One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Two. Rivals for the Championship
Whether the Grizzlies players win awards or not is not important to them. What is important is that the Grizzlies won so many awards at once, which brought morale improvement, which is not a good thing for their Warriors!
Curry thought that he would see Sun Ce holding up the MVP and Best Defensive Player trophies at the same time before tomorrow's game. He felt tortured when he thought of that scene - this should have been his teammate! It's his!
Since Harden was traded back with Ellis + Leonard as the core chips, he didn't think it was a big deal. He felt that Harden was better than Leonard.
If he, Harden and Sun Ce formed a team, would there be anything more fantastic than this?
In the best lineup, Westbrook fell to the third team, which surprised Curry a little. He averaged a triple-double!
But he did feel that averaging a triple-double became so cheap since Sun Ce and Westbrook were there.
Evans was not selected for the All-NBA Team, which was the last thing Curry expected. He thought he would compete with Evans for the third team, but in the end it was Westbrook, Evans and Klay Thompson who competed for the third team. The key is that Evans has not won.
There are too many good defenders, and although Evans played well this season, he is about the same as Lillard in terms of attention. Lillard really wants to show himself, but because he was ignored by the Trail Blazers, Evans did not show his ideas at all. He was not selected for the All-NBA Team with such data. The last time such a situation occurred was Carter.
Of course, this is also related to the new rules of the league. There is no such thing as a tie, and Evans did not get as many votes as Klay Thompson, who has a good record.
Forwards, James and Griffin are definitely in the first team. The former is the assist king and the team record is second in the league, and the latter has 60 wins and averaged 26 points, 11 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
Paul George averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2 steals per game. He scored because he had few shots, averaging only 10.5 shots per game. He is the only player in NBA history to win 75 games in a single season. Since he was the only player in the Grizzlies who played all the games, it was no problem for him to be selected for the second team. Kobe played as a small forward shooter most of the time. His shooting stability and efficiency were second only to Durant at the small forward position. The two were ranked in the second and third teams, and the other position was won by Aldridge who relied on his record.
Anthony Davis has indeed made great progress this season, but the team has dragged him down. By sending Morrow and Aminu away, he has lost the best containment point and the outer defense gate. His and Irving's progress can only keep the team from regressing.
There is nothing much to say about Curry at the center position. If it weren't for his physical strength, Duncan would have been in the first team again.
Putting aside the unhappiness of losing Sun Ce, although he thinks about it every year, he can only accept it in the end, but it is a knot in his heart that he can't untie.
But there are also happy things. Harden directly topped the league's No. 1 shooting guard!
When Paul George focused on playing as an organization forward and no longer developed towards shooting guard, Harden had no competitors. With good data and good record, he was directly promoted!
If the Warriors had not got Harden and saw Sun Ce's later development, Curry would have been at odds with the Warriors.
…
On the other side, at the home team's training ground, Kiki Vandeweghe, the new vice president of the NBA's business development department, former NBA star, who brought Battelle, Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue to the NBA, came to the FedEx Arena with 8 trophies. At 3:30 in the afternoon, the Grizzlies held a press conference to award Paul George, Tony Allen, Klay Thompson and Aldridge. The team officially announced and congratulated the four on their awards.
As for Sun Ce, he did not attend this press conference and did not steal the limelight from his teammates. He will be awarded on the spot when the game starts tomorrow.
What the Warriors are afraid of is what they want to do.
The awarding of the MVP trophy and the best defensive player trophy at the same time in the first game of the series at home will definitely bring a manic atmosphere to the scene.
At the same time, it may also inspire their players and hit the confidence of the other side.
The focus is on the former,
the latter can have the best effect, and it doesn't matter if it doesn't work.
The Grizzlies are actually quite calm about Sun Ce's award, but they are so excited because Sun Ce won the best defensive player.
What makes the team most satisfied is that 7 people were selected for the best team.
After the press conference in the afternoon, no training was arranged. The previous team basic tactical training, yesterday's targeted training, today's intensive training... Sun Ce and others who have sufficient preparation time have made all the preparations they can. The current task is to rest well and conserve their energy for the first game of the second round tomorrow.
...
In the evening, at 6 pm Eastern Time, the competition between the Bulls and the Heat for several consecutive years kicked off again.
This time, the Bulls clearly have the upper hand!
Griffin scored 21 points in the first quarter, scoring his first 20+ points in a single quarter in the playoffs in his career, helping the Bulls start with a 29-19 lead!
