Time has entered May, and the NBA playoffs have experienced the first round of competition. Half of the teams were swept out, becoming the first background of this year.
The Clippers and the Mavericks fought for six games, which was beyond people's expectations, but the final result was still in line with expectations.
Anyway, the Clippers were prone to napping in the first round. They lost the first game to the Jazz in the first round last year, and it was only in the second round that they began to become unstoppable.
The Clippers' opponent in the second round was the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs easily eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies with a score of 4:1 in the first round, once again showing people the sophistication of the Black and White Legion.
The Grizzlies were originally very ambitious this year and wanted to show off their skills in the playoffs, but they didn't know that the Spurs were still a stumbling block for most teams.
Last year, the Spurs were eliminated by the Grizzlies, and Duncan, who was one year older, was able to rejuvenate himself. Although Griffin surpassed Duncan in terms of statistics, it can be seen from the game effect that Griffin's influence in the game is still not as good as that of the aging Duncan. .
Last year, the two sides experienced a tough tiebreaker in the first round. This year, the Spurs learned their lesson and used a sharper offense to stun the Grizzlies, leaving them unable to fight back.
With the Spurs lacking talent, Popovich, on the one hand, tried his best to squeeze out the last residual value of GDP, and on the other hand, he tried his best to tap his potential in terms of tactics, tacit understanding, and cooperation.
They are like an old aircraft with insufficient engine thrust. They can only work hard on the aerodynamic layout and control software, trying to have a small machine to pull a big cart, and a small machine to push a big machine.
The Clippers are completely different from the Spurs. Their push is so strong, especially at the forward position, that it almost makes Popovich shed tears of dissatisfaction.
Not to mention Leonard, George and Butler, even if the Clippers are willing to give the Spurs P.J. Tucker, Popovich will be very happy and can make up for the Spurs' lack of defensive ability at the third position.
There is nothing wrong with playing the Grizzlies in the first round. The Grizzlies' offensive power at the third position is not good to begin with. For Tony Allen, if you let him attack, he may not be able to score.
But the Clippers? To be honest, before the game, Popovich couldn't think of any way to defeat the Clippers in a series. There was already a gap in hard power between the two sides.
If Duncan could be 10 years younger, Popovich could try to use defensive battles and quagmire tactics to drag the series into a slow-paced abyss and outlast the Clippers with a hard fight.
But the Spurs themselves can't go back. They have never looked back on the road of accelerating and attacking, and they can no longer play like they did in the past championship days.
On May 4, the Spurs team arrived in Los Angeles to prepare for the game the day after tomorrow.
And tonight, there is another game at Staples Center, that is, the Lakers will face the Warriors at home.
The first round of the two sides was not over yet. The two teams fought all the way to the tiebreaker. The third-ranked Lakers were forced into a desperate situation by the Golden State Warriors.
In the evening, the game between the Warriors and the Lakers is about to begin. Because it is a tiebreaker, the audience is full tonight.
But compared with the past, there were obviously no such bright stars on the sidelines, and not many Los Angeles celebrities came.
There are only some die-hard old Lakers fans, and there are almost no new stars who want to use Lakers games to gain traffic.
The Lakers distributed yellow T-shirts to the fans at the scene to unify the color of the clothing to support the Lakers in winning the seventh game.
This is a very common operation at the home court of other teams, but it is an unprecedented first time at the Lakers' home court.
As a show-time team in Hollywood, they are all about being flashy, competing on the sidelines, and wearing whatever they want.
This kind of "low-end" behavior of fans uniformly wearing T-shirts has always been done by small teams in small cities.
For example, the Pacers, Thunder, and Warriors like to use uniform uniforms at home to create an atmosphere.
Big city teams, such as the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and Chicago Bulls, disdain to do this.
The Lakers doing this shows that the management is trying every means to unite the hearts of the fans and gain the support of more Los Angeles fans.
