NBA: James wants to team up with me

After the All-Star Game, the Cavaliers and the Bulls started a very fierce competition.

The Cavaliers are firmly in first place in the Eastern Conference and even in the league, while the Bulls, who are in second place, are unwilling to be outdone and are challenging the Cavaliers' position.

Both sides competed fiercely and crushed one opponent after another, but the high-intensity pace of the game actually put a lot of pressure on both the Cavaliers and the Bulls.

Soon both teams had injury problems.

Irving of the Cavaliers needs to rest for a week due to a sprained wrist, while Butler of the Bulls needs to rest for nearly a month due to a knee injury.

The sudden injuries seemed to have alerted both teams, especially Wang Chong. He almost forgot the predicament of the Cavaliers' 14 version of the Jedi Seven Samurai in the 15-2.0 season.

Compared to competing for the first place in the league, the health of the players comes first. His mission goal is to lead the team to win the championship, not to lead the team to the best record in the league.

Starting from mid-March, the Cavaliers took the lead in slowing down the pace of the game and played much more gently. Although they lost some games that they should not have lost, at least the chance of players getting injured was greatly reduced.

Even though the Cavaliers slowed down the pace, the Bulls were unable to take advantage of the opportunity to surpass them in terms of record.

There is no way. Butler's injury is too much of a blow to the Bulls. Originally, the Bulls' capital to compete with the Cavaliers in terms of record this season was the rise of Curry and Butler. One took on the responsibility of the team's first core, and the other played at an All-Star level. This made the Bulls' regular season competitiveness reach such a level.

Without Butler, the Bulls' strength immediately dropped significantly, and naturally they could not compare with the Cavaliers next door.

Moreover, when Wang Chong was building the lineup for the Cavaliers, he had already made two preparations. Even if Irving was injured, there was still Louis Williams to take over, so there would not be any vacancies in the team's main lineup.

In this way, the Cavaliers maintained a 4 to 5-win lead in the late March and even mid-April schedule, until they defeated the Washington Wizards at home on April 4, and the regular season schedule was completely completed.

整个2014-15赛季的82场常规赛，骑士队取得68胜14负战绩，胜率83%，位居全联盟第一。

The 68 regular season wins also broke the Cavaliers' best regular season record in team history.

Wang Chong has been with the Cavaliers for only one season, but he has already completely surpassed James before winning the championship.

The Bulls were once chasing the Cavaliers in the middle of the season, but ultimately failed. Seeing that there was no hope of catching up with the Cavaliers, they simply became indifferent in April and eventually finished second with a record of 64 wins and 18 losses.

The Cavaliers and the Bulls are the only two teams this season to achieve 60+ wins in the regular season. There is no other 60-win team in the league. The closest team in the West is the Los Angeles Clippers with 57 wins. With 11 wins less than the Cavaliers, the Clippers are already top of the Western Conference. This shows how strong the East is and how weak the West is.

东部这边最终战绩进入前八入围季后赛的八支球队战绩从高到低依次是68胜14负的克利夫兰骑士，64胜18负的芝加哥公牛，第三名是54胜28负的波士顿凯尔特人，再下来是52胜30的迈阿密热火。

In the top half of the Eastern Conference, the Celtics and Heat both have over 50 wins, which is a bit embarrassing, but what can we do? In the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers and the Bulls, two teams with 60+ wins, almost monopolize most of the wins, and the Celtics and Heat have also been plagued by injuries during the season.

The Celtics are relatively lucky because of the butterfly effect. Durant did not play only 27 games for the season like he did in the Thunder during the same period, which ultimately led to the Thunder missing the playoffs.

But even so, Durant's attendance rate this season has only remained at around 70 games, which has directly affected the Celtics' record.

On the other side, the situation of the Heat is not good either. James is indeed tough and durable, but Howard and Wade are not. Howard missed more than 20 games in the regular season, and Wade also played 15 fewer games. In addition, James' previous staggered travel seriously affected the Heat's record. Getting 52 wins is considered a good performance for James in the game.

