After a month of the NBA season, the situation in the east and west has gradually differentiated.
The Clippers dominate the league, and no team can beat them.
Although the Clippers were in danger of winning in certain games, the feeling given to fans was that once the critical moment hits, they will definitely win.
The Clippers have such strength now. They may get into a fight with their opponents in the front, and someone will definitely step up and kill them at the critical moment.
Each of the starting five has the ability to hit key goals, and the opponent is completely unable to focus on defense.
As strong as the Lakers, Heat, and Spurs, the word "evenly matched" can't even be mentioned.
In addition to the Clippers, the top four teams in the Western Conference are the Thunder, Grizzlies and Lakers.
The Thunder are still strong this season, with Durant and Westbrook entering their prime.
They are also the team that poses the biggest threat to the Clippers in the regular season in November.
Regardless of play style or talent, the team in the West that is most likely to stop the Clippers is the Thunder.
Although the third-ranked Grizzlies were badly beaten by the Clippers in the first game, this disastrous defeat also woke up the Grizzlies, allowing the Grizzlies team to grit their teeth and deal with the following games.
They achieved an excellent record of 10 wins and 3 losses in November.
Blake Griffin even averaged 26 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in November.
He won the title of Western Conference Player of the Month in November. This was the first time in his career that he won the Western Conference Player of the Month.
The honor of Western Conference Rookie of the Month was won by Anthony Davis.
Although Anthony Davis came off the bench, the Clippers gave Davis ample playing time in every game.
Especially during the garbage time of the game, Anthony Davis will appear on the court, which not only allows him to practice the feeling of the game, accumulate game experience, but also brush up the statistics. It is simply a multi-purpose.
Davis Sr., who was previously worried about his child's future development, felt relieved when he saw his son's success, statistics, and honors with the Clippers.
Of course, Min Congda was starting to worry.
He vaguely felt that this Anthony Davis was not a parallel import!
His vision of a player's potential is as bad as ever.
There seems to be a fog in front of my eyes, and I can't always see clearly.
The fourth-ranked Lakers looked a little weak for the first time in a Western Conference filled with strong opponents.
In fact, their lineup is quite good. Compared with the impressive momentum last season, the Lakers this season are more pragmatic.
As long as Kobe Bryant doesn't decline significantly, the Lakers' playoff competitiveness this season may be even stronger than last season.
However, Kobe is already 34 years old, and his decline is already expected and inevitable. It's just a matter of time.
The Spurs, who wanted to regain their glory, could only be ranked fifth. They welcomed Rudy Gay at the third position. He was young and energetic, but it was still difficult to satisfy Popovich.
Popovich looked at the Clippers' front three, especially Leonard, and he was so greedy!
The Clippers are really a luxury, can they give one to our poor Texas Cowboys?
The sixth-ranked Golden State Warriors are a force that cannot be underestimated.
They are developing and growing silently. They have been targeting the Clippers from the beginning, setting up lineups and practicing tactics with the Clippers as the goal, preparing for the day when "they can replace them."
It can be seen that since the Clippers won the championship last year, the Western Conference has once again entered a situation of one super team and multiple strong teams.
In the Western Conference, the top priority is to overthrow the Clippers, and they repeatedly study their tactics and match different lineups.
In the East, more than ten years have passed since the chaotic and weak situation since Jordan retired in 1998, and there has still been no fundamental change.
The decline of the Eastern Conference teams is like those old factories in the Rust Belt that continue to decline under the background of global trade and the rise of Chinese production. No matter how hard they struggle, it is difficult to reverse the erosion of the times and cannot compete with the Internet and technology upstarts on the West Coast. .
It is said that the economic foundation determines the superstructure, and this is also true in the basketball world.
The Western Conference, like the Warriors and Clippers, actually has the financial participation and support of upstart technology companies in the Western Conference.
The Warriors and Bay Area technology companies like Oracle, Clippers and video companies like YouTube.
There are also Microsoft behind the Trail Blazers, several major TV stations behind the Lakers, etc., ensuring that the team has sufficient economic and social resources, and promoting the application and popularization of new technologies in basketball training and tactical analysis.
As for the East, the typical ones are Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit near the Great Lakes.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, driven by James, have reached their limit.
If Min Congda hadn't changed James' conversation in 10 years, James would have left the Cavaliers for the South Coast.
There is also Chicago. Rose was injured and the team immediately fell into a trough. After Jordan retired, they won many high-ranking picks. They had two No. 1 picks, two No. 2 picks, and accumulated eight top-four picks. It can be said that they are quite rich in resources.
Moreover, the Chicago Bulls are one of the few teams in the Eastern Conference that is relatively open and good at using European players.
As a result, more than ten years later, their results were not satisfactory.
Their defensive tradition, their old business methods, and their Bulls logo that has remained unchanged for decades all have a sense of obsolescence, making them ineffective in the new century.
The Detroiters' success in 2004 and 2005 was more like an accident.
Joe Dumars, as the only successful black general manager, in a rather coincidental situation assembled the Pistons' five Tigers and became an important pole in the Eastern Conference.
