Basketball starts with breathing

Chapter 231 Or Duncan [Second update, please subscribe]

The Bulls faced the Orlando Magic in the first round.

This season, the Bulls' regular season record against the Magic is a complete victory, because this year's Magic is full of injuries. If it wasn't for McGrady's strong performance, maybe they wouldn't have any hope of the playoffs at all.

Grant Hill's ankle played in just four regular-season games last season, and he's been reimbursed with just a few games this season.

Ewing and the Magic signed a two-year, $2 million contract this year, but this season is not over yet. A serious knee injury caused Ewing to terminate his contract with the Magic ahead of schedule.

Losing two generals all at once, and a fart.

The current Magic team is supported by McGrady and Armstrong.

Tracy McGrady has grown into a true superstar this season.

Score 25.6 points, fourth in the league, 7.8 rebounds, 38.3 minutes of playing time are the team's first.

The 5.3 assists and 1.57 steals are second only to Armstrong.

In the end, he successfully entered the first team of the NBA's best team, and also got the fourth point in the evaluation of the most valuable player in the regular season.

As one of the captains of the team, Darrell Armstrong is still the representative of the Magic's fighting spirit. He is the team's assist leader with 5.5 times, No.19 in the league, 1.91 steals leader, sixth in the league, and still maintains a very high level. Free throw percentage, 88.8%, third in the league.

Under head coach Doc Rivers, the Magic made the playoffs for the seventh and second straight time in nine seasons.

The team's 44 wins and 38 losses also allowed the team's winning percentage to be no less than [-]% for ten consecutive years.

However, they met the Bulls, and no one was optimistic that they could beat the Bulls.

Especially under the best-of-five game system, they didn't have enough time to figure out the Bulls' play style, and it was even more difficult to make timely and effective adjustments. Even if they were two games ahead, they might be overturned——

After all, their head coach is Rivers!
The legendary reversed king.

Since 1984, the first round of the playoffs has adopted a best-of-5 system, and the second and third rounds and the NBA Eastern and Western championship finals have adopted a best-of-3 system.

直到2003年之后，NBA季后赛全部比赛才从原来的实行的5场3胜制改变为7场4胜制，在季后赛一，二轮中，主客场是采用2-2-1-1-1的赛制，总决赛仍为2-3-2制。

Who is the first victim after the system change?
It is Lu Yu's next opponent, Maddie.

In the 02-03 season, McGrady played the highest personal performance, averaging 32.2 points per game, and the team barely entered the playoffs as the 8th in the Eastern Conference.

However, since entering the playoffs, McGrady has played very bravely, once helping the team lead the Pistons 3-1.

You know, this is the first year that the NBA has just changed from the best-of-five-innings system to the best-of-seven innings system in the first round. If the Magic had completed the eight-black miracle last year, McGrady said in an interview at that time, "I have already begun to think about it. Next round opponent."

But under such a good game, the Pistons stubbornly pulled 3 games in a row and defeated the Magic by a 4-3 reversal. Rivers, then the bishop of the Magic, also began his own way of being overturned.

Lu Yu could only sigh that his life was bad.

Except for the Nets in the other three groups of games in the East, it seems that no team can be as sure as the Bulls playing the Magic.

The Nets against the Pacers were almost all-round crushing.

Reggie Miller is getting old, and the Pacers have no one else to carry the banner on their offense.

No matter how powerful O'Neal is, he can't beat the four hands.

What's more, the Nets also have Kidd, the tricky point guard.

The other two groups are not so lucky, Detroit Pistons vs. Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics vs. Charlotte Hornets, regardless of the average record of the 76ers and Hornets, but no team dares to underestimate them .

Needless to say, the 76ers were the Eastern Conference champions last season. Although they struggled this season, who would dare to underestimate a team with Iverson?

The Celtics are fourth in the Eastern Conference and the Hornets are fifth in the Eastern Conference. The records of the two teams are comparable in terms of strength and style of play.

The Celtics haven't made the playoffs for six years in a row, and only made it to the playoffs this season under Pierce and Anthony Walker, and it's the play of their heavy-duty lines that keeps other balls in the loop. The team is miserable.

And the Hornets, after Jamal Mashburn was injured, Baron Davis became the core of the team.

In fact, this season, the conflict between the management of the Hornets and the fans in Charlotte began to intensify, resulting in a very poor home record for the Hornets, but an exceptionally good away record.

So don't look at them without home field advantage, now it seems that the away game has become their home field advantage.

It's a bit like Lu Yu's previous life, Immortal Leo, who couldn't play at home because he didn't have injections, and could only play on the road.

As for the west.

There was basically no objection in the first round, and all basketball commentators believed that the first round must have been a one-sided massacre.

After all, the strength of the four teams of the Kings, Spurs, Lakers and Mavericks is really too strong.

Even the second Mavericks were unanimously favored by everyone because their opponent in the first round was the Timberwolves. Don't look at the Timberwolves playing very well at the beginning of the season. When all teams have enough research on the zone defense, they have something like that. It's not enough to see.

