NBA: I am a master dealer

Chapter 467: 40 sweeps to advance!

But at the press conference after the game, there was an episode.

During the interview, Gobert shook his head and said: "I feel like I am the only one fighting. On the defensive end, I consumed all my mental energy and used all the energy in my body, but in the end I still lost the game. , I lost without any suspense, which made me very frustrated.”

The general meaning of this sentence is: I, Gobert, have tried my best, but my teammates are all CBA, and no one can provide support on the defensive end, which makes me very frustrated.

One can imagine the shock caused by such disunity coming from the mouth of a core insider.

The reporter immediately widened his eyes and asked: "You mean, your teammates did not give you enough support, which caused the team's defense to collapse, is that right?"

Gobert seemed to have come to his senses at this time, "I mean, we lack the spirit of collaboration, not to mention how our teammates are..."

But such an obvious cover-up obviously cannot convince the public.

Once the interview video of Gobert blaming his teammates was aired, it immediately caused an uproar.

Jazz star Hayward was very angry: "We are a team, and each of us does our best and gives everything we have on the field, but Gobert's words are really hurtful. I don't know what happened. It's really I can’t understand why he said that.”

Similarly, Hayward's public statement directly brought the Jazz's locker room strife to the table.

The internal and external cores refused to give in to each other, which made people stunned.

And Xue Liancheng was also stunned.

He remembered that there seemed to be no such thing in the historical trajectory!

Hayward will indeed leave Boston in the offseason, but there will be no conflict with Gobert when he leaves.

The current plot is that the two seem to be a bit incompatible?

In other words, the conflict between the two has already arisen. Part of the reason why Hayward left Salt Lake City so decisively may be Gobert?
And Gobert, the French magician, is indeed not a good person. The incident of touching the microphone also caused a lot of uproar. Later, he was isolated by his teammates and then was traded away.

but.

Gobert's defensive ability is indeed very strong, even a phenomenal player.

You know, the best defensive player DPOY is definitely a relatively heavyweight award, and Gobert has won it three times before he came to this world, and it is likely to be him in the second year of going to the Timberwolves.

In other words, Gobert's fourth best defensive player in his career is comparable to Ben Wallace and Mutombo, and his defensive power is obvious.

When I was with the Jazz, the Jazz made the playoffs almost every year, and one year they won the first place in the Western Conference, which was very impressive.

It’s just that I haven’t been able to make a breakthrough in the playoffs, which is a pity...

After coming to the Timberwolves, the Timberwolves immediately jumped from being a weakling to a new force in the Western Conference. Edwards' growth may have a certain role, but Gobert's joining the rim protection is the main reason for the rise of the Timberwolves.

After all, Wiggins and Towns have worked together for so many years, but they didn't even get to the playoffs.

As soon as Gobert arrived, the Timberwolves took off immediately. How could they not have any strength?

In fact, there is one more thing that can prove Gobert's strength, and that is the chips sent by the Timberwolves, including Beasley, Beverley, Vanderbilt, Bolmaro, Kessler and others, as well as in 2023, 2025, 2027 three-year unprotected first-round pick, 2029 top-five protected first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick swap.

People say the Timberwolves are crazy.

Everyone feels that these chips are enough to exchange for Durant.

But in the end it turned out that everyone was the one who was crazy.

Beasley, Beverley, Vanderbilt, Bolmaro, Kessler and other people look very good, but it turns out that they are all dispensable role players. The Timberwolves' team building ideas After reorganization, it is normal to abandon them.

And these first-round picks do have the flavor of stud.

But what he got in exchange was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year!

Is it worth it?
Only the Timberwolves front office will be measured.

After all, he is still very sophisticated, and he is not completely stupid.

Gobert reached the play-offs in his first year with the Timberwolves and stabilized his position in the play-offs, starting the first round with the Nuggets in eighth place.

The next year, the Timberwolves once occupied the top spot. Although they fell back in the end, they were still the third best players in the Western Conference!
Even when Towns was absent for a time, he still thrived.

These are enough to prove Gobert's defensive ability.

only……

No matter how strong your defense is, if it doesn't match your moral character, it will be a huge problem.

