The Cavaliers have been in good form recently. Before visiting Los Angeles, they had won seven games in a row. During the regular season, they surpassed the Nets and Heat to take the first place in the Eastern Conference.
No matter how old the team is in terms of structure and configuration, the star combination of James + Irving in their prime has no matching opponent in the entire Eastern Conference.
The Heat are known as the Big Three, but Wade's condition has declined more seriously this year. Injuries have eroded his knees. At the age of 32, he is no longer the Flash. His scoring average has dropped to 18 points per game. The Heat's offensive focus has shifted from the outside. Once inside, Bosh became the Heat's leading scorer.
This can be said to be going against the trend. Although they have Dwight Howard inside, Howard's offense is completely insufficient to support an efficient offensive system.
Ray Allen and Lewis are also facing serious deterioration on the outside. Little potatoes like Nate Robinson are very useful as substitutes, but they are really not good at defense and their height is really different.
Spoelstra even had to design some tactics and routines specifically for him to take advantage of his outside firepower while covering up his defensive weaknesses.
On the one hand, this shows that little potato Nate Robinson still has certain strength and potential. On the other hand, it shows that the Heat indeed lack firepower on the outside.
Another veteran team, the Nets, are in good shape. Kobe Bryant had a wonderful regular season performance and was once ranked among the top three in the MVP rankings.
However, by the middle of the season, Kobe began to suffer from some injuries and his attendance rate dropped.
Along with Pierce, Garnett and other veterans taking turns to rest due to injuries, they are actually accumulating strength for the playoffs.
For the Nets, it is enough to enter the top half of the regular season. There is no need to strive for a good record and consume the precious health of these veterans.
Moreover, the competition for ranking in the Eastern Conference is not fierce, giving the Nets veterans enough rest space.
Before the trade deadline, the Nets completed an important deal. They sent away veteran Jason Terry and acquired second-place small forward Evan Turner from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Since the last time the Nets listened to Min Chongda's advice and tried to get Rasu Butler, Jason Kidd has discovered how important a tall, versatile small forward is in the current league.
In the past, when giants were rampant inside and the fourth position was filled with super power forwards, small forwards who were either three or four were simply useless on the court.
He can't beat inside, and he's slow when playing outside, so he just can't rely on four or six.
But now there are more and more shackles on the giants, and the technical level is declining.
O'Neal and Duncan are old, and Howard can't make a strong voice. The league is no longer a world of dinosaurs.
Once the dinosaurs became extinct, mammals that were once thought to be smaller but were more adaptable flourished.
These small forwards are short, adaptable mammals. Outside, they can keep up with fierce and flexible guards. Inside, they can also fill the center and power forward positions, and are more capable in the offense. He can be both inside and outside, he can shoot three-pointers and he can also drive to the basket.
What were once shortcomings have become advantages as the environment, tactics, and rules change.
After the Nets deal was completed, it was considered to be specifically targeting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They are hoarding strength on the front line in order to contain LeBron in the playoffs and launch an attack on the finals.
But even so, in the middle and late stages of the season, the Cavaliers' lineup is still unique in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat are top-heavy, the Nets are getting old, the Bulls are dying before they start, and the Pacers are rising but don't seem to have fully risen.
But this sense of superiority disappeared completely after encountering the Clippers. The Cavaliers fought fiercely with the Clippers for four quarters on the road. They tried their best to hold on to the score in the first three quarters. However, in the fourth quarter, the Clippers suddenly A wave of offensive shock waves, 35:25 in a single quarter, took the Cavaliers away like a torrent.
At the end of the fourth quarter, James realized that the Clippers had not exerted any force in the first three quarters and were just playing around and testing tactics.
The Cavaliers' tactics of trying to drag the Clippers into the quagmire completely failed. The Clippers used clever mismatched offensive coordination and still had a very high offensive success rate in slow-paced positional battles.
Steve Kerr realized that the quagmire tactics were no longer effective against the Clippers. They must attack and perform well on the offensive end to win the game.
Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter, the Clippers, who had been playing with you for three quarters, suddenly showed strength and easily took the Cavaliers away.
