Everyone Made It to the Playoffs, But Only James Fell Behind?

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It was both reasonable and unexpected that James led his team but failed to make the playoffs.

As the saying goes, two fists are no match for four hands. Although James managed to put up star-level stats of 21 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6 assists per game in the regular season, the Cavaliers didn't have any teammates with outstanding strength at this stage. The only ones they could count on were Carlos Boozer, who averaged 15+11, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who averaged 15+8.

Last season, the Cavaliers had a record of 17 wins and 65 losses, ranking last in the league. This season, they improved to 34 wins, which is actually quite impressive. It is not embarrassing that James failed to lead the team to the playoffs immediately in his rookie season.

After all, in the future, after the Cavaliers get the new No. 1 pick Kyrie Irving, they will be able to win two No. 1 picks again within three years under his leadership.

But the problem is that James is not Irving. Irving does not have the grandiose title of "The Chosen One" and isn't regarded as the superstar who will definitely rule the league.

Secondly, there aren't any other peers who can be contrasted with.

This was quite embarrassing for James.

Because his competitors in the same class are so outstanding.

Wang Chong's Lakers have the best record in the league, while the Pistons, where the second pick in the draft, Darko Milicic, is located, are third in the Eastern Conference, only due to divisional rules. As the only team in the East besides the Pacers to achieve 50+ wins, if the Pistons were ranked solely by record, they should be second in the Eastern Conference.

These two players—one on the Lakers and the other on the Pistons—are on traditional powerhouse teams. Unlike James' Cavaliers, they have strong teams that shield them from criticism.

But Wade's Heat ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference and successfully qualified for the playoffs, and Anthony's Nuggets also stood out in the fiercely competitive Western Conference. This was a bit hard to accept.

Especially when comparing personal stats, Anthony's numbers are not much worse than James'. His stats of 21+5+3 are comparable to James'.

It is well known that the competitiveness of the Western Conference is much stronger than that of the East, which can be seen from the records.

The Seattle SuperSonics, ranked 12th in the Western Conference, had a record of 37 wins and 45 losses in the regular season. This record would rank seventh in the Eastern Conference, but in the Western Conference, they couldn't even make the playoffs.

In this case, Anthony could still lead the Nuggets into the playoffs. How do you think James feels?

You know, the Nuggets' lineup isn't much stronger than the Cavaliers.

Andre Miller and Voshon Lenard had 14 points, 6 assists, and 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists respectively, which is about the same as Boozer + Big Z.

The rest, such as Nene, Marcus Camby, and the 5'5" Earl Boykins, are just average players.

In terms of overall strength, the Nuggets may indeed be slightly stronger than the Cavaliers, but the environment the Nuggets are in is also more challenging than that of the Cavaliers.

In this round of comparison, James lost without any excuse.

This is also why there was so much controversy after the 2003 Rookie of the Year award was given to James.

The statistics are similar, but Anthony, who had a better record as a team leader, lost to James in the Rookie of the Year race. The only explanation is that James has higher commercial value, more media support, and is promoted by the league.

Wang Chong estimated that even with his addition, the competition for Rookie of the Year wouldn't be a foregone conclusion.

Putting aside the team records, let's just compare the stats.

Wang Chong's final statistics for the regular season were 20.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and a shooting percentage of 51%.

James' stats were 21 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6 assists, and a shooting percentage of 41%.  

Anthony's stats were 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a shooting percentage of 42%.

If the performance bonus is considered, Wang Chong definitely has the advantage. Even if efficiency is taken into account, he has the upper hand among the three. Even in terms of team performance, Wang Chong isn't completely riding the coattails of the O'Neal-Kobe combination. When the duo was out due to injuries in the middle of the season, Wang Chong, as the main core, also led the team to maintain a relatively high winning rate.

During that period, Wang Chong's average stats could reach 28+7. His strength wasn't fully reflected by an average of 20+6.

But even so, the Rookie of the Year will most likely go to James.

The power of capital cannot be underestimated, and it is not something Wang Chong can shake at this stage.

But just because it's not possible now doesn't mean it won't be possible in the future.

With the system behind him, Wang Chong is destined to be a player who will dominate the league in the future. James will also fall within his scope of domination and may even be the one who is suppressed the most.

After all, aside from anything else, James' accumulation of honors is indeed the strongest in the next few decades. His four regular-season MVPs are unmatched. Even Curry, who suddenly emerged, and later Antetokounmpo and Jokic, only have two regular-season MVPs.

In the future, the reason James has the confidence to call himself the GOAT is because of the four regular-season MVPs, the most All-NBA Team selections, and the all-time scoring champion title.

But now with Wang Chong, it is uncertain how many regular-season MVPs James can win...

After the regular season ends, the highly anticipated playoffs will begin in full swing.

In the Western Conference, the four first-round matchups are Lakers vs. Nuggets, Timberwolves vs. Rockets, Spurs vs. Grizzlies, and Kings vs. Mavericks.

The Lakers' first-round opponent is the Denver Nuggets, ranked eighth in the Western Conference.

Wang Chong and Anthony meet again in the playoffs.

Anthony was speechless. Why couldn't he get rid of Wang Chong?

Ever since he was defeated by Wang Chong and Wade in the NCAA finals, nothing good had ever happened to Anthony whenever he met Wang Chong.

They were beaten in the Summer League, then lost from the preseason to the regular season, and became a footnote to Wang Chong and James in the All-Star Rookie Challenge. Now in the playoffs, they're being dragged out by Wang Chong to be humiliated again.

That's right, it's a total humiliation.

Although the playoffs haven't officially started yet, no one, including the Nuggets players, thinks they have a chance of winning.

The opponent is the Lakers, who won 66 games in the regular season! And after entering the playoffs, Karl Malone will also return to full health. The Lakers will be back to a complete lineup after a long absence. How can the Nuggets compete?

Denver fans are all hoping that their team won't lose too badly, that the score difference in each game won't be too big, and that they can at least win one game to avoid a 4-0 sweep.

But obviously, even such an idea is wishful thinking.

On April 18, 2004, the first game of the first round of the playoffs officially began.

A nearly bloody massacre took place at the Staples Center, the Lakers' home court.

The Lakers ended the battle in less than three quarters, defeating the Nuggets 113-78 to get off to a good start in the playoffs. Although the 35-point difference wasn't the largest in NBA playoff history, it was still a very large margin.

End of this chapter

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