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With a series of key players caught off guard, it is now a highly prized achievement for the Warriors to make the playoffs, mainly due to the addition of Iguodala. The Warriors' current starting lineup includes Iguodala, Klay Thompson, David Lee, and Andre. As for Bogut and other players, they still have some effectiveness in battle, but the Los Angeles Clippers, who teamed up with Harden and Paul in the first round, still have no chance, with the score also being 4:1.
The other two matchups in the West have much brighter results.
Let's start with the Portland Trail Blazers, who are fourth in the West, against the Dallas Mavericks, who are fifth in the West.
This series can be considered the most fiercely contested in the league. On the side of the Trail Blazers is the rising star Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge, who has averaged 20+ points per game for many years in a row, his longtime teammate.
On the Mavericks' side, there's also a dying Dirk Nowitzki. Because Nowitzki never won a championship here, his title quest has never been fulfilled. Even though Nowitzki has posted double-doubles in 13 seasons, with an average of 21.7 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists per game this season, he remains the cornerstone of the Mavericks, helping the team win 50+ games in the regular season. But before the two teams faced off, the external media was generally optimistic that the young and energetic Trail Blazers would finally prevail.
However, the result was a big surprise. The two teams fought hard, with the Mavericks even taking the lead by winning the first game, the first step toward obtaining a playoff point. But the Trail Blazers stubbornly equalized, and the two teams ended up in a tie-breaker.
In the tie-breaker game, Nowitzki made 11 of 22 field goals, scoring 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists, finishing off Aldridge's opposition to help the Mavericks win this tough battle and successfully advance to the second round.
This result didn't surprise Wang Chong. It was a young team led by King Nowitzki. Even though Nowitzki didn't win the toughest championship in history by defeating the Heat's Big Three, it didn't weaken his strength.
In fact, in the 2013-14 season, the Spurs easily defeated their opponents to win the championship in the playoffs. They swept the Heat 4-1 in the Finals, beat the Thunder 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals, and also defeated the Trail Blazers 4-1 in the second round of the playoffs.
In the first round of the series, the Spurs and Mavericks fought for seven games, eventually surviving the thrilling battle, which was also the only game the Spurs had in the entire playoffs. To some extent, the Mavericks were even stronger than the Heat, who played against the Spurs in the Finals.
Of course, this isn't quite reasonable because the playoffs themselves are a steel-making furnace, and as each round progresses, the surviving teams become more refined, especially some of the young players on the teams, who grow rapidly by accumulating experience in the tournament.
And yes, we're talking about Kawhi Leonard.
In the first round against the Mavericks, Leonard averaged just 11.9 points and 7 rebounds per game in 7 games, but in the 5 Finals games, Leonard averaged 17.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2 assists per game.
Therefore, it's unreasonable to use the records of the Mavericks and Spurs to measure the Heat's strength.
But in any case, there's no doubt that the Mavericks' strength is definitely not proportional to their regular-season record.
The final Western Conference matchup was between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers. The process of the game was unexpected, and the excitement was no less than the Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks series.
In the playoffs, Kobe, who had struggled a bit during the regular season, actually exploded with an extremely impressive combat effectiveness. The first game between the two teams became a battle between Kobe and Westbrook. Westbrook scored 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Kobe Bryant scored 37 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.
With Kobe Bryant's 37 points, the Lakers won the first game, and although the Thunder quickly won two games in a row to rewrite the score to 2-1, it was clear that Kobe Bryant had no intention of standing still.
On April 27, in the fourth game of the first-round series, Kobe Bryant scored 42 points to help the Lakers win this crucial battle, tying the series 2-2. Then, on April 29, on the Thunder's home court, Kobe Bryant scored 39 points again to lead the team to victory in a pivotal game.
As a result, the score between the two teams reached 3-2, and the Lakers, as the underdog, took the lead in winning the point to move forward.
In these games, Kobe Bryant averaged 35 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, playing nearly 45 minutes per game. He truly played like a hero for the Lakers, which excited Lakers fans.
What if all the superstars leave? As long as we have Kobe, we'll always be one of the giants of the West!
However, the higher you fly, the harder you fall.
On May 1, 2014, in Game 6 of the series, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Lakers' home court, Lakers fans eagerly awaited this game, hoping that the Lakers could defeat the Thunder once and for all to reach the second round. Some fans had even started studying how they would respond to the Clippers in the second round, who were also a Los Angeles team.
However, in this game, Kobe Bryant broke the basket with the ball, but after landing, he didn't get back up; instead, he fell to the ground with a pained expression.
At that moment, the minds of Lakers fans went blank, and only two words remained: "It's over!"
A little later, Bryant limped back to the locker room with the help of an assistant coach and didn't return to the court for the remainder of the game.
Without Kobe, the outcome of this game was naturally evident. The Thunder chased the score and tied it 3-3, while at the same time, they secretly prayed that Kobe's injury wasn't too severe, at least not severe enough to keep him out of the next game.
For a while, the entire league paid attention to Kobe's injury, but no one expected it to be this severe.
According to a later post-game inspection report, Kobe Bryant had torn his Achilles tendon. Not only would he not play in the upcoming tie-breaker, but it was also uncertain whether he would be able to return to the game next season without issues.
A torn Achilles tendon is a severe injury in itself and typically leads to a season-ending injury, often resulting in reduced explosiveness after returning from injury.
And Kobe Bryant was already 35 years old, turning 36 the following year, which places him squarely in the veteran category. Being so severely injured at this age basically announces the end of Kobe's career.
This result was unacceptable for the Lakers, unacceptable for Kobe Bryant's fans, and unacceptable even for Kobe himself.
In an interview with the media, Bryant's eyes were red and his voice choked.
