NBA restricted area bulldozer

Chapter 312 The playoffs are coming

The regular season of this season has come to an end, and the league has entered the annual honor harvest season.

The top five data kings rely on data to speak, and this point is tightly locked, and no one can turn it around, and poor Malone almost had the heart to kill O'Neill in the next few days.

As for other things such as the MVP of the regular season, one team one defense, the best rookie, the best sixth man, etc. will be announced during the playoffs. Members voted with great uncertainty.

Malone lost the scoring champion, so naturally he wants to fight for the MVP, but this competition will be much more difficult than the scoring champion, because there are really many competitors, including Jordan, Olajuwon, Robinson, and even O'Neal. Let's fight, after all, the Magic's Eastern Conference rankings have jumped a lot this season.

However, if you really want to talk about the most likely item, the answer given by Ma Long is Li Shengli.

You must know the changes in the Jazz after Li Shengli joined, even the blind can see it. It was a strong team before, but it was only in the middle of the West. First, the leap in strength is more terrifying than the Magic, because the Magic only reached the middle of the East from the edge of the East, but the Jazz reached the peak from the middle.

However, these things are no longer for the players to decide. All eyes are on the upcoming playoffs this season, and the Jazz’s playoff schedule has also been released. The first round is against the Denver Nuggets, the eighth in the West. .

The time against the Bulls was April 4, and the first game of the first round of the playoffs was April 24. There was a gap of 4 days in between. The first two home games are for the Jazz, so there is plenty of room for preparation.

The only bad news is... Stockton's shoulder injury is more serious than expected, and he will definitely not be able to play in the playoffs, and the Jazz's journey to the playoffs is destined to be more difficult than last season.

……

28nd night.

The rival Denver Nuggets went to Salt Lake City on the second day of the regular season, and the Jazz, who had been preparing for a few days, finally waited until the first game of the first round.

clap clap clap!

In the locker room, Jerry Sloan, as the coach, clapped his hands to signal the players to start the pre-match meeting, while Li Shengli and Ma Long called people together and waited for Sloan to speak.

"Guys, everyone is playing well this season, but the regular season is the regular season, the playoffs are the playoffs, first in the regular season does not mean the championship, I hope everyone can cheer up, because This will be our second trip to the championship in team history!"

"Unfortunately John didn't play in any of the playoff games, but it doesn't matter, I want to see that each of you do your job well. Also...today we played against Nuggets, even if they are No. [-] and we are No. [-], don't let up."

"Now, my request is very simple. No matter which round it is, we can't lose at home, not even a game. Starting today!"

It is right to protect the host and compete for the guest.

Looking at all the games in the NBA, the winning percentage at home is greater than that at away, and the influencing factors are complicated. The advantage of the Jazz being the No. , the chances of breaking out of the series will naturally be greater.

As for the Jazz's starting main force today, there is still no change, and it has not changed. It is still Li Shengli and Malone inside, and the trio of Crotty, Tyrone, and Bond are responsible for auxiliary offense and perimeter defense.

When Stockton was still there, except for Li Shengli and Malone, the other three positions would not have too few shots, because Stockton could always pass the ball to the most suitable person to shoot, but he was not here... Jazz It has become an absolutely typical team that is strong inside and weak outside. It is invincible in the league compared to the inside, and it is not as good as a team than the outside.

On the other hand, the internal and external comparison of the opponent Nuggets is much more balanced.

Center Mutombo, defensive center, this is the third season of his career, and he has averaged 12+11.8 double-double data per game. Looking at these alone, there is nothing worthy of attention, but what is surprising is... ...his blocked shots per game is the second behind Li Shengli, reaching an average of 4.1 per game.

If you have to figure out one, two, three, Mutombo can't squeeze into the first echelon of the center, but he is the top below the first echelon, which is the inside guarantee for the Nuggets.

As for Lafonso Ellis, the No. 14.7 assistant that the Nuggets equipped him with, he was born in the same draft as Li Shengli and O'Neal. He was the fifth pick in the first round. After partnering with Mutombo, the statistics of both of them have changed.

Mutombo's rebounds remained at 10+, but his scoring slowly decreased as Lafonso shared some of his shots; Lafonso's scoring rose slightly, but his rebounding average decreased because Mutombo took on more Defensive mission.

The combination of the two made the Nuggets' management very satisfied. Although they couldn't compare with the Jazz's Li Shengli + Malone, and they couldn't compare with this season's new team of David Robinson + Rodman, but after two seasons In terms of performance, no matter which team they compete with, the inside line will not suffer too much.

As for the Nuggets' backcourt players.

Chris Jackson is the number one scorer, followed by Bryant Stich and Thunder Williams, averaging 18, 12.5 and 13 points per game.

To be honest, to evaluate the strength of a player, it is not meaningful to only look at the player's score and not look at other data, but there is no doubt that this data reflects the Nuggets' peripheral firepower from the side and intuitively.

The Nuggets' outside line is definitely not weak.

Speaking of which... the Bulls have super giant Jordan, and the triangle offense is simple and rough, while the Nuggets don't have such a big brother to lead the team. They can only match the Sonics and make all five positions into firepower. With a good lineup, they stumbled and entered the playoffs as the eighth in the Western Conference.

Moderation is not wrong, not having a super giant does not mean that there is no hope of winning the championship, even if it is small.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the Nuggets locker room is tense, far more tense than that of the Jazz. The Jazz is thinking about the Nuggets, but the Nuggets are not thinking about how to deal with the Jazz. Today's game... Mutom The task of Bo + Lafonso is too difficult, because they will face the inside double kings in a while!

It is easy to win the Jazz, just put Li Shengli and Ma Long on the ground, but it is also difficult to win the Jazz. Li Shengli and Malone have never been down once, regardless of offense or defense.

"Guys, do you have any ideas?" Even before the game was played, Lafonso's expression was not very good.

The inside players born in the 92 draft are tragic, because this year's three major centers gathered all the honors in one body and overwhelmed everyone in one fell swoop. Although Lafonso's fifth pick is not low, but in the draft It is not eye-catching in the long history.

"Don't worry, we just need to defend the Jazz's inside shots in this game, and we try to hand over the shots to Chris." Mutombo's expression was much calmer, because he still played his defensive style in this game. The true nature of a center, winning or losing depends on the performance of the Jazz's inside offense and the Nuggets' outside offense.

"It's really not that I'm discouraged. I can't defend Malone 100%, because you also know how he plays. But compared with Malone, I'm afraid that you have problems. Basically no one can handle that pervert! "Lafonso said in a low voice, because of the match against the Jazz this season, the two of them were really scared of being beaten.

"What is this not discouraged? Listen to me, there is nothing to retire now, don't play like the regular season, use fouls to pull them down if you can't prevent them, you can't lose with momentum, if you lose, you have nothing gone."

Both are playing the playoffs for the first time, which is of great significance to them. Obviously Mutombo is more stable, and the Nuggets coach has also prepared a group of meat shields waiting to carry the Jazz inside. After all, outside defense The requirements for defensive players will be higher, and the inside defense is just a meat shield.

At this time, there is no time for the Nuggets to be tense, because the staff has notified them that they will be on the stage, and the first game of the first round will officially start.

(End of this chapter)