Not only did Gobert have conflicts with Mitchell, he almost had a fight with Anderson when he went to the Timberwolves. Gobert did have huge problems getting along with his teammates.

But the fans and the media don’t know!

They only thought that the Jazz's internal strife was caused by the crazy massacre by the Lakers led by Xue Liancheng.

This also added some points of personal heroism to Xue Liancheng in disguise.

The media also played a role in fueling the flames, giving Xue Liancheng the reputation of "about to break up the Jazz".

In the second battle, Jazz threatened to fight to the death.

result.

Still, he was taken away by Xue Liancheng at the last moment.

George on the side was stunned.

In fact, during the regular season, Xue Liancheng would occasionally activate the 100% hit skill when the score was deadlocked in the last two minutes, and rain down three-pointers to take away the game.

Even staged a decisive blow...

But those are not shocking enough.

Because it was the regular season, there were 82 games, and there would always be magical things like this, so I wouldn't be surprised.

The playoff stage is different. The defenses of both sides are tightened, the physical confrontation is fierce, and scoring a goal seems to be fatal.

Xue Liancheng hit three-pointers against the defender three times in a row. The shock was really shocking.

After Xue Liancheng hit the last three-pointer to seal the victory, George jumped up with excitement.

The final result was no surprise, and the Lakers won another victory at 103:98.

Xue Liancheng's performance was still stable, making 21 of 11 shots, 10 of 4 three-pointers, and 8 of 7 free throws. While scoring 33 points, he also sent 13 assists and 7 rebounds.

During the regular season, such data is a routine operation.

In the playoffs, Xue Liancheng was still as stable as an old dog, producing such top-notch statistics.

This is enough to show how powerful Xue Liancheng is.

Returning to Los Angeles with a 2:0 advantage, there is no doubt that the outside world is singing their praises.

The public prediction is that the Lakers will advance to the playoffs 4:1. Conservative reporters may think that the Jazz can struggle in two games.

The current situation is that the Lakers defeated the Jazz in two away games on the plateau and overcame altitude sickness and away harassment. This is really strong!

The results were truly unexpected.

So back on the road, will the Lakers still have any problems in winning the Jazz in one go?

So now everyone generally believes that the Jazz have no chance to turn around.

And it actually went as everyone expected.

George and Randall both broke out, and Xue Liancheng assisted from the side. In the end, the Lakers beat the Jazz 119:99. For three consecutive games, the Jazz have failed to score more than points. One can imagine how lacking the Jazz's scoring ability is.

Except for the Lakers, who only scored 103 points in the second game, they scored around 120+ in the other two games. Their offensive firepower was so fierce that it was daunting.

The Jazz lost three games in a row, which is actually a good summary.

The defense that he relied on for survival was not effective, and the offensive system that he relied on failed to develop as expected. The whole performance was a mess. It would be strange to win...

This is the end.

The sound of the Lakers' sweep has echoed throughout the sky.

The Jazz's only appeal at present is to avoid being swept. They must give an explanation to the fans and the management, and at the same time save some face for themselves.

result.

The process of the fourth battle was directly confusing.

Gobert couldn't touch the ball, and Hayward didn't participate in defense. This caused the already dilapidated Jazz to collapse immediately.

After three quarters, the Lakers led by 102 points at 66:36.

The game ended on the same spot... No, the series should have ended on the same spot.

In the fourth quarter, no one had any intention to play, and the result was no suspense. The Lakers slaughtered the Jazz with 130 points, 93:37.

With a big score of 4:0, the Lakers advanced to the second round amidst a lot of optimism.

Los Angeles went completely wild.

"I probably thought I could advance through the next round, but to advance to the next round in this way, I never expected it!"

"The Purple and Gold Army has officially revived, haha... the reconstruction is complete."

"Xue Liancheng + George + Randall, we will have strong competitiveness in the next ten years."

“I’m looking forward to the next round more and more now.”

"I predict that the game against the Warriors will be a 50-50 tie."

"The Warriors are strong, but the Lakers are not weak either."

