NBA: LeBron James wants to team up with me

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The Chicago Bulls' regular season record was finally set at 68 wins and 14 losses, with a win percentage of 83%, securing the number one spot in the league. It's a cliché. At the start of the regular season, no one could have imagined that the Bulls would manage such a strong record this season, especially considering that the team was missing Garnett and had nothing to gain from the free market last summer. Under these circumstances, their strength did not decrease but rather increased, becoming even stronger.

But if you look closely at the composition and performance data of the Bulls team, it's not as incredible as it seems.

Wang Chong has been as dominant as always, averaging 28.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.2 steals, and 2 blocks per game. His complete stats make it nearly impossible to find any flaws.

And Wang Chong isn't the only player with significant contributions to the Bulls this season.

Stephen Curry, returning from an injury, had the best season of his career, averaging 24.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game, shooting 45% from the field and 44% from three-point range, becoming Wang Chong's most effective partner on offense.

Originally, Curry wasn't taken seriously in the league. His speed was average among guards, he had "glass" body attributes, and his defensive performance was poor, far behind Paul, Rose, Westbrook, and other top-tier point guards in the league. Even the top point guards of the past two years, John Wall and Kyrie Irving, were rated much higher than Curry.

This was normal. Both Wall and Irving were NBA's top picks, their potential and skills had been widely recognized since they entered the league, and even though their teams were among the worst, many still believed that, with time, they would become the league's best defenders.

In contrast, Curry, who was not highly regarded during the draft, began his career with the Bulls.

In his rookie season, he averaged over 20 points per game alongside Wang Chong, and his performance was quite impressive. However, due to injuries, his performance began to decline, and he missed the start of last season.

It would have been logical to expect that after recovering from a major injury, a player with average physical condition like Curry would require a long period of time to regain his form, and his performance would likely worsen. No one expected Curry to come back as powerful as he did after his injury. Offensively, though the Bulls' perimeter defense always lagged, Curry was incredibly strong, especially beyond the three-point line. Three-pointers almost became one of the primary offensive tactics for the Bulls.

Needless to say, his average of 24.8 points per game ranked him seventh in the league.

In the past two seasons, the overall offensive pace of the league has been relatively low, and the average points per game for stars has been affected.

For example, this season, only two players averaged more than 28 points per game: Wang Chong with 28.8 points and Kevin Durant with 28.4 points. Carmelo Anthony, who should have won the scoring title with 28.7 points per game, averaged only 26.7 points after Rose joined the team, reducing his ball control. He ended up ranked fifth in the league.

The top ten scorers in the league this season are: Wang Chong with 28.8 points, Kevin Durant with 28.6 points, LeBron James with 27 points, Kobe Bryant with 26.9 points, Carmelo Anthony with 26.7 points, James Harden with 26.5 points, Stephen Curry with 24.8 points, Russell Westbrook with 23 points, Kyrie Irving with 22.5 points, and Dwyane Wade with 21.2 points.

From this list, you can see how well Curry performed this season.

Once again, Wang Chong claimed the league scoring title. With this achievement, Wang Chong has monopolized the scoring title for eight consecutive years, surpassing Jordan's seven consecutive titles, and becoming the player with the most consecutive scoring titles in NBA history. He is now only two titles away from Jordan's record of ten career scoring titles.

It's worth noting that Wang Chong is still under 29 years old. If we look at Jordan, who won his last scoring title at age 35, Wang Chong still has six more years to compete for the scoring title, not to mention potentially earning ten titles in the future. It wouldn't be surprising if he claims eleven or twelve.

The 28.8 points per game was the lowest scoring average for Wang Chong in any season where he won the scoring title. Midway through the season, not everyone was focused on the scoring title, like Kevin Durant, who had never won a scoring title before, and intentionally increased his shot attempts halfway through the season, trying to compete with Wang Chong for the scoring title.

However, Wang Chong highly values the scoring title. After all, if he wants to surpass Jordan and become the new basketball god, he needs to match Jordan in every aspect and leave no blind spots.

Seven consecutive scoring titles could only be considered an achievement on par with Jordan. Winning eight consecutive scoring titles is the first step toward surpassing Jordan.

For this reason, even if it meant sacrificing part of the team's record to increase the number of shots, Wang Chong could not afford to sit back and let the scoring title go unguaranteed.

