The time came to April, and the regular season of the 2013~2014 season was coming to an end.

It was also at this time that the league issued a new memo (meaning of the rule supplement), which stipulated that under the new rules, the defender will no longer be allowed to turn to the sides to block the offensive player when the big man will jump vertically on the inside in the future.

Yes, although it was a little later than Xu Yong knew, the [Vertical Take-off Rule] still appeared.

The emergence of this rule immediately caused a huge controversy.

Among them, there are many supporters, and the most of them are naturally Jammy, because the emergence of this rule is the most friendly to breakthrough players.

Imagine that the center can't turn around when he jumps, and they can only be fixed in place when they face the offensive player's side layup, because jumping is likely to be a foul.

Among the breakthrough players, the most representative is naturally James, whose unpredictable breakthrough is doubled after getting the bonus of this rule.

But more often than not, there was a lot of skepticism.

O'Neill and Barkley reacted the most strongly as media people.

"This league has changed a lot of rules because of George McCann, because of Chamberlain, and even because of me, but all of these rules are meant to limit our play, but now, they've introduced a rule to make a player play better, and they've done it once before that, which is so dark humor."

O'Neill's remarks were very direct.

The reason why he is so angry is understandable, you must know that if it weren't for the joint defense and defense for three seconds, the Lakers would probably be able to win four consecutive championships, and maybe even five consecutive championships.

It may even be that he and Kobe Bryant don't have to make such a big difference, after all, in the NBA, victory can cover up most of the problems.

The last time he said it was in '09 when the league changed the rules for James, allowing players to take two steps with the ball before stopping, passing or shooting in the middle of the game.

That's right, this is hot knowledge that many fans don't know.

"Actually, it's a result of LeBron and the rest of the players putting pressure on the league after the last game against the Bulls." Barkley revealed some deeper inside information.

Their remarks put James on the cusp, and you can feel that they are no longer disrespectful at this time, they don't take James seriously at all.

After all, James is now just a player with poor skills and has not won the championship for ten years in the league, if it weren't for the 5-year 100 million endorsement contract, Nike is still sparing no effort to tout him, he shouldn't even have such a high level of attention.

Xu Yong saw the news after training.

His reaction to the news was expected, as he could already feel the league's renewed care for James in previous games.

Or, more accurately, it was Nike that was pushing the limit to force the league to compromise.

In response, Xu Yong expressed his opposition in an interview with reporters at the end of training.

'These rules ruin the game, when the breakthrough becomes easy, the players don't improve their skills, and when the big man is no longer able to guard the box, the game loses its spectacle, which is a chronic poison.

Xu Yong now has a very high status in the alliance, and his voice is still very necessary.

His remarks were also supported by many people, and even O'Neal supported him on TNT's show.

Eventually, however, the coalition chose to implement the memorandum.

The reason is simple, interests.

Nike is, after all, the league's biggest sponsor, and their relationship with the NBA is somewhat similar to the relationship between YSL and Amika, father and son.

Of course, as Xu Yong analyzed before, Nike's continued pressure is actually making the final sprint for James, just like the last madness.

If James can't win the championship before 2015, Durant is ready to take the position.

……

It's mid-April.

The regular season of the 2013~2014 season has come to an end, and the rankings of the East and West have been finalized.

In the West, the Thunder won 62 wins, not only ranking first in the West, but also first in the league.

Durant had the most explosive season of his career, averaging 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.9 blocks per game, shooting 50.3% from the field and 39.1% from three-point range.

He set career highs in both scoring and assists.

When he first separated from Xu Yong last summer, he felt that Xu Yong was cheating on him, but after the season, he found that Xu Yong's set did work.

Because in a sense, that is the key to Xu Yong's play.

In the final analysis, basketball is the training of basic skills, if you have solid basic skills, the skills will be learned quickly, the effect will be good, and the lower limit will be there.

As for the ceiling, that's determined by talent.

Durant's talent is there, practice passing accuracy, play more big Kobe Bryant's offense, and score and assist will naturally go up.

His performance is also considered the hottest candidate for MVP this year.

