NBA: I am a master dealer

Chapter 294 Chaos becomes a pot of porridge!

First of all, the most ferocious Hawks since the start of the new season, this famous paper tiger, only bluffed people at the beginning of the season, and its real level is just like that. It only achieved a record of 48 wins and 34 losses, ranking fourth in the Eastern Conference. It is better than last season. Crazy performance, obviously dropped a lot.

In the playoffs, he once again became James's favorite, and he was so abused...

The Heat that followed have undergone earth-shaking changes.

According to the historical trajectory, they relied on the outstanding performance of Wade, Dragic, Whiteside, Luol Deng, and Bosh, who played most of the game, and finally achieved a record of 48 wins and 34 losses.

However, they ranked third by virtue of their win difference. In the end, they fought with the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs until the tiebreaker. They missed one move and failed to enter the Eastern Conference finals.

But according to the Heat's strength on their historical trajectory, they are actually not weak.

And now, they have ushered in Whiteside's evolved version of Gasol and Luol Deng's enhanced version of Anthony.

As for Bosh?

Neither of them have reached the playoffs, so Ibaka and Porgitins are alone at the power forward position.

The weakest section is point guard Hinrich.

But with Anthony and Wade, Hinrich does not need to play a particularly large organizational role, not to mention Gasol's support, and there is no problem with their offensive fluency.

and so……

Now this Heat is undoubtedly stronger. In terms of paper strength alone, it is one of the strongest teams in the league.

Only the Cleveland Cavaliers' Big Three lineup can rival it.

This season, unless something unexpected happens to them, they will definitely occupy the top half.

And the now majestic Detroit Pistons, according to historical trajectory, can really hold on until the end.

With a final record of 44 wins and 38 losses, they won the last playoff ticket in the Eastern Conference and began to experience the playoff journey.

This is really surprising.

After all, according to public predictions, the Pistons are like many young teams. They start off fiercely and then fall into the dust after Christmas. There is no chance at all.

Who would have thought that at the beginning of the new season, they would have a record of 5 wins and 1 loss. Although there were ups and downs in the middle, they finally secured a playoff spot, which made people look at them with admiration.

Then there are the Cavaliers, who are ranked first in the Eastern Conference in history, with a record of 57 wins and 25 losses.

This is actually not unexpected. They have the Big Three as a base and a lot of excellent role players. After running in last season, they will definitely be able to exert their due strength this season.

Surprisingly, they had a coaching change mid-season.

Blatt, who led the team to occupy the first place in the Eastern Conference for a long time, is gone, and his successor is Tyronn Lue, who has come to the Knicks.

As for the reason?

That's really as long as a book.

However, Xue Liancheng still remembers it. After all, the coaching change was quite a sensation. It aroused support from Carlisle, bombardment from Van Gundy, doubts from reporters from major media, as well as reversal and attacks from Blatt’s hometown. James’ ball dominance The name was also completely spread at this time.

The first reason for the coaching change was laid during the Christmas War.

The Christmas game of the 15-16 season is the Cavaliers vs. Warriors, the opponents of last season's finals in the historical trajectory.

The Cavaliers actually performed tough enough. James' 25 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists are actually not ugly.

But James missed three consecutive shots in the critical last minute of the quarter, and then watched Curry layup to seal the victory.

After the game, there was an overwhelming amount of criticism from fans, saying that James was weak and so on.

James didn't respond at the time.

Next, in the away game against the Spurs, James was completely controlled by Leonard on both offense and defense. His almost invisible performance in the second half caused the Cavaliers to lose a good game and was successfully reversed by the Spurs.

After acquiring Aldridge, the Spurs became the favorite to compete for the championship.

After losing to two major competitors in a row, James' criticism has reached a fever pitch...

Everyone feels that James has lost his dominance. This criticism is actually no smaller than last season.

But last season was the first year of the Cavaliers' Big Three, and everyone still used a tolerant attitude to understand the Cavaliers and James.

