NBA's strongest prince

Chapter 359 Another year of playoffs
There is nothing to say about the last game of the Suns regular season, because the opponent is the Blazers who cultivate new players.

In the last game of the playoffs, only the suspenseful games will be intense, and the games where both teams are irrelevant can be played very friendly.

Russell just went up to warm up and didn't even finish a quarter.

The Suns let all the players go up and play, especially the players who usually don't have many opportunities, and gave them a lot of time.

The last game of the regular season can be said to be a game for them to test the status of the players, to see who can be used in the playoffs, or can become a reserve.

And they played like this, and easily defeated the Blazers.

To be honest, even if the Suns don't have a chance to go to the water cooler, they are much stronger than the main rotation of many teams. There are no weak chickens in super teams.

The last game also made the East and West regular season rankings completely stable, and the list of 16 players competing for the playoffs this year has also been released.

On the final day, the Mavericks, Nuggets and Sonics all won.

But before, the Nuggets were beaten by the Jazz, and they are already ninth in the Western Conference. The first two teams did not lose the game, so they naturally have no hope of the playoffs.

The Golden Two Guns couldn't even make it to the playoffs, so it can be said that it has become a laughing stock.

Iverson's status in the league will undoubtedly decline again.

For the Mavericks and the Supersonics, the previous game was a duel between the two teams. The Supersonics won the game and became the seventh in the Western Conference with a half-game advantage.

And the Spurs also dropped to fourth place in the West with a half-game disadvantage. They originally got second in the West some time ago, but they didn't expect to play big in the next few games. They thought it didn't matter if they were second or third in the West. became the fourth.

The Hornets only took third place in the Western Conference because of their loss in the last game, and the Lakers became second in the Western Conference with an advantage of one win.

The fifth and sixth in the West are the Rockets and the Jazz respectively. Because of the butterfly effect, the Rockets will not face the Jazz for the second time, but they may be even more helpless against the Spurs.

Historically, the Jazz became fourth in the West because of the division, but now they don’t have this benefit. Their last loss also made them only sit in the sixth position in the West. Obviously their record is worse than last season. good.

It can only be said that this season's West is in hell mode.

In the east, it is not so troublesome. Their regular season rankings have been determined before the last day.

The Celtics rank first, followed by the Pistons, Magic, Cavaliers, Wizards, Raptors, Eagles and 76ers, which are slightly different from the original seven or eight in history.

The Suns once again won the first place in the league, and the league is mixed.

It would not be good if there is no suspense in the championship again, but the emergence of a super team is actually a revenue-generating point.

The Bulls Dynasty did not affect the ratings, but was very popular. Now Russell feels more popular than the basketball god, so the league can only look forward to it.

The Suns are all healthy now, and they can adjust for three days after the end of the regular season, and wait until the second day of the playoffs to play, so they can take it easy.

Their first opponent is the Mavericks. The Mavericks fell to eighth in the Western Conference at the peak of Nowitzki, which is also embarrassing.

Although the lineups of the two teams have changed this season, the two sides are still relatively familiar.

The core of the team has not changed, and some styles of play will not change.

The Mavericks are now starting, but the backcourt has changed.

Because veteran Eddie Jones is not in good shape, the Mavericks chose to start Stackhouse and Kidd together.

Stackhouse can't be said to be too old, he is only a little older than Kidd, but because of injuries, this buddy is getting worse and worse, and the Mavericks have no way to let him start.

It is better for Terry to play the sixth man. The key is that Terry's starting backcourt defense is not good, and being with the main force will also limit his offense.

The Suns have a stable starting lineup this season, and they don't like changing the starting lineup at all.

At the start of the game, Nowitzki exploded without saying a word.

Now the Mavericks are at a disadvantage, there is nothing to test, and their choice is not wrong.

The sun was just average at first, because Stoudemire did not enter the state immediately.

Now the teams that have studied the Suns deeply will also study Stoudemire. They can't limit Stoudemire all the time, but many teams will try to make him uncomfortable at the beginning.

Because it was the first game of the playoffs, Russell was not very polite, and increased his shots when the team fell behind.

It was only the first round of the playoffs, so he didn't want any surprises.

After Russell exerted his strength, the scores of the two teams were somewhat stalemate. Howard also played well on the Mavericks side, but the Suns side was more blooming.

In fact, apart from Russell, the Suns are a little nervous.

An old fritter like Ray Allen is logically not nervous, but his shooting percentage is also adjusting.

However, the Suns still have defense. After a season of running-in, the Suns' lineup has also improved a lot in defense.

After Thibodeau left, the Suns hired a defensive coach, plus Zhang Burke, there is no problem in this regard, but it takes time for the two young players to grow up.

Anyway, although the Suns' current defense is not top-notch, it can also help the team sustain time.

During the rotation period, the situation is reversed. Terry's performance on the Mavericks side is very average, Ellis is relatively stable on the Suns side, and Gasol Jr. is not at all cowardly.

The performance of young players is better than that of Hill, a veteran.

Sometimes it is not a veteran who will perform well at critical moments, and a newborn calf may be even stronger, especially when his physical condition is better.

Russell doesn't mind either. He signed Hill because of the cost performance. The Suns don't need him to play well in the playoffs.

During the rotation period, the Suns caught up with the score, but in the second quarter, Kidd played better and better, and the Suns also felt what it was like to have the Mavericks with an organizer.

Whether it's Nowitzki or anyone else, it's a lot easier to score.

Kidd himself also hit a three-pointer, and his performance was very stable.

Although Kidd is nicknamed Jibugong, he has always paid great attention to shooting training after he got older.

After coming to the Mavericks with a superstar like Nowitzki to attract defensive attention, his three-point shooting percentage has also reached a new high, which is completely different from those guards who can't shoot at all.

In this case, although Stoudemire has regained his form on the Sun's side, the Suns were still slightly behind in the first half.

The neutral fans are still quite excited. The Suns encountered a difficult bone in the first round, which can be said to be the first time.

This year's competition in the Western Conference is extremely fierce. Every team has two sides. Can the sun really rush out?
You know, young players fluctuate a lot.

Moreover, even if they rushed out, after three rounds, would they still have the strength to suppress the Celtics?
(End of this chapter)