2021 walks into the corridor of memory, and 2022 turns the first page of the calendar. The 2021-22 season opens the curtain of the second half, and one question mark after another comes into view, and the answers to these question marks will form the ultimate chapter of the season.
1. Can Irving play at home?
In 2022, Irving will create an unprecedented game model in the NBA - "part-time participation". Because Irving has not yet been vaccinated, he can only play in the away games allowed by the epidemic prevention policy after being lifted by the Nets, whose first away game of the new year is Jan. 6 against the Pacers and then Jan. 13 against the Bulls. With Irving not playing an official game since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season, and triggering a health and safety agreement after the ban was lifted, Nets coach Nash said it would take one to two weeks to prepare before he could make the game.
If all goes well, Irving will complete his comeback in January. Starting Jan. 18, the Nets will see a wave of 14-11 road games, including a four-game streak and a five-game Streak, and Irving's return is just in time. The Nets need Irving to fully pull the team's offensive firepower and increase the chip to the championship, Irving can play better than not to play, but only on the road, the Nets' firepower is still not up to full, especially until the playoffs, is it still the home wall watch?
Either New York changes the epidemic prevention rules, or Irving is vaccinated, he wants to play the home game, basically these two paths, what will Irving do, will he stick to the end, or let go of his obsession? The answer to this question is left to 2022.
2, Thompson's comeback, the universe brave in place?
The second place in the East will welcome Irving in January, and the first place in the West will welcome Klay Thompson in January.
Irving has been absent this season only because of his own "stubbornness", Thompson's most recent playing record stayed on June 14, 2019, because of a serious injury, first the knee, then the Achilles tendon.
Irving is coming back on the road, and Thompson is expected to return at home. Thompson's return to the game will strengthen the Warriors' offense and defense at the same time from the paper, but whether the paper can be cashed in actual combat, the answer can only be obtained in the game.
Thompson has not played for a long time, and he is injured in the knee and Achilles tendon, 29 years old when he was injured, almost 32 years old when he came back, wasted for a long time, how much combat strength is there? It's a suspense, and the unraveling of that suspense determines how far the Warriors can go this season.
3. Who will be the All-Star Ticket King?
The 2022 All-Star ballot has begun, and the All-Star starting lineup will be announced on January 28, who will be the star of this vote?
James has been the vote king for 5 consecutive years, and his total number of vote kings has reached 8 times, only one time away from the record held by Jordan, and if the elder Zhan can finally lead the 2022 All-Star vote, he will be tied for the first place in history with Jordan.
Who can shake James' dominance in the All-Star Vote, Curry, Durant or Alphabet Brother? Maybe old Zhan won't let him, and others won't be able to take it away?
4. 37000 point club
The NBA has a total of 37,000 points in history, and there is only one person at present, that is, Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points in total), and James is still 962 points away from this goal.
Old Zhan has averaged 28 points per game this season, according to this average, he needs 35 games to reach the target, the Lakers have 46 games left in the regular season this season, if attendance is guaranteed, this season can enter the ranks of Mr. 37,000 points, while surpassing Carl Malone (36928 points) in the historical scoring list to the second place on the list.
For James, 37,000 points naturally brings a bonus to historical status, but this achievement is a natural achievement. James in a healthy state, in the 2022 stage, not only won 37,000, but even had the opportunity to impact 38,000 (2021-22 season + 2022-23 season in the 2022 schedule), but the time is sooner or later, and another problem around old Zhan may be more foggy.
That is, can he still rush to the crown?
5. Is there still Lao Zhan in the ranks of the championship?
The Lakers are currently seventh in the West, and according to the rules for participating in the playoffs from seventh to tenth in this season's division, the lakers' first consideration is whether they can make the playoffs.
The Lakers, who have a very good-looking paper lineup, have reached a somewhat ugly point, which is a chain reaction of offseason operations, they sacrifice defensive resources in exchange for offensive upgrades, but the result is defensive relegation, and the offense has not improved.
Wei Shao is very hard, there are also highlight games, but his style is not in line with James's habitual pattern, so the old Zhan three-point production reached a new career high, he had to switch to the pitcher identity to cooperate with Wei Shao, and the thick eyebrow brother had to play five to make up for the spatial oppression brought by Wei Shao, the size and playing style of the thick eyebrows were not suitable for playing center for a long time, and as a result, he was injured, and James had to become a full-time center, really from one to five.
Wei Shao's style of play will not change fundamentally, and what the Lakers need is Zhan Mei to cooperate with Wei Shao, while looking forward to the injury retreat lineup. James, who plays at the age of 37, who plays 28+7+7, may still be able to give the Lakers a playoff ticket, but the lakers' upper limit depends on the competitive state after the thick eyebrow brother recovers from injury. If this period of recuperation can make the thick eyebrows find the offensive and defensive level of the 2020 rematch park, the Lakers may still have a play.
6. Will there be a big deal?
At 3 p.m. local time on February 10, it is the closing date for this season's trading, and after this time, the trading door will be officially closed and will not be restarted until the offseason.
This season's trading market is very cold, December 15, 2021 was originally an important time point, from that day on, most of the players signed in the offseason can be used for trading, in previous years this represents the beginning of the trading market boom, but this time because of the epidemic caused half of the league players to trigger the health and safety agreement, on the one hand, the team executives are busy with difficult special signings to fill the lineup, on the other hand, a large number of players are isolated, but also makes the transaction lack of practical operability, even the physical examination can not be carried out smoothly.
