After a few days of rest, the playoffs are coming. The first round games of the playoffs are as follows:
First is the east.
The first place in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers will face the eighth Hawks in the Eastern Conference;
The Heat, second in the Eastern Conference, faced off against the Hornets, seventh in the Eastern Conference;
The Raptors, the third-placed team in the Eastern Conference, faced off against the Nets, the sixth-placed team in the Eastern Conference;
The fourth-place Bulls in the East face the fifth-place Wizards in the East.
This side of the west.
The Trail Blazers, No. 1 in the Western Conference, faced off against the Lakers, No. 8 in the Western Conference;
The second-placed Spurs in the Western Conference face the seventh-placed Grizzlies in the Western Conference;
The third-place Thunder in the Western Conference faced the sixth-place Warriors in the Western Conference;
The Clippers, the fourth team in the Western Conference, faced off against the Mosaics, the fifth team in the Western Conference.
Now it seems that there is basically no possibility of the following class among these matchups. If it is possible, it is the matchup between the Spurs and the Grizzlies and the two sets of matches between the Clippers and the Mosaics. The next one is the upper one.
The chances are slightly greater.
The previous matchup was because the Grizzlies had beaten the Spurs in eight games. Although the regular season records of the two sides this year are very different, when the outside world looks at this matchup, they can't help but have some fantasy elements in it.
As for the latter group of matches, firstly, the regular season record difference between the two sides is relatively close, and secondly, the outside world still has great expectations for this new "ok" combination of Mosaic.
Ask yourself, even though Howard has been beaten to a pulp every time he meets Wang Zelin this season, that is only when the opponent is Wang Zelin.
Did you see that when playing against other players, Howard's dominance at the basket may not be as good as it was during the Magic years in the past few years, but people have to admit that he is still one of the best big men in the league.
This season, while playing for Mosaic, Howard played in all 71 games, with an average playing time of 33.7 minutes, and still maintained a contribution of 18 12 1.8 1.8.
In terms of offense, Howard, who averages 18 points per game, is definitely in the top ten among the centers in the league's 30 teams, which is an upper-class level.
Except for the top Love, Wang Zelin, Griffin, Aldridge and other few players who average more than 20 points per game, Howard is by no means inferior to anyone in terms of scoring.
As for the defensive end, although he no longer has the terrifying rim dominance that he had when he won the Defensive Player of the Year three times during the Magic era, his power is still there after all.
This season, in direct competition with major defensive players regarding defensive efficiency, and in the voting for the Defensive Player of the Year award in recent days, Howard still often appears in the media and fans.
Although the Player of the Year award definitely has nothing to do with Howard, because anyone with a discerning eye can see that there are many outstanding big men this year who are better than Howard on the defensive end.
For example, Wang Zelin and Joakim Noah are the two favorites for this year's Defensive Player of the Year.
For example, Roy Hibbert, the main center of the Eastern Conference's No. 1 Pacers, DeAndre Jordan, the main center of the Clippers, and Optimus Prime Ibaka of the Thunder, etc., are all post players with outstanding defensive efficiency this year.
But no matter what, Howard was once the number one center in the league!
Before it completely declines and dives all the way, the outside world will still give it a little face.
Coupled with the fact that the Mosaic team also has another super scorer James Harden who is showing a rising momentum, it is no wonder that the outside world is so optimistic about the Magic combination.
To be honest, even Wang Zelin himself is very optimistic about Mosaic.
Because of his arrival, the development history of the NBA is no longer the same as what he remembers.
In my memory, the Clippers' opponent in the first round was the Warriors, while the Mosaics' opponent in the first round was the Trail Blazers.
Now that everyone’s opponents in the first round have changed, what changes will happen when the actual game comes?
He really doesn't know yet.
However, considering that the Trail Blazers successfully advance to the first round, the opponents in the second round will basically be between the Clippers and Mosaics.
Therefore, he prefers that his Western Conference semifinal opponent is the Mosaic team rather than the Clippers.
This is not to say that he is very afraid of the Clippers trio. On the contrary, no one knows the Clippers or Paul's unlucky nature better than him.
If one looks at Paul using the memories of later generations, Paul's early and mid-term NBA career was full of tragedies.
Whenever Paul reaches a further point in his career, fate always loves to joke with him, always preferring to side with Paul's opponents.