"It all happened so suddenly. I can't believe it even now, but that's the reality. We all have to accept it, and then surgery will help me recover slowly. I hope to return to the court as soon as possible."
When journalists asked if the Lakers still had any hope of advancing past the first round without him, Kobe Bryant chose to remain silent, nodding his head after a moment and saying, "I don't know. I hope my teammates can push through and win the next games."
Despite what he said, everyone knew.
The reason the Lakers could compete with the Thunder up to this point was due to Kobe's powerful surge. Why did Bosh continue to fight against the Thunder?
At this moment, everyone couldn't help but think that Kobe's play in front of him wasn't just about hands; it was about sheer determination and relying entirely on his desperate style of play!
Indeed, Kobe Bryant had many flaws—selfishness, arrogance, and all kinds of reckless shots in the game—but when it came to the game and victories, at least before the Achilles tear, Kobe Bryant was never considered "black" in the sense of negative.
Of course, after returning from the injury, he felt relieved to lead a group of potential rookies on a national tour, except when he led the team to a 17-65 record for the worst in team history.
Kobe's mindset at that time had changed, and he wasn't the same Kobe as before.
Kobe Bryant's torn Achilles tendon really surprised Wang Chong, but it was understandable upon further thought.
Although the timing didn't match, Kobe's character was undeniable, and he certainly couldn't just sit back and watch his team lose easily. He would do his best, but his age and his consecutive 30+ and 40-point games were too much for his physical effort, and it was only a matter of time before an injury occurred.
But in this way, the Lakers were truly finished—not just for this season, but for the coming years. They could only compete for the top pick in the draft, considering the previous trades involving Howard and Paul had already overdrafted the Lakers' future picks. Even if they got the first pick, the Lakers had nothing left to do.
Indeed, the Thunder easily defeated the Lakers in the seventh game and survived the first round to move on to the second.
Thus, the list of second-round matchups in both the East and West was confirmed.
Eastern Conference: Bulls vs. Pacers, Heat vs. Celtics.
Western Conference: Spurs vs. Mavericks, Clippers vs. Thunder.
Before the start of the second round, the league first announced the All-NBA teams, as usual.
The best team of the year had changed significantly from last year's selections.
Howard made it back to the All-NBA team, but unfortunately only to the second team. Although his stats reached the level of 22+14 this season, he still couldn't make it to the first team. It wasn't because there was a stronger center than him, but because the competition for the forward spots was too fierce, which made it difficult for the league to choose.
Wang Chong, James, and Durant took up three forward positions. Even though none of the three were true centers, they effectively occupied a spot for a center. This left fans of Howard very dissatisfied, but there was nothing to be done.
The simple truth was, if Howard was selected for a team, which of the three would be pushed to the second team?
Of course, Durant was the top MVP contender this season, and Wang Chong was even more impossible to leave out. James could be the last of the three, but as the league's favorite son, how could he be relegated to the second team?
James had never missed an All-NBA team since the 2007-08 season, and naturally, he wasn't going to now.
Thus, Howard could only feel aggrieved and relegated to second-team status.
The three spots were filled by Wang Chong, James, and Durant, and one of the remaining two spots was given to Wang Chong's teammate, Stephen Curry.
Curry, who had been selected for a team last season, remained stable and efficient this season. With the Bulls' No. 1 record in the league, Curry easily defeated competitors like Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and others to become the point guard.
The final spot, the shooting guard position, was given to the Clippers' James Harden, not Kobe Bryant, who scored more points than Harden.
Kobe Bryant's fall from the best team was undoubtedly big news, as just like James, Kobe Bryant had been a mainstay since the 2005-06 season, making it to the All-NBA teams every year, a streak that lasted for eight consecutive years.
Now, that streak came to an abrupt end in its ninth year, which felt a little embarrassing.
Statistically, Kobe Bryant was no worse than Harden, even scoring two more points.
But Harden shot nearly 46% from the field and averaged six assists, which was much more efficient than Kobe Bryant, who shot 41%.
Additionally, this season, the Clippers had the second-best record in the West, and the Lakers were only sixth, with their record also being one of the key indicators for All-NBA selection.
It's just that in the context of Kobe Bryant's torn Achilles tendon, he lost his place on the best team once again. People couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness; the era that belonged to Kobe and the Lakers really seemed to be over.
The five-man All-NBA first team was: Curry, Harden, James, Durant, and Wang Chong.
The second team was Paul, Kobe, Griffin, George, and Howard.
The players selected to the third team were Tony Parker, Westbrook, Aldridge, Al Jefferson, and Marc Gasol Jr.
There was some confusion over the third-team positions, with Parker and Westbrook as two point guards, while Jefferson and Gasol Jr. were selected as centers.
But this couldn't be avoided, as the shooting guard position could be seen between Kobe and Harden. Even though Wade had a 19+4+4 season, the Heat had two players, James and Howard, selected for the All-NBA team, and even if Wade's stats were sufficient, he was still excluded.
Also, the Spurs were the top team in the West and one of the only two teams in the league with 60 wins. No matter what team they played, it was impossible for any single player not to be selected for the All-NBA team.
Although the All-Defensive team announced at the same time as the All-NBA team wasn't as heavily discussed, it still garnered attention.
First Team Defense: Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala, Paul George, Wang Chong, Dwight Howard.
Second Team Defense: Patrick Beverley, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Marc Gasol.
Whether the All-NBA or All-Defensive teams, the Bulls were the biggest winners, with three players on each.
On the All-NBA team, Wang Chong and Curry were selected, and Gasol Jr. was selected for three teams.
On the All-Defensive team, Wang Chong remained in the first team, and Gasol Jr. and Butler were selected for the second team, making their dominance truly rare in the history of the league.
End of this chapter
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