东部下半赛区的四支球队，分别是48胜34负亚特兰大老鹰，47胜35负多伦多猛龙，45胜37负纽约尼克斯以及42胜40负的华盛顿奇才。

The Eastern Conference's record rankings have changed significantly from the original record. The first to be affected is the Atlanta Hawks, who were supposed to be ranked first in the Eastern Conference with a record of 60 wins and 22 losses. Their record has plummeted to only 48 wins and 34 losses.

But this cannot be blamed on the eagle. If anyone is to be blamed, it can only be Wang Chong.

Paul Millsap, the most important player of the Hawks this season and the team's leading scorer, rebounder and steals player, went directly to the Celtics. Although the Hawks still retained all the other main players, their strength was seriously affected. Coupled with the four teams in the upper half of the division that should not have existed, it was considered good to finish the regular season fifth in the Eastern Conference.

In addition, the New York Knicks are also an exception. Originally, this season, the Knicks should have been led by Anthony and their record should have plummeted to compete for the No. 1 pick.

But the presence of Rose has prevented the Knicks from having such a bad record. At the same time, Rose and Anthony may have complemented each other to a certain extent, which also made the frequency of their injuries not so exaggerated.

Throughout the season, Rose and Anthony's attendance rate has been maintained at around 80%, and together they have once again sent the Knicks into the playoffs.

However, the upper limit of the partnership between Rose and Anthony is limited, and at most they can be a second-round pick. With Wang Chong, Curry, Durant, and James currently dividing the upper half of the Eastern Conference, the probability is that they will end up being eliminated in the first round.

Compared with the east, the situation in the west is much worse.

进入季后赛的八支球队，从高到低依次为57胜25负洛杉矶快船，55胜27负圣安东尼奥马刺，52胜30负俄克拉荷马雷霆，50胜32负波特兰开拓者，50胜32负达拉斯小牛，48胜34负新奥尔良鹈鹕，44胜38负孟菲斯灰熊以及42胜40负的金州勇士。

The light bulb combination of Harden and Paul began to show its power in the 14-15 season as Harden showed the superb scoring ability of a top guard. Moreover, the Clippers not only have the light bulb combination, but also a little Jordan in the interior.

This season, Jordan averaged 14 points, 15 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. On the offensive end, he took turns to receive assists from Paul and Harden. His defensive performance was also outstanding. In addition, he averaged 15 rebounds per game to become the league's rebounding leader, which greatly improved the Clippers' defense. With the combined efforts of the three, the Clippers finished the regular season as first in the Western Conference.

It is really helpless that the Spurs finished second with 55 wins.

This season, the GDP combination, which has dominated the league for many years, has finally grown old in the true sense.

Whether it is superstar Duncan or Parker and Ginobili, they have performed mediocrely this season. Duncan averaged 14+7, Parker 14+5, and Ginobili 10+3+4.

The reason why the Spurs were able to enter the playoffs with a record of 55 wins and second place in the Western Conference was really thanks to the two young players Leonard and Gobert.

Leonard's performance in the regular season this season was not as good as Butler's in the same period, but he still averaged 17 points and 7 rebounds per game, and his contribution on the defensive end was quite significant.

The same is true for Gobert. He has begun to gradually replace Duncan's tactical position in the Spurs, that is, the core of the interior defense. Although his average points per game this season is still only about 8 points and he failed to reach double digits, his average rebounds per game have reached 11 times, and he also had 2.3 blocks. With his height, long arms and incredible static talent, his ability to protect the basket is quite outstanding.

The Spurs have two great defensive players inside and outside the team. Although GDP is no longer as strong as it used to be, they are still the biggest favorite to win the championship among all the teams in the Western Conference.

Let’s not mention teams like the Thunder, Trail Blazers, Mavericks and Pelicans. The situations of these teams are similar to the past, with no significant changes. Their records and rankings are reasonable.

As for the seventh-placed Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference with 44 wins and 38 losses, they have finally emerged from the shadow of selecting Oden as the No. 07 pick in and missing out on Gasol Jr.

Mainly because they have players like Mike Conley, Randolph, Tony Allen and Jeff Green, even without Gasol Jr., the strength of this Grizzlies team is barely good. Even if it is not as good as the Grizzlies with the black and white duo that won 55 games in the same period, it is not a problem to get 44 wins in the increasingly weak Western Conference.