As for Harden, his points per game average has not changed this season, but his assists have increased to 8.8 per game, and his chemistry with Durant is getting better.

The Mavericks are second with 59 wins.

Nowitzki has averaged 22 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists per game, 50.6% shooting, 40.2% three-point shooting, and 91% free throw shooting, successfully scoring the [180 Club].

Of course, the Mavericks' excellent record this season is mainly due to Leonard, who has raised the Mavericks' ceiling.

Leonard's third-year stats were set at 18.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game, shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from three-point range.

After the All-Star break, he got more shots, and his stats continued to improve.

The Trail Blazers are third with 54 wins.

The Trail Blazers youth team is wave after wave, although Roy has retired, but Lillard and Aldridge have taken over.

Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge, Robin Lopez, this lineup is also quite competitive in the West.

Of course, their ability to jump to third is directly related to the decline of the Lakers and Spurs.

The Spurs are in fourth place with 52 wins.

The Spurs' continued dominance was, in a sense, a complete "accident".

Because it is essentially based on the constant salary cuts of GDP, and now that GDP is old and Leonard has not been selected as a new "accident", what superstar would look up to a small ball market like San Antonio?

So now their strength will only continue to decline.

The Warriors, Clippers, Pelicans, and Grizzlies are ranked 5~8.

After a 6-week break, Bryant was finally forced to undergo surgery again for the season, and the Lakers finally missed the playoffs, which was also the first time they missed the playoffs since the 2004~2005 season.

The first round of the Western Conference matchups, Thunder vs. Grizzlies, Mavericks vs. Pelicans, Trail Blazers vs. Clippers, Spurs vs. Warriors.

Of the four matchups, the Spurs and Warriors are undoubtedly the most concerned.

They are a showdown between the remnants of the old era and the supernova.

However, the Warriors have suffered a fatal injury this season, as their starting center, Andrew "Yellow Miracle" Bogut, suffered a cracked rib against the Trail Blazers and was out for the season.

Bogut has played in 67 games for the Warriors this season and started all of them, averaging 7.3 points, 10 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.8 blocks per game, and is the interior barrier in the Bay Area.

His season reimbursement will make it difficult for the Warriors to limit Duncan's play on the inside, even if Duncan, who is about to turn 38.

In the East, the Pacers are in first place with 60 wins.

James averaged 27.8 points, 8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game, shooting a career-high 56.7% from the field and 37.9% from three-point range.

Paul averaged 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 46.7% from the field and 37.8% from three-point range.

Bynum averaged 16.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 55% from the field.

The Heat are in second place with 59 wins.

With Wade back to health after the All-Star break, the Heat showed their natural competitiveness, with the only regret being that they couldn't overtake the Pacers in the final minute to reach the top of the East.

Wade only played in 54 games due to injury, but he still averaged 24.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, shooting 54.5% from the field and 30.4% from three-point range.

Granger played well in Wade's absence, and his personal data also improved to 18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals, shooting 46.2% from the field and 39.4% from three-point range;

The Bulls are third in the East with 52 wins.

The Bulls managed to overtake the Raptors after the All-Star break, but this record was the worst in recent years.

Rose and Brown's successive injuries, Butler's dilution of the ball in danger, Hawes's run-in, etc., as Xu Yong expected, the Bulls experienced the most difficult season.

In terms of statistics, Xu Yong averaged 28.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, shooting 51.6% from the field and 39% from three-point range.

The changes in his stats this season compared to last season are still obvious: he has scored fewer points, but he is still second in the league behind Durant; The number of assists was reduced because Butler diluted the ball; The shooting rate has been improved, because the proportion of off-ball has been increased, and the difficulty of scoring has been reduced; Defensively, the stats have picked up significantly, as Butler has the ball in his hands and he can reallocate his energy back to the defensive end.

Butler averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 45.4% from the field and 35.2% from three-point range

It's been a season of Butler's transformation, and although his scoring and steal stats are not as good as Leonard's, making him look like Leonard has been suppressed on both offensive and defensive ends, his assists have doubled directly compared to last season, and he and Leonard have embarked on a completely different development trajectory.

David West averaged 14.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field.

