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It is not unreasonable for external media to be unanimously optimistic about the Chicago Bulls defending their championship, despite the fact that the Bulls' record-breaking performance during the regular season is much more ordinary than in the past. However, they still hold the league's best record, and this season, Wang Chong paddled the waters, giving more opportunities to the newcomers and nurturing the Bulls' emerging strength for all to see.
In this regard, no one will blame Wang Chong; instead, they will commend his actions. This is what a great team, a great leader, must do.
Being good yourself is not enough; you also need to make your teammates better. After all, basketball is a team game, not boxing or tennis, where you can win just by being stronger.
Wang Chong did very well this season, despite losing the record that had lasted for eight years. Ultimately, the league's scoring title was won by Durant, who averaged 32.8 points per game. Wang Chong's 27 points per game placed him only fifth in the scoring rankings, below Carmelo Anthony (27.6 points), Kobe Bryant (27.2 points), and James (27.1 points).
However, Wang Chong's sacrifice of personal scoring was exchanged for five Bulls players who achieved double-doubles this season. Gasol Jr., Butler, and Thomas Jr. made great strides in their statistics.
When considering the strength of the entire team, there is essentially no other team in the league that can compete with the Bulls. The San Antonio Spurs, with their 60-win regular season and second-best league record, along with six players scoring in double digits, can be somewhat part of the conversation. However, the Spurs' style of play is too team-oriented, and the team's highest scorer is Tony Parker, who averages just 16.7 points per game. Even the Bulls' third scorer, Gasol Jr., averages 18 points per game.
Team basketball is good, but when the game reaches a standstill, you still need stars to step up and make the final decisions. It is truly difficult for the current Spurs to find such a player.
As for the Miami Heat, they played the Bulls four times in the regular season, with a 1-3 record. The only loss occurred because Wang Chong's daughter was sick, and Wang Chong did not travel to Miami with the team, missing the game.
In other words, the Heat's new Big Three still finds it difficult to win against the Bulls.
Although the Bulls currently do not have an interior advantage over the Heat, their outside advantage is still obvious. With Curry and Butler becoming stronger, and Wang Chong's defensive abilities against James improving, the exterior advantage is also expanding.
And when it comes to crucial moments, the Bulls often sacrifice shark-cutting tactics, which makes Howard, who is like Mr. Mighty inside, wilt instantly.
Combined with the fact that Wang Chong did not play seriously during the regular season, even if the Heat were to face the Bulls in the playoffs, they would generally not be favored by the outside world.
The eight teams in the East that have made it to the playoffs are the Chicago Bulls (63-19), Miami Heat (57-25), Boston Celtics (55-27), and Indiana Pacers (54-28).
The Pacers, who are fourth in the East, have seen their record in the Eastern Conference drop sharply, while the Toronto Raptors in fifth place have only a 44-38 record, a 10-game gap from the Pacers. The Washington Wizards also have a 44-38 record, while the New York Knicks are at 42-40, the Charlotte Bobcats at 40-42, and the Atlanta Hawks at 38-44.
The Knicks, who were on the verge of missing the playoffs at the All-Star break, began catching up to Rose after his return from injury at the end of the regular season. Ultimately, they overtook them and not only made it to the playoffs but also secured the sixth seed in the East, proving that the duo of Rose and Anthony should not be underestimated.
However, the sixth seed in the East is not an ideal position. While they can avoid the Bulls and Heat in the first round, they will face a strong opponent: the third-seeded Boston Celtics, with Durant, Rondo, and interior stars like Jefferson and Millsap.
Even with the strong duo of Rose and Anthony, they still have no chance against the Celtics, and there is a high probability that they will be eliminated by a large margin in the first round.
In fact, in the first round of the four matchups in the East, the upper half of the division has an absolute advantage. Even the Pacers and Raptors, ranked fourth and fifth in the East, have a clear strength disparity, and compared to the West, the outcome of the matchups is much simpler and clearer.
In the West, the eight playoff teams are the San Antonio Spurs (60-22), Los Angeles Clippers (57-25), Oklahoma City Thunder (54-28), Portland Trail Blazers (51-31), Dallas Mavericks (50-32), Los Angeles Lakers (48-34), Golden State Warriors (48-34), and Memphis Grizzlies (46-36).
There is a major statement regarding the Western Conference rankings.
It goes without saying that the Spurs at the top of the list have definitely been the best team in terms of strength, and there is nothing wrong with them holding the number one spot in the West.
The Clippers, who are second in the West with a 57-25 record, have exceeded everyone's expectations.
This season, Chris Paul's arrival has brought a qualitative leap in the Clippers' overall strength, and although the backcourt pairing of Paul and Harden seems a bit out of place, the actual result has been unexpected.
Harden has averaged 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists per game this season, playing quite efficiently, while the complement is Chris Paul, who averages 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game.
It seems that the partnership between the two, after their best anti-Golden State efforts in their final two seasons with the Rockets, has proven not to be in vain. Although it may seem hard to distribute the ball between two high-usage stars, these players are both very smart and can coexist peacefully without obvious conflicts.
The Clippers are not just the duo of Paul and Harden. Although the first pick Blake Griffin was replaced by Harden, the Clippers' original interior duo was another player: DeAndre Jordan, who is still on the team. Due to Griffin's absence, Jordan Jr.'s tactical role on the Clippers became more important. Even if he does not have independent offensive skills, his one-handed dunking under the basket remains perfect.
With Paul and Harden, two top-tier passers feeding him, Jordan Jr. has put up impressive numbers this season, averaging 16 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game during the regular season. Although he couldn't win the rebounding title for the 13-14 season, as Howard was not injured, his average of 16 points per game is a peak he has not reached even in his future career.