In this quarter, the Bulls focused on defense. Sloan, who is the best at pick-and-roll, was good at defending the Heat, whose offense was mainly based on the pick-and-roll between Paul and Wade, Paul and Josh Smith, and Paul and Jordan Hill. It was just that Paul's mid-range shots were too accurate last season, and the Bulls were just like Sloan when he faced Jordan and peak Kobe in the Jazz, and were shot to death every year.
But this time, the defense was really good.
It's just that the Bulls' offense was actually very bad overall, but Griffin stood up and made 7 of 7 shots in a single quarter, one of which was a three-pointer, plus 5 of 5 free throws, helping the Bulls to take a 10-point lead in the first quarter!
This is directly related to Chandler's departure last summer. With Chandler gone, the Heat's defense directly fell from the top of the league to an ordinary first-class level.
In the end, relying on Griffin's 15 of 19 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, 11 of 14 free throws, and 42 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks, relying on Rose's 15 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, and 2 steals, and relying on Noah's inside defense, the Bulls beat the Heat 115-91 at home and won the second round!
The Bulls will play against a strong team in the second round, and Sun Ce must watch it. Tonight, I am ready to watch the Bulls and the Lakers.
But the strength shown by the Bulls in the playoffs still surprised Sun Ce.
Griffin really feels like a more athletic version of Malone. Although his defense is not as good as Malone's, under the guidance of Sloan and Malone, at least he is not a sieve, and with Noah cleaning his ass behind him, Griffin can show his ability to help defend. He is not like Malone who can carry the low post. He is not aware of turning around, but his role in helping defense is outstanding!
Rose... has not been injured, which is good and bad. He has definitely become a better player and has surpassed Westbrook to be selected for the second team. However, most of the time, the beautiful rose is not seen. Now Rose is more mature and stable. It can only be said that what you gain, you have to lose.
But this kind of Rose is indeed more suitable for Griffin.
Reducing the consumption of scoring, Rose can better allocate physical strength to defend the opponent's point guard. Like Westbrook, he was the best defensive player in his respective leagues in college. He did a good job in this regard. Today, he defended Paul particularly well.
Sun Ce originally compared the Bulls led by the Eastern Conference's double No. 1 pick with the Warriors and Thunder, but now it seems that he may have slightly underestimated the Bulls.
At 8:30 pm Eastern Time, the Lakers and Spurs series started!
The game between the Bulls and the Heat was just an appetizer. Most people felt that the Heat, who lost Chandler, were no match for the Bulls. It was just that Paul averaged 8 mid-range shots against the Bulls last season, which made people feel that the Heat had a chance.
The Lakers and Spurs were the most watched teams tonight.
The classic Snake-Buddha battle!
If we count the 98-99 season when Kobe was still in his growth period, this is the 8th time the two have played against each other in the playoffs in 17 years. You know, most players have a career length of less than 8 years, and some stars have played less than 8 playoffs in their careers!
And the two teams played against each other, not once in the first round, but in the second round or even the Western Conference Finals!
It was another showdown between a group of fossil-level veteran superstars, which was the most concerned highlight for old fans.
And Sun Ce wanted to see how James led their team, which was mainly based on star play, to compete with the Spurs, which was mainly based on team play.
If for young teams, reducing back-to-back games in the regular season and increasing rest time during the All-Star Weekend have little impact, for veterans, these small changes are a huge blessing!
In the first round, the Spurs showed their super strong first quarter as always, but the Lakers at home were not vegetarians. With Duncan, James would not rush. Last year, they knew that using James to consume Duncan's physical strength would not work. Duncan's control and use of his own physical strength can be said to be unmatched by anyone in the league. In the history of the NBA, his ability to distribute physical strength is one of the best.
So, just go hard!
Kobe and Leonard took turns to play singles in the mid-range, and whoever Gay defended played singles with the other person. At present, the Lakers still rely mainly on Kobe. Kobe scored 11 points in the first quarter and Leonard scored 6 points. When the two singles opened the situation, James found a way to counterattack and cut in. The Lakers scored 29 points in the first quarter. When the Spurs scored 30 points in a single quarter, the Lakers entered the second quarter with only 1 point difference.
After the start of the second quarter, the Lakers began to take the initiative. James and Rondo led the team to compete. Jr. Smith did a surprisingly good job in defending Ginobili, which was the case last year. The most critical point was the Lakers' backup center Motiejunas, whose shooting range can cover the big man outside the three-point line. When James and Boozer played pick-and-roll offense, he took advantage of the opponent's shrinking defense and scored two three-pointers in the second quarter!