The Lakers' attendance and support in the regular season this season are pretty good. After all, they are third in the Western Conference. They are led by Paul, Joe Johnson, Iguodala, Lopez and other powerful players. In addition, they have a deep historical background and are hardcore. There are countless fans all over the world.
If the Clippers are still as bad as they used to be, then the Lakers can still sit back and relax and continue to dominate the Los Angeles area, even if they have a few bad seasons.
But the Clippers rose rapidly and entered a glorious state. Three consecutive championships were just around the corner. The Lakers' market share in Los Angeles gradually declined, and a strong sense of crisis enveloped the Buss family.
This season, there have been several calls within the Buss family to sell their shares in the Lakers. However, Jenny Buss has always opposed it and frequently appeared in the media to stand up for the Lakers and the Buss family, hoping to bring the Buss family and the Lakers together. Brands are firmly tied together.
It's just that there are always some powerful forces from within the Lakers to the outside, wanting to sell the NBA's biggest brand and replace it with another owner to maximize value.
For the Lakers, this season is the most difficult year. If they can survive this season, last two more seasons, achieve some excellent results, and cultivate one or two dazzling new stars, then the Buss family can Keep standing your ground.
Otherwise, the covetous capital predators will definitely find the right opportunity to make a move and swallow this huge piece of fat.
Before the game started, in a VIP box at Staples Center, Min Congda sat on the sofa with two old men, waiting for the jump ball.
These two old men, one is Clippers team consultant Mike Dunleavy, and the other is actually Spurs coach and manager Gregg Popovich.
Popovich found Min Congda through Dunleavy and said that he wanted to make an appointment to watch the game together at Staples Center tonight. Min Congda was very surprised. What is this?
The two armies are about to fight, but the coaches meet in private. Does Popovich want to surrender?
No problem, surrender and lose half, die early and be reborn early.
Min Congda knew that Popovich always liked wine, so since the other party came to pitch, he would naturally like to drink wine.
He asked Christopher to bring over a bottle of Robert Mondavi's 20-year-old Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon to entertain the retired general.
Min Zongda poured a glass of wine for Popovich and a glass for Dunleavy. Popovich smelled the fragrance of Cabernet Sauvignon and knew that this was a very good wine, so he took a sip intoxicatedly.
"This tastes great, Smart. Your ability to pick wine is as good as your ability to pick people." Popovich's words were slightly complimentary.
Min Congda thought to himself, what are you doing to compliment me? If you want to surrender, just say so. I will take care of the Spurs based on the actual situation and prevent you from losing too ugly.
But Popovich took another sip and looked at the game on the court. The Lakers and Warriors were in the tiebreaker. The fans at the scene were wearing bright yellow T-shirts, which made people feel that this was not Staples Center, but Oracle. arena.
"The Lakers have started to wear jersey-colored T-shirts at home. Are these still the same Los Angeles Lakers?" Popovich said with emotion.
In the 2000s, the Spurs and Lakers were old rivals in the Western Conference. The battle between the two teams lasted throughout the previous era. At that time, the Western Conference was basically a battle between the Lakers and Horses.
The two teams have shared 11 Western Conference championships in 12 years. This number is very scary. Despite the bright stars in the 2000s in the eyes of many fans, in fact the Western Conference is dominated by the Lakers and Horses. Many stars have struggled for their entire lives and either died with the Lakers or others. At Spurs.
As a result, in the new era, both the Lakers and Spurs died at the hands of the new king of the Clippers.
Being beaten eight times in 2011 was a fatal blow to the Spurs and Popovich.
But the most fatal thing is that Bonner was snatched away by the Clippers in the 2010 free market, Leonard was intercepted by the Clippers in the 2011 draft, and the Spurs' favorite Danny Green was also retained by the Cavaliers. As a result, the Spurs had no choice but to find a way to get Rudy Gay.
But Gay is very useful in the regular season, but the defensive end in the playoffs has never been able to meet Popovich's requirements, resulting in the Spurs always having a huge hole in the forward position.
