After the game, Xu Yong took the initiative to walk to the Lakers' half, ready to congratulate Kobe.
But at this moment, there was a commotion on the Lakers bench. The team doctor was checking Kobe's knee, and Kobe looked a little painful.
This scene was projected on the large LED screen, which also made Xu Yong stop.
The scene became restless.
After a long while, Kobe stood up with the help of the team doctor. He tried to walk back and forth, but his limping proved that it was not possible.
Finally he sat back on the bench, chest heaving, breathing heavily.
Looking at Kobe's expression, Xu Yong realized that Kobe might not have entered the white-hot space at the beginning of the game, but he should have entered it in the final part of the game reversal.
In the white-hot space state, all perceptions will be enhanced and the impact of injuries will be ignored, but once out of that state, fatigue will surge and any injuries will be aggravated.
And Kobe's final result was not only caused by fatigue in tonight's game. You have to know that in history, the Lakers not only failed to make the playoffs that year, but were also last in the Western Conference. During his retirement tour, basically he just gave the ball to Kobe every night and enjoyed the game.
But it's obviously different now, Kobe has been working with the team for the playoffs all season.
Tonight's performance was like a peerless master who was at the end of his rope, bursting out with devastating momentum at the last moment. He did it, but it was over.
Kobe's body was tense and his eyes were bloodshot, full of unwillingness.
He had a chance to play in one final postseason game.
But gradually, his tense body relaxed, and then his expression also relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face.
These scenes were projected onto the large LED screen, and the fans at the scene felt heartbroken and uncomfortable watching them.
Everyone can see Kobe's condition, and everyone knows that Kobe can't play in the playoffs.
Or in other words, in tonight's game, although Kobe tried his best to lead the Lakers into the playoffs, tonight is also the final game of his career.
At this time, Xu Yong also smiled like Kobe, and continued walking forward.
Although it is a bit regrettable, the Lakers have actually entered the first round of the playoffs to play against the Warriors, and their hope of advancing is basically just theoretical. Even judging from tonight's game, there is a high probability that they will not be able to escape the outcome of being swept.
So Kobe's career was frozen tonight, frozen in the 60-point buzzer beater to lead the team into the playoffs, which is already the best ending.
Kobe saw Xu Yong coming over and reached out to hug him.
"Your career has come to a complete end." Xu Yong said.
"From now on I can only watch your games as a spectator." Kobe said with a smile. His words revealed his mentality, indicating that he had been relieved.
"I'll wait for you." Xu Yong patted Kobe on the back.
After greeting Xu Yong, Kobe staggered towards the center of the court.
His teammates tried to come over to help him, but he waved them off.
Xu Yong also followed his gaze at this time.
The host on the other end reacted quickly. Seeing that Kobe seemed to have something to say, he walked up quickly and handed him the microphone.
When Kobe was seen limping to the center of the court and picking up the microphone, there was overwhelming cheers and whistles.
Many fans even burst into tears while watching the game.
And that sound kept going on. Kobe might have wanted to say something better, but his fluctuating emotions got stuck in his throat and he couldn't say it.
At the end, after more than a minute, when the cheers finally died down, Kobe picked up the microphone and waved to everyone with a smile on his face:
"What can I say? Mamba out."
After saying this, he blew a kiss to everyone present.
Maybe, it is also a gift to myself.
The fans' cheers and whistles rang out again.
Kobe Bryant, can't say goodbye.
…
Kobe's 60 points plus his farewell shot set a new record for the highest score in an NBA player's retirement farewell game. It is unprecedented and will most likely never be surpassed.
He instantly made headlines in major media outlets and attracted heated discussions from countless fans on social media.
"Kobe's retirement marks the end of basketball at the beginning of the century, and Duncan, Garnett and Nowitzki are likely to retire after the end of this season. The youth of a generation has come to an end."
"The era of Kobe Bryant is over, but the youth of a new generation has begun. Now is the era of Xu, Durant, Leonard, James, and Curry."
“There’s a weird name mixed in here.” Comment from “KBfnas”.
"I think this is Xu's era, and the others are more like Jordan's opponents in the 1990s."
"Jordan, Kobe and Xu have one thing in common. They did not choose to run away when the team fell into adversity, but led the team back to the top. This is the best inheritance of the basketball spirit."
