Basketball's most talented forward is on the left

Historically, the Pistons should have been ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference during this period, but now, due to the Knicks' counterattack, the poor Pistons have been squeezed to ninth place, and the eighth place has become the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Pistons, who were originally going to miss the playoffs in a row until next season, may go home to fish early this season.

But that's not the point. The point is that historically, this season's Eastern Conference has the biggest gap. The top three teams in the Eastern Conference are completely different from the teams behind them.

In Zuo Li's memory, the top three Cavaliers, the Celtics and the Magic, won 66, 61 and 58 wins respectively. These three teams were considered to be strong teams in the Western Conference, but the fourth-place Hawks had only one win.

A sudden drop of 11 games and only 47 wins.

With 47 wins, you can finish fourth in the conference. It’s no wonder that the past few years have been the most serious disputes among Western Conference fans over the re-division of divisions. You must know that the Western Conference in the same year was the ultimate torture. The Jazz, who were eighth in the Western Conference, even won 48 wins.

This result ranks fourth in the Eastern Conference, which means that the Hawks, a strong team in the Eastern Conference, cannot enter the playoffs in the Western Conference...

This is not the most outrageous thing. The most outrageous thing is that the teams ranked 5-8 this season form an arithmetic sequence based on the number of wins and losses in one game, and they entered the playoffs with 42, 41, 40, and 39 wins respectively...

The win gap between the eighth-ranked Pistons and the first-ranked Cavaliers has even reached 27 games...

It’s no wonder that fans in the Western Conference are so angry that they even feel that the top three teams in the Eastern Conference are not worthy of their reputation. Except for their own, there are only two strong teams in the entire division that can be called experienced babies. This record is indeed relatively easy to improve.

But in this life, Zuo Li's crossing did not affect the overall pattern of the entire league, and even the addition of the Knicks, a new force, made the strength gap in the Eastern Conference even wider.

Currently, the Knicks have won 46 games and are ranked first in the Eastern Conference, while the 76ers, currently ranked eighth, have just reached 24 games... The winning difference has reached a terrifying 22 games.

Zuo Li must admit that the Knicks are really taking advantage of being in the Eastern Conference in this era. If they were in the Western Conference, the Knicks would never have such a record.

But that's not important. What's important is that according to the playoff rules, with 24 rounds left, the Knicks are still two games away from locking in the playoffs in advance.

According to the rules, when a team wins more games than the ninth-place team in the same conference by more than the remaining games in the regular season, the team is considered to have locked in the playoffs in advance.

To put it simply, even if this team loses all the remaining games, and the teams ranked after eighth place win all the remaining games, this team can still be at least eighth, that is, enter the playoffs.

Being in the last place in the playoffs is equivalent to entering the playoffs early.

Not to mention the complexity, as long as the Knicks win the next two games, even the 76ers will also win, because there are only the last 22 rounds left, and the winning difference between the two sides is still 22 games. Considering the winning relationship between the two sides,

3-0, so the Knicks will lock in a playoff spot in advance!

Of course, as soon as tonight, the 76ers lose and the Knicks win, and the gap is 23 games. Because there are no troublemakers around, there is no need to do more complicated calculations, such as calculating the probability of the national football team.

won't happen.

So when Zuo Li said this in the locker room, the Knicks players all showed eager expressions. Putting the sneaker matter aside, now, this matter is indeed more important.

For a powerhouse like the Spurs, locking in the playoffs early is just a common occurrence. There is nothing to celebrate. At most, it can only be reported.

But the Knicks are different.

The last time the Knicks entered the playoffs was in the 2003-04 season, but that season they were only ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference. They only secured their position at the end of the regular season with 39 wins, and that was five years ago.

.

Now, the Knicks are only two games away from regaining the glory of the 1990s.

Of course, it doesn't matter even if they lose these two games, the playoffs should be secure, but now, the long-lost Knicks players are not ready to keep the fans waiting any longer.

…

At 7 o'clock in the evening on the 1st, the Knicks' home game against the Heat started with excitement.

Coming out of the locker room, Zuo Li was caught by the reporters who were stuck here. He had no choice but to do it. The voices from the outside world were really too hot. After all, if Zuo Li's sneakers are launched next and everything goes well, Zuo Li will become an active player.

The richest person.

Of course, AJ who defeated Jordan is not favored by others. Mr. Joe has received an average of nearly 100 million in dividends from Nike every year in the past two years. It is really not for nothing. Is there no statistics? Even though Jordan has retired for so many years,

The number of shoes sold every year exceeds that of the top 15 active superstars combined. You can't help but be convinced by this kind of strength.

But Zuo Li doesn't need to compete with Jordan. Compared with current players, he has already won at the starting line. After all, according to dividends and shares, it is only a matter of time before Zuo Li becomes a super billionaire. Of course, the premise is that everything goes well.

Oh, they don’t know that Zuo Li is already a billionaire...

However, Zuo Li obviously didn't want to answer topics other than the court. Fortunately, besides sneakers, everyone is still paying attention to the next two games of the Knicks. After all, the last Knicks could only secure a spot in the playoffs more than 20 games in advance.

The team is still the same Lakers that had no solution back then.

And Zuo Li also gave his own answer: "We will work hard to achieve the playoffs in the shortest time, here we come."

Walking into the arena, Madison Square Garden is packed with seats. Although this is the norm this season, you can also see the differences from before in subtle ways. For example, when you walk into the arena, you will easily be beaten by die-hard fans in the stands.

Attracted by the huge slogan held inside.

"Make the Knicks great again."

The simple and easy-to-understand slogan embodies the deepest expectations of die-hard fans. It can be said to be the truest voice of every fan of a bad team. After all, there are no fans who really like to be abused. They all hate it.

Steel.

Tonight's officials were clearly interested. The big screen showed scenes from past playoff games. On the sidelines, former New York legends Oakley and Ewing were sitting together on the sidelines. I believe they will also appear two days later.

Of course, if the 76ers win or the Knicks lose tonight...

There are many celebrities on the sidelines, so I won't go into details one by one. After all, this is New York, and Madison is now Zuo Li's territory, so he is the first protagonist.

Accompanied by DJ's roar, Zuo Li made his final appearance, facing the Miami Heat, his first opponent this season.

Wade was chewing gum and standing in the distance, his big cheeks showing his domineering attitude. Ignoring Beasley who looked dissatisfied, Zuo Li knew that tonight was a war between him and Wade.

He will hold nothing back.