So I am the god of basketball?

During this period, the NBA also announced the various awards for this season.

First is the "Most Improved Player Award", which goes to Alan Henderson of the Hawks.

From the bench to the starting lineup, this season is considered his breakout season, but his average of 14.3 points per game this season is the highest score in his entire career.

Then there is the "Best Sixth Man Award", which belongs to Danny Manning of the Suns.

After the "Best Team" was awarded, the league announced this season's "Defensive Player of the Season Award", and this award was won by Mutombo, as expected. However, many media believe that next season, Ben Wallace will become Mutombo's biggest competitor.

"Because he has shown similar potential this season."

After the final result of the "Best Defensive Player Award" was announced, there is only one regular season award left this season, and that is the regular season MVP.

If it were in the past, at this time, Shaquille O'Neal would definitely jump out and shout, but the current situation is that the Heat is on the brink of collapse, and Shaquille O'Neal has no intention of competing for this award anymore.

If you win the regular season MVP but still lose in the Eastern Conference semifinals, it would be quite embarrassing to win this award.

Anyway, some media have already said: "Shaquille O'Neal should be very lucky that the regular season MVP has already been decided. Otherwise, he would never have won the regular season MVP based on his current performance."

"Of course, this is what Shaquille O'Neal should be most worried about right now. If he really loses in the Eastern Conference semifinals, then if he really is the regular season MVP, what a joke it will cause!"

In short, whether Shaquille O'Neal will win this award is now at the center of controversy.

And this is the playoffs!
If the regular season makes players famous, then the playoffs are the "grinding stone" for players. Only the truly sharp "sword" can break through the siege.

O'Neal is obviously aware of the current situation. The good news is that they won the game that just ended.

They found a way to deal with the Bulls.

That is just like other teams in the league played against the Lakers after January, putting all the defensive focus on other players of the Bulls and letting Michael Jordan score one ball at a time.

If it was Jordan in his prime, it would certainly be impossible for him to kill the game like this.

But Jordan is not at his absolute peak now.

He didn't have Scottie Pippen around to help him.

Facts have also proved that Rodman's strength is based on Michael Jordan's absolute control on the offensive end, and Pippen helps Jordan do everything else on the offensive end. Once there is no "second in command" to stand up, Rodman's disadvantage of not being able to score on the offensive end will be infinitely magnified.

That was the case in Game 6 of the Heat-Bulls series.

Michael Jordan felt like he had gone back to the 80s, when he faced the Celtics and couldn't lead his team to victory even after scoring 60 points.

Now, the same thing happened, he kept hitting shots, only to watch the team fall behind and lose the game again.

The overall score was tied at 3-3.

The Heat pulled one back.

This time, the two teams are back at the same starting line. The next game will decide the outcome, and whoever wins will advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

The "decisive battle" of another group in the Eastern Conference began, and in the end the young Pistons defeated the old Pacers.

Rasheel Wallace showed his organizational talent in this game. With his support, the Pacers' inside line was left empty, giving Grant Hill absolute room to display his breakthrough ability.

Hill scored 30 points in this game and finally won this crucial game with a score of 4-2. The Pistons eliminated the Pacers and reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 90.

This time, 90 years have passed since 8.

From the "Bad Boys" to the mild-mannered Grant Hill, the Pistons are once again the top team in the Eastern Conference.

That night, the whole of Detroit was filled with cheers that never stopped.

Some people cheered, while others were silent. The Pacers' elimination was a blow to Indiana, who thought they could make it to the finals this season. This was their lowest goal.

The biggest difference between the "old army" and the "youth storm" is that they have no time and they cannot afford the cost of failure.

But the cruelest thing about competitive sports is this:
Time will not favor you just because you are old and weak...

The sad atmosphere in Indiana had not yet dissipated, and another group in the Eastern Conference also ushered in their "final battle", at home in Miami. Amid the boos of the audience, Jordan walked onto the court, followed by a somewhat depressed McGrady.

前两场比赛他一场比赛14投3中，拿到了9分，出现了5次失误；还有一场比赛甚至连6分都没有拿到。

He was disappointed with his performance.

Jordan could always feel Pippen's presence in McGrady, and this time it was more obvious than usual.

In the past, he often "cleaned up Pippen's ass".

But I don’t know why, even though Pippen always has times when he “drops the ball”, the team always wins.

Maybe it's Pippen's luck...

So in Jordan's heart, Pippen is his best partner.

He hopes that McGrady can become the second "lucky star" like Pippen, who can bring him luck and help him win the game even if he fails in a crucial match.

If they can make it to the finals as fourth in the Eastern Conference, it will be a reflection of his ability to lead a team.

Michael Jordan needs to prove that he is still dominant, even at 36 years old...

Unfortunately, the final result was not what he wished.

Pat Riley is one of the most capable head coaches in the league. When the Heat won two games in a row, the momentum was actually on their side. Pat Riley saw this very clearly.

His words made the Heat players feel like they were injected with chicken blood.

In the end, the Heat completed a "big reversal".

It was just that the game between the Bulls, who were ranked first in the league and fourth in the Eastern Conference, was so tense that Shaquille O'Neal didn't dare to show off after the game.

Pat Riley finally dared to put pressure on these monkeys: "They don't seem to know what position they entered the playoffs with, which is why the Heat's games are so difficult. Of course... Michael is Michael, this is the most difficult opponent!"

The Heat secured the second spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Jordan ultimately missed the Eastern Conference Finals.

The fourth team in the Eastern Conference lost in the semifinals, which is actually a reasonable result.

It was only after the game when he was sitting there that a senior reporter from Chicago said, "He's old, but we never noticed that he's old!"

Jordan didn't say much: "We lost a lot this season, but this is exactly why we come back next season. Let's see what happens next."

