What went wrong with the plan to fly far? Just look at the current rankings and it's clear. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Team wins/loses

Spurs 60/21

Kings 57/24

Mavericks 59/22

Rocket 53/27

Lakers 49/31

Timberwolves 49/32

The Mavericks were tired and in poor shape during this time, and actually played a 5-5, while the Spurs played a wave of 11-1 and overtook the Mavericks to the top of the West (a real event in history). This doesn't make a difference to the rocket. But the Lakers also showed the background of the treble, and played a wave of 8-1 in the closing period, while the Wolves only had a bad 4-5, and the Lakers magically overtook the Timberwolves! In this way, the Rockets are likely to face the mighty Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

At this point, the Rockets only have the last 2 games left, and no matter whether they win or lose, they can't change their rankings, so they can only resign themselves to fate. Yuanfei can only pray that the Lakers will be overtaken by the Timberwolves in the last two defeats.

But the last 2 games didn't happen like a miracle. Although the Timberwolves also struggled to defeat the Grizzlies, the Lakers won 2 games and 2 games, and the 51-31 Wolves finished fifth against the 50-32 Wolves, and faced the Rockets, the number one dark horse in the West, in the first round of the playoffs.

The Mavericks upset the mighty Spurs in their final game on the road, and both teams had a 60-22 record that was best in the league, and the two teams were tied 2-2 in the regular season. According to the rules, you can only compare the winning percentage against other teams in the West, and the Spurs narrowly won. In this way, the Spurs got off to a bad start but came out on top and became the regular season champion in the 02-03 season. The Mavericks led the way for most of the season, losing the lead by a last-minute mistake. To make matters worse, the 58-24 Kings are Pacific champions, and under this unfair rule, the Mavericks, who are tied for the league's first record, can only settle for third place in the West.

The Rockets are 55-27 and ranked fourth, and this ranking is also very satisfying to fans when the main team is rested to maintain physical strength.

Another team that caught Wang Yuanfei's attention was the Raptors, who originally had considerable strength, but the main player Vince . Carter was injured. By the time Carter returned, the team had a 12-30 record. Despite the Raptors' best efforts to win (as the first-round pick had already been sent to the Rockets), they failed to make the playoffs, finishing 32-50 and finishing 12th in the East (24-58 and 14th in the East, which is stronger than the Raptors in history due to Francis). Yuanfei secretly calculated that the No. 3 draft pick in history before 03 belonged to the Cavaliers, Grizzlies (traded to the Pistons) and Nuggets, and the records of these three teams were lower than those of the Raptors. So the Raptors' pick is likely to be the seventh pick.

The first round of the playoffs is as follows:

Pistons vs Wizards

Spurs vs Jazz

Nets vs Bucks

Kings vs Trail Blazers

Pacers vs Celtics

Mavericks vs Timberwolves

76ers vs Hornets

Rockets vs Lakers

The Rockets have a devilish schedule to face, with the Treble Lakers in the first round and the Western Conference champions Spurs even if they can win (unless the Jazz cause an upset). Even if they can win again, the next opponent is likely to be the winner between the Mavericks and the Kings, and each of these four teams is a championship-level strength of the hard bones. The media is also one-sidedly optimistic about the prospect of declining rockets. Many experts say that the Triple Crown Lakers will solve the Rockets in less than 5 games.

Of course, the Rockets are not without their advantages, they are young, well-rested, and have strong bench depth. The Lakers had previously avoided the powerful Mavericks in order to compete with the Timberwolves in the fourth first round, and the last few games were desperate. O'Neal also played 36 minutes in the final game of the regular season, and Kobe Bryant played 44 minutes to secure the victory. The playoffs are just three days after the regular season ends, which is good news for the well-rested Rockets.

