Chapter 1049
Annual Awards Announced! Lakers Emerge as Big Winners Again!
Manu Ginobili!
This veteran sixth man in the league maintained his good form this year, achieved impressive statistics, and ultimately won the Sixth Man of the Year award once again.
The problem is that on the very day he received his award, the Celtics were eliminated in that game.
They were eliminated from the playoffs.
In comparison, Ginobili's Sixth Man of the Year award is truly meaningless.
Compared to the tormented Ginobili, the winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award can be happy for a while.
Tyson Chandler.
After so many years of working as a blue-collar worker, this year my brother finally received recognition and won the most important award of his career.
Then the Best General Manager award went to Jerry West. His acquisition of Randolph was truly eye-opening. Picking a genius from a pile of geniuses is not a great skill, but West picked Randolph from a garbage dump, which is much more difficult!
Therefore, he deserves this honor!
Then came the announcement of the league's All-Rookie Team, All-Defensive Team, and All-NBA Team.
As for the All-Rookie Team, Kyrie Irving naturally leads the way, along with Kenneth Faried, Ricky Rubio who finally made his NBA debut, Klay Thompson of the Heat, and Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs.
The second team consists of Marshon Brooks, Derrick Williams, Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight, and the Lakers' Isaiah Thomas.
Isaiah Thomas became the first player to be selected as the 60th overall pick in the NBA draft since its restructuring, making history in his own right.
The All-Defensive Team is naturally led by the newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year, Tyson Chandler, followed by Dwight Howard, Serge Ibaka, LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Lin Tian.
The second unit consisted of Kobe Bryant, Tony Allen, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, and Marc Gasol.
The All-Defensive Team selections reveal that both the Grizzlies and the Lakers have two players chosen! This essentially foreshadows a highly intense defensive battle in this round of the playoffs! Both teams will undoubtedly engage in a fierce and relentless struggle.
Finally, there's the highlight of each year: the All-NBA Team! This is basically the most important individual honor in the regular season, second only to the MVP award.
Being named to the All-NBA First Team every year is basically proof that this person is at least the best player in the entire league at that position!
Ultimately, the All-NBA First Team for this season is: Howard, James, Griffin, Kobe, and Lin Tian!
The Lakers' two backcourt players making the All-NBA team is well-deserved, and the other three selections are also largely uncontroversial. It's worth mentioning that, excluding his season-ending injury, this is only Griffin's second year in the professional league! He's already been selected to the All-NBA team, which shows his immense potential!
The second lineup is led by Milicic, with Durant and Love as Kevin Durants, and Paul and Wade as Paul.
The third team consists of Chandler, Anthony, Nowitzki, Westbrook, and Rose.
This year's roster once again illustrates the current league dynamics where the West is stronger than the East.
第一阵容之中1个东部4个西部，第二阵容之中3个西部2个东部，第三阵容3个西部2个东部。
The final ratio of the number of people in the East to the West reached an astonishing 10:5!
Absolutely crushed them.
Therefore, when fans are discussing the so-called 'best omissions' for the All-NBA Team, the people doing the statistics are mostly from the Western Conference.
The names of Aldridge, Lawson, Harden, Bynum, the "Grind and Grind" duo, and Lawson were all mentioned.
And the east?
There was basically no discussion about them. Apart from a handful of people like Gasol and Duncan, no one else thought they were overlooked talents.
Everyone felt that it was normal for them not to advance.
However, the question of whether the West is stronger than the East is a topic that everyone has long been tired of discussing, so it did not generate much discussion or take long to resolve.
Everyone's attention quickly turned to the last two awards that had not yet been presented.
Unfortunately, the playoffs for these two award winners ended too quickly. By the time the league announced the final winners, they had already swept their opponents to advance. Therefore, their awards will have to wait until the second round of the competition to be presented.
However, this does not affect the revelation of the suspense.
Best Coach and MVP of the Year!
The winners of these two awards are from the same team.
Los Angeles Lakers!
Phil Jackson and Lin Tian won the award together!
Jackson led the team to the top of the league and the team remained consistently strong, while the other two top teams in the West, the Mavericks and the Warriors, both experienced significant slumps.
As for the East? Rivers' reputation as the king of comebacks is too tarnished, Brown doesn't seem like the type to win Coach of the Year, and Stevens' experience is too limited.
If you think about it that way, Phil Jackson truly deserves this award. If he doesn't get it, who else would?
As for the MVP, there was even less suspense; the winner of this award was already determined at the end of March.
Lin Tian!
This guy, who returned to the game after a three-year hiatus, has once again demonstrated his terrifying dominance!
In his first year back, he didn't look like he was nearly 40 at all. Instead, he continued to make the Lakers invincible, perfectly balancing the problem of too many stars and insufficient ball possession in the team. Even the thing that many people thought was a huge hidden danger at the beginning of the season did not become a problem at all under Lin Tian's control!
