I’m Really Playing Basketball

Before the All-Star Game, the Warriors successfully completed the lineup changes. After Ron Howard and Wade voluntarily gave up their starting positions to the younger and more energetic Devin Booker and Jaylen Brown, the Warriors' offense and defense were both different. was greatly liberated.

After the All-Stars, with the return of thick eyebrows, the team's liberation brought qualitative changes to the Warriors.

If before the All-Star Game, before the Warriors change their lineup, the regular season rankings are still in danger.

After the All-Star break, the Warriors' first ranking in the Western Conference seems extremely stable.

The Warriors' first game after the All-Star break was a home game against the Kings on February 21, and the last game in March was a home game against the Bobcats on March 31.

During this period, the Warriors won all 19 games.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that the strongest opponents in these 19 games are the Heat, Bobcats, and Spurs. During this period, the Warriors' opponents were indeed not that strong.

Therefore, due to various factors, this wave of 19 consecutive victories makes the Warriors seem to be dominant again.

After all, after this wave of winning streak, the Warriors' record has reached 67 wins and 9 losses.

I have to say that if the Warriors can still achieve 70 wins this season, it will be truly a miracle.

After all, after the first third of the schedule, the Warriors look like an ordinary 60-win team.

But who would have thought that the Warriors didn't even lose after the All-Star Game.

This brings the Warriors' current record ranking to second place in the league.

Of course, for the Warriors, whether they can win 70 games is actually not that important. As long as they are first in the Western Conference, that's fine.

As for 70 wins, of course it's the best you can have, and it doesn't matter if you don't have it.

So in the April game, the Warriors actually played very openly.

The Warriors' remaining six games in April are against the Nuggets, Lakers, Cavaliers, Clippers, New Orleans Hornets, and the Grizzlies in the final game.

Generally speaking, these six games have some strengths and weaknesses, and the Lakers are still away from home.

However, considering the Warriors' current record of 67 wins, there is actually a very good chance of winning 70 games.

Even if the Warriors play very open, they only need to win against the three weak teams of the Nuggets, Hornets and Grizzlies.

In the end, when the Warriors had a lot of rotations and the defense was not so integrated, the Warriors achieved a record of 3 wins and 3 losses in the six games in April.

They lost to the three strong teams of the Lakers, Cavaliers and Clippers, and also defeated the three weak teams of the Nuggets, Hornets and Grizzlies.

And what's interesting is that when playing against these three weak teams, it was not always smooth sailing, especially against the Grizzlies. In this game against the Grizzlies, Chen Xiao originally took a break after halftime.

But who would have thought that the Grizzlies scored a crazy 86 points in the first half, which made Warriors head coach Cole a little angry.

Let you be casual, but you can't be so casual. Finally, at Chen Xiao's request, Chen Xiao continued to play in the second half of the game, and finally regained face for the Warriors, the No. 1 and defending champion in the Western Conference, and finally won 137 to 132 in the away game. Defeated the Grizzlies.

For a weak team like the Grizzlies, when neither the championship nor the playoffs are possible, the most important game for them is the last game of the season in front of their home fans.

If this game is played well, no matter how bad the previous games are, the fans will support them.

Therefore, for the Warriors in the last game of the regular season, they can let go and start four first-year and second-year rookies Robinson, Alexander, Allen, and John Collin, and even Chen Xiao can join them after a long absence. Play a point guard game.

You can come however you want.

But obviously, the Grizzlies will not be like this.

I have to say that the Grizzlies played very well in this game. The team's rookie point guard Jevon Carter, who is 1.88 meters tall, faced Chen Xiao and dared to fight. He made 10 of 18 three-pointers in the game. He made 8 of 12 shots and scored 32 points, almost maximizing his quickness.

And his outburst was also the reason why Cole was very dissatisfied in the first half.

It was foreseeable that Chen Xiao could not guard against such a quick little player. Cole was very dissatisfied with the fact that other players on the team did not fill Chen Xiao's position and allowed him to hit so many three-pointers.

Let's put it this way, given Chen Xiao's height and defensive ability, Carter's three-pointer was definitely not shot over Chen Xiao's head, but after a simple pick-and-roll, he got rid of Chen Xiao and took an open shot.

This kind of offense can be so powerful because the team's defensive integration is not good enough.

Of course, this is understandable. After all, Chen Xiao did not take any rest in the team's starting lineup in this game. He was a substitute and young player for some teams.

However, it is obvious that for Cole, Carter, a beggar version of Curry, can beat the Warriors like this. What if he really meets the real Curry?

