As the end of the year approaches, the media are not idle. On December 28, the league officially announced that the candidates for the Eastern and Western Player of the Week for the past week were Marcin Gortat and Wang Zelin. On the 29th, several authorities The media also updated the latest MVP rankings.
In the fans' expectations, Wang Zelin will definitely rank first in the major media rankings.
He deserves such praise and praise. Whether in terms of team performance or personal data, he is fully worthy of the three letters "MVP".
Then, when the rankings were actually announced, all the fans were shocked. Wang Zelin, who had played a dominant performance, failed to dominate the rankings.
In the latest MVP ranking list announced by Sports Illustrated and TNT, Wang Zelin ranked first!
But in the rankings of Bleachers and ESPN, Wang Zelin, who was considered to dominate all MVP lists, was only ranked second and third respectively!
In the bleachers MVP rankings, the number one player is Stephen Curry.
The reason they gave for this is-the only current team leader with 31 wins!
In addition, Curry's sense of surprise in the new season is stronger than that of Wang Zelin, who has been MVP for two years.
To put it bluntly, the outside world is already feeling a little tired of the Trail Blazers and Wang Zelin. Compared with the two, the performance of the Warriors and Curry in the new season makes them feel brighter.
Of course, if the reasons given by the bleachers are a bit forced, but still reasonable, then it is indeed a bit outrageous for ESPN to rank Wang Zelin in third place.
In the MVP rankings updated by ESPN, the number one position is neither Wang Zelin nor Curry. Although Curry is ranked higher than Wang Zelin, it is only one position higher.
Because the No. 1 spot in the MVP rankings was taken away by Kawhi Leonard.
Everyone was confused. How could Leonard Heide sit on the head of Wang Zelin and Curry?
When everyone saw the reasons given by ESPN, they felt even more ridiculous, because ESPN's reason for ranking Leonard first was actually making rapid progress!
In just a few words, De Leonardo defeated the two giants who have performed phenomenally this season, and for the first time in his career, ESPN officially listed him at the top of the MVP rankings in a single issue.
Yes, compared to last season, Leonard's personal performance this season is indeed surprising. From the first day of the season, he has been constantly refreshing his various career records.
So far, he has averaged 22.5 points, 7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1 block per game, which is a big improvement compared to last season.
As for the team, at the beginning of the season, after the Spurs sent a luxury lobbyist group led by Smarovich to lobby, the Spurs finally ushered in the first All-Star player in team history, Kevin Love, who has made a name for himself on another team. Take the initiative to join.
Relying on the forward combination of Leonard and Love, as well as the GDP trio who are still young, the Spurs started a wave of winning streak.
As of December 29, the Spurs' record has reached 28 wins and 4 losses, second only to the Trail Blazers and Warriors in the Western Conference, and also ranked third among all teams in the league!
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Spurs management once again made the right bet when they selected the 15th pick in the first round of the 11th draft. After four seasons of training, the Spurs' 2.01 meter wing finally came to fruition. The day of results.
The entire Holy City finally ushered in the leader of the next era.
Coupled with Kevin Love's biggest reinforcement in team history, under the leadership of Leonard and Love, the Spurs will still be able to maintain sufficient championship competitiveness in the Western Conference and even the entire league even after their GDP ages. .
But this still does not mean that Leonard can overtake Wang Zelin and Curry and become the first place in the authoritative MVP ranking list.
…
San Antonio.
Inside the Spurs head coach's office.
Kill with a borrowed knife!
This is killing someone with a borrowed knife!
There are many smart people in the league, not to mention that the Spurs are still in charge of the old thief Sima Wei.
Almost as soon as the list came out, he understood ESPN's intentions. In order to prevent the Trail Blazers' No. 36 MVP from winning three consecutive games, those hateful media people came up with such a damaging trick to push Leonard to the top. The dazzling location attracts firepower, which in turn triggers intense controversy.
As a result, the mainstream public opinion trend suddenly became to condemn Leonard, so that people could subconsciously ignore Wang Zelin and Curry who performed well.
Sure enough, media competition is the only way to kill without blood.
As for face and all, just kidding, if you want to stand out in the media, who cares about this stuff?
