Lin Yu has no interest in Rookie of the Year. To be precise, even if he was interested, this trophy would not be awarded to him.
Among the various honors in the regular season, Lin Yu can definitely get the best rookie team. In addition, he also has the opportunity to compete for the best defensive team.
The personal honor that Lin Yu is interested in is the best defensive team.
Lin Yu's excellent single defense performance in the regular season and his average of 1.2 steals per game make him qualified to compete for the best defensive team.
His opponents include Ron Artest, who transferred to the Kings in the middle of the season, Bruce Bowen of the Spurs, Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, Andrei Kirilenko of the Jazz, and Jason of the Nets.
-Kidd, etc.
However, Kirilenko, Ron Artest and Bruce Bowen will all be counted as forwards, and Lin Yu will participate in the voting as a guard. His opponents will suddenly only be Kobe and Kidd.
Compared with Kobe, Lin Yu's advantage is that his single defense performance is better. His disadvantage is that Kobe has more steals, but only 0.6 more steals.
Compared with Kidd, Lin Yu's advantage is that he has better single defense performance, but Kidd has more advantages than Kobe. Kidd averaged 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
Lin Yu speculated that he might not be able to compete with Kidd, but he still had a huge advantage against Kobe.
The playoffs are approaching. In addition to the upcoming playoffs, Lin Yu is also paying attention to the following offseason. No matter what the Celtics choose, he has to consider his next contract.
And an All-Defensive first team would be a huge bonus.
Just imagine, an All-Defensive First Team player who averages 17 points per game, what kind of contract can he get?
Lin Yu referred to the contract obtained by Larry Hughes, who was also in the All-Defensive First Team. Larry Hughes' statistics last season were 22 points, 6.3 assists, 4.7 assists and 2.9 steals.
Then in the summer, Larry Hughes got a five-year, $70 million contract from the Cavaliers.
Lin Yu's data is slightly worse than that of Larry Hughes, so he does not expect a contract comparable to that of Larry Hughes. At least, the Celtics must give him an absolute maximum salary.
With the regular season over and the playoffs approaching, Jeff Schwartz has begun to stay in Boston. His two biggest clients now are both in Boston, Lin Yu and Paul Pierce.
"Jeff, do you think I have a good chance of making the All-Defensive First Team?"
Jeff Schwartz has a wide network of contacts in the league. He can also get the general news about the selection of certain awards. The answer he gave is: "There is a great chance. Many media reporters have commented on your defense."
It’s very high, even if there is no first wave, the second wave is definitely there.”
In the Celtics training facility, Lin Yu and his teammates have been playing one training game after another against the Cavaliers.
Doc Rivers always asked Lin Yu to play LeBron James, but Lin Yu's poor breakthrough made the performance a bit nondescript.
However, Rivers just wanted to imitate James' breakthrough and passing, so his requirements for Lin Yu's breakthrough were not that high.
On the court, Lin Yu made a breakthrough, and the two Celtics insiders immediately came up to attack.
Lin Yu's breakthrough was staggering, but his passing was still very threatening. After being flanked, he directly passed the ball and accurately found Gerald Green outside the three-point line.
Nine-finger Green shot a three-pointer, and with a bang, he hit.
Lex Kalamian, who was watching the game from the sidelines, frowned: "Doug, I don't think we can attack LBJ so unscrupulously. He is an excellent passer. The best way is to let him play alone. One LBJ can't kill him."
We, but if the Cavaliers' role players open up, it will be difficult for us to win."
Rivers nodded: "Lex is right, double-team defense will only help LeBron James drive his teammates, but if there is no double-team attack, we will have to let Lin forcefully defend him."
"We also saw Lin's performance against LeBron James in the regular season. Although Lin seemed to be very good at defending James, the actual effect was very poor."
Kalamian insisted on his idea and added: "But other than that, we have no other way. Instead of letting lbj drive his teammates, it is better to make the game one-on-one between lbj and Paul.
, and then rely on role players with more independent offensive capabilities to win the game."
"Let the game become one-on-one between James and Paul?" Rivers thought thoughtfully, and he decided to try Kalamian's style of play.
Then, Rivers gave the order and changed the lineup on the training field.
"Lin, in the next stage, your task is to defend Paul. Paul, from now on, you will imitate lbj!"
Then, Lin Yu started to defend Pierce. The effect was very good at first, but later on, when Pierce used various post-ups, Lin Yu couldn't stand it anymore.
This kind of training performance makes Rivers worried. If he can't guard LeBron James, what should the Celtics do to beat the Cavaliers?
Do we really want to bet on the one-on-one relationship between Pierce and James?
On April 21, the Celtics left Boston and flew to Cleveland. At the same time, the battle for the playoffs had already begun.
In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons, who were ranked first in the regular season, faced off against the Wizards, who were ranked eighth. In a defensive battle, the Pistons won the game 98:71.
Gilbert Arenas, who scored like crazy during the regular season, made 4 of 15 shots and only scored 11 points. The Pistons' strong team defense still worried other teams.
The game between the Nets, which ranked third in the regular season, and the Pacers, which ranked sixth, was quite anxious. The Nets' regular season ranking was a bit watery, and the playoffs also proved this. In the first game, they were 2
Lost to the Pacers.
Then came the Western Conference. Phoenix, the second-place team in the regular season, faced off against the Lakers. Kobe Bryant suddenly changed his playing style in the regular season and started passing the ball to his teammates.
But playing this way, the Suns won more easily, and they quickly took the lead.
So in the second half, Kobe had to restart the lone wolf mode, scoring consecutive points and closing the gap.
But in the end, the Suns won the first game 107:102.
Another matchup was between the Grizzlies and the Mavericks. Pau Gasol was suppressed by Dirk Nowitzki from various angles, and the Mavericks easily won.
After the four games on the first day of the playoffs, the Celtics, who had already arrived in Cleveland, also began to discuss the results of these four games.
"The Pistons' defense is still too strong, which is disappointing."
It was Lin Yu who sighed. Then, Pierce suddenly remembered: "If we pass the Cavaliers, our opponent in the second round will be the Pistons."
"It's too difficult, it's still too difficult!" Pierce shook his head.
"Not only the Pistons, but there are so many strong teams in the Western Conference. Who would have thought that the Dallas Mavericks could defeat the Grizzlies so easily, as well as the Phoenix Suns and Lakers. I never expected that the Lakers could play so anxiously with the Suns...
…“
Lin Yu felt that Pierce was thinking too much: "Paul, let's focus on the present first. Our current opponent is the Cavaliers."