There is also a couple of good news for the Rockets: One is that Yao Ming may be selected as the best rookie. In his previous life, Yao Ming and the Suns' Stoudemire performed very well and were indistinguishable. But the Suns ended up in eighth place in the West, while the Rockets finished ninth. Because of this difference, Xiao Si helped the team enter the playoffs and received more appreciation, and was eventually selected as the best rookie. And now Yao Ming's team is fourth in the West, and the Suns, although they have won 2 more games than in history because of the acquisition of Little Pony, ended up in ninth place because of the rise of the Rockets and failed to enter the playoffs. With this gap between entering and exiting, Yao Ming is more likely to be elected.

The second piece of good news is that Maddie has become one of the prime candidates for the regular season MVP. Maddie led the Youth Army Rockets to 55 wins to the top four in the West, and he averaged 29.1+5.7+4.8 in 35 minutes per game, and his personal data is very good. In particular, his three-point shooting skills have improved significantly, and he can shoot an average of 2.5 three-pointers per game, with a shooting rate of 39%. Unfortunately, due to the rest and lack of playing time, he missed out on the scoring title.

Several of Maddy's main contenders include:

Tim. Duncan: He led the Spurs to a 60-win slate in the West. Averaged 23.3+12.9+3.9 per game and a beautiful 2.9 blocks. In terms of scoring efficiency, Duncan is slightly inferior to Maddy, but the team's record is very convincing. Duncan's only disadvantage is that he had already been elected MVP the previous season, and it was difficult to keep the bank.

Kevin. Garnett: He led the Timberwolves to a 50-win and all-time best record. With an average of 23.0+13.4+6.0 per game, he ranks second in the league in rebounds per game, and his assists are the first among interior players.

Bryant. Bryant: In O'Neal's absence due to injury, Bryant carried the Lakers on his own. He averaged 30.0 points per game to win the first scoring title of his career, in addition to 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.2 steals. But Bryant averaged 40.5 minutes per game, which is slightly inferior to Maddy's efficiency. At the same time, during O'Neal's absence, Kobe Bryant's stats were beautiful, but the Lakers' poor record (51 wins) was a point deduction for him.

Sark. O'Neal: The Sharks have only played 67 games this season, with attendance being the main point deduction. His average of 27.5+11.1+3.1 per game is still very good.

Root. Wallace: Big Ben's 6.4 points per game is undoubtedly the fewest among superstars, but his 15.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks are undoubtedly staggering. The Pistons have achieved the first record in the East, and the defensive titan Big Ben is the number one contributor.

The other news is that Billups could be voted the most improved player. He improved from last season's average of 12.5+2.8+5.5 per game to 16.2+4.0+5.6 (Chauncey had the sixth-most improved player in history with the Pistons).

The last piece of good news is that Reed has a chance to challenge for the best sixth man. He's efficient, but he doesn't play a lot. In an average of 21 minutes per game, Reed can contribute 13+3.

In short, as far as the regular season is concerned, the Rockets have had a great harvest. Now it's time for the playoffs!

***

Of course, before the game began, the Rockets reported a 12-man roster of players for the playoffs. The roster includes: Olajuwon, Yao Ming, Oku, Wallace, Wang Zhizhi, Turkoglou, Jefferson, Maddie, Johnson, Reed, Billups and Parker. Brown and Bryant were eliminated, but if the Rockets win the championship, they still have their rings.

On April 20, the Houston Rockets, who had missed the playoffs for three years, sat at home to face the Lakers, the league's king division in the past three years. There are a lot of highlights in this series, the traditional overlord meets the new dark horse, the inner battle of the three generations of giants of the big dream shark Yao Ming, and the battle of Kobe Maddie's first shooting guard.

The Rockets started with Olajuwon, Wallace, Turkoglou, Maddy and Billups. The Lakers sent O'Neal, Madson, Fox, Kobe and Fisher.

"Samaki. Walker was gradually replaced by Madsen after spraining his ankle in February, and with O'Neal's return, he has now lost the trust of the manager, and sure enough, he did not start again this time. "Far Flying while observing Bian and Larry. Smith and the others communicated.

