I'm really strong in basketball

Chapter 138 The end of the 2004-2005 regular season

The first quarter is not over yet, and the game is already looking like a draw.

The Cavaliers attacked. James looked at the scores of both sides and thought that he had missed consecutive shots, so he began to hesitate again.

He stood at the top of the arc for a long time and actually chose to break through.

How could White Chocolate's body withstand James' impact?

But Liu He and Hill immediately retracted and flanked James.

However, James' physical talent was so good that the two of them were just a little slower, and James squeezed through the two of them and rushed into the penalty area.

Although he failed to stop James, the confrontation between Liu He and Hill made James speed up.

Chandler under the basket got enough preparation time. Facing the intruding James, he jumped high and blocked James with the ball in one big pass.

block!

The Knicks took advantage of the situation and launched a fast break.

Liu He, who was feeling better, hit a three-pointer directly.

Swish!
22: 6.

The moment the ball was scored, Quicken Loans Arena screamed.

16 points!

In the first quarter, the Cavaliers dug a huge hole for themselves.

Although at the beginning of the second quarter, coach Brandon Malone began to turn the offensive focus to Big Z and Gooden inside, the hole dug was too big and the Cavaliers were unable to climb out until the end of the game.

In the end, 119:101, the Knicks defeated the Cavaliers and won the final game.

In addition, the Knicks created the best record in team history of 61 wins and 21 losses.

When the game ended, the entire Madison Square Garden erupted, with New Yorkers singing, dancing and celebrating wildly.

Dolan spent millions, and the fireworks celebration that had been prepared bloomed instantly.

Around the square, you can even hear sparse gunfire, drowned in the sound of fireworks.

New York is the largest city in the world and one of the most chaotic cities in the world.

Here are the richest tycoons and the most chaotic gangs.

But tonight, they're all celebrating the Knicks making new history.

Quicken Loans Arena.

The Knicks players were also extremely excited. Among other things, owner Dolan promised a gold watch.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers were all dejected, and James even fled into the tunnel early.

At this point, the regular season of this season ends.

This season, Liu He played 82 games, scoring 2618 points, 636 rebounds, 328 assists, 197 steals and 72 blocks.

场均31.9分7.7篮板4助攻2.4抢断0.8盖帽。

He shot 48.9% from the field, 41.6% from three-pointers, and 90.4% from free throws.

（新秀赛季数据：23.2分6.0篮板3.8助攻2.7抢断0.5盖帽，投篮命中率52.1%，三分球命中率46.5%，罚球命中率91.8%。）
All three shooting percentages have declined compared to his rookie season, even falling out of the 180 club.

（180俱乐部要求的是50+40+90，不是加起来超过180。）
There is nothing that can be done about it. In his rookie season, Liu He had Kobe and O'Neal by his side, so the defense he encountered was not very intense.

Looking back on this season, Liu He is the Knicks' top player and always encounters the strongest defense, so it is inevitable that his shooting percentage will drop.

But even so, Liu He's efficiency is still terrible, and his three shooting percentages are far above the average in the league.

This season, among the 30 teams in the league, the highest shooting percentage is 48.6% by the Heat (you know, all thanks to O'Neal), and the lowest is 41.5% by the Bobcats.

The highest three-point shooting percentage is 39.3% by the Suns, and the lowest is 31.2% by the Hawks.

The highest free throw shooting percentage is the Timberwolves' 79.6%, and the lowest is the Heat's 69.6% (you know everything, it all depends on O'Neal).

In this season's scoring list, Liu He took the lead with 31.9 points and won the scoring title.

No. 2 is Iverson’s 30.7 points.

The NHC rules have been a huge improvement for a player like Iverson who relies mainly on breakthroughs, and he instantly regained his second youth.

No. 3 is Kobe’s 27.3 points.

Kobe also had a large proportion of breakthroughs during the No. 8 period, and was naturally one of the beneficiaries.

