Bryant is enjoying a break after five consecutive home games, and a day later they are about to start the Devil's schedule with five straight away games. The five away games are the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and New Jersey Nets.

5 teams, including the Cavaliers, Heat, and Magic, all of which are strong teams. Especially the Heat, when the Heat traded to Marshburn, they have become the current second team in the East after the Bulls, just a week ago, they bloodied the Pistons in Detroit, defending Grant Hill, the current league's No. 1 small forward, with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.

With the victory in this game, the difference between the Heat and the Pistons has been leveled, and in recent days, as all teams have gradually adapted to the Pistons' style of play, they have begun to understand that if they want to win the Pistons, they only need to guard Hill. So there began to be a wave of crazy targeting of Grant Hill, Hill is not like Kobe, he can still transform to play without the ball when he is targeted. The Pistons don't have a second stable point of possession, Dumas is aging too much, and in the face of the bag, Hill's offensive methods are still the same old - single breakthroughs, back-to-back jumpers, and blocking and dismantling with the ball.

And these three ways did not liberate Hill from the bag, Hill played an average of 30+10+10 per game in a single month in January, and his average data per game in a single month in February became 25+7+8. Halfway through March, his average data per game has slipped to 21+5+6. It's a precipitous slide!

If you don't watch the game, you will think that Hill is not in good shape or has suffered an injury. In fact, this is not the case, Hill's ability and status have not changed much, what has changed a lot is the defensive arrangement of other teams in the league for the Pistons. Now as long as he plays the Pistons, Hill will face a pinch attack, and the box is stuffed, his teammates have no way to create enough offensive space for him, and his most powerful breakthrough is also because the box is full of people and can't play, which makes him, the current strongest point forward, play more like a very aggrieved one, and he doesn't play to his advantages at all.

And the Heat seized the time when the Pistons were in trouble, and with the first-generation Heat Big Three formed by Pat Riley, they caught up, and now the Pistons and Heat's records are close to parity. The Knicks, Hornets, Hawks, and Magic in the rear were not to be outdone, biting the tail of the team in front of them and chasing them very fiercely. Especially the Knicks, in recent days, except for the Bulls led by Michael Jordan and the Lakers brought by Kobe Bryant, they have won all the other games!

The Heat, Pistons, Knicks, Hornets, and Hawks are just a few teams that want to compete for a top-four spot in the East. With the exception of the Bulls, who are firmly at the top of the standings, several other teams are likely to compete for the remaining three spots.

The situation in the east is already chaotic and far less clear than in the west. It can be said that in addition to the Bulls in the East, no one is stable from second to eighth place, and the Pistons, who have been ranked second in the pre-season and mid-season, obviously have a downward trend.

The Magic, led by Penny Anfernee Hardaway, is also working hard for the final spot in the playoffs, and the three teams of Aulardo Magic, Washington Bullets, and Cleveland Cavaliers are still competing for the last two spots in the top eight playoffs in the East.

As a result, the desire for victory is significantly higher in the East than in the West. The teams in the East are now fighting to win and lose every game, and they are going all out for a playoff spot, for home-court advantage.

Coupled with Kobe's recent arch fire, it brought a wave of scoring rhythm. Many players also want to try to score high points in the game, Jordan, Ewing, Glen Rice, Penny Hardaway, Webber and other stars are all in excellent competitive form, and have repeatedly scored high scores. As a result, the team gave it their all, the stars played hard, and the competitive form of the Eastern team was raised to a very high level.

In the West, after the Lakers defeated Houston, Houston saw that there was no hope of competing for the Western Conference championship, and immediately turned to health mode. The Big Three take turns to suspend and adjust their status, and these veterans don't care about the regular season record and honors, since it is almost impossible to overtake the Lakers, it is better to recover their physical fitness, adjust their state, and leave everything to the playoffs to solve.

So after Drexler returned from injury, Olajuwon was then suspended. At present, it is Ross Barkley and Drexler who are playing with the team, and the team's performance and record have also declined significantly after leaving Olajuwon recently, and since the goal is not in the regular season, the players and coaches have played relatively conservatively in the game.

At this time, the Jazz, the third place in the West, is soaring, Malone's performance this season is the only one among power forwards, and this season Stockton has consciously let Malone handle the ball more, so Stockton's average assists per game have dropped from 14.5 at his peak to 10.5 this season.

Malone's average stats and performance per game have also improved significantly, with a career-high 4.5 assists per game and the fourth-highest scoring average in the league at 27.8 points. Coupled with the team's record far exceeding their lineup on paper, such a performance of leading the team gives Malone the capital to compete for MVP!

The most promising players for MVP this season - Michael Jordan, Grant Hill, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaq O'Neal, Karl Malone five.

Why is Kobe Bryant not on this list? Because most of the Lakers' games, Kobe Bryant is still only acting as a second-in-command, and the time for a single core to lead the team is too short. And his age is always an issue, and most media outlets don't recognize an 18-year-old as the best player in MLS.

If Jordan can lead the team to break 72 wins, then he still has a chance to win the MVP, and if he can't, then the media will not vote for him again.

As the season progressed, Hill was targeted, and if he couldn't get out of the barrier, then he wouldn't be able to win the MVP.

Olajuwon, on the other hand, gave up the pursuit of the regular season after losing to the Lakers and began to rest in the rotation. As a result, the team's declining record and missing multiple games will also make his chances of winning the MVP very small.

O'Neal was originally very hopeful of winning the MVP, it can be said that before his injury, as long as the Lakers sit first in the West, this season's MVP is in his bag, but unfortunately an injury made him out of injury in February! In any case, even if the Lakers win the league, it is impossible to award the MVP award to a player who has been out of action for 2 months.

The rest is Ma Long, and no one can fault Karl Malone who won the MVP in terms of individual performance. This season he has really dominated the position of power forward, the only one of its kind. It's just that the team's record is not top-notch, and there are still two big mountains above the Jazz: the Lakers and Houston.

If the Jazz can surpass Houston and get close to the Lakers in the last 20 games, then Malone has a very good chance to win the MVP of the season!