But when he returned to the locker room, he was not so good-tempered: "Kid, everyone praised you to the skies, but your first season was not up to standard. That's what I want to say, you'd better cheer up and train hard this summer. Your running-in period is over. If I still don't see your ability next season, then I will think it was a wrong decision to trade you!" McGrady didn't say a word.

Jordan was very disappointed with him because in the crucial seventh game, his performance was as bad as in the first two games, and the number of turnovers was appalling. He made a total of 7 turnovers.

So when Jordan said these words to him, he even felt that Jordan was understating it.

He has to prove himself next season.

After the Eastern Conference semifinals were over, it was early June. After two days of rest, the Western Conference Finals began.

Before the Western Conference Finals began, the league gave the results of this season's regular season MVP:

Shaquille O'Neal defeated Meng Lang with 33.3% of the votes, beating out 31.2% of the votes, becoming the final regular season MVP of this season.

The reporter who participated in the voting stood up and expressed his opinion: "Dream has been good enough this season, but this is Shaquille O'Neal's best season and he deserves the regular season MVP. If I have to choose between these two people, I will choose Shaq. Of course, if the same selection criteria are used and Shaq also won the regular season MVP last season, I will choose Dream, there is no doubt about it!"

What he meant was that if Meng Lang had not won the award again, the award would have been his.

This result caused a lot of dissatisfaction.

Some media believe that David Stern controlled the voting results because he did not want to see the second Michael Jordan appear. Everyone clearly remembers what kind of turmoil the NBA encountered when Jordan announced his retirement in the summer of 93. These turmoils are the reason why David Stern does not want to experience it a second time.

Meng Lang was also asked related questions before the first game of the Western Conference Finals.

He said: "There are some things that I can't control, so I respect all the results. I don't need the regular season MVP, but no one else can take the championship away!"

Cou is so domineering!
The whole of Los Angeles was boiling over this.

ESPN's headline read: "Seattle beware, because you are Dream's replacement for venting his anger!"

Payton was not happy when he saw the news, and shouted in the locker room: "Guys, come on, cheer together and teach that damn Dream a lesson!"

To be honest, in his opinion, the Supersonics may have some teams whose styles are restrained by them, but they will definitely not be afraid of a team like the Lakers that only has Meng Lang as an offensive point.

40 points per game, right?
The season’s “scoring champion”, right?
Let me show you how solid the SuperSonics are this season!

Get ready to become the "Blacksmith" of Los Angeles!

It’s no wonder that he is so confident. This season, the backcourt combination of the Supersonics has become him and Jose Hawkins.

Hawkins is also a defensive stalwart, averaging 1.9 steals per game.

Then there are McMillan and Sam Perkins on the bench, both of whom are strong defensive players.

Alonzo Mourning is also the most courageous inside player that Gary Payton has worked with over the years.

Although his playing style is not as flamboyant as Kemp's.

But he is definitely a man of steel.

And he is not picky about doing all the dirty work on the defensive end.

In just one season, Gary Payton has forgotten Kemp's phone number.

With so many helpers, even though his previous duels with Meng Lang always ended in failure, he believed that this time there would definitely be a different result.

The Lakers did indeed regard the Supersonics as their biggest enemy.

This opponent was even considered the most difficult one to deal with in Chuck Daly's notebook.

The result was as he expected, they met in the Western Conference Finals.

Judging from the playing style, the opponent is also a team that excels in defense and mobile warfare, commonly known as the "defensive counterattack team."

The Lakers' advantage is Meng Lang, the super scorer.

The advantage of the SuperSonics is the synergy between Payton and Mourning.

In fact, since Mourning joined the SuperSonics, Meng Lang knew that the SuperSonics would become one of the most difficult teams to deal with this season, because the original player who joined the SuperSonics at this time was Vin Baker.

He and Gary Payton led the SuperSonics to second place in the Western Conference.

With Mourning being better than Vin Baker on the defensive end, it is natural for the Supersonics to become stronger.

In Meng Lang's view, this Western Conference Finals is equivalent to the finals starting early.

For teams with similar styles, it always comes down to which side can play at their own pace faster.

The Lakers' home court is already "golden", with a very finals atmosphere.

When the Sonics players came out, there was a huge booing from the audience.

All the fans were facing a severe enemy.

Then the game officially began, and the two teams that jumped the ball in the center circle were Alonso Mourning and Divac.

It is worth mentioning that Orlando Media is starting to feel pain again.

Because one of the hot topics of the Western Conference Finals is: "The showdown between former Magic players!"

ESPN also has a very eye-catching headline: "Why these guys can immediately stand on the big stage after leaving Orlando!"

These words made Orlando Media so angry that it vomited blood.

The one who successfully jumped to the ball was Alonzo Mourning, the first attack of the Supersonics.

Gary Payton dribbled upcourt and was blocked by Eddie Jones.

He quickly called for a pick-and-roll, and Mourning got to the high post and quickly went down. Payton showed the tacit understanding between him and Mourning at this time, and the ball passed through the gap between people and went directly to Mourning's hands.

Divac came up, but Mourning got under the basket on the move and finished.

2-0!

The Lakers counterattacked, and the ball went from Jones' hands to Meng Lang's hands.

The moment he got the ball, Hawkins blocked it.

The "triple threat posture" was assumed, and the moment the ball was dropped, Meng Lang's whole body suddenly jumped forward, pulling Hawkins' whole body with him, and he got close to him and made a turning and "leaning" action. Hawkins thought that he was going to "turn around" close to him, so he exerted force to disrupt his turn. Unexpectedly, Meng Lang suddenly exploded the ball, turned forward directly, and threw the ball facing the basket. Hawkins, who had "nailed" himself in place, could only watch him shoot from mid-range.

Goal! (End of this chapter)