So just like that, Cousins ​​experienced the feeling of being traded during the game.

He acted relatively calmly. After all, he had already broken up with the Kings management before that, so the trade was expected.

And this result is also what he wants to see.

He and Davis are Kentucky alumni.

This is not just a simple relationship between seniors and juniors, but Naa's college basketball is structured into a system. Players who play in a system have a lot in common in their understanding of basketball.

And there may not have been any precedent in history for their super insider cooperation, so besides appearing calm, Davis was actually very excited inside.

He and Davis will dominate the three-second zone.

There are actually many other interesting stories about this transaction.

For example, the Warriors secretly asked the Pelicans management about Green.

"How about we trade Green, Ezeli and two draft picks for your Davis?"

"Toot! Toot! Toot!"

…

Then they found the Kings again.

"How do you want to replace Cousins?"

This time the Kings didn't hang up the phone.

It's not that the Warriors asked the question differently, but that the Kings did put Cousins ​​on the shelf.

This time the Kings made the first offer.

Their initial offer was Cousins ​​for Thompson plus draft picks.

However, it was impossible for the Warriors to break up the Splash Brothers, so they quickly took advantage of Green as the main bargaining chip.

The Kings still didn't hang up the phone, and it was obvious that they were anxious to send Cousins ​​away.

They said they could take advantage of Green's contract, but only if they still have Thompson and they can add last year's Hield to the deal.

To put it bluntly, what the Kings value is Thompson.

There are not many 3D players, and there are even fewer 3D players in history who can perform three-pointers to Thompson's level.

And this is not about building a team around Thompson, but about clearing up salary space to attract other free agents next summer.

After all, apart from the shooter, which superstar wouldn't want to have a super shooter as a teammate?

So in the end, the two sides still broke down.

Then something interesting happened. As soon as the Pelicans and Kings came into contact, they both teased the Warriors about their bargaining chip during negotiations.

Amidst the laughter, the two parties actually negotiated such a big deal before the trade deadline.

Of course, the impact of this transaction is not small.

Because managers of various teams generally arrange transactions after the All-Star Game weekend, most of them will be concentrated on the trade deadline.

Even if there is an advance, it will be before the All-Star weekend.

For someone who was traded during the All-Star Game, it would be fine if they were traded from the Western Conference to the Western Conference. But if they were traded to the Eastern Conference, wouldn't they have to switch to the opposite team to play?

So this special incident, and the fact that such a superstar was traded, really gave the league a good wake-up call.

The league's response was also quick. They took a few days to rest after the All-Star Game and immediately decided to move the trade deadline to after the All-Star Game starting from the next season.

This wave has also been welcomed by players and teams.

Players will avoid the embarrassment like Cousins, and the team will have more time to get used to the new players.

However, the fans' mood may be even worse, because according to the current arrangement, including the All-Star Weekend, there will be about a week of offseason.

If there is no game to watch this week, fans will still feel a little lonely.

The All-Star Game is a watershed. After more than 50 games in the first half, a team's performance for the season has basically been finalized.

Very few teams can complete a comeback in the second half of the season.

As for the possibility of changing the rankings in the last seven games or even the last three games, it is even slimmer.

Because a team's poor performance shows that there are many problems. If they could be solved in a short time, they would have been solved long ago.

Therefore, at this time, the teams that should rush into the rankings continue to rush into the rankings, and the teams that are ready to start are also ready to use the final trade deadline to start giving away players, and are ready to switch to the decline mode to strive for higher draft picks.

Then it was against this background that the season entered the second half of the season.

At this time, several things are worth paying attention to.

One is Green.

Green has experienced ups and downs in his life this season, and for the first time, his Warriors career almost ended.

So after the All-Star Game, he suddenly seemed like a different person. He became much more low-key and restrained on the court, and more importantly, his three-point shooting continued to get better.

This is easy to explain. When a person is confident, especially when the head coach loves you, he will not feel a sense of crisis.