Followed by James, Nowitzki, Stoudemire, McGrady, Arenas, Carter, Wade, Ray Allen, Reid (23 points).

O'Neal ranked No. 22.9 with an average of 13 points per game.

It can be found that among the top twelve, there are eleven outside players, with the exception of Stoudemire.

(Nowitzki has an inside body and an outside style.)
On the rebounding list:

Garnett leads the league in rebounding with 13.5 rebounds per game.

Assists on the list:

Nash averaged 11.5 assists per game, far surpassing No. 2 Knight (9 assists per game).

Steals list:

Larry Hughes averaged 2.7 times per game and won the steals title.

Iverson and Liu He both ranked second and third with 2.4 times.

Block list:

"Blocking maniac" Marcus Camby averaged 3 times per game and won the block title.

Immediately afterwards, the team's record was quickly released.

West side:

No.1, Phoenix Suns, 62 wins and 20 losses.

No.2, the Los Angeles Lakers, 59 wins and 23 losses.

No.3, San Antonio Spurs, 58 wins and 24 losses.

No.4, Dallas Mavericks, 57 wins and 25 losses.

No. 5, Seattle SuperSonics, 52 wins and 30 losses.

No. 6, Houston Rockets, 51 wins and 31 losses.

No.7, Sacramento Kings, 50 wins and 32 losses.

No.8, Denver Nuggets, 49 wins and 33 losses.

The unlucky guy in No. 9 is Gasol's Grizzlies, who had an excellent record of 45 wins and 37 losses, but they couldn't even make the playoffs.

All I can say is that the Wild West is really scary.

Then came the Timberwolves, Clippers, Warriors, Trail Blazers, Jazz, and Hornets.

East side:

No. 1, New York Knicks, 61 wins and 21 losses.

No.2, Miami Heat, 59 wins and 23 loss.

No. 3, Detroit Pistons, 54 wins and 28 losses.

No. 4, Chicago Bulls, 47 wins and 35 losses.

No. 5, Boston Celtics, 45 wins and 37 losses.

No. 6, Washington Wizards, 45 wins and 37 losses.

No.7, Philadelphia 76ers, 43 wins and 39 losses.

No.8, New Jersey Nets, 42 wins and 40 losses.

No. 9 is James' Cavaliers, with 41 wins and 41 losses.

After that came the Pacers, Magic, Raptors, Bucks, Bobcats, and Hawks.

It is worth mentioning that this season, the league has increased from four divisions to six divisions, with three divisions each in the East and West.

According to the rules of the playoffs, the champions of the three divisions will become the No. [-] seed, No. [-] seed, and No. [-] seed according to their record, and the remaining teams will be ranked according to their record.

According to this rule, the top eight seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences are:

west:

No.1: Phoenix Suns (first place in the Pacific Division), 62 wins and 20 losses.

No.2: San Antonio Spurs (first place in the Southwest Division), 58 wins and 24 losses.

No.3: Seattle SuperSonics (first place in the Northwest Division), 52 wins and 30 losses.

No. 4: Los Angeles Lakers (second in the Pacific Division), 59 wins and 23 losses.

No.5: Dallas Mavericks (second in the Southwest Division), 57 wins and 25 losses.

No. 6, Houston Rockets, 51 wins and 31 losses.

No.7, Sacramento Kings, 50 wins and 32 losses.

No.8, Denver Nuggets, 49 wins and 33 losses.

east:

No.1：纽约尼克斯队（大西洋赛区头名），61胜21负。No.2，迈阿密热火队（东南赛区头名），59胜23负。

No. 3, Detroit Pistons (first place in the Central Division), 54 wins and 28 losses.

No. 4, Chicago Bulls, 47 wins and 35 losses.

No. 5, Boston Celtics, 45 wins and 37 losses.

No. 6, Washington Wizards, 45 wins and 37 losses.

No.7, Philadelphia 76ers, 43 wins and 39 losses.

