The Mavericks swept the Grizzlies 4-0 in the final two rounds of the Western Conference.
The Gasol Jr. + Eddie Jones combination was not strong enough for the brutal Western Conference.
Facing the powerful offense of the Mavericks led by Nowitzki, the Grizzlies' proud defense couldn't get going, and their defeat was not unexpected.
The Clippers defeated the Nuggets 4-1.
The Nuggets' roster this season was actually not bad; otherwise, they wouldn't have made it to the playoffs.
At the small forward position, they had Anthony; at point guard, Andre Miller; at center, Marcus Camby; at power forward, Kenyon Martin; and at the bench, Boykins.
However, this year's Clippers were indeed not bad either.
At center, they had Kaman; at power forward, Elton Brand; at small forward, Corey Maggette; at shooting guard, Mobley; and at point guard, Cassell. The bench also had Livingston and Radmanović.
The reason the Nuggets lost was still Anthony's youth.
At the end of Game 1, the Nuggets were trailing the Clippers by 2 points, and Anthony had three opportunities to tie the game or take the lead, but he failed to capitalize on any of them, leading to the Nuggets' narrow 2-point home loss to their opponents.
In Game 2, the Nuggets were blown out by a 32-13 run by their opponents in the first quarter, falling behind by 19 points, effectively ending the game in the first quarter.
Having finally secured home-court advantage in the first half of the bracket through their divisional advantage, the Nuggets lost both of their home games, squandering them completely.
In Game 3, the Nuggets finally woke up and managed to win one game.
But their awakening was too late, and they no longer had the home-court advantage.
The Clippers won the next two games, winning 4-1 and cleanly eliminating the young Nuggets.
Anthony, a fellow "prodigy" from the 2003 draft class, who scored only 21 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in five games, looked at LeBron James, who scored 35.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.7 assists and led the Cavaliers to the semifinals, and Dwyane Wade, who scored 24.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.2 assists and led the Heat to the semifinals. What were their thoughts?
Each generation of players has its own rivalries. Regardless of whether players are willing to accept such comparisons, this is the price of fame!
To this day, He Xi Meng has been in the league for nearly 10 seasons, and he is still inevitably compared to Kobe, Iverson, Nash, and other players of his generation.
Of course, He Xi Meng has now become the most brilliant player of the '96 generation.
Although his average points per game are not the highest, he has the most championship rings.
As last season's regular season MVP, He Xi Meng has been playing at a reduced intensity for most of this season, and his average points per game have dropped to 21.
Logically speaking, He Xi Meng should withdraw from this year's MVP race. But he did not.
On this year's regular season MVP rankings, He Xi Meng's predicted ranking remains at the top, followed by Nash of the Suns in second place, and He Xi Meng's teammate Carter in third place.
Carter's personal stats this year are actually excellent, ranking fifth in the league in average points per game, at 27.5 points! Second only to Kobe, Iverson, LeBron, and Arenas.
In addition to scoring, Carter also averages 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game, with outstanding performances on both offense and defense.
However, most fans and media still believe that Carter is just the vanguard of the Celtics, while He Xi Meng is the soul of the Celtics.
Although He Xi Meng's average points per game have dropped to 21 this season, his assists still remain at a top-tier level of 12 per game.
Nash of the Suns, with his double-double averages of 18.8 points and 10.5 assists, is ranked second on the MVP prediction list. Why can't He Xi Meng, with his 21 points and 12 assists per game, be ranked first?
This situation made Carter very awkward.
But He Xi Meng didn't mind and repeatedly appealed to fans and media reporters across the league on public occasions.
"Vince is more qualified than me to be selected as this season's MVP!"
"Vince leads us forward, and this season, he is the undisputed best player!"
"Vince deserves half the credit for our regular season-best record this season! It is his relentless effort that has brought us our excellent record..."
He Xi Meng's act of conceding votes was met with skepticism from many.
Including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, who issued warnings to He Xi Meng: "This league only believes in the strong. Your actions will make others think you are weak, and you will lose their support in the future..."
He Xi Meng of course understood these principles, but what did it matter if he lost some support?
After Stockton's retirement, He Xi Meng had become the league's top active point guard.
On the all-time assists list, He Xi Meng's cumulative assists had surpassed Payton and Kidd, ranking sixth, trailing only Stockton, Mark Jackson, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, and Isiah Thomas!
After the end of next season, if all goes according to plan, He Xi Meng would reach the milestone of 10,000 assists, officially surpassing his predecessors Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas, and holding sole possession of fourth place in league history...
And in terms of accolades, He Xi Meng had already won 6 championship rings! On par with legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Cousy, and Michael Jordan.
Did He Xi Meng still care about a mere minor negative impact?
He Xi Meng had promised to help Carter contend for this season's regular season MVP trophy, and he kept his word!
Thus, under He Xi Meng's constant appeals, some media who originally supported He Xi Meng, whether they understood the deeper meaning of He Xi Meng's words or genuinely believed that Carter was more deserving of this season's regular season MVP award than He Xi Meng, ultimately cast their votes for Carter!
The final vote count showed Carter narrowly defeating Nash by 1 vote, thus winning the 2005-2006 season's Most Valuable Player trophy!
In addition to Carter taking home the most prestigious award of the regular season, head coach Kerr defeated Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson to win this season's Coach of the Year award, and Boris Diaw was named the Most Improved Player.
Monta Ellis was nominated for Sixth Man of the Year but ultimately lost to Mike Miller of the Grizzlies. Or rather, he lost to the league's top brass.
After all, the Celtics had already secured three major awards in the regular season. If they had also won Sixth Man of the Year, the league would have had a hard time explaining it to other teams...