NBA: I am a master dealer

Chapter 486 The only person who is optimistic about the Lakers!

in contrast.

Everyone in the Warriors, from the management to the coaching staff, down to the core players, even the bench, even the lady mopping the floor as she passed by got slapped twice.

They are expressing their anger and unwillingness, and at the same time regard the failure of this series as a shame.

The team was rushing to compete for the championship, and it was also the biggest favorite. The other teams were defined as snipers at most, but in the end they were kicked out in the semi-finals. No one would be able to accept this!

But if you can't accept it, you can't accept it. This has become an established fact.

This season is not over yet, everything needs to move forward.

The situation in the east and west is now completely clear.

First east.

After the Knicks swept the Hawks, as expected, they eliminated the Washington Wizards 4:2 in the second round and successfully entered the Eastern Conference finals.

James is still very fierce at this stage. With his historical level of impact, he can still guarantee a place in the Eastern Conference finals. There is no doubt about his strength.

It's just that after losing to Xue Liancheng for two consecutive seasons, the entire image has been severely damaged, and this year's shameless trip to New York has lost what little reputation and dignity he had.

of course.

In the world of competitive sports, only the winners can write history.

As long as the Knicks complete their title defense this season, all the rumors about James will disappear.

Reputation and dignity can also be picked up at this time.

It's so realistic, it's so cruel.

And if it fails, it will really become the laughing stock of the whole world and be ridiculed by the whole world.

——Running to hug someone’s thigh failed, and instead he became a clown.

——Xue Liancheng, Oladipo, and Lopez formed the Big Three and successfully won the championship, and you, James, once again accompanied you. Isn’t it clear at a glance who is stronger and who is weaker?
——Xue Liancheng disdains being a teammate with you, which will be a shame for someone who takes shortcuts in your career.

Anyway, just one sentence.

Either succeed or be benevolent.

There are no other options.

The other team in the Eastern Conference that broke out of the siege was the Miami Heat. They first eliminated the Bucks 4:3, and then eliminated the Celtics 4:3. It seemed very difficult and struggling along the way.

But after all, they have broken out of the siege. Although the performance of the Big Three of Gasol + Wade + Anthony is not like the top superstars, the Tigers' residual power is still there!

Coupled with a large group of high-quality role players in the Heat, it is they who have repeatedly helped the Heat take off, and the Heat can reach the Eastern Conference finals.

Knicks VS Heat, this matchup has been relatively unfamiliar in the playoffs in recent years. The last time they met was in the 11-12 season.

At that time, the Knicks were the world of Anthony, while Miami was the world of the Big Three, and the representative of the Big Three was James.

Now it's the other way around.

James is in the Knicks, but Anthony is in Miami.

However, they also have something in common. One of them is that both teams are in the Big Three model, and the other is that the role players of both teams are very good.

This is the main reason why they can successfully reach the Eastern Conference finals. These two strong advantages are simply unmatched by other Eastern Conference teams.

Whether it's the Celtics or the Toronto Raptors, the Washington Wizards, or the Cleveland Cavaliers who lost James.

These teams are all double-star combinations, Irving and Love, Thomas and Horford, Wall and Beal, Lowry and DeRozan. Their strength cannot be underestimated, but compared with the Big Three model, they still lack individual players. Important supporting points, coupled with the fact that their role players cannot match the Knicks and Miami, it is destined that they do not have the possibility of hitting the championship.

Another highlight of this matchup is that James will face the Heat's Big Three again.

Last season when James was with the Cleveland Cavaliers, they met Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals.

However, the two teams showed great restraint in their playing style and lineup structure. In the end, Miami lost to Cleveland and was unfortunately eliminated.

Now that James has moved away and meets Miami's Big Three again, the suspense suddenly rises again.

Although the Knicks successfully won the championship last season, the important lineup remained basically unchanged except for Xue Liancheng being replaced by James.

But the Knicks have not shown absolute dominance this season.

During the Xue Liancheng era, the Knicks won 68 games in the regular season. They were the absolute dominant player in the Eastern Conference, with full dominance and basically no one to contend with.

