On April 28, after the third game of the first round of the playoffs in the 97-98 season, the Lakers swept the Portland Trail Blazers with a total score of 3-0, completing the sweep of the team for two consecutive years, which made the Trail Blazers completely disgraced, and the chaos within the team was completely public.

In the other three games on the 28th, the Charlotte Hornets, who were hoping to sweep the Atlanta Hawks, suffered a heavy defeat on the road, and they were completely lost under the Hawks' high-intensity tight defense, losing to the Hawks by 32 points 64-96, and the top scorer in the entire Hornets was Anthony Mason Jr., who scored a measly 12 points. The Hornets scored just 64 points in a single game, which is also the lowest number of points in an NBA playoff game in recent years.

The Seattle SuperSonics were crushed by the Timberwolves' youth storm in the away game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the thirty-year-old Gary Payton scored 26 points, but the Timberwolves were led by Stephen Marbury and Kevin Garnett, a pair of core players on the inside and outside, and finally defeated the SuperSonics 98-90, bringing the total score to 2-1, and the Timberwolves have a great hope of eliminating the SuperSonics and advancing to the second round.

The Miami Heat defeated the New York Knicks at home 91-85 at Madison Garden, and although the Knicks had won one of their previous two road games, the Knicks were completely unavailable on the inside without Ewing on the inside, and they had to swallow the bitter pill of defeat when they returned to their home court. Although Alan Houston struggled to score 27 points, the Knicks finally hated in the face of the Heat's full bloom.

On April 29, the Lakers, who had completed the first round of the game, returned to Los Angeles to rest, while the other teams had to continue to fight for a second round qualification.

In the game on the 29th, the Jazz challenged the Rockets away. The Rockets, who returned to their home court, played the game they hoped for under the leadership of Olajuwon, who was 35 years old and rejuvenated in this game, scoring a game-high 28 points on 10-of-26 shooting, although the shooting percentage was not high, but he did a good job of suppressing the Jazz's interior play, allowing Karl Malone to score only 19 points. The Rockets completed the overtake with no one favoring them, and they tied the overall score at 2-1 after winning this game. Before the start of this playoffs, the Rockets were among the teams that were expected to be eliminated in the first round, but they did not expect them to lead the Jazz, who finished second in the West in the regular season.

The Bulls eliminated the New Jersey Nets 116-101 on the road, and they also completed the sweep against the Nets to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the second time.

Kobe Bryant encountered Jordan's tight defense in this game, and he also enjoyed the treatment of Liu Han in the finals last year, but Kobe Bryant was completely lost under Jordan's tight defense, scoring only 9 points in the game. Although the Nets scored five points in double figures, none of them scored 20. Although Jordan is thirty-five years old, he still scored 38 points in this game, and the older Jordan made the rebellious Kobe Bryant drop his head high.

The Spurs at home won 99-80 over the Suns, so the Spurs eliminated the Suns by a score of 3-1. Spurs veteran Avery Johnson scored 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting and 8-of-12 from the free-throw line, and David Robinson also grabbed 21 rebounds to completely destroy the Suns' interior. Suns point guard Jason Kidd shot just 4-of-16 from the field and shot less than 30 percent from the field, and his poor shooting became the main reason for the loss. As a point guard, Kidd's passing and vision can be described as top-notch, but his shooting has become a big hole for himself, the Spurs seized such a flaw to block Kidd's passing line, Avery Johnson was defending Kidd's defensive shot, let go of Kidd to shoot, and Kidd was defeated by himself.

At the end of the game on the 29th, the Bulls and Spurs advanced one after another.

On April 30, the Pacers defeated the Cavaliers 80-74 to advance to the second round, and both teams defended extremely fiercely in this game, and the new head coach of the Pacers, Larry Bird, brought the Pacers a Celtic-style defense, coupled with the defensive lineup that Larry Brown had been building for the Pacers, with excellent defense, the Pacers finally defeated the Cavaliers.

The SuperSonics won a hard-fought 92-88 win over the Timberwolves on the road, tying the score at 2-2, and Gary Payton scored 24 points in this game, while only Kevin Garnett was stable on the Timberwolves' side, and the other players were in a slump and had no feeling at all. In this way, the two teams will play Game 5 in two days.

The Heat lost to the Knicks 85-90 and the two teams were tied 2-2 again, and the two sides will also face off in Game 5 two days. Last season, the Heat and the Knicks played seven games in the second round of the playoffs, and the two teams played as hot as a war, with players from both sides sent off, and this season, they played the last game in the first round of the playoffs.

On May 1, the Hornets defeated the Hawks 91-82 to advance to the second round of the playoffs with an overall score of 3-2.

The Jazz launched a Jedi counterattack in Game 2 on the road, beating the Rockets by 22 points 93-71 and tying the overall score at 2-2. The Rockets have nothing to do with the exception of Olajuwon, who is still stable.

On May 2, the Timberwolves were eliminated from the game by losing to the SuperSonics on the road, and the SuperSonics will meet the Lakers again in two days, and last season was also the second round of the playoffs, the SuperSonics were swept by the Lakers.

The first round of the playoffs is coming to an end, and now the Knicks and Heat, Rockets and Jazz are left to decide the winner, while in the East, the second round of the playoffs between the Hornets and the Bulls is about to be played on May 3.

The league announced its regular season winners at the end of the first round of the playoffs, and the Lakers had a 72-win regular season, but they didn't receive much of a single individual award.

The Most Valuable Player of the Regular Season was won by Jordan, and Liu Han would have probably won this honor if he had not been suspended, but he regretfully missed out on this reward because of the two-month ban.

The Rookie of the Year award was undoubtedly given to the Spurs' Tim Duncan, a young player with a simple style of play with a maturity different from his age, averaging 21.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, which is the first rookie to be compared to the stars of some teams.

The best defensive player was won by Mutombo, and while his stats are not eye-catching, it is undeniable that he is indeed the gatekeeper of the Eagles' interior defense.

The Sixth Man of the Year was won by the Lakers' Michael Finley, who was the Lakers' top scorer on the bench, and his strong body and excellent shooting ability made him an important guarantee for the Lakers' offense in the second quarter.

George Krent's best coach was won by George Crent, and although the Lakers won the championship last year, this year's Lakers team can be said to have been re-established, and George Krent led the Lakers to play amazing tactics.

Liu Han and O'Neal both entered the best team, and O'Neal also entered the defensive second team, Liu Han could also be selected for the second team, his single defense ability is still very good, but unfortunately he did not get the recognition of coaches and reporters, maybe Liu Han's too strong offensive firepower made everyone ignore his defensive ability.

But these less important honors have not been on the radar of Liu Han and the Lakers players at all, and their minds are now focused on the upcoming second round of the playoffs. (To be continued.) )