In the All-Star voting, only Wang Feng ranked at the top of the entire Warriors team, and the rest of the players were all outside the top ten.
This is not surprising.
The regular season has been going on for two months and 29 games, and the players' data has tended to stabilize.
For the Warriors, Wang Feng is rocking the lead with an average of 37.9 points per game, which is much higher than Jordan, who is in second place, averaging 33.2 points per game.
But the scoring of other Warriors players is not very good.
The second-highest scorer on the team is actually first-year rookie Kevin Garnett. Since the start of the regular season, Garnett has averaged 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for the team.
The reason why Garnett's scoring average is so high is not because his strength has really grown to the All-Star level. The main reason is because he frequently cooperates with Wang Feng in pick-and-rolls on the court and uses Wang Feng's super offensive deterrence.
With his strength and excellent mobility among inside players, he cut to the basket after the pick-and-roll and received Wang Feng's pass to score.
The two have been training together for several months during the offseason, and their cooperation is quite tacit. They are really a bit like Harden and Capela from the Rockets.
In addition to Garnett, the other main starting players of the Warriors, point guard Mookie Blaylock, averaged 15.2 points and 4.2 assists per game. The average data per game has dropped significantly from last season's 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists.
But you can't blame him. Blaylock is a point guard, and to show his strength, he needs the ball in his hands.
After coming to the Warriors, Wang Feng's presence forced him to change his playing style from with the ball to without the ball. In most cases, he lurked in the corner waiting for the pass to shoot three-pointers.
As a result, his scoring ability has naturally declined, but with the blessing of Wang Feng's ten cents and the two badges of the playmaker, Blaylock's efficiency has skyrocketed, and his field goal percentage can reach 47%, far exceeding his career 41%
average value.
As for the three-pointers that Blaylock is good at, his shooting percentage has also increased to 39.4% this season, which is only one step away from breaking the 40% mark.
Without the need to invest too much energy on the offensive end, Blaylock also has more energy to devote his abilities to defense. The already excellent defense has become even better. The Warriors' perimeter defense jointly built with Wang Feng can be described as
Solid as gold.
Former Warriors All-Star Chris Mullin is currently averaging 14.1 points per game.
Two seasons ago, Mullin was still a super scorer who averaged 25.9 points, 5 rebounds and 3.6 points per game. Unfortunately, the impact of injuries caused this player with excellent offensive ability to plummet.
From the 1992-93 season to the 94-95 season, Mullin played only 133 games in three seasons, averaging 44 games per season, and his attendance rate was barely more than half.
Before the start of this season, the Warriors management originally planned to let Mullin play as a substitute. After all, he had difficulty adapting to the fierce competition for the starting position, both in terms of health and strength.
But Wang Feng's arrival changed everything.
Mullin's personal ability has declined significantly, but he still has strength, especially his long-distance shooting ability, which is always online.
In Wang Feng's memory, in the last few seasons of Mullin's career, his three-point shooting percentage remained stable above 40%, and his average number of shots per game was not small.
This point is quite important to Wang Feng.
What he likes most is the kind of excellent fixed-point shooter who can stand outside the three-point line and wait for his pass to open up for a three-pointer at any time.
Facts have also proved that Mullin clearly meets this requirement. With his shooting ability, he can be perfectly utilized in a one-star and four-shooter system.
So far in the regular season, although Mullin has only averaged 14.1 points per game, his field goal percentage is as high as 55.3%, a career high. His three-point shooting percentage is 44%, and he averages 2.4 three-pointers per game.
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Among the five starting players for the Warriors, the one with the most mediocre performance is starting center Ronny Sekali. He is not a particularly well-known post player, although he averaged a double-double of 17-11.8 points per game in his peak period.
But in an era when top insiders are emerging in large numbers, he is just one of the mediocre inside players.
This season, the Warriors focus on small-ball tactics centered around Wang Feng. At certain moments, they will even adjust the lineup, allowing Garnett to temporarily take the center position, Wang Feng to play power forward, and Mullin to play small forward to speed up. Therefore, Caselli's
The average playing time per game this season is only about 28 minutes, and the average data per game is 11.2 points and 8.4 rebounds.
