legendary point guard

The Orlando Magic secured a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs ahead of schedule with 47 wins and 26 losses. They returned to the playoffs after three seasons and were only one win away from securing first place in the Southeast Division.

No one expected such a record. Even though Otis Smith and Stan Van Gundy were full of confidence with the addition of Linson, they were thinking more about the future of the Orlando Magic rather than this season.

However, the immediate effect brought about by Linson's joining was completely beyond their expectations. From the time he joined on Christmas Day to before the All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, the Orlando Magic became one of the most popular teams in the league.

Although various situations occurred in the Magic after that, which caused the team's record to decline, overall the Orlando Magic still showed the level of a quasi-strong team.

Currently ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference is the Indiana Pacers. In the last game in March, the Indiana Pacers defeated the Charlotte Bobcats, who were still making a last-ditch effort for a playoff spot, 100:96, raising their record to 31.

Won 44 losses.

Tied with the Indiana Pacers for ninth place in the Eastern Conference are the Philadelphia 76ers, who traded away core player Allen Iverson in the middle of the season. The Philadelphia 76ers are tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference with 30 wins and 43 losses. Ranked tenth is

Michael Jordan's Charlotte Bobcats were 28-44.

Ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference are the Washington Wizards with 34 wins and 36 losses, the New Jersey Nets in seventh place also have a record of 34 wins and 36 losses, and ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference are the defending champion Miami Heat.

The Miami Heat have currently played 71 games and achieved a record of 36 wins and 35 losses in the 71 games. The seventh New Jersey Nets and eighth Washington Wizards with this record are not much advantageous. The Miami Heat have a record of 37 wins and 34 losses.

The Toronto Raptors lost.

From the Toronto Raptors, which is fourth in the Eastern Conference, to the Charlotte Bobcats, which is tenth in the Eastern Conference, the difference is 9.5 games. In theory, the Charlotte Bobcats, who are ranked tenth in the Eastern Conference, still have hope of entering the playoffs. But if you really want to

It is almost impossible to perform a miracle in the last 10 games.

However, the Charlotte Bobcats, who have always been called a bad team, refused to be bad at the request of Michael Jordan and continued to work hard.

This makes the battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference even more confusing, and one game may change the entire ranking.

Therefore, when the Orlando Magic are determined to enter the playoffs and almost lock in the top spot in the Southeast Division, what they need to consider is the playoff matchup.

The Orlando Magic are currently 6.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons, who are first in the Eastern Conference with 54 wins and 20 losses. The possibility of completing a reversal and climbing to first place in the Eastern Conference within the last 9 games is really slim.

What's more, in front of the Orlando Magic, there is the Cleveland Cavaliers with 48 wins and 24 losses, and the Chicago Bulls, which is ranked fourth with 42 wins and 31 losses. The Magic lead with a 5-win advantage. Not surprisingly, the Magic will at least be ahead of the Eastern Conference.

The third ranked team enters the playoffs.

Entering the playoffs with such a high ranking means that the Orlando Magic at least have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

To be able to enter the playoffs, although this year's Orlando Magic does not plan to target the O'Brien Cup, the Orlando Magic certainly do not want to be the role of accompanying the prince to study. How to go further has become the need of the uniform staff and coaching staff.

issues to consider.

The first opponent in the playoffs has also become a concern for the coaching staff. After all, different preparations must be made in advance for different opponents. Judging from the current rankings, the Orlando Magic has the greatest chance of facing the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors.

However, behind the Heat, the Washington Wizards and New Jersey Nets are not behind by much, so the Magic may also face the Wizards and Nets.

These four opponents have become the ones that Stan Van Gundy needs to consider most seriously.

Although the Heat have a poor record as the defending champions this season, the experience of the Heat's veterans is far beyond the current Magic's ability to compete in the playoffs.

Moreover, the bloodthirsty shark has been shouting that he will play well in the playoffs, and the Miami media has been clamoring that the defending champion has a championship heart.

Therefore, Stan Van Gundy and his coaching staff and Otis Smith's front office unanimously do not want to play against the Miami Heat.

