NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

63: 32!

By the end of the first half, the suspense of the game had essentially vanished completely.

The Bobcats, with their full force and high morale, crushed the Raptors in just half a game.

In the third quarter, Lin Tian started to make rapid substitutions again, intentionally letting Rose and Jeremy Lin play together more often to get a feel for each other.

Lin Tian was well aware that the current cooperation between Jeremy Lin and Derrick Rose was at most a spontaneous collaboration between the two, and had not been integrated into the team's system and tactics.

These two need to develop a feel for each other and cultivate chemistry through more real-world experience.

After all, the team was able to play well and achieve good results in the regular season thanks to these two players' occasional flashes of brilliance in their teamwork.

However, in the playoffs, where the teams are more targeted and the opponents are stronger, if these two continue to play like this, then Lin Tian will really have to consider completely staggering their playing time.

Of course, Lin Tian has no intention of making a deal at the moment.

Given the team's current situation, it's definitely better not to make any trades.

The chemistry and understanding that have been painstakingly cultivated over the past six months could be greatly diminished if traded easily.

Rather than take the risk, Lin Tian preferred to wait and see what kind of answer these two would give him.

At least for now, both of them are willing to make sacrifices and take the initiative to work together and change their playing styles.

If you have this intention, you're sure to succeed!

After easily crushing the Raptors, the Bobcats' form and momentum certainly didn't dissipate so quickly. With the return of Derrick Rose, the Bobcats easily secured a five-game winning streak after the All-Star break!

They overtook the Hawks again to take third place in the East. Although catching up with the top two is basically hopeless, as long as they can maintain their current momentum, they still have a good chance of securing a top-three ranking!
However, after a five-game winning streak, the Bobcats' performance fluctuated again, with only 2 wins and 3 losses in 5 consecutive games. After this period, the gap between them and the Cavaliers and Celtics was widened significantly.

40 wins and 25 losses!
The Bobcats' record is currently stuck here.

The reason for pausing here is that the Bobcats have already broken the record.

They broke their own record for most wins in a club's meager history!
This is a historic moment!
This is the first time in their history that they have achieved 40+ wins, a number that is insignificant to most teams.

But for the Bobcats, every victory they won after that was creating new history for the team!

Furthermore, with the current ninth-ranked team in the Eastern Conference having only managed 28 wins, the Bobcats have essentially locked up their playoff spot, and eliminating them from the playoffs is now only a theoretical possibility.

The Bobcats are destined to make the playoffs for the first time this year!
And the history they want to create will certainly not stop there!

After achieving 40 wins, the Bobcats seem to have suddenly unlocked their full potential.

Their chemistry has improved further, their teamwork has become more refined, and their morale and fighting spirit are even stronger!
10 consecutive wins!

In the following games, the Bobcats achieved their first 10-game winning streak in franchise history, adding another small record to their otherwise impoverished franchise history.

They finally lost in a high-scoring game against the Suns, ending their winning streak.

Even so, Rose still won his first NBA Player of the Month award thanks to his average of 27 points, 8 assists and 2 steals per game throughout March and his team's league-best record during that period.

This is also the first time in Bobcats history that he has been named Player of the Month!
Lin Tian also won his first Coach of the Month award.

Of course, this is also the first time in Bobcats history!
This year's Bobcats are truly poised to break countless records.

Even if their team history is nothing to brag about, almost entirely a joke with no glory, it still broke records, didn't it?

After this incredible ten-game winning streak, the Bobcats also achieved their first 50+ win season in franchise history, truly reaching their peak this year.

Furthermore, by this point in the season, with only 6 regular season games remaining, they had completely secured third place in the Eastern Conference.

The gap between them and the fourth-placed Hawks has reached 7 games!
However, at the same time, they are now 5 games behind the Celtics, who are currently in second place.

Unless the Celtics lose all their remaining games, the Bobcats have little chance.

They are basically the most relaxed team in the entire Eastern Conference and even the entire playoff zone.

Insufficient than above, more than below.

The main theme is to be free from desires and pressure.

At the very least, they will remain in this state until the playoffs begin.

This is the situation in the East this year, or rather, in recent years.

The disparity in strength between the teams is enormous; apart from 2-3 teams each year, the rest of the teams are basically not competitive at all.

Even this year, not many people actually consider the Bobcats to be contenders for the championship.

This can be seen from the odds of winning the championship.

The Celtics and Cavaliers are ranked 2nd and 4th respectively in the championship odds, making them absolute favorites to win the title.

The Bobcats are only ranked 10th!

This means that, at least in the eyes of experts and actuaries, there are seven teams in the West that are more like champions than them!
It's no wonder that those experts look down on the lynx.

