The Lakers' first round went smoothly, and the Rockets became vulnerable to them.
Before the start of this series, many people thought that the Rockets could have a certain level of combat effectiveness and could fight the Lakers to the death.
The combination of James Harden and Dwight Howard can cause problems for the Lakers.
But the reality is that Harden is lost in the playoffs and Howard is no longer as brave as he was in the past. Although Howard's statistics are good, his influence and dominance are completely different from those during the Magic period.
In these four games, in addition to the G2 Rockets' fierce Jordan Rules, the other three games were crushing games. The Lakers' offense suppressed the Rockets without any chance to breathe.
If you watch the entire series, everyone will know that it's not that the Rockets are too bad, but that the Lakers are too strong.
James Harden's loss is partly his own fault, but a larger part is due to Zhao Chen's defense.
Zhao Chen's defense is like an iron wall, and the penalties in the playoffs are different from those in the regular season.
Zhao Chen can use larger movements to defend Harden's technical moves without being called for a foul.
Harden's mentality is not calm right now. When he doesn't get the whistle, he becomes more and more frustrated.
Harden's loss also caused the Rockets' defense line to be completely beaten by the Lakers.
Harden's personal shooting percentage in this series is only 28%, which is not a super level.
Of course, the Rockets' overall shooting rate is not high. Their overall shooting rate is suppressed to only 36%. They will not score easily in every mobile game.
As for the Lakers, Zhao Chen and Jokic can always bring the whole team to life. The Lakers' scorers can always find opportunities in positions that suit them, which makes it easy to play.
Zhao Chen's points per game are not as high as in the regular season, but his assists per game are much higher than in the regular season.
This also shows to a certain extent how well Zhao Chen connects the entire team.
Now Zhao Chen is getting better and better at controlling the game.
After winning against the Rockets, the Lakers began their vacation.
Now the Lakers need to wait for their next round opponent to come out.
The Clippers and Thunder tied 2-2, and it will take at least a week for the two teams to decide the winner.
.............
"In the first round of the series, the Lakers played the most domineering game, and Zhao Chen also showed everyone his MVP value."
"The Lakers had an incredible regular season performance and were unstoppable in the playoffs. The most important thing is that the Lakers' lineup is still so young. This year is only Zhao Chen's third season and Jokic's second season. ..”
"James Harden can't beat the Lakers like this even if he breaks out. What's more, he's not in good shape and can't play this game."
"The players on the Lakers have made great progress, but I don't know how many will leave this summer. The bad thing about the Lakers is that there is no room for improvement, especially for rookies. There are too many big guys here."
"The MVP award will be announced soon. Zhao Chen is locked in."
During the holiday, Zhao Chen was still waiting for news.
That's the regular season MVP voting results.
The voting has been completed, but the final conclusion has not yet been announced.
With Zhao Chen's regular season data and the Lakers' final record, this award is just a matter of process.
In a word, if Zhao Chen is not elected as MVP, then the fairness of MVP will be questioned.
MVP is the official most valuable player of the season, and Zhao Chen is far ahead of others.
The MVP was not announced so quickly, but other awards were announced first.
No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns won the Rookie of the Year award with 18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds.
Although the Timberwolves' record is not as good as the Lakers, Towns still defeated Booker.
Booker's personal data and team status are also far behind Towns.
The Sixth Man of the Year award went to Jamal Crawford. Crawford averaged 14.5 points and 2.1 assists per game this season.
The most improved player is CJ McCollum. CJ averaged 20.1 points per game this season and has grown into the Trail Blazers' second scorer.
Zhao Chen's first award was not MVP, but DPOY.
Zhao Chen became the second player after Payton to win the "Best Defensive Player" award at the point guard position.
Although Zhao Chen's offense is impressive, his defense is also commendable.
Many players who have played against Zhao Chen said that they would not be willing to play against Zhao Chen again.
Zhao Chen's defense feels like a nightmare!
Zhao Chen's official height is 2.05 meters, which makes him the tallest point guard in the league. On other teams, he is usually a small forward. Of course, there are many short power forwards who are not as tall as Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen ranks first in the league in steals and blocks.
No one finds the number of steals surprising, but the number of blocks is enough to show how terrifying Zhao Chen's defensive ability is.
Almost every time the players who play against Zhao Chen are below average.
Of course, there are some exceptions. Curry and Westbrook often perform beyond their level when they meet Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen won the best defensive player, and he was naturally selected to the first team defensively and the first team all-NBA.
This is not the first time that Zhao Chen has been selected for the first team of the All-NBA Team. He was also selected last year.
As the media and fans expected, Zhao Chen is constantly reaping honors.
Putting these honors on any player can almost get them a salary close to the maximum salary or the maximum salary.
However, these honors were bestowed upon Zhao Chen!
Fans continue to praise Zhao Chen.
"I think Zhao Chen will enter the first team after a few seasons of playing. He is a player of another level."
"Zhao Chen's shot blocking is a bit scary, he is actually No. 1 in the league."
“It’s the first year where no one questions the moisture content of the best defensive player.”
"Zhao Chen has conquered too many, and his defense is really ruthless."
"I have never seen Zhao Chen being beaten unilaterally. The most they can do when facing Zhao Chen is to blow each other up."
Zhao Chen continues to make various headlines.
...
...
The day after a slew of awards was announced.
Zhao Chen came to the Lakers general manager's office with his agent Aaron Mintz.
Jim Buss, Magic Johnson, Mitch Kupchak, Scott and others are all there.
Obviously, all members of the Lakers have received the notice, and today they will officially receive the league's official MVP notification.
5:30, finally!
Kupchak's phone rang.
Kupchak pressed the speakerphone.
"Mitch, congratulations. Zhao Chen unanimously won the MVP award for this season's regular season. You can prepare for the award ceremony."
"Oye!!"
"boom!"
Almost immediately, champagne started spraying in Kupchak's office.
"Universal MVP!"
"Two years in a row, Zhao, you're so cool."
Zhao Chen high-fived every executive to celebrate.
Zhao Chen himself is also very excited, which is recognition of his hard work throughout the season.
Regular season MVP, Zhao Chen successfully defended his title!
