"Thank you, Sue. I feel much better after talking to you."

Su Feng never imagined that sharing "happiness" with friends could be such hard work...

After hanging up with Nash, Su Feng drank a large glass of water to revive himself.

What could he do? A few hours ago, Nash started crying about his recent miserable life before Su Feng could even finish half of his opening remarks.

This man, who in Su Feng's past life was the "Sun King," also known as the "Lord of Riches," had been seeing his playing time decrease day by day since Kidd arrived in Phoenix.

You see, the "Steel Magician" Kidd, in his younger days, was also an athletic freak who could play 40 minutes per game.

So, while chatting with Nash, Su Feng forgot the main purpose of his call.

Bah!

Wasn't comforting Nash Su Feng's main reason for calling him?

Back then, weren't the assists Su Feng earned in Phoenix with socks valuable?

Before his ball-handling and offensive skills could catch up to "Old Jordan's" shadow, Su Feng knew the importance of maintaining good relationships with these guards.

After all, if he had the chance to cooperate with Nash in the future, Su Feng would be very willing to help him with defensive rotations.

As the saying goes, eat what's in your bowl, look at what's in the pot, and keep an eye on what's outside the pot. That's how a "good" man should be.

...

After successfully securing a playoff spot, the atmosphere within the 76ers was much more relaxed than before.

The local media in Philadelphia even called the 76ers' successful journey to the playoffs this season:

— "The Philadelphia Miracle."

After Charles Barkley left in a fit of anger in the summer of 1992 to chase a championship, the playoffs had become an extremely unfamiliar term for the people of Philadelphia.

And now, those fans who had previously bought playoff ticket packages felt like they had struck gold.

"I don't know how far we can go, and I don't know if we can win a game, but I know that I see a 'dawn' in these young men!" wrote Marksen, editor-in-chief of the *Philadelphia Evening Post*.

In short, the whole of Philadelphia was as lively as if it were a festival.

And perhaps just as lively as Philadelphia was China.

Because Chinese television would be broadcasting the playoffs this year, the rabbits were all looking forward to the 76ers' upcoming playoff journey.

'Do you think Feng-ge will win the championship?'

'That's too difficult, and more than that, I'm more concerned about what seed Feng-ge and his team will get in the end.'

'If the current standings remain unchanged, then Feng-ge's first-round opponent will be the Bulls, right?'

'Yes, so I still hope Feng-ge and his team can get to seventh in the East.'

'But actually, I kind of want to see Feng-ge play the Bulls...'

...

Time flies. On April 19th, as the fourth-quarter timer approached zero...

101 to 109. The Bulls players, who ended their regular season finale with a victory, were enjoying the adoration of nearly 20,000 Bulls fans at the United Center!

Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Longley, Kerr, Harper... The playoffs, your king is here!

Although there were a few unexpected twists and turns this season...

However, a record of 66 wins and 16 losses was the best response to all those who doubted the Bulls.

The number one favorite to win the championship?

No, perhaps in the eyes of many, they were the only favorite to win the championship.

But...

In stark contrast to the high emotions on the scene, Michael Jordan had never been so calm and...

Worried as he was at the moment the regular season ended.

"What's the result over there?" Jordan asked "Zen Master" after the final game against the Knicks.

Phil Jackson, who had already learned the results from the scout he had sent, shook his head and said:

"Be prepared, Michael."

'Hoo—!'

After taking a deep breath, Jordan nodded firmly.

Now that things had come to this, there was no use in thinking more about it.

Not wanting to face it didn't mean not daring to face it.

If this was God's test for him, then Jordan knew that even if he wanted to hide, he couldn't.

On April 19th, after all the NBA teams had finished their regular-season journeys...

Whether in the East or West, almost all teams' attention was drawn to "this matchup" in the East.

The Windy City of Chicago officially received a challenge from Philadelphia.

First in the East versus eighth in the East.

Bulls vs. 76ers!

...

Okay...

In fact, in order to escape the eighth seed in the East and avoid facing the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, the 76ers really played hard in their last three regular-season games.

Although in their second-to-last game, the 76ers lost to the Bullets, who had missed the playoffs in advance and were raging in frustration, they did manage to win the other two games by playing their hearts out.

The reason why the 76ers failed to overtake the Magic at the last moment was...

Hardaway was just too good.

This "Jordan successor" stubbornly ignored the team doctor's advice and continued to play through pain with injections for three consecutive games, risking worsening his injury.

The Magic held on to their seventh seed in the East with 49 wins, a record that was four more wins than in Su Feng's previous life.

And the 76ers finished with a record of 48 wins and 34 losses, ranking eighth in the East.

The Eastern teams cried...

Looking at the playoff threshold in the West and then at the playoff threshold in the East, how was anyone supposed to play?

The Pacers, who were eleventh in the East, could have made the playoffs in the West, and the Bullets, who were ninth in the East, could have ranked in the top six in the West...

As the saying goes, fortune changes. In Su Feng's previous life, the playoff threshold in the future West would also be exaggerated...

Philadelphia, the Zhongzhou Arena. Although they failed to overtake the Magic, at the team's final game, when "Ai-Feng" led his teammates to thank the fans in attendance, the entire arena was chanting

"AI! AI! AI!"

Um... Although Pippen might cry when he hears it, but...

In Su Feng's previous life, due to Ratliff's outstanding performance in the 97/98 season, the 76ers did offer him a salary that was higher than three Pippens when they re-signed him.

In short, having a group of talented players was indeed a very happy thing for the 76ers.

But at the same time, it was also a very troubling thing.

Because the rules of this era destined the 76ers to face a contract renewal crisis in the near future...

...

After the 76ers' final game, the 96/97 regular season came to an end. (Someone: ??? I average 17.8 points per game, don't I deserve a mention?)

