Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

Charles Barkley exclaimed: "Sure enough, Lu was not exaggerating. The Nets scored over 100 points in three quarters. They swept the Eastern Conference with their offense. Even if the Raptors are the top four teams in the division, they cannot stop this young ace team. !”

In the final quarter, both sides sent in substitute lineups to compete.

Lu Yong gave Monte Morris a chance to perform, and the other four were Jeremy Lin, Hardaway, Wood, and Hamilton.

Under the leadership of Wood and Hardaway, the Nets offense is still very aggressive.

In addition to scoring fast break counterattacks, the two also jointly threw 5 three-pointers in the positional battle, always leading the team to beat the Raptors.

Second-year rookie Siakam showed off his strength and scored 11 points in this quarter to help the team catch up.

It's a pity that Siakam caught wind a little late, and the garbage time explosion looked like a score increase.

At the end, 132 to 95, the Nets easily defeated the Raptors and defended their No. position in the Eastern Conference.

The media praised the Nets the next day, believing that the Nets, Celtics and Cavaliers were the only teams in the Eastern Conference.

The rest, including the Raptors, are destined to be just "pseudo-strong teams" that follow along.

After a day off, the Nets beat the Clippers 128-94 on the road again.

The Nets' all-in-one style of play is very troublesome. They seem to have no backbone, but they can always produce terrifying offensive firepower.

拉塞尔、米切尔、丁威迪三人这场全部得分20+，洛佩兹也发挥稳定，14分8篮板1助攻4盖帽。全队7人得分上双，进攻强的一批。

After half a season of running-in, the young Nets' offensive stability has been significantly improved. They no longer rely solely on touch, and their shooting confidence behind screens is much greater than at the beginning of the season.

Lu Yong used the style of play of later Pacers, attacking and fighting for his life, either you die or I die.

Except for teams with outstanding players in all five positions, few teams in the league can withstand the Nets' offensive.

After consecutive victories over their opponents, the entire Brooklyn went crazy, and all major media turned their attention to the Nets.

Nets players were not low-key in interviews. Under Lu Yong's instructions, they all spoke in the same tone. The goal is to get the best record in the regular season and fully embody the meaning of the four words "young and energetic".

Lu Yong even bluntly said that the future belongs to the Nets. As long as he is given two years, the Nets can make the entire league tremble.

This Nets lacks top stars to lead the team, but all the players are very capable. As long as they grow step by step, they will definitely become a behemoth.

In March, Russell sprained his ankle and missed two weeks, and Dinwiddie ushered in spring on the bench.

First, he scored 37 points in the game against the Grizzlies. Two days later, he handed over 23 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He was very aggressive offensively.

With the outstanding performance of Mitchell and Dinwiddie, the Nets have won more and lost less this month and are still firmly ranked first in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics are having a tough time this month. Two of their main players, Irving and Hayward, have been injured and missed part of the game. The Nets are stuck in the second place in the Eastern Conference and can't even raise their heads.

The only good news is that Tatum seized the opportunity and played well for a month. In March, he averaged 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal per game. His cool turn-up jump shot really gave him a bit of a 'Mamba disciple' flavor. .

Entering April, the Nets and Celtics continue to compete for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Lu Yong rested his main players extensively in preparation for the playoffs and lost some games. However, the Celtics did not benefit from the subsequent decline in physical fitness and their record was average.

Lu Yong knows that the regular season is not the time to work hard, and ensuring health is more important than anything else.

With the record advantage accumulated in the early part of the season, the Nets have a better chance than the Celtics to reach first place in the division.

Facts have proved that even if the main players take a rest, Dinwiddie, Hardaway, Wood and others on the bench did not disappoint Lu Yong.

Later in the season, Cheng helped the team achieve a 6-game winning streak, firmly suppressing the Green Army.

Seeing that the Celtics had no hope of competing for first place in the Eastern Conference, they also began to rest their main players on a small scale to warm up for the playoffs in advance.

Relying on a wave of winning streak, the Nets finally achieved a record of 60 wins and 22 losses.

From last season in the league, they jumped to first in the Eastern Conference and second in the league.

The Celtics ranked second with 58 wins, followed by the Cavaliers, Raptors, 76ers, Knicks, Heat, and Bucks.

The Wizards are one game behind the Bucks, ranking ninth and missing the playoffs.

It's hard to say whether the Bucks are the lucky one. Although they boarded the last train of the playoffs at the last moment, they faced the Nets in the first round and had a high probability of being swept out.