"We should be thankful for Xu's emergence. Without him, the league would definitely be full of group-building. The most important thing is that the league's card is a person who won the championship by group building. That would definitely be a disaster for the NBA."
"Yes, I can't imagine what that league would be like. There's a high probability that a lot of viewers would be lost! Instead of reaching an unprecedented heyday like it is now, I think basketball has reached its most glorious moment after three generations of development."
"This year is really torn. I am looking forward to the showdown between the Bulls and Warriors in the old and new eras of basketball, but I also want to see the match between Xu and Leonard, two monsters who can attack and defend, and even the second match between Xu and Durant."
“This is probably a happy trouble.”
…
Amid the discussions of fans, the 2015-2016 season officially came to an end, and the Eastern and Western Conference rankings were officially determined.
In the West, the Warriors' final record was 69 wins. Although they failed to break the best record in history, they still achieved the best record in the league and broke the team's best win record.
Curry had a brilliant season in his career, averaging 30.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game. As a guard, his shooting percentage reached 50.4%, his three-point shooting percentage reached 45.4% (11.2 shots per game), and his free throw shooting percentage reached 90.8%, achieving the "180 Club" achievement.
There is one particularly unexpected thing here. Curry did not become the league's dunk king, but he had 169 steals in a single season and was named the season's [Steals King].
In addition, Thompson averaged 22.1 points per game and made 42.5% of his three-pointers (8.1 attempts per game); Green averaged 14 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game.
Moreover, the Warriors' three-point shooting percentage as a team this season is 41.5%, which is an extremely terrifying statistic.
It is also worth mentioning that because [Yellow Miracle] Bogut was accidentally injured and was ruled out for the season after the trade deadline, the Warriors reached a buyout with Jason Thompson (the bargaining chip in the previous David Lee trade) whose contract had expired at the buyout deadline, and signed Zaza Pachulia, who took the initiative to reach a buyout with the Bucks.
Pachulia is 31 years old. As a white inside player, he has a strong style of play, flexible footwork, and can shoot mid-range shots and also play supporting roles. He is the most ideal replacement candidate the Warriors can get.
As for Pachulia, as a member of the 2003 golden generation, he has been a starter in the NBA for many years, but has never won a championship. At this stage of his career, he has the opportunity to join a championship team and start, and the cost is just some small financial losses. He is more than happy to do so.
In the 22 games he played for the Warriors, he averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 23.7 minutes per game. He was an important factor in the Warriors' ability to win 69 games despite facing strong opponents in the second half of the season.
The Mavericks are second with 66 wins.
This is also the best regular season record in the Mavericks' history.
Leonard averaged 25.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2 steals per game, with shooting percentages of 50.4%/44.3%/87.4% respectively. He has reached the peak of his career, and as the fans said, he is one of the rare superstars in the league who is both offensive and defensive.
In addition, Aldridge averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, Nowitzki averaged 12.4 points, and Rondo averaged 10.2 points and 11.4 assists.
The Thunder ranked third with 58 wins.
Durant averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5 assists per game, with three-way shooting percentages of 50.5%/38.3%/89.4% respectively, still maintaining high efficiency.
Harden averaged 24.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game, with his three-point shooting percentages being 43.9%/35.9%/87.4% respectively.
Judging from the overall data, Harden does not seem to have declined much compared to last season, and his assists have even increased, but his efficiency has dropped a lot, and his average of 4.6 turnovers per game is also a career high. Kardashian's title of "Best Defensive Player" is well deserved.
The Spurs, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Lakers ranked 4th to 8th.
The Pelicans finished ninth in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs, but Westbrook was the stat king this season. He averaged a triple-double of 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game, marking the second consecutive season he averaged a triple-double.
His performance made fans feel that Robertson's historical status continued to plummet, but also made them realize a fact: there is a huge gap between data and data. Without pursuing results, it is really easier for super giants to brush up their data than imagined.
In the Eastern Conference, the Bulls finished first with 65 wins.
Xu Yong averaged 30.5 points, 6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game, with his three-way shooting percentages being 51.9%/39.4%/88.4% respectively.
Butler averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2 steals per game, with three-point shooting percentages of 47.6%/36.4%/85.2% respectively.
Adams averaged 12.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, shooting 58%.
David West averaged 8.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Stephenson averaged 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game; Jokic averaged 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game; Kyle Anderson averaged 5.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
The Cavaliers ranked second with 62 wins.
James averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, Irving averaged 23.8 points, Love averaged 16 points and 6 rebounds, and Davis averaged 13 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game.
The Pacers are third with 58 wins.
The Raptors are fourth with 57 wins.
The Heat ranked fifth with 48 wins.
The Hawks, Celtics and Magic ranked 6th to 8th.
…
Looking at the final season rankings, Xu Yong feels that this year's divisional playoffs will be much more intense than last year.
Antetokounmpo of the Raptors has grown up, and in terms of the lineup, there is no weakness in the starting lineup of Lowry, DeRozan, James Johnson, Antetokounmpo, and Valanciunas. In addition, there are Cory Joseph, Terrence Ross, Norman Powell, Biyombo and others on the bench.
That's because Carroll, the starting small forward they signed in the summer, was ruled out for the season less than two months into the season, otherwise their record this year would have been better than the Pacers.
If nothing unexpected happens, the Bulls will have a big battle with the Raptors in this year's semifinals.
"Senior, leave PG to me." After calling Anderson up from his seat, Butler sat down and came over to say.
"No, he is mine." Xu Yong shook his head.
Because George has not suffered the serious injury in history and he has plenty of ball rights in the Magic team, he has improved very quickly and is now the leader of the second tier below the first tier.
Moreover, his talent is much better than Butler, and Butler will be at a disadvantage when defending him.
Butler hesitated to speak, but finally nodded.
…
Two days later, the Bulls played against the Magic at home.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first time the Magic have returned to the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season.
Only three seasons have passed, and the Magic's rebuilding process is much faster than in history.
During the pre-game warm-up, Paul George was given a lot of shots. He is the most critical factor in the Magic's rapid reconstruction.
There are even cut shots of him and Xu Yong, which also shows the league's support for him.
Just as the fans said, with the retirement of Kobe, Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki and others, the old era has ended and the new era needs new stars, and George is definitely one of them.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.
Magic: Payton Jr., Oladipo, George, Aaron Gordon, Dewayne Dedmon;
Bulls: Dellavedova, Butler, Xu Yong, West, Adams.
Adams pushed the ball back to half court, officially kicking off the game.
At this time, Payton Jr. defended Butler, Gordon defended Xu Yong, and the two offensive spearheads George and Oladipo were protected on the defensive end.
Xu Yong held the defense on the weak side at the start, allowing Butler to attack on the strong side.
Butler and Adams played pick-and-roll, and after breaking the ball, they rushed to the basket while positioning themselves.
However, George reacted quickly and seized the opportunity to move to the basket.
When Xu Yong saw this, he knew the ball was secure.
Most players would not know what to do when faced with this kind of help defense, but for Butler, this is his favorite rhythm because he is the kind of player who is more inclined to organize than to score.
However, Butler's choice was a bit beyond Xu Yong's expectations, because Butler chose to force an attack after seeing George.
George's body shape is very similar to Xu Yong, with a height of 2.06 meters and a wingspan of 2.13 meters, which is one size larger than Butler. Although his jumping ability is not as good as Xu Yong, his defensive awareness and judgment are excellent. After the two confronted each other, he finally blocked Butler's shot.
There was a commotion at the scene; the Bulls had a bad start to this year's playoffs.
On the contrary, the Magic were a little nervous in their first playoff game, but George's big block at the beginning immediately boosted their morale.
The Bulls passed the ball in the frontcourt. Butler's shot after receiving the ball was a little off due to the interference of Payton Jr., and the rebound was caught by Dedmon.
The Magic advanced to the frontcourt, and George ran without the ball, but Xu Yong stuck very closely to him on the defensive end and blocked him as soon as he received the ball.
George changed direction and started, but he accelerated and the ball in his hand disappeared with a "snap".
Xu Yong directly completed the [robbery].
In fact, Xu Yong had another reason for defending George by himself before, which was to reduce consumption in the first round and end the series quickly.
Then defending George is the most effective way.
Xu Yong pushed for a fast break, and when he reached the front three-point line, he threw the ball to Butler, who scored a fast break dunk.
George continued to run without the ball in the frontcourt. This time he went around two screens in a row, but when he received the ball, he only stopped for a moment and Xu Yong was in front of him again.
George was finally forced to pass the ball back to Oladipo.
When Xu Yong is focused, the defensive pressure is at its maximum. Although George is excellent, he has a weakness. Because of his small hands, his dribbling skills are difficult to reach the top level. When facing a top defender of Xu Yong's level, it is very difficult for him to score with the ball.
