After Curry's "70+" night, the Hornets had a wave of ups and downs in late March.

This wave of ups and downs has to do with the overly miserable playoff promotion situation in the East this year.

In order to get the ticket to the playoffs, the red-eyed Eastern teams have put on a fateful posture.

In order to avoid injuries, Wang Shuo could not ask the Hornets players to turn on the playoff mode early at this time.

In this regard, the American media commented on the Hornets, who are often upset by their opponents in recent games, saying: "After accumulating enough chips......

Now Michael Jordan and Wang Shuo are ready to reap the spoils of this championship gamble in the playoffs. ”

This year, both Wang Shuo and Jordan know exactly what the upcoming playoffs mean for the team and the city.

As we all know, in the NBA, due to the restrictions of salary rules, each team will have a different length of championship window after it is formed in different ways.

It is true that Wang Shuo, as a traverser, can continue to inject fresh blood into this Hornets in the future through God's perspective to ensure the team's salary health.

But here's the problem......

Don't these young players need to be leveled after they join the Hornets?

Wang Shuo is well aware that this season is their first championship window for the Hornets.

However, the Hornets are not the only teams in the NBA that are also ushering in the championship window.

For example, the Thunder after the change of coach.

For example, after Kobe Bryant announced his retirement plan, the whole team wanted to fight for another championship trophy for the Lakers.

and the East, the Heat, who have been eyeing the championship for years.

In the closing stage, after calculating the strength of the main competitors of the Hornets this year, in Wang Shuo's view, the championship situation of the Hornets this year is far from being as optimistic as the world imagined.

Why?

Because at a higher level of confrontation......

The Hornets can't have as much of a roster advantage as they did in the regular season.

In the regular season, Wang Shuo can even arrange two completely different lineups to play in the first half of the season and the second half of the season respectively.

But when it comes to the playoffs......

With the improvement of the level of the game, under the premise that one of the strongest lineups must be selected to win, the Hornets' lineup advantage is bound to be weakened a lot by the playoff format.

Because, in a high-quality playoff matchup, as long as you dare to field a player who doesn't fit the current level of the game......

Then it will often become a breakthrough for the opponent in the game.

In April, after a few rounds of rest for the main players of the team, the Hornets finally ended the team's regular season season with a 62-20 record under the leadership of Wang Shuo.

Aside from the Hornets, there is no second team in the league this year with a record of more than 60 wins.

Because of the West, the Thunder and Lakers also started the health mode in the closing stage.

It's no news that the league's powerhouses have been overturning in the closing stages of the season.

In the East, after the teams ended their regular season finale on the 16th, the rankings in the East this year are as follows:

Hornets, Cavaliers, Heat, 76ers, Pacers, Knicks, Wizards, Celtics, Hawks, Bulls, Magic, Pistons, Nets, Bucks, Raptors.

According to the schedule, the Wizards, Celtics, Hawks, and Bulls will enter the playoff stage.

The game is a single-elimination game, with the winner between the Hawks and Bulls battling the loser between the Wizards and Celtics for a playoff spot.

Judging from the form of these four teams before the game, the Wizards, who are ranked seventh in the East, are the team in the worst form at the moment.

This season, with the erosion of years and injuries, Arenas has officially entered the countdown to his career.

Although only by age, Arenas is only 32 years old......

But in the NBA, a league where human constitution cannot be generalized, in fact, those outside stars who can still gallop in the league after the age of 30 are a minority.

Arenas' form is declining, relying only on the inside twin towers of Gasol and Randolph, and in Wang Shuo's eyes, this wizard is destined to be difficult to go far.

In addition, this year's western rankings are as follows:

Thunder, Lakers, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Jazz, Pelicans, Houston XX, Nuggets, Clippers, Kings, Timberwolves, Suns, Warriors.

After last year's relegation, the Pelicans, led by Anthony Davis, emerged as one of the most surprising teams in the West this year.

In Wang Shuo's previous life, he was the leader of the NBA air slashing group for a long time in the future......

Although after working with someone, Davis' early experience of making the playoffs only twice with the Pelicans has become a powerful piece of evidence that some fans use to prove someone's ability to lead a team.

But in fact......