So even if they are scolded, they can still get the support of the home fans, and they are still full of motivation.

And it's not over yet.

Returning to the home court to face the Golden State Warriors, they were beaten by the Warriors by 32 points. This time, they completely lost their pants.

对比追梦格林在三节轰下16分7分10助攻的表演，詹姆斯三节16投只有7中并且最终丧失了追赶的信心，放弃比赛目睹吊打。

It should be said that James had serious psychological problems after losing to the Spurs and Warriors in the finals.

In other words, at this time, James was extremely dissatisfied with Blatt, a coach who focused on defense and ball transfer tactics.

At the same time, a negative attitude toward competition began.

At the last moment of their away game against the Dallas Mavericks, the Cavaliers staged a comeback victory.

But after a shocking dunk to tie the score, James, unguarded near the free throw line, passed back to Irving one meter away from the three-point line at the end of the offense, and the latter hit a fatal three-pointer.

This game clearly demonstrated James' passive play and lack of courage and mentality for key goals.

Some media wrote after the game: James sent a fatal assist!

It just makes people laugh out loud.

Before Irving defeated the Mavericks, Irving also defeated the Suns not long ago.

What is James doing?
Count the seconds to blame!
And it was under this invisible deterrent that the Cavaliers management evaluated, in fact, James' satisfaction with Blatt, and finally decided to lead the team to the Eastern Conference's first record of 30 wins and 11 losses, with a winning rate of 73% in Europe. The famous coach Blatter was killed.

It was just astounding.

Afterwards, James's response was: No knowledge at all.

The team's star player, the absolute No. 1 player in the league at the time, actually said that the head coach was fired, and he didn't know?

Isn't this a joke?

Anyway, this is the process. Being double-killed by the Warriors was the trigger. The main reason was that James didn't like Bratt.

This is actually normal.

After all, James likes shooting all over the place, not bullshit team basketball.

No matter how turbulent the Cavaliers are internally, their strength is here. They are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and the top half is almost locked.

Then there's the Toronto Raptors.

In the historical trajectory, they ranked second in the Eastern Conference with 56 wins and 26 losses. Their operations in the offseason were very successful, and their overall strength has indeed made a leap.

Therefore, the playoff berth is basically locked.

As for the performance in the playoffs, that is a matter of the playoffs.

So far, five playoff spots have been taken.

Then came the Chicago Bulls.

An accident came.

After experiencing the turmoil of coaching changes in the offseason, the Bulls directly reached ninth place and missed the playoffs in the historical trajectory.

This proves one thing, how terrible Thibodeau, a defensive coach who started his career, is.

Without much change in the important rotation, the team slipped from fourth in the Eastern Conference to ninth in the Eastern Conference. It was really a huge drop.

Then the Knicks also underwent earth-shaking changes.

Xue Liancheng is here, Lopez is here, Will Barton, PJ Tucker, Crowder, Jeff Green, Ilyasova, David West and other strong players will win a playoff ticket. The number of places in the competition is not excessive, right?

As for the Pacers, with George's comeback, they finally did get a playoff spot. They achieved a record of 45 wins and 37 losses, ranking seventh.

But this record is only one win away from the Pistons, and the gap is very small.

They are three games behind the sixth-place Charlotte Hornets.

That's right.

The sixth place in the historical track is the Charlotte Hornets, and their record is also 48 wins and 34 losses, exactly the same as the records of the Heat and Hawks.

This is definitely one of the biggest dark horses this season, and it’s so dark that you can’t tell it at first glance…

The reason why it is ranked sixth is because the fifth-place Celtics also have 48 wins and 34 losses.

That's right!

Another dark horse from the East.

A total of four teams with 48 wins and 34 losses are the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and Charlotte Hornets.

Their final rankings are based on their results against each other and the results achieved in each division.

The Heat are third, the Hawks are fourth, the Celtics are fifth, and the Charlotte Hornets are sixth.

Then the seventh Pacers, and the eighth Detroit Pistons.

