Chapter 414: Record-breaking 73 wins in the regular season
On the 3rd, the team begins two road trips. This is a back-to-back game, challenging the Nuggets on the 4th and the Trail Blazers on the 5th.
The Nuggets have performed poorly this season and have already fallen out of the playoff ranks. They are now only ranked 12th in the Western Conference, ahead of the Spurs and Grizzlies.
The Suns successfully defeated the Nuggets and then challenged the Trail Blazers, currently fourth in the Western Conference, back-to-back.
As a result, due to lack of physical fitness and problems with the player's condition, the Suns lost the game and suffered their seventh defeat of the season. At the same time, they were caught up by the Bulls.
Fortunately, the Suns defeated the Bulls twice and still ranked first in the league.
In this game, Lao Wang once again completed an achievement task, blocking 1,000 shots and earning 100 points.
Next, the Suns defeated the Lakers, Kings, and Timberwolves one after another, finishing with 70 wins and 8 losses.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that at least half of the teams are failing this season.
At the same time, the Bulls lost to O'Neal's Knicks, and the Suns continued to lead the game.
On April 13, the Suns unexpectedly lost to the Warriors on the road and suffered their ninth defeat of the season.
On the 15th, the team faced the last strong enemy, the Jazz, at home.
In this game, the Suns tried their best to defeat their opponents and win their 71st victory.
There are still two regular seasons left, the lousy Spurs and the truly lousy Grizzlies, the 13th and 14th places in the Eastern Conference. As long as we win these two lousy teams, we can break the Bulls' record of 72 wins.
The Spurs had already changed coaches on the way. General Manager Popovich was dissatisfied with the record of his former head coach Bob, so he fired Bob, took on the role of head coach himself, and then led the team to start playing badly. If it weren't for the Grizzlies
As bad as it gets, the Spurs under his leadership are definitely qualified to compete for last place in the Western Conference.
Although the Lakers are also in trouble, the face of a wealthy team cannot be too clean, so they are not as shameless as the Spurs. They are now tenth in the Western Conference, which more or less saves Stern some face.
On the 18th, the Suns defeated the Spurs on the road for their 72nd win, tying the Bulls' record. On the 19th, they returned home and defeated the Grizzlies back-to-back and won their 73rd win, breaking the Bulls' record of 72 wins in the regular season.
Completed the entire regular season schedule of the 1996/97 season.
Lao Wang once again completed an achievement task, reaching 2,000 career assists, and received a 100-point reward.
The record of 73 wins and 9 losses, although there were many bad performances and the record was a bit watery, still shocked the league.
Next, the playoffs will begin.
Top eight in the Eastern Conference: Bulls, Pacers, Heat, Knicks, Hawks, Pistons, Hornets, Magic.
Top eight in the Western Conference: Suns, Jazz, SuperSonics, Trail Blazers, Mosaic, Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings.
In the Eastern Conference, the Bulls and Pacers are in the same division, so the Pacers automatically fell out of the top three in the playoffs and ranked fourth, followed by the Heat in second and the Knicks in third.
In the West, the SuperSonics and Jazz belong to the Northwest Division, so the SuperSonics are automatically ranked fourth in the Western Conference for the playoffs, and the Trail Blazers will take over third place.
Finally, the playoff matchups are as follows.
Eastern Conference: Bulls vs. Magic, Pacers vs. Hawks, Heat vs. Hornets, Knicks vs. Pistons.
West: Suns vs. Kings, SuperSonics vs. Mosaics, Jazz vs. Clippers, Trail Blazers vs. Timberwolves.
The winners of the first two groups and the last two groups will advance to the second round respectively, and the playoffs will start on April 24th and 25th.
As the regular season comes to an end, the media begins to evaluate the performance of each team.
On the 20th, Tom Hawkes, the famous basketball commentator of TNT TV station, gave his own comments on the Suns on the TV station's NBA channel's 9 a.m. program.
He said on the show: "After winning the championship in 1993, after four years of reconstruction, the Suns, who won another championship on the way, have truly completed the reconstruction and organized a lineup with the youth army as the core.
