NBA opening draw to twilight Shaquille O'Neal

Chapter 1131 Playoff preview

The curtain of the NBA regular season fell, and when people were talking about the 72 wins created by the Trail Blazers and once again dominating the three charts of scoring + rebounding + blocks, the rankings of the Eastern and Western regular seasons and the format of the playoffs were also released.

In the 2016~17 season, the Eastern Conference regular season rankings are as follows:

No. 54 in East, Boston Celtics 28-[-]

Second in East, Chicago Bulls 52-30

Third in East, Cleveland Cavaliers 50-32

Fourth in East, Toronto Raptors 49-33

Fifth in East, Washington Wizards 48-34

Sixth in East, Atlanta Hawks 44-38

Seventh in the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee Bucks 43 wins and 39 losses

Eighth in East, Indiana Pacers 42-40

Ninth in East, Miami Heat 41-41

Tenth in the East, Detroit Pistons 37 wins and 45 losses

No. 11 in the East, Charlotte Hornets 36 wins and 46 losses

No.12 in the East, New York Knicks 31 wins and 51 losses

No.13 in the East, Orlando Magic 29 wins and 53 losses

No. 14 in the East, Philadelphia 75ers 28 wins and 54 losses

No.15 in the East, Brooklyn Nets 20-62

First round of the Eastern Conference playoffs:
Boston Celtics vs Indiana Pacers,

Chicago Bulls vs Milwaukee Bucks,

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Atlanta Hawks,

Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards!

Because of the butterfly effect, the leader of the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, did not wither because of injuries. Although he still suffered some injuries and his strength declined, he did not suddenly fall from the former MVP level player to become a role player.

Although the Bulls have now become Anthony Davis' team, Rose still maintains an All-Star level of skill. Coupled with Dwyane Wade recruited last summer, his overall strength is much stronger than in his previous life.

The Flash returned to his hometown of Chicago to play for the Bulls this season. It is obvious that his sword is not old. This season he can still average 18 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. His strength is more than enough to be the third head of a championship team.

As we all know, Flash Wade is a typical playoff player, he was born for the big scene.

From the large sample of Wade's career, it can be found that for most of Wade's career, the playoff data is stronger than the regular season data. This is a rare tough guy who can constantly improve himself and surpass himself in the more brutal competitive environment of the playoffs.

再加上常规赛期间场均18分9.5助攻的罗斯、场均27.5分12篮板2.2盖帽的戴维斯，外界对公牛三巨头季后赛的表现还是非常期待的。

In addition to the Bulls, there are only two teams in the Eastern Conference that currently have championship status. They are the Boston Celtics and last year's Eastern Conference champion and overall runner-up Cleveland Cavaliers.

Needless to say, the Cavaliers, as long as the core lineup of the Big Three of James + Cousins ​​+ Irving remains unchanged, the Cavaliers will always be the most promising team to break out of the East.

As for the Celtics, one of the two traditional giants in the NBA, this season has fully explained what it means to be black to the end.

This season, they chose Thomas Jr., who is only 1 meters tall, as the core of the team, which made them underestimated from the beginning of the season. However, as the regular season progressed and until after the All-Stars, the Celtics performed more and more.

But the regular season is different from the playoffs. In the playoffs, Thomas Jr.'s height will limit his biggest shortcoming. Many people think that although the Celtics also have some championships, they are not many.

Considering that the last time the Celtics made it to the conference finals dates back to the 5-2011 season five years ago, they basically stopped in the first round in the remaining few seasons, and in two seasons they couldn’t even make the playoffs. Therefore, in this recent preview of the playoffs, the biggest expectation of many media people and basketball experts for the Celtics is the second round.

Among the three teams in the Eastern Conference that are champions, Wang Zelin is more concerned about the Bulls and Celtics. Anyway, the Cavaliers have James. As long as there is no accident, the Cavaliers will definitely occupy a place in the Eastern Conference finals.

James before 2018, his strength is beyond doubt, and his dominance in the Eastern Conference can be called a historical level.

In his previous life, he made eight finals and became a legend. I don’t know how many teams in the East were broken up by James, and how many stars were beaten away by James.

In contrast, he is more looking forward to the Bulls and Celtics these two teams.

In his opinion, the upper limit of the Bulls is actually higher than that of the Celtics.

Although the Celtics achieved the No. 1 record in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, as many media predicted, the intensity of the playoffs is much higher than that of the regular season. The same core players, 75 meters tall and 1 meters, 85 meters tall, have completely different difficulties in the playoffs.

