The NBA regular season schedule for the 2021-22 season is a third past, and it seems that 90 percent of the teams are vying for playoff spots. The Cleveland Cavaliers are fully explosive, the Indiana Pacers are likely to regroup, the Memphis Grizzlies are getting better and better without the number one star Ja Morant (7 wins and 1 loss), DeMar DeRozan is starting to play without the ball, and the defense is getting better, so for this year's NBA, there is almost nothing certain or predictable, and the greatness is fleeting.
This is a question that has been pondered in every Los Angeles Lakers game this season, and Anthony Davis still has a good performance this season, and if there is no injury, he will definitely be selected as an All-Star. But we can see that he is playing less and less like the thick eyebrows of the past, and when faced with the opportunity to block the next basket, his pace always seems to be half a beat slower; when he changes the outside players, his footsteps are no longer as flexible as in the past; he always seems to be tired on the field, moving much slower at both ends of the attack and defense.
Xiaobian deliberately checked the data and found that the influence of thick eyebrows on the defensive end this season is the second lowest in his career, second only to his second season, although some people may say that after losing outside defensive players such as Caldwell Pope and Alex Caruso, the Lakers' teammates can't bring him much help, but Xiaobian feels that this is only part of the problem.
Back in the 2019-20 season, when the Lakers won the NBA championship in the Bubble of Orlando, Thick Brow was recognized as the most promising player in the league, and also one of the most powerful interior players in the league, only Alphabet Brother and Emperor could match him. But over the past two years, a series of injuries and frequent intensive fixtures have seemed to have had an irreversible negative impact on him, raising concerns about whether thick eyebrows will reach that level again. Thick eyebrows are still one of the best players in the world, but the standards for him in basketball are too high, and celebrities such as Barkley and O'Neal are constantly bashing his current performance, and he reached the peak just a few months after joining the Lakers, but it seems that he can't maintain this peak for long. Due to injuries, age and other factors, thick eyebrows may no longer be able to reach that height, but Xiaobian feels that he has worked hard.
For an athlete, injuries and age are the most terrible enemies, and dealing with recurring injuries is also the most difficult time of their sports careers, you have gone from spending all your time preparing for tomorrow's game to whether you can maintain the same level after up to several months of rehabilitation, although such an experience is a grind for the player's psychology, but the impact on the player's athletic ability is irreversible.
Although there are also miracles in the league such as Paul George's return to MVP status after suffering a major leg injury, Kevin Durant's return to the king after the Achilles tendon injury, etc., these are all individual cases after all, and more are the same people as Thomas Jr. and Cousins after experiencing injuries.
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. received a top salary contract from the team after playing his career-best performance last season, and just when everyone thinks he will spread his wings, his future may be changed by a sudden back injury, and the shadow of a serious injury may hang over his entire career. Porter's injury has a long history, he had back surgery before the draft, causing his draft to go all the way down, we can only hope that over time and recovery, he can completely get rid of this injury.
And Kemba Walker was an All-Star two seasons ago, but has now completely dropped out of the New York Knicks' rotation. Walker was once one of the league's best basket finishing guards, but his knees have degenerated too much, he has lost the speed at which he used to be famous, and now he is less afraid to attack the basket again and again with the ball, and his percentage of shots under the basket is 10% lower than when he was an All-Star in 2018-19.
And often, only injuries or untimely farces on the court can make fans remember that players are also people, that perfection is impossible for people, that greatness is fleeting, and that the passage of time will prompt people to appreciate those peak moments even more. So while we want players to be able to cash out their potential and play better, what these players are currently doing is equally worth stopping and admiring because no one knows how long this player can play in the league.