One Year Left to Play

Chapter 532 - 162: Championship Culture

The season has gotten to the point where the situation is clear.

The first tier, with the Bulls at 52 wins and 7 losses, is the fastest in NBA history to reach 50 wins, surpassing the same number of games winning percentage set by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1971-1972 season. It’s worth noting that Baylor played the first 9 games for the Lakers that year, resulting in 4 wins and 5 losses.

After 9 games, Baylor retired, and from the first game after his retirement, the Lakers won all of the following 33 games, ultimately achieving a record of 69 wins and 13 losses, and defeating the New York Knicks 4-1 in the finals to win the championship.

For that season, many fans regretted why Baylor didn’t retire earlier...

The second tier includes the Lakers at 47 wins and 12 losses, the Magic at 47 wins and 13 losses, the SuperSonics at 47 wins and 13 losses, and the Spurs at 45 wins and 14 losses.

The third tier consists of the Utah Jazz with 40 wins and 20 losses, the Pacers with 37 wins and 23 losses, the Rockets with 34 wins and 26 losses, and the New York Knicks with 35 wins and 24 losses.

Among these 9 teams, except for the Lakers, the other 8 are considered championship contenders.

In media descriptions and fans’ perceptions, the Lakers are akin to future East top regular-season teams like the Hawks and Bucks... Even Lakers fans are just excitedly shouting "Lakers champion."

Of course, this doesn’t dim Zhang Hao’s average of 26.7 points per game as the top rookie performance since modern basketball.

Besides the 5 teams in the West and 4 in the East, there are playoff contenders such as the Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Kings, and the Warriors, who showcased star power after resolving some conflicts through a raid-like trade, competing for 3 other playoff spots in the West.

The East is a bit more complex with the Cavaliers, Pistons, Hawks, Heat, Hornets, and Bullets competing for 4 playoff spots.

With records of 47 wins and 12 losses for the Lakers, 47 wins and 13 losses for the SuperSonics, and 45 wins and 14 losses for the Spurs, these are the top 3 records in the West.

With records so close, the competition for ranking is extremely intense, coincidentally, the three teams will face each other twice in March and April’s games.

Out of these six games, two were originally scheduled for national broadcast, and now all six are nationally broadcasted.

At this point, with six weeks left until the end of the regular season, predictions for major awards have become lively.

The MVP predictions are very consistent; the hottest topic currently is whether Jordan, who hasn’t won a Player of the Month award for four months, can get one in the last two months?

Best Rookie was decided early on with no surprises after Zhang Hao won a Player of the Month award; it was no longer suspenseful.

The prediction for Defensive Player of the Year is quite interesting, with Payton first, Jordan second, Pippen third, Mutombo fourth, Rodman fifth, David Robinson sixth, Olajuwon seventh, O’Neal eighth, Moning ninth, and Kemp tenth. The Bulls have three players ranked in the top five for Defensive Player of the Year predictions!

...

On March 7th, the Lakers arrived in Seattle.

With a three-day rest period in the midst of consecutive away games, the next game is not until the 10th, making this schedule rather peculiar.

But instead of returning to Los Angeles, the Lakers came straight to Seattle.

The hottest Rookie of the Year candidate, upon arriving in Seattle, went out with a girl, strolling around a commercial area in Seattle with her.

"Le Lin, the weather here is nice! The greenery is amazing..."

"Of course, Seattle is the best city in the world! Brother, there’s something delicious here!"

"Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating. What if you become a big fatty in the future?"

Saying this, Zhang Hao still carried the little girl to the dessert shop she pointed to and put her down.

The little girl’s expression of delight while eating was evident, and just by looking, Zhang Hao could guess how delicious the dessert must be.

While enjoying the dessert, the little girl suddenly asked, "Does brother not like chubby girls?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Quickly tell Le Lin, what kind of girls does brother like? Like body type."

"Uh..." Zhang Hao wanted to brush it off, but considering how American girls can look stunning in their teens and then become unbelievably big in their twenties, he quickly said, "Yes, I like slim ones."

Thinking about Britney in the future and looking at the little girl in front of him... Zhang Hao knew Britney would get big in the future and had seen how she looks big, which is quite hopeless, but this little girl must not get big!

Hearing the answer, the little girl immediately lost interest in the baumkuchen on her plate...

After having a pleasant afternoon with the little girl, eating a bit without finishing and watching a circus show, Zhang Hao easily spent his first day off, returning the little girl to the Schultz family’s place in the evening.

It wasn’t just Zhang Hao; the other Lakers also rested well today. Moreover, the morning of the second day was also a rest period. The Lakers arrived at the KeyArena on the afternoon of the 8th to prepare for the game against the SuperSonics on the 10th.

Seattle, the jewel of the northwestern United States, with its living environment and comfort, is envied even by those in Los Angeles.

The Lakers didn’t go back to Los Angeles during the three days of rest, choosing instead to come here to let the players relax a bit.

How to relax depends on each player’s preference.

Like the Magician, he spent yesterday afternoon and this morning listening to the bishop’s teachings at St. James Catholic Church.

This time is also for the Lakers coaching staff to reorganize and summarize previously analyzed data, reanalyzing based on the current situations of both themselves and their opponents the SuperSonics, propose tactical plans, simulate the specific process of the game, analyze particular situations that may arise, and prepare targeted tactics...and so on.