Chapter 11/12 Season: Playoffs
　　In the West, the Mavericks ultimately locked in the eighth seed in the regular season.

　　And in the East, the final playoff spot was claimed by the Raptors.

　　This season, the Raptors' international legion, led by Gallinari, Valanciunas, Belinelli, and others, grew rapidly. In addition, Rivers' development of DeRozan had also achieved some results. Therefore, after many years, under the leadership of another "maple-leaf" coach, the Raptors finally returned to the playoffs this year.

　　In the final play-in game, the Raptors defeated the Pacers, who were led by Joe Johnson after Granger's season-ending injury.

　　It has to be said.

　　Even with the Cleveland Great Duke heading west, the Eastern Conference's matchmaking mechanism was still excellent.

　　After the play-in tournament, the final standings for the East's top ten in the regular season were as follows:

　　Hawks, Heat, Bulls, Magic, 76ers, Celtics, Knicks, Raptors, Pacers, Nets.

　　And the eleventh to fifteenth places were as follows:

　　Pistons, Bucks, Wizards, Bobcats, Cavaliers.

　　As one of the frontrunners for this season's regular season MVP, the "Eagle King" Wade and Gasol's cooperation in the game became increasingly tacit.

　　Adding Ibaka's growth allowed Gasol to devote more energy to the offensive end and playmaking. Therefore, in terms of roster maturity, the Hawks, who narrowly lost to the Lakers 2-4 in last year's Finals, were undoubtedly the most competitive team in the East.

　　A stable core framework with excellent chemistry.

　　And on the bench, they also had Crawford, a great marksman.

　　And the Heat?

　　Although in the past two years, after renewing contracts with core players such as Horford, Rondo, Milicic, and Ariza, the Heat were forced to let go of many substitute players...

　　But with everyone contributing, they came from behind in this shortened season, climbing to second in the East with their consistent ability to beat weaker teams.

　　However...

　　Both Riley and Spoelstra were well aware that if this Heat team wanted to compete for the championship, they clearly lacked a "Big C" who could support the team's offense at crucial moments.

　　However, after Miami had already experienced a dynasty, Riley was in no hurry at this moment.

　　Because for him, who was determined to build the Heat into a powerhouse...

　　He was very clear that what the Heat needed more right now was a foundation as a powerhouse.

　　After all...

　　There haven't been many "Big C" types produced in the NBA in the last ten years or so.

　　And slightly different from Su Feng's previous life...

　　In the latter half of the 11/12 season, Rose was injured, but not completely.

　　In March of this year, in a game against the Pacers, Rose unfortunately sprained his ankle, forcing him to miss nearly three weeks of games for the Bulls.

　　Truth be told.

　　Given Rose's style of play when he was young, completely disregarding his body...

　　You can completely understand that he was dancing on the edge of a cliff almost every night.

　　However, Rose, who should have suffered a serious injury this season, luckily escaped.

　　Because in this life, the Bulls' bench had one more player that Thibodeau had traded for:

　　Darren Collison.

　　In the early stages of Rose's ankle sprain, because the Bulls were losing game after game, Thibodeau would basically go to the team doctor every other day to ask when Rose could return.

　　And if...

　　Rose was really dragged onto the court by Thibodeau during the devilish final stretch, with his ankle injury not fully healed...

　　Then one can imagine what awaited this rose ahead.

　　However, just when the Grim Reaper had marked a capital "Danger" on this rose's head...

　　In Su Feng's previous life, the true "Bee King" in the mouths of the Pao Hei (haters of Chris Paul), who made my turtle his little brother for a whole year in college, and who in 2019 had something in common with the famous poet Larry Sanders, willing to retire for his beliefs and give up a multi-million dollar annual salary, Darren Collison, took the initiative to stand up.

　　In Su Feng's original timeline, Collison, who could average "12+5" per game in his career, had a career field goal percentage of 47.1%, a three-point percentage of 39.4%, and as a small point guard with a height of only "183" centimeters, Collison also had a near 60% finishing rate at the rim.

　　His shot selection was not only very reasonable, but most importantly, after Thibodeau had used Collison for a while...

　　Thibodeau discovered...

　　The Bulls' overall offense was actually smoother than before!

　　And just like that.

　　Thibodeau gradually forgot about letting Rose return early.

　　So now the question is.

　　Was Collison really that strong?

　　The answer is of course no.

　　Because if he was really that strong, wouldn't he already be an All-Star player?

　　Due to limitations in innate conditions, Collison was destined to only be able to play a role in a limited amount of time.

　　In addition, precisely because people had never positioned him as a star player, he would not be subjected to the same targeting that Rose had been subjected to in games.