On the other hand, the Knicks led by James this season only have 56 wins, which is a huge difference from last season, a full 12 wins difference.

What is the concept of 12 wins?
12 more wins means that a team that has been on the periphery of the playoffs with or wins will suddenly become a powerhouse in the division and will definitely enter the playoffs.

It's such a big gap.

The Miami Heat, who are ranked second this season, also have 53 wins, which shows that the Knicks do not dominate the Eastern Conference this season and cannot widen the gap with other teams in the Eastern Conference.

It can be seen from this that the difference in paper strength between the two sides is not obvious.

Secondly, Oladipo's offensive ability is very confusing, not as stable as Irving, nor as sharp as Irving.

Thirdly, it is difficult for Lopez to compare with Love in terms of offensive firepower from the outside or inside. It may be that defense and frame protection are much more reliable than Love.

This is a change in the helpers around James.

Another point is that there are some differences in the playing styles between the Cavaliers last season and the Knicks this season.

This season, James has been more involved in fast-break scoring on the offensive end, attacking the basket with pick-and-rolls, combining sudden points, taking advantage of the opponent's lax defense to attack, etc. These things are usually Oladipo's job, but James did it.

This has caused Oladipo's efficiency to be much worse, and the data is not very good.

In other words, James won the easy score.

Difficult to score, Oladipo assumed greater responsibility.

Even Lopez, a big center who averages 50%+ shooting percentage per game, has a 47% shooting percentage this season and is also scoring difficult points.

So the result is that Lopez and Oladipo struggle very much when they feel bad or are in poor condition.

This is Miami's opportunity!

As long as they hold on tightly, it is not impossible for them to defeat the Knicks and advance to the finals.

What's more, Miami is good at defense, and the impact on Oladipo and Lopez may be greater.

After the two sides go back and forth, it is really hard to say who will have the last laugh.

And in the west.

The Lakers' defeat of the Golden State Warriors to advance was the biggest upset of the season.

What's even more incredible is that George was injured in the fourth game. Xue Liancheng, with a single core leading the team, finally advanced to the Super League, which caused a huge sensation.

Not only was there a shock and uproar in the United States and China, but even Europe, the mecca of football, made headlines.

One can imagine how huge the influence of Xue Liancheng's super-god battle was.

The other team that reached the Western Conference Finals was the San Antonio Spurs. They first defeated the Memphis Grizzlies with a score of 4:2 in the first round, then battled with the Houston Rockets in the second round, and finally advanced 4:2.

Neither series looks easy, but no one dares to question the Spurs' strength.

The current Western Conference series is also full of suspense.

The first is the Lakers. George has been confirmed to be reimbursed for the season. The Lakers' twin stars are directly reduced to a single core to lead the team.

Randall, the third scoring point, is also a big problem. His performance in the first round of the playoffs was okay, but not in this series with the Warriors, especially after Green's comeback. In the matchup, Randall was severely restricted.

It shows his immature offensive methods and his easy-to-explode mentality.

If there is a problem with Randall, the Lakers will not even have the most basic offensive guarantee.

Do you really expect Xue Liancheng to pick the whole team by himself?

This is obviously unrealistic.

The good news is that the Lakers' lineup is quite deep and there is still a lot of room for debugging.

Like Clarkson on the back line, if used well, it won't be a big problem to contribute 15+ per game. This is a very good offensive firepower.

Like Marvin Williams, if used properly, he should be able to contribute 12+ and supplement the bench's combat effectiveness.

The shortcomings of the two are also very obvious, that is, poor defensive willingness and poor defensive awareness. If you play them, you are bound to sacrifice some defense.

In addition, James Johnson, Courtney Lee, Glenn Robinson, and Zubac are all good helpers.

Joe Johnson, Larry Nance, and Vonleh, who is serving a suspension, are all good additions.

Overall, they still have a certain fighting capacity.

But if you want to hit the finals stage, it seems to be another level behind.

After all, with a single core leading the team, it is really hard to imagine that they can reach the finals and then win the championship.

Even if the person leading the team is Xue Liancheng.

That god-like man, the man who created countless miracles, had just broken several unattainable records, and personally eliminated the brave man of the universe. No one thought that the Lakers could defeat San Antonio in the best-of-seven series. Spurs.