The New Jersey Nets, ranked seventh, have three Musketeers: Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, and Vince Carter. There is no doubt about the strength of these three people, although the Nets have been unable to compete with them for two or three seasons.

Compared to the past, experience is the Nets' biggest reliance.

Especially point guard Jason Kidd is a seasoned man. After Lin Sen joined the Magic, they played against the Nets twice. In the first time, Lin Sen performed well. In the second time, although Lin Sen looked at the statistics from

It looked like a good performance, but Jason Kidd scored an even more terrifying triple-double to lead the Nets to victory.

Stan Van Gundy was worried that Lin Sen, a rookie with zero playoff experience, would be unable to cope with Kidd and cause the Magic to collapse, so he was unwilling to face the Nets in comparison.

Although the Washington Wizards, currently ranked eighth, also have a three-musketeer lineup of General Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antoine Jamison, their back line does not have anyone who can contain Lin Sen.

Once Butler is responsible for defending Linsen Turk, he will be freed.

Therefore, Stan Van Gundy concluded that Eddie Jordan would not let Butler defend Lin Sen. As for the other Wizards outside players, he did not believe they could defend Lin Sen. And the Wizards inside line was far from comparable to the Magic.

So playing against the Wizards is a good choice. The only thing you have to worry about is whether General Arenas will have a seizure.

In addition, although the Toronto Raptors, currently ranked fifth, have a leading record, their advantage is not obvious. Compared with the Wizards, Stan Van Gundy's coaching staff hopes to play against the Toronto Raptors.

Although the Raptors have an excellent record this season, the only real threat is Chris Bosh, and the Magic are not lacking in insiders. It doesn't matter even if they can't guard Bosh. After all, the Raptors only have Bosh. In comparison, Stan

.Van Gundy obviously prefers to play against the Raptors.

But these can only be Stan Van Gundy's expectations. After all, it is impossible for opponents to play according to his expectations.

Stan Van Gundy can only take one step at a time. The most important thing at the moment is to adjust the team's lineup to change to the playoffs as soon as possible, and the first thing to do is to let the injured players adjust and rest well, and strive to be in the playoffs when the playoffs come.

Adjust the condition to the best.

The battle for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference has reached the most brutal level in recent years. In the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, and the Los Angeles Lakers of Kobe Bryant currently occupy the seventh spot in the Western Conference.

Eight position.

Later, Baron Davis's Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers who reached the semifinals last season, the Hornets led by Chris Paul, and Lin Sen's old team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, had exactly the same record and tied for ninth in the Western Conference.

The tragic scene made all fans crazy.

And these four teams plus the Nuggets and Lakers, who are seventh and eighth, have only one win in the lead. Six teams are fighting for two playoff spots.

The most lamentable one is undoubtedly the Minnesota Timberwolves. Before trading Linson, the Minnesota Timberwolves had been ranked among the top four in the Western Conference for a long time.

After trading Linson and having a pretty good time, the Timberwolves' inside players Mark Blount and Mark Madsen and their outside defender Trenton Hassell were injured one after another, putting the Timberwolves in trouble.

The ranking has dropped from fourth in the Western Conference to tied for ninth in the Western Conference. Although it is still tied for ninth in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves were in the worst shape in March. They only won 6 games in 16 games in March, and their ranking dropped from third to third.

Starting from sixth place in the Western Conference this month, it has slipped to tied for ninth place now.

Coupled with the team's serious injury problems, the least favored among these six teams is the Timberwolves.

The comparison between the Orlando Magic and the Minnesota Timberwolves directly led many media to ridicule the IQ of the Timberwolves front office staff McHale and the coaching staff Devin Casey.

Timberwolves fans also miss Lin Sen, who was stable in the Southeast Division. But time cannot be turned back.

On April 1st, the Orlando Magic ushered in the final month of the 2006-2007 regular season. Their opponent was the Boston Celtics, who were in a terrible state. After the All-Star Weekend, the Boston Celtics were completely defeated.

In front of the table, it currently ranks second to last in the league with 22 wins and 51 losses.

This game also made Stan Van Gundy feel particularly relieved. After all, his opponent was already in trouble. So Stan Van Gundy excluded Tony Barty, Darko Milicic, and Chris Webber from the lineup.