But once you are no longer for sale, and you may be kicked out of Wenrou Township tomorrow, then a sense of urgency will appear, and you will have motivation and so on.

Can’t lose weight? Don’t have time to exercise? It doesn’t exist!

Green's resurgence also brought the Warriors into a new sweet period. They won 12 consecutive victories in one breath.

Although they are no longer able to compete for the 75 wins that Green mentioned before due to their previous ups and downs, it is still possible to win 70 games for two consecutive seasons.

And the corresponding one is...

The Nets' record is still soaring, and they are really going to break the regular season record!

Even if it makes your imagination run wild, no one would have thought before the start of the season that the 73 wins created by the Warriors might be broken in just the second season!

This record is not even warm when I hold it in my hand!

The Warriors and Nets are still the most watched teams in the second half of the season.

But in addition to them, another team also came in at this time.

This team is the Pelicans that traded for Cousins.

After Cousins ​​arrived at the Pelicans, he was widely praised by the media and was even called the "Kentucky Twin Towers" by fans.

But the twin towers didn't find a coach that suited them.

The Pelicans' head coach is none other than Lin Ying's former coach, former champion coach Gentry.

Gentry is capable, which can be seen from his ability to lead the Suns to win the championship.

But he is the kind of coach who only has one system.

So the Pelicans are in a very awkward situation, allowing the Twin Towers to bombard them.

This is simply asking a dwarf to ride a big horse, which is inappropriate!

Fortunately, Davis is a flexible insider suitable for the small ball era.

But Cousins ​​​​is uncomfortable. He is a traditional center, dragging so much weight to run around the court. Not to mention his physical fitness, his knees can't bear it.

And more importantly, the Pelicans' record has not improved because of the addition of Cousins.

In the past, Davis was doing the empty-cutting alone, but now, it is Davis and Cousins ​​who are doing the empty-cutting together!

Many nights, the two of them worked hard to the point of exhaustion, but were unable to gain a victory for the team.

This made them feel an unprecedented sense of frustration and exhaustion.

And in the end, these finally concentrated on Cousins' body.

In the game against the Warriors, the Pelicans played extremely bravely, with the twin towers inside frantically ravaging the Warriors in the paint.

However, they could not stop the Warriors' outside three-pointers, and the two sides engaged in high-speed offensive and defensive battles.

This kind of performance also caused a feeling of sympathy between the players on the field.

After Cousins ​​fell during a confrontation, James, as his opponent, went over with Davis and intimately pulled him up from the ground.

If it weren't for the fact that they were wearing different jerseys, you would have thought they were on the same team.

The game also reached the decisive moment in this anxious atmosphere.

It was at this time that Cousins ​​suffered an unforced injury during a fast break. His legs tripped and fell to the ground, and he was unable to get up while holding his left foot.

In the end, he tried and failed to stand up, so he sat on the sidelines with the help of the team doctor.

The team doctor was originally going to take him for examination immediately, but Cousins ​​sat on the sidelines willfully.

After fighting for almost a whole game, he wanted to fight with his teammates until the last moment, even if he couldn't stay on the court.

It's a pity that in the end, like countless games in the past, the Pelicans only missed a breath until the last moment and still lost to the Warriors.

After the game, James walked to the Kings half court to care about Cousins.

Cousins ​​was a little frustrated. He just exchanged a few words with James and then went back to the locker room with the team doctor.

Most people didn't realize the impact Cousins' fall would have until the season inspection report came out.

Cousins ​​ruptured his left Achilles tendon and is out for the season!

Moreover, this is a rupture of the Achilles tendon. It is not as simple as being reimbursed for the season. It may directly destroy the entire career.

Before this, countless players have died due to this injury.

The most representative one is Isaiah Thomas, the leader of the "Bad Boys" of the Pistons. He was a player who could not be beaten with all kinds of dirty moves in this game. In the end, he immediately announced his retirement due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.

