"You know, our opponents are the best teams in the league, and of course that doesn't necessarily mean they're the best team, you know, I think we're the strongest, and the fact that (pauses, mouths) a game doesn't mean much, you know, we were on par with them in the second half, we just started a little bit slack, and I believe next time, it's going to be the playoffs [to confirm with reporters], and yes, we're going to win the game."

"I asked how I could do better? Man, go and look at the stats, I scored 25 points in the second half, that's the most points on the court, I don't know why you're asking you that question. ”

(Davis jerks his head to look at James in surprise, and looks back helplessly when he sees that James doesn't seem to notice him, and just after he turns around, James turns his head to look at him)

The atmosphere of the Lakers' post-game press conference was a bit tense and treacherous.

"The empty stadium didn't make a difference for us because we knew there were just as many fans tuning in and we'd give it our all."

"We don't see the Lakers as our biggest opponent, our biggest opponent is ourselves."

'I'm not worried about Demar, he's proven to be good this season, he just needs some time to recover and I'm sure that's going to be quick.'

On the other hand, on the Mavericks' side, Xu Yong's relaxed words have reflected the team's entire state.

Although the argument is not appropriate, they continue to be in this state until they reach their goal.

In the second game against the Grizzlies, against the Memphis, who had lost the black and white duo, Jokic played bravely and cut a big double-double of 30 points and 16 boards.

In the third game against the Clippers, Irving scored 40 points in a hot state, leading the team to play back and forth with the Mavericks, and in response, Xu Yong scored 51 points.

The fourth time he played the Celtics, Jokic couldn't play in the face of Horford and Porzingis, and Xu Yong scored 54 points again.

In the fifth game against the Thunder, the Mavericks and the Thunder played inseparably, Xu Yong also staged a battle with Durant, Durant scored 46 points, and Xu Yong scored 58 points.

This is Xu Yong's first time since his comeback, and the second time in his career that he has scored 50+ points in 3 consecutive games.

Even though everyone already knows his strength, this brave state after returning from the epidemic still makes everyone in the outside world stunned.

In this situation where most of the players have been weakened, Xu Yong is playing even crazier than before, which is simply unreasonable!

In Game 6 against the Bulls, DeRozan finally recovered his form, and he almost missed a shot from mid-range, scoring a game-high 30 points.

Unfortunately, the Mavericks lost the game in the end.

I can feel that the momentum of the team when they first arrived in the park has weakened with the passage of time.

And the Bulls have shown great resilience and competitiveness.

Fortunately, after a slight adjustment, the Mavericks won the Magic and Jazz in quick succession, ending the park battle with a 7-1 record.

This record is also the best among all 22 teams.

The end of the competition in the park also means the official end of the season.

This is probably the most special season in NBA history, because the teams that came to the park because of the different number of games before, plus the eight teams that didn't show up, the result is that the fewest teams played only 64 games this season, then 65, 66, 67, and the most were the Grizzlies, who played a full 74 games.

This also makes the final ranking of the season very controversial, because playing more games than others means being more advantageous in the rankings.

Of course, there is no suspense in the first.

With a stellar pre-pandemic record and the best record in the park, the Mavericks finally topped the league with a 65-7 record.

This record gives fans a lot of room for reverie.

"If it weren't for the pandemic, would the Mavericks break the Warriors' previous record for regular-season wins?"

At first, it was just a discussion among fans, but it quickly spread to the media, and then reporters asked Xu Yong as a question.

"Do you regret that the pandemic has left you 10 games less and missed the chance to break the Warriors' record of 73 wins?"

When asked this question, Xu Yong couldn't help but ponder for a while, because he was thinking about the championship and how to better compete for the championship.

However, after thinking about it for a while, he replied with a smile: "I think this question is like Kobe Bryant scored 62 points in the third quarter, and people asked him if he would regret not playing in the last quarter." ”

Xu Yong didn't seem to have a positive answer, but he had already given an answer.

The Mavericks are No. 1 in the league and, naturally, No. 1 in the West.

The other seven teams in the West that advance to the playoffs are the Thunder, Lakers, Warriors, Clippers, Jazz, Trail Blazers, and Grizzlies.

The Mavericks' opponent in the first round was the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies Randolph and Gasol Jr. have left the team one after another, and now they are in charge.

Three of the five players who started were still on rookie contracts, with third-year Dillon Brooks on the guard line and second-year Jaren Jackson Jr. on the inside, partnering rookie Showian Williamson.

In addition, the two remaining players are the veteran Conley and Jay Crowder, who is in his playing years.

This kind of old, middle and young way of forming a team is the most conducive to the development of the team.

Conley, in particular, is a player whose leadership of the team is grossly underrated.

A key part of the rise of the Timberwolves in history is that they traded for Conley, which is completely unreflected in the data.

So it's not going to be an easy game for the Mavericks.

Before the playoffs officially kick off, the league announced the first awards of the season.

Mike Malone was unabashedly elected Coach of the Season.

Although he didn't debut at the top of his debut like his former boss Thibodeau, it was quite good to win this honor in his second season.

And unlike Thibodeau at the beginning, he was elected almost unanimously, which means that his coaching ability is fully recognized by the outside world.

However, in this first batch of awards, there is another award that is very interesting.

That is the [Park MVP] award added to the regular awards.

That's right, although there are only 8 games in the park, there is an MVP award.

Not many people may know this in the world before Xu Yong's rebirth, but Xu Yong's explanation must have understood.

At that time, it was Lillard, and now, Xu Yong was also elected without suspense.

8 games, playing 3 consecutive games of 50+, which is already a height that others can't reach.