Paul, Harden, and a bit of Jordan—this configuration can be considered a "Big Three" for the Clippers. While the configuration is a bit lower, in the West, where stars have been increasingly diminishing, at least Billy Allen is aging, and the Triumvirate of Thunder is on the decline, making the Clippers stronger.
The Thunder have significantly weakened this season, starting with the problem of Aaron's age.
In the 13-14 season, Ray Allen, 38 years old, saw his competitive form severely decline, averaging only 9.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2 assists per game in the regular season. Though his shooting percentage and three-point shooting remained at 44% and 38%, respectively, his performance could only contribute to the team as a role player, and no longer as part of the Big Three.
As a result, the Thunder has become a two-core team.
Russell Westbrook, just like Rose, avoided an expected season-ending injury due to the butterfly effect, and his personal performance improved significantly, reaching an average of 25 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game. He already shows the potential for the future, where he could average a triple-double for three consecutive seasons.
Blake Griffin's 21 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game this season are still standing strong.
In fact, Griffin's career is at its peak—right at its prime.
Although his rookie season was cut short by injury, his official debut the following year was astounding, averaging 22+12 per game. This stunned fans and raised questions about his future development. However, in the following seasons, although Griffin has been able to average close to 20+10 stats, he has never been able to go further. With accumulated injuries and declining explosiveness, Griffin's rebounds per game have dropped year after year, and his average in this regard has only been seen in the first two seasons of his career.
Is Griffin incredible? Of course. Since entering the league, until his retirement announcement in 2024, Griffin could average 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists per game over his career. Had it not been for the latter part of his career, his career stats would likely have reached around 20 + 9 + 4, which would have certainly earned him a spot as a power forward.
But it's a shame that, as a 2009 champion, he had two historical superstars, Curry and Harden, in the same era, and it seems he is not as good as the champion.
The upper limit of strength is there, and no matter how well Griffin and Westbrook play, they will barely make a difference.
The rest of the Western teams faded away, finishing with a record of 48-34, and the Lakers, who entered the playoffs with the sixth-best record in the West, performed slightly above expectations.
In the original 13-14 season, with Kobe Bryant's season-ending injury and Howard leaving the Houston Rockets, the Lakers' F4 collapsed, and the entire team fell apart, finishing second to last in the West with 27 wins and 55 losses.
However, in this timeline, Kobe Bryant did not suffer a major injury, and Howard's departure brought a valuable asset to the Lakers: All-Star power forward Chris Bosh.
Despite the Lakers' early season struggles due to Kobe's high usage and inefficient offense, the Kobe + Bosh duo remains competitive in the West. With the two adjusting in the latter half of the schedule, Kobe Bryant reduced his shot attempts. Although his points per game decreased from 28 to 27, his shooting efficiency improved, and the Lakers' record also improved slightly, allowing them to secure the sixth seed in the West.
Although they successfully entered the playoffs, Lakers fans felt little joy or excitement, only slight sadness and melancholy.
The former champion has fallen to this point; what is there to be happy about?
Even if the Lakers make the playoffs this season, so what? Forget about the championship—will they even make it past the first round?
The biggest concern is that this season is already like this—what about next season?
Next year, Kobe Bryant will be 36 years old. How many more years can he maintain this form? If the Lakers want to return to championship contention, they need to make trades and reinforcements, but with the current state of the team, how can they strengthen it?
Andrew Bynum, signed last summer, has been cut due to his poor performance. The only player on the team with trade value is Chris Bosh, but who can the Lakers acquire in exchange for just Bosh?
There are many well-known free agents on the market this summer, including Wang Chong, James, Wade, and other famous 03 players. However, with the Lakers' current salary cap situation, unless they don't renew Bosh's contract, they won't be able to offer maximum salary contracts to other top stars.
The question is, if even Bosh is waived, what appeal do the Lakers have to attract other stars?
There is no hope, and the future of the current Lakers looks bleak, with no chance of a rebirth.
Some bolder fans have proposed the idea of trading Kobe Bryant to free up enough salary cap space to rebuild the team, but they were immediately shot down by the Committee.
Are you out of your mind? Trade Kobe? He is the totem of the Lakers—the flag! Even if his contract, worth up to 30 million, takes up most of the Lakers' salary cap space, which is the primary reason the Lakers can't attract other stars with large contracts, it is absolutely impossible to trade Kobe Bryant.
In short, the current situation of the Lakers is basically unsolvable, unless a star suddenly has a kind heart and is willing to come to the Lakers for charity. But even then, they would only become a Western powerhouse at best, and it would still be difficult to compete for the championship.
At the end of April, the first round of the playoffs officially began.
In the East, as everyone expected, the top four teams easily swept the bottom half.
The Chicago Bulls swept the Atlanta Hawks 4-0, the Miami Heat swept the Charlotte Bobcats 4-0, the Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 4-1, and the Indiana Pacers eliminated the Toronto Raptors 4-2.
As a result, the list of second-round matchups on the East side is now set, and it's exactly the same as last season: Bulls vs Pacers, Heat vs Celtics.
With the same script, the outcome is likely the same. Even with George on the Pacers, they are still no match for the Bulls, and the Celtics led by Durant will likely struggle to withstand the fierce offense of the Heat's new Big Three.
There is a high probability that the Eastern Conference Finals will still be a showdown between the Bulls and Heat.
The situation in the West was much more chaotic, with the Spurs easily eliminating the Memphis Grizzlies 4-1 and the Clippers defeating the Warriors without much effort, as the Warriors were weakened due to Wang Chong.
The Grizzlies were without their interior pillar Gasol Jr. and also recruited parallel number 1 Oden, taking years to make the playoffs only once.
The Warriors were even worse off, as they had three players—Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green—who had already been hunted down by Wang Chong.
End of this chapter
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