This wave is a disaster for the Pelicans.

They originally expected the Twin Towers to rise, but they didn't expect that the Twin Towers would end just as they began.

Although modern medicine is more advanced and Cousins ​​is more likely to recover, the impact of this injury will not be small even if it can be recovered.

Especially for inside players, once there is a problem with a player's foot, it is basically impossible to get back.

It was under this situation that some fans began to gloat, saying that Cousins ​​was here to destroy the Pelicans.

The Pelicans paid almost all their valuable chips for him, but in the end they got a sick man who could only sit on the bench.

Some fans even said that Cousins ​​has determined that he will never be able to get back, so he should trade him out as soon as the season is over, otherwise he will really lose his money and not get any money back.

The NBA can be so cruel sometimes. After just a few days, how many people remember that Cousins ​​still fought with his teammates on the sidelines to the end after being injured?

…

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it’s early April.

It was at this time that every game of the Nets began to become the focus of attention from the outside world, because they were getting closer and closer to breaking the NBA record.

Of course, the resistance the Nets are encountering is getting stronger and stronger.

Everyone wants to be the one who stops the Nets from completing their record.

Then, they failed to do it in the end!

On April 16, after the Nets finally defeated the Grizzlies at home, their final record of the season was fixed at 74 wins and 8 losses!

Well, this record is still one game away from the 75 wins Durant and Lin Ying talked about before the season, but it still breaks the Warriors' record of 73 wins!

Moreover, the perception of the Nets' record-breaking performance is completely different from that of the Warriors last season.

The Warriors were exhausted from playing until the end, and finally used all their strength to break their previous record of 72 wins.

To put it bluntly, this is determined by the Warriors' style of play. Their style of play places more emphasis on touch. When the touch comes, no one can stop it. It is normal to clock out in the third quarter.

But the Nets are a bit like the 72-win Bulls back then. They are the kind of team that is stronger than you and can beat you with steady performance.

If we have to make a comparison, it would be that the Warriors have a high upper limit and may have a low lower limit, but the Nets have a high lower limit and a high upper limit.

At the end of the season, fans' attention suddenly focused on the upcoming playoffs and the possible Yong-Net battle.

Although there were ups and downs and the process was somewhat tortuous, as Green gradually regained his touch and form, the Warriors have gradually begun to become the Warriors team that fans have expected.

In other words, they have enough strength to have a matchup of the century with the Nets.

Therefore, compared to the regular season, the playoffs are the more anticipated part of this season.

After the season ends, the Eastern and Western divisions will be released.

On the Western side, first to eighth are: Warriors, Spurs, Lakers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Thunder, Grizzlies, Jazz;

The Nets successfully won 74 wins and broke the record. However, after the Warriors suffered losses last season, they lost some strength at the end of the season. Then they encountered the Thunder in the last game when Westbrook exploded and lost the game. Their record was last

Set at 69 wins.

In addition, the Spurs and Lakers also won 61 and 60 wins respectively, making them the three teams in the Western Conference with records of more than 60 wins.

This result in the Western Conference can be said to be full of expectations for fans.

Because if the Warriors want to break through from the Western Conference, the Spurs and Lakers will definitely become a major obstacle for them.

Who can guarantee that the Warriors, who won 73 games and were the runner-up, will not break out of the Western Conference when they win 69 games?

In the East, the order from first to eighth is: Nets, Raptors, Knicks, Hornets, Wizards, Hawks, Cavaliers, Bucks;

The Nets stand out with 75 wins, while the second-place Raptors only have 55 wins. The gap is more than 100 million points in 20 games.

The Hornets' performance dropped significantly after the All-Star Game as Walker's condition declined. This way of building the team has a great impact on the offensive core.

With the end of the regular season, the situation of the first round matchup has also been released.

In the East, the Nets will face the Bucks led by Antetokounmpo in the first round.
Chapter completed!