The SuperSonics' 12-man playoff roster was released, and two people were eliminated.
Center: Brad Miller, Shawn Kemp.
Power forward: Rashard Lewis, Carlos Boozer, Charles Oakley.
Small forward: Bruce Bowen, Jim Jackson, Brian Russell.
Shooting guard: Yang Jian, Manu Ginobili.
Point guard: Gary Payton, Chauncey Billups.
Veteran point guard Mookie Blaylock and Haitian center Samuel Dalembert were left out.
Blaylock is unable to play anymore and is a defensive black hole. His height of 183cm already suffers. After his physical fitness declines, he is easily beaten by opponents with the ball. The Sonics have no shortage of point guards, and Blaylock has no chance to play if he is selected to the roster.
Star Dalembert has been seriously injured and has been sidelined since the game. Theoretically, he can return in the second round of the playoffs. For the sake of the player's health, the coaching staff is prepared to let the youngster train directly until next season.
When he comes back, he will just have another blue-collar backup center in the playoffs, and he will have to risk another serious injury. It is not worth it.
Many fans hope that Dalembert will come back to play in the playoffs, because veteran Oakley is of little use now and can only play a few minutes based on experience.
Oakley was once a well-known inside star in the league, but unfortunately he is about to turn 40 and his body is not as good as before. His height of 203cm has obvious disadvantages. He struggles to score on offense, cannot jump on defense, and can no longer even do his best fighting.
At this time, Kemp's performance was particularly gratifying to the fans. He played better than Dalembert after the All-Star Game. Kemp can not only cut and eat the cake, but also make mid-range shots. This is Dalembert.
Things that cannot be done.
The SuperSonics are the most watched team, and countless fans want to see them win four consecutive championships. Because no team has achieved four consecutive championships after the Celtics, this achievement is particularly great.
The SuperSonics' four consecutive championships are far more valuable than the Celtics' eight consecutive championships, and even safety is incomparable.
There were very few NBA teams in the "ancient times" and they would go directly to the finals after one round of the playoffs. These are all clichés.
Then, the commercialization of the league had just begun, and there was no salary cap. This was an important reason why the Celtics won eight consecutive championships. To put it bluntly, they relied on their lineup to bully others.
A strong team like Green Kai can guarantee the stability of the lineup for a long time, and no matter how good the players are, they will not be poached. Even the Green Army can set up winning bonuses in the playoffs to increase the motivation of the players.
No one would say that doing so is inconsistent with league regulations.
As long as Yang Jian leads the team to win 4 consecutive championships, he will be recognized as the number one player in NBA history, and there will be no controversy.
League officials all hope that one team will upset the Sonics and win the championship. The embarrassing thing is that the Mavericks, the team that has the best chance of beating the Sonics, also have foreign players inside and outside. Nowitzki is German and Nash is Canadian.
people.
The media can only continue to encourage local American stars to become more aggressive, but the local stars they promote seem to only want to compare their personal statistics with Yang Jian. The kind of stars who take more shots and have lower shooting percentages are not good at leading the team to win, and are more like a group of players.
cancer.
The league has not been able to blatantly arrange black whistles to help teams deal with the Sonics. The SuperSonics game has attracted too much attention, and many fans are ready to watch the game with microscopes.
Fans can accept the failure of any team, but the last thing they want to see is the SuperSonics being blown out. Before the start of the playoffs, many people mentioned the Spurs' disgraceful championship and hoped that they would be eliminated as soon as possible.
disuse.
The Spurs' ugly play style is completely unpopular. No one says "defense wins championships" anymore. It's the same thing as winning, so why not win more beautifully?
The media can only promote other teams as much as possible, even if they are not very promising. Except for the SuperSonics, only the Mavericks have a record of 60 wins, and only the Nets in the Eastern Conference have reached 50 wins, which is simply weak.
Yang Jian's popularity is unmatched. People are optimistic about his three consecutive MVPs this season. He can be said to have no competitors. McGrady, who has the second best statistics, did not make the playoffs with the Magic. Duncan's record is poor and he is seventh in the Western Conference.
You can't award the MVP to Nowitzki, who has the second best record, right? His averages of 25.4 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1 block per game are the peak statistics of his personal career, but they can't be compared with Yang Jian.
