NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

With this year's awards announced so far, only the last two major awards remain to be announced: the All-NBA Team and the MVP.

There are many outstanding players this year, and many who are qualified to be selected for the All-NBA Team. Especially in the Western Conference, where the eight teams are playing a very close game with similar records, fans are arguing fiercely about who is more deserving of the honor and who is the best.

As for the MVP prediction, it is a three-way battle. Howard, Wade, and James, the leaders of the three 60-win teams, are all top-notch players who are good at both offense and defense and are in their prime. These three do not have any particular advantage over the other two.

Dwyane Wade is the scoring champion this season, with well-rounded and balanced stats of 29.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. He is also incredibly healthy this year, leading his team to the top of the league. This year's MVP award is absolutely well-deserved.

This is Howard's first year officially becoming the team's leader. With Duncan gradually aging, his average of 23.5 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game this year is nothing short of monster. He is also the Celtics' leading scorer, rebounder, and assist leader!

Looking at the entire league, he ranks 13th in scoring, 2nd in rebounds, and 1st in blocks, all three of which are top-tier in the league.

Although this guy doesn't have the scoring ability of Yao Ming or Shaquille O'Neal, his contribution on the defensive end is terrifying. He can single-handedly support the defensive system of a top team, and his incredible physical attributes always allow him to make unbelievable moves on the court.

Giving this year's MVP to Howard is absolutely justifiable.

Then there's LeBron James, who averaged 27.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.7 assists this year. He's the only player in the league to average 27+7+7. His all-around game remains unparalleled, and his impact on the game is still enormous. In Dallas, LeBron James is definitely one of the top three players in the league!

It's fair to say that any of these three could win MVP, and any one of them could be the ultimate winner.

Let's see what the media decides.

Since it has nothing to do with him or his team, Lin Tian doesn't care what the rumors are saying or what the fans are arguing about. As long as he doesn't give it to Rose or Yao Ming, Lin Tian doesn't care at all!
Love so and so.

What he cares about right now is how the team can defeat the Celtics and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals!
Actually, if you only look at the Celtics' roster this year, they are weaker than in previous years.

With the departure of their once-reliable small forward Josh Howard, the team's offensive firepower has diminished. At the same time, the levels of veterans Duncan and Parker have declined significantly, and Ginobili continues to be unpredictable. The Celtics' offensive talent and efficiency are now far inferior to those of the past few years.

But every gain has its loss. They discovered Tony Allen, a guard who is not very tall, and he has now grown into one of the league's top one-on-one defenders!
In an ESPN poll this year about who is the league's number one perimeter lock-up player, Tony Allen received 27% of the vote, ranking third behind only Kobe and Wade!

But anyone who watched the games knows that Kobe's defensive ability has declined significantly this year, and Wade has also put much less effort into defense. These two are ranked ahead of Allen simply because they are more famous.

Of course, whether Allen is truly the top perimeter defensive specialist today is a question that needs to be answered by other excellent one-on-one defenders such as Battier, Iguodala, and Sefolosha.

But one thing is certain: Allen is now one of the most troublesome defensive specialists on the perimeter! In particular, this guy really only does defense on the court, and he does it exceptionally well.

Together with Howard, their inside-outside defensive duo is a defensive combination that gives everyone in the league a major headache.

In addition, the Celtics also have Tim Duncan, who, despite his age, can still exert tremendous pressure on the defensive end, and Stephen Jackson, who has replaced Ron Artest as the team's starting small forward and is still capable of delivering top-notch defensive performance.

Of the team's starting five, four are exceptionally strong defensive players.

This is why the Celtics, despite their poor offensive capabilities and an average of only 94.1 points per game, ranking eighth from the bottom in the league, were still able to win 60+ games this year.

They only allow 89.5 points per game on average, making them the only team in today's increasingly aggressive and fast-paced league to hold opponents to under 90 points per game!

Furthermore, during this season's regular season, their winning percentage was as high as 89% as long as their opponents scored below 90!

This team has now become one of the league's top defensive teams, and the kind of defensive powerhouse that is far ahead of other teams!

Their greatest strength lies in slow, positional warfare. Their offensive may not be the best, but they can render their opponents unable to attack.

In the first round, they used their defense to teach the young Heat team what hell and nightmares were like!
In the first round of four games, the Heat's highest score was only 86 points, and in another game they only scored 73 points!
Their field goal percentage in four games was only 33%, and their three-point percentage was even lower, at only 24%!

Their star outside player, Beasley, averages only 15.4 points per game with a field goal percentage of less than 3%. Their second-best player, Curry, averages 14 points per game with a field goal percentage of just over 3%. Their third-best player, Cousins, in his first year, only averages 8 points and 7 rebounds per game under Duncan's protection!

It's fair to say that the Heat's young and energetic trio truly left the Celtics bewildered, desperate, and completely disoriented in the first round of the playoffs.

Now, it's the lynx's turn.

Can they hold on?

I can’t stand it!
"Shh!"

With 28 seconds left in the game, Derrick Rose was under immense pressure from Allen's defense. He desperately tried to create space for himself and then forced a three-pointer, but after battling for 44 minutes and being harassed by Allen the entire game, he was already exhausted.

That 'swish' sound wasn't because the basketball went into the basket, but because the basketball didn't even touch the rim; it just swished through the net and went out of bounds.

After this shot nearly missed all three attempts, the Bobcats' chances of winning the game were effectively shut off.

84: 89!

If that shot goes in, the Bobcats can fight hard to defend the next shot, and then gamble on a 3-pointer to win.

Unfortunately, they missed the shot, and with a 5-point deficit and 28 seconds left, they had almost no chance of winning.

Especially after Parker made both free throws with incredible consistency, the Bobcats, trailing by 7 points, had no chance of continuing their comeback.

