NBA: Top 3D talents to start

Chapter 406 Eliminating the Jazz and sinking the Clippers
The Jazz lost two home games in a row, which no one expected.

Although I know that the Jazz may not be the opponent of the Lakers, but the situation is impossible to be so one-sided. This is the crippled Lakers without Butler. The Jazz is also the number one team in the Western Conference. So vulnerable.

He can lose two games in a row at his own home court. How can he play in Los Angeles, the Lakers' home court, in the next game?
If before the start of the series, there were still some Jazz fans who believed that their team had some hope of winning, but now almost no one thinks that the Jazz can pass the level of the Lakers.

The top spot in the Western Conference will stop at the second round of the Western Conference semifinals.

On May 5, the series G4 kicked off, and the game returned to the home of the Lakers, the Staples Arena in Los Angeles.

No one expected this game. The Lakers established an early lead and suppressed the Jazz throughout the game. Although the Jazz also had counterattack momentum in the second and third quarters, they were all very fast. Wang Feng led his team to suppress it in time.

113: 105.

The Jazz lost three games in a row, and the score came to 3:0. The Lakers won four match points, and there is no suspense about entering the Western Conference Finals.

The head coach of the Jazz had no choice but to speak frankly at the press conference after the game.

"Although our record in the regular season is better, everyone knows that the concept of the regular season and the playoffs are completely different. Our core players are still too young and have little experience in the playoffs, and the strength of the opponent is unmatched. Doubt, especially Wang Feng, has a dominant performance on both ends of the offense and defense."

"The game is not over yet, even if there is still the last game left, we will go all out to deal with it seriously. I also believe that the Jazz with Rudy (Gobert) and Donovan (Mitchell) as the core inside and outside It will become stronger in the future..."

Mitchell, who is the core of the team's offense, seemed quite frustrated.

"I have the main responsibility for the current situation that the team is facing. As the core of the team's offense, I failed to shoulder the team's offense..."

In the three games, Mitchell scored 11 points, 19 points and 25 points respectively, and his performance was better than the game. It is obvious that he is gradually adapting to Wang Feng's high-pressure defense, but when the big score is already 0:3, Mitchell It's still a bit late for Chell to adapt.

Although he is called a young player, Mitchell, who was born in 96, is actually 25 years old and has been selected to the All-Star and the best third team this season. He is already ranked in the top [-] or even the top [-] in the league. powerful scorer.

Such an amazingly talented player would be so powerless in the face of Wang Feng's defense, which really disappointed many Jazz fans.

In another time and space, in the 2021-22 season, the Jazz once again fell into the sand in the playoffs, and then the Jazz chose to overthrow the existing lineup and rebuild, and the two core members of the team were traded and left the team.

Mitchell was traded to the Cavaliers, while Gobert was traded to the Timberwolves.

So far, the Jazz team of Gobert and Mitchell has completely become history after a brief brilliance.

Wang Feng didn't know about this, because when he traveled here, the playoffs of the 21-22 season were still in full swing, and the Jazz were eliminated by the Warriors in the first round.

Even if Wang Feng knew the follow-up result, he would not have any special thoughts.

The two cores of the Jazz, whether it is Gobert or Mitchell, can only be regarded as second-rate stars in the league. Their own strength and development potential have upper limits, and they are somewhat similar to the [-] million backcourt double guns of the Blazers Lillard and McCollum.

As a powerful team, it is not difficult to reach the playoffs every year, but it is extremely difficult to make some breakthroughs in the playoffs.

In a small ball market like Salt Lake City, instead of spending a high maximum salary to keep the two, it is better to choose to trade while the two have good trade value, in exchange for some draft picks. Getting stars like Doncic, Trey Young, and Morant will make a lot of money, and this is the only way for small-market teams to rise.

……

The big score was 0:3. It was no longer a step on the edge of the cliff with one foot. In the abyss.

In this case, the Jazz completely let go.

On May 5, in the G6 game of the Western Division semifinals, at the Staples Center, the Jazz played the most hearty game in the entire series.

Gobert, Mitchell, and Bogdanovic scored 20+ points at the same time. At the same time, Jordan Clarkson, Joe Ingles and others also scored in double figures. The Jazz started from the first quarter. The Lakers were suppressed throughout the process, and the Lakers were a little careless because of their excessive advantage, and finally lost the game with a score of 3:1.

The Jazz forcefully took a breath before they died, and successfully dragged the game back to their home court, but it was only a matter of time before they were eliminated. After all, the Lakers still held three match points.
Two days later in the G5 series, the Lakers made adjustments to their starting lineup. Jordan Poole was dropped from the starting list to the bench, and Poole was replaced by Jimmy Butler, who had been training for six months. .

Butler's recovery period is quite smooth, as early as the beginning of the playoffs, he began to carry out restorative training. From the first round of the playoffs to the second round of the G5 series, after more than 20 days, Butler has been able to follow suit. The team conducted daily training and officially played on May 5.

Butler's comeback is of great significance to the Lakers.

Although the Western Conference semifinals with the Jazz has lost suspense, but this does not mean that the Lakers do not need Butler.

As the second head of the team, Butler is very important to the Lakers on both offense and defense.

Regardless of the fact that Ingram's scoring average has surpassed Butler's career-high season this season, Butler is obviously stronger than Ingram in terms of the ability to hold the ball under key situations. After all, he is the best player in the league. Hard breasts are by no means in vain.

What's more, on the defensive end, Butler's perimeter defensive ability and experience are far better than Ingram's.

