NOVEL WEB Chapter 288: As Long as I Can Appease Howard, I'll Go as Many Times as Needed!
Lillard won the "Rookie of the Year" award.
After him, the "Most Improved Player" award was announced.
No one expected that it would be Stephen Curry.
This season, he averaged 23.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, with a field goal percentage of 45.5%, three-point shooting percentage of 43.2%, and free throw percentage of 87.4%, hitting over 280 three-point shots in a single season, making him the second-highest three-point shooter this season.
The first place is...
Su Wan!
His average score increased by about 5.5 points compared to last season.
Coupled with improvements in various areas, it ultimately led to Stephen Curry winning this award.
It's fair to say the competition for this award was fierce this year.
James Harden was equally outstanding, with his average score rising by about 6 points. However, some media believe Harden's data surge is due to changes in his team's position.
In comparison, Stephen Curry achieved such progress without significant changes in his team's position, which is more remarkable.
Eventually, Stephen Curry defeated James Harden with a 4.3% voting advantage.
Then came the "Best Sixth Man," which went to Jamal Crawford...
One reason is Crawford's outstanding data; another is that this year, the strong teams didn't have particularly good "sixth men."
Even the New York Knicks, known for their formidable bench, relied more on their overall strength than any individual.
After these awards were announced, the 12-13 season playoffs officially began.
The New York Knicks embarked on a crucial journey.
If they can win this season, New York will establish their "dynasty," becoming the fifth team in NBA history to achieve a "three consecutive championships."
Therefore, from the first day of the playoffs, the Knicks' management was very attentive to this matter, distributing unified support T-shirts on every chair and preparing various items for fan support.
When game time arrived, the audience, dressed in uniform support shirts, turned the New York Knicks' seating area into a "red ocean."
Moreover, their waving of support items and consistent boos directly dumbfounded the entering Bucks players.
Isn't it...
We're just a bottom-tier playoff team; there's no need to treat us this way, right?
We...
Can't handle this kind of attention!
This was the Bucks' first playoff appearance in about four to five years.
As a result, most of their players were very nervous.
In the fast-paced offense and defense, excessive mental pressure easily leads to various mistakes.
The Bucks were just like that, as the buzzer sounded, in the first few rounds, the Bucks were hit by a "scoring wave" of 10-1.
Barkley commented on the game: "It was over before it even started!"
The final result was just as he said, with the New York Knicks continuously increasing the point gap after establishing a massive lead early in the game. By the end of the first half, the gap was over 20 points, and after the third quarter, the New York Knicks first substituted their main players, signaling the game had entered "garbage time."
The first game was like this, and the subsequent games were similar.
In every game, the New York Knicks could achieve a point differential of more than 20 points, and over four games, the Knicks averaged a win over the Bucks by 27.5 points!
The Bucks didn't have any resistance.
Su Wan averaged 31.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1.5 blocks over four games.
He played only 30 minutes and 34 seconds each game.
Less than his regular season playing time.
Stephen Curry played more minutes than him, averaging 33.4 minutes per game, scoring 21.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, with an exaggerated three-point shooting percentage of 50%!
With these two players' staggering game performances, the Bucks waved the "white flag" in every game!
Barkley said: "Actually, the Bucks are aware that the New York Knicks mainly rely on shooting from beyond the three-point line, but they just can't stop them!"
Bill Walton also mentioned this point, but he explained more thoroughly than Barkley why the Bucks couldn't stop the Knicks' outside shooting: "The Knicks have practiced outside screening for most of the season, and now this tactic has matured, making it really difficult for a team like the Bucks, which lacks high defensive quality, to limit the Knicks' outside shooting!"
But it is also this reason that "from this point, we can also see that other teams now clearly understand that to limit the New York Knicks, they must limit their three-point shooting, so... for the Knicks, the real test of their outside shooting starts now!"
After all, it's obvious to everyone that the key to victory or defeat for the New York Knicks this season lies beyond the three-point line.
They've practiced the "screening" tactic for such a long time to ensure they can get more opportunities to shoot from beyond the three-point line!
But don't forget...
The instability of the three-point shot is the biggest problem that any team relying on three-point shooting cannot ignore and cannot solve.
The past Phoenix Suns couldn't solve it, and the future Rockets couldn't solve it, not even the Warriors, they also couldn't solve it.
In the original '16 season, the Warriors, despite leading 3-1, were reversed, besides the referee's favoritism towards the Cavaliers, their own offensive stability was also problematic.