Chapter 738: Playoff Matchups
With 73 wins and 8 losses, with one game left in the regular season, the Mavericks have broken the 19-year-old record. This undoubtedly excites most of the fans around the world, as all of them have the privilege of being part of this miracle.
The Bulls in the 90s won 72 wins, which many people have not experienced firsthand. But the Dallas Mavericks' 73 wins have become a contemporary legend of the 21st century.
In Dallas, in particular, the whole city is in a state of revelry. When Yiyang and the others flew back to Dallas, the formation was no smaller than when they came back with the O'Brien Cup last year.
The number 73 began to sweep the entire basketball world. Sports Illustrated magazine featured 73 on the cover of this issue, and a promotional poster of 73 wins hung outside the arena at the American Airlines Center. Everywhere you look on the streets of Dallas, you'll find malls selling goods at 73% off to commemorate this wonderful season.
"It's crazy, it's like the whole city lives under our aura." Wade looked out the window and couldn't take his eyes off it.
If he had chosen to stay in Miami last summer, he might have had little to do with the 73-win record for the rest of his life. Now it seems that Wade's decision was really the right one. He's not joining the Dallas Mavericks, it's the NBA's glittering history!
"Compared to the year we've just been through, these things aren't crazy at all." Yiyang, who was driving, smiled at Wade, winning 73 wins from the opening 22 consecutive wins to the end of the season. The hardships that the Mavericks have experienced this season, and the back-to-back games they have played, Yiyang still remembers them.
Maybe in another ten or twenty years, looking back on this season of 73 wins, Yiyang may think of not only the results, but the various experiences of this season.
In a great season, the process is usually more memorable than the result!
"Let's go, I'm starting to get a little hungry." Wade withdrew his gaze and rubbed his stomach. The car drove away from the city and headed towards the shores of Baiyan Lake.
※※※
"In two months' time, we'll be holding the O'Brien Cup and being interviewed by you again!"
Yiyang said this sentence when facing the reporter's camera, and with the record of 73 wins, it also floated all over the world.
The Dallas Mavericks are indeed the favorites to win the championship this season, but hearing Yiyang's arrogant tone, many people have jumped out to refute it.
"After 73 wins, the Mavericks are exhausted. Most of the teams are now resting and they are still in full gear. It's time for the playoffs. The Mavericks' fitness is going to be a big problem! ”
"I know, and maybe I was carried away by the joy of victory. He also knows very well in his heart that it will not be so easy for the Mavericks to win the championship. The playoffs and the regular season are not to be confused. ”
"Jordan said that 72 wins without a championship are meaningful. There's no doubt that the Mavericks will be under a lot of pressure for that reason. And pressure, is the last thing you need in the playoffs! ”
In addition to the overwhelming cheers, there are still some media who love to raise the bar, shouting different voices in the atmosphere of great joy.
After all, fans of other teams certainly don't want to see the O'Brien Cup taken away. Fans of the other 29 teams in the NBA, to be exact, don't want to see it!
The current Dallas Mavericks, like the Miami Heat two years ago, have long been the public enemy of the whole people.
Therefore, when it comes to the playoffs, every opponent will definitely do everything in their power to stop the Mavericks. Before they even started their playoff journey, they were already a step more difficult than others.
April 15, the last day of the NBA regular season of the 14-15 season. Today, the league has 28 teams that will conclude the season with this final game, as well as finalize the playoffs for the season.
After 73 wins, the Mavericks' regular season goal can be considered to be completed ahead of schedule. Therefore, Carlisle did not send any main players today, and played with substitutes throughout the game, so that the main players can recharge for the upcoming playoffs.
And their opponents, the Los Angeles Lakers, also have no intention of fighting. Both sides were all substitutes and the fight was not intense. Fans spend money to come to the venue, and most of them want to see Yiyang, not the game itself.
In the end, the Mavericks still defeated the Lakers by 5 points despite all the substitutes. This means that the NBA's record for the highest wins in a single season has become 74.
Unlike the chilly atmosphere at North Shore Gardens, 74 wins at home are naturally quite lively.
The big number "74" immediately appeared on the big electronic screen, and the fans all stood up and cheered for their heroes. Blue confetti drifted down from the dome of the arena as players celebrated each other on the pitch wearing 74-win commemorative T-shirts.
Since the players had already vented their emotions after the victory in the previous game, and this game was won with ease, the celebration did not last long and ended in a hurry.
Facing the end of the regular season, the Mavericks players were very indifferent. Because for them, the regular season ended early on North Shore Gardens. Today can only be regarded as a warm-up before the playoffs.
