Chapter 1413 1412. Playoff Progress

"People just play basketball, but you play basketball with your IQ? You secretly think about how to plot against your opponent all day long, is that okay?"

Iverson looked at Liu Mang and wanted to ask what Liu Mang was thinking.

However... Iverson still has a little expectation: "There should be my analysis, right? There won't be that damn No. 24 without me, right?"

On March 14, at noon the day of the game between the Hawks and Bobcats, the Nuggets had already arrived in Atlanta.

It's strange to say that when the Hawks were first in the league or first in the Eastern Conference, they would always lose to the Bobcats once or twice every season, but this season they are no longer first in the Eastern Conference or first in the conference. They won all three games they played against the Bobcats. …

On the contrary, the Cavaliers and Bulls both lost to the Bobcats twice...The Mavericks swept the Bobcats.

The nickname "Buster of the Eastern Gangster" was given to Mr. Joe by fans.

Liu Mang's dinner with Tracy McGrady, Iverson, and Anthony was quite quiet. Almost no one spoke during the entire lunch time.

As the saying goes, the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, and this is the case with Liu Mang, Iverson, and Anthony.

He had a good conversation with James, Wade, and Liu Mang, and he and Gasol and Liu Mang cared about each other, and Reed also had a sympathetic rivalry, and the little blacksmith...

But with Iverson and Anthony, Liu Mang can only say that his relationship is okay. Liu Mang admires Iverson's strength, and Iverson also recognizes the strength of this best point guard today. Liu Mang is more curious about Anthony. , and Anthony... Liu Mang has never been able to figure it out, and he can't figure out what this guy's thinking is like.

How did this guy let himself drift away from the other four brothers of the 03 generation?

…

After having lunch with the Nuggets, Liu Mang went home and took a rest. It was almost time and went to pick up Little Loli from her school and take her to the gym with her bodyguard.

By 7 p.m., it was time for the final meeting of the season between the Eagles and Bobcats.

Although the Hawks only sent out the starting lineup of Rondo, Liu Mang, Granger, David Lee, and Gortat, they still dominated the Bobcats throughout the game.

The Bobcats entered the NBA and participated in three drafts. Three times... they selected the wrong person all three times.

The draft was fine at the time, people's expectations were actually very high, and these people were the more promising ones at the time.

But people don’t care what it was like back then. Anyway, now Okafor is not as good as Josh Smith and Al Jefferson, Felton is not as good as Paul, Deron, and even not as good as the Trail Blazers who defeated the starting point guard. Jarrett Jack, who took the starting point guard position after three injuries in two years, looked outstanding.

Adam Morrison this season...

The guy who is modeled after Larry Bird is the same as the guy who is modeled after Nowitzki, averaging 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game, which is not too bad, but with such a high pick, it is almost as good as water.

The main reason is that Morrison's performance in the NBA is far different from that in college. In college, Morrison was a Larry Bird-level dominant player with a shooting percentage of 50+43+92. He is a member of the 180th club and entered the NBA with a shooting percentage of 50+43+92. Only 37%, the three-point shooting rate is only 33%...

Knowing shame and then being brave refers to Rondo in the recent period. After the team finished playing the Lakers and began to take a break, his playing time began to increase. Facing the former North Carolina four-year-old Felton, Rondo won the championship of his career. For his first triple-double, he played 44 minutes and scored 10 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists and 4 steals. Mr. Joe, who was far away in Charlotte, was about to vomit blood. Felton only scored 12 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds. He was defeated by Rondo, a rookie.

Rondo is in good form, so naturally he needs to play more. Liu Mang played 33 minutes and scored 30 points and 11 rebounds.

The ones who benefited most from Rondo's passing were Granger, the corner shooter, and Swift, the pie-eating expert on the bench.

Although they had a rest, they won quite easily. The Eagles defeated the Bobcats 115-104 and won three consecutive games.

…

"La Jian Beibi, come here, uncle will reward you with a donut..."

Under Liu Mang's "coercion", Rondo bit the donut helplessly and made a V sign to the camera.

Rondo scored his first career triple-double, reflecting his progress in the last ten games.

Before and after the All-Star weekend, the Hawks played two games against the Bulls and Lakers. Rondo played very poorly, which deeply hurt his self-esteem. He knew his shame and then became brave. He studied hard and took advantage of the team's rest. Opportunity, I worked hard to show my progress in more than half a season, and finally succeeded in getting my first triple-double.

Of course we should celebrate this kind of thing!

So after the game, Liu Mang went to the dessert shop in the arena and bought a donut as a "reward" for Rondo.

Every time he encounters this situation, Rondo deeply regrets his good statistics. He scores in double figures for the first time, a career-high 20 points in a single game, assists in double figures for the first time, rebounds in double figures for the first time, and A double-double of rebounds and assists... Rondo would be teased by Liu Mang and Jason Terry every time...

The Eagles had a lively time after the game, but the Nuggets had a heavy heart.

When the Eagles played the Bobcats, the four core players of Jason Terry, Tracy McGrady, Marion, and Kwame Brown did not play, but they still won the game easily. Liu Mang only played three quarters.