It's a pity that their disastrous draft in 2003 caused the team to miss the best opportunity for inheritance and development.
As Detroit went bankrupt in the economic crisis, the Pistons owner changed hands. This team, which was not popular with the league or the fans, has not seen the slightest hope of revival in recent years.
As an upstart in the Eastern Conference, the Heat are a kingdom built by Pat Riley. They tenaciously implement Riley's team building and basketball concepts on the South Coast.
The only surprise in the Eastern Conference this year comes from the New York Knicks. After the game in November, they occupied the first place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 11 wins and 4 losses.
Carmelo Anthony won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for November.
In fact, the Knicks lineup is not neat. Amare Stoudemire suffered an injury and missed all games in November.
But the Knicks introduced the aging Kidd, and the team's offense became more organized under the veteran's guidance.
On the inside, Tyson Chandler protects the basket, and on the outside, J.R. Smith provides shooting.
With Anthony's singles as the core of the strategy, the Knicks won consecutive games.
And their schedule is not easy. They defeated the Five-Star Heat in the opening game and won six consecutive games to start the season.
After a large number of away games, the Knicks gnawed several hard bones. This largest basketball market, which has been rotten for more than ten years, finally ushered in some light.
However, whether it is the Grizzlies who "know their shame and then be brave", or the Thunder, who are "talented in chaos", whether it is the Lakers who have improved their combat power, or the Knicks who have brought surprises, whether it is the Warriors who are aiming at the Clippers and following suit, or James' The distance between the Cavaliers and the Clippers is visible to the naked eye.
Very big.
On December 2, the Clippers, who have won 15 consecutive games, faced the challenge of the Cleveland Cavaliers today.
This is the first time this season that the Clippers and Cavaliers, two teams from last year's Finals, have met, and naturally it has attracted much attention.
However, unlike the Clippers who have made great progress without losing a single defeat, the Cavaliers are not in very good shape since the start of this year's season.
Seemingly suffering a huge blow from last season's Finals defeat, the Cavaliers are currently ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 9 wins and 6 losses.
In the summer, the Cavaliers' signings did not gain much after losing the guidance of Min Congda. The only gain was Birdman Anderson.
The team hopes to have a ball-handling attacker at the fourth position to share James' ball-handling offensive pressure.
Antoine Jamison is old. He averaged 17 points per game last year, but his scoring average has dropped to single digits this season.
The team's offensive pressure is more shared on James and Irving.
The good news for the Cavaliers is that Irving has lived up to his status as the No. 1 pick.
After the training of his rookie season and the hard training in the offseason, Irving has made great progress on the offensive end in the new season.
The average scoring per game has improved from 18 points to 22 points, which can share more shooting rights and make up for the lack of third attack point.
The bad news is that the team's morale was affected by the defeat in the finals, and the start of the new season was somewhat lacking in momentum.
There is also the fact that the team was hit by injuries at the beginning of the season, with Shane Battier and Danny Green both missing due to injuries.
The team is short of major generals, and it is inevitable that it will not be able to perform as expected in some games and lose a few games that should not be lost.
Before the start of this game, both Shane Battier and Danny Green returned from injury.
This is a very good opportunity for the Cavaliers to defeat the Clippers and regain their morale.
But on the plane to Los Angeles, the entire Cavaliers team looked miserable.
The whole team does not have the mentality of being united to kill the Clippers and take revenge.
The key to all this still lies in James. As the team leader, his state in November was rare and somewhat sluggish.
In 15 games in November, he scored less than 20 points in 3 games and only 12 points in one game.
This is quite rare for James. After all, with his ability and basketball IQ, scoring is simply a matter of cutting melons and vegetables.
Even if he is not in good condition today and is about to lose the game, he can still make his score look good.
But in November of the new season, he seemed to have no such thoughts anymore.
If you lose a game and there is no hope, just forget it. It's a bad performance and don't care about the data.
Logically speaking, this poor state will definitely attract a lot of criticism, right?
But in fact, it didn't. On the contrary, James began to enter a state of "everyone will praise him if he plays well, and forget about him if he plays poorly."
This state is quite good for ordinary players. The highlights are noticed and the downturns are ignored.
But for a superstar who needs attention, it is very dangerous.
Because this means that when you have a negative topic, there are no media and fan groups willing to stare at you, and no fans who support you will jump out to fight for you for public opinion.
The so-called anti-fans are also fans. Public opinion requires controversy, confrontation, and repeated efforts from both sides to generate heated public opinion.
If you can't get everyone to praise you, then it's better to have half the people praise you and half the people scold you than no one to scold you.
In addition to renewing his contract with the Cavaliers in 2010, James also had another important contract renewal that year, which was his contract with Nike.
At the age of 18, James signed a seven-year, $90 million super contract. From the moment he entered the league, he has carried a weight on his shoulders that no one else has ever had.
Again, huge money, honors and expectations will turn into huge pressure and anxiety at some point.
Like when you fail.
Renewing the Cavaliers' contract for 10 years is actually not a wrong decision.
The Cavaliers have entered the Finals for two consecutive years. They defeated the Heat and Celtics in the Eastern Conference one after another, showing their strong strength.