Yang Jian's achievements off the court are equally attractive. The single "yeah!" has been dominating the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles list since its release, and it has not been topped yet.
People are predicting which one is stronger, this song or Eminem's "loseyourself"? It is likely to exceed the 12-week number one record of "loseyourself" last year.
Some fans urged Yang Jian to write new songs and try to release more high-quality singles this year. Yang Jian said in an interview that it was impossible and he would only sing musicals this year.
On April 19, the SuperSonics played their first home game against the Jazz.
Different from previous years, at the beginning of this season, the first round of the playoffs has also become a best-of-seven game.
The Jazz are a free opponent. They have been restrained by the SuperSonics since the 1995-96 season. The only change they have now is that their core players are older.
There was no suspense in this game. The SuperSonics easily won 116 to 90.
It is worth mentioning that Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan reused "Big White Bear" Ostertag, let him play for a long time, and gave him the ball.
Ostertag made 8 of 12 shots, 2 of 3 free throws, and scored 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, proving that he can also score.
However, he only plays well offensively, and is full of loopholes on the defensive end. SuperSonics' inside players are all pulled out to cover. As soon as Ostertag goes out on defense, Yang Jian will pass him. If he doesn't go out, Yang Jian will rush.
The stop jumper is accurate.
In the first game, Yang Jian scored 53 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 steals, a huge double-double. This season, the top five highest scorers in a single game in the league are all played by Yang Jian.
In the second game, the Sonics made more achievements, with 7 players on the team scoring in double figures.
Yang Jian's touch generally reduced his shots, but he still performed well. He made 7 of 14 shots, 3 of 8 three-pointers, 5 of 5 free throws, and scored 22 points, 6 rebounds, 17 assists, and 3 steals.
The SuperSonics team made 21 three-pointers, and the Jazz team made 1 of 8 three-pointers. The final score was 116 to 85. The Jazz lost 31 points and fell behind 0-2 in total.
Coach Sloan is a paranoid person. Now that every team has begun to take more outside shots, he still insists on asking players to shoot more mid-range shots and less three-pointers.
Sloan has always believed that the closer to the basket, the higher the shooting percentage, even if it is only half a meter closer. Jazz players should take as many steps as possible to shoot the big mid-range shot, even if they step on the three-point line, they must turn the three-pointer into a mid-range shot. This is too
It's weird, but if the players don't do this, Sloan won't be happy.
Back at home, the Jazz continued to adhere to their own philosophy, not shooting three-pointers and resolutely hitting the basket.
Moreover, Sloan gave Ostertag a lot of playing time, allowing him to beat Brad Miller and Kemp in the low post.
Sloan wanted to take advantage of the home whistle, and it was expected that the referee's whistle was biased in favor of the Jazz. As expected, Ostertag played very tough, making 6 of 15 shots, 10 of 14 free throws, and scored 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Unfortunately, this guy is not O'Neal. His shooting percentage is too low, and he cannot rely on his size to squeeze into the basket for domineering dunks. For a center with a shooting percentage of only 40%, taking too many shots is not a good thing for the team.
What's even more embarrassing is that Karl Malone's shooting percentage in this game was even lower, only 35%. He made 7 of 20 shots, 6 of 11 free throws, and scored 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.
This is the result of the Jazz's strong attack on the penalty area. The SuperSonics adopt a 122 zone defense, with four people huddled near the penalty area to defend, interfering with shots, waiting for opportunities to steal, and fighting for rebounds.
Kemp, the substitute inside man, played a role. His shooting range is not as good as Lewis, but his weight can resist Malone. Moreover, his ability to control rebounds is also good. After grabbing the backcourt rebound, he will pass it to Yang Jian to immediately launch a counterattack.
Kemp also gives the Jazz a headache on the offensive end. He has a good shooting percentage on open jump shots and cannot be left open casually. If the Jazz don't double-team Yang Jian in positional battles, Yang Jian can always get past Malone and White Bear.
At the end of the game, 120 to 107, the SuperSonics made another victory and took a 3-0 lead.
Yang Jian scored 45 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, still scoring easily.
Billups also performed well in this game, making 8 of 12 shots, 5 of 9 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 25 points and 10 assists.
Billups will definitely be able to replace Payton in the starting lineup next season.