的数据之外，球队的其余球员也是表现优秀。
Amar'e Stoudemire is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 22.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season with a field goal percentage of 57%, the highest among all players in the league who average more than 20 points per game!
At the same time, his free throw percentage is as high as 77%, which is absolutely top-level among inside players, demonstrating extremely high shooting talent.
Carmelo Anthony, a second-year player, averaged 21.4 points per game, which is comparable to Stoudemire. Although his personal statistics did not improve much compared to the previous year, his efficiency rating has improved significantly under the run-and-gun system of Lin Tian and Don Nelson!
In his rookie season, Anthony's shooting percentages in all three areas were only 41%, 26%, and 74%, which wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a "bricklayer." However, this season, Anthony's shooting percentages have reached 47%, 33%, and 81%! This comprehensive improvement in shooting percentages is largely due to the arrival of Lin Tian, which has given him a lot of open shot opportunities and numerous one-on-one chances!
When Anthony isn't double-teamed, he plays with less pressure and naturally becomes more efficient!
The significant improvement in efficiency of the team's two core players once again proves that Lin Tian has the magic to make his teammates better and more outstanding!
In addition to the core trio who combined for 68.3 points per game, the Knicks also have Okur, who averages 10.4 points per game. This season, Okur has a three-point shooting percentage of over 40%, making him the team's number one three-point shooter besides Lin Tian.
In addition, although Stephen Jackson only averaged 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, his hard work and versatile skills were also noticed by everyone.
The biggest problem for the Knicks right now is that Jackson's contract expires this summer, and the Knicks don't have his Bird rights, so they can't re-sign him on the cap. This means that he will almost certainly leave the team this summer.
In addition to the starting five, the team's three reserve players, Josh Smith, Gerald Wallace, and Barnes, averaged 7.9 points, 7.7 points, and 6.6 points respectively.
The team's eight most important players average nearly 110 points per game!
This is also the biggest reason why the Knicks are able to score an average of 120 points per game this season, leading the entire league in offensive firepower!
In fact, if it weren't for the Suns, who average 117 points per game, the Knicks' firepower would be far ahead of all other teams in the league today!
After all, the Mavericks, whose offensive ability ranks third in the league, only average 107 points per game, a full 10 points less than the Suns!
These two teams have truly unleashed a crazy storm of small-ball and run-and-gun offense!
Judging from the actions of various teams this season, the league will inevitably play faster and run more aggressively next season, and more and more teams will follow these two teams and play crazy offensive basketball in order to boost ticket sales.
Of course, those are all things for next season. The regular season of this season has already ended. Regardless of whether each team is satisfied with its performance and playing style this season, or what kind of changes each team wants to make, it's too late for this season!
After 82 intense games, the list of 16 teams that will advance to the playoffs has been finalized.
east:
1. Detroit Pistons: 64 wins, 18 losses
2. New York Knicks: 56 wins, 26 losses
3. Boston Celtics: 53 wins, 29 losses
4. New Jersey Nets: 52 wins, 30 losses
5. Philadelphia 76ers: 44 wins, 38 losses
6. Chicago Bulls: 44 wins, 38 losses
7. Cleveland Cavaliers: 43 wins, 39 losses
8. Washington Wizards 41 wins, 41 losses
The Eastern Conference standings this season weren't too disastrous. The Pistons and Knicks, who finished first and second respectively, secured their positions early on. It was the Nets and Celtics, who finished third and fourth, who had a more intense battle.
In the East, only these four teams are truly competitive. The remaining four teams are playing extremely tough games with very close records. In fact, including the Magic (ninth) and Pacers (tenth), the records of these six teams are quite similar, and the final rankings were not determined until the last day of the season.
But in the end, they're just a few teams with around 40 wins each. No matter how intense the games are, it's just a bunch of weaklings fighting each other.
Everyone is pretty sure that the first round in the East won't be too exciting or dramatic, and it's unlikely that any upsets will happen.
There's no way around it; the difference in strength is just too obvious.