With so many main players taking turns, they must be going to them!

…

After beating the Bobcats, the next day came the day when the Hawks and Nuggets met for the second time this season. Obviously, it was another focus battle.

Can the Nuggets still have the home-court advantage over the Suns or Jazz while locking in the fourth place in the West?

This is the most interesting thing in the West at this stage.

The Mavericks have 54 wins and 11 losses, and their regular season status is explosive. Although their status has declined after the All-Stars, with only eight wins and two losses in the last ten games, the accumulated advantages in the past are too great, and it is difficult to shake the first place in the league.

The Lakers are 50 wins and 14 losses, and they are also firmly ranked second. There are two teams in the East and West that have won 50 games, and the Lakers and Mavericks are in the West.

The Spurs have 46 wins and 19 losses, which is the same as the Hawks' record, and they are firmly ranked third in the West.

The Nuggets with 41 wins and 24 losses, the Jazz with 40 wins and 25 losses, and the Suns with 40 wins and 26 losses are fiercely competing for the fourth home-court advantage in the first round in the West. The Supersonics... After losing Ray Allen, their performance has taken a sharp turn for the worse during this period, and they have fallen out of the playoffs. The battle for the eighth place in the West is very hot, and the Warriors, Rockets, and Clippers are fighting for this position.

Currently, the Warriors, whose strength has greatly increased after acquiring Stephen Jackson, have the upper hand.

Although the Nuggets are the top team in the Northwest Division and the fourth place in the West is unshakable, when entering the playoffs, if the fifth team in the West has a better record than them, the fifth team in the West will still have the home advantage.

In the East, the Cavaliers are ranked first in the East with 51 wins and 15 losses, the Bulls are ranked second with 50 wins and 16 losses, the Hawks are ranked third with 46 wins and 19 losses, and the Raptors are ranked fourth with 39 wins and 25 losses.

The Magic are temporarily ranked fifth, the Pistons are sixth, the Nets are seventh, and the Wizards are eighth.

There are basically 16 to 18 games left in the regular season for all major teams. The competition for the playoff rankings in the lower half of the East and West has entered a white-hot stage, and it is likely that the rankings will change several times in one day.

However, the playoff teams have excellent records, especially the three teams in the East and West that have the chance to win 60 games, which makes the records of the teams with poor records look really bad...

There are three teams in the East and West that have only won a dozen games so far. The West is relatively good, with a winning rate of less than 50% starting from the tenth place. Since the sixth place in the East, there has been no team with a winning rate of more than 50%, and the Pistons just have 33 wins and 32 losses.

...

The two guns were not disappointed. On the evening of March 15, the Hawks played the Nuggets in the second back-to-back game. The four stars who rested yesterday all entered the activation list today.

After the warm-up, after entering the court, Iverson saw the starting list of the Hawks and knew it was like that.

The Hawks sent out Rondo, Liu Mang, McGrady, Marion, and Kwame Brown as the starting lineup.

Rondo, the rookie, Iverson watched his game on the spot yesterday. Rondo fought hard to grab rebounds yesterday, grabbing more rebounds than points, and played an economical triple-double. It is hard to say that it has nothing to do with Iverson watching the game on the spot.

Rondo also grew up watching the 96 generation play.

Iverson was surprised by Rondo's performance. He seemed to see the controversial Jason Kidd in his college days.

Without good teammates, Jason Kidd could not reflect the value of his data. The same is true for Rondo. Without Liu Mang's containment defense, Swift, a physical inside player who is good at empty cuts and eating cakes, and Granger's stable wing three-pointers in the last game, how will Rondo perform? It's hard to say.

The Mavericks selected Kidd with the second pick, and the Hawks selected a genius who seemed to have that kind of development momentum in the middle and late stages of the first round. He was selected in a super draft year. Iverson was in a very complicated mood.

On the Nuggets side, Iverson, JR Smith, Anthony, Nene, and Camby's starting lineup appeared.

Every time he played against Iverson, Liu Mang was very excited. Recently, the Hawks players were in pretty good shape. In the past ten games, they had 7 wins and 3 losses. Although they didn’t have the 8 wins and 2 losses like the Mavericks, their fans still “disdained” such a good record, but this was the performance of the Hawks during the rest period.

The record was not as good as the 8 wins and 2 losses of the Mavericks, Cavaliers, and Bulls in recent times, so the Hawks’ wins and losses did not attract much attention.

The Hawks attracted attention almost all because of Liu Mang, but this does not represent the Hawks’ state. On the contrary… the Hawks have been in excellent shape recently!

The Hawks are in good shape, not because of how explosive their performance is. If the 7 wins and 3 losses were won by Liu Mang or a player’s data explosion, then it would not be considered a good shape.

In the case of rest, McGrady has only played 6 games in the past 10 games, Jason Terry has only played 7 games in the past 10 games, Kwame Brown has only played 4 games in the past 10 games, and Marion has rested for 5 consecutive games. The Hawks still have a record of 7 wins and 3 losses. The players who returned after the rest can still maintain a stable performance, which is in excellent condition for the Hawks.

