On the 20th, they defeated the Grizzlies on the road and won nine consecutive games.
On the 21st, the team returned to Phoenix.
That afternoon, the Lakers also arrived in Phoenix.
However, O'Neal was absent due to injury. With only Kobe and the old and injured Postman, plus the older and injured David Robinson, there was no way the Suns could compete.
On the 22nd, the Suns defeated the Lakers and won ten consecutive games.
In the following schedule, the Suns continued to defeat one team after another with overwhelming momentum, maintaining the winning streak until the end of February.
The Suns also successfully surpassed the Trail Blazers and reached first place in the Western Conference and first place in the league.
The Trail Blazers suffered serious internal injuries and had few players available. In order to prepare for the playoffs, they began to take more breaks after the All-Star break, and their record dropped accordingly.
On March 1st, the league's MVP rankings were announced. Although the Timberwolves' record was surpassed by the Suns, Garnett was still first and Wang was still second.
As March enters, the Suns' winning streak continues.
Since Wang's comeback, the Suns have become one of the most popular teams in the league.
Not only Lao Wang's personal strength and the team's winning streak, but also the run-and-gun tactics he plays from time to time, his style is really attractive.
On March 15, the Suns defeated Mosaic on the road, and the next day they returned back-to-back at home to defeat the Clippers, winning their 20th consecutive victory.
On the 19th, the Suns defeated the Timberwolves again at home and won 21 consecutive games.
On the 20th, the Suns faced the Bucks back-to-back at home.
In this battle, the Suns' winning streak came to an end.
At this time, 70 games had been played in the regular season, and the Suns had 54 wins and 16 losses. This was the first time the Suns had lost since Wang's return.
Stoudemire has not returned since his injury. His left knee is sprained and has water accumulation. He is still recovering. Whether he can return before the playoffs is a question.
The advice given by Dr. Carter is to sit out at least 30 games for two months. He was injured on February 17. Calculating the time, he should be able to make it in time for the first round of the series. It depends on the specific recovery situation.
Now that the Suns have surpassed the Trail Blazers, who are second in the Western Conference, by 4 wins, and their first position in the Western Conference is very solid, the management and coaching staff decided to slow down the pace. In the last 12 games, the main players will increase their rotation.
On the 26th, the Suns challenged the Cavaliers away from home.
The Cavaliers were okay in the 1990s, often reaching the playoffs, but starting from the 1998/99 season, they have not reached the playoffs for five consecutive seasons. This year's record is not good, and they are hovering outside the top eight in the Eastern Conference.
It is currently ninth.
In order to make room for LeBron James, the management traded former core Ricky Davis, and now the rookie No. 1 pick has become the core of this team.
At eight o'clock, both sides announced the starting lineup.
Suns: Wang Tiejun, Amar'e Stoudemire, Marion, Joe Johnson, Nash
Cavaliers: Big Z, Carlos Boozer, LeBron James, Jeff McGinnis, Bremer
In the players tunnel, the starters are waiting to play.
Lao Wang looked down at LeBron James across from him with scrutinizing eyes, his face expressionless.
He knew that the No. 1 pick had made a splash in the All-Star Rookie Challenge not long ago, and he had some criticisms of him during the interview on the day of the draft.
But he had long forgotten that he paid for James' school's football team in a street store in Cleveland.
Being stared at by the No. 1 man in history and the No. 1 man currently active, Old K's aura was too strong. LeBron James felt tremendous pressure and his back bent involuntarily. He immediately realized it and tried to straighten it up again.
Chest, I want to stand up straighter and have more momentum.
At this time, Lao Wang was playing away from home, and he didn't bother to pay attention to James and followed his teammates out.
Seeing Old K leaving, James couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He didn't realize that his forehead was already covered with fine beads of sweat.
"Pa bang bang..."
When Lao Wang came on the stage, the Cavaliers' home stadium, Quicken Loans Center, immediately burst into warm applause.
It used to be called the Gund Arena. The owners were the Gund family. Gilbert took over the Cavaliers. He was in the credit business, so he changed the name.
LeBron James was extremely envious when he saw that Old K could get such warm applause in his home stadium.
"One day, I can have such influence." He thought to himself.
"Crack!"
Ten minutes later, in the second minute of the first quarter, LeBron James made a crushing breakthrough with the ball. After knocking Marion away from the edge of the paint area, he entered the paint area and was about to dunk when he was directly hit by Wang Tiejun with the ball.