As long as James leads the Cavaliers to win the championship, even if he cannot reach the heights of Jordan, at least he can start to embark on the path of truly chasing Jordan.
After repeated research, discussion and hesitation, Nike originally planned to give him a 5-year 100 million contract, but it was finally reduced to 80 million over 4 years.
Facts have proved that Nike's caution is justified. The probability of James staying in the Cavaliers and winning the championship is indeed lower than going to the Heat.
Losing in the finals for two consecutive years has brought James' reputation and fans' expectations of him to the edge of a cliff.
In fact, there has never been a player in NBA history who needs a championship as much as James to complete the compensation and shaping of his image.
Because no player is like James, who got a seven-year, $90 million contract as soon as he entered the league. He was known as the "Chosen One" as soon as he entered the league. As soon as he entered the league, he was considered to be the new player who would surpass Michael Jordan. The No. 23 basketball god.
Even Michael Jordan, when he first entered the league, people only thought of him as "a shooting guard with extremely high physical fitness."
At that time, the NBA was dominated by centers and forwards, and shooting guard was an inconspicuous position.
The most successful shooting guard in the NBA at that time was Jerry West, the most unsuccessful FMVP.
People have no expectations for Jordan at all, and some even dislike this little black guy who is maverick and doesn't play according to the routine.
In the end, Jordan achieved unimaginable success, became Nike, and built Nike's sports business empire.
With the huge success of Jordan, Nike was very eager to have a second one, so they took a fancy to James.
The same No. 23, with taller and more powerful physical fitness and superior high school performance, James deserves this expectation.
But the NBA is obviously not that simple. It failed to win the championship again and again, and failed three times in the finals. The runner-up is not an honor but a shame for James.
Continuous losses shocked James's heart, and his business empire concept began to be shaken. The Nike team was also putting pressure on him.
Nike made it clear: "Your influence is declining."
This is very difficult for James to accept.
What's more difficult to accept is that not going to the Heat for 10 years has become a thorn in his heart that is difficult to remove.
People are like this. A and B are choosing. If you choose A, it's okay if the road is clear. Once the road is not going well, you will think again and again. If you had chosen B in the first place.
Although it is very likely that choosing B is more difficult than choosing A, people cannot control regret. It will be like a scar that is difficult to heal, and it will ache from time to time.
And the most difficult thing to accept is that the team that prevented him from winning the championship was Min Congda who prevented him from going to the Heat!
After the 2012 Finals, James' inner anger towards Min Congda reached its peak.
At the Cavaliers' home court, James even wanted to rush to the sidelines and grab Min Congda by the collar and ask him why he persuaded him not to go to the Heat in the first place!
Is it just to pave the way for the Clippers to win the championship? Just to prevent the Eastern Conference from forming a super team.
Later, at the Clippers' championship celebration, Min Congda said the line that James wanted to say, and his anger reached a new level.
It stands to reason that he should bring this anger into the game and lead the Cavaliers in the new season to defeat the Clippers and win the championship no matter what.
However, in the summer when the Heat gradually lost to the Galaxy, the Clippers won the No. 1 pick, the Lakers got Iguodala, and the Cavaliers got almost nothing, James gradually became discouraged.
There are still three seasons left on his contract with the Cavaliers. Without Min Congda's guidance, he and the Cavaliers management are like headless chickens, not knowing how to effectively build a team.
The previous method of collecting veterans and passing balloon stars has been proven to be ineffective.
And even if it works, the Cavaliers' foundation and city appeal are not as good as the Heat.
With Howard and Nash going to the Heat, Ray Allen and Lewis both chose the Heat.
It’s hard to say whether the Cavaliers can beat the Heat in the Eastern Conference playoffs, let alone enter the finals to challenge the Clippers.
This sense of despair that there is no hope of winning the championship has enveloped James in the new season, and then enveloped the Cavaliers with James as the absolute core.
At noon on December 1, when the Cavaliers' plane arrived in Los Angeles, there was a cold drizzle in the sky. It was now a rainy winter on the West Coast.
James' mood was as bad as the weather in Los Angeles. After the team checked in at the hotel, he locked himself in the room and didn't want to go out.
Privately, James is a very cheerful person. Like many black people from lower-class backgrounds, he has humor and funny genes in his body.
James is very different from Kobe in this regard. Kobe is essentially gloomy, with the Italian melancholy and heaviness hidden in his character.
James is shrewd, long-term, and rational when considering his career, and he is smart, rational, and calculating on the court.
But he is not essentially a gloomy person, not the kind of person who likes to dominate everything from the shadows, and he is not a qualified politician.
A qualified politician will not make his intentions and black spots so obvious. After all, he is just a basketball player.
This depression made him breathless. He didn't want to continue like this, but he didn't know where the way out was.
Finally, in the hotel room, he picked up the phone and dialed the number he had not dialed for several months.
The call was quickly connected, and a familiar voice came from the other side.
What James didn't expect was that when he heard this voice, he actually had the urge to cry.
"Smart, I...I need your help."
(End of chapter)
