In the final stage of the regular season, as the Nets' record slipped to eighth in the East, it is likely that they will win the Cavaliers in the playoffs to enter the playoffs as seventh, and the Milwaukee Bucks began to perform card slots in order to avoid this "strong enemy", and the final round of the game was directly abandoned, slipping the ranking down to the third place in the East, avoiding the first round of the playoffs with the Nets.
Compared with the Bucks' "confession" moment, the Green Army, the league's first offensive and defensive efficiency in the second half of the season, chose to face the difficulties, and the first round of the playoffs met the Nets led by Durant. Just when the fans thought that this round of the series would be difficult to score, the Green Army turned around and eliminated the Nets with 4-0, although they only won 18 points in four games, but looking back at the game process, in terms of star play, tactical execution, defensive intensity, etc., the Nets are at a comprehensive disadvantage.
In the face of the Green Army's targeted bag defense, the Brooklyn Twins looked particularly helpless:
Durant Stats: 26.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 38.6% shooting, 33.3% three-point shooting
Irving stats: 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 44.4% shooting, 38.1% three-point shooting
Durant and Irving's top scorers in the league have played a mess in this series, with no offensive shots and no threat in defense, and the two have not shown superstar style at all. Of course, there are poor performers who must have good, take stock of the seven players who played the star nature of the playoffs:
7. Ingram Contract $158 million for five years
Playoff stats: 28.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 48.5 percent shooting, 42.9 percent three-point range
At the beginning of the season, Zion Williamson was unable to return to the team due to a foot injury, the Pelicans lineup was not promoted, it was difficult for Ingram and Valanciunas alone to lead the Pelicans to win, the first half of the season the team record was firmly in the bottom of the West, home fans have no expectations for this season, they have shifted their eyes to this summer's 2022 draft.
The turning point came during the player trade period in the middle of the season, when the Blazers, who had a bad record, chose to rebuild, sending McCollum, Nance Jr. and Snell to the Pelicans and returning to multiple first-round draft picks. The Pelicans, who had lost interest in the playoffs at this time, began to pick up after receiving strong reinforcements, and with the help of the Los Angeles Lakers next door, the Pelicans miraculously squeezed into the playoffs.
Although they caught the last train of the playoffs, they are about to meet the phoenix suns, the first round of the league's record, 64 wins and 18 losses, eight wins ahead of the second place Grizzlies, the team lineup is not short, the players on the field tacit understanding, the star performance is stable, the Pelicans can be said to have no chance of winning in terms of absolute hard power.
When the Suns successfully won the first game, many experts and media in the league predicted that the score of this series would most likely be fixed at 4-0, after all, the Pelicans were not competitive in G1.
But the world is unpredictable, the second game of the game Booker suffered a hamstring injury early exit, the Pelicans ushered in the hope of turnaround, in in the Full play of Ingram 37 + 11 + 9, successfully played the face of the expert prediction of 4-0 score, because Booker hamstring was at least 2-3 weeks missing, "Black Eight Miracle" became the fan expectation.
In the subsequent games, the two sides played fiercely, and Ingram also grew rapidly in the playoffs, scoring 30+ in three of the first four playoff games of his career, becoming the third player to achieve this statistic after the merger of the NBA and the ABA (1976-77 season), the other two being Iverson and James. Whether the Pelicans can make the next round or not, Ingram's potential has been stimulated, and it is only a matter of time before he enters the star ranks.
6. Curry Contract for four years of $215 million
Playoff stats: 27.5 points, 3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 51.4% shooting, 38.9% three-point shooting
In March this year, in an ordinary regular season game between the Warriors and the Green Army, smart, the "best defensive player" of the season, accidentally pressed Curry's ankle in a flying scramble, causing the latter to leave the court directly injured. Although Curry's X-ray results after the game showed a structural damage, Warriors coach Kerr considered Curry's old injuries and the team's lock-up in the playoffs, choosing to let the 33-year-old veteran miss the remaining regular season.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Third Place Golden State Warriors in the West faced the Denver Nuggets led by Jokic, and Kerr decided to put him on the bench for curry's protection and adaptation to the intensity of the game, and the young Poole replaced Curry as the team's starting point guard.
In the first three games of the series, the playoff "rookie" Poole played extremely brightly, scoring 86 points with a shooting rate of nearly 60%, and the limelight on the court even overshadowed the "Splash Brothers", and the Warriors with obvious strength advantage won three consecutive games to get the game point.
The Nuggets, forced to the end of the road, began a crazy counterattack under jokic's leadership, limiting the Warriors' outside shooting through defense, when the playoff inexperienced Poole's offensive end fluctuated, and the shooting percentage fell sharply. When the team was behind by a large score, it was curry, the core of the team, who came forward, who suddenly shot the score tightly, although he scored 33 points, 8 assists and 4 steals, but he proved his form and the value of the stars with his performance.
