warrior godfather

Chapter 698 The Lonely Hero
In the second half of the regular season, Westbrook and Harden became the two most eye-catching superstars in the league.

The two have refreshed people's cognition time and time again. In the past, others could blow up 30+ triple-doubles for several days with just one shot, but in their hands, it has become a basic operation.

Even 40+ triple-doubles, which are enough to brag about, are easy for Westbrook and Harden.

Only back-to-back 40+ triple-doubles and 50+ triple-doubles can make fans excited, and at the same time add a lot of weight to the mvp battle between the two.

This is an unprecedented battle for mvp. Harden and Westbrook seem to be playing a video game, and the data is a toy that they can manipulate freely. The shock of people.

The performances of the three are essentially the same, that is, to turn data that is impossible to type out in people's cognition into reality.

But the difference is that while Curry exploded in efficiency, he also led the team to an unprecedented record of 74 wins, and was undisputedly elected as the first unanimous MVP in history.

Neither the Rockets nor the Thunder's records are good, which has led to a lot of suspense about the ownership of the mvp. If the team's record is clearly ahead, there will be no suspense about the mvp.

Because of this, Curry also joined the mvp competition.

The Warriors' record is far ahead of all teams, and they are heading for the second 70 wins. Even if Curry's data is mediocre, no one can ignore it.

However, Curry's 5mvp achievements in the previous five years have become the biggest obstacle.

Stronger than Jordan, he failed to win the honor of three consecutive mvp. The last three consecutive mvp winners can be traced back to "Big Bird" Larry Bird from 1982 to 1986. In addition, only "Basketball King" Will Wilt Chamberlain and "Lord of the Rings" Bill Russell achieved this feat.

Originally, Jordan also had a good chance to achieve this achievement. In 1997, Jordan averaged 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, leading the Bulls to 69 wins and 13 losses, ranking first in the league.

But in the selection of mvp, Jordan lost to Malone by one vote.

That season, Malone averaged 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, leading the Jazz to 64 wins and 18 losses. The statistics are comparable to Jordan, but the record is much inferior. It stands to reason that there should be no suspense about the ownership of the mvp.

However, Jordan had already won 4 mvp before, and the judges had "aesthetic fatigue", so Malone won so many votes and successfully defeated Jordan in the mvp selection.

Now, Curry is also facing a situation similar to Jordan.

The difference is that Curry is at a statistical disadvantage, lagging behind Westbrook and Harden across the board, and only far ahead in terms of efficiency and record.

If the judges value the record more, the mvp is in Curry's pocket; if the judges value the data more, the mvp will miss Curry.

However, no matter what choice the judges make in the end, Zhang Yu will not miss Curry's good opportunity for three consecutive mvp. When people's eyes are on Harden and Westbrook, he is also constantly building momentum for Curry.

After the Warriors win the game, Zhang Yu will praise Curry's great role in interviews, emphasizing his selflessness and humility. He is dedicated to winning and doesn't pay much attention to statistics.

He has repeatedly emphasized that "Stephen has an invisible gravitational force", "basic data can't reflect Stephen's role at all", "go look at the high-level data, Stephen has played a historical level of dominance", and guide people Attention is drawn away from the underlying data.

In addition, Zhang Yu also emphasized how low Curry's playing time and usage rate are-"Stephen only played three quarters today, he doesn't care about statistics at all", "It's hard for me to imagine that if Stephen played every game until the end of the fourth quarter Time, how many scoring records can be broken", "Have you seen how much Stephen ran without the ball and how many defenses he attracted? Only those who really understand the ball know how good he is."

In addition to playing in person, Zhang Yu also instructed Rick Wertz to contact the media to build momentum for Curry in public opinion, emphasizing that the Warriors' record lead over the Rockets and Thunder is Curry's biggest advantage over Harden and Westbrook.

This approach achieved very good results at the beginning. Fans still value the record very much. Curry's strength is also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. No one thinks that he really only has the strength shown by the current "average" data.

In the final analysis, the playoffs are the highest standard for judging a player's strength. No matter how amazing Harden and Westbrook's performance in the regular season is, it cannot match Curry's dominant performance in the playoffs in the past few years.

Moreover, the Warriors' record lead over the league's second Rockets has reached as many as 12 wins, showing a crushing situation and winning more support for Curry.

Fans are simple, they may not know what advanced data is, and they don't know how exquisite Curry's off-ball movement is and how many defenses he has attracted, but they know that the Warriors led by Curry have achieved better results. record, then he is a better player.

However, not everyone thinks so.

When the "San Francisco Chronicle", "USA Today" and other media were building momentum for Curry, they didn't want to see Curry get the mvp, and they didn't want to see Harden get the mvp, so they reacted quickly and launched a counterattack.