Butler returned to the team, and the Lakers went to the Western Conference finals stage, whether it was against the Clippers or the Warriors, they were much more stable.

Of course, Butler's G5 debut was just an attempt after recovery. Although it was the first game, he only played for about 20 minutes, and his personal data was not outstanding. He only scored 9 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

No one thinks that Butler's performance in his first show was bad. After all, he is an injured player who has not played in the entire regular season. It must take a period of time to re-adapt to the rhythm of the game.

而这场比赛湖人队还是以109:104拿下了G5比赛，以4:1的总比分将爵士队淘汰出局，连续第三年杀入西部决赛。

While the Lakers entered the Western Conference Finals, the Clippers and Warriors were still fighting fiercely.

After five games, the Clippers won the Tianwangshan battle 3:2 and took the lead in getting the match point.

Falling behind, and the G6 game will go to the Clippers' home court, the Warriors are in jeopardy and are on the verge of being eliminated.

If the Clippers beat the Warriors, then the two teams in the Western Conference Finals will all be the teams that completed the counterattack, one is fourth in the Western Conference and the other is sixth in the Western Conference.

On the east side, the situation of the battle gradually became clear.

篮网队4:1淘汰凯尔特人，率先进入东部决赛，而雄鹿队与76人的对决中也3:2取得领先优势。

The battle situation in the East can be ignored for the time being, it is a question that needs to be considered only in the finals.

Wang Feng and the Lakers are still concerned about the matchup between the Clippers and the Warriors.

Most people, including Wang Feng, believe that the Clippers will eliminate the Warriors at home and advance to the Western Conference Finals, but the development of the plot is often full of drama.

The Clippers, which had a solid upper hand at the beginning of the G6 game, changed suddenly in the second half. Not only was the Warriors taking advantage of the momentum to play a wave of 14:2 to directly reverse the point difference, Kawhi Leonard, one of the dual cores, made a breakthrough Injured right knee, returned directly to the locker room.

Leonard was injured in such a crucial game!

The Clippers home fans, who were overjoyed because the team was about to enter the Western Conference Finals, were dumbfounded.

Everyone knows the importance of Leonard to the Clippers.

季后赛打到现在为止，伦纳德场均30.4分7.7篮板5.2助攻，表现甚至比詹姆斯的场均26分7.2篮板8.8助攻更加耀眼。

To put it bluntly, without Leonard, the Clippers would not be able to gain the current lead against the Warriors.

When Leonard was injured, the entire Clippers team was stunned, and even James made mistakes in practice like sleepwalking.

The score that was already overtaken began to be reversed.

The Warriors narrowly escaped death and won the G6 game. The score was tied at 3:3, and the final tiebreaker will be held two days later.

At this time, the focus of everyone's attention is not the tiebreaker, but Leonard's injury.

One day later, the Clippers officially announced that Kawhi Leonard suffered a partial torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and needed surgery. Not to mention the tiebreaker a day later, it would be difficult to return to play next season .

Once the news was announced, everyone knew that the Clippers were over.

Without Leonard, the Clippers would only be left with the aging James and Westbrook, who turned into an undercover agent as soon as the playoffs came, and his strength could not be compared with the Warriors.

The same is true.

In the tiebreaker, James' long-lost incarnation of Thanos Zhan, played 41 minutes, scored 44 points, 9 rebounds and 12 assists, and nearly triple-double data, but he was powerless. He had no choice but to watch the team lose the tiebreaker and be eliminated.

Even Wang Feng didn't expect the sudden change.

In another time and space, Leonard was also injured in the second round of the 20-21 season playoffs, but the Clippers’ opponent was the Jazz at that time, and after Leonard was injured, the Clippers were still under Paul George’s team. He led the elimination of the Jazz, and played six games against the Suns in the Western Conference Finals before finally losing.

Although due to the epidemic in another time and space, the schedule of the playoffs is different from the current one, but the time period of Leonard's injury schedule is surprisingly similar, and I don't know if this is a coincidence.

Either way, the Clippers are done.

The second round of this season is not over yet, and Leonard will miss the entire season next season. James must lead the team to fight alone, and even the situation he faces is worse than Wang Feng.

Butler was injured, Wang Feng still had Ingram, Kuzma and other young players with great potential to assist him, but James had only Westbrook, who would be regarded as a negative equity trader.

It's hard to say whether the Clippers will make the playoffs next season.

Some media have even used words like "the king's twilight" to describe James.

At the end of this season, James is nearly 37 years old, and he will be 38 years old from next season to the playoffs.

For other players, at this age, they have already retired early or become role players, their competitive level has dropped sharply, and their personal data will also decline precipitously.

Even if it is as strong as James, it is difficult for people to pass this hurdle.

Last summer's gamble to form the Big Three was James' last chance to hit the fourth championship of his career. He couldn't even do it this season, and it would be even more hopeless if he lacked Leonard next season.

And if you wait until 2023, James will be 39 years old, and it's hard to say whether he can continue to play.

当然，人们还并不知道，在另一个时空，2021-22赛季38岁高龄的詹姆斯依然能打出场均30.3分8.2篮板6.2助攻的数据。

Even at that time, James' defensive end had become a colander and was criticized, and his scoring was also suspected of scoring points. Even with such statistics, he failed to lead the Lakers to qualify for the playoffs or even the playoffs, but it still did not affect The shock that James brought to people.

A 38-year-old player can play such a performance, what more can he ask for?

(End of this chapter)