After all, the Bobcats' 50 wins record is nothing special in the Western Conference, but since they achieved it in the Eastern Conference, its prestige is even more diminished.

In addition, apart from Yao Ming and Carlos Boozer, the rest of the Bobcats team had almost no playoff experience, and the team's leader, Derrick Rose, was a complete novice who had never played in the playoffs before.

Add to that a bunch of first and second-year students, and it's normal that they're not highly regarded.

But everyone believes that as long as they can maintain this core roster, the Bobcats have a great chance of winning the championship in the next 2-3 years!
Lin Tian's coaching and team-building abilities have long been recognized by the public, and he has already secured the title of this year's best general manager! Even the Mavericks' Harris who managed to sign LeBron James and the Cavaliers' Griffin who managed to sign Carmelo Anthony.

They would all be pinned down by Lin Tian.

There was no way around it; those two players were the ones who took their teams to the next level, while Lin Tian built a top-tier team in the East almost from scratch.

Unfortunately, Lin Tian will most likely not win the Best Coach award.

Why? Both teams in the East are aiming for 60 wins, and the Mavericks, Lakers, and Suns in the West also have a chance to reach 60 wins.

Although your record is good, you're really not quite up to par when it comes to competing for the best head coach award.

Fortunately, Lin Tian didn't care much about these awards. If he was given one, he was given one; if he wasn't, then whoever took it was doomed.
That's just how unreasonable Master Lin is.

In the last 6 games of the season, Lin Tian also started to rest early. The team's main players took turns to rest, and each of them got 2-3 games of rest time. It wasn't until the last game that Lin Tian gathered everyone together again to fight the last game of the regular season with the whole team!
The Bobcats, united in their determination to prepare for the playoffs, did not disappoint their fans and Lin Tian. They won their final game of the season, crushing their opponents by more than 20 points and bidding farewell to the regular season with a victory!
Meanwhile, the Bobcats' own record also ended at 53 wins and 29 losses!
They successfully secured third place in the Eastern Conference!
In stark contrast to the Bobcats' relaxed and leisurely approach to playing basketball in the final week of the season, the Celtics and Cavaliers are truly fighting tooth and nail for the top spot in the Eastern Conference!

The Cavaliers had previously held the top spot in the Eastern Conference in February, but then fell back down, and the two teams began a back-and-forth chase.

They didn't dare to relax throughout April, hoping to secure that crucial home advantage.

The two teams battled fiercely all the way to the last day of the regular season. Until the very last day, the two teams were tied in the standings, but the Cavaliers had the advantage in their head-to-head matchups, winning 2 and losing 1, so they were ranked first in the Eastern Conference. In their final game, the Celtics faced the weaker Raptors, and they easily won.

The Cavaliers, who could secure the top seed in the East with a single victory, now have to face the Suns, a top team in the West.

The Suns are also fighting for their ranking. If they win this game, they can move up to at least second place in the Western Conference. If they lose, they could drop to fifth place!

The situation in the West is just as complex as it has been in previous years.

Under these circumstances, it was natural for the Celtics to easily crush the Raptors and secure the victory, while the Cavaliers and Suns would then fight tooth and nail.

These two teams certainly didn't disappoint; on the last day of the regular season, they didn't give up on the fight for rankings.

The two teams were completely locked in a close battle from the very beginning, with the score fluctuating back and forth. The game went into overtime because neither team could gain the upper hand during regulation time.

It wasn't until Wade and Anthony erupted in the first overtime, combining for 10 points, that they finally won the game and maintained their position as the top team in the East and the league!
This marks the first time in Cavaliers history that they have won both the Eastern Conference regular season title and the regular season championship!

It wasn't in vain that these two fought so desperately!
That night, Wade played 51 minutes, resting for only 2 minutes throughout the game, scoring 44 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Anthony played 50 minutes, scoring 39 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists!

The two stars combined for over 80 points, making history for the team with great difficulty!
With the Cavaliers and Celtics' battle over the title now over, the final standings in the Eastern Conference have been finalized.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: 61 wins, 21 losses

2. Boston Celtics: 61 wins, 21 losses

3. Charlotte Bobcats: 53 wins, 29 losses

4. Atlanta Hawks 48 wins, 34 losses

5. Indiana Pacers 45 wins, 37 losses

6. New York Knicks 42 wins, 40 losses

7. Miami Heat 41 wins, 41 losses

8. Chicago Bulls: 39 wins, 43 losses

As in previous years, the rankings in the East were largely predictable, with a huge gap between the teams. The 8th-ranked Bulls once again had a winning percentage below 50%, a level that would place them outside the top ten in the West.

