After winning the Spurs, Min Congda and the Clippers coaching staff will almost certainly be able to focus on other series in the East and West to understand the opponent's situation.
In the Western Conference, after the Warriors were defeated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first game, they gritted their teeth and defeated their opponents in Oklahoma in the second game and successfully gained home court advantage.
This was an extremely fierce game. The two sides fought fiercely in two overtimes. At the last moment of the game, Kevin Durant's mid-range buzzer-beater was ruled to have timed out. In the end, the Warriors narrowly defeated the Thunder by 1 point. The series was tied with a big score.
The young Warriors showed amazing toughness and huge heart in the game. Lillard and Thompson had surprisingly hard hands, and they were able to hit the ball every time when they needed the most energy. The Thunder home fans lost their temper when they shot.
Durant had already made a killing tonight, scoring 41 points, and he was almost a mid-range winner. Unfortunately, the lights were already on when he shot, and the Thunder unfortunately lost.
For the Thunder, losing a home court is not a big problem. Their strength is still dominant.
The problem is that the team's main inside man Ibaka injured his knee during the game - he collided with Warriors backup forward Draymond Green during a defense when the game was entering the first overtime. .
After that, Ibaka failed to return to the court. After the game, the Thunder officially put Ibaka on the injured list. He may not be able to return in the series.
This is a very big blow to the Thunder. There is no doubt about Ibaka’s defensive role in the interior. After the team downplayed the role of Perkins, Ibaka’s defense has become more important. It can be said that his shot blocking, assist Defense is the core of the Thunder's defensive system.
He averaged 2.7 blocks per game in the regular season, which was less than the 3.7 per game he averaged in his peak season, but his ability to help defend is actually stronger than in the past.
Because many of his blocks in the past were at the cost of defensive misalignment, the data looked good, but the actual defensive effect was actually average.
Now he has reduced his desire to block shots, his defense is more restrained and calm, his statistics have declined, and his effectiveness has improved.
It's a pity that he was knocked down after a collision. Last year, Westbrook was injured in the Thunder. This year, it is Ibaka's turn. It is really a bad year.
Not only was Ibaka injured, another long-time Thunder patient, Eric Gordon, also had knee discomfort after the game. The double overtime battle led to some recurrence of injuries.
In short, the situation of the series is not good for the Thunder.
As for the Eastern Conference, after the first round of the series, the top four teams in the regular season have all entered the second round, and there is no upset.
The Cavaliers play against the Pacers and the Heat play against the Nets.
The showdown between the Nets and the Heat is full of highlights, Kobe vs. Wade, a showdown between the first and second shooting guards of the modern era.
Garnett vs. Howard, the best defensive player who can't block shots vs. the best defensive player who can block shots best.
Of course, if they were all 5 years younger, this series would definitely be several times better than it is now.
Both the Heat and Nets are facing the problem of aging lineups. Who can win the series depends on who can stay healthy, who makes fewer mistakes, and who can outlast their opponents.
The Heat have an advantage inside, but the Nets have more firepower from the outside. The Nets beat the Raptors in the first round, and Kobe was in pretty good shape.
After all, Kobe once scored 81 points on the Raptors. Every time he faced this team, Kobe felt that he was in good condition.
In the first round of the series, Kobe averaged 24.5 points per game, with a single-game high of 34 points, and he was very efficient.
From his playing style to his condition, it is much better than last season. It can be seen that Kobe is well prepared for starting anew.
In another round of the series, the Cavaliers faced the Pacers. It was originally thought that there was not much suspense. However, in the first game, the Pacers actually won a game in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers maintained the lead smoothly in the first three quarters, but in the fourth quarter, Irving seemed to have some conflicts with James and Steve Kerr. The scene showed footage of the three having some disputes.
Then Irving was on the bench for the entire fourth quarter and did not play. As a result, the Cavaliers were reversed by the Pacers at home and lost the first game of the series.
Steve Kerr said at the press conference after the game that Irving was not feeling well during the game, so he was not allowed to play. Irving refused to be interviewed after the game without any explanation.
In the second game, the Cavaliers defeated the Pacers at home and evened the game, and the two sides also tied at 1:1.
In short, except for the showdown between the Clippers and the Spurs, every matchup is very suspenseful.