In mid-to-late January, Liu Mang's rampage scoring helped the team start a wave of 10 consecutive wins. Initially, it was because his teammates were extremely unstable in the middle of the season. It is possible that they just scored 30 points in the last game, and in the second game, they only scored two or three out of a dozen shots and could only get ten points.

The rest of the All-Star Weekend and the subsequent rest allowed the Hawks to recover their physical strength that was on the verge of collapse before the All-Star Weekend.

The Hawks played with all their main players, and they are in good shape recently. The players can also maintain a stable performance after resting. For the Nuggets, who are only in the second echelon of the Western Conference, it is obviously a disaster...

The Hawks played steadily today, and the Nuggets did not have an explosive performance. They played steadily, and the result of the game was obvious.

The Hawks established a 5-point lead in the first quarter, leading the Nuggets 31 to 26.

There is more than a month before the playoffs. After the Hawks began to rest, they gradually adjusted to the playoffs. Rondo also entered a better state after a short "rookie wall". The state of role players has also improved significantly compared to the first game against the Nuggets this season. After the Hawks took the lead in the first quarter, the rotation lineup also had a psychological advantage, gradually widening the score difference to double digits.

At the end of the half, the Hawks had led the Nuggets by 11 points with 59 to 48.

The Nuggets made a counterattack in the second half, but the Hawks sent Liu Mang, Jason Terry, and McGrady for a long time in the second half to counter the firepower of the trio of Iverson, JR Smith, and Anthony.

In the end, with Liu Mang playing 41 minutes and shooting 14 of 33, including 6 of 13 three-pointers, he scored 41 points. McGrady played 31 minutes and scored 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Jason Terry played 29 minutes and scored 17 points. Rondo scored 3 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Kwame Brown and Marion grabbed 31 rebounds together. The Hawks defeated the Nuggets 113 to 106.

…

After defeating the Nuggets, the Hawks won four consecutive games.

After the game with the Nuggets, Liu Mang had scored 40+ twice after the All-Star Weekend, raising the number of 40+ games this season to 19 times.

Liu Mang once again sparked discussions about his scoring ability.

There are 15 games left, and fans and the media believe that Liu Mang can get at least 20 40+ games in a single season again.

Among the active players, the only players who have scored 20 40+ games in a single season are Liu Mang and Kobe.

Among the stars who have scored at least 20 40+ points in a single season, only Wilt Chamberlain and Jordan have never done it.

And Liu Mang... unknowingly, will achieve this achievement.

On March 16, the day after the Hawks played against the Nuggets, Liu Mang and the team went to the Rose City to start a series of home and away games with games every other day.

The first stop was the Trail Blazers, who had the strongest No. 6 pick, the starting point guard killer, Z-Bo, and the No. 2 pick in the mid-range shooting.

Before playing against the Trail Blazers at home, McGrady was very interested in Roy. In that game, McGrady made six consecutive three-pointers, which made Roy, who was defending him, doubt his life, just like James who was hit by eight consecutive three-pointers that year...

The Trail Blazers are now cleaning up the group of people in the "Portland Prison" of that year. Before the trade deadline, the Trail Blazers were the team that made the most trades, while the two teams that were roaring loudly, the Supersonics and the Nets, did not make any moves.

Now the Blazers are completely new, only the star player Zach Randolph and the sixth player Travis Outlaw are missing.

After their old teammates were cleared out, these two also became honest after the All-Star Weekend. Although they are still far from the playoffs, their recent performance is not inferior to some playoff teams.

The main reason is that the Blazers are really tough!

Randolph, Roy, Jack, plus Magloire and Webster who were acquired before the trade deadline are all very tough players.

And they are very strong inside!

The inside combination of Randolph and Magloire has fierce shooting ability and fierce rebounding. The second pick Radmarcus Aldridge is the first substitute in the inside and is also a power forward with excellent shooting ability.

The Hawks dare not be careless in this game. Some commentators also said that the Blazers, who have performed well recently, have a certain hope of defeating strong teams.

However, the media did not seem to have much interest in the game itself...

On the afternoon of the 16th, Liu Mang took a break in the hotel and went to the Rose Garden Arena to prepare for training. The playoffs were coming, and Liu Mang's training volume became larger. He tried his best to improve the aspects that could be improved through training. When he took the team's chartered plane to Portland in the morning, he had already made an appointment with the Trail Blazers to borrow the arena.

Just arrived at the arena and got off the taxi, I don't know which staff of the Trail Blazers released the news, and a group of reporters surrounded Liu Mang.

"Ace, you are about to get 40+ 20 times in a single season again. Is this helped by your basketball philosophy "Snake Studies"? "

Liu Mang thought he was going to ask a question about the Trail Blazers' two high-ranking stars this year, and he had prepared an official answer, but he didn't expect it to be this question.

Liu Mang now loses his appetite when he hears this word...

Liu Mang was annoyed: "No, I will get 40+ 20 times again, which is very much like love."

"Like love? Why? What does this have to do with love?" The reporter asked curiously.

"It doesn't matter much, I just like to force two things that have nothing to do with each other together."

"..."