With Old K as the absolute core, the team is equipped with top-notch offensive and defensive power forward Rasheed Wallace, good outside defense, fixed-point three-point shooter small forward Robert Horry, defensively getting better and better, and rookie Kobe Bryant with strong offensive desire.
And Jason Kidd, who has top point guard potential.
At the same time, there are also the veteran Lightning who serves as the main point guard, the team's sixth man Wilkins, and the capable shooting guard Chapman. The Suns' main lineup and substitute lineup are very strong.
This time the team has the best regular season record in NBA history, its strength is obvious to all, and it once again has the strength to compete for the championship.
In fact, the team leader Lao K is too strong. His personal presence has raised the team to a higher level. We can even say that this Suns team can be called the strongest team in history.
Of course, given that there are too many bad teams and the Suns' record is somewhat watery, the title of the strongest team in history may be a bit exaggerated, but there is no doubt that this Suns team is indeed very strong.
The only shortcoming is that this team has too many young people with potential, including Robert Horry, Rasheed Wallace, Kobe Bryant, and Kidd. As they grow, the Suns, who have just completed their reconstruction, may also
Soon there will be an exodus of young players."
Tom Hawkman not only evaluated the team, but also focused on Wang Tiejun's performance and the performance of other key players.
"Team leader Lao K continues to perform strongly this season, averaging 40.5 minutes per game, averaging 24.5 shots per game, 15 hits, and a hit rate of 61.2%. He averages 9.5 free throws per game, 6 hits, and a hit rate of 63%.
He scored 36.1 points, 16.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 4.1 blocks, 1.8 turnovers and 3.1 fouls.
After 1995 and 1996, he won the scoring title for three consecutive years, also defended the rebounding title, and won the block title for the first time. He also won the five individual data titles. Old K won three of them. His all-round personal strength is outstanding.
The performance has to be amazing.
Not only does he rank first in the Suns' offensive efficiency, but he also ranks first in defensive efficiency, personal win-loss value, and personal efficiency.
At the same time, among all players in the league, he ranks first in personal efficiency, first in offensive efficiency, and second in defensive efficiency, second only to Mutombo."
Hawks added: "Except for Old K's horrific performance, the performance of other Suns players was average.
The Lightning averaged 15 points and 9 assists per game, Kobe averaged 9 points per game, Chapman averaged 8 points per game, Wilkins averaged 12 points per game, Horry averaged 11 points per game, and Rasheed Wallace averaged 11 points per game.
Judging from the performance of other major players, we can clearly see that they were suppressed by Old K."
Having said this, Hawkes explained: "Why do I say this? Because the scoring ability of each of these players has not been fully unleashed.
Even veteran Wilkins, Lightning, and rookie Kobe, if they are given enough shots, their scores should be higher than their current performance, not to mention Rasheed Wallace and Kidd who are already quite mature.
young players?
What I mean by these words is not to target Lao K, saying that he took away opportunities from his teammates and did not make them better. I do not mean that because of his existence, his potential teammates have become ordinary.
Get up, I didn't say he was brushing data.
I'm just proving my previous point. In the next few years, the Suns will face the possibility of young players leaving because they can't get big contracts and don't get enough opportunities."
"Holy shit, is this old guy trying to hack me?" Lao Wang watched the TV show and couldn't help complaining.
But he himself had to admit that his presence did suppress his teammates. His teammates' data did not become better because of his presence, but became worse.
It doesn't start now, it starts after he joins the team as the starting center.
A monster center like him needs a lot of space in the low post and must be able to compress the breakthrough space from the outside, such as Thunder, Dan Malley, Lightning, Horry, etc., to Wilkins, they have all been greatly affected.
, and even need to change the style of play. Some people who are unable or unwilling to change the style of play, such as Ceballos, are traded.
Now Kobe has been greatly affected. In high school, his best scoring method was breakthrough scoring, but now he has obviously strengthened his shooting training, pull-up jump shooting training, and the same on the court.
However, he would never admit to brushing up on statistics, because his efficiency is higher than that of his teammates, and not by a little bit.
The team's overall shooting rate this season is 49.5%, which includes his shooting rate, and his personal shooting rate is more than ten percentage points higher than the overall shooting rate. If his personal shooting rate is ignored, it will be even higher.
