The wild, chaotic Western Conference Playoffs' first round finally ended with victories for the Jazz, SuperSonics, and Spurs.
The Suns, who had overextended themselves during the regular season, regrettably lost to the Jazz in a heartbreaking Game 7 at home. Kirilenko and Boozer's sudden brilliance helped the Jazz win this thrilling offensive battle on the road.
In that game, the "AK47" from Russia put up an impressive 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks. Boozer, who always managed to get Stoudemire switched onto him through pick-and-rolls, shot 16-of-24 from the field and made all 6 of his free throws, absolutely dominating with 38 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Suns' unexpected early exit in the first round of the playoffs objectively showed just how smart the Warriors' "priorities" strategy was, which they set before the regular season even started. Maybe going all out every single night could have helped the Warriors win more regular season games... but then, by the time the playoffs rolled around, the Warriors would likely have been as exhausted as the Suns were this year.
Chris Paul, facing off against Steve Nash, delivered an excellent series, averaging 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists. Even though he picked up some of Stockton's sneaky habits, it didn't stop Nash from averaging 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 11 assists for the Suns. But in this era where winning is everything, Paul, only in his second year and having defeated Nash thanks to his teammates' stellar performances, was still crowned the "Point God" by that mysterious commentator from the East.
In their Game 7 against the Lakers, the SuperSonics, who underestimated their opponents and were forced into a do-or-die game at KeyArena, secured a perfect defensive win, sending Kobe Bryant to spend his early mornings with the "4 AM Sun" of Los Angeles a little sooner. The ambitious Lakers just couldn't unleash the full power of their Triangle Offense in this series. Pau Gasol, whom Zack had personally labeled a "softie" before, was practically kneaded into a fragrant Spanish white dough ball by "Full-Throttle" in the game.
After Game 7, Gasol was, of course, savaged by the Los Angeles media. However, Kobe, who was feeling the worst on the Lakers' team, still stood by Gasol, saying, "The loss is absolutely not Paul's (Gasol's) fault. He's the big man with the highest basketball IQ in the league right now; we just didn't let him do what he's better at on the court."
Gasol's strengths are his mobility, his facilitating abilities, and his elegant offensive skills. In the Lakers' first-round playoff series this year, Gasol had to take on a massive amount of rim protection, essentially playing to his weaknesses against the opponent's strengths. Phil Jackson and his think tank had already foreseen this in the latter half of the regular season. It was just too late for the Lakers to "rob" another team for a reliable center. After all, even if Zack had traveled back in time, and even if the Dallas Mavericks would be crazy enough to give Luka Dončić to his Lakers if he wanted, they'd still have to follow the "basic rules of robbery."
On the same night, with the entire Warriors team watching, the Game 7 showdown between the Mavericks and the Spurs became the most "heartbreaking" series for Zack and his teammates. If the Warriors' opponent in the second round had been the Mavericks, Zack was even ready to pop that bottle of champagne flown in from Istanbul to celebrate the Warriors advancing to this year's Western Conference Finals early.
However... "Little General" Johnson was ultimately the Mavericks' fatal flaw. Even though Kidd, who always liked to grab the coach's clipboard, had repeatedly reined in Johnson's restless, self-destructive tendencies in this series, Johnson still, in a daze, dragged the entire Mavericks team into the abyss in Game 7.
"Dirk already scored 25 points for them in the first three quarters... why on earth did they insist on making Josh Howard the primary scorer in the fourth quarter?" Baron Davis asked, utterly perplexed.
"In my opinion, that's not even the craziest part... the craziest thing is they actually wanted Jason Kidd to close out the game."
In that Game 7 against the Spurs, Kidd shot a total of 15 times but only made 4 of them. And in the most crucial moments of the final quarter, Kidd alone took 5 shots. If Josh Howard, who took over from Nowitzki, could at least use his solid fundamentals to punish the Spurs' wing defense, which relied solely on toughness and grit, then wanting Kidd to kill the game can only be described as Avery Johnson being somewhat delusional.
According to the schedule, in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Warriors will face the Spurs, while the SuperSonics will take on the Jazz. Since this year's playoffs tacitly allow for higher defensive intensity, the Warriors must forget their sweet victory over the Spurs last year. Every season is a fresh start. In Zack's memory, the Spurs, who will win the championship this year and use it to keep Duncan, are definitely an incredibly tough opponent.
As for the SuperSonics... the Jazz's style of play naturally counters them, which will undoubtedly lead to a tough battle. Yao Ming, with Garnett assisting him, isn't really that afraid of the two-big lineup of Okur and Boozer. But the SuperSonics' weak point guard position has already quietly set the stage for Paul, a "come at me if you dare" moment.