However, in the end, with Chen Xiao's 21-for-31, 7-for-12 three-pointers, 12-for-12 free throws, 61 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, the Warriors finally defeated the Grizzlies. , won the team's 70th victory this season.

In the end, the Warriors' record this season was 70 wins and 12 losses.

This record ranks second in the league and first in the Western Conference, second only to the Bucks who have 74 wins and 8 losses this season.

By the end of this season, only the Bucks and Warriors had reached 70 wins.

In the East, the Bucks rank first, while the Cavaliers and Heat rank second and third. The Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards, Nets, Knicks, and Toronto Raptors rank fourth. to eighth.

By the way, the Washington Wizards have a better record than the 76ers this year, but because the 76ers are first in the division, they are ranked in the top four.

The head player of the Washington Wizards, James Harden, has performed exceptionally well this season, averaging 36.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2 steals per game, shooting 44.2% from the field, and 37% from three-point range per game. He has performed well in all aspects. Quite excellent.

At the same time, he has also become the third player in the past 20 years after Kobe Bryant and Chen Xiao to average more than 36 points per game.

And he is also the scoring leader this season. As the scoring leader, he can lead the team to a record of 54 wins and 28 losses. To be honest, if it weren't for Curry and Chen Xiao being so incredible this season, he could even compete for MVP.

Of course, according to the final round of official MVP rankings, Harden is also ranked fifth after Curry, Chen Xiao, James, and Rose, and is ranked above Durant.

And James Harden has become one of the biggest highlights of the NBA this season. After all, in addition to Chen Xiao, James Harden has also become the second player in NBA history to have a 60+ triple-double.

And it’s not just 60+ triple-doubles, James Harden has also played a lot of 50+ triple-doubles and 40+ triple-doubles this season.

After Westbrook ruined ordinary triple-doubles, ultra-high-end triple-doubles like 60+ triple-doubles are still very valuable.

Therefore, James Harden's evaluation this season is also very high.

By the way, at the end of this season, Curry was officially ranked ahead of Chen Xiao in the MVP rankings. This is actually mainly because the Bucks double-killed the Warriors this season. The records of Curry and the Bucks were ahead, and Chen Xiao was ahead. Although Curry's statistics are similar, Curry is actually still ahead in MVP this season.

Of course not as stable as last season.

After all, this season, Chen Xiaoke averaged more than 30 points per game.

After talking about the east, let’s talk about the west.

In the West, the first place is the 70-win Warriors, the second place is the 60-win Lakers, then third, fourth are the Jazz and Spurs, fifth is the Clippers, and sixth is the Trail Blazers. The seventh is the Timberwolf, and the eighth is the King.

This season Chen Xiao can average 30.1 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

In the scoring list, Chen Xiao is tied for third behind James Harden, Westbrook, and Curry.

Well, it's quite interesting. This season, Chen Xiao and Curry have played the same number of games and scored the same number of points.

This season Curry averaged 30.1 points, 7.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, shooting 50.5% from the field, 45.5% from three-point range, and 90.8% from free throws. He is the undisputed Super 180 club.

What's interesting is that this season Chen Xiao's shooting percentage is 59.5%, his three-point shooting percentage is 45%, and his free throw shooting percentage is 90.5%. Chen Xiao is also a super 180 club this season.

And this is why even though Curry's MVP is in the lead, it doesn't seem to be that stable.

Chen Xiao and Curry's performance this season is definitely MVP-level.

Either one of the two can win the MVP.

Of course, judging from the hearts of many experts and celebrities, Curry is more worthy of his reputation. After all, he has the first record in the regular season and double-killed the Warriors.

But, after all, Chen Xiao's prestige is there.

As for the final result, whether Chen Xiao is crowned MVP for the sixth time in his career or Curry is crowned MVP for the second time in his career, it will take some time to find out.

Anyway, Chen Xiao and Curry themselves are definitely not that concerned about this honor.

The championship is definitely more attractive to them than the MVP.

After the successful conclusion of this year's regular season, the first round of the NBA playoffs has also been announced.

In the East, the Bucks play the Raptors, the Cavaliers play the Knicks, the Heat play the Nets, and the 76ers play the Wizards.

In the West, the Warriors play the Kings, the Lakers play the Timberwolves, the Jazz play the Trail Blazers, and the Spurs play the Clippers.

Judging from the matchup between the East and West in the first round, there were still a lot of grudges.

For example, in the Eastern Conference, Embiid is playing against Harden. Embiid has complained a lot this season that James Harden takes too many free throws. Others have to put his hands behind his back to defend him. The grudge between the two can only be said to be long-standing.

