Chapter 146 MVP Announcement
On April 4, the Pistons finally defeated their opponent, the Wizards, in the fifth game and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Their first game against the Knicks is scheduled for May 5nd.

Larry Brown was not very worried about the semi-final against the Pistons. After all, they had won three out of four regular season games. In addition, he was very familiar with the Pistons. Knicks core player Zheng Yang was also an old rival of the Pistons, so it should not be a problem to beat the Pistons.

However, with the Pistons' fighting spirit and overall strength, although they cannot beat the Knicks, they will definitely cause great interference to them. Therefore, before the game started, Larry Brown also held a meeting to remind the players of several points to pay attention to during the game.

"The Pistons have been a strong team in the Eastern Conference over the years, and we know a lot about them, but before the game starts, I still want to emphasize a few key points with you.

First of all, the most important thing to win is that we need to increase the offensive rhythm.

Although the Pistons have a very good defense and are the team with the fewest points lost in the entire league this season, their defensive ability has declined significantly compared to previous years.

Therefore, the difficulty of attacking is reduced for us.

Therefore, we must compete with our opponents in offense, and we must not be dragged into the quagmire of defense by our opponents. Even if we can win in that way, our physical strength will be severely depleted.

When it comes to attacking, our opponents cannot match us.

On the offensive end, we must also pay attention to focusing our offensive focus on outside breakthroughs or shooting.

Rasheed Wallace is an excellent inside player. Even though his strength has begun to decline compared to previous years, he can still have a huge impact on the inside defense.

His favorite players to defend are those who use physical confrontation in the paint and then force shots. Coincidentally, our Ben and Eddie are both such players.

Therefore, we need to reduce the strong attack in the interior, and instead initiate the offense from the outside. As for the spearhead of the offense, it is still our Zheng.

Defensively, we don't need to make too many changes, as long as we maintain our normal level, it will be difficult for them to beat us offensively.

Based on what I said above, I will increase Rajon's playing time in the next series. I need you to pass the ball to Zheng Yang in time when he initiates a fast break and rushes to the frontcourt.

understand? "

Larry Brown looked at Rondo who was sitting next to him. Rondo, who was suddenly called by the head coach, stood up excitedly.

"Coach, I promise I will do it."

It is a great honor for Rondo to be entrusted with an important task by the head coach in the playoffs. For him, this is a kind of trust in his ability by the head coach.

Larry Brown was startled by Rondo's fuss, but considering that this guy is just a sophomore rookie, it is normal to have such a reaction.

After hearing what the head coach said, the team's main point guard Quentin Richardson did not react much.

He is not a rookie who has just played the game for one or two days. He knows that it is very common for the team coach to adjust the lineup or playing time according to the type of opponent.

In terms of overall ability, he is definitely better than Rondo at the moment, but in terms of passing, the second-year rookie does perform better than him.

What the team needs most at the moment is his passing ability.

It is normal to reduce his playing time for the team's victory.

And Larry Brown didn't directly remove him from his starting position, which was already enough to give him face.

He is not a petty person.

And just one day before the Knicks' second round of the playoffs, the NBA announced this season's MVP candidates!
There has never been a conclusion that is recognized by the public regarding this season's MVP candidate, and in ESPN's predictions, no player's chance of winning has reached more than 50%.

Of course, there were only three candidates from the beginning to the end, one was Zheng Yang, one was Kobe, and the other was Chris Paul.

Others never entered the discussion.

Some people think Zheng Yang is suitable, some people think Kobe is the one who deserves the MVP, and some people think Chris Paul, as a rising star, deserves attention...

But no matter how fierce the previous debate was, the final result came out.

Zheng Yang won the MVP again, becoming another player in NBA history to win two consecutive MVPs. Undoubtedly, he is still the youngest one!
Because there was a lot of controversy before the announcement, after the NBA announced the MVP winner, reporters soon revealed the reason why Zheng Yang won the award.

In terms of team record, the Knicks are not inferior to the Lakers and Hornets. In terms of head-to-head records, Zheng Yang has one win and one loss against Kobe, and both statistics are very good. Zheng Yang has won both games against Paul, and his performance on the court is also very good.

But in terms of personal data, Zheng Yang, who successfully won the scoring title, is obviously better than the other two.

Under normal circumstances, for a team with excellent record, it is difficult for the core players to become the best in the league in terms of personal data, especially data like scoring.

It has nothing to do with strength, but because the star players of weak teams have unlimited firing rights compared to strong teams, and because the team's record is average, there is no situation where personal data gives way to the team's record.

In contrast, the star players of strong teams may score less in order to consider the overall situation.

For example, Kobe Bryant averaged 35 points per game and won the scoring title in previous years. This season his form has not declined and he has not been injured. Even if he doesn't average 35 points per game, 31 or 32 points is definitely no problem.

But that can only be achieved at the expense of the team's interests.

But Zheng Yang has good personal data and good team record.

As for the reason, we can only say that Zheng Yang is too important to the Knicks.

It can be said that if the Knicks lose Zheng Yang at this moment, the team's competitiveness will immediately fall to the edge of the playoffs, and they may not even make it to the playoffs.

Because Zheng Yang is the only one in the entire team who can raise the team's ceiling, others can only play a supplementary role. Once the team encounters a crisis, the ball can only be handed over to Zheng Yang to solve.

This season, due to Crawford's evolution and the increase in his shots, Zheng Yang's score should have decreased. However, Ben Wallace and Eddy Curry's offensive abilities have declined this season, and their shots have also decreased.

Therefore, in this high and low situation, Zheng Yang's number of shots did not decrease compared to last season, and his points were also similar to last season.

Due to Zheng Yang's advantage in personal data, the MVP award was finally given to him.