So, when Durant increased his attempts, Wang Chong did the same, and his increase in shots was greater than Durant's.

The result was that after Durant spent considerable time trying, he realized that the point-per-game gap between him and Wang Chong not only didn't close but actually widened further.

Once Durant realized Wang Chong's determination to compete for the scoring title, he had no choice but to give up, as the deal was no longer worth it.

The Bulls had the best record in the league, and the Heat hadn't started their 27-game winning streak yet, so the Bulls were far ahead of the league even if they sacrificed one or two games to help Wang Chong secure the scoring title, which was completely acceptable.

But not so for the Celtics. They were still competing with the Heat for second place in the Eastern Conference. Last season, the Celtics lost to the Heat in the playoffs, and there was a high likelihood they would meet again in the playoffs this year. In this situation, it was very important for the Celtics to have home-court advantage in the new season.

Even if Durant wanted to win the scoring title and boost his career, he had no choice but to give up.

Seeing Durant abandon his pursuit of the scoring title, Wang Chong stopped and his points per game gradually dropped from 29+ at midseason to 28.8 points.

Regardless of the points per game average, the scoring champion is still the scoring champion, representing the player with the highest scoring ability in the league that season.

Moreover, everyone knew why Wang Chong's points per game decreased. The sacrifice of offensive firepower resulted in Wang Chong's super defensive abilities on the defensive end. He averaged 2.2 steals and 2 blocks per game.

Many media commentators genuinely lamented that Wang Chong is now a truly complete offensive and defensive player, with almost no weaknesses. Together with the help of Curry and Gasol, the Bulls are strong enough.

Yes, at that moment, people finally began to acknowledge that the Bulls are a team of the Three Giants, and they also believed that Curry and Gasol's contributions could be included in the discussion of giants.

Curry averaged 24.8 points per game, ranking seventh in the league in scoring. Naturally, he is recognized as a giant.

Gasol, who averaged 18+9 per game this season, can also be called a giant.

This type of comparison still needs to be made.

On the other hand, with the Heat, Bosh averaged only 17 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season, which is not as good as Gasol's performance. Moreover, Gasol's ability to protect the basket inside is quite outstanding across the league. The Lakers' Dwight Howard, the Spurs' Tim Duncan, and Tyson Chandler of the Knicks, along with some other centers, are slightly better than him in rim protection.

It can be said that the Bulls' defensive system is mainly built by Wang Chong and Gasol. Along with the strong one-on-one perimeter defenders, Danny Green and Jimmy Butler, the overall defensive capability of the Bulls ranks first in the league, still ahead of teams like the Pacers, Heat, and Spurs, who are also known for their defense.

After the regular season officially ended, the sixteen teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences that advanced to the playoffs were announced.

The top-ranked teams in the Eastern Conference were the Chicago Bulls with 68 wins and 14 losses, the Miami Heat with 64 wins and 18 losses, the Boston Celtics with 55 wins and 27 losses, and the Indiana Pacers with 46 wins and 36 losses, followed by the New York Knicks with 42-40, Atlanta Hawks with 38-44, Milwaukee Bucks with 34-48, and the Philadelphia 76ers with 34-48.

With only 34 wins in the regular season and a win percentage of 41.5%, the 76ers made it to the playoffs, which is a bit strange, but that is the current situation in the East. The Bulls, Heat, and Celtics dominate the East, monopolizing most of the wins, with two teams having over 60 wins and one with over 55 wins as the three strongest teams in the East. Among these three teams, the Pacers have the best player with 46 wins.

The Pacers' record could occupy fourth place in the Eastern Conference. If they were in the Western Conference, they would have a maximum of sixth or seventh place.

The top eight teams in the Western Conference that made it to the playoffs, ranked by record, are the San Antonio Spurs with 58 wins and 24 losses, the Denver Nuggets with 56 wins and 26 losses, the Oklahoma City Thunder with 55 wins and 27 losses, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers with 50 wins and 32 losses, the Los Angeles Clippers with 45 wins and 37 losses, the Houston Rockets with 43 wins and 39 losses, the Utah Jazz with 41 wins and 41 losses, and the Dallas Mavericks with 41 wins and 41 losses.

The ranking of the top teams in the Western Conference has changed significantly since the original timeline. The Thunder, who should have occupied first place in the Western Conference with 60 wins, only secured 55 wins due to Durant's absence, which resulted in the Thunder dropping a spot for Fin's sake.

