From South China Tiger to NBA King

Chapter 237: After the G1 game, all parties commented that Jordan was only half as good as Jordan

As soon as the finals ended, the results of the game made headlines on the front pages of major sports newspapers.

"Jianghu scored 65 points and 12 rebounds and dominated the field. The Celtics defeated the Warriors at home! 》

"Sent 11 assists, the selfless Irving is even more terrifying! 》

"Is Curry difficult to guard?"I don't think so! !Smart says guarding Curry is not a difficult job》

"This is just a routine operation. Stevens said that no one should be surprised by Jianghu's performance! 》

"The two MVPs scored 60+ points together, and the Warriors lost the first away game! 》

………………………………………………,……

After the first game, more and more people began to believe that the Celtics were strong enough to win the championship. Durant and Curry jointly contributed 60+ and still could not prevent the team from losing.

The Celtics have made great progress.

Even the local media in Boston began to foresee that the Celtics could build a dynasty in this era.

Different from last year's lineup, this year's Celtics starting lineup added two superstars.

Irving is at the peak of his career, and Jiang Hu and Jaylen Brown will become stronger and stronger with the passage of time and the accumulation of experience.

And Horford is at the best moment of his career. 31 years old is almost the golden age for inside players. If nothing else, his peak period can last for a long time.

As long as Irving doesn't leave and Jianghu can stay healthy, the Celtics will be the absolute favorite to win the championship in the next five years.

Compared to the warm atmosphere on the Celtics side.

There was deathly silence on the Warriors' side.

This Celtics team has become the biggest "stumbling block" for the Warriors on their way to winning the championship.

Durant is under a lot of pressure, very much.

In his understanding, if he can perform well to defeat the powerful Celtics and become the MVP of the Finals, then he will replace James as the true number one player in the league.

The "authority" of the alliance will also be handed over smoothly.

But if he fails while joining the 73-win Warriors, it could be disastrous for him.

Whether it is for him personally or for the Warriors, people's requirements are simple but very demanding - if you don't win the championship, you will fail.

And if you win the championship, you may not necessarily receive respect, but if you fail to win, you will definitely receive overwhelming criticism.

Sometimes, when Durant thinks about how he won the championship, some people find fault, saying that he surrendered to his enemy at the top of his game, deliberately picking on him...

If the Warriors don't win the championship when he and Curry are both healthy, Durant doesn't even dare to think about the consequences.

Too much pressure, too much...

There is also overwhelming criticism of the Warriors from the outside world.

Charles Barkley also gave some advice to the Warriors after the game. Big Butt said:
"Although Durant is one of the best players in the league today, his offensive ability in the game allows him to dominate the game. When the ball is in his hands, he can choose to run a pick-and-roll with his teammates, or take advantage of no solution. Attack the opponent's defense in his personal offense. But as a forward, Durant can learn something from the eliminated James to further improve his ability to dominate the game."

"The first thing Durant needs to learn is to be like James, let his teammates do the work and do the things that his teammates can't do."

"For example, he needs to go to more defensive areas, such as helping his teammates inside to help defend, and taking advantage of his size and shape in this small ball era."

"James has done a very good job in this regard. When his teammates gain a favorable position, he will let them go without asking for the ball. When his teammates lose the opportunity to simply complete the offense, he will stand up and take the ball in his hands to complete the attack. attack."

"In games, you rarely see Durant holding the ball or dribbling for more than 5 seconds. In the Warriors, Durant mostly plays a more offensive role without the ball. At this time, he trusts his teammates. Especially trusting that Curry and Green will find a good angle to put the ball in his hands."

"Whether he is on the wings or in the three-second zone, he is waiting without the ball, but this is not enough. He must hold the ball more in these positions to give the Celtics more threats."

"In addition, Durant's mismatch offensive ability is also a point that the Warriors coaching staff must pay attention to and utilize."

"During the Cavaliers' game against the Celtics, James gave Durant a very good example in this regard."