After all, the Bucks only achieved 44 wins in the regular season. The lineup seemed good, but the core players had obvious flaws, and their combat effectiveness was far inferior to the Heat, which was seventh in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks played well in the second half of the season, and their record improved slightly. They overtook the Heat and the Bucks to climb to sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Although Hornacek tried his best to avoid the embarrassment against the Nets in the first round, he was still hanging by a thread against the Cavaliers, with a probability of traveling in the first round of more than 70%.

The Knicks and Cavaliers met three times in the regular season, with the result being 1 win and 2 losses.

Since Lu Yong left the team, the Knicks have been unable to beat their old rivals.

Hornacek arranged the defense according to the situation, and instead of limiting James' scoring, he scored 96 points in three games combined, averaging 32 points per game.

What's even more interesting is that Anthony complained to the media many times about the referee, saying that he had no whistle and was being treated unfairly.

Lu Yong didn't even know how he had the nerve to say this.

In his peak season, Melo was highly praised by the league. He averaged 7.6 free throws per game with his jump-shooting style.

After all, he was the number one player in the league at the time, and with Lu Yong's support behind him, the league and the referees were very proud of him. If he broke through and touched the inside, the whistle would sound.

But now, Anthony's halo is no longer there, and his popularity and evaluation have also turned from white to black.

The referee just returned to normal whistle blowing and no longer took care of him. Anthony couldn't stand it anymore and felt that the league was targeting him, which was cute and stupid.

Ranked 9-15 in the Eastern Conference are the Wizards, Pacers, Pistons, Hornets, Bulls, Magic, and Hawks.

The Pacers had a chance to make the playoffs, but unfortunately Oladipo was injured in the second half of the season and missed nearly 25 games. Their record immediately plummeted, falling from the top five in the division to tenth in the Eastern Conference.

The Pistons were also miserable. They were trying to get a taste of the playoffs by playing Griffin in the middle of the season, but as a result, the team didn't even make it into the top ten. Head coach Stan Van Gundy is so embarrassed that he will definitely be fired during the offseason.

The first place in the Western Conference is the Rockets, with 65 wins and 17 losses, and the league's first regular season record.

Although they were beaten to the ground by the Nets in the regular season, the Rockets still have some strength. They swept the league with their magic ball style, and their offensive firepower is second only to the Nets, ranking second in the league.

The main difference between the Nets and the Rockets is defense. Paul and Ariza in the Rockets' backcourt are both good defensive players with rich experience and are better than the newbies in the Nets.

The Warriors led by Curry ranked second and only achieved 58 wins due to injuries. However, they entered the playoffs with a complete lineup. No team in the West dared to underestimate them.

The Trail Blazers worked hard in the second half to secure the third spot. The SuperSonics, which formed the Big Three in the summer, only ranked fourth and had an average regular season record. The main reason was that Adu missed 37 games, George missed 21 games, and Westbrook missed 16 games. , all three of them had injuries of varying degrees, and they were always playing on and off.

Fortunately, the Big Three were all back to health at the end of the regular season. Even if they only finished fourth in the Western Conference, they were still the league's biggest favorites to win the championship.

5-8 are Jazz, Pelicans, Spurs, and Timberwolves.

The Clippers traded away Griffin in the second half, which meant that they would withdraw from the playoff competition early. Otherwise, it would be okay to work hard to unseat the Timberwolves.

9-15 are the Clippers, Nuggets, Lakers, Kings, Mavericks, Grizzlies, and Suns.

After the rankings were determined, the king of statistics in the regular season was officially born.

Rockets star James Harden was once again elected as the scoring champion, averaging 30.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He averaged 10 three-pointers per game, which was more than the total number of ordinary players.

Pelicans star Anthony Davis ranked second with an average of 28.1 points per game. Although he failed to win the scoring title, he was definitely in the best first team + first defense this year. He shot 53.4% ​​from the field and was very efficient.

The rebounding leader is still Drummond of the Pistons, averaging 16 rebounds per game. He has no other skills but his ability to grab. It is only a matter of time before he is eliminated in the small ball era.

The assist leader is Westbrook of the SuperSonics, averaging 10.3 times per game. Breakthrough points are his specialty, making Durant and George much easier off the ball.

Both the steals leader and the block leader are Nets players. Mitchell averaged 2.1 steals per game and was elected, taking the bonus of Oladipo not being on the list.

Originally, the steal leader should have been Oladipo, who averaged 2.4 times per game. However, he was injured late in the season and his attendance rate was insufficient. Not only did he miss out on the steal leader, but the Pacers also fell out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference. It was really miserable.

