Legend of Tomorrow

In April, the Suns lost another game, losing to the Cavaliers by 5 points on the road.

This time the Suns players tried their best to guard LeBron James. He scored 41 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. His shooting percentage was as high as 70%, which was better than Guo Xu.

Although James' mid-to-long-range shooting is still unstable, this season he has developed his own unique trick, which is the legendary four-step layup.

James explained that this is a kind of confusion for defenders under the reasonable use rules. It can be understood as a fake move that no one except James can do.

Anyone who wants to learn this trick needs to have a very solid foundation in scoring under the basket, use the strength of his fingers and wrists properly, and he must be a star that the league strongly promotes, otherwise he will fail.

James himself calls this layup the crab walk. According to the rules of the basketball game, only two steps on the ground are allowed for a layup, and the third step requires taking off. James' crab walk violated this rule with a revolutionary technique.

He usually takes a step back when making a layup, and then quickly starts a dribble breakthrough. After making a fake move, he pulls the ball and jumps, then takes two steps to use his body advantage to change positions, and finally completes the layup, as fast as a crab. Move.

This crab walk stunt caused an uproar in the league and the media. This is just a walk!

However, the league turned a blind eye, and Guo Xu did not raise any questions after losing. He knew it was useless. In the previous life, many people said that James liked to walk when he went to the layup, but the league never cared about it and always gave him the green light, as long as his movements were consistent.

It is difficult for opponents to defend a man of James' size when he rushes forward. Defensive players who are out of position can usually only foul to block. However, his 2+1 ability is outstanding, and fouling is sometimes meaningless.

The Suns have won every other game. All important players have stayed healthy this season, and the injuries are minor. Bell missed 4 games, Marion missed 6 games, Roy missed 6 games, and Varejao missed 15 games. They were not injured together and the overall strength will not drop too much. There are replacements.

In the end, the Suns achieved a terrifying record of 78 wins and 4 losses in the regular season, improving the Lakers' record of 76 wins in 2002 by two games, and had two long winning streaks. This record was very scary.

In order to ensure the winning rate, Guo Xu's playing time increased slightly in the second half, averaging 26.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 12 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.2 blocks in 34.2 minutes per game, shooting 49.6% from the field, 43.7% from the three-point range, and 91% from the free throw line. Almost entered the 180 Club.

Even if the overall hit rate is less than 50%,

His true shooting percentage also ranks third in the league at 65.1%. Because he averaged 9.8 three-pointers per game, more three-pointers lowered his overall shooting percentage. Guo Xu's shooting percentage inside the three-point line is very high, averaging over 50% in the mid-range and at the basket.

The Suns are the only one in the Western Conference, with the second-ranked Spurs only winning 61 games.

3-8 are Jazz, Timberwolves, Lakers, Rockets, Mavericks, and Nuggets.

The Rockets had a poor record in the second half due to Yao Ming's injury and mediocre wing defense.

The Lakers finished fifth. Their 50-win record was not very good. In the early days, they were ranked second in the Western Conference. After Odom was injured, their record began to decline.

The management stepped in to mediate the relationship between Kobe and Artest, and the two did not continue to quarrel, but they did not communicate much. They are all outside players who can be selected for the best defensive team. With Bogut's good defense in the penalty area, the Lakers' overall strength is not weak. If Odom had not been absent for a month and a half, they could compete for the top three.

Odom has long since recovered from injury. Although his condition is not as good as the first 20 games, it is also bad news for the Timberwolves. The two teams will meet in the first round.

Odom and Garnett belong to the same type of player, with comprehensive skills and strong mobility. He does a good job guarding Garnett when facing off. Experts predict that the Lakers have a greater chance of advancing to the second round.

The Suns faced the Nuggets led by Iverson and Anthony in the first round. This was called a series without suspense. The Nuggets' starting power forward Kenyon Martin suffered a knee injury, which caused the team's record to decline in the second half. The Nuggets only had one point advantage with Anthony.

Ranked 9-15 in the West are the Warriors, Clippers, Kings, Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, SuperSonics, and Hornets.

The Warriors fell behind in the second half and failed to make the playoffs. Their Achilles' heel was interior defense. In the previous life when there was Biedrins, the Warriors were much better inside than they are now.

The management plans to trade Troy Murphy out in the summer. He is a data brush. He has never played in the playoffs in his career.

The Hornets led by Chris Paul were once again unfortunately at the bottom. Without David West, the team lacked important scoring points, and the introduction of Tyson Chandler was useless.

Chandler is a defensive blue-collar center. On the offensive end, he can only pick and roll and cut in the air. He cannot pull out to shoot. The Hornets don't have an interior space that can shoot, and it will be more difficult for Paul to break through, and his scoring efficiency and shooting rate are not high.

The most deceptive thing is Peja Stojakovic, the star player poached by the Hornets. He only played 13 games before being reimbursed due to injury. This is the first year of his big contract. It seems impossible to become a garbage contract. avoided.

Paul led a group of blue-collar teammates and didn't even have a second scoring point. J.R. Smith, who was originally useful, was sent away because of conflicts with coach Byron Scott. Scott led the team to the bottom for two consecutive seasons, accomplished his mission, and was fired as soon as the regular season ended.

The unlucky Paul worked hard to reach the Western Conference Finals in his previous life, and now he has to work hard for the playoffs. If there are no stars suitable for playing pick-and-roll as teammates, he doesn't know when he will be able to make a difference.

The Cavaliers are first in the Eastern Conference, with only 58 wins. The Cavaliers mainly rely on the trident of Ilgauskas, Boozer, and James, all frontcourt players, and the defenders are very weak. The Cavaliers also have weaknesses on the defensive end, and coupled with their slow-paced positional warfare style of play, they rarely win over their opponents.

2-8 are the Pistons, Hawks, Nets, Wizards, Bulls, Heat, and Magic.

The Magic are on the last train to the playoffs, thanks to the Pacers' injuries. If O'Neal can play, he won't even be unable to make the playoffs.

The Magic are very strong inside and have a good forward line. The flaw is the No. 1 position. Francis has never been able to trade out, and the contract is so bad that no one has taken it. He only played 44 games this season, scoring 11.7 points and 4 assists, shooting 40% from the field and 37.8% from the three-point range. He only averaged one three-pointer per game, which was a drop in the bucket.

Francis is no longer qualified as a role player, but his annual salary is the highest in the Magic, reaching 15 million.

9-15 are the Pacers, 76ers, Raptors, Bobcats, Bucks, Knicks, and Celtics.

Pierce suffered an injury and missed half of the game. The Celtics had almost no defense inside, and they will start rebuilding in the summer. Chinese fans are relatively familiar with the Green Army because CCTV5 often broadcasts their games live, even though Wang Zhizhi has become a fringe player.

It's not that the Green Army hasn't thought about trading Wang Zhizhi, but if they can't be traded, his role is to attack and open up space. His defense is very poor, he can't hold people in the penalty area, and he is slow to move laterally in the pick-and-roll.

Kobe successfully won the regular season scoring title, averaging 30.2 points per game, averaging 30+ points per game for the third time in his career.

Garnett retained the rebounding title with 12.8 rebounds per game.

The assist leader is Guo Xu, whose average of 12 per game is slightly better than Nash's 11.6.

The block leader is passed by Nuggets center Marcus Camby, averaging 3.3 per game.

It is easiest to win the steals title this year. The Warriors' Baron Davis ranks first in the league with 2.1 per game.

All teams have two days off, and the playoffs will start on April 21st...