I'm really good at shooting.

Chapter 451 The end of the regular season, the first round of the Lake Horse fight (6K update! Ask for a monthly ticket!)

Of course, Sun Hao also knew the source of Finley's silence.

From the start to the bench, and then to the sharp drop in playing time, he only played 15 minutes against the Bucks tonight.

Even if Finley is one of those rare good guys, that kind of treatment is a little too much for a player earning a near-max salary.

Sun Hao went over to comfort him for a while, but it didn't work very well.

Finley is also a veteran, and he is very aware of what he is going through.

After chatting for a few words, Sun Hao hesitated for a while, got up and walked to Jackson's office.

If it were any other player, he would have done what his team leader should do if he comforted him.

But Finley is a special case.

Finley has been with him since his first day in the league and took care of him during his rookie season in Dallas.

If I had to draw an analogy, Finley is to him what Fisher is to Kobe, James Jones is to James.

And although Finley's state has declined, it doesn't mean that he can't play for 20 minutes in a game.

You must know that even if Finley was waived by the Mavericks in history, he could still start after going to the Spurs, averaging about 25 points in 10 minutes per game.

In other words, Finley still has the strength to start the championship team.

In this situation, he has to do something.

"Mitch has already communicated with me. The team will not punish him again, and I will not deny him a chance because of this matter. You can rest assured."

Seeing Sun Hao coming, Jackson thought he was here because of Zhu Fangyu, and said with a smile.

"Thank you."

Sun Hao thanked him, Jackson was very caring about Zhu Fangyu.

"I have one more thing."

Sun Hao said after sitting down.

Jackson motioned to him.

"I know that as a player, you shouldn't interfere with the coaching staff, but I still want to ask about Michael's situation."

"I know you're going to ask this sooner or later."

Jackson spoke, with a look on his face that you finally asked.

Obviously, everyone knows that Sun Hao and Finley have been teammates for so many years, and Jackson also knows Sun Hao's character.

"So what's the problem? Michael hasn't been so bad this season that he can't play 20 minutes."

Speaking of which, Sun Hao didn't worry about it anymore.

This kind of thing is very sensitive, or you don't say it, or you have to say it thoroughly.

"I know that Michael still has the strength to play as a starter, or he should get about 30 minutes as a substitute. I know he has that ability."

What Jackson said next was beyond Sun Hao's expectation.

Because it sounds very contradictory.

"Is it to give other players a chance to perform?"

Sun Hao then asked.

"That's one reason, another reason..."

Jackson paused when he said this.

"Michael is no longer in the team's future plans."

He then said a little helplessly.

Sun Hao was silent for a long time.

Finley is old and has a big contract, and the "Gary Payton Clause" was introduced last year. Trading Finley out and letting other teams cut him and sign him back can no longer be exploited.

If the Lakers want to win more championships, it is inevitable to deal with Finley.

Like those rumors, Finley has long been on the shelf for the Lakers, just can't find a suitable buyer.

"Is that what management means?"

Sun Hao asked, Finley's situation is different from Zhu Fangyu's, Jackson can't make the decision alone.

Jackson nodded.

"I understand."

Sun Hao got up and left the office.

Back in Los Angeles the next day, Sun Hao went to Kupchak's house.

After chatting for a while, Sun Hao asked about Finley.

"My question, I should have said hello to you in advance."

Kupchak said apologetically.

Don't misunderstand the relationship between the general manager and the superstar. The relationship between them is not a subordinate-subordinate relationship of employment, nor is it the nanny and assistant of the protagonist as written in many novels.

It is normal for those who trade teammates who are partners with superstars without notifying the superstars.

The most typical case is that the Nuggets sent away Marcus Camby in history.

Anthony and Camby had been teammates for five years, and they had a very good relationship in private, but the management sent Camby away without notifying Anthony.

Anthony angrily questioned the management in front of the media, but in the end he was helpless.

At this time, Kupchak said this because of Sun Hao's status in the Lakers, and he said it very politely.

"I know the management has their own considerations, but I don't think it's fair to Michael."

Sun Hao said.

Finley's contract is already relatively large. If there is no data, if the trade cannot be made, his career may end earlier than in history.