Since Bruce Bowen retired in 2009, the Spurs have been racking their brains at the third position. They have been thinking of ways to fill this gap, hoping to find a player who can support the team offensively and defensively and perfectly matches the GDP.
Restricted by the owner's wallet, all Popovich can do is to hunt for treasure in low picks, or dig for gold among some fringe players, hoping to find a useful player.
For example, Popovich once explored players like Mason among fringe players and turned him into a pretty good striker, but it was obviously not enough.
Later, they tried their best to get Richard Jefferson. Unfortunately, Jefferson didn't fit the Spurs' system, or Popovich didn't know how to use it. He didn't achieve the desired effect and was hacked.
After finally taking a fancy to Leonard, he tried his best, cautiously, and swiftly to dig out this good prospect, but with a click, he was intercepted by the Clippers.
Originally, Popovich could only say he was angry, but he didn't particularly care because he didn't realize Leonard's value at the time. After all, he was not the one who recommended Leonard.
But later, as Leonard continued to grow and performed well against the Spurs several times, Popovich realized that this was the striker he wanted, the most suitable third position for the Spurs.
Not to mention anything else, just from his little expression, he is the successor of Stone Buddha. He has a new title, Stone Bodhisattva.
But it has been taken away by Los Angeles, and Popovich can only watch with envy.
Today, for the sake of the future of the Spurs, Popovich did not hesitate to come to Staples Center and have a secret meeting with the Clippers general manager before the start of the series.
It would be quite embarrassing if this matter got out. The two armies are about to fight, but you are watching the game and chatting with the opponent's coach. What are you worried about?
Popovich really lost his temper and didn't care about anything.
The three of them were chatting, watching the game, and drinking. At this time, the Lakers were already 5 points behind the Warriors in the first quarter.
The Warriors, playing on the road, started tonight very well, and they were very open and decisive in their outside shots.
Lillard, Barnes, and Thompson hit consecutive jump shots, which made the Lakers scalp numb.
In comparison, the Lakers led by Paul played hesitantly. Joe Johnson and Lopez were too slow. Paul tried to use personal offense to help the team, but Paul injured his palm in the sixth game and was later diagnosed. Due to a torn ligament in his left hand, he played with a bandage on his left hand tonight. With one hand injured, he was unable to exert his full strength.
This is undoubtedly very bad news for the Lakers.
Logically speaking, it should be relatively easy for the third in the Western Conference to beat the sixth in the Western Conference.
But throughout the series, the Lakers felt like they were down and out.
They obviously performed well in the regular season, but once in the playoffs, they seemed to turn into an old zombie after a few games in front of the young Warriors.
They unexpectedly lost to the Warriors in the first game of the series, losing the opportunity and falling into passivity.
Afterwards, the Lakers won a game at the Warriors' home court, tied the score 2:2, and relied on Joe Johnson's buzzer-beater to win the crucial fifth game.
In Game 6, which could have ended the series, Paul was injured and was swept by the Warriors at Oracle Arena, losing by 19 points.
Entering Game 7 of the series, the Warriors were obviously more motivated and playing extremely aggressively.
The Lakers seemed to have been drained of their energy. Even if Paul played injured, he could not arouse the fighting spirit of the players.
In the second quarter of the game, the Warriors further opened up the score, and the maximum point difference reached 10 points.
If the Lakers continue to play like this, they risk being defeated by the Warriors in Game 7.
Min Congda looked at the Lakers' style of play and then looked at Rivers' formation and tactical command. He shook his head and said: "Rivers' style of play is a bit too old. He clearly has Iguodala in his hands." , but don’t pay attention to his role and just use him as a wing three-point shooter and defensive gate, it is really a waste.”
Popovich agreed, saying: "Yes, in the current NBA era, those who win the striker win the world, and Rivers has indeed fallen behind. The Clippers are so abundant in the striker position, which is really enviable. The future must be fast. The world of boats is over.”
Facing Popovich's praise, Min Congda thought to himself, if you want to surrender, just say so and stop flattering me. I'm not useful at all.