As the season progresses, the Clippers' overall condition is getting better and better, and their tactics, feeling, and tacit understanding have all reached a peak in recent years.
James scored a triple-double of 37 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in this game. The form was quite luxurious, but in the end he really couldn't beat it.
The Clippers' offensive efficiency was too high. Anthony Davis led three forwards plus Curry, and the offensive and defensive ends were infinitely misaligned. In one wave, the Cavaliers were overwhelmed and directly disabled.
The Cavaliers were able to score 25 points in the fourth quarter purely because the Clippers didn't want to work so hard later, fearing that the players would be injured if they fought too hard, so they held back and didn't make the scene too ugly.
James feels the fear of being dominated by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007, even more than he did then.
Because he still had a bright future in 2007. In 2014, it had been 10 years since he entered the league. Even if he could play for 20 seasons, half of the 10 years would have passed. A player's best youth career has passed.
James felt shaken in his heart, but he didn't mention it to anyone. At the end of the game, he left Staples Center and returned to the locker room with his head lowered.
In an interview with reporters, James said: "The Clippers are a very strong opponent, but I think we have not tried our best yet. If we meet in the playoffs, I think we still have a chance to beat them."
In the face of the media, James is still very tough. After all, if you lose, you will not lose. Besides, the Cavaliers may not be able to enter the finals.
For a team, the paper strength is certainly important, but the spirit, especially the spirit, willpower and desire to win of the core players, are also the key to success or failure.
All players who have achieved great success in the NBA have a strong desire to win, tenacious willpower, and a fanatical pursuit of victory and honor, far exceeding ordinary people.
From this point of view, those superstars are actually not normal people. Looking at it from the perspective of ordinary people, they are all people with more or less serious illnesses.
But James and Kevin Durant, these two guys are actually very similar to ordinary people. They have gifted bodies, but from a mental and will point of view, they are too much like the normal people around them.
If the two of them one day develop a perverted desire to win, it must be because they have experienced too many disappointments, criticisms, and setbacks. They have been tortured by the outside world and become crazy. They desperately want to win a championship. Trophy.
And people like Kobe and Jordan are mentally ill. Nothing happens. They just don’t want to live a good life. They just want to seek out enemies in vain, set targets for themselves, and climb one peak after another that they have set for themselves in their hearts.
So, sometimes in the NBA, being a normal person is not a good thing.
In comparison, Stephen Curry's desire to win is often underestimated, because this person has such a good temper off the court, and he is also a primary school student who concentrates on playing and does not cause trouble on the court. At most, he shakes his head and makes people annoying.
In fact, his small body is also filled with a huge desire for victory, which stems from his growth experience.
In the process of his growth, he has been underestimated and ignored because of his size and playing style. He is not the chosen one, not someone who stands on top from the beginning, but a person who needs to constantly prove himself with wins. , proving that he is not a short or weak person.
After determined to win the MVP at the beginning of the season, Curry has always maintained a strong desire to win and went all out in every game.
This season, while other Clippers players will take turns to rest more or less, Curry only rested three games due to ankle discomfort.
This is a very healthy and complete regular season for him. His playing time has increased to 35 minutes, and he has contributed high-quality offense in every game.
Accurate three-pointers and tireless movement without the ball provide the Clippers with the most stable source of outside scoring and sufficient defensive attractiveness.
He is the undoubted tactical cornerstone of the Clippers, and he is also the biggest failure of Min Congda's career in the draft.
After defeating the Cavaliers, the Clippers were unstoppable. Until the start of the playoffs, no one could stop the defending champion who wanted everyone to have a ball.
The Clippers' last game of the season ended in Portland against the Trail Blazers.
At this time, the Clippers had already won the first place in the league, with 62 wins and 19 losses. They lost the last game and were still first.
Therefore, winning or losing is no longer important to the Clippers. Starting from the last game, the Clippers have rested their main players.
But this time in Portland, when the Clippers still had to take a break before the game, Curry said that he didn't want to take a break and he wanted to play.
