So I am the god of basketball?

The Bulls finished fourth in the regular season.

This is their worst ranking with Michael Jordan since he won the title in 91.

The last time they had Jordan and ranked fourth or lower in the Eastern Conference was in the 88-89 season, when they ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference. This was also the only time they ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference in the past nine years.

Now, they are once again ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference.

And this is reconstruction.

"Let's see what will happen in the end!" Michael Jordan is still full of confidence in this season after the game.

In the 88-89 season, although the Bulls ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference regular season, they eventually made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

That’s what makes the playoffs interesting.

The regular season ranking is just a ticket to the playoffs.

In the playoffs, anything can happen. There are always some changes every year.

If this season needs a twist, then...

Michael Jordan believes that the "variable" in the East is the Chicago Bulls. He believes that this team that has experienced many hardships can do this.

The Lakers also held a press conference after the last game of the regular season. Meng Lang attended the event and became the focus of the audience.

With the last game finished, his average score was officially fixed, playing 79 games, averaging 40.6 points per game, just over the 40-point mark. This made him another player to win the "scoring champion" after Michael Jordan.

He also became the first player since Chamberlain to average more than 40 points per game in a season.

The Lakers also ranked second in the Western Conference and in the top four in the entire league.

Not to mention that he also averaged 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.

Shooting percentage is 52%, three-point shooting percentage is 43.5%, free throw shooting percentage is 92.4%. Enter the "180 Club".

This season, he is both efficient and has terrifying offensive firepower.

The reporter's first question: "Do you think you can win the regular season MVP this season?"

Reporters have asked this question many times. Meng Lang had been avoiding it before, but this time, he did not avoid it and said directly: "I believe that I will not be behind anyone in this award."

An average of 40 points per game and a 60-win record is more than enough to win the regular season MVP.

The only variable is that Shaquille O'Neal's performance this season is really good, which is the highest point of his career, and the Heat is ranked first in the league. In addition, the Chicago Bulls are losing momentum, and David Stern cannot tolerate his dominance.

and so……

Given David Stern's personality, it is possible that he will "force the issue" to a certain extent.

He never forced these things.

But the current situation is that Shaquille O'Neal has indeed reached this level.

As long as this season's regular season MVP is given to Shaquille O'Neal, the league will have a new topic. Meng Lang and Shaquille O'Neal have gone from being the best partners in the past to being competitors.

This kind of bloody plot is what fans like to watch the most.

Moreover, Shaquille O'Neal has said many times in Miami that when he was on the Magic, his contribution was no less than Meng Lang's.

In other words, there is already heat.

There is no way David Stern will miss this wave of popularity.

Apart from him, the average statistics of other Lakers players this season are:

Charles Barkley averaged 14.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

During the time he returned from injury, his stats shrank a lot because of the time he had to play and find his form. They are almost the same as his rookie season.

So a reporter asked Barkley: "Will this be the last season of your career?"

To be honest, a player who contributes a double-double in a season is still the backbone of the league, and it is far from time for him to retire. But Barkley is not an ordinary player. He is a superstar. Often "superstars" have their own pride and self-esteem. Just like the original "Lord Baylor", it is not impossible for him to win the championship in his last season. But because he could not accept that his role in the team was just a role player, he resolutely chose to retire.

The road ahead for Barkley now is actually the same.

As a player who once won the regular season MVP, he can't really wait until he is old to announce his retirement.

However, even though these reporters guessed his thoughts, Barkley did not admit it directly, but said: "Let's talk about it after we finish this season!"

Eddie Jones averaged 15.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. His data has declined compared to last season, which has a lot to do with the change in his team's positioning. Now he is a point guard. Mainly responsible for passing the ball to Meng Lang.

The finishing is not in his hands, so he naturally can no longer contribute better scoring data like before.

Putting aside the scoring aspect, his performance in rebounding and assists has not declined, but has improved a little bit.

Kobe's final statistics this season were 13.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Compared to his peers of the same period, his statistics have not improved as fast.

Of course, there is a reason for this, because the original Lakers team was built around Shaquille O'Neal, and there was no core player on the perimeter, so he had too many opportunities to play. But now it is different. Meng Lang is the core of this team, and there is Eddie Jones next to him, and even Barkley is a player who can hold the ball and launch an attack from the perimeter.

Naturally, his data cannot be better than before.

But if we really talk about the status, Meng Lang thinks it should be better than the original same period.

At least his defense is better, and his ball-handling skills can still have a big breakthrough next season.

Ben Wallace averaged 7.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game this season. From a statistical perspective, his improvement is the biggest among the young players. This is due to Barkley's injury, which gave him more roles.

Divac's stats are 12.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Compared with last season, Divac's tactical position this season has returned to the level before Meng Lang came.

After the "five small tactics" can no longer be played, he can play the role of "high post support". Now he plays very much like when he was in the Kings at the same time.

In short, the team as a whole, judging by the statistics, has hardly made much progress. But the changes that should have taken place have quietly taken place.

It’s just that many changes cannot be reflected in the data.

Two days before the start of the playoffs, the league announced the winner of this season's "Best Rookie":
There was no surprise that Tim Duncan won the award with an average of 20+11+3+2 per game.

As a guy who entered this league as a "complete body", he did show his ability as a "complete body" in his first year in the league.

The Philadelphia management was really about to burst with laughter.