No.8, New Jersey Nets, 42 wins and 40 losses.

The east was not affected, but the impact in the west was huge.

The Lakers achieved an excellent record of 59 wins and 23 losses and ranked second in the Western Conference. However, they became the fourth seed because they were not as good as the Suns in the same division.

The Sonics have only 52 wins and 30 losses. They are obviously fifth in the Western Conference, but because they are first in the division, they have become the third seed.

This rule also caused some things later on, but that is a story for another day.

According to the rules, the playoff lineup was also released later:

west:

Suns vs. Nuggets.

Spurs vs Kings

SuperSonics vs Rockets.

Lakers vs Mavericks.

east:

Knicks vs. Nets.

Heat vs 76ers.

Pistons vs Wizards.

Bulls vs Celtics.

At the end of the regular season, there will be a two-day offseason for 16 teams to prepare for the playoffs.

On the day when the regular season ended, TNT invited a series of experts to discuss this year's MVP, just like last season. After all, this is the biggest award in the regular season and the award that fans care about most.

According to David Stern's script, the MVP of this season is naturally Kobe and Liu He, the King of Los Angeles and the King of New York, a battle between the two kings.

At the beginning of the show, Lakers star Magic Johnson had a heated argument with Knicks star Willis Reed. The two refused to give in to each other, and both felt that their junior was the real MVP.

At this moment, Buckley suddenly interrupted.

"If Kobe is qualified to win the MVP, I think Steve Nash is more qualified than him."

The peak of Barkley's career is with the Suns, and it makes sense to support Nash, the core of the Suns.

"First of all, the Suns have a record of 62 wins and 20 losses, the Lakers have a record of 59 wins and 23 losses, and the Suns have a better record."

“其次，纳什的个人数据是15.5分3.3篮板11.5助攻1抢断，科比的数据是27.3分5.9篮板6助攻1.3抢断0.8盖帽，数据上两人没有明显的差距。”

"In the end, the Lakers have always been a strong team. But the Suns, with 29 wins and 53 losses last season, ranked second to last in the Western Conference. This season, Nash allowed the Suns to win 33 more games and reach the top of the league. 1. All of this was brought about by Nash!"

"So there is no doubt that Nash is more qualified to win the MVP than Kobe."

Upon hearing Barkley's words, the magician was stunned and speechless.

Because Barkley does have a point.

For a team to go from last in the Western Conference to first in the league, there is no doubt about Nash's role for this Suns team.

New York, NBA headquarters.

David Stern, who was watching this show, was also stunned: It’s broken!

The script he planned was obviously Kobe vs. Liu He, but why did Nash appear halfway through?

With Nash's performance, he is qualified to win the MVP in any season.

Moreover, the Suns have played a "7-second offense" tactic this season, and their style of play is extremely gorgeous, attracting many fans.

From this point of view, Nash is also qualified.

However, Kobe is the new face launched by Stern, and Liu He is the representative responsible for the Chinese and New York markets. The commercial value of both of them far exceeds that of Nash. Stern still wants to choose one of these two people.

TNT, seeing that Barkley was so angry that Magic was speechless, Willis Reed quickly added fuel to the fire: "If you want to win the MVP, you must at least reach No. 1 in the division. In terms of record, Nash is indeed He is more qualified to win the MVP than Kobe."

Magic was furious, but didn't know how to explain to Kobe.

In front of the TV, Liu He, who was watching the show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, knew it very well.

He just reaped the dividends of the times.

The pattern of a strong west and a weak east has been going on for many years.

According to NBA rules, a team usually plays four games against teams in its own division and two games against teams in different divisions.

As a team in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks play more against novice opponents in the Eastern Conference (played 4 games), and play less against the powerful teams in the Western Conference (played 2 games). This is what the Knicks occupy. Cheap.

That is to say, in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks can achieve a record of 61 wins and 21 losses.