So the question is, where will last season's playoff teams, the Washington Wizards and Milwaukee Bucks, go?

The answer is to sink to the bottom.

amount……

Also includes the Chicago Bulls.

The interesting part is here, the Chicago Bulls have 42 wins and 40 losses, and the Washington Wizards have 41 wins and 41 losses. They are ranked ninth and tenth.

There is no gap with the eighth-placed Detroit Pistons with 44 wins and 38 losses.

It's also not far behind the seventh-placed Indiana Pacers with 45 wins and 37 losses.

Even with the third-place Heat with 48 wins and 34 losses, they are still within shooting range.

Therefore, what the media said about the fierce competition in the Eastern Conference this year is indeed true.

The real thing is real...

According to the historical trajectory, the record to enter the playoff threshold is 44 wins, which is indeed the kind of rhythm that breaks the head.A total of ten teams compete for playoff spots, no...it should be eleven.

The New York Knicks are also included.

In other words, the last place in the playoffs may have more than 44 wins, and the intensity of competition can be imagined.

Coupled with the flapping of Xue Liancheng's butterfly wings, various teams in the league have seen some obvious changes.

For example, the Heat have become stronger.

For example, the Knicks should not be underestimated.

Another example is that Crowder of the Celtics was poached.

of course.

Not only the rival Celtics will be significantly affected, but the entire league structure will also undergo earth-shaking changes.

For example, without Lopez, will the Nets lose a few more games and who will they lose to?
If they lose to the Wizards and Bulls, won't they create two competitors?The Wizards and Bulls can reach the playoffs in just one move.

There are also David West, Jeff Green, Ilyasova and others, who are all very important rotations of the original team. The lack of them will definitely affect the strength of the original team.

This will eventually lead to different situations for all teams in the league.

These are all things that are bound to happen under the butterfly effect.

In other words, the entire east has become a mess.

Who can make it to the end and who can really make it to the playoffs is really different.

If the Knicks sweep the Hawks, Celtics, and Hornets during the regular season, then the three of them will fall to the edge of the playoffs. This would be very fatal.

So, anything is possible.

The Knicks are not necessarily safe either.

Xue Liancheng also thought at this moment, if there would be five or six teams with exactly the same record, it would be exciting and beautiful...

As for the West?

The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs are on one level, and the Thunder and Clippers are on another level.

Others will most likely accompany you.

Including the Houston Rockets.

Because according to historical trajectory, the Rockets only have a record of 41 wins and 41 losses, barely touching the playoff threshold.

No matter how big the wings of Xue Liancheng's butterfly flap, it can't raise the overall strength of the Rockets to a higher level!

……

……

11 month 10 day.

The Knicks finally faced their first strong opponent after four consecutive victories and went to Toronto to challenge the Raptors away from home.

As one of the teams with the most successful signings in the off-season, the Raptors' strength this season cannot be underestimated. Every position is close to perfection, and the performance of the bench is also quite strong.

This can be regarded as the first challenge for the Knicks after the effects are achieved.

but……

Before the game, the league announced last week's Player of the Week, and Xue Liancheng was undoubtedly elected as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

There's actually nothing special about this in itself.

Xue Liancheng is the regular season MVP, finals MVP, and assists leader. These major awards have not made him react at all, let alone a mere Player of the Week?

But Lowry's announcement before the game immediately attracted the attention of countless fans.

Lowry said this: The league always pays attention to those players with good data, thinking that is the so-called dominance, but I want to say that good data is not dominance, and some dominance cannot be reflected in the data.

He didn't mention anyone by name, but at the moment when the game against the Knicks started, when Xue Liancheng won the Best of the Week, Lowry said this.

obviously……

Just need to read the ID card.

In addition, Lowry ridiculed Xue Liancheng last season because of the All-Star voting issue, and even openly mocked him on Twitter, and the two formed a small gap.

and so……

Lowry's satire on Xue Liancheng became public.

Many media reported it, and Xue Liancheng's fans reacted very fiercely. They jumped up and cursed Lowry.