In terms of Wang Shuo's memory, the overall competitiveness of the West in the same period of history and the framework of the Pelicans' lineup at that time......

The more you learn about Davis's experience as a dean during his time with the Pelicans, the more you want to sigh......

It turned out that Davis had a lot of experience with his teammates lying down to win long before he joined the Lakers.

Historically, Davis has averaged 30.5 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.5 blocks per game in 13 playoff games before joining the Lakers.

If you don't understand, if Davis plays like this, he can't lead that Pelicans team far......

Shouldn't his teammates and Pelicans management at that time be blamed for it?

Oh......

Co-authoring this means that if someone leads the team to lose, it is the best game, and if Davis leads the team to lose the game, is it not good to lead the team?

In Wang Shuo's view, as a perfect inner line in the small ball era......

Davis is good at everything, but unfortunately he doesn't know how to avoid responsibility for himself by pressuring management to ask for star teammates and by changing coaches after a loss.

Otherwise, how could his evaluation in his memory be reduced to the thigh that even someone can't take away?

According to the schedule, this year's Western Conference playoff play-offs will be between the Jazz, Pelicans, Houston XX and Nuggets.

With the end of the regular season, this year's regular season data kings have also been released.

Durant averaged 33.1 points per game to shoot off this year's scoring title.

Rondo honored this year's assist king with an average of "half a shot" of assists per game.

Due to the lack of attendance, even after returning from injury, Paul averaged 17.8 assists per game, and he was not selected for the award.

This year's rebounding king, steal king, and block king were elected by Lefou, Rubio, and Davis respectively.

On April 18, the Eastern and Western playoffs officially began.

In the play-off match between the Wizards and the Celtics on the 18th, the Celtics lost 98-111 on the road.

In the closing stages of the regular season, during James' absence, the Celtics once rushed to sixth place in the East.

But unfortunately, with the lifting of James' ban, he returned......

Cole's "big smart" started playing his high post deck in the game again.

In this game, James, who had just received psychological counseling, gave everything he could, as always, and scored 31 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for the Celtics.

But in the game, the Celtic players seemed to have returned to the pre-liberation period overnight.

In another play-off game on the 18th, the Pelicans defeated the Jazz with a score of 95-91 and locked a playoff spot in the West ahead of schedule.

Then, on the 19th, it was the turn of the playoffs for the 9th to 10th place in the East and West.

In the end, the Hawks and Nuggets managed to qualify for the last playoff ticket in the East and West this year against the Celtics and Jazz.

According to the schedule, the Celtics and Jazz, who fell into the lower bracket, will face the Hawks and Nuggets respectively on the 21st.

As the number one Jammy, Wang Shuo can be said to be extremely hopeful that James can seize this last opportunity and lead the Celtics to a successful landing.

But to the deplorment of all Jammys around the world......

Even though James scored 28 points, five rebounds and four assists against the Hawks......

The young king, who is about to turn 30 and has no crown, has still not been able to save the fate of the Celtics from being eliminated by the Hawks!

In this game, the Hawks used the previous tactics of the Wizards against the Celtics.

In the game, the Hawks' forward line used a sinking defense when defending James.

As a result, it may be because James slacked off his shooting practice while undergoing psychological counseling......

As a result, he was never able to find his touch on the court, and he was left with the option of using his heroic and tenacious charge to break a bloody path for the Celtics.

After the game, looking at the fans who spoke ill of James because the Celtics failed to qualify for the playoffs, Wang Shuo was trembling with anger at the same time, he couldn't help but feel the cold as if it came from Antarctica!

Fortunately, after the previous psychological counseling, James has indeed improved a lot in terms of mentality.

This night, in the face of doubts from the whole world, I saw this big boy from Akron smile slightly, turned his head and walked into Danny Angie's general manager's office.

As the saying goes, life has dreams, and each is wonderful.

After a psychological massage, James, who knew that he should not continue to be obsessed with the present, officially submitted a trade plan to Angie on this night.

In this regard, Angie has no choice but not to accept it.

Because this summer, James can become a full free agent by jumping out of his contract.

And on the evening of the 21st, with the Jazz defeating the Nuggets, this year's playoff situation in the East and West was also released.