It was surprising to see the Denver Nuggets securing 56 wins and second place in the Western Conference, but in Wang Chong's view, this was reasonable. The Nuggets during this period had been dubbed the Denver Athletics, relying on players they trusted. Part of the team was acquired by trading Anthony, and with Iguodala, traded last summer, they formed a strong team.

The home and away win percentages of the Nuggets are quite divergent. At home, located on the Denver plateau, the team's various fast breaks can defeat most teams, making it one of the highest home win percentages in the league.

As for the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers only secured 54 wins and 28 losses this season, which also surprised many.

Obviously, the conflict between the Lakers' Three Giants has become very intense. Paul and Howard barely communicated with Kobe on the court, and there seemed to be resentment between them.

The Lakers' coach and management struggled daily to reconcile the conflicts between the two, and thanks to the allure of the championship, they barely tolerated each other.

If the Lakers manage to defend their championship this season, everything will be fine. However, if they are eliminated in the playoffs and lose their chance to defend the title, the Lakers' Three Giants might collapse overnight, especially since Paul and Howard's contracts will expire this summer.

In fact, during the season, the Lakers' management had actively communicated with the two to renew their contracts in advance, but their agents made it clear that their employers would decide whether they stayed or left after becoming free agents in the summer.

Clearly, this was a way to pressure the Lakers' management and warn them not to be too biased toward Kobe.

Thus, the Lakers are on the edge of confusion. It's highly likely that Paul and Howard, who came at a huge cost, will leave as free agents without leaving anything behind for the Lakers.

Although the Lakers' gamble earned them a championship, if the two giants leave and only Kobe remains on the team, the Lakers will plummet from the heights and become one of the weakest teams in the league.

At that point, it would be impossible for the Lakers to rely on the aging Kobe to turn things around.

The entire Lakers team realizes that in this season's playoffs, they have no retreat and must win!

It is also surprising that the Clippers were able to secure the fifth spot in the Western Conference. This team, without Paul and Griffin, opted for Harden due to various butterfly effects, and Harden didn't disappoint the Clippers. He demonstrated his exceptional individual ability in just a few games. This season, Harden averaged 26.5 points per game in the regular season, ranking sixth among scorers. He also had 5 rebounds and 6.8 assists. Under his leadership, the Clippers became a strong team in the Western Conference, with some competitiveness.

Of course, Harden is the same as when he joined Houston. He is intoxicated by the banquets and entertainment of Los Angeles, and although he has offensive talent, he plays no defense whatsoever. He has been criticized for his lack of defense, so even though the Clippers performed well in the regular season, they might not achieve much in the playoffs.

It hasn't been easy for the Houston Rockets to secure the sixth spot in the Western Conference with 45 wins.

Yao Ming played 54 games for the Rockets this season, averaging only 13 points and 6 rebounds per game. He is no longer the mobile Great Wall who could hold up half of the sky for the Rockets.

Midway through the season, Yao made it clear that he would seriously consider retiring after this season. His growing weight has made it increasingly difficult for him to move quickly on the court, and the accumulation of injuries is another factor Yao needs to consider.

In comparison to Yao, whose career should have essentially ended after the 2008-09 season, his career has been extended by several years. Although he still hasn't won a championship, he is already considered to have a perfect career.

The Rockets' main players this season are Pau Gasol, who averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, Jeremy Lin, who averaged 14 points and 5 assists per game, and Chandler Parsons, who averaged 15 points and 5 rebounds.

As an external team when the Lakers and Hornets traded Paul, the Rockets sent Kevin Martin and several other players to acquire Gasol. Although Yao's condition has declined and he hasn't been able to form a dominant twin towers inside, Gasol's strength at this stage is truly not weak and he has fully supported the Rockets' entire offensive system.

This is also the reason the Rockets were able to win 45 games in the regular season and secure the sixth spot in the Western Conference.

As for the Jazz and Mavericks, ranked seventh and eighth in the Western Conference, they benefited from Wang Chong's credit. The Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors, who were supposed to rise at this stage, fell into ruin because the Bulls stole their core players. The teams at the bottom of the Western Conference are now hoping for a high draft pick, perhaps even the number one pick, to save them from their struggles.

End of this chapter

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