Judging from the course of the two teams, the gap in strength dooms the Denver Nuggets to advance to the unlikely, and head coach Kerr's tactics at key moments are to use Curry as bait to create shooting confidence for the team's young people, which is very important for a championship team, after all, Curry regularly enjoys the package treatment in the playoffs, if Pooler, Thompson and Wiggins can not play on the offensive end, the Warriors are still difficult to win.
This year, the Warriors were very lucky in the playoffs, and their opponents in the next round will be the winners between the Grizzlies and timberwolves, and the two young teams are full of momentum, but they lack experience in the playoffs, especially in curry's defensive tactics. As long as the Warriors ensure their health, the probability of entering the Western Conference Finals is very large, and whether they face the Sun or the Lone Ranger, the strength of both sides is basically 55.
5. Butler Contract for four years 184 million US dollars
Playoff stats: 30.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2.8 steals, 54.3 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three-point range.
In the summer of 2019, Butler's contract expired after helping the Philadelphia 76ers reach the Eastern Conference semifinals, at which time Simmons and Harris also had the qualification for a maximum salary extension, and the team management finally chose the latter, signing with the two for $177 million for five years and $180 million for five years.
In the heat's first season, Butler led a group of young players to the finals, and although he failed to lift the O'Brien Cup as he wished, the home fans already saw the future of the team. Last season, the Heat were in unstable form across the team, and although they eventually entered the playoffs as sixth in the East, they were swept out by the Bucks in the first round, and Butler averaged only 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7 assists per game, failing to play the role of star.
With the addition of Lowry and the growth of Hiro this season, Butler sacrificed part of his possession time, resulting in his average data falling to 21.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, which also attracted a group of "pseudo-fans" to question him, calling him a useless star.
In the first round of the series against the Atlanta Hawks, the "tough guy" Butler fought back with a strong play, beat the Hawks without temper at both ends of the attack and defense, and proved his pre-game promise with strength: "For the team to win, I can sacrifice anything, when the team needs me, I will not let the fans who support me down"!
In the end, the Heat beat the Hawks to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals by a 4-1 score, limiting Trae Young's scoring to 15.4 points in five series and shooting only 37.3 percent from the field, and the star, who averaged 28.4 points per game in the regular season, was lost in the high-intensity defensive playoffs.
The Heat's Eastern Conference semifinals opponent is the winner between the Raptors and the 76ers, compared to the latter two teams, the Heat have obvious advantages in terms of defensive intensity, star play, tactical literacy, etc., the Heat's biggest opponent in the East is the Milwaukee Bucks.
4. Tatum Contract $163 million for five years
Playoff stats: 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 45.6 percent shooting, 41.9 percent three-point range
As the initiator of the Nets being swept out, the core of the Green Army Tatum is obviously the stronger side in the confrontation with Durant, he is extremely aggressive at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, compared to Durant, who has no offensive desire by the bag defense, Tatum is more daring to shoot and take responsibility, which is rare for a 24-year-old youngster.
Looking back on Tatum's career, it is a fortunate and inspirational representative, in the 2017 draft, Tatum was selected by the Green Army with the third pick in the first round, and the Lakers management did not heed Kobe's advice, with the high traffic of Lonzo Ball.
Shortly after Tatum was selected, the Green Army signed Hayward, known as the "strongest white man", for $120 million for four years, and league experts generally believe that Tatum will hardly play well on the bench because of the conflicting positions between the two players.
But the weather was unpredictable, in the 17-18 Green Army opener, Hayward suffered a serious injury season reimbursement, missing major general Stevens coach had to put rookie Tatum on the starting lineup, and gave 30 minutes to play, which is rare for a team aiming to win the championship.
In the first two seasons of Tatum's rookie, the core of the Green Army's attack was Irving, whose arrogant and reclusive personality made the team leave the field with hatred for two consecutive seasons, and "Thornhead" Irving had conflicts with teammates, coaches and even home fans off the field, so he left Boston in the summer of 2019 with a lot of insults.
After Irving left, the Green Army took Tatum and Brown as the core of the reconstruction, and after two seasons of experience, the team had a youth army with no playoff experience, and successfully transformed into a defensively winning championship team. As the leader of the team, Tatum gave fans the impression of being a little bit away from the star before this season, leading the team to a 4-0 elimination of the Nets this year and personally crushing Durant, the youngster has entered the ranks of superstars.
3. Jokic Contract $148 million for five years
Playoff stats: 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 55.7 percent shooting, 31.3 percent three-point range
To ask which star is in the worst situation in this year's playoffs, the Nuggets core Jokic must be at the top of the list, the team's two top salary players Murray and Porter Jr. were reimbursed for the injury season, Jokic single-handedly brought the team to the sixth position in the West, successfully avoiding the playoffs and directly advancing to the playoffs.
Contributing 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game in the regular season, and with a player efficiency of 32.8 (the league's first), Jokic led the MVP list this season with extreme personal performance.
In the playoffs, which are highly targeted defensively, Jokic, who played with a single core, once again experienced a feeling of powerlessness, due to the weak interior line of the opposing Warriors, Green and Looney did not have an advantage in height on the defensive end, and Jokic's scoring efficiency on the inside was even higher than in the regular season.