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At this time, Tom Hawks said: "Now that the regular season is over, I can make a prediction about the trend of the Western Conference. The Suns have a 40% chance of reaching the finals, the Jazz 35%, the SuperSonics 24%, and the remaining 5 Western Conference teams have a 40% chance of reaching the finals.
The combined probability of each team reaching the finals is 1%.
In the Eastern Conference, the Bulls are 42%, the Pacers are 33%, the Knicks are 24%, and the other teams combined are 1%."
"Haha, it's almost exactly the same. You call this prediction?" Lao Wang couldn't help complaining again.
After thinking about the playoff situation in the Western Conference, the biggest competitor is of course the Jazz. In the four regular season games this season, they won two and lost two, resulting in a tie. The playoff encounter can only be the Western Conference Finals, which should be a game.
Tough battles will no longer be won as easily as before.
At noon on the 20th, the league officially announced some statistics and honors.
Wang Tiejun won the scoring title for three consecutive years, defended the rebounding title, and won the first block title.
He averaged only 0.4 more rebounds per game than Rodman, averaged 0.7 more blocks per game than Shawn Bradley, and averaged 5 points per game than Jordan. In comparison, he was best at offense.
In addition, the assists king is won by Mark Jackson, averaging 11.4 assists per game.
The steals leader goes to Mookie Blaylock, averaging 2.7 steals per game.
dpoy was given to Mutombo. This Lao Wang was actually a little unwilling. This season he invested a lot on the defensive end and his performance was no worse than Lao Mu. Lao Mu had already taken one before, so this one should be given to him.
The Rookie of the Year is Allen Iverson, who played in 76 games, started 74 games, and was injured in 6 games. He averaged 40.1 minutes per game, 23.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.1 steals, 0.3 blocks, 4.4 turnovers, 3.1 fouls, shooting rate of 41.6%, and free throws.
Hit rate 70.1%.
Sixth Man of the Year went to John Starks of the Knicks.
The best coach award actually went to Danny Ainge, which made him happy, and he got this honor for nothing.
He was going to win the championship this season. The management was watching over him, and Wang Tiejun and the Lightning wouldn't let him move around. So he didn't dare to move around at all. He just followed the original tactics and actually achieved a record-breaking regular season record.
It can be said that times are also lucky.
Colangelo Jr. originally used him as a transitional product, but he played well and played until the end of the season. Now he is considering giving him a contract extension.
On the afternoon of the 20th, the Suns management and coaching staff held a meeting to discuss the playoffs.
After one season with the Suns, Nelson Jr. has established a firm foothold with his pretty good abilities. At this time, he first said: "Everyone, there is no problem for us to play the Kings in the first round. And we should face each other in the second round.
The Sonics will advance to the Western Conference Finals and then face the Jazz. Neither of these two opponents is weak. We cannot be careless.
We have greater confidence in the SuperSonics. In the past five seasons, because of the strength of Old K in the low post, we have a very high winning rate against the SuperSonics. In the regular season and playoffs, we have 25 wins and 9 losses. We have an absolute advantage.
This season's SuperSonics have no major changes in their lineup and limited reinforcements, so we will still have a strong advantage, and our real opponent is still the Jazz."
Lewis nodded and said: "The Jazz have strengthened Campbell, and their inside offensive capabilities and rebounding have been enhanced. We have two wins and two losses in the regular season. We really need to pay attention to them."
D'Antoni has little presence on the coaching staff this season. Danny Ainge simply does not adopt his suggestions on offensive tactics. He is either using the old traditional center tactics or the same defensive counterattack tactics, which makes him very disappointed.
At this time, seeing two colleagues expressing their opinions, he also said: "To play against the Jazz, my suggestion is to add some fast breaks, because Old K's movement speed is stronger than the postman, and Rasheed Wallace's movement speed is
It is also better than Campbell, and the two big insiders are faster. We can definitely play fast breaks and definitely gain the advantage of playing more with less in the frontcourt.
If the fast break fails, we can immediately switch to positional warfare and use Lao K's strong low-post strength to attack the enemy."
The tactics he mentioned have been improved. According to his original tactical thinking, there was actually no positional warfare at all. It was only because of Lao K that this change was made.
