Chapter 621 The 2018~2019 Season Ends
The All-Star curtain has come down, and while fans are discussing the All-Star Game, they are also looking forward to the upcoming playoffs.
But before that, another detail worth paying attention to is this year's buyout deadline.
There are many high-quality players who may reach buyouts with their parent teams this year, such as George Hill of the Cavaliers, Pau Gasol of the Spurs, Ryan Anderson of the Suns, and even Howard, who is currently playing for the Wizards. .
The reason why they are still high-quality players is because they still have the strength, but they just cannot match the existing contracts.
Take the distance between Gasol and Gasol. No one wants a Gasol worth nearly 20 million, but a Gasol worth 2 million is still worth a try.
Of course, this kind of buyout of players occurs every year. The reason why there are so many this year is related to the chaos of this season.
In the big battle season, many teams have a window to win the championship. This is a good opportunity for these high-quality players to choose their teams and increase their worth.
It is worth noting that because the Nets sent two players in the previous Joe Harris trade, there is still one vacant spot on the team's roster, and they are also potential buyers in the buyout market.
Time flies to March 1. Before this day, several previously rumored players have successively reached buyouts with their home teams.
It was at this time that the Bucks and Nets took action one after another.
The Bucks successfully acquired George Hill, while the Nets chose to sign Pau Gasol.
This is a great addition to both teams.
The Bucks' defenders are relatively weak. They only have Bledsoe, who is immersed in rushing, and Brogdon, who is still young.
The addition of Hill can increase the team's space on the court and bring organization and experience.
This can even be called a timely help.
The Nets are the icing on the cake.
After Lu's tactical adjustments worked, the Nets' rotation has stabilized.
Anunoby got more opportunities after Johnson was traded, and he also showed greater strength in the increased playing time.
However, for a second-year player, experience is always something he lacks, and the Nets signed Gasol for this purpose.
On the third day after the signing, Lin Ying met Gasol in the locker room.
Gasol's beard and sideburns have turned more than half white. These are the traces carved by time on the human body, and no one can escape them.
When Lin Ying saw Da Jia, he smiled and went up to give him a big hug.
Gasol also hugged Lin Ying tightly.
Unlike Kobe, the intersection between Lin Ying and Gasol is more of an "opponent" role.
When he was still playing in the Western Conference, he mainly played power forward. At that time, the Lakers were the strongest player in the Western Conference, and there were many scenes where the two faced off directly.
Not to mention that in the Olympics, battles between the Chinese team and the Spanish team are also common.
To use a metaphor, the original Gasol was a high mountain that appeared on the road in front of Lin Ying. It took Lin Ying a long time to climb over it.
Now at this stage of their careers, the two can still play on the same team. This feeling is very subtle.
Especially Lin Ying, who was teammates with Kobe last season and Gasol this season, this experience can be said to be quite amazing.
And what Gasol and Lin Ying said after they separated made this connection even closer.
"I told Kobe that I wanted to fight for a championship before retiring. Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Oakland all offered me olive branches, but Kobe said, if you really want to do that (win a championship), then go to Brooklyn, then It’s a place where you can realize your dreams.”
Lin Ying was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then smiled and hugged Gasol even more closely.
…
The addition of Gasol further improved the strength of the Nets, but this change did not allow Lin Ying to relax.
On the contrary, since the All-Star Game ended, he has increased the intensity of his training, and he also invited Gary Vitti over through Kobe Bryant.
After Kobe retired again, Vitti also retired again.
Without Kobe, he would never come out again.
The reason why Lin Ying invited Vitti was also very simple. He needed to ensure that he would not suffer from physical fatigue due to excessive training intensity.
The NBA's top trainers all have their own strengths. Grover is good at building physical functions, but his ability in this area is obviously not as good as Vitti's.
From this, we can see the change in Lin Ying's mentality.
After Durant made another playoff appointment with him, he was ready to go all out.
…
Time flies, and it’s already early April.