Popovich took another sip of Cabernet Sauvignon from the cup, and seemed to have made up his mind. He said to Min Congda: "Smart, when the game starts tomorrow, we will be our opponents. At that time, we will definitely find a way to defeat the opponent with all our strength." . But today, we are still friends, or we can be friends, friends in the business field."
Min Congda frowned, "Damn it, you're not here to surrender, why do you still want to be friends with me?" Who the hell wants to be friends with you? You are so old, why don't you accept me as your adoptive father?
Min Congda still had to be polite and said: "After the series is over, we will also be friends. We don't have much time to be rivals."
Popovich said: "Actually, you know, the Spurs have always had major flaws in the forward position. Our team hopes to add a talented and capable small forward to improve our system."
When Min Congda heard this, what did you mean? He first praised us for having enough forwards, and then said that you were short of people, so you came to us for help?
I really didn’t expect it. I thought I was here to surrender, but in the end I was here to beg. How could this happen?
"So, Greg, what do you mean, let me give you a small forward?"
"Oh no, of course not, of course not." Popovich waved his hands repeatedly, "I just came to say hello to you. No matter what the outcome of the playoffs is, we will try our best to fight for Paul George this summer. I know, hurry up It is very difficult for the ship to renew George's contract, and we will fight for it. I didn't need to come and tell you this, because these are business matters, and everything will be decided in the summer. But I regard you as a friend. Te, I think it’s necessary to say hello to you in advance.”
What Popovich wanted was George.
And he wanted to use the space to directly eat George naked in the summer of 2014.
Then why did he go out of his way to say hello to Min Congda before the series started?
Because Popovich knows Min Congda's style, he is very likely to ignore the luxury tax and force George to stay with a big contract in the summer.
In fact, the Clippers' salary space is already very, very tight. If George is given a big contract, their luxury tax will explode.
Unless George takes a salary cut or the salary cap skyrockets, it will be very difficult to give George a satisfactory salary.
As a rookie in 10 years, George is the most mature of the Clippers' three outside forwards, has the best statistics, and has the most comprehensive performance on both offense and defense.
This year is his contract year, and he has averaged 16.7 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. This amount of blocks is quite outstanding.
Moreover, his data was obtained when Curry and Harden took up a lot of his shots. When he was on his own, he could score 20 points in a single game, which was very easy.
Put it on the market, many teams are willing to give George a maximum salary.
If the Clippers win the championship this year, George will have three crowns in hand, and he will already have many honors at such a young age.
He can definitely pursue the maximum salary and personal honors, so he did not renew his contract with the Clippers in advance and can test the free market in the summer of 2014.
Although the Spurs can talk to George again in the summer, Popovich, who understands Min Congda's work style, knows that it is better to say hello first.
Otherwise, after you have finally negotiated a contract, Smart grits his teeth and insists on staying, even if he pays a huge luxury tax. This person is completely capable of such a thing.
Therefore, Popovich has learned his lesson, and he doesn't want to be so angry that he calls to scold Dunleavy again.
Min Congda held the red wine glass in his hand and played with it repeatedly, thinking about Popovich's words in his mind.
If it had been before, Min Congda would have wished for it and would have definitely let George go.
But things are different now. Min Congda has a deep relationship with every Clippers player.
Among other things, George's fishing skills are first-rate and he is Min Congda's good fishing friend.
George's family all live in Los Angeles and are die-hard Clippers fans. Min Congda has even dined at their house - he has dined at basically every house owned by Clippers players.
Maybe giving up George won't have a particularly big impact on the Clippers, because their forward line is really overflowing, and George may really want to make a career outside.
The child who originally chose school because it was close to home has grown into a general capable of being on his own.
But Min Congda thought for a while and finally said to Popovich: "I'm sorry Greg, I'm very grateful for your respect. But this group of people from the Los Angeles Clippers... to me, no one can be missing. "
(End of chapter)