But for the media, the heat created by the Mavericks and Yiyang will not dissipate so quickly. On that day, almost everyone in the basketball media discussed only one topic – the Dallas Mavericks!
"If anyone thinks that there is anyone else in this alliance who can stop Yi, they are very wrong! Winning the three honors of points king, assist king and steal king at the same time in one season is not something that everyone can do. On the day of the end of the regular season, in TNT's wrap-up program, Barkley said with a serious face.
"In history, there have only been two people who have been able to win both points and steals in a single season. The names of these two men are thunderous, yes, Michael. Jordan and Allen. Iverson! And the person who can win both the points and the assist king at the same time, there is only one person in the history of the NBA who has done it. This man is not a magician, but Knight. Archibald. I believe that many fans have no impression of this player, and some people have not even heard of this player's name at all. This is normal, because Archibald is a player in the 70s of the 20th century, and he has already quit the NBA the year Jordan entered the league. In other words, in the history of modern basketball, it is also the first, and probably the last, player who can win both the scoring king and the assist king! Barkley looked at O'Neill and Kenny. Smith smiled smugly after a look of surprise before continuing.
"And the player who can win the three honors of points king, assist king and steal king at the same time in a single season did not exist before Yiyang! That's right, it doesn't exist! He is also the first player in NBA history to win three statistic titles in a single season. Whether you want to admit it or not, he is the greatest star of our time! Now he is like a magician in the 80s and Jordan in the 90s! He has become the greatest star of our time! ”
So what are you trying to express? Charles. All of you here know it's great, and you don't need to repeat it. O'Neal started to get annoyed, not because he didn't like Yiyang, but because he couldn't stand Barkley.
"What I want to say is that none of the teams that met in the playoffs were spared, and all of them had to be eliminated! 74 wins didn't make them tired, it made them hungry for the championship even more! ”
"I don't see it that way, Charles." O'Neal put on his glasses and looked at the playoff matchup that had just been released this season.
"The Mavericks want to make it out of the West, but it's not as easy as you say. The first round against the Pelicans was not easy, Anthony . Davis's kid's abilities are obvious to all, and it's simply amazing. In the second round, the Mavericks must face the winner of either the Rockets or the Clippers. With Howard about to return from injury and the Clippers in such good shape, the Mavericks are not 100% sure that they will be able to pass the second test. Even if they could, can you guarantee that they can beat the Golden State Warriors? You know, in the regular season this season, the Warriors are the only team that can only play with the Mavericks, and the two teams have met four times and won two games each. The Warriors' style of play is more advanced, and Curry is not without precedent for beating Yi. ”
"You have a point, Shaq. But are you so sure the Warriors can make it to the Western Conference Finals to face the Mavericks? Barkley gave O'Neill a blank look.
"Of course, the only obstacle on the Warriors' path to the Western Conference Finals is the San Antonio Spurs. But I don't think the Spurs' aging roster can survive a small-ball storm. Don't forget, Tim. Duncan is 39 years old, 39 years old! Do you want to see a 39-year-old guy with a half-beat slow head running around the court with the Warriors? So, there is definitely a place for the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, but it doesn't necessarily have room for the Dallas Mavericks. ”
"What about the finals? What would you say if the Mavericks made it to the Finals? Barkley wanted to see how shameless O'Neal could be. Maybe this guy will say that the knight can sweep the calf!
However, O'Neill's "shamelessness" is obviously beyond Barkley's imagination.
"Finals? There will be nothing to do with the Mavericks in the Finals. A team like the Golden State Warriors has an advantage in a best-of-seven playoff game. So, it will be the Golden State Warriors, not the Dallas Mavericks, who will end up in the finals in the West. ”
"You're, Shaq. In the Western Conference Finals, he can also beat Stephen. Curry's ass! ”
"You just don't understand anything, Charles, your big head is full of mush!"
......
Seeing that this basketball show turned into a "mutual spray show" between O'Neal and Barkley, Yiyang couldn't help but smile and turned off the TV.
He has recently become more and more fond of watching O'Neal and Barkley's shows, because these two people's shows are completely comedy reality shows in the guise of basketball.
Today, though, O'Neill has one thing right. The Mavericks' playoff matchup is indeed much more difficult than the Warriors.
The young Pelicans, the strong Clippers and the Rockets. Just standing at the foot of the mountain, Yiyang can already see how rugged the road to defending the title is. And after these teams, there are two big bosses waiting for Yiyang, the warrior and the knight.
However, Yiyang did not feel unfair because of this, but his blood was boiling.
Defeat the strongest opponent to reach the top, such a championship is the most meaningful!
Heroes, come and kill me, if you can.