Chapter 259 The first round of the playoffs, against the Thunder
Who will win the regular season MVP? Until the voting results come out, nothing can be decided.
But the NBA playoffs have already begun in full swing.
April 15, 2018, first round of the playoffs, Lakers VS Thunder.
Due to their advantage in record, the first game between the Lakers and the Thunder was played at the Staples Center, the home court of the Lakers. This was the first time the Lakers appeared on the playoff stage in four years, dating back to the last time the Lakers won.
The playoff journey was still the 12-13 season, the season when the Lakers formed an F4 combination, but had to rely on Kobe Bryant to rupture his Achilles tendon to enter the playoffs.
In the playoffs that season, the Lakers, without Kobe Bryant, were swept 4-0 in the first round and eliminated.
Four years later, the Lakers returned to the playoff stage, and the leader of the Lakers was sitting on the sidelines in a suit and ties. The camera of the big screen in the center of the scene was focused on Kobe. The latter smiled and waved, causing the whole audience to roar.
General cheers.
Although Kobe Bryant has retired, his influence in Los Angeles has not diminished at all.
At the same time, in the Lakers locker room, Walton was nervously giving a pep talk before the game.
Yes, Wharton was nervous.
As the head coach of the Lakers, Walton is also a standard rookie coach. This is his second season coaching the Lakers. Even he did not expect that his coaching resume would be so smooth, and he would be so successful in the second season of his career.
The team entered the playoffs.
Among the players in front of him, almost all were young players on rookie contracts. There were very few players with playoff experience, and only Wang Feng and Lopez were the main players.
Let's just ignore Lopez. He has only played in 13 playoff games in his entire career, in the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons with the Nets, and was eliminated in the first round in all of them.
On the other hand, Wang Feng has rich experience in the playoffs. He has made it through the playoffs in all three seasons of his career and finally won the championship trophy.
So after Wharton finished speaking, he looked at Wang Feng and signaled Wang Feng to say a few words to encourage his teammates.
Wang Feng looked at Wharton with a helpless expression.
To be fair, Walton's speech just now was not good. He was nervous himself, and by the way, a group of rookie players on the Lakers team were also nervous.
The general meaning of his words is that they have finally entered the playoffs, and the Lakers are still the third team in the Western Conference. They must perform better and eliminate the Thunder into the second round, and his words also vaguely revealed that if they are in the season
Poor performance in the post-game stage will also affect your subsequent tactical position in the team.
With the playoffs being so important, it's no wonder these young players aren't nervous.
But actually it’s not Walton’s fault, because the situation is the same for him.
The Lakers have finally entered the playoffs. If the team is eliminated by the Thunder in the first round under his leadership, the Lakers management will definitely consider whether Walton is qualified as the coach of the Lakers and may move him at any time.
Fired.
But having said that, pressure sometimes becomes motivation, and sometimes it becomes the straw that breaks the camel's back.
At least in Wang Feng's view, these young players should not have too much burden on their first playoff trip in their career.
After thinking for a while, Wang Feng cleared his throat and said.
"Everyone, let me say a few words."
"First of all, we successfully entered the playoffs this year and ranked third in the Western Conference. In my opinion, we have overfulfilled the task, at least as far as I am concerned. I believe that both Lakers fans and team owners
The same goes for management and management."
As soon as Wang Feng opened his mouth, all the Lakers players were slightly startled, and then they couldn't help but smile on their faces.
Indeed, Wang Feng's words touched their hearts. They thought the same thing, but the playoffs hadn't started yet. If they spoke their minds so straightforwardly, they would definitely be criticized if they lost in the first round.
"I think on a rare stage like the playoffs, it is more important to show your true level and strength than to win the game. Winning or losing is not the key anymore. If you can perform beyond your level, maybe you will be better after your rookie contract expires.
The big contract is secure!”
Wang Feng feels that compared to illusory things such as team honors, the financial temptation of a big contract is more real.
He is not a high-EQ leader like James who has leadership qualities and can incite the emotions of his teammates with words, so luring him with benefits is the best way.
At the same time, Wang Feng's casual and nonchalant tone and attitude about the playoffs gradually calmed down the nervous Lakers players.
This is enough.
Wang Feng doesn't expect these words to have much effect. All remaining problems will be solved on the field. With him taking the lead and leading the attack, the nervousness of the young players will soon calm down.
To be honest, Wang Feng is also a little lucky. With the same record, the Jazz are ranked fifth in the Western Conference, which is really a good thing for the Lakers.
Although the Jazz and Thunder both achieved 48 wins in the regular season, and the Thunder have the Big Three configuration of Westbrook, Paul George and Anthony, the Jazz are obviously more difficult to deal with than the Thunder.
Not to mention anything else, just the double-team tactic the Jazz used against Wang Feng twice against the Lakers in the second half of the regular season, Wang Feng still has no good way to crack it.
Looking back at the Thunder, the team's tactics in the regular season are in shambles. Winning games basically rely on the individual performance of the stars. Carmelo Anthony, one of the Big Three, has seriously declined this season. He only had 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in the regular season.
data.
In Wang Feng's memory, the regular season records of the Thunder and Jazz in another time and space are still the same, but the Jazz are ranked higher than the Thunder. The two teams entered the playoffs respectively ranked fourth and fifth in the Western Conference. They met directly in the first round, and then the result
It was the Jazz that eliminated the Thunder 4:2. The game was easy and smooth. After 4 games, the Jazz had already scored 3:1 and got the match point. In the fifth game, the Thunder fought hard to get back a victory, but then they were defeated by the Jazz in the sixth game.
Eliminated.
Therefore, the Lakers are really lucky to meet the Thunder.
Wang Feng is confident that he can limit George's performance in a one-on-one situation. As long as they can find a way to suppress Westbrook, the Lakers will have a chance to defeat the Thunder.
In Wang Feng's view, this is not difficult. After all, he is Westbrook, a famous regular season dragon and playoff bug. His reputation for always pulling his hips in every playoff is not in vain.
If they eliminate the Thunder in the first round, the Lakers can advance to the second round and meet the Golden State Warriors.
Wang Feng is still very interested in being able to compete with the Warriors in the playoffs.