"But I think this Madsen is also very average, not as good as our players. What do you see? Smith is also respectful of Far Flying, and he knows how important the youngster is to the team. Even Tang Shuai was very respectful to Jason, how dare he, a little temporary coach, offend him.

"Madsen has averaged 3.2+2.9+0.7 in 14 minutes per game this season, which is honestly not enough to be a starter. One of the big weaknesses of our team is that Wallace is a bit short in the starting No. 4 position, but it is definitely enough to defend him. Yuanfei affirmed Smith's statement.

"Maddie and Kobe Bryant are about the same strength, and our biggest weakness, the big forward, is not inferior to the other side. Small forwards and point guards are our advantage, and as long as the center doesn't get blown up too badly, we're going to win this series. Curry Sr. also interjected optimistically.

"Yes, Hakim and Yao are the ones with the heaviest burden. After all, they are facing a big shark in the MVP of the three-time finals. Yuan Fei was not so optimistic, and secretly worried about Da Yao. After all, Yao Ming is just a rookie, and he has to defend O'Neal in such an important game in the NBA in his first year. Coach Smith also had this in mind, and after discussing with Olajuwon, he still let Da Meng play the starting lineup first.

The game got on, O'Neill jumped the ball to win, and Fisher "Little Fish" Fisher got the ball. Da Meng gritted his teeth unwillingly, if he was a few years younger, how could he lose to this fat man in jumping.

The Lakers' first shot was actually shot by Madsen, who hit the iron, but O'Neal opened his dream and grabbed the rebound in the front court and gave it to Fox, who found the vacant Fisher and hit a three-point shot. 3:0 Lakers lead.

Maddie hit a 2-pointer, Kobe Bryant hit the iron, and the ball went to the Rockets again. Big Dream found an opportunity to catch the ball and took a big hat from O'Neal! Kobe Bryant got the ball and quickly advanced to the frontcourt, Maddie kept up with the defense in time, Kobe Bryant cleverly passed the ball to the unmarked little fish, and another three-pointer, 6:2.

Big Dream reached out for the ball, but as soon as he got it, Fox cut the ball and scored, and Kobe Bryant assisted Madson to add another 2 points, 8:2. Neither of the two superstars scored in the first game, and they were ahead of the Rockets by defense and playmaking alone.

Billups was calmly organized, and he broke through to the well-placed Wallace, who hit a mid-range shot, 8-4. But Bryant soon assisted O'Neal again to score. The Rockets attacked again, and Turkoglu was blocked by Fox again.

After a few rounds, Bryant also opened and scored 5 points in a row. At 17:6, the Rockets trailed by as many as 11 points at the beginning of the game. Smith finally couldn't sit still and called a timeout.

"Remember, O'Neal will play more for Yao after the break. Their bench interior line, whether Walker or Hawley, can't carry Yao. Smith laid out the tactics, and at this moment the sound of flying far away sounded in his head.

O'Neill is averaging 37.8 minutes per game this season, which means he has to rest for about 10 minutes per game. And the experience of the regular season tells us that their backup center is completely unable to guard Yao. As long as we stagger Yao and O'Neal on the court, those 10 minutes will be when we go crazy scoring and blow them up. ”

At the end of the timeout, the Rockets replaced Big Dream and Turkoglu with Yao Ming and Jefferson.

But the scheming "Zen Master" Jackson seemed to see through the idea of rookie coach Smith, O'Neal played the whole first quarter, but Kobe Bryant rested for 2 minutes. Of course, the young Yao Ming failed to take advantage of anything. At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led by as many as 14 points at 39:25. O'Neal had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks on 4-of-5 shooting, and Kobe Bryant contributed 12 points and 5 assists, both of whom performed very bravely. On the Rocket side, Yao Ming got 4+3, which can be regarded as supporting the team's interior line for most of the quarter.