Starting from the last bus in the NBA

Chapter 237 The first game of the playoffs

Do you want the regular season MVP?

Isn't this nonsense, as long as he is an NBA player, who doesn't desire more honors?
To put it more bluntly, honor can transform benefits.

The more honors you get, the more confidence you can have when negotiating with the team for a contract extension.

More honors mean greater fame, which also means more opportunities when doing commercial endorsements.

The regular season MVP, as a personal honor, is definitely one of the most important awards in the NBA.

It is estimated that the MVP of the finals has a higher grade because of the bonus of the championship.

However, it is useless to think about it!

Because this is not up to Wang Hao to decide, it depends on David Stern's attitude.

After all, compared to the NBA, he is a foreigner.

Unless David Stern fully supports him, otherwise, it is estimated that there is not a very good chance.

Of course, he also has a slight advantage, that is, David Stern is very optimistic about the Chinese market.

With Wang Hao's entry into the NBA, the Huaxia market has gradually opened up to the NBA, and there are more cooperations in doubles.

Wang Hao didn't pay too much attention, but chose to focus on the next game, which is the most important thing.

Of course, before the start of the game, he has to strengthen another wave.

At the end of the new season, although various awards have not yet been awarded, it's just that he has already gained something.

As the regular season champion of this season and the top of the regular season in the Western Conference, he still has something to gain.

The regular season champion, which allowed him to get 5 skill points, and the three-point champion gave him another 5 skill points.

In addition, coupled with the excellent personal data performance, he also got 5 skill points.

The addition of these [-] skill points, coupled with the season study, also made him a lot of improvement.

Comprehensive evaluation: 89
It's a pity that even with 15 skill points, he still couldn't break through 90 in the end.

With a comprehensive evaluation of more than 90 points, that is a first-class star who has truly stood at the top of the NBA.

It's a little short, but it's enough.

The SuperSonic's opponent in the first round is not easy, last season's Western Conference runner-up Portland Trail Blazers.

He was the runner-up in the Western Conference last season, but this season, he fell to the eighth position in the Western Conference.

Some people may think that the Trail Blazers have not much threat.

However, this is not the case. The Blazers continued the main lineup of last season.

As for O'Neal's departure, it's actually okay, after all, he is not the main force of the Blazers.

In terms of rankings, the Blazers have indeed dropped a lot, but in terms of strength, they may not necessarily have dropped.

Because compared to last season's regular season record, the Blazers only won 9 games less.

The Trail Blazers still have 50 wins this season.

To put it bluntly, it's simply that the Western Conference team is too introverted, and the top eight teams are fighting each other, making it difficult to win.

It can be said that the entire American sports media is unanimously optimistic about the Western Conference team winning the championship.

The only suspense is which western team can make it to the finals and win the championship!
It has to be said that this is a big blow to the eastern team, and they are collectively looked down upon.

Of course, it's no wonder others, who made you weak!
Closer to home, continue to talk about the Trail Blazers, the Sonics have already begun to study this opponent.

Although they haven't met in the playoffs yet, they have played eight games in two years.

Since last season, the lineups of the Sonics and the Trail Blazers are actually very stable and have certain reference significance.

Of course, there is definitely a difference between the playoffs and the regular season.

In the playoffs, the confrontation will be more intense, the defensive actions will be greater, and the rotation will be reduced.

Especially the Trail Blazers, as the best defensive team in the league, also has the most experienced veterans in the team.

However, Paul Westphal is also very confident.

The Blazers will indeed cause them a lot of trouble, but trouble is just trouble.

And they will solve these troubles and win the game in the end.

On April 4, the NBA playoffs started.

In the key arena, the scene was full of seats, and a large number of fans poured into the arena, looking forward to another playoff journey of the Supersonics.

Especially this time, playing as the top player in the regular season undoubtedly gave everyone more confidence.

In the past, when NBA teams were on the road, especially in the playoffs, they often encountered various outside moves.

Only this time, the Sonics didn't do that.

To put it bluntly, it's just disdain. Instead of wasting such energy, it's better to play the game well.