Especially in the eyes of old Nelson, they have more than a dozen ways to beat the Timberwolves.

Garnett?
It's hard to do the driver!

The two days after the playoff roster is released are the days for the teams that did not enter the playoffs to rest, but the teams that entered the playoffs did not have time to relax, and they were still making final adjustments before the war.

All the players of the Bulls consciously gave up their two-day vacation, and all soaked in the training hall. Although the training intensity is not high, it is more about maintaining state, but for each player, the playoffs are the real battlefield .

A lot of people are disparaging the Bulls online right now.

I think that the Bulls can get the third place in the Eastern Conference all by "playing". When other teams encounter the Bulls in the regular season, they are unwilling to "play" with them, because others are just playing, and they play... Hit people together.

While every team will have one or two particularly tough hitters, such as the New York Knicks' Big Mom, the Jazz's Karl Malone, they may have good fights on the court, free wrestling, or each other.

Others acted on each other, like the one where Karl Malone and Rodman kept falling over halftime.

But there has never been a team with so many thugs like the Bulls!

"You mean the bulls? Do they play ball?"

"Isn't it normal to have a ball in a fight? Is it possible to make a bull as docile as a cow? Do you see that there are still some men in the league now?"

"Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Tyson Chandler, Charles Oakley, and Lu Yu... God, their thugs can make a starting lineup."

Seeing this kind of comment, Lu Yu was speechless. Isn't it just a little bit "tough" in playing, what's more, the Bulls don't even have a decent insider, how can they defend if they don't fight?
The Lakers have O'Neal, the Kings have Webber, the Spurs have Duncan and the Admiral, and the Mavericks have veteran drivers.

These are the top four teams in the West. The Nets in the East have Kenyon Martin, the 76ers have Mutombo, the Celtics have Anthony Walker, and even the Pistons have Ben Wallace.

How to compare?
This kind of fan only knows the roughness of the Bulls' game, but never cares about the comparison of the lineup on the court. If Chandler doesn't use elbows, how can his small body withstand O'Neal's crushing?
There are also some fans who say that the current game is not as good as it used to be. When they miss the black and white duo, they miss Jordan's Bulls dynasty.

But they don't even look at it. Now the league's rules have changed a lot, and the tactics of each team are complicated. In order to adapt to the rules and crack the opponent, each team basically uses all the tricks that can be used. Just to win the game.

As for whether the game is good-looking or not, what is the use of being good-looking?

Winning is the key.

Fans who support the Bulls feel that it is normal for them to finish third in the Eastern Conference, because the Bulls have a core player like Lu Yu and a group of excellent role players.

In the West, the results may be much worse, but in the East, a team like the Bulls is good enough in a pile of junk.

Lu Yu has already proved his strength in the All-Star Game.

Rookie Challenge MVP, three-point champion, All-Star Game MVP, and even in the future, Lu Yu can still win the title of the best rookie. Even in the regular season MVP ranking, Lu Yu is only ranked behind McGrady.

The Magic led by McGrady ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference.

To put it bluntly, the NBA is a business league. If Lu Yu is like this, the league will naturally support him. David Stern is naturally very happy.

In addition to "Sports Illustrated", most of the media in the major media catered to the tone of "SPORT" magazine and praised Lu Yu. In addition to discussing whether Lu Yu would win the best rookie on the Internet, they were also discussing Lu Yu winning the regular season. Possibility of MVP.

Of course, it is almost impossible for Lu Yu to win the regular season MVP this season.

David Stern is willing to give Lu Yu the best rookie. After all, it is a matter of course, but if Lu Yu is given the MVP of the regular season, he will definitely be the first to object.

At least not this season.

This season, Lu Yu has won enough honors. If Lu Yu takes away even the important honor of MVP in the regular season, then a large number of fans will definitely stand up to spray the NBA league and flatter the Chinese market.

Stern held a meeting with the officials to discuss the issue of the ownership of the regular season MVP for half a day.

He really wants to give this trophy to Iverson. Regardless of how many problems Iverson has now, he is still the most popular among American players. The problem is that Iverson has already won the MVP trophy once last season. Coupled with the poor record of the 76ers this season, it is really hard to convince him.

Among the remaining teams, O'Neal of the Lakers also won.

As for Kobe, he is still the second-in-command of the team, and it is even more impossible to give him.

The record of the Kings is the first in the league, but his star Webber, Stern does not like him, nor does he like the Kings hoarding so many All-Star players.

This approach makes it difficult for him to build a superstar for the league.

In this place in the NBA, Stern is the boss. He will praise whoever he wants, because the league needs superstars to make money, and the Kings have beaten other superstar teams to the ground. Naturally, Stern does not like it.

Everyone discussed it for half an hour, and finally Stern made the decision - or Duncan.

As for Lu Yu, who ranked No.5 in the MVP standings, he was not in his consideration at all...

　One more update, I'm writing
　　
　
(End of this chapter)