NBA restricted area bulldozer

Chapter 189 The end of the regular season

In the last week of the NBA regular season, the east and west are all blooming.

The top-ranked strong teams don't have to worry about anything, but they are hovering outside the top eight, and the teams that can go further to the playoffs are still fighting for the final tickets.

As for the Jazz, after defeating the Timberwolves, there are still four games left, and unexpectedly... the top teams in the Western Conference have experienced a decline in record. On the contrary, the Jazz won all four games, with a total record of 55 wins and 27 losses. In one fell swoop, he boarded the third place in the West.

At this point, the long regular season schedule is all over, the playoff teams in the East and West have also been settled, and the matchup list is freshly released.

The top eight in the East are: the first Knicks, the second Bulls, the third Cavaliers, the fourth Celtics, the fifth Hornets, the sixth Eagles, the seventh Nets, and the eighth Pacers.

The top eight in the West are: the first Suns, the second Rockets, the third Jazz, the fourth Trail Blazers, the fifth Spurs, the sixth Supersonics, the seventh Clippers, and the eighth Lakers.

……

Let me talk about the situation in the east first.

The Bulls, who have already won two consecutive championships, and the Knicks, who are in full swing this season, these two teams will be the main force in the Eastern Conference. Of course, other teams cannot be ruled out.

O'Neal's Magic ranked ninth in the East embarrassingly and missed the playoffs.

Surprisingly, the Charlotte Hornets ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference.

As a rookie in the NBA, this is the first time in the history of the Hornets that they have entered the playoffs, and they can still rank fifth in the Eastern Conference. It is really surprising. After all, Li Shengli played for the Hornets for most of the season and gave them a 50% winning percentage. In addition, Larry Johnson is indeed a bit of a commodity, and Jeff Malone, who traded Li Shengli, also played well. , Leading the team to stabilize the situation in the second half.

Another is the Detroit Pistons.

As a team with two consecutive championships, the Pistons' previous glory is no longer, and their record is going from bad to worse, and now they have fallen out of the playoffs. The only highlight of this season is that game... The Palace of Auburn Hills was wiped out by Li Shengli alone The tragedy, since then the Pistons have really been in a slump.

It can be said that the emergence of Li Shengli has affected the pattern of the Eastern Conference playoffs in just half a season. The Hornets won and the Pistons lost.

Fortunately...Li Shengli finished the Eastern Conference and was sent to the Western Jazz halfway. This made several low-ranked teams in the Eastern Conference breathe a sigh of relief. After all, the Hornets with Li Shengli and the Hornets without Li Shengli are two different concepts. Larry Johnson himself still has some difficulty in muddying the waters of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

……

Nothing to say about the West.

The Jazz finally rushed to third. According to the arrangement of the playoffs, they will face the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round, and in the second round, they will face the winner of the Rockets and the Clippers. Fang, of course... If there is no accident, it is basically certain that the Jazz's opponent in the second round is the Rockets.

As for the possibility of losing to the Supersonics, the Jazz will stop in the first round?

In this regard, not to mention that the Jazz themselves don’t believe it, even the media and fans who have been following the game don’t believe it. The Supersonics led by Kemp are not strong, but the Lee Mars trio on the Jazz’s side really will It is to beat you to death immediately.

According to the rules at this time, the first round of the playoffs has 5 wins in 3 games. The team with the highest ranking will play two home games first, then two away games, and then return to the home game in the fifth game. Play two home games first.

Because of its geographical location, the Jazz's Triangle Center Arena is famous for being located in a high-altitude area in the NBA. Coupled with the rich background accumulated by the Utah Shuangsha for the Jazz in recent years and the enthusiasm of the fans, it is definitely the most difficult home stadium to conquer. one.

Based on this, it is very difficult for the Sonics to win. After all, what they have to face is...the Limas combination that is in the limelight and opened a new era of jazz.

……

On April 4, the Jazz played the last game of the regular season.

On April 4, the first day of the playoffs, there were only two games in the West, the Rockets played against the Clippers and the Trail Blazers played against the Spurs, while the Jazz and the Supersonics played on the 29th, with an interval of 30 days.

In view of the need for relaxation in training, the Jazz Corps used the first two days to rest, and the next two days to train and prepare for the battle. On the 26th... Li Shengli had a guest in his rented house in Salt Lake City.

The first is Crotty, whose annual salary is only 17 US dollars. After removing miscellaneous taxes and other expenses, plus several suspensions and fines, he is so poor that he loses his pants.

Although the fine was blocked by Li Shengli, he was suspended for more than a dozen games without salary and suffered heavy losses. In the end, Li Shengli pulled him to his side. The two lived together as a partner, and the two also found a common topic between them... Poor !

In addition to Crotty, Thompson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also came from afar this morning.

You know... At the beginning, Charlotte and Greenville were in the same state of North Carolina, and they were relatively close, but North Carolina and Utah were far away, and it was definitely a long journey to make a special trip.

……

"Special TV commentator? You guys?" Li Shengli was a little surprised. Although many retired players are still active in the NBA circle, Thompson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became guest commentators on the TV station halfway through their debut. This is their first time. .

This time, Thompson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were invited to be the commentators... Turner Television Network, or TNT for short, was established in 88 and broadcasts all-weather sports events in the United States, and the live broadcast of NBA games is a big part, so they also need professionals to serve as commentators .

It stands to reason... For the sake of the show, TNT has no problem inviting celebrities, but the commentary is not a competition, and the qualifications of the commentary are second. Humor and wit are the key.

At this point, Thompson is okay, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is really not a talkative person, and he is not very suitable for a commentary position, but TNT has invited them, although I don’t know what the consideration is, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not Very willing, but Thompson still took him to accept the invitation.

Of course, it wasn't just the two of them who were invited together.

……

"Why, don't we have the qualifications?" Thompson pouted, but Abdul-Jabbar didn't speak.

"No, I'm just surprised, you don't want to get involved in these things!"

strange?

Strange ass!

Do you really think we don’t need to earn money for retirement?

We don't go to work, you support us?

Thompson scolded with a stern face: "Stop talking so much nonsense, listen, Lee, the Jazz are the favorites to win the championship this season, perform well, and don't let us embarrass us in front of our 'old friends'!"

Li Shengli's situation really made Thompson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar unexpected. They thought he would waste a few more seasons, but what they didn't expect was...the jump from the Hornets to the Jazz was infinitely intensified.

Rookie season to compete for the championship?

This is simply the perfect start!

In this regard, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is okay, but Thompson really pinned all his hopes on Li Shengli. Due to some unbearable reasons, he failed to get the championship ring. This is a pain point in his life, and now...he Will use another way to supervise the battle for Li Shengli.

……

It's been a long time since I saw each other, and the three of them chatted for a long time.

Crotty, who has always been paralyzed, finally saw a different expression on his face. After all, what he saw was the famous NBA skywalker David Thompson, and the hooker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Are you not excited? possible.

And Thompson and Kareem have been paying attention to Li Shengli, and of course they know this killer Crotty who has recently emerged in the Jazz.

Although in normal times, the two bosses are too lazy to deal with such an innocuous little role, but this Crotty in front of him is a bit special, willing to deal with some indecent and dirty things outside the rules for Li Shengli, so they also expressed Their respective goodwill made Crotty so excited that he was at a loss.

Until the afternoon, Thompson and Abdul-Jabbar turned away and went to the TNT headquarters to report, while Li Shengli waited for his first career playoff trip, the gods in May.

(End of this chapter)