Min Congda and Fan Chen reached a certain consensus on the issue that it would be difficult to win three consecutive championships, which made him feel very relieved.
Among the three consecutive championships, the third championship has always been the most difficult. Many teams have fallen in pursuit of the third championship.
Even the three teams that won three consecutive championships encountered major obstacles and almost overturned in their third championship.
From the time Bill Russell retired in 1969 until the Lakers successfully defended their title in 1988, no team in the NBA could successfully defend their title for 18 years.
Pat Riley shouted the slogan "We will definitely defend our title next year". As a result, the Lakers had an extremely difficult time winning the 1988 Finals. The last game against the Pistons was full of controversy and was considered to be manipulation by the referee, which caused the Pistons to lose the Finals. , and there was no stopwatch at the last moment, allowing the game to end early.
As a result, in 1989, the Lakers had a smooth journey in the Western Conference and advanced to the Finals with 0 losses. In the Finals, they faced the Pistons' core injuries continuously and were swept out 0:4. They never had a chance to win the championship again.
Injuries are the first major risk that the three-peat team will face.
No matter how strong your team's lineup is, first of all your players must be able to play, right?
Being able to win the championship before shows that the team has done a good job in injury management.
But it's mostly due to good luck, because injuries to NBA players are almost inevitable.
In such a long-term and high-intensity confrontation, injuries will definitely occur. It just depends on when they occur, whether the injury is major or minor, and how the recovery goes.
The Lakers suffered extensive injuries in the Finals that year. Although Riley was trying to commit suicide, Riley has always had this training style. It was fine in the past. This year's accident showed that the players' fatigue level was so high that there was nothing they could do.
Moreover, even if all the Lakers were healthy that year, there was a high probability that they would still not be able to win 63 games in the regular season. The Pistons, who were full of revenge, would just not be swept 0:4 and lose so ugly.
This is also the second major risk for three consecutive championships: growing opponents.
In 1991, three years later, the Detroit Pistons encountered the same problem as the Lakers.
The NBA is a place where the new king steps on the old king's level, and then the new king becomes the old king, creating a cycle of chaos.
The Pistons won three consecutive championships in 1991 and met the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals, which they had eliminated for three consecutive years.
This time, the Bulls, who had completely matured, gave the Pistons no chance. They sent the Pistons home 4-0 with a clean sweep.
The Bulls grew into the new king of the league and tried again to win three consecutive championships in 1993.
Beginning in 1988, this was the third team to continue trying to win three consecutive championships. Riley's promise of consecutive championships in the summer of 1988 inspired the latecomer teams.
At the same time, David Stern has worked hard in the league for ten years. The golden era of the black and white duo is about to pass. The league also needs a new hero and idol to step forward and complete the great achievements that have not been completed for 20 years.
Therefore, in 1993, Michael Jordan and the Bulls first overcame the injury problem. The core players maintained a high attendance rate and no major attrition occurred.
Then in the playoffs, compared to the overall ease in 1991 and the near miss in 1992 (a tiebreaker with the Knicks, a 30-point win in the tiebreaker), the Bulls faced two grown-up opponents in 1993.
One is of course the New York Knicks. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Chicago Bulls lost two games in a row and fell behind 0:2.
This is the first time since the Bulls and Jordan have matured that they have fallen behind 0:2 in a series, and the situation is quite critical.
However, they successfully survived this crisis and reached the finals to face the new MVP Barkley and the Suns.
The strength of the two sides is actually quite close. Barkley's performance was a well-deserved MVP level. However, Jordan used his personal performance in the finals to average 41 points per game to make Barkley's efforts in vain, successfully win three consecutive championships, and then retire.
In 1994 and 1995, the Rockets and Olajuwon won two consecutive championships with a tiebreaker and a sixth-place miracle, followed by their three consecutive championships in 1996.
If the impact is successful, Olajuwon, who was in the 1984 golden generation with Jordan, will also create his own dynasty.
But in 1996, the Rockets encountered the third major risk and challenge on their way to three consecutive championships: the players' desire to win was exhausted.
In 1995, the Rockets used "the heart of a champion" to win the most legendary counterattack championship. Drexler gave the best and most desperate playoff performance of his career.
At the age of 32 that year, his fast break speed in the game was faster and faster than when he was 22 years old. He tried his best to win the championship.