Min Congda and the coaching staff read the game reports and game videos one by one. After watching them, they only had one feeling: "Who else?"
At present, no team, regardless of its financial strength or current status, can compete head-on with the Clippers.
Not to mention that so far, the Clippers have not used their full strength. As long as they run at a constant speed, their opponents will not be able to keep up after two laps.
Min Congda's worries about the team that won three consecutive championships at the beginning of the season were all unnecessary. The Clippers are an atypical team. After all, the NBA is a state-owned enterprise and the team culture is different from other teams.
On Twitter, everyone is @NBA-Batman making predictions about the series. Min Congda actually made a prediction out of entertainment.
Of course he is optimistic about the Clippers, believing that after sending away the Spurs 4:1, the Thunder can reach the Western Conference Finals and the Cavaliers can win the Eastern Conference Championship.
As a result, in the fourth game between the Clippers and the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, the Clippers gave the Spurs and Adam Silva a face by selling one more ticket and lost calmly 99:104 in the away game. Gave it to the Spurs.
The Spurs were not swept, saving themselves some face. When they returned to Los Angeles in the fifth game, the Clippers did not give the Spurs any chance. The Clippers, who had run at a constant pace for four games, sprinted hard. In the first quarter They bombarded the Spurs from the beginning, leading by 15 points in the third quarter, and scored 122 points in the game, 122:101, and easily entered the Western Conference Finals with a 21-point advantage.
Randolph, who was severely guarded by Duncan in the first four games, was proud of himself in the fifth game, scoring 24 points and 11 rebounds. The fat man regained some dignity for himself.
Just when the Clippers took the lead in entering the Western Conference Finals and waiting for their opponents, the other three series were already fought to a halt.
The Warriors and Thunder tied at 2:2 in the first four games. In the crucial Battle of Tianwang Mountain, the injured Ibaka made a forced comeback. The Thunder fell behind by 7 points before the start of the fourth quarter, in just 3 minutes. Here, the reversal warriors.
At the last moment, Westbrook forced his way to the basket, causing Green to foul. He went to the free throw line and made a free throw to kill the Thunder.
However, the last few minutes of the game caused huge controversy. Many people believed that the league was trying to protect the Thunder and made several unfavorable penalties against the Warriors, causing the Warriors to lose the game.
There was a quarrel on the Internet in the United States and on Chinese forums. A large number of fans said it was a black whistle and believed that the Warriors had been hacked.
Faced with this kind of public opinion situation, how could Min Congda not stand up and seek justice?
He immediately made comments after the game, criticizing the referee, believing that the referee's call was too biased in favor of the Thunder.
"If the Clippers encounter such a whistleblower in the Western Conference Finals, I will definitely lodge a stern protest! NBA referees really need to improve their whistleblowing skills, otherwise I suggest that they wear helmets to referee the game."
Min Congda's remarks undoubtedly added fuel to the fire. With the endorsement of the general manager, the fans started scolding the referees and the league even more happily.
The NBA Referees Association immediately came out to protest, especially when Min Congda said "wearing a helmet to call the game." They considered this a serious personal threat. Considering Min Congda's previous bad record, they suggested that Min Congda be suspended during the Western Conference Finals and not be able to attend the scene or be unable to attend the game. Watching the game from the sidelines.
Min Congda immediately responded on Twitter, saying, "I am mentally ill." Don't make such a fuss.
This reply was wildly forwarded again. Min Congda had previously sued the alliance because his "second-level mental illness" privacy was leaked. Although it was settled in the end, because the alliance paid him a sum of money, he was very satisfied.
Later, Min Congda himself made fun of the issue of mental illness, which made him lose all scruples and become unscrupulous.
The league can only fight with each other at this time. First of all, it must support the referees and express that there is generally no problem with the penalties in the final stage of Game 5 between the Thunder and the Warriors. There may be one or two misjudgments, that's all.
Anyway, the result of the game cannot be changed. That’s what I said. What can you do?
For the referee alliance, the league appeased Min Congda, and of course it imposed a fine.
Min Congda was fined $50,000 by the league for his inappropriate remarks. This fine made back the money lost in the playoffs.
The fans were able to vent, the referees were comforted, the league got a topic, Min Congda got money, everyone got something, and a public opinion storm was perfectly calmed down.