Boston and San Antonio sighed loudly. It was really "sad to hear and weep to listen"!
Then the first round of the playoffs officially started, and the Lakers' first-round opponent was Barkley's old team, the Phoenix Suns.

Trading Cedric Ceballos for Barkley was a sure win for the entire Los Angeles. Phoenix... was not unaware of this. But they still did it so that Barkley could taste the taste of a championship.

As it turned out, Cedric really couldn't save the Suns in the "post-Barkley era" and he was sent away directly this season.

Barkley received the championship ring with great satisfaction.

Coming back here, he is still very grateful: "It was Phoenix that made me the regular season MVP. I made it to the finals for the first time in my career here. I was not that great originally, but it was this place that made me a superstar. I will always be a part of Phoenix, and I love this place!"

His affectionate confession received a warm response from the Phoenix people. On the day of the game, when he walked into the stadium, there was a huge cheer.

Among the heartwarming stories of the NBA, the friendship between the Suns and Barkley must be included.

However, a blessing in disguise, the Suns lost Barkley, but something happened in Dallas, where three men fought over a woman, forcing the Mavericks to rebuild. Even Jason Kidd was sent out by Dallas.

Phoenix took advantage of the opportunity to acquire this building block for its rebuild.

本赛季的基德在来到太阳队后也发挥出了他“跑轰大师”的能力，场均11.6分9.1助攻6.2篮板2抢断1.3盖帽，带领太阳队杀入了总决赛。

Kidd can be considered a "weakened version of LeBron James."

Let him hold the ball in his hands and play a fast-paced run-and-gun game, and he can fill up the stat sheet in every game.

Like LeBron James, his ability to lead a team is also worthy of recognition. He led the Nets to the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive years.

There is another point that LeBron can't compare to. Jefferson and Kenyon Martin, who worked with him, both played for tens of millions of dollars. After leaving him, they were not as powerful as before.

Of course, he has just arrived at the Suns, and this is only the beginning of his legendary experience. At this time, he does not have such strong leadership ability as he will have later.

The Suns were able to make the playoffs this season with the help of others. Veteran Rex Chapman averaged 15.6 points per game and was the team's "top scorer." With McDyess guarding the interior, he averaged 15.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

There is also Clifford Robinson who averages 14.1 points per game and Danny Manning who averages 13.4 points per game.

This season, the Suns' main theme is "all players contribute".

With the rise of a new generation, there is the end of the old ones. Kevin Johnson, the "soul of the Suns' outside team" in previous years, suffered a serious injury last season and his condition has declined significantly. Now he can only sit on the bench and make use of his remaining energy.

Barkley hugged his old friend before the game.

There was huge cheers and applause again.

Time seemed to have suddenly gone back to the years when the two of them led the team.

Phoenix people believe that everything will come back. Even if not now...

The Lakers had no problem winning this game.

The Lakers' main strategy is "defensive counterattack", and playing at a fast pace is completely their "comfort zone", which is exactly the mainstream style of the Suns.

The current situation is that the Lakers' defense can limit the Suns' "multi-point blossoming", but the Suns are unable to limit Meng Lang.

So the Suns, who had lost the first two games at the Lakers' home court, also lost hard after returning to their home court.

3-0!

The Lakers swept the Suns easily.

After the game, a unified cry rang out at the scene:

"Another crown, Charles!"

"Another crown, Charles!"

"Another crown, Charles!"

Barkley left the city almost in tears.

Phoenix owed him nothing. But he owed the city a championship. But unfortunately, he never had the chance to complete this task.

N years later, this became Barkley's biggest regret.

The Lakers advanced easily, and the Seattle SuperSonics also advanced easily like them. The Kings had almost no ability to resist and were defeated by them.

Compared to them, the Jazz and the Warriors were a little slower. The Jazz defeated their opponents 3-1 and entered the next round.

But on the night when they were confirmed to enter the next round, the Jazz players did not look happy at all, because in the next round of the series, they would face Meng Lang and the Lakers again.

Damn it...

Whether it was last season's Western Conference Finals or this season's regular season, the memories of meeting the Lakers were not very good.

ESPN said in a statement: "This will most likely be the last dance for these old guys in Salt Lake City. It may not be a complete collection!"

In fact, many fans hope to see a happy ending for these old guys.

It's just a pity that everyone knows that this is destined to never happen.

The Golden State Warriors played a full five games with the Timberwolves, with the "youth storm" facing off against the "extremely talented", and in the end the Golden State Warriors came out on top.

Kevin Garnett was eliminated in the first round again.

However, in the interview after the game, he still said: "I hope to see the Timberwolves' greatest sincerity! This is my biggest motivation to devote everything to the Timberwolves!"

The Timberwolves faced the same huge decision that every small city faces.

It is undoubtedly a joy to select a "super talent". But after the rookie contract ends, how to keep such a "talented player" is an extremely painful thing. Small cities can only give money.

But sometimes, it's hard to keep players just by paying them.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a living example back then.

So for the Timberwolves, they only have one chance, and they must show the highest sincerity!

The Golden State Warriors advanced to the next round, where they faced the Western Conference No. 1 SuperSonics.

The good news is that they don't seem to be afraid of this team, because after 4 regular season games, their record against the SuperSonics is 3 wins and 1 loss. This is their psychological advantage.

For Chris Webber and Hardaway, it would be a great pleasure if they could meet Meng Lang again.

As long as we make it to the Western Conference Finals... (End of this chapter)