37-year-old Sam Cassell, 38-year-old Gary Payton, and Earl Watson, who is similar in height to Paul... If Paul can't punish such a star-studded backcourt, then Zack can only say... the NCAA Championship trophy he won with Paul in college might just be the greatest achievement of his entire career.
On the 7th, the NBA officially announced the regular season awards for the 2006-07 season.
Oakland.
Furious Warriors fans instantly stormed the NBA's official website.
"Rigged! Rigged! Rigged!"
The league, who had seen this movie before, was completely baffled. They checked and re-checked their news announcement countless times... and couldn't find anything wrong.
Zack won the 2006-07 NBA Regular Season MVP by a landslide, becoming the first-ever Asian MVP in NBA history. Furthermore, Zack also became only the third player in NBA history, after Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, to win both the Regular Season MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
David Stern couldn't understand it. With Zack being like this, how much more did the league need to promote him to satisfy the world?
"Why wasn't the Messiah a unanimous MVP? How dare LeBron James steal votes from him?!"
"Shameless vote thief! The league personally ruined the Messiah's perfect season!"
"Despicable Jew, you'll be burned alive one day!"
Clearly, the NBA couldn't give both the MVP and DPOY awards to Zack at the same time and have him win MVP unanimously. After all, if the 23-year-old Zack were to pull off another miracle in the future... where would the league find room for him to improve? In fact, if Zack's defensive stats this year hadn't been so impressive, and if the league hadn't wanted to appease the fans who were furious about Zack not winning MVP last year, Stern wouldn't have even wanted Zack to win Defensive Player of the Year again.
However, the league's wise decision to give the DPOY award to Zack this year unintentionally saved this great honor from being tarnished by Marcus Camby. Historically, by racking up averages of 3.2 blocks and 1.2 steals per game in the regular season, Camby raised the average height of the DPOY honor in the 2006-07 season while single-handedly lowering its prestige.
This season, purely based on defensive stats, Zack's numbers are far better than Camby's. And given Zack's unwillingness to be a stat-padder, he'll eventually use his continuous defensive improvements to prove his "two-way" game. So, compared to Camby holding a trophy he clearly couldn't handle, this DPOY award absolutely belongs to Zack!
Additionally, this year's Rookie of the Year was awarded to "Little King" Brandon Roy. The Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year awards both went to Monta Ellis of the Lakers. Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown narrowly edged out Mike Malone for Coach of the Year. Since Malone was coaching the Warriors, who were already the reigning champions before he took over, this likely affected his standing in the eyes of his peers. It's worth noting that Brown and Malone, who finished first and second in Coach of the Year voting this year, worked together last season. This couldn't help but make people feel the strength of the Cavaliers' coaching staff.
However, for these people with ulterior motives, Zack, as LeBron's good friend, saw right through their intentions.
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! From "young LeBron" to "old LeBron," if Zack's memory serves him right... when has LeBron ever worked with a "great coach" in his entire career? Brown and Malone are merely mediocre coaches who benefited from the "Chosen One" and the "Messiah," respectively! Even if Brown was a unanimous NBA Coach of the Year in Zack's memory, and even if Malone, who assisted LeBron for several years, leads the Nuggets to sweep "Thanos LeBron's" Lakers in the future... that still doesn't prove they are "great coaches"! In Zack's eyes, only coaches like Doc Rivers and Steve Kerr, who are among the NBA's top fifteen all-time coaches, can be called great.
Of course... if you absolutely had to ask Zack if he wanted to be coached by these two "top fifteen" coaches, Zack would only say that if Mullin dared to let these two coach the Warriors, he would personally ask to be banished to Toronto and Minnesota.
On the day the awards were announced, the selections for the All-NBA Teams and All-Defensive Teams were also a major focus for fans.
The results of the 2006-07 NBA All-NBA Teams and All-Defensive Teams are as follows:
All-NBA First Team: Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Zack, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash. All-NBA Second Team: Amar'e Stoudemire, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul. All-NBA Third Team: Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony, Gilbert Arenas, Chauncey Billups.
All-Defensive First Team: Ben Wallace, Zack, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Bruce Bowen. All-Defensive Second Team: Marcus Camby, Kevin Garnett, Tayshaun Prince, Bruce Bowen, Jason Kidd.
Although Zack's appearance significantly altered the NBA's historical trajectory, it's just as in Zack's memory... this year's award results marked the only time in NBA history that both the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team were entirely comprised of players from the same conference.
The Suns, who had overexerted themselves in the regular season, still managed to get two consolation prizes in the All-NBA selections. The steady performance of the SuperSonics' "Big Three" in the regular season allowed Kevin Garnett, last season's "no-team power forward," to return to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams. Howard and Paul's progress this season also didn't go unnoticed. Although the former has already left Patrick Ewing in tears, you can't deny the defensive area and rim protection Howard provided for the Magic. The latter, however, seemed to receive more of a push from the league. After all, Paul's "big brothers" were clearly the key to "CP3" breaking through the first round of the playoffs for two consecutive seasons.
