amaotonovel Chapter 408 Playoff Round 1, Knicks vs. Nets
Chapter 408 Playoff Round 1, Knicks vs. Nets
With the regular season over, the final standings have been released.
In the Eastern Conference, the Bucks, thanks to their strong performance after the All-Star break, are ranked first in the league with a record of 58 wins and 24 losses.
The Celtics and Nets are ranked second and third, respectively.
Following them are the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks, ranked 4th through 6th.
Even before the play-in tournament began, the Nets' opponent had already been determined: the sixth-ranked New York Knicks.
This arrangement is the best outcome for both the Nets and the Knicks.
Because neither team needs to travel long distances.
After the game, you can drive straight home.
The good news is that, due to the play-in tournament, the first game between the Nets and the Knicks will be on the 15th, and there are still 5 days until then.
The bad news is that the Nets aren't taking a break; the entire team is training.
Another piece of good news is that the Nets are all healthy.
Even Bensi, who always claimed to be sick, joined the training.
For Wang Xiucheng, this was his first time playing in the playoffs.
The biggest difference between the playoffs and the regular season is that you have to play against the same opponent for several games.
Sometimes you win the first game by a large margin, but lose the second game.
Because of this kind of series, opponents can make targeted adjustments and changes, effectively targeting the players who performed well in your previous game.
But teams like the Nets, which have more than one star player, are very difficult to defend.
This is why teams like the Lakers, despite having only average regular season rankings, can still win the championship.
Wang Xiucheng has never been very enthusiastic about training.
While he wouldn't be late or leave early, it's absolutely impossible to get Wang Xiucheng to practice like Durant.
Instead of wasting time on that, you should go out and spend time with your sisters.
For Wang Xiucheng, another major event occurred during this period.
Wang Xiucheng and Reba's twins have finally been born.
A boy and a girl, according to Chinese tradition, are called twins.
Wang Xiucheng also brought his parents over.
The two sets of parents have now officially met.
One can only imagine how his parents reacted to Wang Xiucheng.
"Your child with Reba? Two of them?" Wang Xiucheng's mother wanted to slap him. "And what about your child with that foreigner?"
"Your sister said you might have several children outside, and I didn't believe it at first..."
That evening, Wang Xiucheng was scolded by his parents for a long time.
And then, that was it!
Wang Xiucheng said he was sleepy and had a match to play tomorrow, so he went back to sleep.
This made Wang Xiucheng's parents want to teach their son a lesson, but they didn't know where to start.
These past few days, apart from the twin sisters, there haven't been any older sisters in New York.
Wang Xiucheng had to focus more on training.
Then I went back to spend the evening with Reba and the children.
Occasionally, I'll go back to the Wall Street sisters' place for a night's rest.
And so, the date arrived at April 15th.
Barclays Center.
Today, the Nets will face their city rivals, the Knicks, at home.
There are still more than ten minutes until the match.
The players on both sides had been warming up for some time.
Meanwhile, fans were still entering the stadium.
CCTV Sports and Tencent Sports, two major Chinese media outlets, occupied the two best positions under the basket and were conducting a pre-game live broadcast.
The Nets' playoff run isn't just a matter for Brooklyn fans.
This is also a matter for Chinese football fans.
So the game was originally scheduled for 6 p.m., but the league changed it to 8 p.m.
Because New York has entered daylight saving time, there is a 12-hour time difference with China.
If the match is at 6 PM, it's too early for Chinese fans.
Although 8 o'clock is still early, it is at least an acceptable time for most people.
For the league office, the viewership guarantee for the Nets-Knicks game is not even in New York.
But it's in China!
If it weren't for the Knicks' objections, the league office could have moved all the games to China.
Today, the entire Barclays Center is sponsored by Chinese companies.
Whether it's the LCD screen on the technical desk or the signs on the two basketball hoops.
Whether it's the text on both sides of the players' tunnel or the text on the backs of the fans' chairs, it's all in Chinese characters.
Someone unfamiliar with the situation might think they're watching a preseason game in China.