It hit the floor and hit hard.
"Rookie, welcome to the NBA."
Lao Wang generously gave the rookie his first trash talk.
James turned over and climbed up, saying unconvincedly: "Old K, I will come again."
“Crack!
In the fifth minute of the first quarter, Lao Wang scored his second big shot of the day, hitting Big Z.
"Big Z, how dare you shoot me on the head?" After successfully blocking the shot, he shouted at Big Z with a surprised look on his face.
Big Z lowered his head and said nothing. He couldn't afford to offend him and could not afford to hide, so he walked away.
"Crack!"
In the seventh minute, Lao Wang made his third big shot, rushing close to the three-point line and blocking Boozer.
Seeing Old K's eyes that were red with excitement, the second-year Boozer didn't dare to look into those eyes that revealed dominance, and immediately lowered his head and walked away.
In the 10th minute, James once again broke through with the ball. When he took a step outside the left waist, he suddenly turned over and shot a jumper.
"Crack!"
Lao Wang emerged from behind Marion and sent out the fourth big shot in the first quarter. He hit the ball directly and slapped the basketball into the audience.
This time, he didn't bother to talk trash. A rookie is not worth wasting his words.
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
…
This loud whipping sound lasted throughout the entire game. From the beginning to the end, Lao Wang blocked 14 shots.
LeBron James, who is now only good at breaking through and scoring layups, became the biggest victim. He took 7 big shots by himself, two in the first quarter and three in the second quarter. He was so full that he didn't dare to break out in the second half, but Lao Wang rushed outside.
Come on, give him two hats anyway.
In addition, on the offensive end, Lao Wang scored 39 points and led his team to defeat the Cavaliers.
After beating the Cavaliers, the Suns rushed to Indiana overnight. Tomorrow, on the 27th, they will play back-to-back against the Pacers, who are No. 1 in the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers are still very strong this season. They have O'Neal Jr. in the paint, Artest at small forward, Reggie Miller at shooting guard, and Al Harrington on the bench. The lineup is pretty thick.
The Suns have no intention of winning this game. They have no competition with the Pacers. Moreover, it is a back-to-back away game and the players are not physically fit.
At the 3rd minute of the third quarter, the Suns led by 3 points.
Although it is not necessary to win, the strength does not allow it, and the Pacers did not perform well today.
Lao Wang played 18 minutes in the first half and had been sitting at the bottom in the third quarter. At this time, he was substituted, along with Zhu Fangyu and Josh Howard, who played the third and second positions.
Suns offense.
Lao Wang took the ball in the low post on the left wing, attracted a double-team from Artest above, and immediately passed the ball to Zhu Fangyu above.
In the open position, Zhu Fangyu made a jump shot without any hesitation.
"brush!"
The water splashed and he hit a three-pointer.
"ah!"
After he succeeded, he raised his fist in great excitement. He saw Artest running over and quickly stood in front of him, hoping to delay his opponent's entry into the frontcourt.
The rookie he was facing had just hit a three-pointer. Artest was a little angry. Seeing that the damn rookie was blocking him again, he raised his left elbow and waved to the side.
"Ouch!"
Zhu Fangyu covered his forehead and backed away.
Artest walked forward as if nothing had happened.
"What the hell!"
As soon as Lao Wang saw it, he rushed forward with big strides.
"Old K!"
When Nash was about to catch the ball, he hurriedly hugged Lao Wang from behind.
However, where could he hug Lao Wang? He was dragged forward by Lao Wang without any hindrance. Josh Howard rushed over and blocked Lao Wang.
At this time, Zhu Fangyu had already realized that he had been elbowed.
That's okay, I'm Lao K's official thug. He immediately jumped on Artest with a wave of his fist, rushed behind Artest, and greeted him with a punch.
Bang, the left fist hit the unsuspecting left side of Artest's face first, causing the opponent to groan and tilt his head, and then followed up with his right fist to hit the neck.
Bang bang bang, after a few punches, Artest was stunned and tried to run away, but failed and was knocked to the floor.
"Beep, beep, beep..." The referee's whistle kept ringing rapidly.
"oh!"
The scene also erupted with huge exclamations.
Zhu Fangyu wanted to ride up and continue fighting, but O'Neal Jr. rushed up and pushed him to the ground.