So before the Mavericks and Grizzlies series opener, there were two award ceremonies on the spot.

Although there is no home and away in the park, the Mavericks' psychological advantage is already there.

It was also with this momentum that the Mavericks defeated the Grizzlies in the first game 118-83, in a devastating manner.

This one made many people think that this round of the series has lost its suspense.

However, on the Mavericks' side, both head coach Ma Long and core Xu Yong have a cautious view of their opponent.

"I always think they're the best team in the bottom half, and to take them lightly will cost you the end."

Malone's mouth is a bit big, and this is a wave of AOE.

"They're going to be one of the most competitive teams in the West in the future."

Xu Yong's words were more in praise of their opponent.

Although their words were ultimately considered overly cautious by fans, by the second game, the Grizzlies played impressively.

In the case that the Mavericks did not play abnormally, they fought with the Mavericks until the decisive moment.

Conley wasn't the kind of player with a big heart, though, and they lacked players who could make the key shots at crucial moments, which ultimately led to their defeat.

But their performance also made the media give them an evaluation of [although defeated], and recognized what Xu Yong said, the Grizzlies are not the Timberwolves, they can exchange their potential for combat power.

Of course, the performance of the two teams in the first two games also reflects the characteristics of the Grizzlies as a young team, and their play has been up and down.

This was also shown in the third game.

Malone showed his best coach of the year in Game 3, taking advantage of the Grizzlies' perimeter projection weakness and shrinking the defense in the game.

Especially for Williamson, as a rookie, he also enjoys the treatment that rookie James has, and there is no one in front of him.

But as soon as Williamson rushes up with the ball, the Mavericks will immediately shrink their defense, and Williamson will immediately hit the wall of a double or even a three.

Although in the end, Williamson has the feeling of giving the striker O'Neal, but his performance is poor.

Because he couldn't get through that kind of wall, and he couldn't pass the ball to an open teammate before impact.

But this is also a bit of a strong man, if he can do this, then he will really be a combination of O'Neal and James as the media boasted before the draft.

And once Williamson loses his threat with the ball, he doesn't have any shooting threat, and like rookie James, he plays a negative role on the court.

So in the third game, the Grizzlies lost basically without temper.

3 to 0, this result is similar to what the outside world speculated before.

But the reason for the same is also because the Mavericks have enough importance for the Grizzlies.

There was no suspense in the end of this series, and the Grizzlies held a home court in the fourth game of the outside explosion, but the explosion can be difficult to repeat, and the Mavericks finally swept the opponent 4-1 to advance to the semifinals.

Their opponents are not yet out.

The series between the Warriors and the Clippers was extremely intense.

After four games against Tianwang Mountain, there are no six games that can't end the battle.

However, it also gave the Mavericks some time to rest.

Speaking of which, from the beginning of entering the park, due to the tight time, the competition arrangements are relatively rushed, basically every two days.

It was at this time that a small piece of news broke out in the park.

Daniel House of the Clippers was reported anonymously that House violated the rules by letting a strange woman into his hotel room without permission from the park and staying for hours.

Obviously, everyone knows that they are playing poker (the abnormal kind).

Eventually, the league punished with the evidence, House was asked to leave the park, and the Clippers were unable to replenish their personnel.

It was the first time the 113-page manual had a maximum penalty before Paul George had been warned for letting his wife into the park.

Of course, even the Clippers did not appeal the penalty in the end.

Because it is obvious that the risk brought by an alien woman to the park is extremely great, and once she is recruited, it will ruin this hard-won opportunity to compete.

This punishment also served as a warning enough, and after killing the chickens and monkeys, no one else left dared to take such a risk again.

It was at this time that the league announced the third batch of the season's and the most talked-about awards, the season's MVP.

As a result, with the team's proud record of 65 wins, as well as the excellent data of 31.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in the season, Xu Yong was unanimously elected as the regular season MVP of the 2019~2020 season.

This is also Xu Yong's second MVP honor after two seasons.

As a result, there was not much suspense at the end of the season, but when he came, the fans were still full of emotion.

Fans thought that Xu Yong's performance this season would be better than last season, but they didn't expect him to be so good.

Moreover, Xu Yong is also very likely to lead the Mavericks to win the championship this season.

Now that fans look at the words under the statue that the Bulls have erected at the United Center, Xu Yong fully deserves the name of GOAT.

And Xu Yong's winning this MVP also unlocked a unique achievement in history, that is, becoming the first, and should be the only player to win a double MVP in the regular season.

This is why Xiao Hua is not in the league, otherwise the high and low will have to come out of the mid-season championship throughout the season, so that others will have a chance to get close.

Shortly after the MVP award was awarded, the game between the Warriors and the Clippers had already come to an end.

House is part of the Clippers' rotation lineup, and his departure not only affects the Clippers' rotation (the playoff rotation is already relatively small), but more importantly, the team's morale is fluctuating, and the Clippers' performance is significantly worse than before.

So a rat poop will really spoil a pot of porridge.

The Warriors eventually won two games in a row to eliminate the Clippers by a score of 4-2.

It's worth mentioning that when the Clippers were eliminated, Griffin hid his face and cried on the bench, which should be the closest he has come to a championship in the Clippers' many years.

This also caused many fans to sigh and sigh that the former Griffin beat Xu Yong to be the champion, but now he can only watch Xu Yong continue his legendary road.

Mavericks VS Warriors, the encounter for the second consecutive season, coupled with the fact that both teams are traffic teams, can be regarded as filling the fans' sense of expectation.

But for the members of the Mavericks, they don't care what the outside world thinks at this time, because at this time, they have only one thought in their minds: revenge!

(End of chapter)