The only one with a huge loss is of course the Golden State Warriors. After losing the Tianwangshan battle, their playoff journey this year seems to have come to an end.
Everyone believes that the Thunder will defeat the Warriors on the road in Game 6 and enter the Western Conference Finals to join the Clippers.
However, the tenacity of the Warriors team is beyond people's imagination. In Game 6, when they came to Oracle Arena, the Warriors team faced huge pressure and faced off against the Thunder. After trailing by 7 points at halftime and the situation was extremely unfavorable, they launched a A fatal counterattack.
Klay Thompson hit consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter. He made 5 of 7 three-pointers in a single quarter. He evened the point difference in one fell swoop. The Warriors were only 1 point behind entering the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Warriors once again showed their amazing fighting willpower. The two sides fought until the last moment. The key defense blocked Durant's buzzer-beater and the two sides entered overtime.
In this game, although Ibaka came back to play, he played in a closed game and his condition was far worse than before.
Once it entered overtime, the Thunder couldn't stand it any longer. Lillard and David Lee hit key goals.
The Warriors led by 5 points at the last moment, and Westbrook made a fatal pass error, causing the ball to change hands.
This mistake directly caused the Thunder to lose Game 6 and the series was dragged into a tiebreaker.
The situation is still favorable to the Thunder. After all, the tiebreaker is in Oklahoma, and the Thunder have a morale advantage.
But according to rumors, after Game 6, a heated argument broke out in the Thunder locker room, with Kevin Durant and Westbrook exchanging greetings with each other's families.
After all, they have never improved in performance over the years they have been working together. From 2011 to the fourth season this year, they have been lingering in the Western Conference Finals and Western Conference Semifinals.
Not to mention catching up with the Clippers who were far ahead, now they can't even beat the Warriors who are catching up from behind.
Over the years, Westbrook has always been a long-term player but not a smart player. He often makes low-level mistakes at critical moments, which is really unbearable.
Especially compared with the Clippers, Durant suddenly felt that there was no hope of catching up with the Clippers. The Clippers were indeed terrible.
What made Durant even more devastated was that after the sixth game, the league's regular season awards were announced.
The regular season MVP was indeed given to Stephen Curry, and Curry will be crowned the Most Valuable Player of the 2013-2014 season in the Western Conference Finals.
If the Thunder can win the tiebreaker and enter the Western Conference Finals, then Durant can, like Olajuwon, teach the MVP of the season in the Western Conference Finals and tell everyone who is the best in the league.
But what if the tiebreaker fails? Another year of failure, this is already his seventh year in the league.
It is said that Michael Jordan went through a lot of hardships before winning the championship, climbed over the Pistons' mountain, and stood at the top of the league.
And it was in the seventh year of his career that Jordan finally won the coveted championship.
For players such as Durant and James who are chasing Jordan, they only know how difficult it is to catch up with Jordan after they have been in the league.
In the East, the Cavaliers saved the day. The conflict between Irving, James, and Cole seemed to have been temporarily alleviated. After a 2:2 tie, the Cavaliers successfully won the fifth game, followed by the sixth game 91:90, 1 They narrowly defeated the Pacers by one point and reached the Eastern Conference finals.
The Nets and Heat were locked in a tough battle. A group of veterans burned the last fuel of their careers and gave the fans a very exciting showdown.
The level of this series may not be the highest, but the game is indeed the most exciting. Pierce, Kobe, Wade, and Ray Allen all contributed winning goals in the game.
Especially in the match point battle in Game 5, Kobe, Ray Allen, and Pierce took turns to hit the winning goal, and the plot continued to reverse.
In the end, the Nets had better luck, winning 87:86 with a 1-point advantage in Miami, and holding the right to decide the series in their own hands.
For the Heat, it was not only the loss that was bad, but also the cracks within the team. Howard became dissatisfied with his positioning. He believed that if he was the core of the offense, the team would not be so passive.
For any team, no matter how strong it is on paper, the most important thing is to be united internally, to be together, and to work hard in one place.
How many teams with luxurious accounts and strong paper strength have fallen apart due to internal discord. Even teams with superstars are most afraid of internal cracks.
For this year's NBA playoffs, there is a high probability that whoever is the most united will make it to the end. Unity is strength.
(End of chapter)