"I know Michael's ability, he's a good player, but we have to think about the playoffs and the future."

Kupchak spoke back.

This may sound extreme, but it has its special deadline-day attempt to let the Lakers management know that the only way to get rid of Finley's contract is to post the draft pick.

In other words, the management no longer expects Finley to return useful players as before.

So the current approach of the Lakers can be understood.

They want to find someone who can replace Finley as soon as possible.

This season the team has no regular season record pressure, and the second half of the season is a good time.

As long as Williams or Zhu Fangyu can play one, or if Payton, Christie and Horry can play better through more playing time, it will be considered effective.

As for the issue of fairness that Sun Hao mentioned, there is no such thing as fairness or unfairness in the NBA.

"I don't think so. Now the team can't trade Michael anymore, and his ability is here. Why should we look far away?"

Sun Hao asked back.

What Kupchak said has some truths, but he actively seeks changes, and he also said that if the changes are not good, he will die.

Although both Williams and Zhu Fangyu have played some performances now, neither of them is the kind of rookie with sufficient immediate combat power.

Payton and Horry are also getting older. If they can't perform more by then, it will be him and O'Neal who are tired.

Taking a step back, even if Finley really had to be dealt with, wouldn't it be nice to deal with him in the summer after this year's fight?

"We're always going to lose him."

Kupchak knew what Sun Hao meant, but he didn't just think about this year.

"Isn't our priority going to be able to defend the title this year? If the title defense fails, it may not just be Michael who leaves."

Sun Hao glanced at Kupchak after saying this.

Puchak broke out in a cold sweat unconsciously.

This can be understood in many ways: if the Lakers fail to defend their title, the role players will be cleaned up;

Or it can also be understood as... He Kupchak may also leave.

This is not alarmist talk, Sun Hao, O'Neill, including Phil Jackson are unlikely to move.

If the fans are still not satisfied by trading a few role players by then, he, the general manager, will have to be blamed.

"You reminded me right."

Kupchak continued.

This time it had nothing to do with Sun Hao's "Emperor's Wrath" badge, but that he was indeed persuaded by Sun Hao.

"But the team will try their best to trade Michael in the summer, which is also a good thing for Michael."

Kupchak continued.

Sun Hao nodded.

The aging of the Lakers is inevitable, reinforcement is the only way to maintain competitiveness, and Finley also wants to go to a team with more opportunities.

Not all deals are bad for players.

"I do have a good suggestion."

Sun Hao has already helped Finley think of a next home in his mind, and only he knows that such a deal is a good thing for the Lakers.

"What advice?"

Kupchak looked at Sun Hao happily.

He said that Xia Tian will trade Finley away, but he still has no idea of ​​a sure deal.

The current market is that Finley's contract will be one year short next year, but the Lakers will most likely have to pay for the first round if they want to trade.

"Let's talk about it in summer. It's useless to talk about it before that time."

Sun Hao didn't mean to be secretive, but there is no impenetrable wall in the world, and he didn't want any rumors about the deal related to Finley to flow out at this time.

"Okay, I will definitely ask you when the time comes."

Kupchak made an appointment in advance.

After chatting for a while, Sun Hao got up and said goodbye to Kupchak.

"You are a good friend."

Sending Sun Hao to the door, Kupchak said suddenly.

As mentioned earlier, GMs trade players without notifying the team's superstars.

But if you want to say that the superstar has not heard a little news, that is impossible.

But few superstars will take the initiative to go to the management and say "I don't want the team to trade him" or something like that.

Because this issue is very sensitive, the big label of "interfering with the management" is easily withdrawn.

In history, James was blacked out by fans because of this.

But Sun Hao has also done it for Finley now.

……

Two days after beating the Bucks, the Lakers took on the Pistons at home.

Although the Pistons' record so far is not as good as the Wizards, but their strength is there, and they are still the favorite team for the championship.

The game was very intense, until the last moment.

Sun Hao double-teamed Finley in the final corner, and Finley beat the Pistons with a three-pointer at the buzzer!

After scoring the goal, Finley let out a rare roar.

This is his emotional catharsis for a while.

Still, that's a picture of who he is tonight.

Although he did not serve as the team's starter, Jackson gave Finley a full 32 minutes of playing time, more than the starter Payton.

