Almighty Athlete Chapter 33: Enter the finals
"I didn’t expect that the opponent turned out to be the Lakers, not the Spurs. Burning novels????????????`t" Durant looked at the bench opposite the Heat, looking a little bit Dignified, compared to the Thunder, perhaps they hope to meet the Spurs.
In the past two years, in the history of confrontation between the two teams, the Thunder dominated. The two teams played four times in the regular season this season. The Thunder have won four games. From this point of view, the Thunder are psychological. Dominant. And in the 2012 Western Conference finals, the Thunder also defeated the Spurs 4-2.
As for the Los Angeles Lakers, the entire league now knows that it is the most difficult team to deal with. The Lakers, who are 0 to 3 behind and overturned, have completed a transformation. The Lakers seem to have recovered their confidence and resilience when they were in the dynasty. This can be seen from the 4-0 sweep of the Blazers. This Laker is like the purple gold dynasty of that year. Once it enters the playoffs, it will refer to the championship, whoever I choose!
However, the Thunder are not the soft persimmons of the Trail Blazers. This year's second-place Dewey is less than enough to compete with the Heat.
The Thunder's regular season record was 59 wins and 23 losses, second only to the Spurs in the Western Conference, and also ranked second in the league. In comparison, the Eastern Conference Pacers are 56 wins and 26 losses, and the Eastern Conference Heat are 54 wins and 28 losses, not as good as the Thunder. Coupled with the fierce competition in the West for several years, the record of the Western team is obviously more gold-based.
Durant’s status this year can be described as an explosion. Although Wei Shao has suffered a traumatic injury and has been in a truce for half a season, he has played harder after returning. Ibaka has more comprehensive data than last season. Ascension, even comparable to Bosh. The Big Three of the Thunder have basically taken shape.
However, the Thunder's luck was a bit poor. In the last game against the Clippers, Ibaka was pulled by Paul. It seemed that he sprained his knee and then returned to the locker room. The injury is unknown. However, Ibaka has always been an "Iron Man", and the Thunder is at home, even if injured, Ibaka will also come with injuries.
In the Thunder’s starting lineup, Sovrosa is a relatively unexistent player, but from the statistics, he may not be worthy of a starting position. But his flanking defensive efficiency is definitely among the top five in the league. With the second-less presence, the Thunder are not lacking in firepower, and it is indeed a better choice to have a defensive titular presence.
And the Thunder's starting center Perkins became a loophole in the field when facing the Lakers.
Perkins is a very strong low-post defender. Celtics won the championship. Perkins can be said to be indispensable. At that time, Perkins could resist any insider in the league. The Magic team is like Howard. , Or Bynum, who has not been scrapped, has suffered a loss in Perkins.
Whether it's against the Grizzlies' black and white bears, the Rockets' Howard, or the Clippers' Jordan Griffin, Perkins can play a very good role, but in the face of the running Lakers Perkins had almost no effect, because he could not run.
Perkins has gained a lot of weight in recent years. For this type of player, weight gain means running slower, which means you can’t jump. At present, Perkins is not fast enough to retreat, the offense does not exist, and the defensive range has also been reduced. Except for being a meat shield, it has little effect. This kind of player is indeed a deterrent on the defense side of the position, but if you run away, what is the use of a defensive player with a meat shield?
Perkins was replaced after only five minutes of playing, replaced by rookie Adams. Compared to Perkins, Adams is much more athletic.
Caron Butler and Old Fish Fisher also played very well in their first match. Although Fisher was a defensive loophole, he opened a three-pointer. The three-pointer made four of five shots, giving the Thunder a lot of firepower.
Looking at the Lakers, the players’ feelings are more general. Perhaps it was the previous 4-0 sweep of the Trail Blazers. The rest was too long, and the players were not in the state.
Nick Young didn’t bring his nerve knife today and ended up with 1 of 9 shots; Gasol also had a poor hand, and Ibaka’s offensive end was very miserable; Wesley Johnson, Meeks, Bates Moore, Jordan Hill, Farmar, and others all performed just fine.
In the first match, the Lakers lost 105 to 122. Er Shao scored 60 points together, turning Zhang Guan's 35 points into empty cuts.
However, in the second game, the Lakers finally recovered, and at least the player's feel became normal.
This game was very stalemate, and the two sides even spent extra time. Eventually Zhang Guan took the Thunder with a lore, making the total score 1:1.