In stark contrast to the West, where even the weakest teams can only compete for one playoff spot, the East is a place where everyone is terrible and doesn't deserve to make the playoffs. But since the league insists on having eight teams for the playoffs, then the Bulls will have to go!

Of these eight playoff teams and four matchups, the most eye-catching one is undoubtedly the Bobcats vs. Knicks!
Lin Tian is facing his former team in his first series as a coach after becoming a coach. He will be playing against his former head coach and one of the league's top coaches, Don Nelson!

This matchup is sure to attract a lot of attention and make fans incredibly excited.

As for the other three groups, let's not even mention them.

It's certain that the teams in the top tier will advance, while the teams in the bottom tier will have little chance of posing a challenge to the top four teams.

At most, the Hawks and Pacers might create some sparks.

But who cares about the wins and losses of those two teams?

Instead of wasting time on this, you might as well predict the outcome of the second round of the Eastern Conference games!

After all, anyone who knows about the NBA in recent years knows that the Eastern Conference playoffs start from the second round!
In stark contrast to the Eastern Conference, where the disparity in strength is enormous and the first round of the playoffs is minimal, the Western Conference is the complete opposite.

The strong teams here are still plentiful, including the Texas Five, the Pacific Three, and the Northwest Three Musketeers...

The competition in each region is incredibly intense, with countless teams capable of achieving 50 wins.

This year, the competition in the West is truly fierce!

Even so, one team in the West still stood out, achieving 60+ wins and firmly holding the top spot in the West.

Dallas Mavericks!
They lead the second-place Nuggets in the West by a full three games, making their first-place position very secure!

The final Western Conference rankings are as follows:
1. Dallas Mavericks: 60 wins, 22 losses

2. Denver Nuggets: 57 wins, 25 losses

3. Phoenix Suns: 56 wins, 26 losses

4. Los Angeles Lakers: 55 wins, 27 losses

5. Golden State Warriors 55 wins, 27 losses

6. New Orleans Hornets: 54 wins, 28 losses

7. Oklahoma City Thunder 51 wins, 31 losses

8. San Antonio Spurs: 51 wins, 31 losses

If the most exciting matchup in the East is Lin Tian vs. the Knicks, a reunion game between two former teams, then the most exciting matchup in the West is undoubtedly the Texas showdown between the Mavericks and the Spurs.

These two Texas teams will face off in the first round, and Nowitzki and Bosh, two shooting-oriented face-up big men, will once again go head-to-head.

The Mavericks-Spurs rivalry has been a popular matchup in the league for the past few years. The two teams have always been evenly matched in terms of location, past record, and team strength, making it a matchup that fans love to watch.

This year, due to James' transfer, the balance of power between the two teams has changed dramatically. From being evenly matched before, the Mavericks now have an overwhelming advantage.

Although the suspense of the game is much less than in previous years, the fact that James is facing his former team in the playoffs still makes this matchup one of the most watched in the West.

Well, that's just one of them, because the other matches were truly more exciting!

Especially given that the teams in the Western Conference are relatively evenly matched, and the remaining three matchups are almost evenly split, every top team could potentially upset the other, and every team in the bottom half of the bracket could potentially pull off a miracle.

In addition, these Western Conference teams each have considerable popularity and top-tier stars with exceptional popularity, so the appeal of these matchups is no less than that of James playing against his former team.

With the Eastern and Western Conference standings now finalized, the 16 teams that made it to the playoffs are immediately focusing on rest, recovering from fatigue and injuries, while also quickly studying their opponents in hopes of finding their weaknesses, winning the series, and advancing to the second round!

Of course, with the end of the regular season, the performances of each player have been finalized, and fans are taking advantage of the gap between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs to excitedly and intensely discuss who will be the MVP and other awards this year.

Wade and James are fighting tooth and nail for the MVP award, with their fans launching a massive online battle, each claiming their idol deserves it more.

While Dwight Howard won the Defensive Player of the Year award, fans were divided on whether he or Yao Ming should be on the All-NBA First Team.

Barbosa, Crawford, Ginobili and other top sixth men have all performed exceptionally well this year. Fans are equally divided on who will emerge as the league's best sixth man, and the debate continues endlessly.

These awards are basically completely unrelated to the Bobcats.

At most, Odom and Lin have a slight chance of winning the Sixth Man of the Year award, and Yao Ming and Rose can make the All-NBA teams. The only suspense is which team they will ultimately be selected for. Hayward and Lin are basically guaranteed an All-Rookie Team selection.

That's about it. (End of Chapter)