Because the San Antonio Spurs are one of the strongest teams in the league on paper, except for the Universe.

Even if George is not injured and the Lakers play with a full lineup, they may not really be able to beat the Spurs in the series.

Besides, George was injured.

Feng Lai, a strong inside player and Xue Liancheng's best partner, is still suspended and needs to make his comeback in G5.

But the question is, who knows what the current situation will be at that time?
Maybe their lives are already hanging by a thread, and the big score becomes 3:1. There seems to be little point in coming back when most of them are dead.

The Lakers are facing a bayonet battle with the Spurs when they are short of major generals.

Who can believe that the Lakers can win?

Many media reporters and famous commentators basically gave predictions that the Spurs would eliminate the Lakers 4:2 and the Spurs would return to the finals stage again.

This was for Xue Liancheng's sake. In the semi-finals, Xue Liancheng made this prediction under the influence of the gods descending from the earth in the tie-break.

Otherwise, a big score of 4:1 or even a 4:0 sweep would be conventional predictions.

After all, no one believes that Xue Liancheng can fly every game.

In the tiebreaker, Xue Liancheng scored 35 points in the fourth quarter and 69 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds in the game. These seemingly unparalleled records are actually not the norm.

After all, if it were the norm, it wouldn't be called a record.

And if Xue Liancheng cannot perform at this phenomenal level, it will be very difficult for the Lakers to win, as the tiebreaker is a clear proof.

Everyone knows in their hearts that the Lakers can advance due to Xue Liancheng's superb performance.

And it is impossible for Xue Liancheng to be super awesome in every game.

and so.

The outcome is determined.

The end point for the Lakers this season is the Western Conference Finals.

Looking back, the Western Conference Finals can be regarded as fulfilling the Lakers' set season goals. They can be said to be successful this season.

But amid all the turmoil, one person sang the opposite tune.

That person is "FOX Sports" columnist Frank. He wrote this on Twitter:
When everyone thought the Lakers had reached the end of the season, I laughed out loud.

You guys underestimate Xue Liancheng too much.

You may have some misunderstanding about phenomenal and historical players, which makes you think that it is impossible for a single-core team to win the championship.

wrong!
Big mistake!

Xue Liancheng will break this routine and become the first phenomenal superstar to lead a single-core team to win the championship.

Trust me, he can do it.

As for why?
Let me list for you his statistics in the semifinals against the Golden State Warriors.

In G1, he scored 52 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds, leading the Lakers to an away victory and regaining the home court advantage.

In G2, his performance declined, but he could still contribute 30 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. If Durant hadn't been so strong in the end, the Lakers would have been 2:0.

In G3, George broke out and his teammates performed strongly. He didn't take many shots and only scored 24 points, but he sent a jaw-dropping 21 assists.

In G4, George went berserk again, but what followed was shocking news, but this did not disrupt Xue Liancheng's mentality. He performed extremely well after George was injured and came off the field. In the end, he led the team with 39 points, 15 assists and 8 rebounds. Another victory, a big score of 3:1.

In G5, Xue Liancheng was really alone, but he still contributed a triple-double of 36 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

In G6, Xue Liancheng was trapped in the quagmire of the Warriors and only scored 30 points, but he sent 16 assists and his performance was quite strong.

Then there is the G7 that everyone is familiar with, which needs no introduction.

Throughout the entire series, Xue Liancheng's performance was very stable. He evolved himself step by step and put himself in a state of permanent fighting. This was the outbreak of G7.

And I personally feel that this is not Xue Liancheng's limit.

He will definitely become stronger and let us witness more miracles.

If you still don't think this is convincing, then isn't a player who averages 40 points, 14.6 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game enough to convince you?
not enough?
On the premise of averaging 40 points, 14.7 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game, he also guarantees a shooting percentage of 57.7% and a three-point shooting percentage of 51.4%. Isn't such a historical superstar worthy of your trust?

As long as Xue Liancheng exists, no one dares to pat their chest and say that they will definitely beat the Lakers.

No one dares to say that...

No one can say that...

(End of this chapter)