　　In the first half of the regular season, because he had been pinned on the bench by Rose, Collison only ushered in this big explosion after Rose was injured, after holding back for almost half a year.

　　However, as time went on, as people learned more and more about him, Collison's various shortcomings would slowly be exposed to people's eyes.

　　But no matter what.

　　After Collison got through this period, allowing Rose to return to the court with full health...

　　At least, the bloom period of this rose was indeed artificially prolonged for a period of time by Collison in a sense.

　　And on the other side...

　　The reason why the Magic were able to reach fourth in the East this season was purely because the Eastern Conference's matchmaking mechanism in this life was too excellent.

　　Because not only had Howard not made it to the Finals in this life, but he had also led his team to be swept in the first round for many years...

　　So at this moment, as he approached his contract year, where did he have the capital to force the Magic management to trade him like in Su Feng's memory?

　　Trading one for James?

　　Stop joking!

　　Since everyone was a first-round exit player...

　　Then the person who matched up with "Spark" at this moment was definitely "Carmelo Anthony."

　　In the regular season, in order to increase his negotiating capital this summer, truth be told, "Spark" definitely played his best since entering the league.

　　On the offensive end, he was a hardworking and reliable pick-and-roll machine that future people would never dare to imagine.

　　On the defensive end, he was a super utility player who stood upright and took hits, selflessly helping his teammates with rotations.

　　As a result, thanks to "Spark's" good attitude, several veterans on the Magic team, Bibby, Nelson, and Turkoglu, all rejuvenated their second springs.

　　Moreover, after reaching a buyout agreement with Lewis, Van Gundy also promoted Ryan Anderson, nicknamed "Defensive Doormat," this year.

　　Since Howard was so defensive this year...

　　Then what was wrong with adding a task for him on the court to rotate and cover for Anderson?

　　In Su Feng's previous life, as one of Yi Jianlian's competitors on the Nets back then...

　　Anderson, who could do almost nothing except shoot threes, received a salary of nearly twenty million in the NBA precisely because of his quick-draw skills.

　　And if Su Feng remembered correctly, when evaluating this competitor of Yi Jianlian's, many commentators on CCTV had said...

　　Even in shooting, this Anderson is not as accurate as A-Lian!

　　Uh...

　　If it was a shooting contest in a no-defense situation, then Anderson might not really be more accurate than Yi Jianlian.

　　But here comes the question...

　　In a high-speed confrontation like the NBA, will anyone give you the chance to slowly aim, first look at the floor, and then raise your head and stick out your chest for a slow shot?

　　In Su Feng's original timeline, very few people knew how important details such as shooting posture and speed were for a player to gain a foothold in a top league like the NBA.

　　Not to mention the distant past, just take the recent past.

　　Anyone who has watched Yao Ming play should know that when Yao Ming turned around, his release point was not only very high, but he also flicked his wrist very quickly at the end.

　　Therefore, Yao Ming could unscrupulously bully those black brothers and white bears on the NBA stage.

　　And Yi Jianlian in Su Feng's memory had to drop a level before he could dominate.

　　Therefore, this was also why Su Feng first had Yi Jianlian practice his new shooting motion, and then had him learn other skills.

　　Because Yi Jianlian's physical talent itself determined that as long as he had a quick-draw, he could not only reduce the risk of injury, but his jumping ability and strength were also far from comparable to the likes of Anderson.

　　Look, isn't it...

　　In the future, waiting only for the salary cap to rise sharply...

　　Yi Jianlian, whose career average was only "10+7" in this life, was about to go for a salary of twenty million.

　　Perhaps, Yi Jianlian, who failed to become the kind of star player in certain eggplant novels, was somewhat disappointing to some Chinese fans.

　　But Yi Jianlian in this life, with his diligence, had successfully gained a foothold in the NBA.

　　And had previously won the "Best Sixth Man" award.

　　Eastern Conference Playoffs First Round.

　　According to the schedule, the Hawks would face the Raptors, the Heat would face the Knicks, the Bulls would challenge the Celtics, and the Magic would face their old rivals, the 76ers.

　　Huh?

　　Why were the Bulls in the top three in the East, but the word "challenge" was used here?

　　The reason was simple.

　　Because like the Lakers, the Celtics, who were only ranked sixth in the regular season, had only just begun their 11/12 season at this moment.

　　In the regular season, you might not believe it, but Kawhi Leonard, who had just left the novice village and was being crazily fed cake by his uncles, in his rookie season, without the restrictions of Popovich, that stubborn guy, and under the "forced growth" of another stubborn guy, Bird...