Having not won two wins at home is not good news for the Thunder. Next, he will go to Los Angeles. The current Staples Stadium is a devil’s tour for the visiting team, especially for the Thunder. .
In the last game, the Thunder eliminated the Clippers before being promoted. The Clippers are also a Los Angeles team, so when the Thunder visits again, Los Angeles fans are even more enemies.
Back at home, the Lakers are clearly determined to win. Their goal is to fight for two wins and get the match point for this series. The Thunder two will not make the Lakers happy. If the Lakers have won two consecutive victories, the total score will become 3 to 1, and only 8 times in the history of 3 to 1 under the circumstances.
However, Staples Arena has become the most difficult to capture a home in the league, the Lakers have accumulated over the years, is unmatched by other teams, not to mention a Lakers team that hopes to win the championship. .
The third match of the series, held in Los Angeles, the Thunder players collectively played a bit of misalignment, although the second less data is still good, but the shooting rate is lower than usual, but the turnover is more than usual. In this game, the Thunder 2 came to rest after the third quarter. The Thunder played the fourth quarter with a full replacement lineup. Reggie Jackson got the highest score in the Thunder.
The final score is that the Lakers defeated the Thunder 112-81, with a score difference of more than 30 points. It is relatively rare in the playoffs. Especially in the Western Conference finals, the 30-point difference is even more. It rarely happens.
In this game, the Thunder are a miserable loser, but they are also accumulating energy for the fourth game. The Thunder two came off early, also in order to better adjust themselves for the next counterattack.
Sure enough, in the fourth game between the two sides, the Thunder and the second player both played a god-level performance. Both players played more than 45 minutes, and the shooting rate remained above 50%. In the end, Wei Shao scored 40 points and 10 The large double-double of assists, Durant's 39 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists comprehensive data, the Thunder team won 115 to 109, difficult to win on the road.
In the first four games, the Thunder and the Lakers made a 2-2 draw, followed by the crucial battle of Tianwang Mountain, and the game will be held at the home of Thunder.
......
"Durant, a three-pointer, but unfortunately, no shot."
"Westbrook, layup, almost got in!"
Ford Center Arena, the Thunder fans are all worried. In today's game, neither Durant nor Wei Shao are allowed! Durant's shooting percentage reached 40% in the front, but he only made one of six shots from three points; Wei Shao was even worse, and the shooting rate did not even reach 35%.
This is the biggest problem of the dual-core team. Two superstars are together. Two people can play normally when they play normally. One of them can also win if they play well. Not to mention two people who play well. But if they are not allowed, they will definitely lose.
For a long time, most nba teams were built with dual-core thinking, and it is not uncommon for two superstars to win the championship. However, the shortcomings of dual-core are also very obvious, so the Big Three mode appeared later, three star players get together, even if two people feel bad, there is a third person can provide firepower guarantee.
The Thunder two less can be said to be the most powerful combination of offensive firepower in the league. In many cases, the Heat three giants may not have the Thunder two score more and the Thunder rely on the scoring ability of the second less. Players only need to defend well. Today, the second player and the player feel cold at the same time. The Thunder lost the main source of scoring in an instant. Although the defense is still very strong, but the score is not scored, and the score naturally falls behind.
In this game, the data of the second player is still very good. Durant has a large double-double of 31 points and 15 rebounds. Wei Shao has 34 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. It took 70 times, and the Thunder only made 85 shots. Er Shao occupied a lot of ball rights, but the hit rate was not high, which was a waste of a lot of mobile phone games.
The final score was 107. The Thunder lost the game at home and the Lakers won the match point.
......
May 31, Los Angeles, Staples Stadium, the Lakers' sixth game against the Thunder.
In the last five minutes of the game, Durant looked at the score, but there was a look of despair in his eyes.
The score is now 111 to 93. The Lakers have fallen behind by 18 points and the Lakers still hold the ball.
The ball passed into Gasol's hands. Gasol took a hook to the layup and scored the ball. The score became 113 to 93 points, and the difference was widened to 20 points.
The last five minutes are left until the end of the game. In five minutes, you want to catch up with the 20-point gap. This is already impossible for Durant.
"Are you going to stop the Western Conference finals again?" Durant sighed a long time, and he has lost some of his fighting spirit.
The Wei Shao next to him seemed to be a little stubborn donkey who refused to lose. Although he was behind by 20 points, he was still desperately trying.
During a pick-and-roll match, Zhang Guan faced Durant.
