On April 17, Beijing time, the NBA play-offs began, and the Lakers and the Pelicans, the Warriors and the Kings have attracted much attention, and today will also be the 7th place in the playoffs, facing the defending champion Nuggets in the first round. And in the past night, there are 3 important news about the alliance, and the author will take stock of them one by one. First, the 35-year-old veteran Griffin announced his retirement and ended his NBA career. Second, the Bucks suffered a critical attack, and Antetokounmpo may miss the first round, and the Bucks hope he can return in the second half of the first round. Third, in the game between the Lakers and the Pelicans, the referee is Scott Foster, who is known as the master of court control.
Griffin announced his retirement
The 35-year-old All-Star Griffin officially announced his retirement, and he announced the news on social media, which was also shocking, after all, compared to veterans such as James and Curry, Griffin is still relatively young, but ending his career early may also be the result of careful consideration. Griffin is the top pick in 2009, in the NBA for 15 years, he has been an All-Star 6 times, 5 times to the best team, and has a good chance to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the future, but Griffin did not win the championship in the NBA, which is also a big regret.
Griffin played for the Clippers, Pistons, Nets, and Celtics, where he spent his prime with the Clippers. From 2009 to 2017, Griffin played in Los Angeles, and he also made the Clippers a league powerhouse again, and, during his partnership with Paul and Jordan Jr., the Clippers were also one of the league's championship favorites, reaching the peak of his career in 2013-14, averaging 24.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. However, at the end of his career, Griffin moved to several teams, originally playing in Boston to get a championship ring, but the Celtics didn't help. Now, Griffin doesn't want to wait any longer, and he has decided to end his basketball career and hope that everything will go well in the future.
Antetokounmpo may miss the first round
The Bucks are in third place in the East with 49 wins and 33 losses, and they play the Pacers, who are sixth in the East in the first round, against very competitive teams, Haliburton and Siakam are both All-Star players, and they are still in their prime, and the Bucks may be eliminated if they are not careful. The Bucks, who are all the main players, may not be able to beat the Pacers, and if Brother Alphabet is absent, it may be even more useless. According to NBA reporter Woj, Antetokounmpo could miss a few games in the first round, and the Bucks are prepared. In the game between the Bucks and the Celtics a week ago, he suffered a left calf strain and missed the final three regular season games.
It's been a week off, and Brother Alphabet's injury still looks serious, and he may even miss the entire first round, so I still hope he can play, otherwise the Bucks will definitely be difficult to compete with the Pacers with only Lillard and Middleton. This season's championship favorite, the Bucks have been excluded, but after the introduction of Lillard, the performance is getting worse and worse, if the Bucks suffer a round of tours, the management may break up the Big Three in the offseason, Brother Alphabet is definitely not for sale, and Lillard and Middleton may become a bargaining chip, it has been 3 years since the Bucks last won the championship, and in recent seasons, the Bucks have become paper tigers.
The Lakers vs. Pelicans referee is finalized
The Lakers and Pelicans play-offs are in the spotlight, and now everyone is talking about the play-offs, but no one cares about the playoffs that have already been decided. If the Lakers beat the Pelicans, they will beat their old rival Nuggets in the first round, and it can't be said that there is no chance at all, but judging from the encounters in recent years, the Lakers have been completely blown up. It is worth mentioning that the referee of this game between the Lakers and Pelicans is Scott Foster, who is a well-known "master of the court" in the league, and Paul is very familiar with him, because as long as this referee enforces the law, it is difficult for Paul's team to win.
The NBA officially arranged for Foster to enforce the law, I don't know if it has a deep meaning, but you can see the clues after the game between the Lakers and the Pelicans starts. The league definitely hopes that the Lakers can make the playoffs, and if they meet the Nuggets, the heat will be directly full, and the ratings will skyrocket, on the contrary, if the Pelicans enter the playoffs and the Lakers are upset in the playoffs, the popularity of the series will plummet. In fact, the Lakers are still more competitive than the Pelicans, in the finale, the Lakers won the Pelicans by a full 16 points, this is the embodiment of strength, as long as it is steady, the Lakers should not have much problem entering the playoffs.