When reporters asked about this, Xue Liancheng was not angry. His relationship with Lowry was actually pretty good. When he was fighting against the league, Lowry even publicly spoke out in support of him.

At that time, not many people publicly spoke out in support of him.

of course.

The most important thing is that there is no need to be angry.

It happens from time to time that lower-ranking players challenge upper-ranking stars. This is normal.

The conflict between him and James was regarded as a challenge by James, or to be more precise, it was a collision.

James ignored him at all.

He also ignored Lowry's need, it didn't make any sense.

What's more, there is nothing wrong with Lowry's statement, and he himself agrees with it.

Isn't Drummond's statistics impressive?

But its effect on the team was actually quite limited, and it failed to set the team to another level.

This is a league where data is king, and that’s right!
It's not like scratching his sore feet or piercing his heart, why should he be angry?

Like Jrue Holiday, he is neither impressive nor leaky, and his statistics are not very flashy, but many NBA stars say that Jrue Holiday is as good as Klass.

And him?
The strength lies here. He has proven himself last season and is getting better this season. Others say that he is cheating on the data. Isn't this a slander by Chi Guoguo?
In the eyes of the outside world, this is a rumor, and it is jealousy that changes people beyond recognition.

After all, fans have sharp eyes, and they don't think that the regular season MVP is obtained by brushing up data.

But Xue Liancheng fans don’t know!

They rushed to Lowry's Twitter and scolded Lowry bloody.

Not to be outdone, Lowry fans fought back.

A shouting match broke out between the two sides.

pity……

There were still a few Lowry fans, and they were soon drowned in a sea of ​​saliva. They only had time to drop such harsh words before disappearing: Stop talking, see you on the field.

result.

Lowry was also really competitive, organizing, supporting, and attacking in a well-organized manner. He made 18 of 8 shots from the field and scored 23 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.

In addition to his average efficiency, he is excellent in all other aspects and is the performance a star defender should have.

But compared to Xue Liancheng, it is still far behind.

薛连城23投12中，爆砍33分13助攻8篮板3抢断，数据更加华丽。

At the same time, he also led the team to beat the Toronto Raptors 115:109.

See you at the stadium?
Already seen the true story...

Victory is coming, data wins.

After defeating the Raptors, the Knicks relied on their victory to suppress the advantage and jumped past the Raptors to become fifth in the Eastern Conference.

As for the Raptors, in addition to Lowry's outstanding performance, DeRozan was also very good. He made 23 of 11 shots and scored 29 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. He also showed the level of a star-level shooting guard.

Valanciunas' double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds is also of a certain level. Anyway, he did not suffer a disadvantage against Lopez.

Scola is getting stronger with age, scoring 11 points and 7 rebounds. Even at the end of his career, he can still shine.

Joseph on the bench scored 12 points and performed well.

As for the Knicks.

Lopez scored 18 points and 9 rebounds. He didn't get any advantage in the confrontation with Davalan, but he didn't suffer either.

Will Barton continued to be sluggish, making 11 of 3 shots and only scoring 8 points.

Crowder scored 14 points and P.J. Tucker had 4 points.

The entire starting lineup is a bit misshapen.

However, Tyronn Lue has arranged to stagger the time, so this is not a big problem.

Off the bench, Tyler Johnson had 13 points, Jeff Green had 11 points, and Ilyasova had 10 points.

no doubt.

The strength of the Knicks' bench is obviously much stronger than Toronto's in this round of competition.

This is also the main factor in the Knicks' victory. Their bench has indeed become their strength.

of course.

The most important thing is that Xue Liancheng's 3% hit skill three times is too unsolvable.

When the Knicks fell behind, he saved the Knicks from dire straits time and time again. In the last minute, the score finally came back, giving Xue Liancheng the chance to make the final decision.

This also illustrates a problem. The Toronto Raptors are really strong.

Faced with a bug like him with a golden finger like his, the Raptors almost killed him. There is no doubt about his strength.

(End of this chapter)