Lost!

The fans throughout the Spectrum Center fell into silence.

They looked at each other, feeling quite regretful and disappointed.

After losing this game, their chances in this series are slim!
Yes, this is the Spectrum Center, and this is already the fourth game of the series.

In their first two games at TD Garden, the Celtics won both, securing a perfect start as they arrived in Charlotte.

In the first two games, the Bobcats were almost a carbon copy of the Heat. They didn't score more than 90 points in either game, and their shooting percentage was only around 30%. They were also very uncomfortable to play against by the Celtics.

In Game 3 of the series, the Bobcats, back on their home court, finally found their rhythm. Their shooting percentage exceeded 4%, and they made 11 three-pointers. In this era, making 11 three-pointers in a game is practically equivalent to dominating the opponent. It was precisely this return to their three-point shooting touch that allowed the Bobcats to snatch a victory that night, preventing them from falling into a 3-0 deficit.

However, in Game 4 of the series, the Bobcats failed to maintain their good performance from the previous game. Although they kept a close game with the Celtics and the Celtics never pulled away from them.

Even with 2 minutes and 20 seconds left in the game, they were still leading the Celtics by 1 point!
But the final 2 minutes and 20 seconds became the Bobcats' nightmare.

Despite these circumstances, the Celtics were able to further elevate their defensive intensity and level, intensifying their physicality and becoming even more aggressive in pressing and double-teaming the Bobcats on the perimeter.

With the Celtics increasing their intensity once again, the Bobcats suddenly lost their rhythm and were unable to match the Celtics' strength.

In addition, Rose and other key players had played too long in the previous games, and their physical condition declined. Their offense completely lost its rhythm. In the last 2 minutes and 20 seconds, the Bobcats missed every single shot.

In the final 2 minutes and 20 seconds, they were hit with an 8-0 run by the Celtics, ultimately squandering their advantage and losing the game by 7 points. Furthermore, having lost their home court, the team is now mired in a 1-3 deficit.

The Bobcats are just one step away from being eliminated.

This is why, after the game, the fans at the Spectrum Center fell silent and stopped talking. The vast majority of them believed that the team's season was over.

They probably won't be able to wait for their team to return to their home stadium this season.

After all, that's the league's most intimidating home court this season, a terrifying arena that has only lost 3 games in the regular season and hasn't lost a single game in the playoffs so far!
"Actually, it's not bad that we've come this far."

"Yes, we've achieved 50 wins and advanced to the second round, both of which are record-breaking! We've never been this far before."

"We even had a chance to win tonight! We almost won!"

"Yeah, yeah! The guys have done a great job. We'll come back next year! We'll definitely crush the Bostonians next year!"

"Michael was also defeated by the Pistons and Celtics for seven years in a row before he finally won the championship. We only lost for one year, so what's there to worry about!"

"Great! No problem! We're young, we have plenty of opportunities!"

"Come again next year!"

"We'll come again next year!"

"Cheer up, we'll come back next year!"

"We will always support the team, see you next year!"

"Keep going! We have plenty of time!"

"Next year, next year we'll win that damn championship together!"

After the game, as the fans recovered from their initial disappointment, they immediately and without hesitation gave their team players a heartfelt cheer. They encouraged their players, hoping they could recover from their setbacks and stand up again.

"How jarring!"

Lin Tian, ​​who had just stood up from the bench, picked at his ear with a strange expression. The cheering was really unpleasant to listen to.

If he were still a player, he might have already unleashed a tirade against the fans.

But now that Lin Tian has matured, he certainly won't let his emotions outburst at the fans on the court.

Even now that he's a head coach and no longer plays, he no longer says anything particularly offensive or arrogant to the media. He's not the kind of person who would push others into a media storm just to show off.

He only used the "put yourself in a desperate situation to survive" tactic on himself.

But that's when there are outsiders present.

Lin Tian shook hands with Rivers, greeted Parker, Ginobili, and others, and then led his players into the locker room.

After entering the locker room, Lin Tian kicked all the team's physiotherapists, team doctors, and reporters out of the locker room, and then locked the door with a 'bang'.

Then, Lin Tian walked to the center of the locker room. At this moment, no one in the entire Bobcats locker room spoke. The atmosphere was terrible, and the air pressure was so low that it was hard to breathe.

"So, what are your thoughts after this game?" Lin Tian pulled up a chair and plopped down in the center of the locker room, signaling to the players that they could begin.

"It's all my fault!" Rose was the first to stand up and say, "I will take full responsibility for this loss! If I hadn't made two mistakes in the last two minutes, if I hadn't missed all my shots at the end, we wouldn't have lost!"

"I played terribly, and I'm sorry that everyone lost the game."

"Very good, is there anything else?"

Lin Tian gestured for Rose to sit down, then continued to survey the entire court, waiting for the players to speak.

"I played terribly too. I couldn't dominate Howard," Yao Ming said. "I should have had the advantage. I should have dominated this matchup and completely crushed him, but I didn't. It's terrible."

"And me, I relied too much on shooting. I always thought I could solve problems with mid-range shots, even though my touch wasn't good." Boozer also took responsibility.

"They were all good, but that's not what I want to hear. I want to hear something else. Some of you played well and some played poorly in this game, but that's not why I kept you guys. I don't need you to take responsibility because I believe my guys are real men who can take responsibility! I believe in you."

"But right now, I want to hear something else, your real feelings, is there anything else?"

"It's deafening!" In a corner of the locker room, a guy who rarely played on the field, resembling Li Kui (a famous Chinese martial arts hero), said, "The fans' cheers after we lost the game were too deafening. I didn't like their final shouts."

"It's like they think we've already lost, they think we've been eliminated, and I don't like that feeling!" (End of Chapter)