LeBron James, who stole several MVP votes from Zack, only made the All-NBA Second Team, which was the league's intentional compensation for the fierce competition in the Western Conference this year. There's only so much pie to go around in the NBA each year, and Stern couldn't possibly slice it evenly for every player. That's unrealistic, and it could even lead to the NBA destroying the fundamental principles of award selection.
Oracle Arena.
The Warriors held a grand press conference for Zack as his award ceremony. Since this year was the most unanimous Regular Season MVP selection in NBA history, it gave Mullin, the "old drunk," more time to prepare. The entire Warriors team, Nike executives, and Zack's two closest people, Evans and Rachel, all attended Zack's award ceremony in formal attire.
At this grand "posthumous commendation ceremony," Zack, who had already crowned himself last year, thanked everyone he was supposed to, as usual, and then said, "Many people want to know the secret to my success... In my opinion, the secret to success is to ensure you live in the present, give your all every day, reject shortcuts, and take every step grounded in reality. I hope I can inspire everyone to be themselves, to be humble and modest, and to be grateful for all the blessings in life. Finally, I am incredibly honored to be your MVP and DPOY this season. Thank you, everyone!"
Zack's 15-minute acceptance speech was not only well-organized but also managed to portray his past slumps as just youthful indiscretions before finding his way back. As Zack vividly recounted his journey of self-redemption, he even moved many reporters present.
"He deserves all of this! We used to only see his success and forgot how much hardship he went through before achieving it. Success in life is fleeting, while failure is the main theme. When a butterfly crosses the ocean, how can one not love such a Messiah?" Kwame Brown said when interviewed at the awards ceremony.
"His talent is both a gift from God and a reward for his hard work. I've been with him since college, and every time he runs, it's a desire for victory, a persistent pursuit of his dreams," Evans, Zack's personal general manager, shed emotional tears on the spot.
This was destined to be a wonderful night, a happy day. Before the Western Conference Semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs, Zack, having won both the MVP and DPOY awards, would carry this joy into Oracle Arena for another showdown with Tim Duncan on the playoff stage.
As Duncan's junior, Zack specifically invited Duncan to dinner on the day the Spurs arrived in Oakland. Unlike what fans who historically believed Duncan would never leave the Spurs thought, the truth is, Duncan's relationship with the Spurs was always quite subtle in the first decade of the 21st century. Aside from the widely publicized "runaway" incident where Duncan almost joined the Orlando Magic, in 2003, when signing that 7-year, $122 million contract extension with the Spurs, Duncan already left himself some room to maneuver for his future. In that contract, to ensure he had control, Duncan specifically added a player option. This option would become effective in the summer of 2007. Only if Duncan chose to exercise this option could the Spurs ensure Duncan would stay in San Antonio until at least 2010.
And from the 3-year, $32.6 million extension he signed with the Spurs in 2000, to the renegotiation in the summer of 2003, and then to Duncan's player option in the summer of 2007... a more authentic and realistic Tim Duncan has emerged before the world. No one is perfect. In the NBA, a league always prioritizing profit, how could Duncan, who attended four years of college, foolishly display his one-sided loyalty to the Spurs?
In the 2002-03 season, the Spurs won the championship, and Duncan re-signed. In the 2006-07 season, the Spurs won the championship, and Duncan chose to exercise his player option in the summer. The "one-man, one-city" story is always a beautiful tale in the NBA. But a superstar will only choose loyalty when the team doesn't betray him.
"Have you ever considered leaving San Antonio and starting fresh somewhere else?" Zack immediately showed his curiosity to Duncan at the dinner.
And Duncan? The next second, after wolfing down a piece of carrot cake, Duncan uncharacteristically fell silent for a long time.
"I don't know."
About three minutes later, Duncan's answer satisfied Zack's curiosity.
"I'm already the third player in NBA history to win both MVP and DPOY."
"Huh?"
"I'll celebrate with my second championship ring this year."
"Huh!?"
"So, be prepared, Tim! You can start thinking about whether you should use that player option now. I will personally destroy your chances of winning a championship in this upcoming Western Conference Semifinals."
"Huh!??!"
At that moment, looking at Zack with a surprised expression, Duncan realized that his junior seemed to have far surpassed him in the art of messing with people's minds.
"Were you really just curious if I'd leave the Spurs?"
"I admit, my curiosity stemmed from wanting to mess with your head before the game starts."
"You're very naive... but you did hurt me."
"It's okay. When the game comes, I'll hurt you every night, my dear senior."
"I really shouldn't have come to this dinner."
"But you still came."
"Why on earth did I come to this dinner? Just so you could mess with my head?"
"That's right."
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