NBA: A collection of super busts

Chapter 122 Do you think the Grizzlies deserve to be targeted by us?

Ultimately, the Nets made no trades after the deadline.

Because their second-place position in the East is very secure, and because they have won five straight games after the All-Star break, Thorn's confidence has been greatly boosted.

Since the team's performance has been steadily improving and the players haven't been clamoring for reinforcements, he decided to stop interfering and see what level these players can actually reach.

In the five games following the All-Star Game, Ye Feng's performance improved again. His shooting efficiency increased significantly, and his shooting range expanded from 1 meter outside the three-second zone to a full arc near the free-throw line.

As he shot further and further away, Kidd's passing threat naturally increased, and the Nets' offensive three-dimensionality and offensive layering steadily improved.

In the five games following the All-Star break, Ye Feng averaged 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks, continuing his Rookie of the Year level performance.

Then, although the Nets experienced fluctuations in record, shooting touch and form again, the Pistons, who had just acquired Rasheed, also needed some adjustments and adaptations. So even though the Nets lost, the gap between them and the Pistons did not narrow at all.

As February drew to a close, the Nets had a record of 38 wins and 22 losses, trailing the top-seeded Pacers by 5 games but leading the third-seeded Pistons by 3 games.

At the same time, their records against the three Western Conference powerhouses, the Lakers, Spurs, and Timberwolves, are all very close.

Overall, apart from being a bit far behind the Pacers and finding it difficult to overtake them, the Nets' record is comparable to other teams.

If they maintain their record and form, they have a good chance of finishing second in the league, which would give them a significant advantage if they make it to the Finals.

Regardless of who they are facing, they have the home advantage.

The only regrettable thing is that although Ye Feng's performance after the All-Star Game was impeccable, his poor performance before the All-Star Game prevented him from winning the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award in February: that award went to Carmelo Anthony.

So far, Ye Feng has won the Rookie of the Month award for December, Carmelo Anthony has won the Rookie of the Month award for November, January and February, and LeBron James in the Western Conference has dominated, winning all three Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards.

In this situation, the competition for the Best Newcomer of the Year naturally reached a fever pitch.

The two players, James and Anthony, are locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle, with their stats and performances being nearly identical. Currently, Anthony is in first place, while James is in second.

Ye Feng, on the other hand, lagged slightly behind, only ranking third.

But the Nets are now a top team in the league, while the Cavaliers and Grizzlies are hovering on the edge of the playoffs, fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot.

This means that the final month and a half of competition will determine which of these three will ultimately win the Best Newcomer award and who will truly stand out.

This year's Rookie of the Year race is considered by many to be the most intense, close, and unpredictable in decades.

Just as all three were fully prepared and ready to go all out, James was the first to falter.

In March, the Grizzlies faced a grueling schedule. At the beginning of the month, they had to play against the Pacers and Pistons, two of the league's top defensive teams, on the road. Then, in the middle of the month, they would face three of the Western Conference's strongest teams: the Spurs, Lakers, and Timberwolves.

At the end of the month, they will face off against strong Western Conference teams such as the Rockets, Mavericks, and Kings.

This month, their opponents have an average win rate of 57%, and their schedule is the most difficult in the league!

Then, James and the Grizzlies disappointedly dropped the ball.

对活塞，詹姆斯16投5中只有11分5篮板4助攻入帐，还出现6个失误。

The Grizzlies suffered a crushing 21-point defeat.

After the game, Ben Affleck said smugly at the press conference, "Rookie of the Year? It's nothing special. If I had to vote, I would vote for Ye. He poses a greater threat to us."

"As for the Grizzlies and James, we can easily beat them by 20 points, it's very easy!"

Ben Wallace is a really loyal guy. He promised to kill someone, and he really did it. During the game, he even committed a flagrant foul on James for a rough foul.

Even after the game, he didn't forget to continue mocking James, his main goal being to bring down James' rookie ranking, emphasizing that he was entrusted with a task and was loyal to his employer.

But his words displeased some others.

灰熊对步行者，这支联盟第一的超级强队仿佛是要和活塞比一比一样，阿泰斯特和小奥尼尔全程给詹姆斯上了VIP待遇，让他全场比赛14投3中只拿到8分3篮板3助攻外加7次失误。

The Pacers also won by a whopping 30 points!

After the game, Reggie Miller directly challenged them: "They're just an average team, nothing special. We beat them by 21 points even with only half our players on the court. If we played freely tonight, we could have beaten them by at least 45 points!"

"I don't know what kind of idiots and cowards would be so smug about beating such a trash team."

This guy is old, but his foul mouth is as disgusting as ever. He's always making sarcastic remarks and spewing profanities. He's never willing to suffer even the slightest loss.

He would never let go of even the smallest verbal advantage.