Adams played in a full 62 games, starting 42 games, averaging 5.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, including 2.8 frontcourt boards, while shooting 50.4 percent from the field.

Foye averaged 11.6 points per game and was the team's sixth man, shooting 40.2 percent from three-point range and averaging 5.1 three-pointers per game.

Hawes played in 27 games for the Bulls, averaging 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 41.8% from three-point range.

The Raptors are fourth in the East with 49 wins.

DeRozan averaged 22.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 42.9% from the field.

The Raptors sent Guy away early in the season, correcting DeRozan's central position, and his stats were on the rise.

What he's going to do next is how to be an efficient scorer.

Antetokounmpo played in 77 games in his rookie season, including 15 starts, averaging 24.2 minutes, 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 steals per game, including a staggering 34.7% three-point shooting (1.5 attempts per game).

The Wizards, Nets, Hornets, and Hawks are ranked 5~8.

The Cavaliers finished in 10th place in the East and missed the playoffs.

The Celtics are in thirteenth place, and Zhou Qi played in 62 games in his rookie season, including 40 starts, averaging 24 minutes per game, averaging 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, shooting 45% from the field and 34% from three-point range.

The first-round matchups on the Eastern side, Pacers vs. Hawks, Heat vs. Hornets, Raptors vs. Wizards, Bulls vs. Nets.

Among them, the matchup between the Bulls and the Nets is undoubtedly the most concerned.

The Nets made the most stinky trade in the NBA since the of Billy King at the start of the season.

But it stinks, and Nets fans adjust their mentality, thinking about cooling him for a season or two, after all, this is a serious five-star lineup.

As a result, no one expected that the Nets began to pull at the beginning of the season, and then pulled until the end of the season, and finally only won 44 wins, which was a full 10 wins less than last season.

Pierce's average per game dropped to 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists, a career low.

Garnett is averaging 6.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and at the age of 38, Duncan is still shining in the Holy City, and he has completely degenerated into a role player.

And then go back and look at the pile of draft picks that the Nets paid for, and Billy King's face couldn't be more swollen.

And the house leak happened to rain overnight, and this season Delon was plagued by injuries, and his statistics also slipped to 14.3 points and 6.1 assists.

Even Lopes suffered a fracture mid-season and didn't return until the end of the season, and his form was a problem.

As an opponent, and the opponent who has played each other in the playoffs for two consecutive seasons (the Bulls and Nets met in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year), Xu Yong also began to study the Nets after the matchup was confirmed.

The Nets' team formation model is obvious, although theoretically a team has as many stars as possible, but the distribution of shots is the biggest problem.

The right to take a shot not only affects the player's stats, but also affects the player's form.

In the case of Pierce and Garnett, are they in such a bad decline after only one season?

The answer is no, with Pierce taking 9.5 shots from 14.2 last season and Garnett dropping from 12.5 to 6.6.

Give them the same shot rights last season, and their stats are likely to be flat.

So by extension, even if the Cavaliers form the Big Four, and they are the most suitable Big Four for James, I am afraid that the ball problem will be enough for them to drink a pot at that time.

Going back to the Nets, although there are problems with this, the strength of the Nets is the strongest team in the bottom half.

Because in the playoffs, it is the stage of stars and veterans, and the Nets' four All-Stars should not be underestimated.

In particular, the Bulls now have a younger roster, and in terms of odds, the Nets are not necessarily lower than the Bulls.

Thibodeau obviously knows this, so he stepped up the team's training intensity after the match was confirmed to keep the tension in the players.

And after the training, the players were vaccinated.

After the training was over, Butler happily found Xu Yong.

"Senior, I got it."

Xu Yong's face was puzzled.

"Fastest Progress Award, they called me."

When Butler said it, Xu Yong knew that he was talking about the trophy.

When he threw the trophy for the Most Improved Award to Butler, he said that he would let Butler take one himself.

And then, Butler did it this season.

"Now, that's all that's left for that championship trophy." Butler then said expectantly.

"Yes, come on." Xu Yong patted Butler on the shoulder, with Butler's character, he didn't need to be reminded not to be complacent or anything like that.

