Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 144 144. The end of the regular season: the ranking is determined! (seeking subscription)
"We only have the last nine games left this season. As long as we can win seven of them, we can break the record of 72 wins set by Michael when he led the Bulls."

"To be honest, I'm a little nervous and unbelievable right now. All of this is a bit dreamy."

In the office, General Manager McHale said excitedly and nervously.

72 wins and 10 losses is the NBA historical record set by the Bulls in the 95-96 season. At that time, after Michael Jordan led the team to complete this feat, everyone thought that this record would be forever dusted by history.

Losing only ten games in a single season, this kind of dominance is simply tingling.

And to achieve this feat, the team's own strength is far from enough, and the overall strength of other teams in the league must be at odds.

It is not uncommon for upsets to happen in the NBA. When players feel hot, a big team can overthrow the defending champion. To achieve a record of 72 wins, you need some luck in addition to strength.

As of now, this record has been dusty for ten years. McHale still can't believe it. His team is expected to break the historical record set by Jordan leading the Bulls. This is simply an exciting thing.

"Records are meant to be broken. Michael's personal ability is very strong. He is worthy of the title of "God of Basketball", but the Bulls at that time were not invincible in my opinion."

"Basketball is always a sport for five people, and we are better than the Bulls at that point."

"Even though it may be a bit bad to put the team in [-], civilization is improving, and basketball culture is also improving." Luke said with a smile while drinking coffee.

As the regular season drew to a close, the pressure on Luke became more and more intense. At least Luke was not as optimistic as McHale at this time.

The dominance of the Timberwolves is self-evident, and no team in the entire league wants to be an enemy of the Timberwolves.

But when it comes to tit-for-tat, no one will take the initiative to back down just because the Timberwolves are strong, and the two sides will definitely start a fierce battle.

Rabbits will bite when they are in a hurry, not to mention that there are no rabbits in the NBA, only a group of tigers and leopards.

…………

Time flies, and it's mid-April in a blink of an eye.

With the Timberwolves defeating the Kings at home, this battle not only deprived the Kings of their playoff qualifications, but the Timberwolves also improved their record to 72 wins and 8 losses.

Now the Timberwolves only have the last two games left to end the regular season of the 05-06 season.

And the Timberwolves' opponents in the last two games were the Trail Blazers, who ranked last in the league, and the Detroit Pistons, who were placed in the final rematch due to the typhoon.

As long as the Timberwolves win one of these two games, they can break the 72 wins and 10 losses created by Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

Considering that the Trail Blazers, as the bottom one in the league, have given up struggling late in the season, it has become a certainty for the Timberwolves to break the record.

What's more, the Pistons, who have already ranked first in the Eastern Conference, will not face the Timberwolves in the last game, because no matter whether they win or lose this game, it will have no impact on the Pistons.

But if there is an accident during the game, the impact on the Pistons will be huge.

Therefore, in this game, the old Sanders will definitely rest all the main players in preparation for the upcoming playoffs.

In this case, the Timberwolves only need to make a little effort to win a winning streak with a high probability, and the final record is fixed at 74 wins and 8 losses.

While breaking the NBA historical record, it can also improve the record by two games.

Although Luke has been refusing to discuss breaking the record in front of the media until the end of the regular season, I believe that Luke has the same idea in his heart.

No one can resist the temptation of making history, let alone breaking the record set by the "God of Basketball" Michael Jordan!
…………

On April 4, local time in the United States, the Timberwolves beat the Pistons with all substitutes at home.

This victory not only means that the regular season of the Timberwolves has officially finished this season, but also makes the Timberwolves' record in the 05-06 season fixed at 74 wins and 8 losses, officially breaking the NBA historical record.

The moment the game ended, the entire Target Center Arena instantly became ebullient. Fans stood in their seats to celebrate, swaying their body crazily, and witnessed history together.

Even the players on the field began to hug each other, and they were more relieved under the excited mood. The official breaking of the historical record allowed the Timberwolves players to relieve a lot of pressure.

Prior to this, the player's mind has always been to win the victory, and must break the NBA historical record!

This belief is urging everyone to go all out, but at the same time, it also keeps the Timberwolves players' spirits in a state of tension, putting a lot of pressure on the Timberwolves. It is only between the players' thoughts whether they collapse or not.