A group of media such as ESPN and the New York Times first pointed their finger at the Warriors' luxury lineup, saying that Curry did contribute to the Warriors' league No. [-], but Leonard, Antetokounmpo, and Clay are also indispensable The missing hero.

Some commentators bluntly said that the Warriors are "five-star warriors". Curry, Leonard, Clay, Green, and Antetokounmpo have all been selected as All-Stars. The first is the weird thing. I really don't know what Curry has to brag about.

Some media pointed out that Wiggins, Dinwiddie, and Bogdan are all very high-quality role players. Among them, Wiggins is still the No. [-] pick with extraordinary talent, but he can only play as a substitute in the Warriors. credit.

Some media complained for Harden and Westbrook, thinking that they worked so hard and played so well with teammates who were far inferior to Curry, but Curry played so easily, clocked in three quarters, and the victory was easy. The mvp should not give Curry, otherwise it is a harm to the stars who really fight for the team's victory.

Westbrook fans and Harden fans feel that this statement is justified, put aside their long-standing battles, and unanimously said:
"If Curry's teammates are given to Harden (Westbrook), the Rockets (Thunder)'s record will definitely be better than it is now!"

"Mvp is the most valuable player, but not the most valuable team. Why should we look at the team's record? Curry doesn't deserve to win the mvp!"

For a while, this kind of speech faintly occupied the mainstream position of public opinion, and even neutral fans were also affected, thinking that Curry really should not join the selection of mvp.

Zhang Yu had expected this, he had seen these tricks before.

After Curry and Durant became teammates, it was difficult to even enter the best team. Durant was injured, and Curry led the team to defeat strong enemies alone, and the mvp ranking did not rise but fell.

But James, Wade, and Bosh formed the Big Three, but they didn't delay at all to win two consecutive mvp.

No matter what award, as long as Curry is involved, extremely strict standards will be set.

Under his instruction, the pro-Warrior media immediately launched a counterattack.

Their argument is mainly focused on the fact that the Warriors' luxury lineup is basically drafted, not traded together. Coach Z has a good vision and should not be Curry's black spot.

In addition, the record is more important than the data, because the data can be brushed, but the record cannot.

At the same time, a video comparing the performance of Curry, Westbrook, and Harden on the defensive end suddenly spread on the Internet.

In the video, Curry is actively defending, Harden is defending with his eyes, and Westbrook is waiting for the rebound at the basket, forming a stark contrast.

On the court, Zhang Yu also made adjustments, and Curry's possession of the ball began to increase.

After more than half of the season, Leonard's performance has been convincing enough, and there is no need to continue to inspect potential trading partners during the offseason.

4月2日，库里22投15中，三分14中9，罚球3中3，狂砍42分8助攻，率队以139:115大胜奇才。

4月4日，库里24投13中，三分14中7，罚球9中8，狂砍41分9助攻，率队以121:107击败森林狼，勇士的战绩也来到了67胜11负，追平了上赛季的胜场。

4月5日，库里背靠背25投15中，三分12中8，罚球7中6，狂砍44分11助攻，率队以120:111击败太阳。

When Westbrook and Harden were in full swing for the mvp competition, Curry scored 40+ in three consecutive games and officially announced his participation in this battle.

However, he is too far behind in basic statistics, and it is too late to exert his strength now. Zhang Yu just wants to use the high scores in the few games approaching the playoffs to remind the judges that Curry can also score high scores, it just depends on what he thinks. I just don't want to.

But Harden and Westbrook have been fighting each other for a season, how can Curry be allowed to intervene?

4月5日，哈登砍下31分10助攻7篮板，率队以110:104击败掘金。

4月7日，哈登空砍33分12篮板9助攻，率队以109:114惜败于活塞。

4月9日，哈登砍下35分15助攻11篮板，率队以135:128力克国王。

Three consecutive 30+10 games, including a 30+ triple-double, was Harden's powerful counterattack against Curry.

But when it comes to triple-doubles, Westbrook is not out, who will compete?
4月5日，威少狂砍45分10助攻9篮板的准三双，并在最后11秒送出制胜抢断，率队以103:100力克灰熊。

On April 4, Westbrook scored a super triple-double with 7 points, 50 rebounds and 16 assists. At the last moment, he hit a super long three-pointer at the buzzer and beat the Nuggets 10:106, shocking the league.

This is Westbrook's first game after confirming that he averaged 30+10+10 per game this season and made history.

This is Westbrook's 42nd triple-double this season, breaking the record of 1961 triple-doubles in a single season held by "Big O" Robertson in the 62-41 season.

This is Westbrook's third 3+ triple-double this season, surpassing Harden and ranking first in the league.

He performed the "lonely hero" to the extreme. After the game, Kobe immediately reposted the video of Westbrook's lore and said "Questions?", expressing his mvp candidate.

At this moment, the ownership of mvp seems to have lost suspense.

(End of this chapter)