At this time, Durant already had some annoyance about losing, and a lot of **** was spouting from his mouth.
Junk talk is also part of the NBA competition. Durant is also first-rate in terms of junk talk. Drummond Green’s big mouth, which is unobstructed, all admits that Durant’s junk talk is stronger than that. Yourself.
However, Zhang Guan didn’t care. He smiled at Durant and suddenly asked, "Kevin, are you interested in playing in Los Angeles?"
"What are you talking about?" Durant froze for a moment. He thought that Zhang Guan would also like to spray garbage, but he didn't expect Zhang Guan to ask this question.
"Kobe's contract expires in 2016. Your contract will also be in 2016. How about waiting for your contract to come to Los Angeles? Los Angeles needs a new king to replace Kobe!" Zhang Guan continued.
"Replace Kobe? New King of Los Angeles!" Durant suddenly felt overwhelmed.
Los Angeles has unparalleled appeal to players. For some nightclubs, Los Angeles is a paradise; for some big-name stars, Los Angeles can also bring them more wealth, not to mention the Lakers. This kind of team with the bottom of the team can replace Kobe and become the new king of the Lakers. It is very attractive for Durant stars.
Of course, for Durant, he will also consider whether the team can win the championship. If it is a bad team, Durant will definitely not go. And if it also has the potential to win the championship, the Lakers are definitely Durant's first choice.
Zhang Guan’s words are not unreasonable. He knows that the Lakers in the future will be reduced to a big tragedy. He has been ruined for several years in a row. Although he has won several lottery draws and two list spots, he has chosen some comparative Rookie. Because the team's record is too bad, the star is reluctant to come to the Lakers.
For a team like the Lakers, it’s really more appropriate to sign a big card than to train players.
Today, Zhang Guan is to plant a seed in Durant’s heart. Zhang Guan believes that with the Lakers’ attractiveness, as long as they can make up a championship lineup, Durant will have a great chance two years later. Join the Lakers.
......
The score was finally fixed at 120 to 113. The Lakers only scored 7 points in the last five minutes, but the previous leading advantage was too great. Although the Thunder scored 20 points crazy, it was still difficult to restore the defeat. .
"Win! We won!" The fans at the scene fell into a joy.
After four years, the Lakers reached the finals again, and their opponent is naturally the Miami Heat who have won two consecutive championships.
......
Miami, American Airlines Arena, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
No team player Sloan hit a three-pointer, the score became 92 to 117, and at this time, the sound of the end of the match sounded.
The Pacers lost, and in the overall score, they also lost to the Miami Heat 2 to 4.
Last year’s Eastern Conference finals were also held between the two teams. The Pacers caused a lot of trouble for the Heat at that time. The two sides reached the seventh game before they decided the victory. At that time, the Pacers' greatest contributor to the Heat was power center Hibbert.
Last year, Hibbert was hailed as the "LeBron" Terminator. He averaged 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game against the Heat~IndoMTL.com~ blew the Heat's inside line, but the Heat's line was weak The problem is fully exposed in front of the Pacers, and many people even think that if the Heat is inside a top traditional center, the Heat have long lost.
However, in the era of the decline of the traditional center, Hibbert is also a general pulled out of the lame.
In this year's playoffs, when people expect Hibbert to continue to finish the Heat, he is not as good as before, averaging 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. For the Heat, the threat is not as good as before.
So the Heat are relatively easy to kill the Pacers and advance to the finals.
In the locker room, James, Wade and Bosh got together.
"I didn't expect to play the Lakers in the final. I thought it would be the Spurs or Thunder. The Clippers are more likely than the Lakers!" Wade said.
"No, this year's Lakers are not easy to deal with, so they can enter the playoffs at a disadvantage, and we can't take it lightly in the face of the Spurs' 3-0 turnaround," Bosh said.
James didn’t seem to hear the conversation between the two, but he sighed in his own words, "Six years, the time has passed so fast, in a blink of an eye, it has been six years!"
Wade and Bosh heard, their faces dimmed at the same time, and they both knew what the six years James was talking about.
During the Olympic Games six years ago, the Mengba team came into the game with great force, but they were killed by Zhang Guan and lost the Olympic gold medal. At the time, James, Wade and Bosh were all in that team!
"I thought I wouldn't have a chance to get revenge in the future!" Wade's eyes also flashed coldly.
"Revenge! That’s right, we not only want the championship, we also have revenge!" James murmured. (To be continued...)