This was true in the wasp period,
This was the case in 2008 and during Kobe’s true MVP period,
The same goes for the Clippers,
This was still the case even when he later partnered with Harden and played for the Aerospace City.
Call it metaphysics or have a bumpy fate. Anyway, until the end of 2020 when Wang Zelin traveled back in time, Paul still had not won a championship ring.
What if Paul gets injured again in the next game...
Of course, the above are only part of the reasons.
The bigger reason is that Wang Zelin wants to personally destroy the Morden combination in the playoffs.
The regular season is different from the playoffs. The latter is obviously more valuable in the eyes of the outside world, so he is eager to use a series of devastating victories to truly witness the rise of his league's number one center.
Master Huo is a very good background board.
But before that, Wang Zelin and his teammates need to defeat the challenge from the Los Angeles Lakers. Although they have high confidence in advancing to the first round, they are facing an opponent composed of professional basketball players, especially the Black Mamba.
Kobe Bryant leads the team, but they still dare not treat this team lightly.
The administrator has a good saying: Strategically despise the enemy, tactically pay attention to the enemy!
The current mentality of the Trail Blazers fits this description very well.
…
April 20th.
The first playoff series of the 2013~2014 season has officially begun.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This evening, the league has arranged a total of 4 games, namely:
The third-place Raptors in the East VS the sixth-place Nets in the East;
The third-place Thunder in the Western Conference VS the sixth-place Warriors in the Western Conference;
The first Pacers in the Eastern Conference VS the eighth Hawks in the Eastern Conference;
The second-place Spurs in the Western Conference vs. the seventh-place Grizzlies in the Western Conference.
As for the Trail Blazers' game, it has been scheduled for 8 o'clock tomorrow night, which is April 21st.
It's 7 p.m. sharp, and there's still half an hour left in the game between the Pacers and the Hawks.
The Pacers this season can be described as a sudden rise. If there are several teams with championship potential this year, the Pacers will definitely be one of them.
Therefore, their first game in the first round of the playoffs also attracted great attention from other teams across the league.
Before the game, Wang Zelin called.
"Hey, George, still in the locker room?"
"Hmm~"
"Listening to the voice, are you a little nervous?"
"No, it's nothing."
"No, man, it's just an eagle. Why don't we make a bet on which of our two teams can sweep the opponent 4:0 in the first round to advance?"
"Wow, Wang, don't brag. Don't forget that your opponent is Kobe..."
"Tch, that guy is old. Now the league belongs to us and the world belongs to us. You kid, try your best this year. After killing LeBron, we brothers will be able to compete with each other in the finals. Don't let your guard down.
!”
"..."
Damn, this guy is too crazy.
After hearing Wang Zelin's arrogant words of "sprinkling water on the finals", Paul George was so frightened that he jumped up and was speechless.
But for some reason, these words made his blood boil instantly. He just wanted to have a good fight at night and crush the eagle to pieces.
Now the alliance is our world...
A bayonet fight in the finals?
It sounds pretty good!
"OK, I also congratulate you for successfully entering and exiting the division, and then... you are waiting to be beaten by us in the finals!"
At this moment, Paul George also showed some arrogance and arrogance belonging to a young man.
"Haha," Wang Zelin laughed after hearing this, "That's right. This is the Paul George in my impression... Let's just say it. See you in the finals!"
Then, Wang Zelin hung up the phone.
The Pacers defeated the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals and advanced to the Finals.
Is such a plot development possible?
Of course it is possible!
If I remember correctly, the Pacers' top five players have been the strongest opponents of Miami's Big Three in the past few seasons. Last season, the two sides fought 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the end, the Heat came out on top and advanced in a thrilling way.
Logically speaking, the Pacers can rank first in the Eastern Conference this season, and Paul George and his teammates will definitely become stronger than last season.
But why, I have the impression that the Pacers only played six games against the Heat this year before losing. In addition to team leader Paul George's leadership experience being inferior to that of James, I am afraid there is also the mentality left behind after losing to James last year.
Shadows cause trouble.
Now, the reason why Wang Zelin chose to plant a seed in Paul George's heart in the first round was not to wait for it to take root and sprout in the future.
Because he knows that if nothing unexpected happens, the Pacers will advance all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals this year and compete with the Heat for the only ticket to the Finals.