　　His average number of shots per game in his rookie season actually reached an astonishing 17.8!

　　What was the concept of 17.8 shots in a rookie season?

　　You should know that generally, we can only call this kind of number of shots a "Durant-style cultivation model."

　　In the rookie season that had just passed, because he had to miss about ten shots per game, and with an overall field goal percentage of only 39% and a three-point percentage of only 28.5%...

　　Therefore, even though he had produced a luxurious stat line of "19+5+2" in his rookie season thanks to his high usage rate...

　　The always poker-faced Leonard had found the coaching staff more than once during the regular season, hoping that the team could reduce his weight on the offensive end.

　　Uh.

　　To be fair, it's really not that Leonard was deliberately trying to anger those rookies who were clearly stronger than him at this moment but couldn't get shots.

　　But because...

　　Playing for a powerhouse like the Celtics...

　　He, Leonard, also wanted to win a few more games!

　　However, who would have thought that after looking at Leonard's stats, Bird and Karl not only further increased his tactical weight on the court, but they also took out Su Feng's real-life case to encourage Leonard, saying: "Aren't you playing pretty well?"

　　In Su Feng's original timeline.

　　As everyone knows.

　　The Bernabeu has always been a very picky stadium for stars.

　　But there was one man who received unprecedented tolerance while playing for Real Madrid.

　　Fernando Gago.

　　You might not believe it...

　　Even if Gago was disappointing in games more than once...

　　The fans at the Bernabeu never complained about him.

　　Because the fans at the Bernabeu were hoping that one day Gago could suddenly get enlightened and transform into that Prince Redondo that Real Madrid fans would never forget.

　　And similar to Gago...

　　This season, not only did the Celtics coaching staff and teammates give Leonard unprecedented tolerance.

　　But even the Celtics fans were counting his shots every game.

　　What?

　　Missing shots?

　　What's wrong with missing shots?

　　No, Kawhi, why did you only take eighteen shots this game?

　　Eighteen shots...

　　How can that have a leveling effect?

　　In his early years, Leonard, who had entered self-isolation mode due to his father's death, was destined to have his fate rewritten.

　　Because he, who lived in the sunshine every day in Boston, was no longer the poker face who had to compete in a gloomy stadium every day.

　　As the saying goes.

　　People's hearts are made of flesh.

　　So after the fans in Boston gave him so much trust...

　　At this moment, Leonard had already regarded Boston as his home.

　　"Should I take as many shots in the playoffs as I did in the regular season?" That day, before the Celtics prepared to go to Chicago, Leonard asked, looking at the Celtics' legendary head coach Miller Karl.

　　And upon hearing this, after smiling, Karl, who was becoming more and more like Auerbach these years, patted Leonard on the shoulder and said: "What are you talking about, Kawhi?

　　The playoffs are coming soon!"

　　Looking at Karl, Leonard's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

　　Although he knew that once the playoffs arrived, the team would no longer allow him to mess around like in the regular season, but...

　　More or less, Leonard still felt a little difficult...

　　"You are our number one star, who else can we count on in the playoffs if not you?" After a pause, Karl suddenly said solemnly to Leonard.

　　Leonard: "..."

　　Number one star...

　　You are the Celtics' number one star!

　　You are not that young player in someone's mouth who wants to ask for sky-high prices after getting the Finals MVP by luck.

　　Nor are you that hypocrite who hugs your thighs tightly and is reluctant to let go after you have really proven yourself.

　　Admittedly.

　　In Su Feng's previous life, both sides were responsible for the story between the Spurs and Leonard.

　　But as long as you are familiar with Popovich's personality and team-building philosophy, then you will feel that everything that happened to Leonard is not strange.

　　Because since Leonard was a problem child.

　　Did Popovich really care about Leonard's psychological growth?

　　It's a pity.

　　Larry Bird is not Danny Ainge.

　　And Miller Karl, who has been sitting in the Celtics' head coach position for ten years, has already achieved fame and success.

　　So the Celtics in this life...

　　Are just like Auerbach's philosophy back then.

　　"we.are.family."

　　Chicago.

　　The Boston Celtics with GDP plus Leonard are coming!

　　And Orlando...

　　Even though Howard had surpassed Yao Ming in the two main statistics of points and rebounds this year. (Note 1)

　　But...

　　When that oriental giant, who had dominated him for eight years, led the 76ers to arrive in Florida...

　　Howard's heart was unprecedentedly flustered.

　　How terrifying was Yao Ming when he was healthy and had not suffered any major injuries?

　　"In the current league, in my opinion, there is only one center.

