Chapter 739: First in the East! (2/4! )
This All-Star Game attracted a lot of fan attention.
Before the game, there were voices saying that because of the positive response brought by the serious play of last year's All-Star Game, this year's All-Star Game will be more formal, which also makes fans look forward to it.
Booker shone in his rookie game, hitting 10 three-pointers for the U.S. to lead the U.S. team back to a one-time race.
In the end, he scored 30 points and was successfully elected as the MVP of the rookie game.
He showed great touch in his rookie game, and he carried it over to the three-point shooting contest as well.
He shot 25 points in the preliminaries and advanced to the finals with Gordon and Thompson of the Rockets.
In the final, he also maintained his excellent hand, and finally finished with 23 points, beating Gordon (21 points) and Thompson (20 points) to become the new three-point leader.
The champion of the rookie game MVP and three-point contest, although he was not selected to the All-Star Game because of the fierce competition for guards, but two consecutive honors have also proved his excellent form this season.
LaVine easily defended his title in the slam dunk contest.
The previous series of individual events paved the way for the final match, and the match did not disappoint in the end, with the East and West playing the most intense All-Star confrontation in the past decade, and the half-real game also made fans addicted.
In the end, the MVP was picked by Anthony Davis of the Pelicans, who scored a game-high 36 points.
The All-Star break was immediately followed by the trade deadline.
The Nets have received a number of trade proposals.
The Rockets wanted to trade Gordon with a first-round pick and Louis Williams, but with Booker's rise, Gordon's playing time was compressed, and his stats dropped a lot.
The Cavaliers, the Thunder, and the Clippers are still asking for Jefferson Jr., and they desperately need a forward who can match Durant at the top position.
The Spurs inquired about Murray and they want to find a qualified replacement for Parker.
……
The Nets currently have a solid record in the first place in the East, and the run-in is getting better and better, and these transactions cannot make a qualitative change in the team's strength, all of which were rejected by Tang Tian.
For the first time in so many seasons, Tang Tian's team did not participate in the trade deadline at all.
However, this year's trade deadline is also lively.
The Cavaliers traded Jefferson Jr. and made a trade with the Hawks, giving away Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams, a 2019 first-round pick (protected) and some cash in exchange for former All-Star Korver.
The Hornets sent Hibbert and Hawes in a trade from the Bucks for Miles Plumlee, whom they just signed just over the summer.
The Raptors and the Magic made a blockbuster deal in exchange for Terrence Rose and a 2017 first-round pick in exchange for Ibaka.
……
At the end of the trade deadline, the Nets were on hold, and the Cavaliers and Raptors were both reinforced.
The second half of the fixture became increasingly confusing.
However, the Nets' performance in the second half of the season was solid, while the Cavaliers and Raptors continued to suffer from the pain of running-in.
The comparison between the two sides fully proves a truth, the basketball game is not simply a piece of paper strength, run-in and lineup stability are much more important than getting a few players.
Time flies, and it is the end of April in a blink of an eye.
After a season of hard work, the 2016~2017 regular season officially came to an end.
The Nets in the East are in a league of their own, finishing first in the East with a 60-22 record and the only team in the East to reach 60 wins.
The progress of Jokic and Booker, as well as the excellent play of key players such as Butler, DeLong, and Yi Jianlian, make them look even better than last year.
The Cavaliers' final record was only fixed at 51-31, and the change of coaches at the beginning of the season, the decline of JR Smith and Tristan Thompson, and the internal conflicts within the team from time to time all took a big toll on the team.
The Raptors are in third place, and they have the same record as the Cavaliers, but they ended up in third place because of their 1-2 record against the Cavaliers.
The Wizards have 49 wins, and the duo and Porter have played well, and they have had a signature season.
The Hawks' introduction of Howard did not have the desired effect, and their strength declined seriously after losing Horford and Korver, and finally only achieved a record of 43 wins, barely maintaining the playoff ranks.
The Bucks are the only energetic team in the bottom half of the team, and Antetokounmpo has continued to grow under Kidd's development and has grown into a first-line superstar, but they are limited by their strength on paper and end up in sixth place with 42 wins.
The Pacers continue to rely on Paul George to maintain their playoff ranks, and they have just 42 wins like the Bucks.
The Heat are in eighth place, and after losing Wade, their strength has dropped much more than expected, and Riley is a mistake this time.
On the Western side, the Warriors dominate the Warriors, with a 67-win record, which is good enough, but considering that they won 73 last season and signed Durant this offseason, that record is not satisfactory.
The Spurs went on to record 61 wins, followed by the Warriors, who are also the Warriors' biggest rivals in the West this season.
The Rockets are in third place with a record of 55 wins, Harden broke up with Kardashian in the offseason, and completely woke up to no longer hang out in nightclubs, coupled with the tuning of new head coach Mike D'Antoni, played MVP-level statistics, and finally led the Rockets to play an incredible season, a strong slap in the face ESPN.
The Clippers are fourth with 51 wins, and they are still not up or down with the Big Three.
Jazz head coach Schneider followed Tang Tian's team building model and played team basketball, surprisingly scoring 51 wins, ranking fifth.
The Thunder's performance was the most surprising in the West, with management confusion and Westbrook's disobedience to head coach Stevens to keep them from winning even 50 games.
The only credit is that Westbrook, who was enraged by Durant, put together a magical performance of averaging a triple-double per game this season, tying history.
The Grizzlies offered Conley the biggest contract in history in the summer, and also signed Chandler Parsons with a maximum salary, but the former did not perform well, and the latter was directly reimbursed for the season, and their unlucky salary exploded, but they ended up only in seventh place in the West.
The Trail Blazers finished eighth.
The season came to an end, and the matchups were announced.
The Nets will face their old rival Heat again in the first round.
The strength of the Heat team has declined significantly, and Spoelstra's clever woman is difficult to cook without rice, and she has the heart to fight Tang Tian, but she is helpless because of the team's strength.
110-93, 103-87, the Nets were bloodless, winning consecutive games at home, and easily led the opponent 2-0.
With the playoffs here, it's customary time to announce the league's accolades.
However, Xiao Hua has made some changes to the rules this year, and the league will follow the Hollywood model for an official awards ceremony, so the awards will not be announced until the end of the season.