Min Congda went to Portland with the team for the last game. He asked Curry: "Are you sure? If you get injured in the last game, then the season will be over. Think about it clearly."
Curry replied: "I'm in good shape. I promise I won't get injured. I just want to play the game."
"Do you want to brush the data?"
"I don't have Smart! Because I know there will be a lot of fans coming to watch my games away from home. They all support me and I don't want to let them down."
In a similar way, Michael Jordan also said that as an idol and face of the league, this is a kind of spiritual self-awareness. He regards the NBA not only as a salary-earning job, but also as a career that needs to be passed on.
Just imagine why a group of people playing basketball on the court can make so much money a year?
In the final analysis, it is because fans are willing to spend money to go to the stadium to watch games. From the 1950s, many players worked part-time, step by step, to today, with influence all over the world.
Those superstars who have left their names in history have a strong sense of responsibility. They not only play basketball, but also spread the values and sportsmanship pursued by the NBA. As spiritual idols, they influence generation after generation, making basketball and This alliance can spread among young people.
Now, Curry is the idol and role model of the younger generation. His consciousness is quite similar to that of the older generation of stars.
This kind of personality of Curry has also infected the other young players of the Clippers. Everyone can rest without taking turns. If they can't play, it's probably because they really have injuries and need to rest.
Seeing that Curry is not taking a rest, Jimmy Butler, Harden and others also expressed their desire to play in the last game.
Min Congda said directly: "There are no fans coming to see you, so you should rest."
"Mr. Smart, aren't your words too hurtful? I also have many fans, okay?"
"Me too, and some fans wrote to me and said they really enjoyed watching my games."
"Mr. Smart, I won't take any rest. It's the last game. Take a good rest after playing and prepare for the playoffs."
Even Leonard, who rests when he has nothing to do, treats no injury as a minor injury, treats a minor injury as a major injury, and treats a major injury as a crematorium, said that he will not rest anymore and will take a week to adjust after the last game.
When Min Congda heard this, he was going to shake things up. Do you think you are all an iron man?
Don't you know that you are in such a good state because of the big rotation and the strategy of everyone having the ball?
Now that everyone has become the face of the league, we must inherit the will of the older generation and carry forward the spiritual culture of the NBA.
I have to start imitating Michael Jordan and never take a break for the sake of the fans watching the game.
There is only one Jordan, and people really don’t necessarily come to see you.
However, due to everyone's high spirits and high morale in the final game of the regular season, Min Congda didn't want to hurt everyone's face, so he decided not to take any rest.
The ones who really took a break were veterans like Randolph, Bonner, Milicic, and Gasol who also had the good sense to take a break. He thought that no one would come to Portland specifically to watch him play, so he just took a break. Give it a rest.
The Portland Trail Blazers are not a weakling. This summer, they acquired guard Dion Waiters from the Nets through a trade, sending draft picks and some expiring contracts.
This guy is a genius, but he is also a thorn in his side. When he learned that Kobe was coming, he took the initiative to apply for a trade and sent himself to Portland where there was more room for development.
In Portland, Speights moved him to point guard, like Westbrook, to explore his natural talents in ball-handling offense and playmaking.
The Trail Blazers performed well this year and are currently ranked sixth in the Western Conference and are firmly in the playoffs. However, in order not to fall to seventh place, they still have to fight hard to win the last game.
As a result, when they met the Clippers, who were the main players, Curry also made his debut. Waiters was not afraid and led the Blazers and Clippers to attack.
As a result, Waiters scored 33 points and Aldridge scored 31 points. The two led the Trail Blazers 110:105. With a 5-point advantage, they defeated the league's first and main Clippers at home and successfully finished in sixth place. Entering the playoffs.
After the game, the atmosphere in the Clippers locker room was quite awkward. Curry and others were hunched over in the shower, not wanting to talk.
Leonard, who is usually taciturn, said to Curry next door in the shower: "It's all your fault. I shouldn't have hit him if I had known."
"Then if you can't fight me in the future, then don't fight me."
"Yes, I will."
(End of chapter)