Eastern Conference Playoffs First Round Matchups:

Hornets vs. Hawks, Cavaliers vs. Wizards, Heat vs. Knicks, 76ers PK Pacers.

Western Conference Playoffs First Round Matchups:

Thunder vs. Jazz, Lakers vs. Pelicans, Trail Blazers PK Mavericks, Spurs vs. Grizzlies.

On the 22nd, Wang Shuo officially announced the 13-man roster for this year's Hornets playoffs.

As last year, Battier and Jones were ultimately left out of the team's playoff roster by Wang Shuo.

In the first round of the playoffs, because the Hawks' two guards, Delon and Livingston, one is strong and the other is tall, so after Wang Shuo discussed with the coaching staff, everyone agreed that in order to successfully solve the opponent of the Hawks, the Hornets must take the initiative to change the lineup.

Wang Shuo knows very well that if he continues to insist on getting Curry and Paul to partner in the playoffs......

It's not out of the question that the Hawks are likely to drag the Hornets into a tough battle in this series.

Moreover, after just avenging James who assassinated himself to Atlanta, Delon at this moment has reached the peak of his physical and psychological state since he left the Jazz......

Therefore, in Wang Shuo's view, as the target of his eating and sleeping, only by avoiding his edge, Paul can contribute his energy to the Hornets in this round of the series.

On the evening of the 22nd, after announcing the team's playoff roster, Wang Shuo invited Paul to a light meal as soon as possible.

During the dinner, Paul did not have any resistance to Wang Shuo's decision to use him as a substitute in this series with the Hawks.

Actually, let alone playing a small bench......

At this moment, even if Wang Shuo proposes to sleep in the same bed with Paul, in Paul's opinion, I am afraid it is not impossible to consider.

On the evening of the 24th, the first playoff game between the Hornets and the Hawks officially started at the Spectrum Center.

By increasing the height of the forward line, the Hornets effectively limited Livingston's on-court shooting percentage in the first quarter of the game.

And Delon, who has been in great form recently, can't use his tank impact to score easily under Klay's defense.

In the second quarter, Paul, who was on a staggered trip, played the best performance of his life against DeLong.

He scored 8 points and 4 assists for the Hornets in a single quarter, not only helped the Hornets open the score in one fell swoop, but also successfully played Delong's aggrieved emoji!

In this game, Delong can be said to be extremely aggrieved.

Because he didn't stop for a minute in the game, where does he have the extra energy to clean up Paul at this point?

In the first quarter of the game, offensively, he had to play Clay, who was never afraid of the opponent's strength with himself.

Defensively, he has to guard against Curry, who has come and gone without a trace.

Under the continuous consumption of the Splash Brothers, even though Delon is very good at playing Paul, this night, he can only watch our cannon show off in front of him.

In addition, the Hawks' forward line, led by Josh Smith, was also suppressed by the Hornets forward group led by Leonard in this game.

Smith, who is amazingly gifted physically, has never been known for shooting basketballs in his career, and Wang Shuo was called "LeBron Jr." for a long time in his previous life.

Therefore, in the face of Smith, Leonard simply sacrificed a sinking defense.

As a result, Smith, who had no space to dig inside in the game, also turned into an undercover agent in this game, shooting only 2 of 10 shots in the game, which was completely negative on the offensive end.

On the court, especially when Smith is blocking his outside teammates, Leonard will often just let him go and join the Eagles' ball-handler on the court with his teammates.

In Wang Shuo's previous life, Smith had no ball to play in his playing year, and a large part of the reason was related to his shooting.

With the change of game versions, the NBA's shooting requirements for forward guards will only increase in the future.

Unless, Smith can transform like Brother Alphabet by practicing his inside skills......

Otherwise, he is doomed to fade out of the alliance.

In this round of the series, after the Hornets took the initiative to change the formation, the Hawks had little way to take the Hornets.

Because even Livingston, who cashed in on his talent, was not physically fit enough to sustain him in killing the wasps.

In the end, after four consecutive wins in the first round of the playoffs, the Hornets successfully advanced to the next round with a score of 4-0.

At the same time, after inquiring about the demands of many teams in the league......

On the same night that the Hornets advanced to the next round......

Aegie has finally found the team that is willing to trade James with the Celtics.

……