Lopez won the block title, averaging 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals and 2.8 blocks per game. He shot 50.3% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range. He is a strong contender for the best defensive player and the Nets. The number one defender in the penalty area.

In addition, Joe Harris also received a personal honor that received little attention. He shot 47.6% from three-pointers and became the season's top scorer.

Although Harris's three-point shooting output is not as good as Curry and Thompson's top shooters, his efficiency is absolutely reliable and he is a good player in the Nets' positional battles.

On the 22nd, the Nets’ first playoff game was held in Brooklyn.

The New York Knicks next door had already played a game first, losing to the Cavaliers cleanly by 17 points, and were swept to 1/4.

Because the games between the Nets and the Knicks are strung together by the league, the Nets home attendance rate is very high, not only from Brooklyn fans, but also from New York fans across the river.

If the Knicks fail to live up to expectations, New York fans naturally have to come to Brooklyn to wash their eyes, so as not to get more and more angry at home and make themselves sick.

This Bucks team is actually very talented, but the star Giannis Antetokounmpo is still a little young. This is the third time in his career that he has played in the playoffs. He failed to break through the first round in the previous two times.

In addition, the main point guard Bledsoe was also troubled by injuries. He was in poor condition when playing injured and was beaten one-on-one by Russell.

Giannis Antetokounmpo can't gain an advantage by breaking through inside. Millsap and Luo are directly hitting the goal with two ghosts, shooting from mid-to-long distance. If you want to hit the basket, it is definitely not negotiable.

During the regular season, Antetokounmpo ranked first in the league in scoring under the basket with an average of 16.8 points per game. At the same time, the offensive efficiency at the basket also reached 67%. However, the obvious problem is that there is no basket. He only hit 42 three-pointers throughout the season, with a shooting percentage of 29.5. %.

Now that Antetokounmpo has not developed a stable shooting, as long as he guards the penalty area well, his scoring efficiency will be cut in half.

In addition, Antetokounmpo's ability to handle the ball is still young.

Although he averaged 4.8 assists per game in the regular season, which seems very comprehensive, his assist-to-turnover ratio has actually reached 1.7.

To put it simply, Alphabet can only succeed once every 1.7 passes, which is obviously not very efficient.

Faced with the Nets' determined double-teaming, Antetokounmpo did not want to be fouled because of his free throw efficiency. His passing process was always too casual, and it was difficult for his teammates to catch the ball. He lost good offensive opportunities and was even intercepted and beaten by the Nets. Fight back.

The Bucks couldn't take advantage of the starting lineup, and the gap between the substitutes was even greater, and they were beaten from beginning to end.

Middleton did hit a few magic shots, but the offensive end was unstoppable. No matter how hard the second-in-command was, he couldn't bring down the lost boss.

字母哥打了37分钟，16投5中，三分4中0，罚球8中4，得到14分9篮板3助攻2抢断，还有全场最多的7次失误。

111 to 84, the Nets defeated the Bucks in the first game, winning more decisively than the Cavaliers next door.

Only Middleton performed well in the Bucks, scoring 22 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The other players' shooting percentages were terrible.

反观篮网一边，全队6人得分上双，拉塞尔18分3篮板5助攻1抢断，三分球8投4中，仅出场26分钟。

Mitchell also didn't play long. He scored 21 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists on sudden inside and outside shots, the highest on the team.

洛佩兹得分不多，11分7篮板1助攻3盖帽，米尔萨普15分11篮板2助攻1抢断2盖帽。

Millsap and Luo were very successful in defending Antetokounmpo. They jointly blocked 5 shots, 4 of which were blocked by Antetokounmpo, which made Antetokounmpo doubt his life.

On the bench, the second team led by Dinwiddie was even more aggressive.

In the second quarter, he had an overall advantage against veteran Jason Terry. He played 22 minutes and easily handed over 16 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists.

At the press conference, when asked by reporters how to evaluate the Bucks, Lu Yong said with a relaxed smile: "There is talent, but it takes time to come up with results. The Nets have more people who can play. This series. Victory is guaranteed.”

The reporter asked again: "How many games do you predict it will take the Nets to defeat the Bucks?"

"In four games, the Nets have absolute crushing strength. There is no reason not to sweep them in the first round."

The next day, the media analyzed that the Nets' chance of sweeping the first round was over 90%.

Judging from the state of the first match between the two teams, if the Bucks want to win, unless Antetokounmpo breaks out in shooting, Luo + Millsap will be a mountain that he cannot climb no matter what.

The Nets won the next three games very easily, there was no suspense about the outcome, and they swept 4-0 to advance. (End of chapter)