Dirk Nowitzki smiled. To be honest, before the start of this season, he had the idea of ​​​​retiring, but because the bayonet had just arrived, after communicating with the boss Mark Cuban, he added that he

Deep in his heart, he once again longed for a championship, which made him decide to stick to the last season.

Even so, at the time, he never thought that he could easily sit on the bench throughout the season and recuperate his health, because he expected that the team would experience such pain this season.

but now.

Nowitzki could only shake his head and said that he was wrong. Although he had never underestimated the bayonet, the power of the bayonet still exceeded his seriousness.

The playoffs will start in a week, and he can't wait now, as if his old body has regained its second spring.

"Dirk, we are all people who have played in the finals, so we know very well that when the playoffs start, it basically has nothing to do with the regular season. Among our teams, to be honest, I am most worried now.

The most important thing is Luka. Although Luka has brought us too many surprises this season, to be honest, I always feel that Luka in the playoffs still needs an adaptation process. In fact, we are not enough.

The capital gives him the process of adaptation.”

"So, what I mean is, in addition to me playing the point guard position, I hope you can provide more support in the high post."

Jiang Hao expressed his true thoughts deep in his heart, and also expressed the most worrying point in his heart.

"Jiang, I understand what you mean. I will have a conversation with Luka. Don't worry, I will show my strongest self in the playoffs."

Jiang Hao nodded.

He knows that for players like Nowitzki, he doesn't need to say much.

…

In the next few days, there will be no more games in the league.

But everyone knows that a brief calm will only herald a new storm that will become more violent.

In the playoffs, 16 teams from the East and West will compete in a thunderous showdown.

So against this background, ESPN released the latest championship rankings.

On this list, as the regular season champion, the Dallas Mavericks unsurprisingly ranked first.

But in fact, as soon as this list was announced, ESPN was ridiculed by many people.

Because people remember very clearly that before the start of this season, the Dallas Mavericks were only ranked fifth in the first championship rankings released by ESPN.

From fifth to first.

Edpn's behavior does seem a bit funny.

Of course, ridicule is nothing but ridicule. ESPN was able to rank the Dallas Mavericks first in the latest list, which also reflects that the current Mavericks indeed have strong strength.

Ranked second on this list is the Eastern Conference team, the Toronto Raptors.

Led by Kawhi Leonard, the Toronto Raptors started low and went high this season, came from behind, and successfully advanced to the playoffs as first place in the Eastern Conference.

Frankly speaking, the Toronto Raptors are very strong now. With Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry, they acquired Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies during the All-Star weekend.

Therefore, today's Toronto Raptors are actually a Big Three team.

In addition to the luxurious starting lineup, the biggest highlight of the Toronto Raptors this season is their bench.

Their bench may be the best in the league, something even the Dallas Mavericks can't compare to.

Therefore, under this circumstance, it is natural for ESPN to rank them second on the list.

The third place is the Western Conference team, the Houston Rockets.

This is also not beyond people's expectations. After all, although James Harden was hit by a bayonet this season, the strength of the Houston Rockets led by him cannot be underestimated.

Overall, judging from this list, the quality of the West is indeed higher than that of the East.

After all, the former defending champions, now still strong, the Golden State Warriors are ranked third in the Western Conference.

Speaking of the Golden State Warriors, people have to mention the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors' main rival in the Western Conference in recent years.

The recording finally stopped.

For the San Antonio Spurs, with the end of the regular season finale, their schedule this season has come to a complete end.

No more playoffs.

That's it, when Manu Ginobili retires, lets Tony Parker leave, when Gregg Popovich retires, and when both Jiang Hao and Kawhi Leonard leave, this team has never missed the playoffs in this century.

The old powerhouse of the game finally fell this season.

They had 36 wins and 46 losses in the regular season, ranking only 11th in the Western Conference. They were officially reduced to a weak team.

Many people have ridiculed that the San Antonio Spurs may be the most miserable defending champion in NBA history. They still won the championship last season, but they did not even enter the playoffs this season. It is really embarrassing.

"They'll be back, they'll be back in the playoffs."

When a reporter asked Bayonet how he felt about the Spurs missing the playoffs for the first time in this century, Jiang Hao only said this with a calm face, but everyone could see the regret deep in Jiang Hao's heart.

This is normal. After all, the San Antonio Spurs are where Jiang Hao was born. As Jiang Hao himself said before the start of this season, no matter which team he goes to play for, it will not change his special feelings for the San Antonio Spurs.

………

After the afternoon training at the Dallas Mavericks training facility, Jiang Hao did not leave the training facility one after another like everyone else.

On the contrary, Jiang Hao came to the video room and locked himself in the video room alone.

This is his habit. He did this before the start of the playoffs last season, watching some highlights of the regular season games and watching the wonderful game moments leaning on the superstars. For him, this is a final

Always be prepared for a rainy day.

After all, in the final analysis, if the Dallas Mavericks want to win the championship this season, they will ultimately rely on him. Who makes him the leader of this team?

Jiang Hao deeply understands that after the playoffs begin, his "treatment" will be further improved.

Because from the opponent's perspective, facing the Dallas Mavericks, the most important thing to control is Jiang Hao.

As long as Jiang Hao is suppressed, the strength of the Dallas Mavericks will be reduced by half.

This is definitely not an exaggeration, but a fact.

As the only superstar in the team, and the playoffs themselves are the stage for superstars, Jiang Hao is very aware of how heavy his burden is.
Chapter completed!