Furthermore, upon his return, he broke the NBA all-time assist record, leading his team to become the league's best and directly defeating his main MVP rivals, achieving 20+ assists in a single game and consecutive double-digit assist numbers...
Lin Tian's first year after his comeback was truly dazzling!
He has achieved more in his entire career than 99% of players!
More importantly, he not only didn't regress in his offense, but he also didn't slacken in his defense at all!
This condition is simply unbelievable; it's almost to the point where it could be sent to a research center for sliced analysis.
All I can say is that Lin Tian's performance this year has been outstanding!
A double All-Star team, assist leader, MVP, league-best record...
For Lin Tian, this was another perfect regular season game!
Now, let's see if Lin Tian can give the Lakers another perfect ending!
.......
After resting for almost a week, the Lakers finally met their second opponent: the Memphis Grizzlies!
Because the Grizzlies and Nuggets played such a fierce game, the Lakers only had one day to make final plans and adjustments, and to carefully study how to deal with them.
Of course, this is just the final deployment and adjustment. The Lakers won't just foolishly wait for the outcome to be decided and then do nothing, only to start studying the game after the opponent has decided the winner.
That's just too stupid.
The entire team watched all seven games of the Grizzlies and Nuggets, and began analyzing and studying each game after eliminating the Suns.
They studied two opponents simultaneously, exploring their lineups and playing styles.
It was only after the Grizzlies actually advanced that they began to study their final strategy.
"A team that is completely different from the Suns. The Suns are a team that transitions between offense and defense, and they play fast offense to wear down their opponents, but they have basically no defense."
"The Grizzlies are the opposite. They like half-court sets and physical play. They are a top-three defensive team in the league. They are good at tearing down opponents with their defense and winning the game. But their offense is also unremarkable and often gets stuck in a state of ineffectiveness."
"Their leading scorer is Zach Randolph, someone we all know well. However, this guy is noticeably different now. He's better on defense, more consistent on offense, and plays more aggressively."
"Ronnie, I'm going to start you against him in the next series. How about that? Do you know what that means for you?"
"This means the best opportunity of my life has come!" Turiaf, who was singled out, said without hesitation and with full confidence, "If I can defend him, I can make a name for myself and establish myself firmly in the league!"
"Good! That's ambition!" Jackson nodded in satisfaction. "That's what I expect of you, and everyone else too! Josh, you too. If you get a chance to play, I'll be looking forward to your performance, and I'll be looking forward to you holding Randolph down!"
"Just like Ronnie, if you can stop him, you'll be famous! Because everyone thinks the Grizzlies have a clear advantage at the power forward position, that the Grizzlies can crush us!" "If you can prevent the Grizzlies' power forward from gaining an advantage, if you can suppress their power forward, hehe, that won't just be about becoming famous!"
"Lots of money, starting positions on other teams, and all sorts of other things are waiting for you! But you must also do your job well, understand?"
"Understood!" Turiaf and Josh McRoberts, the Lakers' two starting power forwards, nodded and shouted at the same time!
Because the Lakers primarily use a lineup of one big man and four small men, neither of them has had many opportunities this season. Now they finally have an opponent who is the king of the paint, and they must seize this opportunity and prove themselves!
"Their second-leading scorer, and also their hottest outside weapon, is OJ Mayo, the third overall pick in the draft back then. Kobe, I remember he was your fan and loved to challenge you. He would challenge you to a one-on-one game every game and after the game?"
"But he's never won," Kobe said expressionlessly. "He wants to dominate me, but he can't. I'll continue to dominate him, just like I always have! And if this kid asks me to play one-on-one again, I'll show him the huge difference between the regular season and the playoffs!"
“That’s the attitude I want!” Jackson nodded in satisfaction, then added, “But we also need to be careful that the Grizzlies might change their lineup. Considering their style and playing style, they might bench Mayo directly!”
"Then, put Tony Allen, a defensive expert, into the starting lineup! Many people say that Randolph's addition has transformed the Grizzlies, but we must be clear: what transformed the Grizzlies were Randolph and Allen!"
"Although Allen's offense isn't great, he can make yours not great either! If he starts, no matter who he's matched up against, try not to attack him from that direction, because I think he's the best defensive guard in the league right now!"
"Stay away from him, it's always the right thing to do." After saying this, Jackson smugly saw the defiance and eagerness on Kobe's face. Yes! This is the effect I wanted.
As for the team's other guard, Lin Tian, Jackson didn't bother to look at him or care about him.
This guy isn't the type to be provoked by a few random words. If Lin Tian doesn't yawn right now, Jackson will take it as Lin Tian giving him face.
He wouldn't humiliate himself by asking Lin Tian how he felt and whether he had confidence.
This kind of thing is completely useless!
"Lin, their guard Mike Conley..."
Jackson looked at Lin Tian, indicating that he should speak first.