And as the historical record is officially broken, the Timberwolves can also let go of this pressure and focus all their thoughts on the upcoming playoffs.

No regrets, no regrets, just the desire for the championship!

…………

On April 4, the last round of the NBA's regular season ended, and the playoff rankings of the Eastern and Western Divisions were determined.

The first in the East is the Pistons with 62 wins and 20 losses, and the second is the Heat with 52 wins and 30 losses.

Although the record difference between the Heat and the Pistons is a full ten games, if the two teams meet in the playoffs, it is really difficult to judge who is stronger and who is weaker.

As for the three to eight are: the Nets, Cavaliers, Wizards, Pacers, Bulls, and Bucks.

The overall structure of the Eastern Conference is weak. Except for the Pistons and the Heat, the rest of the teams failed to reach the 50-win threshold.

The Bucks, ranked eighth in the East, only had 40 wins and 42 losses, with a winning percentage of less than 50%.

At least 3/4 of the teams in the entire Eastern Conference are running with them. The only teams that can compete for the championship are the Pistons, Heat, Nets, and Cavaliers.

Among them, the Pistons and Heat are in the first tier, the Nets are in the second tier, the Cavaliers are in the third tier, and the other four playoff teams can only be in the fourth tier.

Compared with the east, the pattern in the west is much more complicated.

The first place is naturally the defending champion with 74 wins and 8 losses, and the second place is the Spurs with 62 wins and 20 losses.

The Spurs are tied with the Pistons, and the two teams are tied for second in the league.

As for the three to eight are: the Suns, Mavericks, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Clippers, and the Lakers.

The Dallas Mavericks have a record of 61 wins and 21 losses, second only to the Timberwolves and Spurs in the West, but because the Suns are the first in the division, they lead the Mavericks in the playoffs and rank third in the West.

This kind of rule is very unfair to the Mavericks who have struggled for a whole season, but before the league officially abolishes this rule, teams like the Mavericks can only swallow their grievances helplessly.

Today's league structure is strong in the West and weak in the East. This season, three teams in the West have achieved 60 wins, and four teams have achieved 50 wins. Even the eighth-ranked Lakers in the East have 45 wins and 37 losses.

The Lakers' record can be directly promoted to fifth in the East, and even the Kings, who are ranked ninth in the West, can squeeze into the top six. This is the gap between the East and West.

After the playoff rankings were determined, many fans were hooked. According to the rankings, the Timberwolves' first-round opponent will be the popular Los Angeles Lakers.

Whether it is Kobe and Garnett, the two balloon stars, or the impact of the deal between Gortat and Bynum, this round of the series is highly anticipated by fans.

And it is also predicted by ESPN as the most exciting first round of the season.

Although the Lakers' strength on paper cannot compete with the Timberwolves, Kobe also led the team to defeat the defending champion during the regular season. Compared with the other two teams at the end of the Western Conference, the Lakers' combat effectiveness must not be underestimated.

Especially the Lakers head coach Phil Jackson and star star Kobe Bryant, these two are characters who have seen big scenes, and they will definitely not be afraid in the playoffs.

Phil Jackson has nine championship rings, and Kobe has three championship rings. Both of them can compete with the Timberwolves' team building time. This is the background of the Lakers.

In addition, Phil Jackson is known as one of the most successful head coaches in active service, while Luke is known as the most talented young coach in active service. The head-to-head confrontation between these two is completely a duel across the century.

What's more interesting is that the head coach who led the Bulls to 72 wins and 10 losses back then was Zen Master, and this year Luke led the Timberwolves to break this record with his own hands. Even if Jackson didn't say anything, he would definitely feel uncomfortable.

No matter how likely the Lakers are to win this round of the series, Jackson will definitely go all out and use the strongest Lakers to create trouble for the Timberwolves.

This season, Kobe was crowned the scoring champion with an average of 35.4 points per game, becoming the player with the highest score in a single season since Michael Jordan. It is not an exaggeration to say that Kobe is the strongest spear in the league today.

And Garnett has booked the best defensive player in advance after the end of the regular season, and his +34.2 defensive efficiency value is terrifying. Throughout history, only "Ancient God" Bill Russell can compete with him.

As for the first game between the two sides, it will officially start on April 4, local time in the United States. At that time, the contest between Kobe, the league's scoring champion, and Garnett, the league's defensive champion will definitely be recorded in history!
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(End of this chapter)