In 2016, Kyrie Irving scored a three-pointer in front of Stephen Curry, which ushered in the Cavaliers' first championship trophy in team history and made the Cavaliers the first team in NBA history to fall behind 1:3 in the Finals and finally achieve a reversal. The Warriors, on the other hand, became the poster child for the defeat, with the lonely backs of the players in stark contrast to the cheers of James Irving and others. No matter how time passes, success or defeat is an eternal truth, but don't forget that before entering the Finals, the Warriors also achieved a 1:3 reversal, and they made the Hearts of Thunder fans boil instantly cold.
That year, the Thunder also had Dewey's second few, Durant averaged 28.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and Westbrook averaged 23.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Westbrook's first four games were outstanding, especially the most critical third and fourth games, which contributed 30 and 36 points respectively, and Durant also led the way, averaging nearly 30 points in the first four games, leading the Oklahoma Thunder to a 3-1 lead over the 73-win Golden State Warriors.
It seems that the hope of the Thunder is at hand, they are about to crush this so-called cosmic team, and james's Cavaliers will meet smoothly.
However, in the sixth game, Klay Thompson suddenly exploded, blasting 11 three-pointers, taking away the victory of the life-and-death battle in the eyes of tens of thousands of fans at the Thunder's home stadium.
It was this game that caused the Thunder to be seriously injured, and in the subsequent games, the Warriors played more and more momentum, continued to win two games in a row, successfully achieved a big reversal, and entered the Finals. Once again, Durant missed the perfect opportunity to compete for the O'Brien Cup.
Even though the Warriors' performance in the next three games is very good, is the Thunder itself no problem? Thunder management once made a stupid decision in 12 years, they traded Harden because they were reluctant to 4 million, Harden later grew into the league's top superstar, and also won the MVP, if, in 16 years, Durant's side is not Westbrook but Harden, what will happen?
The combat effectiveness is not reduced, but the organization of the offensive is even better
After Harden left the Thunder to lead the team alone, he showed the world his unparalleled offensive talent, retreating three-pointers, breaking through strong hits, mid-range jump shots including fouls, etc., he can use skillfully, Harden can suddenly shoot, is the league's first-class scorer. On the aspect of forced scoring alone, Harden is not worse than Wei Shao, not to mention that his shooting ability is much higher than Wei Shao, Wei Shao can bring the thunder fire support, Harden can also do it. If Westbrook were replaced by Harden, the Thunder's offense wouldn't weaken at all. However, in terms of organizing passes, the Thunder will definitely do better, because although the two people have won the assist king, harden's level of the ball is still much higher than that of Wei Shao, Wei Shao's passing is generally relatively simple, many of them are teammates who run out of the opportunity before he sends the ball over, but Harden is completely different, his pass has the function of turning decay into magic, Capela is playing an excellent performance around Harden and signing a high contract. If Westbrook were replaced by Harden, the Thunder's other role players would definitely have better opportunities, and the Thunder's tactics would be more abundant.
Durant's pressure is reduced and efficiency will increase
Durant has a historical level of singles ability, when the physical strength, no matter who is playing, is misplaced, his no ball and have the ball are super first-class, both with the ball to attack the basket, but also can catch the ball and shoot. In fact, what Durant needs most is an organizer, Wei Shao can fire support, but he can't make Durant play more easily, Durant basically wants to come by himself, a game down, the physical strength is consumed a lot. If Harden is there, with Harden's ability to attract defense, Durant will get a lot of easy catches and shooting opportunities. Durant, as a historical superstar, has a more obvious disadvantage, that is, his physical strength is worse than that of others, especially in the bayonet-red playoffs, Durant's this point will be infinitely targeted. If he had Harden by his side, the problem would be greatly alleviated, and he could reasonably allocate his physical strength and then give his opponent a fatal blow at the critical moment. In the 17-18 season, Durant proved this to people after joining the Warriors, with Curry and Thompson sharing the pressure, Durant shot two consecutive three-pointers in the Cavaliers' home loan center to help the Warriors complete the reversal and finally swept the championship smoothly. Durant wasn't a soft persimmon, it was just the Thunder at the time, and he really couldn't save his physical strength until the decisive moment.
Therefore, if in 2016, the Thunder two less is not Durant Wei less but Durant Harden, then other ordinary players will have more and better offensive opportunities under Harden's tandem, thunder tactics will be much more changeable, and the Warriors are not so easy to target. Durant does not have to worry about other things, concentrate on shooting, and when Durant goes off the field to rest, Harden single-core leads the team for a period of time is completely fine.
In that series, the reason why the Warriors can finally reverse, the key is that Klay Thompson's 11 three-pointers are like a Buddha, how to shoot how to have, but you know, even if Thompson plays like that, the Warriors don't win much in the end, if Harden is there, the Thunder can play a more efficient offense, and there are more ways to deal with it in the moment of life and death, in that game, the Thunder have a high probability of winning the series, rather than letting the Warriors bring the game back to the Oracle Center.
For Thunder fans, this may be an eternal regret, but everyone's life is difficult to complete, after losing this round of the series, Durant joined the Warriors to achieve the championship dream, although it is also controversial, but when people talk about the superstar who will not have a crown for life, there will be no more him.
In the 21-22 season, a lot of things are quietly changing, and I hope that every player will stay healthy and give fans more good games.