"Although LeBron was eventually eliminated, it was more because the Cavaliers' overall lineup was inferior to the Celtics, not that James was inferior to Jianghu."

"Whether he is facing big players or small players, James can effectively seize the opportunity of mismatched offense. When playing against big players, James uses his speed and footwork advantages to break through the offense. When playing against small players, James is strong. Take hard hits. No matter which method James chooses, he will threaten the inside, and he can use his strength advantage to destroy defenders like Morris Jr. and Smart and directly attack the inside."

"But when Durant faces small defenders and can keep up with him, most of them choose to jump directly to end the offense. The main reason for this is that Durant's dribbling ability needs to be improved. Facing big players When a shorter player is guarding the inside, his breakthrough attack will reduce his offensive success rate."

"In the game between the Warriors and the Rockets, one of the key rounds was Harden defending Durant. Durant faced Harden's defense on the left wing and ultimately chose a mid-range jump shot instead of going to the basket for a layup. Or cause a foul, although the Warriors won in the end, this poor choice will increase the chance of the Warriors losing the game."

"This was especially obvious in the game between the Warriors and the Celtics. When Durant felt average and was still taking jump shots frequently, his help to the team was very average. He should be more like James. Attacking the basket, that's what a team's strongest player should do."

"Including Curry, he also needs to increase the frequency of attacking the basket. Thompson should be given more responsibility for shooting from the outside!!"

"In addition to Durant, others also have problems. Green has a bad habit, that is, he often stops at the top of the arc and holds the ball, which is very confusing. And he spends most of his time on the outside. Holding the ball, this seems to give him a wider field of vision, but it also gives his opponents time to prepare in many cases..."

Except for the loudmouth Barkley, others were not willing to be left alone and stood up to express their opinions.

For example, Larry Bird, the Celtics star and current president of the Pacers, nicknamed "Big Bird" said in an interview: "Jianghu is more suitable for the rules of the NBA in different periods than Curry and Durant."

"I think his personal ability is almost 90% of Jordan's."

Bird believes that Jianghu's singles ability has always been overshadowed by his accurate shooting and that his singles ability is underestimated.Big Bird believes that Jianghu not only has super strong shooting ability, but also has the top breakthrough ability in history. Even in the 90s, such players would not be much worse than they are now. At that time, the rules that encouraged singles would actually make Jianghu's Features work better.

Later, Bird gave a counterexample. He believed that Jordan at his peak could average 50 points per game if he played under the current rules.

Bird also said frankly: "I have played against Jordan. As the president of the Pacers, I watched Jiang Hu's entire series on the spot. At the same time, as a Celtics fan, I watched all of Jiang's seasons." Postgame.”

"Although Jiang got 3 points three times in the playoffs and Michael only got it once, I think Jiang is still half a level behind Michael during the consecutive championships."

"Stephen, Kevin and Jordan are not on the same level at all. In the 90s, Jiang could use his shooting and flexibility to avoid fierce physical confrontation, but I am very I wonder how Kevin and Stephen would have performed in the 90s when physical competition was fierce. To be honest, there is a high probability that their performance will not be as good as it is now."

"The current defensive rules are too loose for outside players. This is why Jianghu can get 60 points many times. So if Jordan plays now, I think he may average 50 points per game. At least 40 points is not a problem."

"The NBA of my era, including the NBA of Jordan's era, and even the NBA of the early 21st century, was simply not the same sport as it is now."

"At that time, the physical confrontation was more intense and even rougher. For example, Detroit had a lot of moves that were beyond the scope of basketball. You either had to avoid it or you had to go forward. But now the league is more and more encouraging of offense, and there is a lot of emphasis on defense. There were a lot of restrictions, so there were a few masters of earning free throws.”

"For example, players like James Harden, this kind of player would never have appeared in our era. He would get bruised and swollen after not fouling after several attempts, and finally gave up the way of playing to draw fouls."