Also excluded from the playing list is Grant Hill, who is in excellent health this season. Although Hill has only missed 4 games this season and has basically no injuries, Stan Van Gundy does not dare to be careless after all.

Hill's injury history is too serious, and he doesn't want to damage Hill in an insignificant game.

Turkoglu, who has made steady progress this season, was pushed to the starting power forward position. Kelana Azubuike, who entered the Magic from the Development League after Linsen joined and quickly became the starting shooting guard, was moved to the small forward position.

Devin Brown also became the team's starting shooting guard.

The starting point guard is still Lin Sen, and the center position is Dwight Howard. On the bench are Carlos Arroyo, Rashad McCants, Eddie Jones, Pippen, Rodman, plus

Nettie.

Such a lineup still played very easily against the botched Boston Celtics. Lin Sen only played 26 minutes and sent out 14 points and 10 assists, raising his number of double-doubles in his rookie season to a terrifying 44 times.

Ranked 5th in the league.

In the end, the Magic defeated the Celtics 100:90 and continued their winning streak.

However, what makes Stan Van Gundy even more happy is that the Miami Heat, who had a game on the same night, won, while Van Gundy's expected playoff opponent, the Toronto Raptors, lost.

On April 3, against the Milwaukee Bucks, who had long lost hope for the playoffs, Stan Van Gundy still made the same large-scale rotation as he did against the Celtics.

This time, even Dwight Howard, who felt a little uncomfortable with his knee, was excluded from the lineup. In the end, the Orlando Magic, led by Linson's 23 points and 9 assists, defeated the Milwaukee Bucks and locked in the Southeast Division.

The top spot determines home field advantage in the playoffs.

But what surprised Stan Van Gundy even more was that rookie Azubuike, who joined halfway, scored a game-high 25 points and set a career single-game scoring record.

After the game, the NBA official published an article on the headlines titled "Unique vision, the Magic in the playoffs is worth looking forward to", praising the Magic's front office for their unique vision in selecting players and being very enthusiastic about the Magic's playoff journey.

Optimistic.

As the regular season comes to an end, the competition for playoff seats becomes more and more fierce, and the basketball media has also begun to get busy, because as the season is coming to an end, the selection of various awards for the 2006-2007 season will be released one after another.

At the end of the Orlando Magic's regular season with seven games left, Lin Sen, who had played 71 times throughout the season, averaged 2.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.2 blocks per game.

After this seemingly dominating data, Lin Sen's shooting percentage is not bad at all, with a field goal percentage of 58.5%, a three-point shooting percentage of 44.4%, and a free throw percentage of 92.7%. The only flaw is that he averages 2.4 fouls per game.

and 3.1 turnovers.

He averaged 22.4 points per game and tied for 17th in the scoring list with Chris Bosh and his former boss Kevin Garnett.

The average of 10.8 assists per game is second only to Steve Nash who has 11.6 assists per game. He and Nash are also the only two players in the league who average more than 10 assists per game, with Deron ranking third.

Williams only had 9.3 reps.

Although his 2.8 steals are far from his terrifying 4 or more steals at the beginning of the season, he still ranks first in the league. Behind Lin Sen is the bearded Baron Davis of the Golden State Warriors and the beast Artestis.

special.

All post players ranked eighth in the league in field goal percentage and ranked ahead of Lin Sen. They ranked fifth in three-point shooting percentage and first in free throw percentage.

Although his average of 3.1 turnovers per game ranks 16th in the league, his turnovers are undoubtedly nothing compared to his contribution.

Lin Sen's personal data is shocking enough just from the data point of view, not to mention that Lin Sen is still just a rookie.

This statistic combined with the outstanding record of the Timberwolves when Lin Sen was in the Timberwolves, especially the comparison when the Timberwolves were considered to have made a lot of money after missing Lin Sen, plus the comparison before and after the Orlando Magic acquired Lin Sen,

Lin Sen became the popular candidate for the regular season MVP.

However, Lin Sen is not optimistic about himself. After all, the team's record is not particularly good, and he is only a rookie. (To be continued...)