When Danny Ainge heard it, it seemed that this was indeed the case. In terms of overall speed, the Suns were indeed a little faster than the Jazz.
However, what does it mean to turn to positional warfare when the fast attack is not effective and let Lao K attack the tough one? Do you regard Lao K as a butt wiper?
He can be sure that as long as Old K plays the Suns' main center position for a day, he will never agree to this tactic.
"You can play fast break, which will inevitably weaken the defense."
Lewis was in charge of the team's defense and was keenly aware of the weaknesses of D'Antoni's fast break tactics and immediately reminded him.
D'Antoni argued: "But fast breaks can increase our offensive rounds. If the defense is weaker, we can use offense to gain more advantages, which can completely make up for the losses on the defensive end.
If I follow my tactics, our offense will be extremely exciting and we will set off wave after wave of offensive frenzy."
Having said this, he became very excited and looked at little Colangelo, hoping to gain something.
As for Danny Ainge, he has given up hope. This guy from the Celtics is too conservative. This season's tactics are completely copied from last season. He doesn't have his own style and is not worthy of being a head coach.
Even if Danny Ainge wins the best head coach, he was picked up. With the Suns' current strength, even a dog sitting in the head coach's position can still win 73 games.
Any successful head coach must leave his own mark on the team he coaches, otherwise he cannot be called a successful coach, and he just wants to be such a head coach.
Colangelo Jr. was stared at by D'Antoni, knowing that he was waiting for him. He looked at Danny Ainge, who looked a little embarrassed, and he knew that there was already a conflict between D'Antoni and Ainge.
He actually knows Anji's ability, and his coaching ability is average. Before retiring, he taught a little bit as a half-player and half-assistant, and was temporarily caught by him. The main reason for such a good record this year is the team's own lineup, followed by Anji.
The relationship with the players was very good, and then I got the support of Lao K and the Lightning.
However, he will not agree with D'Antoni's tactics. First of all, he does not understand this kind of tactics, and the original traditional tactics have won 73 wins, so he will never try new tactics easily;
Secondly, because Lao K’s opinion is very important, it is impossible to play this kind of tactics that is completely opposite to the previous style without Lao K’s support;
Thirdly, although he is not a professional coach, this tactic seems to have lost its tactical role. Is D'Antoni trying to force Old K away?
He shook his head and said: "The playoffs are very important. No team will suddenly change their playing style in the playoffs. This is not advisable."
D'Antoni was very disappointed and finally said: "Mr. Colangelo, we must arrange tactics in a targeted manner. Fast break tactics are the best and most suitable tactics to deal with the Jazz. Please think about it again."
Colangelo Jr. shook his head again and rejected D'Antoni's suggestion.
But he thought for a while and said: "If Old K has no objection, maybe we can try it in the regular season next season, but we need his support."
D'Antoni was very disappointed. Colangelo's last statement did not give him hope. Although he had not discussed this issue with Old K, he was certain that Old K would never support his fast break tactics.
The reason is very simple, because in some defensive counterattacks in the game, Lao K is often lazy and does not participate in the counterattack.
Moreover, his fast break tactics will also weaken Lao K's tactical status, because in his tactics, the fastest runner has priority, and those with more accurate outside three-pointers have priority and have excellent mobility.
People who have the priority to take action. A giant center like Old K does not have a high tactical status in his tactics.
Of course, he is not ignorant of the power of Old K, but he just advocates fast break tactics. This is his philosophy. For his own philosophy, whether Old K is strong or not is not the key to his consideration at all. Whether it can suit his tactics
, this is the key.
In his opinion, the so-called traditional center tactics and ugly positional battles are really garbage tactics that should be abandoned. He hopes to implement the wind-like fast-break play style in the league, even if it is like a blitz, the opponent has no time to build a defense line.
Before that, destroy your opponent.
If he can take charge of the Suns, he will definitely trade Old K for a few star players that suit his tactics. By then, I believe he can set off a fast break frenzy in the Western Conference. Just thinking about this makes him feel good.
Unfortunately, the Suns didn't have a place for him to put his talent into practice. He felt that he was in the wrong place and should go to the Warriors.