The Lakers are indeed not weak. In the first round series with the Jazz, they showed great offensiveness and were able to use their mobility on the defensive end to contain the Jazz.

As the team leader, Xue Liancheng averaged 30.5 points, 15.5 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game, shooting 52.5% from the field and 48.4% from three-point range. In the playoffs, this kind of efficiency is quite amazing.

It can be said that he has achieved absolute dominance.

George also performed to a certain extent, averaging 24.5 points, 7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, which can be regarded as a top All-Star level, and his efficiency is also very good, with an overall shooting rate of 48.8% and a three-point shooting rate of 38.6%. Xue Liancheng relieved a lot of offensive pressure.

Randle averaged a double-double of 17 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He looked like a beast, full of explosive power.

The Lakers' overall offensive firepower is also very strong, averaging 118.2 points per game. In addition to the 72 points of the three core players, there are still 46+ points to score.

The Lakers' lineup is basically fixed, with Xue Liancheng, Courtney Lee, George, Randall, and Vonleh in the starting lineup, as well as Clarkson, James Johnson, Marvin Williams, and Glenn Robinson as substitutes. It’s a normal nine-man rotation.

Sometimes Zubac will come up and give it a try, but that's rare.

Because the Lakers' small lineup has greater mobility against the Jazz.

Joe Johnson, Larry Nance and others had very little playing time, except in garbage time like in the last game.

How can such a powerful Lakers not be exciting?

The strong combat power displayed by the Lakers is not just this, but their absolute dominance on the court.

In the four games against the Jazz, three of them were won by more than 20 points.

The only narrow victory was when everyone performed extremely averagely. In the end, Xue Liancheng won the game with a bow and arrow.

This kind of dominance makes people clearly feel that the Lakers are a level higher than the Jazz, and more than a little bit higher. To be serious, they are not on the same level at all.

But the problem is, the Jazz are fourth in the Western Conference!
The record is 51 wins and 31 losses!

This record is among the best in the entire league.

result.

Being swept away by the Lakers like chopping melons and vegetables, even ordinary people can feel the power of the Lakers.

The Warriors did not disappoint.

They also swept the Grizzlies with a 4-0 victory over the Thunder and successfully advanced to the second round.

And their opponent was the Lakers, who defeated the fourth and fifth teams in a decisive battle.

This time, Mars really hit the Earth.

This is Xue Liancheng's third year in the league and his third year meeting the Warriors in the playoffs.

What a fate!

of course.

It can also be seen from the side how terrifying Xue Liancheng's dominance is. The most powerful team in this period was repeatedly met and defeated by him, becoming the King of the entire league today.

However, this time it's a little different.

The Warriors team that he defeated in consecutive finals now has Durant, who can be said to be like a galactic battleship. Wherever he passes, it is absolutely crushing.

The teammates around him also changed from Wade and Gasol to Lopez and Oladipo. Although they were a little behind, they managed to pass the test.

At that time, there were two star players to help out, but now there is only one George left.

He took George against the Big Four. To be honest...it was difficult to be sure of victory.

But on the other hand, the Warriors may be more nervous and fearful than him.

why?

He is definitely the Warriors' biggest sufferer. He eliminated them in the finals for two consecutive years and beat the Warriors until they almost shut down.

Whether it is Curry or Thompson, they will definitely be afraid of him.

This kind of psychological problem is difficult to solve. Victory may be the only solution.

Therefore, the first game is very important. If you win a city in the first game, you will definitely be able to put strong psychological pressure on the Warriors.

The most important thing is that in the first game, both sides didn't know each other very well, and it was a hazy period. This was the Lakers' opportunity.

If the Warriors wait to figure out their context, know their offensive options and offensive rhythm, and even know the characteristics and functions of each of them, it will definitely not be a good thing for them.

Therefore, in the first battle, they have a great chance to fish in troubled waters.

As for the subsequent games, you really need to use your strength. Especially as the game progresses and you have few variable positions and few available chess pieces, you have to be more prepared and strong.

On paper, the Lakers are at a disadvantage.

After all, looking at the long history of the NBA, few teams can have such a luxurious lineup as Yu Yuyong.

(End of this chapter)