Fortunately, Oladipo and George complement each other, and his strength lies in dribbling and breaking through.
After changing direction to shake off Dellavedova, Oladipo accelerated to the basket, changed direction and made a sideways low layup over Adams.
The influence of the [vertical jump rule] is still there. Although Adams is tough enough, he doesn't dare to jump easily. Facing someone like Oladipo who has strong explosive power and fast direction changes, it feels like a tank meeting an assassin.
But at the moment Oladipo shot, a figure jumped into the air and nailed the ball directly onto the backboard.
The scene suddenly erupted in cheers; Xu Yong’s defensive presence was at its strongest tonight!
After completing the block, Xu Yong grabbed the defensive rebound and then passed it to Butler.
When chatting with Butler before, he actually noticed Butler's emotional changes, but there were some things he couldn't say. For example, he said to Butler, "You have no advantage against George." Given Butler's personality, if he said this, he might have to hold back to prove himself.
So even though Butler's first attack at the beginning was a bit reckless, he didn't say anything.
Or it can be understood that if Butler performs better than George in the first round, it will boost Butler's confidence and lead to better performance in subsequent series.
You have to know that Rose's absence is real. Although Stephenson's performance is surprising, his ability is not enough to fill the gap caused by Rose's absence.
So the only way to solve this problem is internal development. In addition to him doing more, Butler's performance is also crucial.
Others may think that Butler's current performance comparable to Pippen is good enough, but Xu Yong knows he can do better.
Butler used a Euro step during a fast break to avoid George's block and made a reverse layup.
There was a burst of cheers at the scene. They couldn't see so many details on the court, but they just felt that Butler was in a hot state at the beginning of the night.
George continued to get rid of the ball in the frontcourt but couldn't get rid of Xu Yong who was fully committed. In the end, he had no choice but to give up and stand on the weak side to watch the show.
Oh, no, he looked at Xu Yong helplessly.
He was really a little depressed.
First of all, he did not provoke Xu Yong.
Secondly, he regards Xu Yong as his idol!
Regarding this point, it can be clearly seen from his attitude at the All-Star Game. He is basically a little fan of Xu Yong.
Although as an opponent, we need to distinguish between on and off the court, but there is no need for you to defend me to death from the beginning!
As expected, the junior fellow student is the first. Doesn’t the fanboy count as the first?
Xu Yong didn't pay attention to George's expression. If George's mentality was so easily broken, he would never become a first-tier superstar.
Of course, if George knew what Xu Yong was thinking, he would probably still curse, because mentality is one thing and ability is another.
After all, the Luoyang prefect next door has already proved that when your ability is insufficient, it is useless no matter how you adjust your mindset.
Especially when the two sides switched from offense to defense, Xu Yong used his own distraction to give Butler a chance to shoot, which made him feel even more uncomfortable.
In the end, the Bulls defeated the Magic 106-93 after four fierce quarters and won their first playoff victory.
In terms of statistics, Oladipo, who scored the most points for the Magic team, got a team-high 28 points, followed by "Mop" Harris from the bench with 18 points. As for George, he performed poorly under Xu Yong's high-intensity defense throughout the game, making only 3 of 17 shots and barely getting 11 points by free throws.
On the Bulls side, Butler made 12 of 23 shots and scored a game-high 30 points. Xu Yong only took 15 shots and made 8 of them, scoring 23 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks.
"I will vote for Xu in the Defensive Player of the Year vote, and I mean it." Barkley sighed as the game was about to end.
If George's performance in the regular season this season was a flame, then Xu Yong was a fire extinguisher, and he put it out directly tonight.
After the game, Butler hugged Xu Yong tightly on the Bulls bench.
"Thank you, Senior!"
He actually felt Xu Yong's intention to let him attack more shortly after the game started, but he didn't expect this situation to last all night.
Xu Yong is truly the best senior and the best boss in the world.
Of course, even at this time, Butler probably wouldn't have thought that Xu Yong would play like this not just in one game, but for the entire series.
After the third game, he found Xu Yong and asked Xu Yong to play more.
But Xu Yong's words left him speechless.
“I’m doing this for the team.”
In the end, the Bulls swept the Magic 4-0 and advanced to the second round.
