The Kings defeated the Timberwolves and advanced to the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
As a result, the teams in the Western Conference that have advanced to the playoffs are ranked as follows.
No. 1, Los Angeles Lakers.
No. 2, San Antonio Spurs.
No. 3, Memphis Grizzlies.
No. 4, New Orleans Pelicans.
No. 5, Dallas Mavericks.
No. 6, Los Angeles Clippers.
No. 7, Salt Lake City Jazz.
No. 8, Sacramento Kings.
The Kings will face their old rivals the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
This round of duel is undoubtedly the most interesting in the first round.
The highlight is not that the two teams are close in strength. In fact, the gap in strength between the two teams is quite large.
Especially the Lakers, their two No. 1 picks, King Arthur and Big Eyebrow, and their rookie last year, Milano Barton.
Although he is only a sophomore, he is already averaging 18.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
These three people form the only Big Three combination in the league this year.
The three averaged 78.3 points per game.
This is a very exaggerated figure.
And their role players are also very capable.
Compared with their lineup, the Kings' lineup is not on the same level at all.
The reason why this matchup is interesting is because of the ace players on both sides.
Arthur Wang of the Lakers is one of the most outstanding players in the NBA in the past two years or so after Wang Yi retired.
Even if Giannis Antetokounmpo meets Arthur Wang, he only has 4 or 6 openings.
Alphabet Ge Ge is four, King Arthur is six.
Especially after Wang Yi's comeback, Arthur Wang, who was already about to take a rest, turned on the furious mode.
In the last 7 games, he averaged 45 points, 13 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game.
He was obviously stimulated by Wang Yi's comeback.
Now that he has to face Wang Yi's team, he will naturally have to maximize his output.
As for the Kings, although Wang Yi's status has been up and down since his comeback, and he is very good at three-pointers, especially his physical fitness has always been a big problem.
But he is Wang Yi after all, the absolute king for those four years.
During the period when Wang Yi retired, there was always a debate about who was stronger, Wang Yi or Wang Arthur.
Many fans think Wang Yi is definitely the strongest player in history, while others think Wang Arthur is the strongest.
It's a pity that Wang Yi had already retired when Arthur Wang played, so the two couldn't compete head-on. The first round of this year's playoffs will feature a duel between these two.
This is the biggest highlight of the showdown between the two sides.
As for which team will win, everyone's opinion is surprisingly unanimous, it must be the Lakers.
The Lakers are the favorite to win the championship this year, and their configuration is far more reasonable than the Kings.
There are many more people who can handle the ball than the Kings.
The Kings only rely on Wang Yi, who has just come back, and his physical fitness is far from NBA standards. It is obviously impossible to fight against such a Lakers team.
Even the most die-hard Wang Yi fans don't think the Kings can defeat the Lakers.
They feel that as long as Wang Yi can beat Arthur Wang in terms of data, they will be very satisfied.
They even feel that this is Wang Yi's first season back, and his physical condition and competitive condition are far from reaching their peak, so even if Wang Yi loses to Arthur Wang in terms of statistics, they can accept it as long as the loss is not too ugly.
.
As long as Wang Yi is given three months, the Kings will make a comeback next season and they will definitely be able to deal with Arthur Wang and the Lakers.
So before the game, whether it was the professional ball commentators, NBA celebrities, NBA fans, or fans, they almost unanimously believed that the Lakers could win.
According to an official online survey, 93.7% of fans believe the Lakers can win.
Only 6.3% of fans think the Kings can win.
In fact, they cast such a vote just to give themselves some psychological comfort.
They are all die-hard fans, they are just tough talkers.
Even deep down they think it will be difficult for the Kings to beat the Lakers.
There is only one person in the entire NBA who thinks the Kings can win.
This person is the biggest bully in the past: Stephen A. Smith.
He said on his show:
"Other experts and B&Bs have analyzed a lot about the showdown between the Kings and Lakers. Almost everyone believes that the Lakers will win the final victory."
"They analyzed the comparison of the lineups of the two sides, the comparison of the strength of the two main players, the comparison of the role players of the two sides and the comparison of the head coaches of the two sides. In almost every aspect, the Lakers have an advantage."
"So they think the Lakers will win the final victory, and I think their analysis is correct. But the winner must be the Kings in the end. If you insist on me giving you one reason, there is only one reason, because the Kings have Wang Yi.
"
"Wang Yi once led the Kings to create too many miracles, so I believe that he will still lead the Kings to create miracles this time."
Many American fans were ridiculing Smith's remarks.
"This guy used to be the biggest Yihei, how come he became Yichui this time."
"This guy just likes to go against the fans and he uses this to attract traffic."
"He is the guy I hate the most, no one. Although he always opposed everyone in the past, he could always give you some reasons to convince you. Now, because there is no lower limit for traffic, he blindly opposes everyone, and even says
No reason."
Not only fans, but also many American commentators and experts expressed disdain for Stephen A. Smith.
However, Stephen A. Smith still went his own way and expressed his support for the Kings through Twitter.
This caused a lot of scolding.
…
On the morning of the second day after the Kings' playoff game, NBA executives held a meeting.
Participating in this meeting were NBA President David Silver, NBA Vice President Mark Tatum, general managers of each team, and Players Association Chairman Antetokounmpo and Vice Chairman Irving.
Among them, the general managers of seven teams were unable to travel because they were too far away, so they participated in the meeting via video link.
At this time, all participants were staring at David Silver.
On the day after the play-offs, they all should have had a few days off after a busy season.
Now they were suddenly summoned to a meeting. I don't know what Xiao Hua meant.
Xiao Hua's forehead was shining, even reflecting light under the light.
He opened his mouth and said:
"The topic of our meeting is that Wang Yi's salary will not be included in the team's total salary next season."
As soon as this was said, the scene fell into silence.
Then Antetokounmpo was the first to say: "I object!"
Irving followed without thinking: "As the vice chairman of the players union, I have the right to deny any decision of the NBA president."
If Wang Yi's salary is not included in the team's total salary, then in theory, as long as the boss is willing to pay, Wang Yi can take as much money as he wants without being restricted by the salary cap and luxury tax.
Wang Yi can form a super triumvirate.
This is undoubtedly a huge blow to other stars and teams.

Chapter completed!