But by 1996, he was exhausted and no longer had the motivation to win. He returned to his hometown of Houston and won a championship. He didn't want much anymore.
And Olajuwon also married a new little wife, and no longer had the heroic and determination of "we start here" in the summer of 1993.
As long as you are human, you will always slack off. Even if you don't slack off, your teammates, your family, and your friends, can you guarantee that they don't want to relax?
Winning one or two championships is already extraordinary. If you want to go further, you really need inhuman perseverance and a desire to win.
Moreover, even if the Rockets reached the Finals in 1996, they would not be able to match the 72-win Chicago Bulls.
Jordan's comeback is heading towards his second three consecutive championships. Time flies to 1998, Jordan's last dance.
This year, the Bulls and Jordan suffered all three risks, injuries, opponents, and declining desire to win, plus a fourth risk: aging.
Injuries. Scottie Pippen, the team's second core player, was plagued by injuries throughout the season. He only played 44 games in the regular season and even retired due to injury in the crucial game of the finals.
Opponent, the Bulls encountered the most severe obstruction from the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals and experienced the most thrilling tiebreaker;
In the finals, they met last year's old rival, the Utah Jazz, who were eager for revenge and had home court advantage.
You must know that before this, since Russell retired and the Celtics empire ended, all the teams that met in the finals for two consecutive years have won and lost each other. No team has defeated the same opponent in a row.
The desire to win has declined, and the entire Bulls team has determined before the start of the season that it will definitely break up at the end of this season.
There is a lot of dissatisfaction in the team, crises are everywhere, and there are many conflicts between the coach, players and management, which have reached the point of tension.
The last thing is inevitable aging. That year, Jordan was 35 years old, Pippen was 33 years old, Rodman was 37 years old, Harper was 35 years old, and the average age of the team was 33 years old.
Compared with the so-called "Utah seniors" who have worked long enough, the entire Jazz team is 2 years older, making it the oldest team in the league.
It is said that boxing is afraid of young people. For ordinary people, the age of 30 is in the prime of life. For NBA players, it is their old age and old men.
In such an unfavorable situation, the Bulls, Jordan, and Phil Jackson overcame numerous obstacles. Jordan attended all 82 games during the regular season and led the team to 62 wins.
In the finals, Jordan tried his best and exhausted the last bit of energy. His 45 points in a single game were more than half of the team's points. He made key steals and accurate kills, and won three consecutive championships.
Since then, the exciting 1990s have ended. It can be found that from 1988 to the end of 1998, in these 10 years, the league's top teams were on the road to chasing three consecutive championships.
Three teams fell, succumbing to injuries, opponent revenge, and declining competitiveness, but the Bulls overcame them all and defeated aging.
This not only reflects the greatness of Jordan and Phil Jackson, but also shows how difficult it is to win three consecutive championships.
In the 21st century, Phil Jackson continued to pursue his great path of three consecutive championships.
No one can do it except him, and he is the undisputed three-peat expert.
In the new century's Lakers, Jackson and the Lakers ushered in the fifth risk and challenge of three consecutive championships in 2002: infighting.
The Lakers' great achievements are inseparable from the two super talents of O'Neal and Kobe.
However, their completely different personalities and handling styles led to their relationship getting worse and worse in the later period.
In 2002, Kobe had risen and his ambitions were beginning to show. He had begun to want to be the boss and win the MVP, instead of being willing to be a foil to a lazy fat man.
Jackson suppressed the conflict between the two and withstood the test of the Kings in the Western Conference Finals, successfully winning three consecutive championships.
His ability to control people's hearts is evident.
After that, the Lakers quickly fell apart. The conflict between Kobe and O'Neal became so irreconcilable that they finally broke up.
When Phil Jackson won three consecutive championships for the fourth time in 2011, he finally reached the end.
This year, Jackson and the Lakers actually faced a sixth risk, that is, times have changed.
2011 was the year when the league's game style began to change. When the Lakers faced the Mavericks this year, they were a cumbersome monster from the previous era.
The current situation of the Clippers is much better than that of the previous teams that competed for three consecutive championships. Generally speaking, "the advantage is mine."
However, Min Congda was not at ease. He expressed his anxiety to Fan Chen: "Our Clippers team has several risks that I have to guard against!"
(End of chapter)