One of the very few teams worth mentioning is the Indiana Pacers, the absolute dominant force and dynasty team in the East or even the entire league for the past few years. They have ended their reign over the league, and after Lin Tian left, their season has been full of ups and downs.
At the beginning of the season, the team had only 5 wins and 15 losses in the first 20 games. After that, they hovered around the 9th and 10th positions. Then, after trading away Artest in the middle of the season, they relied on a winning streak to climb to the 8th in the East. Later, Webber and others ran out of energy, and the team suffered another losing streak, and was eliminated from the playoffs early.
The era of the Pacers is over!
Whether it's Webber now or Parker and Ginobili in their youth, they clearly can't carry the team and can't provide enough firepower. Let alone continue the team's glory of the first seven years, they couldn't even lead the team to the playoffs!
The Pacers' failure to make the playoffs undoubtedly propelled Lin Tian to a higher position.
Compared to last season, the Pacers lost Lin Tian this season, but gained two returning injured players, Webber and Ginobili. But what was the result? Last year, Lin Tian played like crazy, which was due to the right tactics and strategy, as well as the fact that the team was well-rested. Many people even said that if the Lakers hadn't been so strong, the Timberwolves would have won the championship last year.
But no matter what the haters say, the Pacers still won the championship! And their upset victory over the Pistons in the first round was a series with a lot of merit.
But what about this season?
With a full roster and virtually no injuries, the team still failed to make the playoffs!
The Pacers' decline is comparable to that of the Bulls back in the day.
Another lottery team worth mentioning is the Magic.
They were ranked 6th in the Eastern Conference during the All-Star break, and could have easily made it to the playoffs. However, as McGrady was determined to leave, the Magic had no choice but to trade him and then tank.
But Hill was unusually healthy this season, and the tanking plan started too late, so the Magic only finished ninth, missed the playoffs, and had little chance of getting a high draft pick.
Perhaps the best news for the Magic is the draft pick they have from the Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers also failed to make the playoffs this season. Although the Magic won't get their draft picks this year, judging from the Trail Blazers' performance, it's unlikely they'll make the playoffs anytime soon!
The Trail Blazers draft pick they have was lottery protected in 05, top-five protected in 06, and unprotected in 07!
The Magic's current hope is that the Trail Blazers will continue to perform poorly, so they can get a good enough draft pick!
As for the Spurs' four draft picks? In any case, there's not much to expect in the short term.
With James, Bosh, and McGrady, there's probably no chance of them winning the lottery.
As for the bottom teams, the Hawks are last in the East with 13 wins, and are also the worst team in the league. The Bobcats have won 5 more games than them and are second to last in the East. These two teams are the worst teams in the entire East. After all, the Bucks, who are third to last, have 30 wins!
Next, we'll see who has better luck!
Having discussed the East, the rankings for the West are as follows:
1. Phoenix Suns: 62 wins, 20 losses
2. Los Angeles Lakers: 58 wins, 24 losses
3. Minnesota Timberwolves: 57 wins, 25 losses
4. Dallas Mavericks: 54 wins, 28 losses
5. Seattle SuperSonics 51 wins, 31 losses
6. Sacramento Kings: 50 wins, 32 losses
7. San Antonio Spurs: 47 wins, 35 losses
8. Utah Jazz 44 wins, 38 losses
The overall winning percentage in the West is better than in the East, with six teams reaching 50 wins. Although the Spurs, who are seventh, only have 47 wins, no one should underestimate them.
Because they underwent a major trade mid-season, replacing almost half of their team, it's quite remarkable that they managed to achieve 47 wins after rebuilding.
It's worth mentioning that the Spurs' leaders are James and Bosh, while the Cavaliers' leader in the East is Wade, and the Knicks also have Carmelo Anthony.
For example, the Heat's leader is Hinrich, and the Nuggets, who are ninth in the West and just one step away from the playoffs, are led by Milicic...
They all share a common label: Generation 03!
Claimed to be the strongest and most talented generation since 96, they are eager to seize power and have already begun to achieve results!