Because of Su Feng's appearance, many butterfly effects had occurred in this life.

Among them, the Celtics' record was worse than in Su Feng's previous life...

If it weren't for Wo Ke playing a few critical bursts in the last few games, they might have really created a bizarre record of 9 wins and 73 losses.

Let's first look at the regular season standings. From one to eight, the final rankings in the East were: 1. Bulls, 2. Heat, 3. Knicks, 4. Hawks, 5. Pistons, 6. Hornets, 7. Magic, 8. 76ers.

And the final rankings in the West were: 1. Jazz, 2. Rockets, 3. Sonics, 4. Lakers, 5. Trail Blazers, 6. Timberwolves, 7. Suns, 8. Clippers.

The rankings for ninth through fifteenth in the East were: 9. Bullets, 10. Cavaliers, 11. Pacers, 12. Bucks, 13. Raptors, 14. Nets, 15. Celtics.

And because there were only 29 teams in the NBA at this time, the rankings for ninth through fourteenth in the West were: 9. Kings, 10. Warriors, 11. Mavericks, 12. Nuggets, 13. Spurs, 14. Grizzlies.

In the major statistical awards, Jordan won his ninth scoring title with an average of 29.8 points per game, defending his scoring crown.

This life's "Old Jordan's" average score was 0.2 points higher than Su Feng remembered, which was also a butterfly effect caused by Su Feng.

Because he gave the 76ers a game, and Rodman missed more games than in Su Feng's previous life, Jordan's kidneys were naturally busier than in Su Feng's previous life.

Rodman won the rebounding title with an average of 15.8 rebounds per game, his sixth career rebounding title.

Mark Jackson won the assist title, averaging 11.4 assists per game.

Blaylock, who looked like Jordan, won the steals title, averaging 2.7 steals per game.

Bradley, the skinny bamboo pole who was abandoned by the 76ers, won the block title, averaging 3.3 blocks per game.

Bradley, who originally felt he had finally proven himself, was in a tragic situation.

Because the 76ers' record was too good this season, the 76ers' fans not only didn't miss him, but also labeled him as a stat-padder.

Three seconds of pity for this "human highlight reel of getting dunked on"!

Speaking of which, according to the schedule, the 76ers will face the Bulls in their first playoff game on the 25th.

At this time, the NBA's first round of the playoffs was a best-of-five series, with a 2-2-1 format.

Because the team with the better regular-season record would have home-court advantage in the playoffs, the stronger teams had a greater advantage.

The best proof of this was that there had only been one instance of an eighth seed upsetting a first seed in NBA history before the 96/97 season.

That one and only black eight happened in the 93/94 season.

Mutombo, who was playing for the Nuggets at the time, used his long arms to tell Kemp that you could jump over Olajuwon, but you couldn't jump over my "African Mountain."

In the five games against the Sonics, Mutombo delivered a total of 31 blocks, stunning the entire Sonics team.

Therefore, after the seedings in the East and West were released, rookie coach Davis, who was prepared for a first-round exit, gave the whole team a day off as planned.

After that, the 76ers would officially fly to Chicago on the 21st to rent a gym for training.

...

On the 20th, Su Feng, who was enjoying his last holiday before the playoffs at home, also received a notice from the system after a temporary update:

During the playoffs, the Iron Points Su Feng earned would be doubled.

Su Feng: "!!!"

Although beating the Bulls was a fantasy, Su Feng thought that if the 76ers could play two more games with the Bulls in this series, wouldn't the Iron Points he would earn at that time be more than hundreds of billions, or even trillions?

Um...

You might not believe it, but while resting at home this day, Su Feng had already begun to simulate the playoff series with the Bulls in his mind.

If you put aside the possibility of a first-round exit, playing the Bulls in the first round was indeed a very exciting thing.

Of course, after simulating it several times, Su Feng invariably came to the conclusion that:

The Bulls would win, and the 76ers would lose.

After all, the regular season and the playoffs were not the same. Just considering that the Bulls didn't want to face the 76ers in the first round, Su Feng believed that the Bulls would definitely treat the 76ers with the same attitude they had against the Sonics and Jazz.

And once the Bulls raised the overall intensity of the game, then given the current framework of this 76ers team, no matter how Su Feng calculated, it would be difficult to find a glimmer of hope.

But...

Isn't that the most charming thing about basketball?

If you can't beat them, then don't play at all. Why doesn't the NBA just send a few players from each team to duel every year, and whoever wins gets the championship?

In Su Feng's opinion, there was nothing shameful about being sent home by the Bulls in the first round. Therefore, the always-cautious him decided to first focus on how to win one game against the Bulls.

And just as Su Feng was thinking about how to win one game against the Bulls...

In Los Angeles, after admiring his rookie season's statistics, Kobe suddenly felt a little envious of Su Feng...

What Kobe envied was not Su Feng's record, but that Su Feng could start his holiday and training earlier than him.

There was nothing he could do. Given the Lakers' current state, Kobe thought that they were at least a lock for the Western Conference Finals.

And who knows, maybe the Lakers would even make it to the Finals while they were at it?

And then, when O'Neal was trapped, his teammates were in low form, and he would stand up and beat "Old Jordan," and the Lakers would win the championship as desired, and he would get the FMVP...

Tsk————!

Kobe loved this script!

"Forget it, I won't bother Su. After all, although being swept 3-0 by the Bulls isn't shameful, Su's competitive spirit will definitely make him sad, right?"

As Su Feng's best friend, Kobe decided to prepare a passage to comfort and encourage him in advance.

At this moment, Kobe, who was very good at writing essays, got to work.

And after finishing several essays, Kobe couldn't wait to read them to Su Feng...

...

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