The provocations from these two teams in turn triggered a series of attacks against the Grizzlies.

In the Lakers' locker room, O'Neal gave a speech for the first time this year.

"I don't care what you think of me, and I don't care how many of you bastards want me to go to hell, but those two idiots in the East think they're amazing, and they think they're invincible if they can beat the Grizzlies."

"Screw them! Who do they think they are? They're smug about beating a lousy team? They can win! We can win too!"

"When dealing with the Grizzlies, give it your all and kill those bastards!"

"Kobe." Jackson, wearing glasses and smiling just like the old man handing out free hamburgers on the street, said softly to Kobe beside him, "Many people say that Artest is the best defensive perimeter player since Jordan. His physical strength and defensive footwork are all of historical level."

"James was held to 8 points and 7 turnovers by him. If I remember correctly, the last time we played the Grizzlies, James had 18 points and 7 assists but only 2 turnovers."

"Another mistake?"

"Got it." Kobe was as quiet and reserved as ever, but Jackson could tell just by looking at his actions.

LeBron James is finished tonight.

Jackson didn't care about James at all; what he cared about was gradually improving the team's cohesion before the playoffs, trying various methods to get the players to focus all their attention on the court and only care about winning.

He never misses an opportunity.

Then, the Grizzlies suffered another crushing 30-point defeat, and James' performance was so bad that it was hard to watch. Facing Kobe's seemingly drugged defense, he was at a loss and ended up with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers on 3-of-10 shooting.

"It's just beating the Grizzlies by a few dozen points," O'Neal said casually after the game. "Who can't do that?"

Reporters asked curiously, "This is the third person to say this about the Grizzlies recently. Are you deliberately targeting the Grizzlies? Did some conflict occur between you during All-Star Weekend?"

"It is indeed targeted, but not at the Grizzlies. What's the point of targeting a team that didn't even make the playoffs? I'm targeting the Pistons and the Pacers."

"Don't fucking think you've got this in the bag!"

These three devastating defeats caused James' ranking on the rookie list to plummet, dropping him to fifth place.

This is the first time this season that he has fallen out of the top three in the rookie rankings.

Not only Ye Feng, but Wade also surpassed him at the same time.

Even Milicic, who had a lukewarm performance in the first half of the season, had a breakout season at this point, briefly surpassing James.

But this disastrous performance and crushing failure is not the only part of it.

For the rest of March, both the Grizzlies and James were on a losing streak.

They were relentlessly beaten by strong teams, and the team only managed a dismal record of 4 wins and 10 losses in March.

Originally, in February, thanks to their gradually improving playing style and their desire for the playoffs, the team had gradually secured their playoff spot and climbed to seventh place.

But now, their poor performance in March has caused them to fall to tenth in the Western Conference, two games behind the eighth-placed Jazz. In the race for the playoffs, the Grizzlies have completely fallen into a passive position.

Throughout March, James' average stats plummeted to just 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, while his turnovers surged to 5.5 per game. Coupled with his shooting percentages of 35.8%, 27.3%, and 67%, James hit the rookie wall hard this month!

That's fine.

But this month, the Nuggets suddenly exploded!

They seemed to have found a way to win. Led by Andre Miller, the Nuggets team worked together with one heart and one mind this month, achieving a record of 12 wins and 3 losses, just replacing the Grizzlies and making it all the way to seventh place in the Western Conference!

Milicic also had a breakout month, averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks per game, which allowed him to beat James to win his first Rookie of the Month award, finally breaking James's monopoly.

Meanwhile, in the East, Anthony led the Cavaliers to maintain a winning percentage of around 50% and an average scoring output of around 20 points per game. This season, regardless of his...

Both the Cavaliers and the Cavaliers have been remarkably consistent.

His consistency earned him three months' worth of Rookie of the Month awards, but it also cost him the December award and this one in March!

Ye Feng had another breakout month in March, averaging 20.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

In addition, the Nets, led by Kidd, have performed quite well, achieving a record of 10 wins and 4 losses this month, improving their season record to 48 wins and 26 losses.

With both the team and himself having outstanding performances, Ye Feng also won the Rookie of the Month award for March, bringing his total number of Rookie of the Month awards to two.

He has one less than Anthony and two less than James.

With the sudden emergence of new teams disrupting the game, the gap between them and the Pacers remains as high as 4 games. With only 8 games left in the regular season, catching up with the Pacers is an almost impossible task.

However, they are still two games behind the Pistons. Although it's not a sure thing, as long as the Nets play normally, the chances of the Pistons overtaking them to become the second team in the East are also very slim.

The Nets' task regarding their regular season record is essentially complete.

They will most likely make the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

Before the team's daily practice began on April 1, Kidd gathered all his teammates in the locker room for a meeting.

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