If placed in the Western Conference, the Knicks' limit would be 55 wins or 50 wins.

It's definitely not as good as the Lakers.

In the West, there are too many teams that can play.

The Suns, Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks, Rockets, SuperSonics, and Kings are all championship seeds.

On the other hand, in the Eastern Conference, the only teams that can really compete are the Heat and Pistons.

The Heat have just traded for O'Neal. This is the first year for O'Neal and Wade to work together. They still need to work together, and the depth of the bench is not enough.

The Pistons are naturally strong, but most of last year's strong substitutes are gone. Okur, Sula, and Chris Williams were suspended due to the Auburn Hills Palace incident at the beginning of the season, resulting in a poor early record.

There is also a Pacers team, which should have been the strongest team in the Eastern Conference, but was ruined by the incident at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

It is precisely because of this that Liu He can lead the Knicks to the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

For many years to come, the Eastern Conference has always had this pattern. Except for one or two super teams, the other teams are garbage and vulnerable.

So if you want to have a good record in the Eastern Conference, it's really simple.

TNT, after Barkley finished talking to the Magician, he immediately looked at Mr. Reed.

"For the same reason, Nash is more qualified to win the MVP than Liu He!"

Mr. Reed smiled.

"At the beginning of the season, ESPN ranked the Knicks No. 12 in the Eastern Conference. Now, we are No. [-] in the Eastern Conference."

"Look around Nash. There are two All-Star players, Stoudemire and Marion. Who is around Liu He? Hill who has been lying down for four years, 42-year-old Malone, 37-year-old Payton, the Bulls Crawford is unnecessary, Pachulia is the top pick in the trade, and Chandler is the second pick."

Barkley retorted: "But these guys are playing well this season."

Reid: "That's because Liu He is here, and he makes these teammates play better. Without Liu He, would any team want these people last summer? Doesn't this further prove Liu He's ability? His ability to make his teammates better is as good as Nash's."

Barkley was silent for a while, and then spoke again: "Comparing the improvement of the two teams' records, it is obvious that the Suns have improved even more. This season, we won 33 more games."

Mr. Reed smiled: "I want to ask, back to last summer, would Nash have the same courage and dare to come to New York?"

Buckley: "."

I really dare not.

Regardless of last season, the Knicks had a better record than the Suns, but the good was limited, and that was a lineup that Isiah Thomas spent more than $1 million to build.

The Suns have a poor record, but at least they have salary space and can make changes.

On the other hand, the Knicks have a bloated salary that has not been changed in several years, and even if they want to rebuild, they can't.

Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that the Knicks suck and will continue to suck.

Not to mention Nash, Barkley didn't even dare to come to the Knicks when he was at his peak.

But Liu He came and took the Knicks back to first place in the Eastern Conference in just one season. This is really awesome!

At the beginning of the season, everyone, including Barkley, was not optimistic about this Knicks team, but he just played and slapped everyone in the face.

Seeing the change in Barkley's expression, Mr. Reed struck while the iron was hot: "Also, if you think Liu He's assistant is very good, then let the two teams exchange all the players except Liu He and Nash."

Exchange is of course impossible, this is just an assumption.

When Buckley thought of this, he couldn't help but shake his head.

Exchange, impossible.

Not to mention anything else, the Suns' trade value for Stoudemire, Marion, and Joe Johnson is equal to that of the entire Knicks team except Liu He.

Seeing that Barkley didn't speak, Mr. Reed's smile became even brighter: "Charles, do you also admit that Liu He did what Nash didn't dare to do with help that was not as good as Nash?"

Buckley didn't want to admit it, but he was a real man and didn't want to lie, so he finally nodded and admitted it.

Thus, this TV show ended with Mr. Reed's victory.

Liu He also received the biggest call for MVP.

Of course, it's still early to win the MVP.

This award is called regular season MVP, but it does not entirely depend on regular season performance. The following playoffs will affect the judges' attitude to some extent.

(End of this chapter)