If Paul George can perform better than in the original history because of a current agreement and simple motivation, then it will be worth every penny.
Of course, Wang Zelin is not optimistic that Paul George can explode in the Eastern Conference Finals and kill the Heat and James. As long as Paul George can lead the team to fight the Heat in 7 games like last year and consume more of James, Wang Zelin will be satisfied.
Brother Pickle, don’t forget yourself and be disappointed!
…
More than two hours later.
Portland.
"You kid can do it!"
"I actually actually won!"
"Fuck!"
At this moment, Wang Zelin felt that there were only two words to describe his mood.
In addition to the Pacers game, Wang Zelin also paid attention to the other three games. Among them, the game between the Pacers and the Thunder was the one he paid the most attention to.
In the end, when he saw the Pacers' first-round results were completely different from what he remembered, he still had mixed emotions.
99:92!
In the first game of the first round of the Pacers, the Atlantans came in with a 7-point advantage and returned in defeat. Paul George and his teammates defended their home court.
As for Wang Zelin, he really never expected that Paul George actually won the first game.
Originally, he always thought that since he was in the Western Conference, the biggest impact would be on other teams in the Western Conference.
Now I see that the arrival of this little butterfly has changed many young players.
Catfish effect!
Suddenly, he thought of this little piece of knowledge he had seen in the textbook before.
He realized that it was precisely because of his arrival as a catfish that the pressure on the young people of his generation in the league had doubled, so naturally he could only work harder to improve his strength.
After all, among the young people of his generation, Wang Zelin, who debuted less than two years ago, shines so brightly.
Unknowingly, he has already surpassed other players of his generation. Not only has he become the leader of this generation of young players, his brilliance is even comparable to that of the superstars of the Mesozoic generation.
But ask yourself, no one wants to be a star among the stars!
In fact, as long as Wang Zelin has not won the championship and truly aspired to the league, other players of the younger generation will feel:
As long as they work harder, there is still hope of catching up with Wang Zelin; but if they don't work hard, they will really have no choice but to follow Wang Zelin and suffer losses and become the tears of the times.
Sometimes, from another angle, Wang Zelin can figure everything out.
If this trend continues, maybe the Pacers will be able to defeat the Hawks in just a few games and advance to the second round.
He couldn't help but touch his chin and frown slightly: things are starting to get interesting.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! As for that, isn’t he worried about the pressure from other young players?
Just kidding, such words are simply an insult to a 13-year-old!
If the Pacers can really defeat the Heat and advance to the finals, is it too late for him to be happy?
Pickled peppers, come to the bowl quickly.
"A group of bloodthirsty ants, attracted by carrion..."
The phone rings.
Wang Zelin lowered his head and looked,
Good guy, say Cao Cao Cao Cao is here.
The caller ID showed that it was Paul George on the other side.
"Beep~"
After the call was connected, Wang Zelin subconsciously placed the phone further away from his ear.
"Wang, have you finished appreciating your uncle's and my performance tonight? I'm just equal to those idiots in Atlanta, but if you still want to beat me, just dream!"
Sure enough, as soon as the call was connected, Paul George's extremely proud voice came from the other end.
"Tch, you guys are still as cool as ever! It's just the Atlanta Hawks, but they only beat them by 7 points, and almost overtook them in the final quarter... That's it?"
Wang Zelin didn't like him, so he pretended to be sarcastic.
"Hey, do you think you are brave?"
"You're kidding, I'm super brave!"
"彳亍! I'll wait to hear your battle report tomorrow."
"Just wait, I will at least give the Lakers a double-digit point difference."
"Tch, who doesn't know how to brag?"
"..."
After a cup of tea.
The two chatted for a long time, and Wang Zelin couldn't help but hang up the phone first.
He was afraid that if the conversation continued, the YY story of one championship to surpass Thunder Tyrannosaurus, two championships to surpass Old Blacksmith, and three championships to urinate on the head of the God of Basketball would come out...
But one thing to say, Paul George's performance tonight was indeed very impressive.
Played 41 minutes, made 9 of 19 shots, and scored a triple-double of 31 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.
It is completely worthy of the media's evaluation: single-core power, smashing the eagle!
Tomorrow, it will be his turn to exert his strength.