On the first day of the playoffs, the Bulls didn't play.

However, on this day, together with the Nets, they had an open training session for the media.

The Bulls are in practice in the morning and the main arena in the afternoon, while the Nets are the opposite.

After the Nets' practice at the home stadium, reporters rushed to interview them.

DeLong went back to the locker room early because he had to apply ice after the game, and Pierce and Lopes stayed behind for reporters.

Among the López brothers, little López has a more flamboyant personality like Noah, but Big López is more low-key and calm.

So in the face of questions from Chicago reporters, he basically copes, even if it is some offensive remarks, such as adding a premise like "Nets after a losing season" before asking a question, and whether he has ever thought about what it means to the team after losing.

This is normal, the reporters at the home stadium naturally have a mentality for the away team.

López could bear it, but Pierce on the side couldn't help it.

'I don't want to make excuses for our season, injuries and run-ins are not our reasons, the important thing is that we are all here now, we are ready to win that championship and we will win the game no matter who the opponent is. After making a confident remark, he did not forget to add, "Just like the big dream did back then." ”

Pierce made a classic analogy, and it was a fitting analogy.

In the 94~95 season, the Rockets at that time counterattacked all the way from the bottom half of the region to win the championship, which is also the source of the phrase "don't underestimate the heart of a champion".

And that season, the Rockets also fell to sixth because of Drexler's injury, and the Nets were similar.

Pierce's remarks also reached the ears of the Bulls in the afternoon.

"No matter who the opponent is", this seems to be a bit of a lack of attention to the Bulls, and it also makes the Bulls players eager to try.

Regardless of the rest, the fighting spirit of both sides was full before the game.

The next day, the United Center was full of seats and the fans were enthusiastic.

Although the Bulls' record and strength have declined this season, the younger lineup, coupled with some similar composition to the Bulls team they are most familiar with, makes fans look forward to it.

This is also the most watched group of matchups in the first round of the East, after all, in terms of the number of All-Stars (selected) alone, there are 8 on both sides, 2 for the Bulls (Xu Yong, West), and 6 for the Nets (starting five Tigers plus Kirilyenko on the bench).

Before the opening ceremony, Butler was presented with the trophy of the Most Progressive Award.

Butler also showed a calm face at this time, and he didn't care about the trophy at all.

Recalling Butler's happy expression yesterday, Xu Yong couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

The opening ceremony was held shortly after the award ceremony, and the starting line-ups of both sides were also released.

Nets: DeLong, Joe John Shea, Pierce, Garnett, Lopez;

Bulls: Hinrich, Butler, Yong Xu, West, Adams.

If you don't think about age and form, the Nets' starting lineup can scare half of the opponent's courage first.

Lopez jumped the ball for the Nets and officially kicked off the game.

Pierce opened the game and directly reached for the ball to play singles, and it was obvious that he had a strong desire to attack.

He held the ball three to threaten to break through, and after shaking, he started to break down the right side.

His movements were rhythmic, but he couldn't get past Butler.

Butler's current defensive ability is more than enough to deal with his current pair of old cold legs.

However, Pierce then showed his versatility in attack, dribbling the ball directly from behind his back to his left hand with his right hand, and then taking the ball with his left hand and stepping back to the left to shoot.

If Butler's breakthrough is the [Best Civilian Breakthrough], then Pierce is the [Common People's Offensive Kaleidoscope].

Pierce is not only a floor streamer, his arm span is actually only 2.08 meters, which is only 7 centimeters more than his height.

However, Butler's improvement this season is really great, and Pierce can usually retreat to shake off the defense, but Butler still managed to save.

It's just that what he didn't expect was that Pierce was just a fake move, and after the feint caused Butler to foul on the cylinder, he jumped up again to shoot.

"Toot!"

"Huh!"

The referee's whistle blew and the basketball went hollow into the net.

"You can't stop me, change Xu!" After the throw, he shouted directly at Butler.

Pierce is the king of trash talk, but he directly started spewing trash talk at the beginning, and it can be seen that the words of the reporter yesterday really stimulated him a lot.

However, he soon regretted it, because Butler followed Xu Yong, and the trash talk level had already improved, and ".your.dady" was just the beginning.