On the Western Conference side, it's worth mentioning that McGrady became the biggest loser this year. Before joining the Spurs, he averaged 29.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game with the Magic, ranking first in scoring and coming within a hair's breadth of his first All-NBA First Team selection.
However, after joining the Spurs, the new playing style, the new role, and the necessary sacrifices caused his season stats to decline.
By the end of the season, McGrady's average stats had dwindled to 27.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. Not only was the scoring title within his grasp snatched away by Kobe, who averaged 27.7 points per game that season, but he also likely lost his All-NBA First Team selection.
It can only be said that it was a matter of timing and fate. He was jealous of Hill's popularity and insisted on leaving the Magic in a hurry, so he naturally lost his personal honors and statistics.
Hopefully, the Spurs can achieve good results this year, so that McGrady's sacrifice won't be in vain.
In addition, the Hornets, with 18 wins, are last in the Western Conference, and the Warriors, with 19 wins, are second to last. These two teams, along with the Bobcats and Hawks, will be among the top contenders for the number one draft pick this season!
As usual, the annual champion will be decided in mid-June, while the annual champion will be decided a little earlier, on May 31, during the East and West Conference Finals.
Then, once everything was settled and all the teams were ranked, the 04-05 season playoffs officially began!
The New York Knicks' first opponent is the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by Dwyane Wade.
Compared to last season's Cavaliers, this season's Cavaliers have not made much progress in their record; in fact, they have regressed. There are many reasons for this regression, such as Boozer requesting that the team waive his team option so that he could re-sign with the team on a four-year, $32 million contract.
But to everyone's surprise, Boozer completely denied his promise and went to the Jazz, where he formed a short and stocky version of the Twin Towers with Jermaine O'Neal and signed a huge four-year, $48 million contract.
Boozer's betrayal has been dubbed the NBA version of Sima Yi's oath by pointing to the Luo River. Since then, verbal agreements in the NBA have become practically worthless; nobody believes them anymore.
You can always back out anyway!
As for the agent who helped him pull off this shady operation, allowing him to earn an extra $400 million a year, needless to say, it was Pelinka, that shameless guy!
After tricking the Knights, this guy even smugly boasted to Lin Tian about how shameless, despicable, and shameless he was!
They are definitely not ashamed, but rather proud.
In other words, Lin Tian is not a moral guardian either.
On the contrary, rather than shameless, Lin Tian...
Okay, he can't compare to Pelinka.
Mr. Lin values his promises very much.
In short, Boozer's departure dealt a severe blow to the Cavaliers. Although they brought in Drew Gooden, the fourth overall pick, mid-season to fill the void left by Boozer, Gooden was clearly no match for Boozer in terms of either ability or statistics.
Fortunately, despite the absence of Boozer, the team's young leader, Wade, is playing better and better. This season, Wade's average stats have risen to 24.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. He has become the best shooting guard among the younger generation, without a doubt!
This guy's rapid progress and increasingly strong performance on the court have become the Cavaliers' reliance and the biggest evidence for their rise and even their championship aspirations!
Besides Wade, the Cavaliers also have Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a representative center from the league's previous golden generation, who averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds this season, and Groo Gooden, a talented rookie acquired mid-season, who averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds.
These three are also the team's most important core trio, accounting for nearly half of the Cavaliers' points.
Besides those three, another noteworthy figure for the Cavaliers is Jeff McGinnis, who averages 13 points and 5 assists per game. He is the team's fourth-leading scorer and the only player outside of the core trio to score more than 6 points per game!
Yes, besides these four players, the Cavaliers' fifth-highest scorer is Ira Newbell, who averages 5.9 points per game.
This scoring distribution also shows that the Cavaliers' roster, especially their bench, is a major liability; they rely on their core players to win.
Apart from a few key players, the strength and level of the rest of the players are really not worth mentioning.
This is also the biggest reason why the team's record has regressed instead of improved despite Wade's significant progress this year: the role players' abilities are not keeping up!
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are averaging 96.4 points per game this season and allowing 95.6 points per game, both of which are in the middle range in the league.
Overall: This team, apart from Wade, is quite mediocre! (End of Chapter)