The Rest, Only Noise Chapter 72

In the final stretch of the regular season, the Celtics, especially Larry Bird, were getting better and better.

In the final battle, the Celtics once again faced off against the mortal enemy Philadelphia 76ers in the East. The Celtics fought to the last minute and defeated their opponents 98 to 94, winning 66 wins.

The Celtics once again have the league's first record.

Moreover, according to the last few MVP simulations, it is basically certain that Bird will win the regular season MVP this season.

In fact, according to the MVP voting rules, there is no problem in giving him the MVP last season.

He took a 29-win team to 62 with a roster indistinguishable from before. The personal data is also a strong 20+10+5, but the MVP just didn't give him.

This season, his team has gone a step further and the data performance is equally eye-catching, averaging 23 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

If this season's MVP is not him, it can only be said that the NBA is a bit discriminatory against white people.

Another good thing for Boston is that the Detroit Pistons are second to last in the league with a 21-61 record, trailing only the rookie Dallas Mavericks' 15 wins.

Since the contest for the top pick is the worst two teams send representatives to toss a coin, the odds of winning the top pick are the same for the penultimate and the penultimate. The Pistons' second-to-last pick means that the Celtics must win the top two picks this year.

A team that has won 66 wins, has a young lineup, has Bird and Sampson, or is currently a supergiant, or a team destined to be a supergiant in the future, is now adding an elite rookie.

Competitive teams can only curse, why didn't the Steppi rule come earlier?

The Celtics continue to bye in the first round of the playoffs, and they have plenty of time to study their opponents in the next round.

Their semifinal opponent will be born between the Bulls and the Knicks.

It is worth mentioning that the two teams that have just entered the Eastern Conference this year, the Bulls and the Bucks, have entered the playoffs. The Bucks even had 60 wins.

Louie mainly focuses on the progress of two teams, the Lakers and the 76ers.

Their first-round opponents were the Rockets and the Pacers.

Louie has vague memories of the NBA in the 1980s, and he can be sure that the first Finals matchup between the Celtics and Lakers was in 1984.

It stands to reason that the strength of these two teams should enter the finals every year, how could they not meet until 1984?

There must be something wrong with it.

Louie found that the Lakers didn't look as singing and dancing as they seemed.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar almost every day, mind you, every day. He complains every day that the team's offensive rhythm is too fast, the public opinion in Los Angeles is putting too much pressure on him, it doesn't feel like home here, and so on.

In the words of the Los Angeles media: "For Kareem, New York **** tastes better than California burgers."

Abdul-Jabbar is a natural character, and the Lakers are used to it, but the bigger crisis lies within.

Magic will be sidelined for 100 days due to a knee injury. After his return, the spotlight will shine on him, and the Los Angeles media are eager to see a brighter smile on his face.

But the teammates don't want Magic to steal all the attention as soon as he returns. After all, it is they who are desperately trying to keep the Lakers in the current ranking, not Magic who has been in bed for 100 days.

In the first month, the magician said, "Someone is alienating me."

He didn't name names, he just spoke about the phenomenon.

Then, after a long absence, he longed for more possession to get used to the feel of the game, which inevitably led to a conflict with Norm Nixon.

Before his injury, Nixon was his big brother, lovingly sharing the ball and driving a fast-paced game. Nixon would affectionately refer to the magician as "the deer".

An injury seems to have changed everything.

Magic had no idea why his teammates shunned him after his injury, why Abdul-Jabbar suddenly didn't like playing fast, and why no one but Cooper was showing enthusiasm for him.

Of course, it's hard for him to know, because he lives in the light, he's a perfect superstar, a sunny smile can purify people's hearts, which Kareem doesn't have.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had reason to be dissatisfied. He fought desperately for five finals, but was robbed of the limelight by Magician's 42-point immortal descending to earth;

Nixon has reason to be dissatisfied. He painstakingly maintained the fast-paced offense of the showtime Lakers, but no one in the media liked him. Everyone was looking forward to the return of Magic, and the "deer" he watched grew up even hoped that he would throw the ball away. give the right to him;

Other teammates have more reasons to be dissatisfied. Magic is no different from them. They are all sweaty players on the court. Why is he a darling, and they can only be "premium blacks/whites"? How can a magician have a drink with Jerry Buss, but Buss can't even remember their names?

Moreover, players and management, and even the owner get too close, which in itself is a taboo. No one wants the whispers in the locker room, the gossip about the people above, to reach their ears.

The magician did nothing wrong, he just kept on being himself and was isolated.