　　And unfortunately, this center, no matter which era he was born in, would become the nightmare of his opponents!" TNT television, when previewing the Magic versus 76ers playoff first round, O'Neal commented on Yao Ming.

　　NBA Championship.

　　Olympic Champion.

　　World Championship Champion.

　　You ask, since O'Neal's decline, had Yao Ming, who had never let the NBA's All-NBA First Team center position fall into the hands of others, earned the name of "World's Number One Center"?

　　Heh...

　　This question is as stupid as you asking a LoL player in Su Feng's previous life, which is more important, dealing 4396 damage or winning ten consecutive ranked games!

　　Yao Ming in this life, of course, deserved the name of "World's Number One Center."

　　The Black Flash of Philadelphia was about to say goodbye.

　　Tracy's younger brother, who was suffering from injuries, was also about to leave the NBA.

　　As Yao Ming was about to go west...

　　In this year's playoff journey, all the 76ers players had only one thought.

　　That was to stir up one last storm in the already chaotic East!

　　And on the other side.

　　After encountering the Knicks, led by their old rival and nemesis Phil Jackson, in the playoffs, Pat Riley had also issued a death order to all the Heat players these past two days.

　　Either the Knicks players would be carried out of the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on a stretcher.

　　Or the Heat players would be beaten to death by him, Riley, the next day.

　　There was no third option.

　　Nor could there be a third option.

　　Because for Riley, Jackson was just a charlatan who had luckily hugged Jordan's thighs back then.

　　As for the Raptors, who would be facing the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs?

　　"We have an indomitable soul!

　　We deserve to go further in the playoffs!

　　We are the Toronto Raptors with a glorious past!"

　　Tsk!

　　Brothers, drink this bowl of Rivers' chicken soup for the soul, and then let's all set off together!

　　……

　　The 11/12 season, the regular season came to a successful conclusion.

　　And the various statistical leaders were also released.

　　On the scoring list, the 34-year-old Su Feng was still unshakeable.

　　Having successfully become the first 40,000-point scorer in NBA history this season, he won his eleventh NBA scoring title with an average of 35.7 points per game. (Note 2)

　　And on the assists list, there was a sewer war.

　　In the end, relying on his Warriors teammates' accurate outside shooting, James, whose registered position had always been guard but who had actually been playing forward on the court this season, won the assists title for the first time.

　　In the regular season, James averaged 27.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 9.9 assists for the Warriors this season.

　　Online, the James fans felt like they were being driven crazy by James these past two days.

　　Because those 9.9 assists...

　　Couldn't you just rack up another 0.1 to make it look better?

　　Uh...

　　Sorry.

　　Xiao Zhan Zhan (nickname for James) is definitely a professional when it comes to forcing people with obsessive-compulsive disorder to the point of death.

　　And the rebounding title and the blocks title were taken by Howard with an average of 24.8 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks.

　　As the saying goes, "even black stars have to abide by the basic laws."

　　At least before being hammered by Yao,

　　Howard this season could definitely be traded straight up for Anthony.

　　In addition, the steals title was taken by Mike Conley with an average of 2.6 steals per game.

　　This season, relying on their grinding style of play, the young Grizzlies made a bunch of old players feel what it meant to be on the verge of death.

　　And as the Grizzlies' starting point guard...

　　The wonderful thing about Conley is that although he doesn't show dominance when playing against those unheard-of point guards...

　　He can basically go 50/50 when facing superstar guards.

　　Qimu (Kakashi) Conley is really something.

　　In short.

　　Now the stage has been set.

　　Will the eager young people succeed in ushering in a new era?

　　Or will the old guys who have not given up make a comeback?

　　April 19th.

　　When Su Feng and Kobe, who had not been in the playoffs as a lower seed for a long time, led their teams to arrive in the Utah Plateau.

　　As soon as he got off the plane, Su Feng felt like he was being targeted by a sniper.

　　Because ever since Abbie Hornacek enrolled at the University of Southern California, there had been an extra blonde, long-legged mascot on the sidelines at Staples Center...

　　So...

　　Su Thief!

　　This time, it's either you "die" or I "perish"!

　　Utah.

　　In the Jazz's training gym, watching Jeff Hornacek desperately whipping his players...

　　For a moment, Sloan, the meritorious head coach who had come to inspect the team that day, felt that he had entrusted the team to the wrong person.

　　"Why haven't you learned the tactics, but you've learned some of Pat Riley's bad habits in these training details?" Looking at Hornacek, Sloan asked with a puzzled expression.

　　Hornacek: "..."

　　……

　　ps: Open a betting pool for the 11/12 season championship! No cheating, fair prices! Welcome to place your bets!