Artest got a chance to breathe, turned over and got up. Anger and hatred arose in his heart. He was about to beat Zhu Fangyu violently when a big hand waved over.
"Crack!"
Amidst the loud whipping sound, he groaned, turned around, and fell to the floor, with several bloody teeth rolling down beside him.
Lao Wang slapped Artest down, then went up and kicked over O'Neal who was about to hit Zhu Fangyu. He pointed at O'Neal on the floor with his big hand and roared: "You little bastard, if you dare to attack again, I will
I can’t spare you!”
Little O'Neal was startled. He was so frightened that he retreated several times on the floor.
Other Pacers players who were about to pounce, including those on the bench, froze in place for a moment.
"Beep!"
The referee blew his whistle and stood in front of Lao Wang. On the other hand, security rushed into the field and began to maintain order.
"Zhu Fangyu, how are you?" Lao Wang shouted.
"It's okay, brother, I'm okay." Zhu Fangyu got up, with a swelling on his forehead and a swelling on the left side of his face.
“Well done!”
Lao Wang patted Zhu Fangyu on the head, and the latter laughed.
At this time, Artest got up, his head had turned into a pig's head, and he was very embarrassed.
He stared at Zhu Fangyu fiercely, but immediately felt the intimidating gaze from Old K, and had no choice but to grit his teeth and lower his head.
Reggie Miller, who was sitting on the bench, shouted to Lao Wang with an ugly look on his face: "Old K, you are too disrespectful to me."
Lao Wang glanced sideways at Miller and said, "It was your people who took action first. You didn't take care of them yourself. I'll teach you a lesson. Do you have any objections?"
Reggie Miller's face twitched. If it was Jordan, he would have rushed forward by now, but this is Old K. Old K will not talk to him, he will only take action.
The referee did not dare to waste time and sent Artest, O'Neal Jr., and Zhu Fangyu off the field. The four who took action left Lao Wang alone.
If it were last season, Lao Wang would definitely have been sent off, but after being suspended last time, the league suffered huge losses, so now his star whistle has been restored.
The next day, the league issued a follow-up penalty.
Artest was suspended for two games and fined $3,000.
O'Neal Jr., suspended for one game and fined $3,000.
Zhu Fangyu was suspended for ten games and fined US$10,000.
Lao Wang helped Zhu Fangyu pay the fine, suspended him for ten games without salary, and gave him a lot of shopping cards worth at least 200,000 US dollars.
At the end of March, the Suns had 58 wins and 17 losses, ranking first in the Western Conference and first in the league.
This time, relying on the Suns' strong performance and strong personal performance, Lao Wang finally climbed to the top of the league's MVP rankings.
After 27 games back, he averaged 39 points, 16 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 3.6 blocks, 1.2 turnovers and 2.9 fouls per game, ranking first in the league in personal performance.
Many American media still have a lot of objections to his reaching the top of the MVP rankings, but the league has not made any response.
There are more and more publicity about him in the league, and everything has fully demonstrated that he has become the leader of the NBA league again.
On April 14, after defeating the Jazz, the Suns completed their entire regular season schedule for the 2003/04 season.
In April, the Suns had 6 wins and 1 loss, achieving an excellent record of 64 wins and 18 losses, ranking first in the league.
Western Conference, top eight regular season rankings, Suns, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Lakers, Kings, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Mosaic.
The top three are in different divisions, so this is also the playoff ranking.
The first round games of the Western Conference playoffs are: Suns vs. Mosaic, Lakers vs. Kings, Timberwolves vs. Grizzlies, Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks.
The winners of the first (last) two groups will play in the second round.
Eastern Conference, top eight regular season rankings, Pacers, Nets, Pistons, Heat, Bucks, Hornets, Knicks, Celtics.
Because the Pistons were in the same district as the Pacers, they automatically dropped out of the top three and were replaced by the fourth-place Heat.
The first round games of the Eastern Conference playoffs are the Pacers versus the Celtics, the Pistons versus the Bucks, the Nets versus the Knicks, and the Heat versus the Hornets.
The first round will start on the 17th and 18th, and the Suns' first round will start on the 17th.
Personally, Wang returned to 34 games, averaging 41 minutes per game, 37.5 points, 16.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.8 steals, 3.7 blocks, 1.2 turnovers and 3 fouls per game.
