One Guard

Chapter 484: The Tragic West

On April 17, 2013, at 10:30 pm US time, when Spanish legendary star Pau Gasol used an explosive triple-double of 17 points, 11 assists and 20 rebounds to help the Lakers, who lacked Kobe Bryant, defeat the Rockets, he had a luxurious F4 The Los Angeles "Aristocrats" of the lineup finally confirmed their last playoff spot this year.

The Lakers' struggles herald the official end of this intense regular season. The final rankings of the Eastern and Western Parts have finally been confirmed. In the East, the overall ranking is similar to pre-season expectations. Although the Celtics fell to seventh place in the Eastern Conference, they are still a playoff team. The Miami Heat's dominance is also expected.

As for the west, the situation is more chaotic than people imagined. Before the start of this season, ESN's predicted rankings were that the Lakers were first in the Western Conference, the Thunder were second in the Western Conference, and the Spurs were third in the Western Conference. What about the Dallas Mavericks? Eighth in the Western Conference, and behind this predicted ranking, experts added another sentence. "Without Nowitzki, the Mavericks must work hard and have luck at the same time if they want to get eighth in the Western Conference."

But now? The Los Angeles Lakers have become that fringe member who just steps into the playoff threshold. The Dallas Mavericks ranked third in the Western Conference with 57 wins, overwhelming teams led by Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Howard and Harden.

It's no longer Dirk Nowitzki who makes the Mavericks do all this, nor is it Mayo who once was a flash in the pan. Yiyang, the third-year Chinese who averaged 28.8 points, 11.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game this season, is the key to turning the Mavericks into a miracle!

Yiyang's personal data is quite gorgeous. Among them, Yiyang's crazy scoring performance in the second half of the season made Yiyang's scoring average only 0.1 points less than this year's scoring leader Anthony! His 62-point performance in a single game was also the highest scoring record by a player in the regular season this year. Taking into account scoring, Yiyang also averaged 11.3 assists per game. In this data, Yiyang ranks first in the league. The second-ranked Rajon Rondo has only played 38 games this season, and his average data per game is still only 11.1 times. In addition, Yiyang's 2.2 steals ranked second in the league behind Chris Paul's 2.4. Such excellent data undoubtedly gives him the capital to compete for the MV. Of course, Yiyang became an MV candidate not just because of his explosive statistics, but also because he single-handedly pushed the Mavericks to the top of the Western Conference.

"If the former Nash could take away the MV trophy from O'Neal, then the current Nash can also deserve to take the trophy away from LeBron. No matter in terms of personal data or team performance, he has done both. It's very good. Although James' efficiency value ranks first in the league this season, MV is not the abbreviation of 'Highest Efficiency Value Award'!"

"The fourth player in history to win the regular season MV as an All-Star substitute. Such a title is exciting just thinking about it!"

"This will be a leap forward moment for Chinese and even Asian basketball! Now, every step we take is making history!"

As the star of the team with the most surprising results after the regular season,

Yiyang became a hot topic of discussion before the start of the playoffs. Under the halo of Yiyang's superb performance, some media even claimed that this year's Dallas Mavericks, who seem to have a poor lineup, might be able to reach the finals and compete with the Heat again. And judging from the game a few days ago, if the Heat and the Mavericks really meet in the finals, it's up to two people to decide whether the Big Three can win.

The outside world is suddenly very optimistic about the Mavericks, but they don't know that they were also the ones who looked down on the Mavericks before the start of the season.

Despite being touted by the media, Carlisle did not have any dreams of winning the O'Brien Cup in one fell swoop. A Dirk whose scoring data hit a career low, a Mayo who was "hard" for a while and then "soft" immediately, a Marion who will turn 35 in a few days and will average double digits in points per game. Darren Collison, who averaged 12 points per game, but struggled to carry the team... and Yi Jianlian, Carter, Kaman, Brand... Guang Listening to these names, it's really hard to associate the Dallas Mavericks with third place in the Western Conference. The Mavericks' outstanding performance seems to have made people forget about Cuban's slightly shabby lineup. This kind of lineup can still reach the top three in the regular season with Yiyang's hard work, but in the playoffs, every round it enters will be an extremely difficult challenge for the Mavericks.

The Spurs, Thunder, Clippers, Nuggets... each of these opponents, the lineup on paper looks better than the Mavericks. To survive in an extremely cruel series, the level of difficulty is not comparable to that of the regular season.

Carlisle knew this very well, so he did not become arrogant because of the unanimous praise from the outside world. If the Mavericks really want to create a miracle, they have to do it step by step.

For example, right now, what Carlisle needs to solve is not how to deal with the Thunder, let alone how to defeat the Heat. The biggest problem facing the Mavericks now is the Memphis Grizzlies!

With 55 wins and 26 losses, the Grizzlies, ranked sixth in the fiercely competitive Western Conference, are actually only 2 games behind the Mavericks! If NA's regular season schedule can add three more games, it may not be certain who is sixth and who is third now.

Therefore, although the rankings are in order, in fact, most of the teams in the Western Conference are teams of the same level. Facing the low-key opponent of the Memphis Grizzlies, Carlisle did not think the game would be easy.

"Run, run! Don't think you can take it easy after the regular season is over. The real battle has just begun!" In the training ground of the American Airlines Center Arena, Carlisle's voice was already a little hoarse, but this still did not stop him from being present. While dancing and shouting loudly.