As expected, as soon as the latest MV ranking list came out, it caused huge controversy.
It turns out that Leonard has made great progress this season, and together with Love, he led the team to a brilliant record.
However, because San Antonio is only a small city after all, the influence of local media is limited, so except for local media and fans, few people will pay attention to the changes in the Spurs.
Bidige
Who would have thought that ESPN suddenly made such a move and ranked Leonard first in the MVP position. On the surface, it seems that they are recognizing Leonard's performance this season.
However, this actually puts Leonard on the fire.
For a time, basketball fans all over the world were condemning Leonard because he was simply not worthy of being number one in the MVP rankings.
Of course, there are also many Spurs fans and fans who support Leonard:
As the core of the team becomes increasingly aging, Leonard has been able to grow rapidly under the wings of GDP and step up to carry the team this season. Since his current record and data are not bad, why can't he be ranked first? ?
Not to mention first place, even if the MVP trophy is awarded directly to Leonard, they all agree with it!
As for Wang Zelin and Curry.
One has won the MVP twice in a row, and everyone has long been tired of seeing it;
The other player is soft, and at most he is an offensively enhanced version of Steve Nash. What's the point of looking good in the regular season? In the playoffs, this kind of jump shooting team will definitely not be able to go very far.
Amid various controversies, things developed as expected by ESPN, and the popularity of Wang Zelin and Curry really dropped a bit.
ESPN executives opened champagne all night to celebrate: It's not easy, we finally beat that kid once!
…
the other side.
Regarding all the discussions on the Internet, Wang Zelin is too lazy to join in the fun. After all, he is not stupid. How could he not see that this was intentional by ESPN.
Those guys wanted to make him sick, but he couldn't be fooled. He was not Durant, and his mind was not that sensitive and fragile.
Rather than opening a trumpet online and arguing with netizens, Wang Zelin prefers to play well and talk with the ball!
What's more, the Trail Blazers only have the last game left this year, and their opponent is the Cleveland Cavaliers, the strongest team in the Eastern Conference. Facing such a strong enemy, he is eager to use a hearty victory to win. Celebrate the arrival of the New Year.
By the way, let’s also bet on the opinions of some so-called “objective fans” on the Internet.
You all say you are tired of watching my games, right? Then I will give you more insights with more explosive data.
…
It’s here in a blink of an eye, December 30th.
On this day, Wang Zelin and his teammates traveled thousands of miles to Cleveland, preparing to use a big victory to bring a perfect end to the December schedule.
Before the game, under the mobilization of Wang Zelin, the Trail Blazers felt like they were on fire, and they wanted to smash the Cavaliers' basket at night.
Especially Wang Zelin, he is ready to score a super data tonight.
For example, breaking the previous season high score set with the Cavaliers - 60 points in a single game!
However, when the game was about to start at 7 p.m. and the players from both sides entered the court to warm up, Wang Zelin saw a scene that disappointed him.
The Cavaliers' main center, DeMarcus Cousins, was wearing a casual suit and sitting at the end of the bench, looking like he couldn't play anymore.
After the warm-up, Wang Zelin returned to the visiting team's locker room and learned from the coach that Cousins had a calf sprain before the game and was expected to be out for a while before returning to the game.
This means that his beloved opponent will not be able to play tonight.
What are you doing?
After hearing this, Wang Zelin was speechless on the spot. It felt very similar to that. I had all my condoms ready, but you told me that your relatives were here?
But having said that, looking back at Cousins' career attendance rate, it is not difficult to find that this guy's health has not been adequately protected.
It was better in the first few years as a rookie, but later on, this guy developed into a glass man.
And this is also related to Cousins 's style of play. He is obviously a big center, but I honestly look for those who like to play tricks.
Speaking of which, Cousins in this time and space escaped the king's suffering early and fell into the arms of a thirty-year-old man. His playing style was not as demonic as in his previous life, and it was more in line with his personal style.
So the question is, how was he injured?
After thinking for a while, Wang Zelin still couldn't figure out the reason. Just ask Cousins because the game is about to start again.
And if I ask now, are you sure it's not just rubbing salt into the wound?
Simply, he expressed his doubts to the coach.
Sure enough, every team with some achievements has its own set of intelligence networks, so that they can always understand the trends of other strong teams.