Of course, if the opponents were replaced by the Lakers and Spurs, it is estimated that they would not be so polite.

The Sonics announced the starting lineup early, and like the regular season, the five positions have not changed.

The same goes for the Blazers.

The center position is still the veteran Arvedas Sabonis from Europe.

Speaking of Sabonis, not many people know about it. After all, he was 31 years old when he entered the NBA.

Moreover, when he was at the peak of the NBA, he was only averaging 16+10 per game.

From the looks of it, it's a pretty good qualified starter.

However, the fact is that such an ordinary-looking athlete entered the Hall of Fame after retiring.

Because of his achievements in the international arena.

Of course, Sabonis' greatest achievement should be the emergence of the American Dream Team.

In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the Lithuanian team led by Sabonis cleanly solved the US team.

He told the Americans that U.S. basketball is not qualified to be so proud and only uses college students to compete in the Olympics.

That's when the American Dream Team was born.

Continuing to talk about the Trail Blazers, at the power forward position, it is still their head star Rasheed Wallace.

It's just that Rasheed Wallace is not that kind of superstar, and he is far from talented.

In four regular-season games this season, Rasheed Wallace averaged just 16.2 points and 6.8 rebounds.

Because the Supersonics have PJ Brown, whether it is physical condition or athletic talent, PJ Brown is a perfect match for Rasheed Wallace.

More importantly, Rasheed Wallace doesn't like confrontation, while PJ Brown, who is a defensive champion, is keen on confrontation.

At the small forward position, Scott Pippen is naturally the number one and second in the NBA.

To say who is NBA No. 1, even if Jordan overshadows an era, there are still many controversies.

But if you want to say who is the number one and second leader in the NBA, there is probably not much controversy, and it must be Scottie Pippen.

On the back line are Steve Smith and Little Flying Squirrel.

As far as this lineup is concerned, the strength is indeed not bad, but what is even more not bad is the salary. This starting lineup exceeds 5000 million US dollars.

I have to say, it's an exaggeration.

The cheapest among no one is Steve Smith, whose salary this year is also as high as 800 million US dollars.

What's even more exaggerated is that Sean Kemp, who is sitting on the bench, also has a salary of tens of millions of dollars.

It has to be said that the boss of the Blazers is rich.

However, if the Blazers are unable to win the championship for a long time, it is estimated that this lineup will not be maintained.

It's very simple, the NBA is about to start a luxury tax.

If they can win the championship, it is estimated that the rich boss of the Blazers will not care much about the money.

But they can't win the championship, and they spend so much money, no one will be happy, after all, no one's money is blown by the wind.

"Di!"

With the whistle of the referee, the game officially began.

"Supersonic, supersonic..."

At the beginning of the game, the Sonics lost the jump ball, and the fans immediately counterattacked.

Of course, this degree of interference does not affect the supersonic speed.

Steve Smith handed the ball to Stoudemire, and it was Momonga who took his time dribbling across the half court.

As one of the slowest teams in the NBA, in the playoffs, they took their slowness to the extreme.

Everyone has already settled down, but the little flying mouse is still not in a hurry, just dribbling the ball at the top of the arc.

Is there any use in doing this?
Not at all, just some ineffective dribbles that serve no purpose other than wasting time.

Today, some coaches in the NBA are a little pathological in their pursuit of defense and slow pace.

There were only about 14 seconds left in the attacking time, and the Trail Blazers made a change. Rasheed Wallace came to the middle distance to catch the ball.

After wasting so much time, at this time, the tactical cooperation will definitely not be able to be played, and it can only be played by the stars.

As the leading star of the Trail Blazers, Rasheed Wallace is naturally the first offensive choice for singles.

The moment Rasheed Wallace moved, PJ Brown immediately followed and confronted.

This is not the moment Rasheed Wallace took the ball, he was a little unsteady and almost walked.

That's right, even if the referee blows the whistle, it will only be a walk, not a defensive foul.

After all, this is the playoffs!

In the playoffs, the referee's tolerance for defensive actions has been raised to another level.

After Rasheed Wallace stabilized, he immediately started post-up singles, but the effect was not great.