Yiyang wiped the sweat from his forehead. Now he had no time to think about the ownership of the MV. How to prepare more effectively for the series with the Grizzlies is what Yiyang is focusing on.

"Kaman, your pick-and-roll is still too slow! Remember, the screen must be decisive and fast! The Grizzlies' offensive efficiency is only ranked 18th in the league, but why can they reach the sixth place in the Western Conference? Playoffs? Because their defensive efficiency ranks second in the league! You have to be mentally prepared. In the game in a few days, we may face a defensive intensity that we have never seen before. Therefore, the offensive end will I play more smoothly and take shots from the outside when I have the chance, instead of digging inside as soon as I have the ball."

It can be seen that Carlisle is still very concerned about the Grizzlies opponent.

Looking back at the growth process of the Grizzlies, I have to say that they have achieved their current achievements step by step and down-to-earth. The Vancouver Grizzlies were a well-known bad team in the league at that time, but since they moved to Memphis, although the team has young core players such as Pau Gasol and Jason Williams, and has successively been coached by Hubby. Under the coaching of Brown and Fratello, they entered the playoffs for two consecutive years, but were swept out by the Spurs and Suns respectively with 40.

Since acquiring Rudy Gay in the summer of 2006, the Grizzlies have officially entered a rebuilding period. From 2007 to 2010, they acquired Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and other core players in the current Grizzlies team through drafts and trades. In the 2010-2011 season, the addition of Tony Allen allowed the Grizzlies to return to the playoffs after 5 years. And that year they created a "black eight" miracle in the first round, eliminating the Spurs, the No. 1 team in the Western Conference.

The growth history of the Grizzlies is simply a living inspirational script. These guys were once able to beat the Spurs. This year, God knows, the Mavericks, who are third in the Western Conference, will be slapped down by the Grizzlies.

Carlisle knows very well that the Grizzlies are by no means a weak team. Compared with names such as the Spurs, Thunder and Clippers, they may indeed not be well-known, but they are by no means ordinary.

The media said that the Mavericks would easily advance past the first round, but Carlisle thought that was irresponsible nonsense. The best thing the Grizzlies have done this year is to let go of singles stars like Mayo and Gay. Without these two people, it is obvious that the Grizzlies have improved in tactical execution.

Thinking of this, Carlisle looked at Mayo subconsciously. The guy with the blank eyes is now much fatter than he was at the beginning of the season. A professional player can't even do the most basic thing of staying in shape. Can you still expect this young man to make a difference in the playoffs?

Mayo still hasn't woken up, and Nowitzki will definitely have a hard time under the attack of the "black and white" bears. Yiyang, this series may still depend on you...

※※※

Although the series has not yet started, for the Celtics, who are only ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference this year with only 41 wins, this season has been considered a failure.

For some teams, entering the playoffs is already a victory. But for a traditional giant like the Celtics, without a championship, that is failure!

Thankfully, things are not going well for the Lakers this season either. Seeing that the biggest competitor in the Western Conference could only struggle to catch the last train to the playoffs, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge felt a little comforted.

Just as Ainge was analyzing possible changes this summer, Doc Rivers knocked rudely on the door of Ainge's office. This duck-voiced coach looks furious. The playoffs haven't even started yet. What makes him so angry? In fact, before Rivers opened his mouth, Angie knew why.

"I've heard some rumors, Danny."

"What kind of rumors?" Anji asked knowingly.

"I heard that the team will go through reconstruction next season, and they will even give up Kevin and Paul!" Rivers put his hands firmly on Angie's desk.

"I don't know where you heard the news, but... yes, the team has such a plan."

"Rebuild!? God, we are still a playoff team this year! After Rajon Rondo comes back next season, we can still compete for the championship! As long as we sign one or two more defensive blue-collar players this summer, We can dominate the entire league again!" Rivers, a championship coach, has no way to accept such a rebuilding thing now.

"Hey, let's talk about this after this playoff is over." Angie smiled and waved his hand. He did not say those hurtful words to Rivers.

Ray Allen is gone, Garnett, Pierce and Terry are all old. Rondo is out for the season and his form is in doubt. It is impossible to predict how the team will perform next season, let alone a championship.

That guy Rivers is just not willing to accept the fact that it's time for the Boston Celtics to start over.

"I will do it Anji, the players and I will prove that we are still competitive!" Rivers said, turned and left.

Anji rubbed her temples, her head aching again.

Angie knows very well that Rivers is not willing to go through reconstruction with the team. The Clippers have made initial contact with the Celtics and hope to acquire Rivers as coach through a trade.

The Clippers have Paul and Griffin, and they also agreed to let Rivers assume the role of team management. Such conditions can be said to be very attractive. Although Ainge doesn't want Rivers to leave, the fact is that he must start looking for the next head coach now.

Regarding the list of candidates for the next head coach, Angie actually left only one name.

This head coach is not only tactically proficient, but also knows how to do the best with limited resources. The most important thing is that the joining of this head coach may be able to directly attract the Chinese defender who has become an MV candidate to the Celtics? Instead of continuing to look forward to the eccentric Rondo, it would be better to put your treasure on that guy.

Anji drank a cup of coffee. It would be better to make summer plans early...

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