But in today's small-ball era, the two points scored by the basket offense or mid-range shooting may play a fatal role in key moments, but this offensive style will not help the team's overall offense.
When Jokic scored a few two-pointers with great physical exertion under the basket, the Warriors' three pitchers could regain control of the situation by shooting two three-pointers, which is the result of the league's advocacy of the team's focus on the speed of offensive and defensive conversion. Unfortunately, the Nuggets' backcourt Morris is too short and Barton is brave, and facing historical-level pitchers like Curry and Thomson, they can only watch their opponents send the ball to the basket.
The gap in the two sides of the lineup and the restraint of play doomed the Nuggets to be a round trip this season, when management can already shift the focus of work to this summer's free agent market, Jokic has been granted early renewal qualification this summer, and the Nuggets, a small-ball city that wants to retain the MVP-level player, must offer a contract with an average annual salary of more than $45 million.
Coupled with the maximum salary of Murray and Porter Jr., the middle-class contracts of Gordon and Barton, the Nuggets are expected to replace the Warriors in the next few seasons and become the league's new luxury tax collector.
Nuggets' main player contracts at a glance:
Nikolai Jokic: Expect $240 million over five years
Jamal-Murray: $196 million over five years
Michael Porter Jr.: $173 million for five years
Aaron Gordon: $86.6 million for four years
Will Barton: $30 million for two years
2. Doncic Contract $212 million for five years
Playoff stats: 31.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 51.2 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range
In the last round of the Lone Rangers regular season, when the team has locked in the fourth place in the West, head coach Kidd still arranged Doncic into the starting lineup, and as a result, Doncic's hamstring was strained, although the degree of injury was not serious, but the Lone Ranger announced that Doncic was at least injured for a week for consideration for follow-up games, and the return time depended on its recovery state.
This sudden episode is difficult for Lone Ranger fans who have been traveling in the playoffs for two years, but the good news is that their first-round opponent is Utah Jazz, a "pseudo-strong team" whose regular season performance and performance are far better than in the playoffs.
In the first three games of the series, Doncic was absent due to injury, and it stands to reason that the more complete lineup of the Utah Jazz has a good chance of winning, but Mitchell's catastrophic personal play has ruined this great situation, and the Lone Ranger has achieved a 2-1 lead under the leadership of Brunson and Kleber.
In Game 4 of the series, the Lone Ranger ushered in the return of the core Doncic, a game in which the two sides fought until the final second, and as Mitchell sent a free dunk for Gobert on 7 of 21 shots, the Jazz finally narrowly defeated the Lone Ranger by one point.
Immediately after, the two sides ushered in the battle of Tianwangshan, in this indisputable battle, the Lone Ranger gave the Jazz a defensive lesson under the leadership of Doncic, and the score was fixed at 102-77, Doncic scored 33 points and 13 rebounds, and Mitchell only had 9 points and 2 rebounds.
Just as there is a gap in the so-called contrast, the 23-year-old Doncic's use of rhythm and offensive action on the court has defeated Mitchell, who attacks the basket with one stick, the latter as the leader of the team does not know how to lead the team to win, he is more like a robot created by head coach Snyder who does things according to the rules and regulations, without creativity and big picture.
1. Alphabet Brother Contract five years 228 million US dollars
Playoff stats: 27.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 7 assists, 53.7 percent shooting, 65.2 percent from the free throw line
As the most balanced star in the offensive and defensive league today, at the age of 26, Alphabet Brother has gathered the regular season MVP, the Finals FMVP, the best defensive player, the league's offensive and defensive team, the league's fastest improving player, six All-Stars and other gold-laden personal honors. As James gets older, Durant's offensive desire decreases, and Curry's state fluctuates seriously, Alphabet Brother has become the top star in the NBA.
The first round of the playoffs bucks against the Bulls, the defending champion against the eastern dark horse team this season, this round of the series fans are speculating about how much trouble Lavin and DeRozan will bring to the Bucks, but from the course of the game, the trouble caused by these two All-Star players can almost be ignored, because the alphabet brother alone turned the Bulls inside the world upside down.
Bulls three-core playoff stats:
DeRozan: Averaging 23.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, shooting 40 percent from the field and 0 percent from three-point range
Vucevic: Averaging 19.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, shooting 42.1 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from three-point range.
LaVine: Averaging 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6 assists per game, shooting 42.9% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range
In the face of the playoff intensity of the defense, the Bulls' three main players will have a cliff-like decline compared to the regular season, while the data of the alphabet brother has improved, which may be the difference between the star and the superstar, as long as the alphabet brother is there, the Bucks will be the biggest favorite of the championship in the next five years.
It is worth mentioning that Bucks star Middleton suffered a sprained medial secondary ligament in his left knee in the playoffs and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks, without this mid-range player, the Bucks do not have an advantage against the equally well-defended Green Army and Heat.
Finally, who of the seven stars will go to the end to lift the O'Brien Cup?