Finley also made 11 of 7 shots, 20 points and 5 rebounds, including the final game-winning shot.

Sun Hao also went up to celebrate with a chest bump with this old teammate after Finley's lore.

He fought for the opportunity for Finley. If Finley can grasp it, then what he said to Kupchak is not empty words.

In fact, Kupchak was also at the game, and he also smiled happily after seeing Finley's lore.

He was even a little lucky that Sun Hao would come to him, otherwise he might be "digging his own grave".

Payton and Sun Hao played the starters, and Finley played as a substitute. The playing time was similar to that of the previous main players. This became the Lakers' final backcourt rotation.

Facts have also proved that Christie's state has declined significantly this season, and this rotation is more suitable for the current Lakers.

……

Time flies, and the regular season ends in a blink of an eye.

After a season of contention, the East and West rankings are finally determined.

The Wizards have become the most amazing team this season, they achieved the league's best record of 64 wins and 18 losses.

This record also broke the team's best regular season record of 1974 wins in 1975~60.

It is worth mentioning that under the guidance of Carlisle, Yao Ming reached the peak of his career, averaging 25.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2 blocks per game, becoming a popular candidate for MVP.

The Pistons are close behind with a 62-20 record.

Anthony also averaged 24.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in the third year of his career, and his shooting percentage also increased significantly to 48.1%.

Although the statistics are not as strong as James's, Anthony's MVP ranking is not lower than James'.

These two teams can be regarded as truly outstanding in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets ranked first in the Atlantic Division with a record of 49 wins and 32 losses, and ranked third in the Eastern Division according to the rules.

The Magic's record is 53 wins and 29 losses, which is worse than the Nets, but because the record is not as good as the Wizards, they can only rank fourth.

The Heat rank fifth with 50 wins and 32 losses.

The records of the remaining three teams have come up to dive.

The Bucks ranked sixth with 43 wins and 39 losses.

The Celtics ranked seventh with 42 wins and 40 losses.

The Bulls ranked eighth with 41 wins and 41 losses.

The Pacers (40 wins) and 76ers (39 losses) are out.

What is embarrassing is that Iverson averaged 33 points per game, and his career-high score finally turned into a sigh from the fans.

Some fans even shouted "Philadelphia doesn't deserve to have the answer anymore", and there was a feeling that the mountains and rains were about to come.

The matchup in the East will also be determined.

Wizards beat the bull;

This matchup is very interesting, because Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, two Chinese players, directly staged a derby match in the playoffs.

For this round of matchup, the good news for the Bulls is that as the core of the team, Yi Jianlian has already played in the playoffs two years ago and has experience in the playoffs.

The bad news is...the rest is bad news.

Pistons beat Celtics;

Facts have proved that the previous strength of the Celtics has a lot to do with Carlisle, and Pierce is indeed much worse than Kobe.

You must know that Kobe and Gasol were the favorites to win the championship when they were on the same team in history.

Although it has something to do with Odom and Bynum, the Celtics' other role players are not too bad.

As a result, the Celtics are now barely in the playoffs...

If nothing else, the team will make big moves next summer.

You must know that the general manager of the "Celtics" is no longer the "Cardinal", but Danny Ainge, who is known as cold-blooded.

The Nets beat the Bucks;

The Nets beat the Magic and the Heat to rank third because of the division's relationship, but they have a great chance of winning against the Bucks.

Of course, there are people on the Bucks who don't think so, and the one who doesn't think so is Bogut.

"It's the best playoff ranking for us."

Bogut is confident.

The reason is also very simple. The Nets are ranked in the upper half of the division by taking advantage of the division and are the team most likely to overturn.

magic hits the heat;

This should be the most suspenseful matchup in theory.

What makes this suspense even bigger is that before the end of the season, Grant Hill caught the Magic off guard.

Suddenly missing such an important outside scoring point, the difficulties the Magic will encounter can also be imagined.

But the possible good news for Howard is that he has a high probability of not having to play against Yao Ming in the playoffs...

In the West, the Mavericks ranked first in the West with a record of 62 wins.

Kobe Bryant handed over 30.6 points this season, which also set a new career high.