After the reasons were reported, the doubts of the media began to fade. After all, what they said made sense. When the team records and the performances were evenly matched, they had better personal data, so they were naturally more qualified to win the MVP.

Before, everyone just hoped that the official could give an explanation to let others know why it was Zheng Yang who won the MVP instead of Kobe or Chris Paul.

Kobe, who was involved in this incident, also mentioned his views on this incident at the press conference.

"I don't have much doubt about the final result. You know, I have always recognized Zheng as a player. He is really great. In the entire NBA history, there is no one who can achieve his achievements at his age.

Since his performance this season is also very good, why can't the MVP trophy be awarded to him?

As for me, to be honest, I really don’t care about these things right now. Now I just want to play well in the playoffs. The championship is my ultimate goal. As for other things, I can give way to them.

I am looking forward to our performance in the playoffs this season. I hope we can surprise the fans in Los Angeles. I know the city has been quiet for a long time, but it doesn’t matter. We have stood up and we have the ability to challenge for the championship. "

Kobe's remarks attracted a lot of attention, including Zheng Yang.

He knew that what Kobe said must be from the heart. After all, he can lose an MVP now, but he must not lose the championship.

His personal strength has been proven countless times in the past, and even if he doesn't win the MVP, the impact will not be too great.

But if he can't lead the team to win the championship, or even make it to the finals, the pressure he will face will be too great.

Because this will prove that his ability to lead a team is really poor. The previous OK combination was all due to O'Neal. As for him, it would be fine to replace him with someone else.

Kobe absolutely cannot accept such a thing happening, so his top priority is to reach the finals and win the championship.

Let the shark who is already stranded in Miami know that he can still make it to the finals and win the championship even without him.

As for Chris Paul, he did not say much about his loss in this MVP. He also knew that among these three people, he had the least chance of winning.

Unless the league wants to support him as a newcomer, he will not get the MVP.

But how is that possible? Zheng Yang is the rising star in the league now. How could people ignore Zheng Yang and support him?
But he doesn't care too much about it. After all, this is only his third season and he will definitely have a chance to win the MVP in the future!
Chris Paul doesn't know at this moment that this will be the closest he will ever be to the MVP in his career!
As for Zheng Yang, he expressed his joy and excitement about winning two consecutive MVPs in front of the media, and also said that his current focus is on defending the title.

They haven't given up this season!

The heat of the MVP competition was soon diluted by the upcoming playoffs, and the Knicks game also arrived the next day.

Let’s take a look at the first game of this round of series between the two teams!

Let me first introduce the Pistons' current starting lineup: Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Hamilton, Prince, and Jason Maxiell!

Compared with previous seasons, the only difference is that Ben Wallace was replaced by Jason Maxiell, the 05th overall pick in 26.

But compared to the Pistons' big five when Ben Wallace was still there, the current Pistons are already on the decline.

Although Jason Maxiell, who replaced Ben Wallace for the Pistons, is similar to Ben Wallace, the two are very different in terms of strength and defense.

There won’t be two big books in this world!
Without the help of Big Ben, the Roaring God is currently supporting the Pistons' inside line alone, so Larry Brown asked the Knicks players to launch attacks from the outside and go straight to the inside.

Rasheed Wallace alone cannot defend against it.

Before the game, Rasheed Wallace came to the Knicks to say hello to Zheng Yang and Ben Wallace. The latter is his brother, and the former is also his old rival.

NBA is not all about fighting and killing, it is also about human relationships and social skills!
After the pre-match warm-up, the game will start immediately.

During the jump ball phase, Roaring God got the ball and the Pistons started today's game.

After dribbling across half court, Billups found the right opportunity to pass the ball to Hamilton who was running continuously. The player defending him was Zheng Yang.

Zheng Yang also knew this guy's playing style, so he kept staring at him and didn't give him the chance to pull up immediately after receiving the ball.

The opponent was also somewhat afraid of Zheng Yang's defense and did not dare to force a shot. After failing to dribble through, he had to pass the ball to Billups again.

Billups glanced at the shot clock, then accelerated and broke through into the inside. Ben immediately came up to defend. Facing his old rival, he would not show any mercy on the court.

Billups' shot missed, the rebound was grabbed by Eddy Curry, and the ball was passed to Quentin Richardson.

The next choice highlighted the biggest difference between Quentin Richardson and Rajon Rondo. If Rondo received the ball at this moment, he would definitely immediately notice Zheng Yang who had rushed to the frontcourt, and then pass the ball before Hamilton could react.

But Quentin Richardson's vision was still a little poor, and when he was about to pass the ball, Hamilton had already rushed over.

It was too late to pass the ball now, so the Knicks had no choice but to slow down and fight a positional battle.

In a positional battle, the ball must naturally be given to Zheng Yang, who is the Knicks' first choice to tear through the defense in positional battles.

The moment he received the ball, Hamilton put up an airtight defense on him. If it were a regular season, Zheng Yang would probably have tried a single shot.

After all, facing Hamilton's defense, he was still a little itchy.

But this is the playoffs after all, so let's save our energy.

So he called for a pick-and-roll, and the moment Prince was about to come up to defend, Zheng Yang accelerated and rushed to the inside.

When Zheng Yang rushed forward completely, it was really difficult for ordinary people to stop him. After all, his speed and strength coordination had reached a perfect balance. Those who were stronger than him were not as fast as him, and those who were faster than him were not as strong as him.

How can you stop this?
Roaring Tianzun was originally on guard against Zheng Yang, but as he got older, his steps became slower, so he was still a step behind Zheng Yang.

Zheng Yang rushed up and jumped high, making a folding slam dunk, announcing the official start of the game with a perfect attack.

0: 2!

(End of this chapter)