The Warriors are in the same situation. In the absence of Curry and Draymond Green, the Warriors still have Klay Thompson, who has begun to show his potential. Together with Iguodala, Barnes, David Lee and Bogut, the Warriors still have a certain degree of competitiveness. However, they are completely different from the Warriors team that should have achieved 67 wins this season and won the championship in the playoffs.

By the way, with Kobe out for the season, the Lakers still have Bosh leading the team, and the latter averaged 20+10 per game as the sole core player, but the Lakers' record still plummeted, ranking second to last in the Western Conference, becoming a strong contender for the No. pick.

The 16 teams for the Eastern and Western Conference playoffs have been determined, and the first-round matchups have also become clear.

The four matchups in the Eastern Conference are Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks, Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors, and Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks.

Since each of the four teams in the upper half of the division is led by at least one superstar, they have an absolute advantage over the four teams in the upper and lower half of the division, and the probability of winning the first round is very high.

The four Western Conference matchups are Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs vs. Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans, and Portland Trail Blazers vs. Dallas Mavericks.

Compared with the four matchups in the Eastern Conference with huge gaps in strength, the four matchups in the Western Conference are still quite suspenseful. At least in the two matchups between Thunder vs. Pelicans and Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks, it is difficult to judge who is stronger without actually fighting.

In the 2014-15 season, Wang Chong averaged 31.4 points per game and won his ninth scoring title, tying Jordan's record of ten scoring titles.

This season, the only one who can compete with Wang Chong on the scoring list is Durant, who averages 30.7 points per game. But unlike last season when Wang Chong intentionally reduced the number of shots to give the Bulls players room to grow, on the Cavaliers, Wang Chong only needs to take care of Irving's shooting rights and does not need to sacrifice too many shooting rights.

In addition, Durant was also affected by injuries this season, and he basically withdrew from the competition for the scoring title in the second half of the regular season.

As for other players, James averaged 26+8+8 as usual, pursuing versatility more than scoring.

Rising stars like Curry, Westbrook and Harden all average around 28+ points per game, and none of them can pose a threat to him in the competition for the scoring title.

To be honest, this made Wang Chong feel a little bored. He began to look forward to Harden's growth and explosion. When Harden can reach the super high scoring level of 18 points per game in the 19-36.1 season, Wang Chong will truly meet his opponent for the first time since Kobe in the 05-06 season.

Of course, what we are referring to here are the opponents in the competition for the scoring title. There are few players in the league today who are worthy of being called Wang Chong's opponents. Even looking back at history, I am afraid that only Jordan is qualified.

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On April 2015, 4, the opening game of the first round of the playoffs was held as scheduled.

The Cavaliers' first-round opponent is the Washington Wizards led by John Wall and Bradley Beal.

The backcourt duo of point guard Wall and shooting guard Beal have performed well this season, but just well.

As the core of the team, Wall averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists per game in the regular season. Due to the partnership of Paul and Harden, his assist data was affected to a certain extent. This season's data is 18.6 points and 9.7 assists. Therefore, Wall became the only player with double-digit assists this season and won the honor of assist king for the first time in his career.

As Wall's right-hand man, Beal averages 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game, and his shooting percentage of 42.7% is only average.

这两人真正的巅峰期应该是16-17赛季，在2016-17赛季，两人的个人能力均达到最巅峰，常规赛期间沃尔可以贡献23分4篮板10.7助攻，比尔也有场均23分3篮板3.5助攻的数据。

But the ceiling of this duo's partnership is there. Even with such luxurious backcourt duo data, the Wizards only ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 49 wins and 33 losses, and were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Celtics led by Isaiah Thomas.

The strength was still like this during the strongest period two years later, let alone now.

The Wizards had no capital to compete with the Cavaliers at all. They were suppressed by the Cavaliers as soon as the game started. The score gap was quickly widened and they were ruthlessly crushed.

117:99, the Cavaliers won the first game by 18 points and won four games in the following games, sweeping the Wizards 4:0 to enter the