The rest is just noise

In the 2000-2001 season, the suspense situation in the NBA can be said to be the greatest in the past 20 years.

Before June, it is still unknown which two teams can compete from the East and West.

In early April, the regular season came to an end.

The Los Angeles Lakers rank first in the league with a record of 64 wins and 18 losses.

Although the Lakers are still strong, times have changed.

The Boston Globe explained this strange phenomenon with an article titled "Welcome back, the era of 64 wins and first place in the league."

In the past three years, except for the lockout season, the Lakers have won 78 and 77 wins respectively.

In the two seasons including the playoffs, they lost a total of 9 games.

ESPN even added all nine Lakers defeats to the classic channel to highlight their rarity and specialness.

Now, the Lakers are like the top teams we often see in the past, finishing with 64 wins and still first in the league, but they no longer feel as invincible as they did in the past.

The current Lakers are led by the two youngest superstars in the league, Kobe and Garnett. They have unlimited potential, but they still lack real experience.

Maybe in a few years they can reach that level, but not yet.

The Globe said very disdainfully in the article: "Without the protection of Benjamin Wilson, Dejan Bodiloga and Tim Duncan, the brutal playoffs will make Kobe and KG realize that they are not ready yet.

"

Soon, "Los Angeles Media" also issued a rebuttal: "We do not pay attention to the opinions of those regions that focus on the lottery draw."

The Lakers lead the record list, followed closely by the Miami Heat.

The arrival of Tim Duncan allowed the Heat to once again have a superstar who can completely place the team's burden on him after 1995.

This season, the Heat have won 63 games, and Duncan has become the number one favorite for regular season MVP.

Because compared with several other popular teams, Kobe and Garnett support each other, Wilson and O'Neal are connected inside and outside, Dallas' three European giants feed each other, and the Knicks' two giants on the wings can also protect each other.

Only Duncan doesn't have a second superstar next to him.

Petrovic and Schrempf are both veterans, and Wang Zhizhi and Stephen Jackson are both too young. Liu Yuqing, who followed him, is a great shooter, but if he does not have great enough teammates to contain him, he will be a personal threat.

will decrease.

It can be said that the Heat with Duncan and without Duncan are two teams. Among all the championship teams, no one has made greater contributions to the team than Duncan.

For the same reason, the Heat's championship prospects have been underestimated.

The other opponents for the championship have several powerful helpers. Look at the people around Duncan. There is no brother of the same level. It is difficult for him to fight with four fists. How can he compete for the championship?

In response to such doubts, Duncan would often retort with a smile: "If this statement is true, the US team should have won the gold medal in the Sydney Olympics."

Miami is closely followed by the New York Knicks.

It doesn't matter that Stockton and Ewing are old. Miller is still good as a shooter. Tracy McGrady and Hill have emerged, taking over the team and becoming the new top players of the Knicks. They have won 60 games this season, ranking third in the league and the best in the Eastern Conference.

second.

Then came the Philadelphia 76ers, who won 59 games.

Originally, the 76ers had expectations of 60 wins, but the team's chemistry was not good and they were unable to play their ideal routine, causing them to often lose games they shouldn't lose.

Moreover, the plan to use Sam Cassell as a mentor to lead the hot-headed Baron Davis can be said to have failed.

Cassell's arrival caused Davis uneasiness and dissatisfaction.

He wasn't confident about his future in Philadelphia and wasn't happy about his reduced playing time.

Cassell is also awkward. Although he had a hard time with the Celtics before, he was still the point guard. But in Philadelphia, things are better. His position is unstable and he still has to compete with Davis.

Philadelphia's way to resolve their differences is to start with two point guards.

Davis plays the one position and Cassell plays the second position.

Of course, this eliminates the issue of playing time, but who holds the ball through half the court, who takes control of the position, and who stays without the ball becomes a new issue.

O'Neal began to complain about the late pass.

Davis has something to say. I haven't seen you complain before. This is obviously the ugliest problem in NBA history.

The ugliest one. Oh no, Cassel also has something to say. Who did I partner with before? I used to partner with Ewing and Sampson. One of them didn’t want the ball, and the other could get the ball directly from the free throw line. Who would follow?

You look like you're leaning into the low post with your big belly and waiting for someone to pass the ball to you. Are you a god?

This makes people have to think of when O'Neal was selected by the Magic in the draft, Hubie Brown made a sharp comment: "Orlando must find a good lob player."

It's never easy to give O'Neal a traditional inside shot that won't move.

In Orlando, Webb helped the point guard share a lot of passes, so O'Neal didn't feel this way.

After coming to Philadelphia, he realized how rare it is to have a power forward partner like Webber who doesn't take up space, doesn't need the ball, and can shoot three-pointers without stealing the show.

He may never find another power forward partner half as good as Webb.

Louis has watched the 76ers' game and feels that the key to whether this team can win the championship lies in O'Neal's ability to catch the ball in large numbers.

Then he looked at the collaboration between Davis and Cassel and felt that even if Liu Wei were to play point guard for the 76ers, he would not be worse than these two guys.

They had no idea what kind of pass O'Neal needed.

Of course, Philadelphia is not dead yet, they have the best player in the league.

The ultimate solution to O'Neal's inability to catch the ball is that he just copied the answer - Phil Jackson could let Wilson play the point guard and he would pass the ball, but for some reason, he didn't do it and didn't even try.

Louis believed that Jackson would not be foolish enough to leave the Wilson card unplayed.

Therefore, it can be concluded that allowing Wilson to play the main point position is Philadelphia's trump card, and it is a trump card that needs to be played in key games in the playoffs.

After Philadelphia, there is the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavericks, who have the three giants in Europe, under the leadership of Don Nelson, fully absorbed the "eye of the storm" in the beautiful basketball system. After internal digestion, they evolved the "Dallas Fast Break" that allowed the Mavericks to average 124 points per game.

With their crazy offensive performance, the Mavericks won 57 games in a single season, ranking second in the Western Conference and fifth in the league. It is difficult for a team that focuses on offense to reach the end in an era where the rules are biased towards defense.

The above five teams are recognized as championship contenders.

From a structural point of view, competition in the east is more intense.

There are three championship teams in the East.

If everything goes well, the semifinals will see competing teams competing against each other.

At this time, TNT announced good news that Louis' attendance will increase significantly during the playoffs.

Although he has only been working in the media for a year, Louis has already won the love of the audience for his excellent conversation, sharp comments, and merciless criticism of the stars.

This allowed TNT to start contract renewal negotiations with Louis several months in advance.

They wanted to firmly lock Louis into the show, so they offered a six-year, $90 million contract and promised to create another show with Louis as the core.

Aside from Oprah, no one in the entire media industry has a higher annual salary than Louis.

TNT believes that as long as Louis wants to stay in the media industry for a long time, he will accept this crazy offer.

The result was unexpected, and Louis simply refused.

Moreover, the reason for rejection can even be said to be arrogant.

"I have other plans for my future."

After the news broke, a series of voices emerged in the sports world discussing Louis' next plan.

TNT's offer is already high enough, and there should be no second TV station that can offer a larger contract.

If Louis thinks that his future is not in TNT, then there are only two possibilities left. He wants to enjoy life wholeheartedly and not even want to work a sinecure.

Or, he is preparing to make a comeback.

In the face of these two options, everyone who is familiar with them has accurately grasped the truth.