Chapter 1927 Don’t Talk About the Future, Just Talk About Health Care
Time flies by, and it's already April in the blink of an eye. More than a month has passed since Ji Feng won his fourth and third consecutive All-Star trophy at the Orlando All-Star Game. According to this season's schedule, Schedule, this is also the last regular game month of the NBA this season.
The NBA game has finally entered the most intense sprint stage. Whether it is the teams in the first half of the playoffs or the teams on the edge of the playoffs, they will no longer hold back. It is time to fight head-on. .
The Lakers will appear in the first game of this round. They will face the Charlotte Hornets at home against a team that has been rejected by the playoffs.
Before the game started, the venue was filled with such conversations.
"Hehehe, are you all going to finally play tonight? It's really been a long time."
"Who says it's not? How long has it been since I became a full star in February? It seems like I haven't seen the entire Lakers team for more than a month."
"It's really not easy. The tickets for this game are the hardest to buy, but for the whole Lakers team, it's worth it!"
…
This should have been a showdown with little suspense, but it still attracted the attention of countless fans. The Staples venue was star-studded and the crowd was buzzing, and a large wave of waiting fans gathered in front of the TV early. There was a lot of discussion online. Also staying high.
If you haven't been able to follow the Lakers' games in the past month due to personal matters, you will definitely be confused by this scene.
what's the situation? Are the Lakers in decline? Is the dynasty coming to an end? Why are you so excited about beating a wasp? Paul went back? Isn’t the current president of the United States still a ***?
And those die-hard fans know it very well, because after the All-Stars, during this critical period when they are recognized to launch an impact for the playoffs, the Lakers implemented an "inhumane" rest strategy!
If you want to say which team is the most popular in the league before the All-Star Game, you don’t have to ask. The Los Angeles Lakers are the answer. Others like the Heat, Celtics, Magic, and Clippers can go a little further back. Whether it is the season peak that averages a triple-double per game. In terms of scoring, assists, and the Lakers' record of 30 wins and 3 losses, they are all well-deserved firsts.
But after the All-Star break and throughout March, the most popular team changed hands.
The Miami Heat, they have successfully replaced the Lakers and become the hottest team at the moment. Regarding the reasons, in addition to the well-known Big Three, the most important thing is that they have joined forces to have a shocking winning streak!
As we all know, the previous league winning streak record was the incredible 35-game winning streak successfully created by the Lakers last season. Not only did it break the 33-game winning streak created by their predecessors and maintained for more than 40 years, it also pushed this record to another unattainable level. At that time, some people even said that this was the end of what humans could achieve.
However, this season, the Heat continued to work hard before and after the All-Star Game and played consecutive exciting games. The Big Three led the Heat to an astonishing 20-game winning streak (the Heat's 27-game winning streak will be in the next season, which is one year ahead of schedule and has been shortened). .
The Heat have not lost a game throughout March, which also allows them to overtake the Bulls in the record list and reach the top of the Eastern Conference.
In terms of personal performance, James, who was officially established as the core of the Heat this season, finally performed in line with people's expectations of him. In the 6 games from March 12 to 19, James scored 30+ in 6 consecutive games and maintained With a hit rate of over 60%.
James has played in every game of the 20-game winning streak, averaging 27.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 57.5%.
This also allowed him to overtake Rose in the MVP rankings and become second in the MVP rankings, narrowing the gap with the first quarter peak to a level that can be chased.
This is the smallest lead Ji Feng has had in the MVP list in the past three seasons. Even Sports Illustrated said: "Ji Feng's biggest opponent who has won the regular season MVPA four times in a row has finally appeared!"
The media in Miami were more direct. They all said: "Compared with Ji Feng, James is more worthy of this season's MVP!"
Even Barkley, who has always supported Ji Feng, said on the TNT program: "Ji Feng is going to be nervous. James like this still has a good chance of achieving an MVP zero breakthrough."
That's right, James still has no results on the MVP list. The previous All-Star MVP was once again taken away by Ji Feng. Poor James has been the background of three consecutive All-Stars, no, five consecutive All-Stars. Although he scored 32 points 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, but the team just can't win, so the MVP naturally has nothing to do with him.
The regular season MVP has never been with him, and the biggest opponent standing in front of him is undoubtedly Ji Feng. Ji Feng debuted for 4 years. Except for his rookie season, he won the three MVPs almost every year. In these four years, only 2007- The 2008 regular season and finals MVPs, as well as the 2008-2 VP were taken away by others. The other MVPs all belong to Ji Feng, which shows Ji Feng's dominance. Winning the All-Star MVP this season will undoubtedly allow Ji Feng to continue to dominate the rankings. It was a good start. Before the All-Star Game, Ji Feng was undoubtedly the best in the competition for regular season MVP. At that time, his data and team record were truly unrivaled.
But it's different now!
In addition to the performance of James and the Heat, the Lakers' low profile is undoubtedly the main reason!
Time goes back to after the All-Stars won the trophy...
Ji Feng once again became the focus. He attracted praise from all over the world. He broke the All-Star single-game assist record and became the first man in history to have 30+ assists and score a triple-double in a single game. He deserves any praise.
Moreover, he also brought this All-Star class, which was criticized by many people, back to life on the last day. The topic and attention reached its peak at the last moment, and also allowed this All-Star class to avoid the situation of failure from beginning to end.
In line with the previous strength of the Lakers, many people are waiting for the Lakers to blind people's eyes again after the All-Star Game.
However…
"You guys are too sharp, it's time to keep a low profile." Ji Feng.
"That's right, we need to slow down and be more fully prepared for the playoffs!" - Kobe Bryant.
"OK! The tactics are activated, we are going to have a dull March." - Zen Master.
So throughout March, the Lakers once again began to take a fancy rest. Kobe was the first to bear the brunt. He injured his knee and rested for 5 games. When Kobe came back, Ji Feng rested for one game because of a cold. Gasol and Bynum also had their own problems. arrange.
So throughout March, the Lakers did not play any of the 15 games with the full lineup. When JK finally got together in the last few games, Bynum and Gasol were injured and sidelined the last three games of March until today. …
That is, on April 1st, the Lakers officially released the news that the two interior towers were back, and the entire Lakers lineup was on the field to face the Hornets!
This is also the biggest reason why fans are rushing to tell each other. It has been a long time since they saw the entire Lakers lineup.
Due to this tactic, the Lakers lost 4 of 15 games and achieved a record of 11 wins and 4 losses in March. Their current record is 41 wins and 7 losses. Although they still rank first in the league, they have been reduced to only 4 by the Heat. The distance to win.