Although PJ Brown is not physically strong, Rasheed Wallace still can't retreat him inside.

Well, that's the norm.

Sure enough, Rasheed Wallace has long been used to it, turned around very smoothly, and shot directly.

When Rasheed Wallace shoots, his arms are very straight and very high. The so-called three nineties in the shooting action do not exist at all for him.

The advantage of this shooting action is very obvious, that is, it is difficult for the opponent to block the shot.

PJ Brown is naturally very aware of this, so he didn't use the block as a last resort to defend Rasheed Wallace.

As early as when Rasheed Wallace turned around, he had already engaged in a confrontation, a move that was slightly suspected of pushing.

"Bang!"

Sure enough, Rasheed Wallace, who doesn't like confrontation very much, was affected, and the shot went out of the box.

He glared at the referee and yelled, "Foul, that's a foul."

It's a pity that the referee didn't respond at all.

In the playoff confrontation, this level of action is allowed, otherwise the game will not be played at all.

Because the referee's whistle will continue to sound, constantly disrupting the rhythm.

Originally not good-looking, and with such a vicious look, the referee almost blew his whistle in fright.

Roaring Tianzun, if you don't roar and don't take technical fouls, then it's not Roaring Tianzun.

The Sonics are attacking, because it is a home game, and the head coach asked them to play aggressively from the start.

Wang Hao was also polite, and directly reached out to Gary Payton for the ball.

Gary Payton is not so concerned about the ball now, otherwise, they would not give way.

He naturally gave the ball to Wang Hao, and then opened the gap, just like in previous games.

"This is an inheritance, a handover of the torch!"

At this moment, even the host at the key arena couldn't help but say this.

In fact, as early as the start of this season, such topics have never stopped.

But now, in the playoffs, it was actually brought up for the first time.

Not only at the scene, but also in the TV broadcast, many commentators talked about this topic.

This is especially true for those commentators with a team background.

Regarding the replacement of old and new, every team has many stories to tell.

Newcomers want to seize power, and old people are unwilling to abdicate.

Such things are not uncommon in the NBA, and the final result is naturally a loss for all.

Not only the two players, but also the team, as well as the fans, are losers.

Now, the Sonics have done it.

And this result, as long as it is under the right team leadership, the Sonics can at least guarantee another 10 years of strength.

Even, it's not just strong, and it's not just 10 years.

Facing Wang Hao, Steve Smith felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy, and he put on a defensive posture.

It's just that Wang Hao won't choose to fight head-on.

Steve Smith's defense is indeed not top-notch, but the Blazers have more obvious weaknesses.

That's right, Arvedas Sabonis.

He is obviously the first player to land in the NBA in the history of international basketball, and he can be regarded as the most successful player.

But now, it has become the team's weakness.

No way, as a player with a height of more than 220 cm, moving speed is definitely a big problem.

This problem not only troubles Sabonis, even Yao Ming and O'Neal are the same.

Wang Hao asked for the pick-and-roll directly.

Ewing's speed is indeed very slow, but Sabonis is obviously slower, he directly chose to shrink the defense.

Shrink the defense?

After Steve Smith was blocked by Ewing and Wang Hao got rid of it, he made a two-step shot directly inside the three-point line.

"Shh!"

Without any accident, the basketball fell steadily into the net.

Seeing this scene, as the head coach of the Blazers, Mike Dunleavy suddenly stood up from the bench with a very bad face.

Mike Dunleavy is naturally aware of the weaknesses of his own team.

In fact, he had already prepared for such a problem.

No team is perfect, and even the strongest teams have weaknesses.

Sabonis' movement is indeed a big problem, and many teams have targeted this when facing the Trail Blazers.

Then why are the Blazers still willing to keep Sabonis, and even offer him an annual salary of tens of millions.

Naturally because he is useful!

Sabonis' ability to protect the frame in the interior and deterrence are definitely the top in the league.

Even, he is one of the few people in the NBA who can rival O'Neal in strength confrontation.

In other words, Sabonis is too old now, and if he is responsible, he may really have a chance.

The goal of the Blazers has always been O'Neal.

(End of this chapter)