Chapter 237 The first game of the playoffs

Author: Feng Yuanhua

Chapter 237 The first game of the playoffs

Do you want regular season MVP?

Isn't this nonsense? As long as you are an NBA player, who doesn't desire more honors?

To put it more bluntly, honor can be transformed into benefits.

The more honors you get, the more confident you will be when negotiating contract renewals with the team.

More honors mean greater fame, which also means more opportunities when it comes to commercial endorsements.

Regular season MVP, as a personal honor, is definitely one of the most important awards in the NBA.

It is estimated that the finals MVP will be on a higher level due to the championship bonus.

But it’s useless to even think about it!

Because this is not something Wang Hao can decide, it also depends on David Stern's attitude.

After all, compared to the NBA, he is a foreigner.

Unless David Stern fully supports him, otherwise, there is probably not a good chance.

Of course, he also has a slight advantage, that is, David Stern is very optimistic about the Chinese market.

With Wang Hao entering the NBA, the Chinese market has been opening up to the NBA little by little, and there are more cooperations in doubles.

Wang Hao did not pay too much attention, but chose to focus on the next game. This is the most important thing.

Of course, he still had to strengthen his skills before the game started.

At the end of the new season, although various awards have not yet been awarded, he has already gained something.

As this season's regular season champion and top of the Western Conference regular season, he still achieved something.

Regular season champion, which allowed him to get 5 skill points, and three-point champion, which allowed him to get 5 more skill points.

In addition, coupled with excellent personal data performance, 5 skill points were also obtained.

With the addition of these fifteen skill points and seasonal learning, he has improved a lot.

Overall rating: 89

It's a pity that even with 15 skill points, it still failed to break through 90.

With a comprehensive evaluation of more than 90 points, he is a first-class star, truly standing at the top of the NBA.

Although it's a little worse, it's enough.

The Sonics' opponent in the first round is not an easy one, last season's Western Conference runner-up Portland Trail Blazers.

Last season, it was the runner-up in the Western Conference. This season, it dropped to eighth place in the Western Conference.

Some people may feel that the Trail Blazers no longer pose much of a threat.

However, this is not the case. The Trail Blazers continue the main lineup from last season.

As for O'Neal's departure, it's actually not bad, after all, he is not the main force of the Trail Blazers.

In terms of ranking, the Trail Blazers have indeed dropped a lot, but in terms of strength, they may not have dropped.

Because compared to last season's regular season record, the Trail Blazers only won 9 fewer games.

The Trail Blazers still have 50 wins this season.

To put it bluntly, it is purely because the Western Conference team is too deeply involved. The top eight teams play against each other and it is difficult to win.

It can be said that the entire American sports media is unanimously optimistic about the Western Conference team winning the championship.

The only suspense is which Western Conference team can make it to the finals and win the championship!

I have to say that this is a big blow to the Eastern Conference teams, and they are collectively looked down upon.

Of course, you can’t blame others for this, who makes you weak!

Let's get back to the subject, and let's go back to the Trail Blazers. The SuperSonics have already begun studying this opponent.

Although we haven't met in the playoffs yet, we have played eight games in two years.

Since last season, the lineups of the SuperSonics and Trail Blazers have been very stable and have certain reference significance.

Of course, there is definitely a difference between the playoffs and the regular season.

In the playoffs, the competition will be more intense, the defensive actions will be greater, and the size of the rotation will be reduced.

Especially the Trail Blazers, as the best defensive team in the league, they also have the most experienced veterans in the team.

However, Paul Westphal is also very confident.

The pioneers will indeed cause them a lot of trouble, but trouble is just trouble.

And they will solve these troubles and win the final victory of the game.

On April 21, the NBA playoffs begin.

In the Key Arena, the venue was packed, and a large number of fans poured into the stadium, looking forward to another SuperSonics playoff journey.

Especially this time, competing as the first place in the regular season will undoubtedly give everyone more confidence.

In the past, when NBA teams played away games, especially in the playoffs, they often encountered various off-the-table moves.

Only this time, the Sonics didn't do that.

To put it bluntly, I just disdain it. Instead of wasting such energy, it is better to play the game well.

Of course, if the opponents were replaced by the Lakers and Spurs, they probably wouldn't be so polite.

The SuperSonics announced their starting lineup early, and just like the regular season, all five positions remained unchanged.

The same goes for pioneers.

The center position is still Arvydas Sabonis, a veteran from Europe.

Speaking of Sabonis, not many people know him. After all, he was already 31 years old when he entered the NBA.

Moreover, when he was at his peak in the NBA, he only averaged 16+10 per game.

It seems that he is a pretty good qualified starter.

However, the fact is that such an average-looking athlete entered the Hall of Fame after retiring.

Because of his achievements in the international arena.

Of course, Sabonis' greatest achievement should be the emergence of the American Dream Team.

At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the Lithuanian team led by Sabonis cleanly defeated the American team.

He told the Americans that American basketball is not qualified to be so arrogant and only uses college students to compete in the Olympics.

It was at that time that the American Dream Team was born.

Going back to the Trail Blazers, at the power forward position, they are still their star player Rasheed Wallace.

It's just that Rasheed Wallace is not that kind of superstar, and he is far from talented.

In the four games of the regular season this season, Rasheed Wallace averaged only 16.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Because the SuperSonics have PJ Brown, whether it is physical condition or athletic talent, PJ Brown is a perfect match for Rasheed Wallace.

More importantly, Rasheed Wallace doesn't like confrontation, while P.J. Brown, as a defensive hero, is keen on confrontation.

At the small forward position, naturally it is Scottie Pippen, the number one player in the NBA.

When it comes to who is the best player in the NBA, even if Jordan overshadows it for an era, there is still a lot of controversy.

But when it comes to who is the number one or two player in the NBA, there is probably not much controversy. It is definitely Scottie Pippen.

On the back line are Steve Smith and Little Flying Squirrel.

As for this lineup, the strength is indeed not bad, but what is not bad is the salary. This starting lineup exceeds 50 million US dollars.

I have to say, it's quite an exaggeration.

The cheapest person among them is Steve Smith, whose salary this year is as high as $8 million.

What's even more outrageous is that Sean Kemp, who is sitting on the bench, also has a salary of tens of millions of dollars.

I have to say that the Blazers boss is rich.

However, if the Blazers are unable to win the championship, this lineup may not be sustainable.

It's very simple. The NBA is about to start a luxury tax.

If they can win the championship, I guess the Blazers' wealthy owners won't care much about the money.

But if you can't win the championship and spend so much money, no one will be happy. After all, no one's money comes from the strong wind.

"Beep!"

As the referee's whistle sounded, the game officially started.
To be continued...