The Warriors have averaged close to 109 points per game so far in the regular season, ranking first in the league, much higher than the Bulls who averaged 105 points per game and the SuperSonics who averaged 104.5 points per game. The main contribution is that all five starters scored in double figures.
Just the five starting players including Wang Feng averaged 96 points per game. The substitute players scored a few points casually, and the average points per game easily exceeded 100 points.
The Warriors' bench is actually not strong, and there is no particularly good sixth man in the lineup.
Currently, the one who plays the most minutes among the substitutes is small forward Jerome Corsi, who was signed in the free market this summer with a basic salary of US$260,000 per year.
The 34-year-old veteran was once prosperous when he was young. At his peak, he averaged 19.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game with the Trail Blazers, but now his strength has degraded to the point where he can only serve as a substitute player.
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Corsi does not have the ability to shoot three-pointers. He mainly scores by hitting the basket and shooting from the basket. His physical fitness is pretty good and his defensive awareness is outstanding. Therefore, when the Warriors replaced center Sekali to speed up the lineup, he
He will play at the small forward and shooting guard positions, so he also got nearly 20 minutes of playing time, averaging 6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
The above is the situation and performance of all the main players of the Warriors regular season so far.
To be honest, the Warriors management could never have dreamed of leading the Western Conference with such a lineup.
Originally, this season was just a process of reconstruction and adjustment for them, but they didn't expect to be in such a high position all of a sudden.
The team's outstanding performance in terms of record has also made the Warriors management ready to take action.
General manager Bob took the initiative to contact the team's head coach Adelman and the team's core leader Wang Feng to ask whether the team needed to conduct further transactions to strengthen the team in order to make the team more competitive in preparation for the season.
The post-match competition is even more intense.
In this regard, before Adelman had time to give any suggestions, Wang Feng was the first to reject it.
"General manager, the team's current lineup and chemical reaction are very good. I don't think there is any need to make any trade reinforcements."
Wang Feng's attitude is very determined.
He really doesn't plan to make any more lineup adjustments this season.
The Warriors have no salary space, and there are currently no outstanding players on the free market. The only way to strengthen them is through trade. At present, the only players with high trade value in the team are Wang Feng, Garnett and a few others. If they want to get
Some stronger players can only use draft picks as bargaining chips.
The Warriors have quite a lot of draft picks. They originally traded the No. 1 pick to select Garnett with the No. 3 pick, which gave them a second-round pick for the 76ers next season.
The trade for Tim Hardaway resulted in two first-round picks from the Heat and Hornets.
Adding them all together, the Warriors will have three first-round picks and two second-round picks next season, a total of five draft picks.
In the opinion of team general manager Bob, there is no need for the Warriors to hold so many draft picks. The team already has Garnett among the starting lineup. If they choose a few more rookies, the team simply does not have the energy and resources.
Instead of cultivating them, it is better to use them as bargaining chips in exchange for some outstanding players to optimize the overall strength of the team.
But Wang Feng doesn't see it that way.
This is the 1996 draft pick!
1996 is recognized as the year of the draft, the golden generation!
Iverson, Kobe, Nash, Ray Allen, Wallace, O'Neal Jr.
In Wang Feng's view, this year's draft picks must be as abundant as possible, and the more stockpiled, the better. As for whether they will be used or not, we will decide at that time.
At Wang Feng's insistence, the general manager's idea of recruiting players was temporarily shelved. The team had been winning anyway and there was no rush.
The schedule entered January. The Warriors lost 4 games this month, achieving a record of 11 wins and 3 losses. The four losses were against the SuperSonics, Jazz and an upset loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, who were at the bottom of the league.
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Although they lost 3 games, the Warriors' winning rate remains stable at 79%. With 34 wins and 9 losses, they still maintain a weak lead in the Western Conference. The second-place Seattle SuperSonics have 32 wins and 11 losses, 2 behind the Warriors.
A victory.
The Player of the Month for January is finally no longer Wang Feng.