At this time, in the face of Pierce's provocation, he immediately showed a disdainful expression: "Heh, if you change my senior, your will be beaten out again." ”

Pierce was stunned for a moment, his face instantly turned red, being beaten out by Xu Yong was really the biggest pain in his life.

Xu Yong was on his way over at this time, and when he heard this, he couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Humph!"

Pierce saw Xu Yong, who came over with a smile, turned around with a cold snort, and went to the free throw with a red face.

Xu Yong pulled Butler to his side at this time and told him: "His skills are very comprehensive, but when he gets older, his speed is slow, don't shake it, don't think about stopping him from making a move, just make him uncomfortable to shoot." ”

Pierce hit a free throw to score a 3-pointer in the opening game.

But in retrospect, Butler used the pace of a young man to steal the first step and then used his breakthrough to draw a foul on Pierce as well.

It is said that Harden is good at making fouls, and Butler's move is also very [explosive punishment].

"You can't stop me, huh?" Butler turned around and asked Pierce rhetorically, trash talk he could squirt with Pierce all night.

Pierce was choked with anger, but instead of saying something like "this is the last time you disrespect me" like the others, he went back and continued to single Butler in response.

However, he was not able to continue to score in this ball, because Butler just put pressure on Pierce to defend but did not shake it up, and Pierce finally missed the basket with a defensive shot.

Xu Yong saw the landing point, picked up the defensive rebound, pushed the fast break, and assisted Butler on the wing to follow up and catch the layup and score.

Butler's fast-break scoring ability has always been underrated, and while not as good as Rose, it's also elite-calib.

Xu Yong retreated and Butler high-fived.

Butler's ball quotient is really high, and the award of "Fastest Progress" is well deserved.

And his defensive skills have gradually matured this season, the only thing lacking is experience, and from this point of view, it is the fastest improvement against an old ruffian like Pierce.

In other words, Pierce is the top NPC on Butler's path to advancement, and his experience is getting older.

Pierce sneezed at this point.

He continued to hold the ball and singled Butler, this time he broke through to the basket, but Butler really didn't shake up, and in the end he hit the three-second zone, and West, who was helping to defend it, could only be forced to pass.

And after this round, Pierce no longer held the ball.

His toughness lasted only three rounds in the end.

When people reach middle age, they can't help themselves, and they have already passed the age of encountering tight defense and seven in and seven out.

However, he did not give up on attacking, and switched from possession to off-ball.

The off-ball was no longer met with tight pressing, but a relatively loose defense, and he finally took advantage of Lopez's blocking and a breakthrough feint to successfully shake off Butler and complete the shot.

Naturally, top-level NPCs are not so easy to defeat, and Butler's experience doesn't come to an end so quickly.

The score in this game was finally fixed at 100-95, and with Xu Yong's eight consecutive points in the last minute of the final quarter, the Bulls won the game thrillingly.

Xu Yong finally scored a game-high 30 points, and if he scored two fewer points, the outcome of this game is still unknown.

From many details, it can be seen that the strength of the two teams is indeed not as big as the gap in the rankings.

But Butler's experience in this game is perhaps more important to the Bulls than the win or defeat of the game.

Throughout the first half, although Butler did not fall behind in trash talk and was very effective on the defensive end, he was still suppressed by Pierce as a whole.

On the stage of the playoffs, Pierce is a veteran who has been in the mix for more than ten years, and Butler has only entered the rookie for a year or two.

However, in the second half, the situation of the two pairs changed a lot.

Because although Butler was inferior in the first half, he did not defend passively, but continued to consume Pierce just like he did against James.

After the attrition of the half, Pierce's fitness was clearly out of order.

While Butler was still full of energy and galloping on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, Pierce could only gasp and follow behind his ass to eat dust.

This "boil the old man" tactic can't be said to have any effect on the old men of the Nets, it can only be said to hit the nail on the head.

This is also the key to Xu Yong's ability to complete a wave of harvesting at the end of the season.

In terms of key ball ability, Pierce is at the historical level, but the key scorer at this historical level, he was tossed at critical moments.