By February, whether there will be a big deal, whether the epidemic can be controlled at that time is an important factor, if through the corresponding epidemic prevention means, effectively alleviate the spread of the epidemic in the alliance, the trading market will re-enter the lively period, and there may be an impact on the operation of the alliance's competitive landscape, such as where will Ben Simmons go?
7. Scoring King Battle
Durant averaged 29.9 points per game for the league, followed by James with 28 points per game, curry averaging 27.7 points per game for third place, and this season's leading scorer is likely to emerge from these three players. As the first person in the league to play undifferentiated singles, if Durant must take the scoring king, others can't take it away, but Adu's high score this season is to alleviate the offensive pressure brought by Irving's absence harden state adjustment to the Nets, as Harden gradually enters a better situation, Irving returns to play away games, Durant's burden will be lighter, scoring may fall moderately, Durant averaged 33 minutes per game last season, and the regular season production of 27 points per game is more suitable for the playoffs. Averaging 37 minutes per game this season is a bit overshoot.
Curry has a strong scoring explosiveness, he is the player who has won the most 40+ games this season (5 games), but Curry's basket finishing efficiency this season has decreased compared with previous years, which makes him more dependent on three-point shots, and the proportion of three-point shots in total shots has reached a career high of 66%, so the efficiency of long-range shooting will directly affect Curry's scoring data, which brings instability, Curry's shooting percentage this season (43.3%), In his career, he only played 5 games due to injury in the 2019-20 season. In addition, the Warriors carefully control Curry's playing time, averaging 34.7 minutes per game than Durant and James.
James, who has averaged 37.2 minutes per game this season, is second in the league and has scored 30+ in six consecutive games, a scoring momentum that is due to the Lakers' lack of a stable firepower point. The Lakers' current situation is both a drain on James and an inadvertent attempt to involve Old Zhan in the competition for the scoring champion, although this is not the situation he desires.
8. Whose MVP will be spent?
Although Alphabet Brother reached the top of the latest NBA official MVP competition list, looking at the dominance of the MVP competition list this season, most of the time it is Curry and Durant who take turns to dominate. This meets the criteria of MVP selection, looking at player data, and the record of the team he plays for, Curry and Durant are both.
The competition for MVP will also have a legendary element, Curry and Durant also have, the former led the team back to the top of the league record on the "ruins" of not making the playoffs for two consecutive years, and the latter returned after a serious injury to the Achilles tendon.
Alphabet Brother, Paul, Jokic, DeRozan and other players have a chance, but the big hits are concentrated here in Duku. If Durant wins the award, he will be crowned again after a gap of 8 years. If Curry is elected, he will reign again after 6 years. In this interval, Durant and Curry have both experienced injuries, fallen into the trough, but both returned to the top of the mountain, which is a legend in itself.
9. Who will win the east and west?
Through the offseason lineup upgrade, the Bulls and the Heat are showing competitiveness in the East, especially the Bulls are gaining momentum, and they have surpassed the Nets to come to the first place in the East by the time of 2022, and the Cavaliers have played the hope of a post-James revival, but if the absolute strength is considered, the Nets and bucks may be in the first gear in the Eastern Conference championship competition.
The Nets' strength is that after Irving's return, their offense will be indestructible, the Bucks' advantage is that last season's championship victory has established a strong chemical reaction, with abundant offensive and defensive resources, Alphabet Brother has used the Finals MVP to prove his ability to fight hard battles, and Middleton and Holliday have proved that they are alphabet's right hand in the playoffs.
The Nets' question is whether Irving can play at home? The Bucks' question is whether Big Rock can make it to the 2022 playoffs. If the full net can encounter the full stags, it will be the most "ferocious" showdown in the East.
The Warriors and the Sun have formed a double hegemony in the west, and the two teams have the same characteristics, that is, the lower limit is extremely high, the mature offensive and defensive system, the tacit understanding has long been cultivated in the personnel configuration, and at the same time, the executive of the giant planet, such comprehensive conditions in the regular season to be higher than many competitors.
But the Warriors and Suns also have problems, how high can their ceiling be? The Challenge of who can stand up to the Warriors in the playoffs when facing Curry may have to be answered by Clay. The Suns exposed the shortcomings of absolute talent in last season's finals, being blasted by Alphabet Brother and Holliday at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends.
Jazz also has a problem with a high lower limit, but an unpredictable upper limit. The Nuggets have been badly injured this season, and if Murray can return before the 2022 playoffs and are in perfect shape, his combination with Jokic will give the Nuggets a notch of competitiveness, the same applies to the Clippers who may return to Leonard.
The Lakers are still a force that cannot be underestimated, and their ceiling height is controlled by the thick eyebrow brother, which also makes the West full of variables, just like last season's Sun suddenly reached the Finals.
10. The crowd chases the "deer" and fights to the end
In the 2021 NBA, the Bucks are the ultimate winners because they are champions, competitive sports, kings and losers.
In the NBA in 2022, who will fight to the end, will the Bucks defend the honor, or the Nets rush to the top, or the championship will be produced between the Warriors and the Suns?
All four teams are all favourites, but they may not be the ultimate kings. The beauty of competitive sports lies in the unpredictable, winning the championship is a process that benefits people at all times and places, and the subjective and objective conditions are indispensable.
The championship, therefore difficult to get, is also precious, but the championship will eventually be produced, and the answer to 2022 will eventually be revealed.
2022, Happy New Year, wait and see.