Just like in the regular season, there were quite a few stars watching from the sidelines today.
Besides die-hard fans like Mr. Vermeer, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, 50-meter, Bruno, and others were all present.
Sylvester Stallone arrived again with his three daughters.
If you're a New Yorker, just come and sit still.
As a result, the old man kept calling out to Wang Xiucheng, "If you win the championship, you can choose one of my daughters."
Wang Xiucheng didn't even glance at him.
That old man who doesn't keep his word—no wonder he has such a big nose; he's always lying.
On the left side of the scorer's table, near the Nets' bench, were Jason Statham and Van Dijk, along with Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, and Charlize Theron.
The five people sitting together attracted a lot of attention.
After all, Fast & Furious 10 is about to be released, and the two most important box office markets in the world are the United States and China.
These people may have watched a game today, but it's as if they didn't actually go to China, yet they still managed to promote the game.
Their position is very close to the Nets, so whenever the camera pans across the Nets' bench, it will already be showing them.
That's why these seats are the most expensive in this game.
Opposite these people sat Lillard, dressed casually, and Yu Jiahao, who was sitting next to him and took up a lot of space.
The Trail Blazers failed to make the playoffs this season, and didn't even qualify for the play-in tournament.
According to reports from Woj and Shams, there seems to be some rift between the Trail Blazers and Lillard.
There are even rumors that the Nets will use Ben West as the main asset in a trade for Lillard next season.
This will form a new Big Three.
Although both the Nets and the Trail Blazers' public relations departments denied the rumors.
But Lillard's appearance at the Barclays Center today seems to have given the rumor some credibility.
On the other side, there were seven women sitting, the one in the very center of whom was a person with a Chinese face.
While retrieving the ball, Wang Xiucheng made a point of coming over to shake hands and greet these people.
Especially the Chinese woman in the middle, Wang Xiucheng even hugged her.
These seven people are the players of the WNBA New York Liberty.
The Chinese man among them was Han Xu.
Compared to the men's basketball team, the Chinese women's basketball team is much stronger, and at one point it was second only to the United States team.
Naturally, many women's basketball players also play in the WNBA.
Han Xu was just one of them.
"Han, you know Wang, right?"
Wang Xiucheng grabbed the basketball and left to continue greeting the celebrities he knew.
A black woman next to Han Xu suddenly asked.
Han Xu shook his head: "This is the first time I've met him, although I've known about him for a long time."
Could you please introduce it to me?
Han Xu didn't even look at her. "Don't think about it. There's no way he could like you."
"Why don't you ask? Just in case?"
"Nothing unexpected."
In the distance, Wang Xiucheng continued to chat with people he knew.
With Jason Statham's introduction, Wang Xiucheng shook hands with the main cast and crew of Fast & Furious 10.
Aquaman Jason Momoa, when standing up, is almost as tall as Wang Xiucheng.
However, he was much stronger than Wang Xiucheng.
Although it was the first time Wang Xiucheng had met him, he always felt a sense of familiarity.
This guy does look a lot like Adams.
Charlize Theron and Brie Larson, with their elaborate makeup, appeared much quieter.
After shaking hands with Wang Xiucheng, he stood there without saying much.
Vin Diesel did most of the talking.
"Wang, if I had known you sooner, I would have invited you to make a cameo appearance," Vin Diesel said, seemingly jokingly.
"You must invite me next time. I'm a fan of Fast and Furious. I've watched it since the first movie, and back then, Paul Walker was my favorite."
Upon hearing Wang Xiucheng mention this name, both Jason Statham and Vin Diesel fell silent for a moment.
But a few seconds later, Vin Diesel happily said, "It's settled then, I'll definitely be looking for you for the next one."
Although everyone, including Vin Diesel himself, has said more than once that Fast & Furious 10 is the last one.
But for Hollywood, as long as a show can still make money, it's unlikely to end.
Let alone Fast & Furious 10, it wouldn't be surprising if Wang Xiucheng filmed Fast & Furious 20.