The Bulls took the lead, but the Nets pulled one back 106-101 in Game 2.

The winner of this game was not Pierce, because after the attrition of the first game, Pierce did not recover in the second game, and was basically in a state of invisibility.

The person who decided the outcome of the game was Lopez, the lowest-known All-Star in the Nets' Big Five, who was actually the offensive core of the Nets.

This can be seen from his title of the team's leading scorer this season.

The Nets shifted their offensive focus to him in Game 2, and he blew Adams up.

Adams' advantage is confrontation, and he is good at playing with his body like Howard and James, but he is very passive against the inside line of Lopez's technical flow.

Especially since he was still in his rookie season, Butler was more experienced than him.

The Nets snatched home-court advantage from the Bulls after winning G2, which gave Nets fans a burst of confidence.

But just when they thought the Nets were going to replicate the Rockets' championship path as Pierce said, G3 was hit in the face as soon as they returned home.

Xu Yong used a 50-point game to tell the Brooklyners what is the strength of the active No. 1 man.

The Nets tried to use Pierce, Johnson, Kirilenko, and even Garnett in the end, but they couldn't stop it.

If Kirilenko had been four or five years younger, he might have been able to do the limit, but unfortunately he didn't.

And the effect of the Bulls' mid-season trade in this game also came out, Thibodeau gave Hawes more time to go against Lopez.

López has the advantage of being technically excellent, but the disadvantage is that he is slow, and Hawes is also slow because of his ability to protect the frame.

You are tall and I am high, you are slow and I am slow, it is like a three-port plug finding a multi-port socket, López said it was too sour.

Even in G4, Thibodeau started directly with Hoyce, and Lopez was basically strangled to death.

And although the Nets experienced a big trade in the summer, the problem of missing a main offensive point has not been solved.

This is also the most complaining point of Billy King's deal, no matter what chips he uses to stud Anthony, the effect is better than now.

Perhaps his idea was that he could drag the game to the decisive moment with a lineup advantage, and then let Pierce take the game away with his key ball ability, if that is the explanation, the first two games of the series are barely in his plan.

But the crux of the matter is that the existence of supergiants will break this stalemate, and Xu Yong's performance in G3 is a breaking point.

Then as the series progressed, the old men's fitness naturally became problematic, and it was difficult to maintain the balance of power at that time.

So although Xu Yong's hand was not so good in this game, West and Butler both played, and the Bulls three of them 20+ went to the next city, directly making the big score 3-1.

Of course, there are variables in the game.

In G5, Joe Johnson was in a blast of 14-of-24 and 3-of-6 three-pointers to score 32 points to help the Nets pull one back.

Well, Johnson is Xu Yongfang, and many of his shots tonight are in a state of ignoring defense.

In G6, Xu Yong politely returned him a 43 points, 4-2 and directly took away the Nets, which also ended the Nets' dream of replicating the Rockets' road to winning the championship.

After the series, some of Pierce's remarks at the press conference attracted a lot of attention.

He was a little frustrated with the loss, and he didn't say anything about winning it back, because his contract expires this summer, and it's unknown whether he will stay with the Nets.

But he praised Butler by name, saying he was "one of the toughest players" he had ever seen.

For their older players, only on-court performance can earn their respect, or Pierce would not have repeatedly made fun of James after retiring.

What, why didn't Pierce praise Seo Yong in the first place?

People have beaten your, how can you still be in that mood!

The Bulls were the latest to finish the first round in the East.

The remaining three groups before them were all over.

The Raptors and Wizards fought fiercely, ending the day before them, and the result of the game was a bit unexpected, the Wizards defeated the Raptors 4-2.

DeRozan and Lowry both played a bit miserable, and both hit below 40% from the field, and they still have a way to go.

The remaining two groups were relatively relaxed and expected.

The Pacers took the Hawks 4-1, while the Heat swept the Hornets 4-0.

Yes, the Hornets failed to pick up a single win against the defending champions.

After the first round of this Eastern Conference, the worst person was not Pierce, but the man.

From the communication with Xu Yong at the All-Star game, it can be seen that Jordan has high hopes for the Hornets this year, after all, this is the team he built.

