nycdaug Chapter 407: Regular Season Ends, 3rd in the East
Chapter 407: Regular Season Ends, 3rd in the East
July 3, late.
Kazeta Center.
The Rockets will host the Nets.
This is also Wang Xiucheng's first return to the Windfield Center since leaving the Rockets.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will be Wang Xiucheng's last visit to this venue this season.
Unless both teams make it to the finals.
Let's not even talk about the Nets; they're at least aiming for the championship.
But rockets are absolutely out of the question.
After trading Kyrie Irving before the mid-term trade deadline, the Rockets had already laid their cards on the table.
I'm giving up. I'm just giving up!
Fertitta even shouted the slogan "For Wenbanyama" at a party.
So no matter how you look at it, the outcome of this match was already predetermined.
Before Kyrie Irving, the Rockets were ranked around the play-in tournament.
Without Irving, their performance plummeted.
The Rockets are currently third from the bottom in the Western Conference.
Poor performance, coupled with the lack of star players, has resulted in the Rockets having one of the lowest attendance rates in the entire league.
Especially in the first month or so after Wang Xiucheng left at the beginning of the season, the attendance rate was less than half.
Furthermore, the refund rate for season tickets is as high as 30%.
According to fans, "Without Wang Xiucheng, who am I going to watch if I buy a season ticket? Kyrie Irving? Can you guarantee he'll even play?"
In fact, Irving's attendance rate was quite good before he requested a trade.
However, the lack of good support has caused the Rockets' performance to fluctuate greatly.
Today, thanks to Wang Xiucheng, the Rockets' attendance rate reached an unusually high of over 90%.
Furthermore, the Rockets fans' long-standing habit of only entering the arena in the second half has also disappeared.
Before the first quarter of the game even started, the attendance rate had already reached over 7%.
However, to the dismay of the fans, the Rockets gave up after just one quarter.
With Durant resting, Wang Xiucheng and Westbrook, two former Rockets players, tore apart the Rockets' interior defense.
Meanwhile, the Nets also frequently made gains from the outside.
Neither Shen Jing's inside game nor Green's outside game achieved the desired effect.
Ultimately, the Rockets lost to the visiting Nets 96-118 at home.
Interestingly, during the first timeout in the first quarter, the Rockets even used a video to pay tribute to Wang Xiucheng and Westbrook.
However, neither of them showed any sign of stopping.
The two players didn't leave the court for a rest until the fourth quarter, and did not return to the game.
Although the match was over, the two teams had so many acquaintances that they inevitably shook hands and paid their respects to each other.
Especially Wang Xiucheng and Westbrook, two former Rockets players.
Wang Xiucheng even went to the Rockets' coaching bench and hugged Silas, Lucas Sr., and others.
After finally finishing this segment, Wang Xiucheng was inevitably invited out to dinner by Green Shenjing and the others.
When Wang Xiucheng finished his work and returned home, it was almost dawn.
The victory against the Rockets gave the Nets a good start to their road trip.
In their next away game, the Nets lost to the Bucks, won against the Timberwolves and Nuggets, and then lost to the Thunder.
With a record of 3 wins and 2 losses, the Nets concluded their 10-day road trip.
From this point on, all the teams that had made it to the playoffs began rotating their key players.
Although the league has always opposed this kind of rotation of star players.
However, almost all of these star players were carrying injuries, and the injury reports issued by the teams were impeccable.
The league can only turn a blind eye most of the time.
For the Nets, finishing first or fourth is an acceptable result.
So, like other teams, the Nets started rotating their key players at this point to avoid injuries.
Durant, in particular, almost always plays one game and then rests the next.
Wang Xiucheng was also given the treatment of being rotated.
They'll be rotated out after about three or four games.
Although Westbrook felt good and full of energy, he was still asked to rest properly.
Fortunately, when Wang Xiucheng is resting, Westbrook can play his favorite point guard position, which makes Westbrook very happy.
Throughout the latter half of March, the Nets achieved a record of 3 wins and 4 losses under their extensive rotation policy.
It also maintained its third-place ranking, further narrowing the gap with Philadelphia behind it.
The Nets entered April with a record of 50 wins and 26 losses.
It's also the last month of the regular season.
At this point, the team that was tanking began to tank relentlessly, charging towards Wenbanyama.
Only the teams near the playoffs are in a somewhat awkward position.
I don't know if it's for the playoffs or if it's just Wenban Yama's effort.
The four little burdens finally returned to South Korea.
The contract issue forced them to go back to negotiate, and the whole of South Korea was watching them closely.
Although the four of them had long ago decided not to renew their contracts, it was still necessary to pretend to meet.
Ma Xiaoxuan stayed in Houston and did not return to New York.
Her business in Houston was getting so busy that she simply couldn't leave.
Of course, these were the words Ma Xiaoxuan said to Wang Xiucheng.
The villa at No. 1 York Street was empty again.
Jenner's focus has always been on Los Angeles, which means that Wang Xiucheng spends most of his time living in the Steinway Building.
And so the competition in April began.
After securing a playoff berth and having a high probability of finishing in the top four, the Nets began an unusual, large-scale rotation in their final six games.
Wang Xiucheng, Durant, and Westbrook did not rest, but only played about 20 minutes per game.
Firstly, this time won't be tiring, and secondly, there's no need to prepare injury reports.
In fact, this amount of playing time is extremely detrimental to the player's chances of winning individual awards.
With limited playing time, the statistics naturally won't look good.
Sometimes it's better not to fight at all.
But neither Durant nor Westbrook cares about these things anymore.
Although Westbrook still really wants a triple-double, you can see that from his aggressive rebounding and even his boxing out Claxton.
But if he could win a championship, he felt that no amount of triple-doubles would be that important.
The only one who had any influence was Wang Xiucheng.
Wang Xiucheng is eligible to compete for multiple individual awards this season.
However, his playing time was limited in the last few games, causing his statistics to gradually decline.
However, Wang Xiucheng didn't seem to care at all.
And so, on April 9th, the Nets suffered a crushing 105-134 defeat to Philadelphia on the road.
This is also the last game of the regular season.
The Nets are third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 54 wins and 28 losses.
Interestingly, the team ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference is none other than the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets' opponent today.
Even if Philadelphia wins today, they will still be ranked behind the Nets with a record of 53 wins and 29 losses.
On the final day of the regular season, all teams played, and the game started at the same time.
The times when all teams finished their matches were not much different.
When the Nets players returned to the locker room, they already knew who their playoff opponent would be.