At this time, the competition for the playoffs, especially in the Eastern Conference, has become extremely fierce.
The top four teams are still the Hornets, Nets, Raptors and Bucks, but they all have less than 2 wins against each other.
In the final few games, any game can happen.
The most talked-about battle among them is the last confrontation of the season between the Nets and the Hornets.
This game may even directly determine who will be the final leader in the Eastern Conference.
It was in this game that fans saw a somewhat different Lin Ying.
It's not that Lin Ying's personal ability has become stronger, but his desire for the game.
He doesn't score on every possession, but you can feel his desire to win from every language in his body.
To give a very direct example, it's like Wiggins during the Timberwolves meeting James of the Cavaliers.
Or more intuitively: Jordan in the Flu Game.
Durant played well, and the Hornets' performance was not bad, but this time the Nets had the last laugh.
Lin Ying defended Durant before the end, and then faced Butler's various strong kills on the offensive end.
The result was that Durant was blocked, but Butler could not restrain Lin Ying.
After the final game, the Nets defeated the Hornets 116-110.
Lin Ying contributed 42 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
The data is mediocre, but fans who have watched the game will unconsciously have the idea that Lin Ying like this is the most terrifying.
This game tied the Nets' record with the Hornets' record.
However, the Hornets' subsequent games were very stable. Due to the relationship between wins and losses, the Hornets still ranked first in the Eastern Conference with the same record.
In this way, the Nets' record of ranking first in the Eastern Conference for three consecutive seasons has also been broken.
Is this Durant's season?
One thing after another proves that the probability of this possibility is growing.
Time has come to mid-April, the regular season of the 2018~2019 season has come to an end, and the rankings of the Eastern and Western Conferences have been released.
In the West, the Lakers top the list with 62 wins and the league's best record.
James averaged 25.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game.
His data is the worst in recent seasons, but it is not because he is not playing well, but because the Lakers have too many people who can play this season.
Even after Cousins comes back, he can often contribute 15+10 data.
What, why didn't the Lakers win 70 games?
Because there are too many strong teams this season.
The Warriors ranked second with 57 wins.
Curry's performance is still heroic. He averaged 27.6 points per game and shot 43.7% from three-point range.
Compared to James, Curry's data is still at a very high level.
The Timberwolves are third with 53 wins.
Harden still averages 34.1 points per game, because this season does not have the exaggerated 70+ wins record of the Nets before. This is also considered to be Harden's closest season to the MVP award.
The Pelicans are fourth with 50 wins.
Anthony struggled a bit when he arrived with the Pelicans, but Jaylen Brown continued his outstanding performance throughout the season.
As Pelicans fans said on social media, it's time to right Brown and let him, Holiday and George form the team's Big Three.
But for Pelicans fans, their best time will be this summer. Anthony's contract expires, and they still have the salary space to sign another superstar based on their current lineup.
The teams ranked fifth to eighth are: Jazz, Trail Blazers, Thunder, and Spurs.
The matchups in the first round of the Western Conference will be: Lakers VS Spurs (DeRozan will continue to encounter James in the playoffs after arriving in the Western Conference), Warriors VS Thunder, Timberwolves VS Trail Blazers, Pelicans VS Jazz.
In the East, the Hornets rank first in the East with 59 wins.
Durant averaged 32.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in his best season.
He is the favorite for MVP this season.
The Nets rank second in the Eastern Conference with 59 wins.
Although he failed to help the team continue to be first in the Eastern Conference, Lin Ying still played a very abnormal season.
He averaged 36.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
If he hadn't intentionally given the shooting rights to his teammates in the middle and late stages of the season, he would have basically broken Jordan's record of 37.1 points per game.
Moreover, Lin Ying's data has every chance of continuing to win the MVP title.
Even fans are teasing that it may be time to change the MVP to the LinK Cup.
The Raptors are third with 58 wins.
After the Raptors acquired Gasol, their overall strength and performance improved to a higher level, and they also widened the gap with the Bucks in the second half of the season.