Jordan was successfully elected January Player of the Month after averaging 32.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
In fact, when it comes to statistics, Wang Feng, who has a stable average of 38, 10, and 11 per game, is obviously better than Jordan, but the Bulls' record is too exaggerated.
In 14 games throughout January, the Bulls achieved a record of 14 wins and 0 losses, without losing a single game.
The Bulls' record so far is 39 wins and 3 losses, which has far left other teams in the league, including the Warriors, SuperSonics and other teams.
The entire league is in awe of this Bulls team.
"In the second season of Michael's return, he finally showed his ferocious fangs to the entire league. The Bulls were unrivaled this season. It seemed that there was no team in the league that could compete with them! It seems that Jordan is against them.
This year’s championship is eyeing us and we are bound to win it!”
The Bulls' Big Three consisting of Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman are indeed terrifyingly powerful.
But that's why it's interesting to challenge yourself.
The Warriors will meet the Bulls soon, and Wang Feng is extremely looking forward to it.
On February 2, the Warriors defeated the Raptors 114:111.
On February 4, the Warriors defeated the Nets 96:92 at home.
On February 5, the Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 124:116 in an away game.
Three games, three clean wins.
After winning all the victories, the Warriors finally faced their strongest opponent this season, the Chicago Bulls.
On February 7, the Warriors faced the challenge of the Chicago Bulls at their home court.
There is no doubt that this is a battle that the entire league is paying attention to.
The Bulls and Warriors have the best record in the East and West respectively. At the same time, Jordan and Wang Feng also had a grudge last season. It was Wang Feng's Knicks that eliminated Jordan's Bulls last season, and Wang Feng's performance in the playoffs
Complete coverage of Jordan.
Even so far in the regular season this season, Wang Feng's average performance is still ahead of Jordan's.
In Wang Feng's memory, Jordan during the 72-win Bulls era should have averaged over 30 points per game in the regular season.
But now Jordan's scoring average has reached 34.2 points per game.
It is obvious that Jordan wants to compete with Wang Feng for the scoring title. During this period, his scoring average has been steadily increasing, from 30 points per game at the beginning to 33 points and then to 34.2 points now.
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The average of 34 points per game is already the third highest score in Jordan's career. This is due to the shortening of the league's three-point line. Jordan's number of shots outside the three-point line has increased significantly, and his three-point shooting rate has remained stable at 40%.
Under the above circumstances.
No matter how reluctant Jordan is, he has to admit that Wang Feng's scoring ability and explosive power are indeed superior to him, especially the three-point shooting. Wang Feng, who can average nearly 6 three-pointers per game, is outstanding in this aspect alone.
To score as many as 18 points, he really can't catch up.
When personal data cannot be compared, Jordan is even more eager to directly defeat Wang Feng through victory in the game and on the field.
On the other hand, the Bulls, which had been making great progress before, have suffered a setback recently. After entering February, the Bulls lost to the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns in previous games, suffering two consecutive losses.
If we lose another game, it will be a three-game losing streak. In just one week, we will equal the number of games we lost in the previous three months.
The entire Bulls team is unwilling to see this happen. After all, the regular season is already halfway through. They also hope to create the best regular season record in history at the end of the season and win 70 wins or more.
Many victories.
The Warriors, who are sitting at home, also don't want to lose this game, especially Wang Feng.
His purpose here is to destroy the Bulls' dynasty, and defeating the Bulls is his only purpose. Whether it is the regular season or a possible encounter in the finals in the future, he does not want to lose to the other party, nor does he want to lose to Jordan.
Before the game even started, the atmosphere between the two teams had already begun to become tense.
"That's Wang Feng, Michael, don't worry, I'll help you guard him in today's game and you won't get a single point!"
On the Bulls side, Danny Rodman looked at Wang Feng who was warming up on the other side and smiled at Jordan.
This is the first time Rodman has officially played against Wang Feng on the court.
Although he met the Knicks in the regular season with the Spurs last season, the two teams were located in the east and west and only met twice in the entire regular season. Wang Feng had not yet joined the Knicks when they met for the first time.
The next time Rodman was injured, he was unable to compete with Wang Feng on the same stage.