Lin Tian curled his lips, but didn't lose face for the old man. Instead, he stood up solemnly and said, "Conley is good at three-pointers, mid-range shots and breakthroughs. His passing is also good. He has good mental qualities. His dribbling is stable, his rhythm is steady, and his style is boring."
"This guy is indeed the best fit for the Grizzlies' guard. His simplicity and low-key nature perfectly match the Grizzlies' temperament. But fit is fit, strength is strength. He gets along with the Grizzlies, but that doesn't change the fact that I can easily beat him."
"This guy can do a few things, but he's not top-notch at anything. I'll teach him a lesson. I'll show him what true omnipotence is—no, omnipotence is!"
"His half-baked so-called ability to do a few things is a joke to me. I truly know everything and am an expert at everything. There's no doubt I can beat him to a pulp!"
"Lin is truly the most reliable guy! Andrew, what about you? Do you have any thoughts? After all, you'll be guarding Marc Gasol, who's also an important member of the Grizzlies!"
Bynum clearly didn't have Lin Tian's eloquence, nor was he as well-prepared as Lin Tian, but this guy was all about confidence. As soon as Jackson called him, he stood up and said, "I'll kill him! I promise I'll kill this soft little gummy bear!"
"The inside game isn't a place for a cute little guy like him!"
Bynum said a lot and made a good statement of determination, but unfortunately, he didn't say anything useful. All he expressed was the most superficial determination.
Hmm, that does fit his persona and intelligence.
If he could actually come up with some ideas, some methods and tactics for dealing with Gasol, then he wouldn't be Bynum.
If it were a different, more short-tempered coach, they would at least lose their temper and yell at Bynum, saying things like they'd seen all the footage of the guy on the dog's body these past few days.
But Jackson was clearly not the short-tempered type; in fact, he was quite calm.
He smiled and said, "Everyone should learn from Andrew! This is the style of a champion, this is the belief you must have when you enter the playoffs! Let's crush those gummy bears on the other side together!"
"And then, Andrew, I have a trick for dealing with Gasol. Take a look. That guy looks tough, but his offensive style is rather soft. He prefers to finish games with shots rather than attacking the basket, and his shooting percentage is relatively low for a center..."
Jackson, the league's best coach at managing people's hearts, bar none, he knows all too well what it means to teach according to aptitude and what methods to use for what kind of person.
Against Kobe, you have to use veiled insults and indirect criticism. For example, in the first round against Dragic, as long as you mention Dragic's stats or ask Kobe if he needs a switch on defense, Kobe will immediately take the bait.
And when praising Kobe, you can't do it openly, because he won't feel happy if you do. You have to do it subtly, you have to make this arrogant guy feel that he has gained unlimited trust, that the team can't do without him, and that he will immediately unleash extra fighting power.
As for Durant, you have to praise him a lot. Whether he passes the ball or shoots, it's a good play. Even if he misses, it's still a good play. In short, this guy is a bit sensitive and sometimes lacks confidence. Just give him complete trust.
Jackson also had various methods for dealing with the other players on the team, adjusting his approach according to their personalities and habits, with the main goal of getting all the players on the team to be full of energy and willing to give their lives for him.
Well, the only exception is Lin Tian.
Jackson felt that he was sometimes being manipulated by Lin Tian.
This little fox is too cunning. Jackson usually lets things go as they please, as long as he doesn't cause trouble for himself.
In short, the Lakers are not taking the Grizzlies lightly at all. They are actively preparing, studying the Grizzlies' games, researching the characteristics of each Grizzlies player, looking for their weaknesses, and guessing their main tactics, hoping to find a way to easily defeat the Grizzlies.
Then, the day passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time for the second round of the playoffs.
Needless to say, Staples Center was packed to capacity once again that day, with fans filling the entire stadium an hour before the game started.
Tonight, in addition to the game, there will also be the presentation of two regular season awards.
MVP and Coach of the Year.
In such a grand occasion, the fans naturally give their utmost support, and they can't wait to celebrate with the team.
"coming!"
As the time drew near, the lights in Staples Center suddenly dimmed, and then the large screen in the center suddenly lit up, displaying Lin Tian's highlights and spectacular moments on the court this season, followed by some footage of Jackson this season.
After a tribute video lasting just over a minute, the lights came on again, and the entire arena was instantly ignited. Fans roared their slogans wildly, celebrating yet another MVP in Lakers history.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
The roar of the fans echoed throughout the arena, but Jackson smiled slightly, showing no sign of being unhappy about being ignored by the fans.
If a coach is more popular than the current MVP, that would be a miracle.
On the makeshift podium set up on the field, Stern stood there smiling, waiting to receive the award.
He clearly knew who the fans wanted to see more, so he first called out Coach of the Year, let Jackson say a few words, and then invited Lin Tian to come on stage.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
The frenzied roars and shouts once again echoed throughout the arena, the fans' madness and excitement reaching a new peak. They couldn't wait to see Lin Tian receive the award, and of course, they wanted to hear his MVP acceptance speech even more. (End of Chapter)