It is true that the Celtics created an offensive system for Thomas Jr. that fits his technical characteristics, but because Kelton's offense is extremely dependent on Thomas Jr., Thomas Jr.'s offensive ceiling almost represents the Celtics' offensive ceiling.

A simple reason is that when two players are at the same level, a player with a height of 1 meters will have far lower chances to make shots when handling the ball at a critical moment than another player with a height of 75 meters.

This is why it shows that in the 2016-17 season, the regular season was won. When the Celtics with the first record in the Eastern Conference faced the Chicago Bulls who were eighth in the Eastern Conference, they actually played 6 games to decide the winner.

Finally, in the division finals, the Celtics were directly swept by Gentleman 1:4 in the contest with the Cavaliers.

Although this has something to do with Thomas being injured after playing two games in the Eastern Conference Finals and not playing in the next three games, it is not difficult to see that Thomas Jr. struggled offensively in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. On a higher level stage, the height of 175 really has a great impact on him.

Thomas Jr.'s offensive output averaged nearly 30 points per game during the regular season. During the playoffs, his scoring average plummeted to 23.3 points per game.

Among them, three shooting percentages have declined. The shooting percentage has dropped from 46.3% during the regular season to 42.53%, the shooting percentage has dropped from the original 37.9% to 33.3%, and the free throw percentage has also dropped from 90.9% to 82%.

As strong as Allen Iverson back then, and also has a height of 183, Thomas Jr.'s height of 175 is really too hurt.

Perhaps it is precisely because the performance during the playoffs was not as good as the regular season, in the next season, after careful consideration by the Celtics management, they still chose to reject Thomas Jr.'s request for a big contract.

So far, the once strongest 175 on the surface has completely become a representative of a flash in the pan in NBA history.

Compared with Thomas Jr., the Bulls not only sit on the Big Three that is more in line with the current trend of the times, but also have a total of the Big Three. Whether it is Rose, Wade or Davis, previous lives have proved that they are not soft-footed shrimp in the playoffs.

The rose has not completely faded, the Flash is not old, and the thick eyebrows have not yet fallen in love with e-sports...

On a higher level stage, Wang Zelin believes that the Bulls can burst out with stronger energy than the Celtics. This year's Eastern Conference Finals will probably be the Cavaliers vs. the Bulls.

If that's the case, Wang Zelin will take time to watch the Eastern Conference Finals no matter what.

Not to mention anything else, James and Wade's first playoff encounter after leaving the Heat one after another, this topic alone can attract the attention of countless people.

After the Eastern Conference's chances were released, many netizens left comments on the Internet. From these comments, it can be seen that many people basically agree with Wang Zelin.

Sand sculpture netizens, like him, are very much looking forward to the meeting between James and Wade in the Eastern Conference Finals. At that time, the media will promote it a little bit. Isn't it the battle of the century full of topics?
Compared with the clear distinction in the east, the west side...

It became a mess again.

In the 2016~17 season, the Western Conference regular season rankings are as follows:

No. 72 in West, Portland Trail Blazers 10-[-]

Second in West, Golden State Warriors 68-14

No. 61 in West, San Antonio Spurs 21-[-]

Fourth in West, Houston Mosaics 58-24

Fifth in West, Oklahoma City Thunder 54-29

Sixth in West, Los Angeles Lakers 53-30

Seventh in the West, Memphis Grizzlies 52-31

Eighth in West, Utah Jazz 50-32

Ninth in the West, Los Angeles Clippers 49-33

35th in West, Sacramento Kings 47-[-]

No. 11 in the West, New Orleans Pelicans 34-48

No. 12 in the West, Denver Nuggets 32 wins and 50 losses

No.13 in the West, Dallas Mavericks 32 wins and 50 losses

No.14 in the West, Los Angeles Clippers 26 wins and 56 losses

No. 15 in the West, Phoenix Suns 24 wins and 58 losses

Western Conference playoffs first round:
Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz,

Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies,

San Antonio Spurs vs Los Angeles Lakers,

Houston Mosaics vs. Oklahoma City Thunder!

Seeing that the Utah Jazz, the lowest-ranked team in the top eight in the Western Conference, has a record of 50 wins in the regular season, countless fans exclaimed, are the Western Conference playoffs like this?

This shit is only the first round, why not be so scary? !
Unlike the East, which has only three championship teams, all seven teams in the West have championship looks.

