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Chapter 273 - 138. Rookie Season Concludes (Last month’s bonus Chapter 1/5)_2

Chapter 273: 138. Rookie Season Concludes (Last month’s bonus Chapter 1/5)_2

This is the God of Basketball and the team owner, a 17-year-old rookie acting so boldly!

Felton chuckled when he heard his teammates’ amazement, "You’re surprised by this?"

Nine months ago, the kid was way worse than now, but even wilder.

Seeing Felton not at all surprised, his teammates gave him a thumbs up, "It’s no wonder he could be the leader."

On Bickerstaff’s side, he didn’t stop the boss and players from having fun, a 19-game skill gap... Better to have fun in the preparation stage since hardship and torment awaited them...

...

As days went by, the first-round series matches gradually concluded.

The series between the Miami Heat and the Wizards was one of the first to end, besides the three sweeps, with the Heat winning 4-1 against the Wizards.

Arenas averaged 34 points per game, quite shocking, but unfortunately for the Wizards, except for him, they were at a disadvantage in all other positions. O’Neal made Haywood miss Kwame Brown.

Back in the day, Haywood was the one who bullied Kwame Brown the most on the Wizards. However, after Brown left, needing to defend those titans in the low post made him the one who missed his fellow top draft pick the most.

The series between the Nets and the Pacers was the last to finish in the East. The Pacers lived up to the "most likely to upset" tag. The first four games went back and forth with the Nets 2-2, but by G5, Peja suddenly faded, shooting 2 for 9, missing all four of his three-pointers... The pivotal game for the Pacers ended in a disastrous collapse, and by G6, the Pacers’ team spirit evaporated, losing by nearly 40 points, 85-122. The Nets advanced 4-2 to meet the Heat in the second round.

In the West, the Nuggets were ’upset’... though it’s hard to call it an upset, as the sixth-seeded Clippers had the home-court advantage with 47 wins compared to the third-seeded Nuggets’ 44.

The Clippers took down the Nuggets 4-1, making it to the second round for the first time in team history.

Anthony was rendered inefficient by Maggette, Kaman, and Brand, shooting only 33%, and James, shooting 35%, proved that the best rookie was indeed stronger.

The Spurs vs. Kings stretched to six games, to everyone’s surprise, mainly relying on two people.

Offensively, Bonzi Wells, defensively, Ron Artest.

Artest, a defensive hotshot, made life very tough for Ginobili.

Wells tormented Duncan relentlessly, averaging 14.5 shots and 8.8 makes per game for a high shooting efficiency of 60%, scoring an average of 23.2 points and grabbing 12 rebounds per game, the most in the series. This forced Duncan to fight hard for positioning, dropping his average rebounds to nine.

Luckily, Parker shattered Bibby with an average of 22 points per game at a 51% shooting efficiency, and veterans Finley and Brent Barry both managed to score an average of 10+ points, allowing the Spurs to narrowly advance 4-2. If dragged to a Game 7, an early upset might have happened.

During the first round, the regular season individual awards were gradually announced.

Nash won the regular season MVP for the second consecutive year.

Ben Wallace achieved his fourth Defensive Player of the Year title in five years, leaving some regretting and others exclaiming. If not for Artest, Big Ben would have set the unparalleled record of five consecutive Defensive Player awards, elevating his historical status by several notches.

That year, Artest’s individual defensive performance under Carlisle’s coaching for the Pacers was indeed spectacular. The average shooting efficiency of players he covered was only 39.1%, a record-breaking achievement.

Boris Diaw of the Suns beat Gerald Wallace of the Bobcats to win the Most Improved Player award.

Gerald was frustrated when he heard the news. Zhang Yang consoled him to take it easy...

On personal performance, Gerald Wallace definitely did better, although his stats dropped after Okafor returned, still managing averages of 16.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2.6 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game, compared to his averages of 11.1+5.5+2+1.7+1.3 last season.

On the other hand, Diaw’s numbers increased from last season’s averages of 4.6+2.8+2.3 to this season’s 13.3+6.9+6.2.

Undoubtedly, Diaw’s improvement was greater.

The date is now May 8, with the final game of the first round yet to play, the Game 7 showdown between the Lakers and the Suns.

When the Lakers led 3-1, the media claimed the Suns would surely be defeated, and when the Lakers led 3-2, they claimed the Lakers had merely lost focus momentarily. At 3-3... all media outlets exclaimed, "The Suns are about to make a major comeback!"

As the decisive Game 7 between the Lakers and the Suns began, over in the East at the Auburn Palace, the Pistons faced the Bobcats in the second round opener.

Zhang Yang regretted having no time to watch the Lakers live, but watching others play was never as thrilling as playing himself. Stepping onto the court at the Auburn Palace, the Lakers, the Suns, Kobe, Nash—none of that mattered anymore. The opponent in front of him was what was important!

But the game progress wasn’t as electrifying...

At 10:20 p.m., the game ended, with the Bobcats suffering a severe loss to the Pistons, 87 to 103, losing by a whole 16 points.

Zhang Yang was chased by Hamilton until he nearly threw up, shooting only 3 from 10, plus making all four free throws, scoring 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Okafor and Gerald Wallace also had a rough time in the paint, Okafor with 10 points and 11 rebounds, Gerald Wallace with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists... both shooting just over forty percent.

The best performer for the Bobcats was Felton!

Billups found it tough defending this stocky type of opponent. Felton made 10 of 19 shots, including 3 of 5 three-pointers, plus making 3 of 4 free throws, scoring 26 points, but managed only 3 assists.