"So a lot of people ask me how does Stephen compare to Michael? How does Kevin compare to Michael?"

"With all due respect, I don't think they are on the same level at all, really, they are not the same level of players."

In Bird's view, if Curry and Durant played in Jordan's era, their achievements would be greatly compromised. It would be impossible for them to break down the defense at that time, because that era required not only technology, but also You need to have a better body and better endurance.

But Jianghu is different. Bird believes that Jianghu will not rise so fast in that era. He will also be more inclined to the outside, with fewer breakthroughs, more mid-range shots, and more passes. But in the end he will His achievements will not be much worse than now, and he may even become Jordan's lifelong enemy.

The implication of Bird's words is that Jianghu will be a great player who can promote the era no matter what era he is in. In the future, he will be in the same position as Jordan, and Curry and Durant will obviously be lower than them. Bit.

However, although the outside world is talking a lot about the Warriors players, the Warriors themselves are still more focused on the game itself.

At the end of the game the first time.

Durant and Green gathered the team together after the game to encourage their teammates.

Durant even worked with the coaching staff to conduct a detailed analysis of the video of the first game between the two teams. He was eager to win. This championship was too important to him, and he would give everything he had to win.

The G2 game started soon, with only one day in between. Whether the Warriors' adjustments can be effective will only be revealed on the court.

The Warriors' starting lineup is:

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Nick Young, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green.

The Warriors made changes. Since there was no way to compete with the Celtics for depth inside, Cole simply removed starting center Rooney and moved Durant to the power forward position. At the same time, they did not choose to let Igo. Dara started, but chose Nick Young, who has better three-point ability, obviously to improve the offensive space of Durant and the Splash Brothers.

In this way, the Warriors' lineup not only has more space, but also has greater mobility. Thanks to Green's ability to defend from 1 to 5 and Durant's ability to defend from 2 to 5, the Warriors' lineup has He has a strong ability to switch defenses, which is a very important ability in the small ball era.

The Celtics still started the last game, with Kyrie Irving partnering Marcus Smart in the backcourt and Marcus Morris and Al Horford partnering in the frontcourt.

As the winning side, the Celtics can make adjustments in this game, but there is no need to adjust the opening lineup.

With a serious look on his face, Durant came to the center circle and jumped the ball.

As the referee threw the ball up, Horford and Durant jumped at the same time.

Horford had some problems with his jumping rhythm, and Durant passed the ball to Thompson behind him.

After getting the ball, Thompson didn't stick to the ball and quickly gave the ball to Curry.

Despite being behind by a big score, Curry didn't look nervous. After receiving the ball in the midfield, he made a three-point fake move, sending Smart flying up, but Curry did not take the shot in the end and retreated.

Curry smiled, then accelerated forward. Irving was assisting him at the top of the arc. Curry passed the ball to Green, who ran to the left.

Green had some open looks, but he didn't take any shots.

When Green is on the court, his first moment and thought is to provide pick-and-roll screens and passes to the Splash Brothers.

Green dribbled the ball in the direction of Thompson, and then made a strong movement with his body. Thompson took the hand-to-hand pass from Green, and using the small space in the pick-and-roll, he quickly jumped up to prepare for the shot.

If it were the past, Thompson would be sure of this ball.

But both Thompson and Green obviously forgot that Jiang Hu was the one who switched to guard Thompson. Jiang Hu allowed Thompson to see what it was like to defend seriously.

Jianghu took off a little slowly, but only after Thompson took action.

"Snapped!"

Jiang Hu jumped up high and slapped Thompson's three-pointer away, and the basketball flew straight out of the court.

The ball had been released for a while, but Jianghu blocked the shot when the basketball reached its highest point.

This blocking point was very high. After blocking the shot, Jiang Hu turned around and shook his finger at the camera.

"At the beginning of the second game, the Celtics still look extraordinary!!"

"How will the Warriors respond? Let's wait and see!!!"

(End of this chapter)