He won his 7th career scoring title, 7th rebounding title, and 4th shot blocking title.
Moreover, he continues to rank first in the league's official mvp rankings.
In addition, his total career points have reached 28,977, and he should be able to reach 30,000 points by the middle of next season.
This is his 11th season, and next season will be his 12th. He can score 30,000 points in 12 seasons.
He joined halfway through his rookie season and only played 56 games. He only played 34 games this season. He missed a total of 21 games in the remaining 9 seasons. In other words, so far, he has played a total of 807 games in 11 seasons.
Contest.
If he can reach 30,000 points in about 30 games next season, a total of 840 games, averaging close to 36 points per game, he will surpass Chamberlain and Jordan and become the fastest person in the history of the league to complete 30,000 points.
Jordan, who is second in history, took 960 regular season games to join the 30,000-point club.
Chamberlain, the number one player in history, reached 30,000 points in only 941 games.
Of course, Chamberlain transformed into an organizational center in the mid-to-late period. His 20,000 points only took 499 games to complete. If he maintains this scoring rate of 40 points per game, he can even complete 30,000 points before 800 games.
.
The performance of his teammates is also very good. Although the statistics of several main players have declined after his return, the decline is not too severe. The main reason is that Zhu Fangyu and Josh Howard were more affected.
Nash scored 13 points and 10.6 assists, and is expected to win his second assist title.
Before the injury, Stoudemire averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds per game. He has been training with the ball since April 7. He is currently actively preparing for the playoffs and can come back in the playoffs.
Marion had 17 points and 10.5 rebounds, and Joe Johnson had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The scoring and rebounds of several players have dropped a bit.
Starting from the 15th, major professional media have conducted various analyzes on the first round.
In the West, the mainstream view is that the Suns will face the Lakers in the second round, and the Trail Blazers and Timberwolves will meet in the second round.
In the Eastern Conference, the mainstream view is that the Pacers will face the Pistons in the second round, while the Nets' opponent in the second round is not so clear. The Heat and Pelicans will have a chance to advance to the second round depending on who performs better.
As in previous years, ESPN has made predictions about the chances of winning the championship for 16 teams.
After Lao Wang came back, the Suns performed so well, and their personal strength was so strong that ESPN couldn't ignore it. The performance of several other strong teams also had their own problems, so this time the Suns have the highest chance of winning the championship.
Team, 35%.
The Trail Blazers are second, with 25%, and together with the Suns, they account for 60%. It can be seen that ESPN is basically sure that the championship will be produced by these two teams. Whoever can make it out of the Western Conference will win the championship.
Third is the Pacers, who are first in the Eastern Conference, with 15%.
Fourth is the Timberwolves, 10%.
Fifth place is the defending championship Nets, with only 7%.
Sixth is the Lakers of the Big Three, 4%.
Seventh is the Piston, 3%.
The other nine teams combined for 1%.
"Brother, we are only 7%, so pitiful!" Dayao called to complain.
"I heard from Kobe that O'Neal wanted to be traded and leave the team. Kobe wanted to join forces with you. Do you want to go to the Lakers?" Lao Wang asked.
Dayao was silent for a moment and said: "Forget it, I'm pretty good here. It would be unfair to run away as soon as I signed the contract. If Mourning can regain a certain strength next season, our strength will be much stronger."
Lao Wang smiled and said, "I guess your management won't agree either."
While the two were chatting, in Los Angeles, postman Karl Malone was staring blankly at ESPN's prediction of winning chances.
For the dream of a championship, he ran from the Jazz to the Lakers, losing the promise of one man, one city, but this season was a very disappointing season for him.
Kobe Bryant's scandal completely prevented him from concentrating on the game and he missed 17 games.
O'Neal and Kobe had more and more conflicts, and he missed 15 games due to injuries.
As for himself, injuries broke out again and again, and he was sidelined for 40 games.
David Robinson can't even be counted on.
The so-called f4 lineup of the four giants is completely blown up by the media.
Even if he beats the Kings in the first round and meets the Suns in the second round, he still doesn't see any hope of reaching the Western Conference Finals.
ESPN only gave the Lakers a 4% chance of winning the championship, and he was completely disappointed by accepting one-tenth of the Suns' chance.
"Being without a crown for the rest of your life is as miserable as a dog."
He thought of what Lao K said to him, and couldn't help but sigh deeply, feeling very depressed.