The typical representatives are the Celtics and Lakers, the two strongest players in the NBA.
Especially for the Celtics, during the period of "Cardinal" Auerbach, his eyes could be said to be all over the league. Sometimes, a word from Mr. Auerbach could influence the management of other teams, even more than the league president David. Stern's words are reliable.
For those in charge, the presence of Auerbach undoubtedly affects Stern's control of the entire league.
This is also the reason why Stern refused to sign the No. 1 pick in the 1997 class to the Celtics.
You know, under Auerbach's instructions, the Celtics management team, the greatest powerhouse in history, actually put down their dignity for the first time, and did not hesitate to compete for the No. 1 pick in the 1997 class through crazy performance, just to win the senior Tim. ·Duncan, rebuild the glory of the Green Army!
If Stern hadn't stopped him in time, relying on Auerbach's original power in the league and getting Duncan as he wished, the Green Army's dominance of the league would have been almost certain.
This is the last thing Stern wants to see, so even if the Celtics have an 82-loss record in the regular season and a 99.99% probability of getting the No. 1 pick, Stern will let the 0.01% probability appear.
Because the Green Army is already brilliant enough, he doesn't want to see an Auerbach-like figure appear in the league.
This led to Auerbach's silent exit and the Celtics' 10-year trough, until the deal in August 2007...
Ahem, the topic has gone too far, let’s get back to the topic.
In Coach Terry's knowledge, Wang Zelin realized that Cousins was actually injured because he gained too much weight in a short period of time and his body could not handle the long and cumbersome schedule.
Well, that guy Cousins really wants to win, so that’s why he works so hard for me!
After understanding the whole story, Wang Zelin couldn't help but sigh.
Why is Cousins working so hard to gain weight? It's not just to deal with someone like him.
Therefore, to a certain extent, the reason why Cousins was injured has something to do with him...
impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
That guy was obviously injured because he couldn't bear it, so what does it have to do with me, the king?
…
…
At 7:30, the game between the Trail Blazers and the Cavaliers officially started.
As of now, the Cavaliers have a record of 25 wins and 8 losses, leading the strong teams in the Eastern Conference. Looking at the league, they are ranked fourth and are absolutely the top team.
It's a pity that the Cavaliers not only lost one of their generals before the game, but they also lost their main center Cousins, the core inside player!
The absence of Cousins not only dims the starlight of Quicken Loans Arena tonight, but the key is that there is one less person who can barely talk to Wang Zelin in the paint.
The Big Three of the Cavaliers are indispensable, because only the complete Cavaliers have the ability to compete with the powerful players in the West in a real sense.
But if during the regular season, one giant had to be missing due to unavoidable reasons, Cavaliers fans would probably prefer Irving to be sitting off the court at this moment, rather than Cousins.
Especially when playing against the Trail Blazers, who have the strongest inside combination in the league, without Irving on the outside, James and JR, Dellavedova, Shumpert, Jones and others maintain offensive firepower.
But the one player they lacked tonight was indeed Cousins. Now, they couldn't guard Wang Zelin and Aldridge in the first place, and now they don't even have anyone who can come out and attack them.
At the end of the first half, the Trail Blazers took a 15-point lead and beat the Cavaliers 58:43.
If it hadn't been for JR, the guard with the knife in front of him, who suddenly took a shot and scored three three-pointers from the outside, the score would have been stretched to 20 points by the Trail Blazers.
However, the Cavaliers barely resisted for two quarters in a broken formation, but eventually fell in the third quarter.
Entering the second half, the Trail Blazers made a strong effort. Wang Zelin scored a crazy output of 18 points in a single quarter, plus 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, which was completely red.
After three quarters, the score was stretched to 36 points. The Cavaliers' home court was silent and fell into a deathly silence.
Not surprisingly, the game completely entered garbage time.
In the final quarter, the two rookies pecked each other, and the score difference increased instead of decreasing. In the end, the Trail Blazers defeated the Cavaliers by 44 points 135:91 on the road, winning the last game of the December schedule!
At this point, the Trail Blazers' 2015 schedule is all over. With a record of 32 wins and 1 loss, they rank first in the league in military terms!