Six major awards in the league, four were swept by the SuperSonics, the proportion of this sweep is truly unparalleled.
Fortunately, the last two individual awards, the Defensive Player of the Year award, was given to Garnett of the Lakers, and the Most Improved Player award was given to Turkoglu of the Magic!
This season, Turkoglu, with an annual salary of only 6.3 million, contributed 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5 assists per game for the Magic, which was even greater than the contribution of Lewis, who had an annual salary of 14.88 million!
Lewis contributed 18.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists for the Magic this season...
There is no problem with awarding this Most Improved Player to Turkoglu.
After the six individual awards came the five statistical leaders.
This season's league scoring champion belongs to James of the Cavaliers!
James averaged 30 points per game this season, surpassing Kobe, Iverson, Anthony, and others, becoming the league's new scoring champion.
He Xi Meng, with an absolute advantage, regained the throne of the league's assist leader. Last season, it was mainly because He Xi Meng did not play a single regular season game, otherwise, Paul would have found it difficult to become the assist leader in the 2006-07 season.
"Superman" Howard became the rebounding champion with an average of 14.2 rebounds.
Marcus Camby became the block leader with 3.6 blocks.
Paul became the steals leader with 2.7 steals.
After the individual awards and statistical leaders came the league's team awards.
The five players selected for this season's All-NBA First Team were Howard, Garnett, James, Kobe, and He Xi Meng.
The five players selected for the All-NBA Second Team were Stoudemire, Duncan, Nowitzki, Nash, and Paul.
The five players selected for the All-NBA Third Team were Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, Pierce, Ginobili, and Deron.
With three players selected, the SuperSonics became the team with the most players selected for the All-NBA teams in the league, surpassing the Spurs and the Lakers in prestige.
The five players selected for the All-Defensive First Team were Camby, Duncan, Garnett, Kobe, and Bowen.
The five players selected for the All-Defensive Second Team were Howard, Prince, Battier, Raja Bell, and Paul.
The SuperSonics only had Kobe selected, but this did not mean that the SuperSonics' defense was not good.
Especially for the interior player Marc Gasol, his defensive ability improved rapidly.
On the bench, Tucker and Sefolosha's defensive abilities also increased significantly, providing considerable support for Durant.
He Xi Meng's defensive ability has always been underestimated, but in fact, all the top point guards in the league seem to not gain much advantage when facing He Xi Meng...
With all the awards settled, the second round of the playoffs was about to reignite.
Generally speaking, from the second round onwards, the playoffs truly entered their rhythm, and strong teams would engage in direct collisions!
The SuperSonics' opponent in the semifinals was the defending champion Spurs from last season!
The Spurs originally had a chance to avoid the SuperSonics.
In the first half of the regular season, the Spurs' record was second only to the SuperSonics, ahead of the Lakers and the Mavericks.
However, in the second half, the Lakers picked up the pace, surpassing the Spurs, and ranked second in the Western Conference. The Spurs remained unfazed, continuing their strategy of large rotations and rest days.
Towards the end of the regular season, the Mavericks also began to push hard, playing every game with all their might, just to avoid encountering the SuperSonics too early.
The Mavericks' thought was that they would rather face the Lakers than the SuperSonics.
But the Spurs remained unfazed.
In the words of Spurs head coach Popovich, "What's the difference between one round earlier or later? You'll have to face them eventually! If you're going to lose, might as well do it sooner and finish it, so you can rest for a few more days..."
The old man's words were not wrong. But there were few teams in the league that could see things so clearly.
More teams were like the Mavericks, able to choose a weaker opponent. Who wouldn't want to face a stronger opponent?
The Spurs' starting lineup this season was the same as last season.
It was still Oberto + Duncan + Finley + Bowen + Parker, with Ginobili coming off the bench as the sixth man.
This lineup had proven to be very effective last season, and Popovich was too lazy to change it.
Patching and mending for another year was the best tradition of this Spurs team.
However, the biggest problem with using the same lineup for too long is that opponents can figure out your strategies.
Other teams couldn't beat the Spurs because, although they knew the Spurs' strategies, their strength was limited, and they couldn't handle the "GDP" trio even with all their cards on the table.
But the current SuperSonics were not "other teams." He Xi Meng not only understood the Spurs' strategies better than other teams but also had the strength to defeat the "GDP" trio!
Unlike the NBA Finals last season, this time when facing the Spurs again, He Xi Meng had more than just Yao Ming by his side.
Kobe, the Gasol brothers, Durant, Hill...
Under He Xi Meng's command, the SuperSonics first implemented a targeted defense on Parker!
Parker was truly miserable. He never had a good outcome every time he faced He Xi Meng.
He Xi Meng couldn't contain Duncan, nor could he contain Ginobili, so he concentrated all his defensive efforts on Parker... After all, Parker was the only one in the "GDP" trio who could defend!
The starting lineup contained Parker, and the reserve lineup contained Ginobili, forcing the Spurs to funnel all their possessions to Duncan alone.
In the first game, although Duncan scored a game-high 30 points, the Spurs lost the game as expected.
In Game 2, the SuperSonics, playing at home, not only contained Parker and Ginobili, but Pau Gasol also made Duncan play below par with a cold shooting touch.
The SuperSonics had built a 15-point lead by the end of the third quarter, and Popovich directly gave up on the fourth quarter, preparing to retreat to their home court.
In Game 3, back on their home court, the "GDP" trio all went off. Especially Ginobili, who came off the bench and scored a game-high 30 points, helping the Spurs to a big victory over the SuperSonics.
In Game 4, Ginobili's frenzy subsided, but Brent Barry stepped into Ginobili's position, assisting Duncan and Parker in a hard-fought battle against the SuperSonics until the last moment of the game.
In the decisive moments, Kobe made a mid-range turnaround jump shot, and He Xi Meng made a catch-and-shoot three-pointer after an elevator door play, helping the SuperSonics maintain their slim lead.
The SuperSonics won a narrow 2-point victory over the Spurs, taking a 3-1 lead in the series and directly crushing the Spurs' hopes of advancing to the next round.
In Game 5, to avoid any unexpected twists, Kobe went all out and scored 39 points, defeating the Spurs decisively and not giving the Spurs any chance of a comeback.
With a 4-1 series lead, the SuperSonics left the Spurs with no lingering thoughts, cleanly eliminating the defending champions...