The first is the Trail Blazers and Warriors. As the only two teams with a record of 70 wins in the regular season last season, their regular season record this season is still far ahead of the other 28 teams in the league.

One team has 72 wins and 10 losses, and the other has 68 wins and 14 losses. It is chilling to think about it!
Looking down, the San Antonio Spurs, ranked third in the West, even broke through 60 losses in the regular season...

In a single season, two teams in the same division broke through 60 wins, and one even broke through 70 wins. Such a terrifying performance is quite explosive in any previous regular season record.

The Trail Blazers, Warriors and Spurs are recognized by the media and fans as the first echelon teams in the Western Conference, and they are also the teams with the most championship appearance.

There is only one team in the second echelon, and that is the Houston Mosaic team!

What does the Mosaic team say?

Their position is a bit awkward, more than the top, more than the bottom.

But considering its strong lineup and two super scorers in the team, and they play magic balls, the Mosaic team has become the most elusive team in the Western Conference playoffs.

Once the two super scorers Harden and Anthony suddenly broke out, or the Mosaic team's shooters suddenly shot from the outside, the offensive threat is very terrifying.

Therefore, this season's Mosaic team can be regarded as completely replacing the shit-stirring role played by the Grizzlies in the Western Conference playoffs in the past.

The Mosaic team may not be as likely to win the championship as the first echelon, but thanks to their extreme offensive output, no one dares to underestimate them in the playoffs, which is the most difficult bone in this year's Western Conference playoffs.

The last echelon is the Thunder and the Lakers.

The reason why the Thunder are favored is also very simple, mainly because Russell Westbrook, the leader of the Thunder, has achieved a shocking triple-double during the regular season this season, making the team's topics and traffic directly full.
For nothing else, everyone now wants to see if Westbrook can continue to average a triple-double in the playoffs?

The media is very aware of what fans want to see, and began to promote this topic vigorously.As a result, the Thunder's momentum to win the championship in the outside world is no less than that of the truly strong teams such as the Trail Blazers and Warriors.

The reason why the Lakers are optimistic is somewhat similar to that of the Thunder.

First of all, the Lakers have Kobe Bryant. As long as Kobe does not retire for a day, his every move will become the focus of countless fans.

21 years of reputation accumulation is not covered!
Regardless of the fans' attention to the Lakers during the regular season, it may not be as good as the Trail Blazers, Warriors, Cavaliers, or even the Bulls.

But once the Lakers successfully enter the playoffs, there will be help from all directions immediately, and the Lakers will also become one of the most watched teams during the playoffs.

Regarding this strange phenomenon, Guangda 60E said: They are just old, but not dead.

As Kobe's career enters the twilight years, the former Komi and Kohei now have a high probability of starting to line up with their lives. How can they have so much time to pay attention to the Lakers on weekdays?

But when it comes to the playoffs, it's different.

In order to support the former idol, in order to reminisce about the past youth, countless old fans will subconsciously click on the game about the Lakers.

After all, the NBA is a commercial league. During the playoffs, the Lakers received a lot of attention, and the league will benefit from it. It is indispensable to unite with the media to build momentum for the Lakers to win the championship.

In recent seasons, this has almost become a repertoire during the playoffs every year.

Secondly, with the current Big Three lineup of the Lakers, there is really some hope of winning the championship.

Regardless of whether he is old or not, just judging from his strength on paper, as long as the combination of Kobe + Paul + sister-in-law plays together, it will give fans the feeling that they can play very well.

There is a classic chicken soup in the NBA called-never underestimate the heart of a champion!
The performance of these three old guys of the Lakers is not weak in the regular season. Kobe averaged 23+3+4 per game, Paul averaged 19+10 per game, and his sister-in-law averaged 18+10 per game, and each of them has experienced the test of the big stage of the playoffs. Who knows if they will suddenly explode?
It has only been a few years since Dirk Nowitzki won a championship in the 2011 playoffs, and many old fans naturally have the same expectations for the Lakers and these three old guys of the Lakers.

There is a saying that you are not afraid of ten thousand, but just in case.

As for the Utah Jazz...

Emmm, considering that they faced the Portland Trail Blazers, the defending champion who had just won 72 regular season games in the first round, and there was no legendary veteran in the team similar to the King Novak back then, they were inevitably labeled as a round trip by the media and fans.

It's not that you are weak, but there is a Gundam on the opposite side!
When you meet New Oriental... ahhh, if you meet a pioneer, consider yourself unlucky.

(End of this chapter)