Basketball Myth: Super Guard

On March 8, the 76ers played against the Heat.

This game is a focused battle, and it may even be considered as a preview of the Eastern Conference finals.

But in the end, the 76ers lost.

In three consecutive games, the 76ers lost all of them. Although the opponents are not weak, the Heat is the defending champion, but it still makes people feel a little strange.

After all, the 76ers are No. 1 in the East.

It's just that no one knows that although the 76ers have lost three games in a row, the team, whether coaches or players, are very calm and calm.

Because the 76ers' goal now is the playoffs, for them, the last period of the regular season is to train and improve themselves, and the record is not important.

They are already locked in the playoffs anyway.

As for the playoffs?

It's not very important for the 76ers, because their goal is the Eastern Conference championship, so no matter which team they meet, they have to go forward.

But the outside world is full of discussions.

"What's wrong with the 76ers? Losing three games in a row wasn't common before."

"I don't know, maybe it's because the playoffs are approaching. They have already locked the playoffs anyway. In order to avoid injuries, or to save energy for the playoffs, they don't pay so much attention to these games."

"Well, there is a possibility. The 76ers actually have a chance to win these few games, but they don't seem to work too hard."

"I feel that there is something wrong with the way the 76ers play during this period. In these few games, the 76ers played very self-contained, and they played at their own pace. The opponents they encountered were different, but they did not make changes."

"I also discovered that, for example, the opponent is clearly focusing on defending three-pointers, but Qin still takes three-pointers frantically, throwing more than a dozen in a game, and sometimes the chances are not good; for example, Butler can obviously hit the basket, But he always chooses to shoot from the outside; and Leonard, who should have been an assistant, is the third or even fourth scoring point in the main lineup, but Qin always feeds him the ball... ."

All of this confuses fans.

......

On March 10, the 76ers beat the Eagles away to end their three-game losing streak.

But just a day later, the 76ers lost to the Nets by 5 points on the road against the Nets, which surprised fans again.

In the next few games, the 76ers won and lost.

Overall, though, the 76ers' win rate has dropped a lot since March, to less than 50 percent.

You must know that before the 76ers, my win rate ranked first in the East, staying above 70%, but this has dropped by more than 20%.

The drop in the win rate is accompanied by a drop in the ranking of the record.

After the 76ers lost to the Trail Blazers at home on March 18, the 76ers went 44-22 and fell to the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Bulls surpassed the 76ers in one fell swoop, with 45 wins and 21 losses, topped the Eastern Conference.

The Heat are third, the Knicks are fourth, the Pacers are fifth, the Hawks are sixth, the Celtics are seventh, the Nets are eighth, and then there are Bucks, Raptors, Pistons, Wizards, etc...

"Hey, I didn't expect that the regular season was coming to an end, and the 76ers fell to the No. 1 position in the Eastern Conference. It's a pity."

"Their record has declined seriously during this period, and it is not surprising that they were surpassed by the Bulls."

"To be honest, I feel that the 76ers have played very problematic during this time, it's just weird, and it's very different from before the All-Star weekend. Whether it's Qin, Butler, Leonard, or the team's overall tactics The way of playing is very different.”

"If you want me to say that the 76ers are floating. After all, they are a group of young people. They swell with some achievements. They start to relax when they see that entering the playoffs is a certainty, and they have no fighting spirit. Let’s put it here, this kind of team will definitely not go far in the playoffs.”

Seeing the 76ers fall from the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference, many fans felt regretful, and some were disappointed, and there were also some black fans. They felt that they had found an opportunity again, and they started to spray, and even slammed the 76ers. In this way, the playoffs will definitely pull the hip.

However, in the eyes of many NBA team coaches, it is another view.

......

Miami.

In the Heat's practice arena, players are working out, while head coach Spoelstra and two assistant coaches are talking about the 76ers.

Assistant coach Dan Craig said: "The 76ers have been surpassed by the Bulls. If the 76ers can't break out in the last period, I'm afraid the number one in the East will be completely out of play."

"Does it matter whether it is the first in the East?" Another assistant coach Bob McAdoo laughed: "In the 10-11 season, the Bulls played a record of 60 wins and 22 losses, ranking first in the East, only 1st in the league. The first Spurs have one less win, what a glorious sight, but what happened in the end? We didn't kill it 4:1."

"Oh, that's true." Craig also smiled.

The reason why nba teams will pursue a high record in the regular season is to ensure entry into the playoffs, and the second is to gain home field advantage after entering the playoffs, as well as the advantage in the playoffs.

When the two teams meet in the playoffs, the team with the better record has the home field advantage, and in the matchup, it will face the team with the lower record. In theory, the team with the lower record is weaker.

Of course, this is only theoretical.

If the regular season record can really be used to evaluate the strength of a team, then there is no need for the playoffs.

And, for some teams, the regular season record is not the most critical thing, such as the top four and top three teams in the East and West.

These teams are all capable of winning championships, and their goals are also championships, so for them, they will always encounter strong teams anyway, so there is no need to avoid them.

In the history of the NBA, the number one in the East and the No. 1 in the West missed the championship, and even failed to win the Eastern and Western Championships everywhere.

Just like the Heat.

Now the Heat ranks third in the Eastern Conference record, but they have only one goal, and that is to win the championship. It doesn't matter to them whether the regular season record is third or first. Anyway, they have the confidence to beat any team in the East in the playoffs.

"but......"

At this time, Coach Spoelstra said, "Although the 76ers have fallen to the No. 1 position in the East, it's obviously not that they can't keep the No. 1 position in the past few games, they just don't want to. Preparing for the playoffs, actively preparing for the game, at the expense of the record, and pursuing the improvement of the team's strength."

"It's not hard to see from this that the 76ers have big ambitions."