Although he also knew that it would definitely be difficult to play against the Heat, he thought that he should win at least one or two games.

As a result, Jefferson didn't take much advantage of Bosh, and Walker was completely suppressed by Wade, not to mention Michael Gilchrist, Cody Zeller and the like.

The Hornets didn't just have a big score, they didn't have a chance at all.

Some people may say, isn't there a [vertical take-off rule]? Hibbert's interior defense should have been weakened a lot, huh?

The crux of the matter is that the Heat's outside defensive pressure is so strong that the Hornets can't even get to the basket.

In the last game, Jordan was possessed by the king in the stands and was beaten out of the court early.

However, the dominance of the Heat in this series has made many people realize that their strength has not weakened compared to last year.

In this way, the Eastern Conference semifinals matchups are also released, the Pacers vs the Wizards, and the Heat vs the Bulls.

Then a day later, with the Spurs narrowly beating the Warriors in the tiebreaker, the first round of the Western Conference was all over.

The Thunder eliminated the Grizzlies 4-2, the Mavericks swept the Pelicans 4-0, the Trail Blazers beat the Clippers 4-2, and the Spurs narrowly beat the Warriors 4-3.

Compared with the East, the West has not had an upset this year, and the teams in the top half have all won smoothly.

In the Western Conference semifinals, the Thunder faced the Spurs, and the Mavericks played the Trail Blazers.

Just after the first round, as in past seasons, the league announced the MVP, the most important award of the season.

Prior to this, ESPN had gone to great lengths to canvass for James.

But the final result came out, and Durant was elected MVP of the 2013~2014 season with nearly 40% of the votes.

It's really his advantage that is too obvious.

Let's not talk about wins or anything, 2 more wins is basically a negligible situation in front of James.

The key is that Durant's average of 32 points per game, like Xu Yong last year, is a faulty lead.

Not to mention that Durant's assist count has also come up this year, including the efficiency he has been sustaining.

As "KBfnas" commented on social media: If Kevin Durant can't be elected MVP this season, it's not his regret, it's the league's regret.

Xu Yong saw the news when he was training, and he sent a congratulatory text message to Durant.

It can be seen from the request that Durant won him single-handedly last summer that Durant is also a type of ball addict with Kobe Bryant and Thibodeau.

He can guess that in addition to games, Durant usually does the most training in the rest of the time.

Because you don't have enough training, you can't develop a new weapon in a season.

Durant's transformation from an off-ball shooter in the league to his current strength can be explained by more than just talent.

Compared to James, Durant deserves to be his opponent.

The premise, of course, is that Duran has defected to the enemy as he knows.

But now that James has become a wandering king, the probability of that kind of thing happening is not very high.

Xu Yong was ready to go back to rest after sending the text message, after all, there should be a lot of people congratulating Durant at this time, and his text message should be flooded soon.

It's just that as soon as he stood up, his mobile phone rang, and Durant actually called him directly.

"Thank you, Xu." And as soon as he answered the phone, he heard Durant's sincere thanks.

Don't forget to dig wells, Durant still knows very well that his ability to win the MVP this season has a lot to do with Xu Yong's help.

And his voice sounded a little excited trill.

This is normal, because in the past few years, it is not only James who has been suppressed by Xu Yong, but also him.

"You earned it yourself." Xu Yong replied calmly.

Durant is willing to practice, talented, and if you change to someone else, even if you call him in the face with his back skills, he still only has that ability.

"Xu, I have a question."

"I'm listening."

"If we meet in the finals and I win you in the end, does that count as you winning yourself?"

Xu Yong was stunned for a moment, not because of Durant's magical way of asking questions, but because of this familiar words.

In that sunset conversation, he also asked Kobe Bryant such a question.

"Are you still listening?"

"Kevin, let's wait until you win the championship."

Xu Yong's answer was very calm, and he did not feel as emotionally as Kobe Bryant at the beginning.

Because Durant's wave belongs to the champagne on the bus.

He'd love to tell Durant that there's something called a flag.

And the Mavericks are stronger this season than last season, and the Thunder may not be able to win again.

(End of chapter)