But correspondingly, Nowitzki averaged 21.8 points per game, the lowest in recent years.

The Suns ranked second in the Western Conference with 61 wins and 21 losses.

It is worth mentioning that this year in history, the "Small Overlord" Stoudemire was reimbursed for the season, and the Suns' record declined significantly.

But because of the butterfly effect, Stoudemire was not injured, and the Suns' regular season performance was still very strong.

The Nuggets are third with a 49-33 record.

Like the Nets in the East, the Nuggets are also benefited from the rules.

However, James averaged 31.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game and performed very strongly. James is also one of the MVP candidates.

The Lakers rank fourth in the West with a record of 59 wins and 23 losses.

The Lakers experienced a major injury to O'Neal at the beginning of the season, and experienced the Finley turmoil in the second half of the season, and in the last few games, Phil Jackson vigorously adjusted the lineup. Sun Hao and O'Neal did not play many games, so they can achieve this record. Many things have been explained.

And what the record can't reflect, the Lakers have basically run in completely.

The level of this Lakers team will naturally become clear in the playoffs.

Sun Hao's data declined slightly in the second half of the season, but he still handed in the most beautiful data of his career.

He averaged 33.3 points per game, ranking first in the league, in addition to 3.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists.

Although the Lakers will suffer some losses in terms of record, this data is still a popular candidate for MVP.

The Spurs ranked fifth in the West with 58 wins, and stability has always been synonymous with the Spurs during this period.

The Clippers are sixth with a record of 48 wins.

Many people don't know much about the Clippers during this period, but this is also because of the relationship with the Lakers in the same city.

In this season in history, Kobe scored 35.4 points in this season. It is expected that the Clippers will pay less attention.

But take a look at the composition of this team, and you won't be surprised at what they've achieved.

Brand, Maggette, Cassell, Mobley, Kaman, Radmanovich, Livingston... plus Bynum they have selected now.

This is an absolute young talent team.

In history, Kobe once lost his temper in the summer of 2007, and the designated next home besides the Bulls was the Clippers.

From this list, you can understand why Kobe did that.

The Kings are seventh with a 44-38 record.

Although this is since the 1998~1999 season, Adelman has brought the Kings into the playoffs for the 7th consecutive year.

But everyone knows that this is basically the last season of Adelman and his Princeton Kings.

With a record of 42 wins and 40 losses, the Warriors beat the 41-win Jazz to enter the playoffs.

First-round matchups in the West:

The Lone Ranger fights the Warriors;

In the eyes of most fans, this is a matchup without any suspense.

However, in Sun Hao's eyes, this is the round of the series that he pays most attention to besides the Lakers' own game.

Not because the winners of these two teams will be their opponents in the next round, but because this year is so similar to the black eight in history!

The Warriors can even be said to be the "Golden State Gang"!

Of course, the Mavericks have Kobe, which is the biggest difference from the Mavericks, and no one knows what the result will be.

the sun beats the king;

If nothing else, the Suns will be the last straw that crushes this Kings team.

Compared with last season, the Suns can be regarded as the upper lottery, because after defeating the Kings, their opponent in the next round will be the winner between the Nuggets and the Clippers. No matter who they are, their chances of entering the Western Conference Finals Both are very large.

The Nuggets beat the Clippers;

James has home court advantage for the first time in his career, but it is also thanks to the rules.

The strength of this Clippers team is definitely not weak. In history, they also played the Nuggets this year, and the Nuggets led by Anthony.

The final big score was 4-1, and the Clippers won easily.

Even in the second round, they lost after seven bloody battles with the Suns.

The first round where James seems to have a greater chance is more difficult than expected.

Lakers play Spurs;

Comparing last season with this season, we can see that under the existing rules, as long as the four strong teams in the West do not reach the first place in the division, then they will be greeted with a devilish playoff trip.

Last year, the Suns were the team that got the signing, and this year it's the Lakers' turn.

Playing the old rival Spurs in the first round, even if they win, there is a high probability that they will play against the Mavericks. After the game, they have to play the Suns, and then they have to play the Pistons or Wizards in the finals.

If they can get out of the West and win the championship, the gold content will be a whole level higher than last season.

(End of this chapter)