Louie noticed this unique phenomenon that would never have been seen in the Celts. Moreover, most teams do not have this phenomenon. Only the young superstars of the strong teams in the metropolis of Los Angeles will arouse the most elusive negative energy in the human heart: jealousy.

If it is a conflict of interests, if it is a dispute of words, there can be a solution.

But if others are simply jealous of you and unhappy with everything you get, it will be difficult to solve.

There is no reason for some people's malice. They can't compare to your greatness, lack of talent, and mediocrity. Therefore, your attention-grabbing style and dazzling talent will be the reason why others hate you.

Louie believes that something that can be seen but not touched will destroy the Lakers.

What he did not expect was that the destruction would come so violently.

The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, ranked third in the Western Conference, met the Houston Rockets with only 40 wins in the first round.

Although Moses Malone's style is the physical flow that Abdul-Jabbar hates, there is a considerable gap in the paper strength of the two teams, and the Lakers' crush should be the result of the series.

However, the Lakers had no chemical reaction, and the great first-round match of the best-of-three game gave the Rockets a chance to create a miracle.

Especially the last minute of Game 3 of the first round.

Magic's performance will keep him living with accusations all summer.

86 to 86

The two sides were tied, and the Lakers had 5 seconds left to attack. The ball was as hot as a soldering iron until Magic got it. He threw a three-pointer that was not very good.

15 seconds later, Rockets guard Mike Dunleavy hit a 3-pointer to give Houston a permanent lead in the series.

They took down the defending champ!

"We won the championship last year, and this year every team is chasing us," Magic said after the game. "There's a lot to be thankful for, but right now I'm frustrated."

The week before the series was lost, Magic publicly complained about teammates' jealousy of his popularity.

Louis reveled in this period of observation.

He won't turn in the observation report, and the team doesn't need him to document how the Lakers rout.

He recorded the fall of the defending champions out of sheer curiosity, or rather, he wanted to figure out what caused these great teams to fall.

In 1977, Portland defended the dignity of the game of basketball, to the bitter end of the playful 76ers, who were as popular as the vindicators of the basketball world. The ratings for the finals were also the highest in history at the time.

The following year, in order to defend his championship, Walton followed the team doctor's advice and continued to inject painkillers when he injured his foot, which eventually led to a big mistake. Although he was elected that season's MVP, he suffered an irreparable injury. His relationship with the team fell apart, and he left the Blazers that summer, shattering a perfect team in an instant.

When Seattle won the championship in 1979, FMVP Dennis Johnson immediately signed a large contract extension. His contract was envied by the entire team. In less than a year, the contradictions within the team deteriorated to such an extent that the SuperSonics could only send him to Phoenix.

Last year, he saw Magic lead the team to a sixth title without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. History remembers his 42 points, but forgets that his teammate Jamal Wilkes also had a wonderful 37+10 play.

It is this kind of intentional or unintentional "forgetting" that led to the jealousy of the entire Lakers team~www.mtlnovel.com~ Then, although Magic continued to be himself, just like last year, last year everyone thought he was cute. This year, Everyone thought he was disgusting.

Louis has no intention of cleaning up for the Magician. In the last battle, he made 2 of 11 shots, and his free throw rate was less than 50%. His performance was an important reason for the Lakers to lose the game. Later fans only knew that Moses Malone averaged 31 points and 18 rebounds per game in this round of the series to wash down the Lakers and blow up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but they did not know that Kareem also averaged 26.7 points and 16 rebounds per game.

Malone did crush Abdul-Jabbar in numbers.

But Abdul-Jabbar was not the reason the Lakers lost.

Judging from the content of the game, Lakers coach Paul Westhead should be responsible for the loss. He deliberately played slow-paced games with the Rockets, advocated hand-to-hand combat, took away Magic's ball and let him miss the forward at the 4th position, as if to tease him: Didn't you play the 5th position and lead the team to win the championship last year? It wouldn't be too hard for you to play the four, would it?

This is the reason for the dismal performance in the Magician series. Last year, he just jumped the ball like a center in the finals. This time, he entered the inside line for hand-to-hand combat, and he could not control the ball. But he also tried his best to grab at least 12 rebounds per game and averaged 7 assists per game with limited possession.

He tried his best.

Magicians get the most exposure, and naturally get the most criticism, so Westhead's major strategic mistakes are bound to be selectively forgotten, which means that they may not even be able to figure out what went wrong.

Will the Lakers have bigger problems in the new season?

Louie is looking forward to it, as for now, he has to focus on the upcoming semi-finals.

(1) Another nickname for a magician.

Chapter end