Leonard played 60 games for the Raptors, averaging 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
The Raptors' summer gamble can only be described as another case of Qin Shihuang touching the wires and winning.
The Bucks are fourth with a record of 55 wins.
With the rise of the Bucks, Antetokounmpo has also begun to be targeted, and his poor shooting has been infinitely magnified.
These are not obvious in ordinary games, but in strong dialogues, they will directly determine the outcome of the game.
A very cruel statistic. When the Bucks played against teams with a better record than their own, the winning rate was less than 30%, and Scorpion was the only one to blame.
Therefore, the outside world's evaluation of this Bucks team, even if they add George Hill, is not optimistic about how far they will go in the playoffs.
Even because of the top four rankings, fans can already announce in advance that the Hornets will advance directly to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The only difference is whether their opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals is the Nets or the Raptors.
The fifth to eighth teams are: Celtics, 76ers, Pacers, Heat.
The first-round matchups in the East will be: Hornets VS Heat; Nets VS Pacers, Raptors VS 76ers, Bucks VS Celtics.
Before the official start of the playoffs, the league announced the first batch of awards of the season.
Lou Williams won the sixth man title for the second time, Siakam of the Raptors won the Most Improved Award, and the best head coach belonged to Borrego of the Hornets.
After this wave of awards, the playoffs officially kicked off.
Then in the first round, the Western Conference took the lead in getting upset.
The Timberwolves, who had improved their record, were unexpectedly eliminated by the Trail Blazers!
Harden's performance this time was pretty good, averaging close to 31.6 points per game and shooting 35% from three-point range.
But this time, it was Mr. Downstone who pulled the strings.
And after Rondo left, the Timberwolves gave people a really bad impression of the game.
It's a good fight when the wind is downwind, but once you get into a headwind it's almost impossible to come back.
In sharp contrast is the Trail Blazers. Once Lillard finds his touch, he can open up the score with a wave of tailwind and headwind, and then establish the victory.
In the words of fans, the Timberwolves encountered the opponent they least should have encountered this year.
However, except for this group of upsets, the remaining seven teams in the top half all passed smoothly.
The only group that has a harder time is the Raptors and 76ers.
The two teams reached the tiebreaker, and thanks to Leonard's steal of Harris, the Raptors were able to escape the danger.
This result also made the outside world more and more excited about the Texas Twins' encounter in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After all, in terms of the perception of the first-round game, the Nets, who easily defeated the Pacers, are obviously better than the Raptors, who struggled to get through.
After the first round, the conference semifinals matchups were announced.
Over in the West, Lakers VS Pelicans, Warriors VS Trail Blazers.
Fans here are very much looking forward to the matchup between the Warriors and Trail Blazers, or Curry VS Curry.
In the East, the Hornets VS Bucks, Nets VS Raptors.
The first round in the Eastern Conference can be roughly regarded as a process, but it is obvious that for most fans, the playoffs will not truly begin until they reach the conference semifinals.
…
In the Nets locker room, after a day of training, Lin Ying sat there chatting with Jokic.
Today the league just announced the second batch of awards for the season, Best Rookie, Best General Manager and Best Defensive Player.
This is what they were talking about.
There is no suspense about the best rookie Doncic. His performance of 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6 assists per game is already a quasi-All-Star level.
And in terms of game perception, his mature and steady style of play makes it hard to believe that he is still just a rookie.
He's really close to the next league card.
The best general manager award went to Kupchak of the Hornets.
It is worth mentioning that this is also the first time in Kupchak's career that he has been elected to this honor.
This sounds a bit incredible, because Kupchak is also the man who created the original "OK" and "Kesao" combination.
Of course, neither of these are surprising. What really made Lin Ying and Jokic talk about, and what surprised them both, was the selection of dpoy.
Jimmy Butler, the man who may be just one bald head away from winning the championship and who has always been despised by the media, was actually elected as DPOY!