As for the West, the biggest feud is of course the Spurs versus the Clippers. The Spurs and Clippers can be said to be the biggest mortal enemies in the West over the years.

According to many people, the Spurs were defeated by the Clippers.

Even though the Spurs have been the winner of the playoffs against the Clippers in the past two seasons, the fact that they were defeated by the Clippers makes the Spurs very superior every time they meet the Clippers.

Of course, when the Lakers play the Timberwolves, the duel between the two head coaches, Kobe and Garnett, is also quite interesting.

But generally speaking, except for the 76ers and Wizards, the Clippers and the Spurs, the other six groups are actually very different in strength.

Therefore, after the first round matchups were announced, many experts in the NBA predicted the first round of the playoffs. Except for the Wizards and 76ers, and the Spurs and Clippers, the other six groups were all resolved within five games.

Although it is said that the strength of the Eastern and Western teams in the league is increasing, the strength of the upper and lower reaches of the Eastern and Western Eastern Conferences has not shrunk.

The east side is a little better, but the west side is really just the last few in the west making up the numbers.

So the question is, is this really the case?

Is it really as predicted by experts that there is no suspense in these six groups?

Things are indeed not that simple.

The Warriors eliminated the Kings led by Ibaka 4-0 on April 21 and advanced to the second round.

But other than the Warriors, there was no sweep in the first round.

In the game between the Bucks and the Raptors, the Raptors' Milicic, a super offensive center, was a preview before the Bucks played the Cavaliers. Milicic restrained the Bucks, and the Bucks did not want to end the game with the Raptors quickly. In the playoffs, the two teams ended up playing 4-2, and the Bucks advanced.

In the game between the Cavaliers and the Knicks, Westbrook shot 36% from the field and 22% from three-point range in the entire training session, which was rubbish. However, in G3, Westbrook made 17 of 39 and 21 of 3-pointers. 8. He made 10 of 17 free throws and scored a super triple-double of 51 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He led the Knicks to defeat the Cavaliers and finally escaped the fate of being swept.

By the way, Westbrook's 50+ triple-double in the playoffs also became the third player after James and Chen Xiao to have a 50+ triple-double in the playoffs.

One game of magic, three games of ghosts, and the team was eventually eliminated. However, the data in the series is still a beautiful triple-double averaging 30+ per game.

When the Heat played the Nets, Irving and Ingram still performed very well. Of course, the Heat were stronger. Rose, LaVine, DeRozan and Gao Bo all performed very well, especially LaVine and Gao Bo. In fact, Before the start of the season, not many people thought that LaVine would play so well this season. After all, he was a player who had broken his leg. And Gao Bo, a rookie player who played in the playoffs for the first time, averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game. A double-double with 2 blocks and a 55% shooting rate, which is even more incredible.

It can only be said that the Heat are indeed suitable for Gao Bo, Rose can burst, Zan brother and LaVine can shoot, and his inside partner Bam Adebayor is very comprehensive, can grab, fight, finish, and can stand up. He can also pass the ball, which is very powerful.

It can be said that Adebayor can take on what Gao Bo currently lacks.

So the Heat's chemical reaction this season is really great.

In the end, relying on Ingram's stability and Irving's two magic goals, the Heat eliminated the Nets 4-2.

The Lakers, second in the Western Conference, played the Timberwolves 4-1, and the Jazz, third in the Western Conference, played the Trail Blazers 4-2. Lillard of the Trail Blazers also went crazy in this series.

A crazy 50+ points, averaging 34 points per game throughout the training game, and shooting nearly 50% from three-point range. The Jazz were somewhat fooled by him.

This star who played absolutely rubbish in last year's World Cup is still the same star player who can cut melons and vegetables in the NBA.

Jazz, winning is very dangerous.

In addition to these six games, the other two games were considered very intense. The Spurs led by Jimmy Butler defeated the Clippers 4-1, while the Wizards led by James Harden defeated the 76ers 4-1.

These two games, which were predicted to be intense, were not very intense.

With the first round of competition over, everyone turned their attention to this season’s awards season.

The most talked about MVP award was finally awarded to Stephen Curry.

This was expected, and the result was actually not too surprising.

However, the results of the voting were still quite close.

Curry received a 51% first choice rate, while Chen Xiao also received a 45% first choice rate.

It feels very unexpectedly close.

To be fair, many people feel that the first choice rates of Curry and Chen Xiao should not be so close.

It can only be said that it is indeed a bonus for Chen Xiao to have such a season at the age of 37 this season.