Butler averaged 27.5 points in four games, and what is more surprising than his scoring is his stability and his strong mental quality.
After this round of series, many people's views have changed.
Is Butler's ceiling just Pippen?
Maybe it was true before this, but after this, many people can no longer make such a judgment.
On the other hand, George was really shut down by Xu Yongzhen. He averaged 15 points in four games, which was more than ten points less than his season average. His shooting percentage was only over 30%.
But after the fourth game, Xu Yong shook hands with George. Seeing the bitter expression on his face, he said to him: "I have time after the Rio Olympics."
Xu Yongzi could naturally distinguish between the on-court and off-court roles, and he also knew that George was his fan, so the meaning of this sentence was very clear, which was to ask George to train with him after the Olympics.
George was no fool, of course. He heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then said, "I also have time before the Olympics."
Hearing this, Xu Yong smiled and patted George on the shoulder.
This is an expression of affirmation.
While the Bulls swept the Magic, the series between the Warriors and the Lakers in the West also ended. The Warriors also easily swept the Lakers 4-0, and their average net score per game reached 20+.
This is similar to what Xu Yong had expected before. Even if Kobe can play, he cannot change this situation.
Moreover, the Warriors' relaxed state can be felt during the game. Like the Bulls last year, they now have plenty of physical strength, which will greatly increase their chances of breaking through in the Western Conference.
Because the Raptors and the Heat are still playing, and the two sides are tied 2-2, the Bulls will have a relatively long waiting period.
However, having learned from last year's lessons, the Bulls maintained high-intensity training during the days of waiting under Xu Yong's training.
After the training that day, the players returned to the locker room. After sitting down, they all collapsed in the chairs due to exhaustion. Xu Yong was really ruthless when he attacked.
"Boss, the MVP results are out." Anderson suddenly said.
His words also instantly attracted the attention of others.
There is one thing that others may overlook, but they all know that if Xu Yong wins the MVP again this season, he will be able to complete three consecutive MVPs, which is the most direct and powerful proof of a player's dominance.
Although the Bulls have four fewer wins than the Warriors this season, Xu Yong still has slightly better statistics than Curry, especially on the defensive end.
"Is it Xu?" Seeing that Anderson didn't continue talking, Hinrich on the side couldn't help but ask.
"It's...Stephen Curry." Anderson scratched his head. He was a little excited just now.
"come.on!"
The locker room was immediately filled with the sounds of dissatisfaction and the Bulls players standing up.
"The league did it on purpose." Butler also spoke up for Xu Yong.
Apart from anything else, even if the two sides are evenly matched, Xu Yong's status as the number one in the alliance should also add points.
"Then, isn't this one more reason to win the championship?" Xu Yong said calmly.
As soon as he said this, whistles and cheers rang out in the locker room.
"Knock out those guys from Jinzhou!"
“They better make it to the finals!”
"Boss is absolutely right!"
…
After taking a shower, everyone left the locker room to rest. Xu Yong also returned to the villa with Anderson and Jokic.
"Boss, I think this MVP should be given to you." Jokic couldn't help but say.
"I think so too." Xu Yong replied with a smile.
"But you have to know there is something called aesthetic fatigue." Then he looked at Jokic who was in a daze and said.
If there hadn't been aesthetic fatigue, Jokic would have won three consecutive MVPs, but in the end he created the worst MVP in history.
"Yes, even Michael couldn't win three consecutive MVP awards, and he missed twice. To be more precise, this situation has never happened since 1986." Anderson has a relatively detailed understanding of NBA history.
Of course, what Xu Yong didn't know was that this guy had already searched hard for information because of his previous recklessness in the locker room.
"I think I understand." Jokic nodded suddenly realizing what was going on.
"Because the boss is strong enough, even if he plays like that, everyone will just think that this is what the boss should do. But as for Curry, he averaged only 23 points per game last season, and suddenly 30 points this season. It gives people the feeling that he can play so well. I want to vote for him."
Xu Yong smiled and said, "His words may be a little blunt, but they make sense." That's roughly what he meant.
"But there is still a chance." Xu Yong put away his smile and said seriously.
Anderson's popular science was something that even Jordan had never done, which aroused his competitive spirit.
In fact, in addition to aesthetic fatigue, another reason for losing to Curry this season is that the Bulls' record is not as good as that of the Warriors.
If it exceeds, the result will definitely be different.
So next time, he won't let this happen again.