On April 18, 2007, when the Pacers beat the Knicks in the final round of the regular season, finally fixing their regular season record to 70-12, the media across the country went crazy.

Although the 70-12 record can only rank third in the history of the NBA, whether it is 72-10 or 74-8 in the front, there is still some distance from the front, you must know that once the regular season record reaches about 65 wins, then every time you win an extra game, you have to put in more effort than before, 59 wins and 60 wins are two difficulty levels, 69 wins and 70 wins are worlds apart, not to mention the Pacers' current 70-12 losses, There is still a big gap between the 75 wins that everyone expects in the middle of the season.

However, the Pacers' 70 wins have caused a sensation in the entire American sports world, because this is the second regular season 70 wins for the Pacers in the last 4 seasons, although in the eyes of professionals, even 80 wins are not as good as a championship, but for these media who specialize in creating "big scenes" and "gimmicks", the Pacers have maintained a record of more than 60 wins for 5 consecutive seasons, including 74 wins and 70 wins in two seasons, such a brilliant record, It's like an NFL team that has won 16-0 for two consecutive seasons, and it's hard not to make a splash, how can such a team and such a performance turn a blind eye.

"James, can you tell us about the last time you won 74?" On April 20, 2007, under the overwhelming publicity from the outside world, the Pacers were nested in the training gym to prepare for the upcoming playoffs, but in the regular season 70-12 record, and in the face of the tide of praise from the outside world, Ronnie Brewer and PJ Tucker, who are still rookies, have not eased up until now, and have been pestering James Posey and Jermaine O'Neal during the break. Ask them to talk about the last time the Pacers won their all-time best 74 wins.

"Haha, Ronnie, I've told you several times, we didn't feel anything special at the time, but we still felt a lot of stress, especially Rick, who couldn't sleep all night."

"Too stressed to sleep? James, why am I so excited that I can't sleep, the thought of me being able to participate in such a great record makes me feel inexplicably excited, and I don't feel sleepy at all. "For a rookie who is at the bottom of the ranks, it is undoubtedly very lucky to be able to join a strong man like the Pacers and be teammates with the first person in the league after entering the league, and in the first season after entering the league, he can follow the team to play the regular season record that other players can only look at in their lifetime, you can imagine how excited Ronnie Brewer is.

"Ronnie, if you have been in the league for a long time, you will find that 60 wins, 70 wins or something, in fact, there is no meaning, or the championship is the most real, we have 70 wins now, which means that we must win the championship next, otherwise 70 wins will not be in any honor and pride, but will become a laughing stock in the world, the only standard for measuring success in this league is the championship." Under Ronnie Brewer's questions one after another, James Posey explained them one by one very patiently, in fact, these words were all admonished by Meng Xu, and James Posey just paraphrased Meng Xu's words directly without moving.

"yes, I see." After listening to James Posey's tirade, Ronnie Brewer's emotions did not calm down, but became more excited, the championship, it is possible to win the championship in the first season after entering the league, which is something that Ronnie Brewer could not have imagined before entering the league.

"Darko, you don't seem nervous at all." Looking at Ronnie Brewer and PJ Tucker, who were surrounding James Posey in the distance, and then at Darko Milicic, who was standing next to him practicing free throws, Meng Xu asked with some curiosity.

"It's okay." Turning his head to Meng Xu and smiling very shyly, Darko Milicic turned his head again to practice free throws, and in the final battle of the regular season with the Knicks, Darko Milicic ushered in another start, Rick Carlisle's original meaning may be that he hoped that Darko Milicic could prove himself in front of Larry Brown, but this game, in the words of a celebrity, was that Darko Milicic's face was not exposed, but his ass was exposed. Under the restrictions of rookie Channing Frye and veteran Marrick Rose, Darko Milicic shot 5 of 16 from the field, and only made 4 of 9 free throws, although Channing Frye was also defended by Darko Milicic with only 1 of 7 in the whole game, but such a result of the game is undoubtedly unacceptable to Darko Milicic, especially the picture of the veteran Marik Rose grabbing 5 frontcourt rebounds on his head, which was regarded as a shame by Darko Milicic, The game was undoubtedly like a basin of cold water poured on Darko Milicic's head, and Darko Milicic, who realized that he was still lacking in ability, went into a state of training frenzy after returning to Indianapolis.

"Okay, let's practice a little less, we still have a game tomorrow." Meng Xu still appreciates Darko Milicic's momentum, a hard-working, unyielding player, even if his talent is average, he can create a world of his own, not to mention that Darko Milicic is still a talented player, so the longer the contact, the more Meng Xu can understand why Rick Carlisle has always been obsessed with Darko Milicic, and it is precisely because of these reasons that Meng Xu is more and more optimistic about Darko Milicic.

Due to a series of controversies caused by the regular season rankings last season, the NBA league has reformed the regular season ranking rules again this season, and the rule that the first place in each division directly occupies the top three has been abolished, and the first team in each division and the team with the best record among the remaining players will be determined by the difference in wins.

After the end of the regular season, the Cavaliers and Nets became the second and third places in the Eastern regular season with a record of 53 wins and 50 wins respectively, and the Pistons and the Heat are brothers and sisters, although the strength is greatly damaged, but the skinny camel is bigger than the horse, relying on the sprint of the last month before the end of the regular season, they also won 46 and 45 wins respectively, ranking fourth and fifth in the East. The pair of bitter brothers and old rivals are about to meet again in this season's playoffs, followed by the Raptors, Bulls and Wizards.

Compared with the Eastern Conference, the Pacers are unbeatable, and the competition in the Western Conference is much more fierce, unlike the two-strong competition between the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs last season, after Amare Stoudemire returned from injury, the Suns joined the race for the first place in the West again this season, and the Lakers, who got Pau Gasol after the All-Star Game, also announced with a wave of 14 consecutive wins at the end of the regular season that they will also join the competition for the championship. Therefore, it can be expected in advance that this season's Western Conference playoffs will be very exciting.

Finally, at the end of the regular season, the Dallas Mavericks ranked first in the West again with a 65-17 record, and the second and third places in the West behind the Mavericks were the Suns with 61 wins and 21 losses, and the Spurs with 60 wins and 22 losses, while the Lakers relied on a wave of 14 consecutive wins before the end of the season to finally rank fourth in the West with a 54-28 record.

Although the Pacers have a 70-12 record this season, the voice of the West being strong and the East weak is once again popular this season, which can be seen from the regular season rankings, the Jazz, who are ranked sixth in the West, have a 50-32 record this season, while the Raptors, who are ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference, only have 44 wins, and only the Pacers and Cavaliers in the entire Eastern Conference are ahead of the Jazz.

So when the Pacers were praised as the strongest team in history because of two 70 wins in 4 years, a kind of doubt was also quietly rising, and these doubters said that if the Pacers were not in the weak East, but in the West where strong teams gathered, not to mention 70 wins in the regular season, I am afraid that 65 wins would not be won.