At 3 a.m. one day after being led 2-0 by the Warriors last week, insomniac Mike Malone opened his browser. After being beaten for two consecutive games, his fingers involuntarily pointed to the search engine, reminiscing bitterly about Jamal Murray's technical stats in the bubble playoffs in 2020, and then couldn't help but sigh: "Wow, I know he's good, but after so long, I seem to have forgotten how good he really is." This is Jamal, who always stepped forward in the big scenes and was never afraid. Then there's Michael [Porter], who averaged 17 points and six rebounds in the playoffs last year, and most importantly, he was able to shoot three-pointers in the open space. It was also here last year (Chase Center) and I felt we had a chance to go for the championship and then Jamal got injured... It's hard for us to win without losing two top-paid players, that's it. ”
We understand his motivation to run to this, and when a man falls into despair, he has to find some hope for himself. But he may not realize that when you start reminiscing and romanticizing an era, it means that the era is over. The 2020 Denver Nuggets, who made the Western Conference Finals in bubbles, looked spirited, with healthy Murray, healthy Porter Jr., and defensive thugs like Gary Harris, Jeramie Grant and Tony Craig. And now? When Malone tried to grab a few people from the bench to play five hours against the Warriors' new death, he could only find Rivers, Hyland and Campazzo, who were shorter than them — what he didn't know a few days ago was that when the series reached game five, even two of the three would be injured.
A team full of wounded soldiers should have a leader with wounds. Jokic, who carried five fouls and dragged a broken leg, scored 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the last two-pointer in the final quarter, dragging the suspense of the game to the final moment, and then the magical play of Curry and Gary Payton II ended the series: Curry was always a point that the Nuggets could not handle, Gordon was the Nuggets' best defender at the moment, he tried his best to lock Curry's long-range shot, but could not stop Curry's breakthrough, the Warriors had 11 points in the last 14 points directly related to Curry; Gary Payton II was the point that the Nuggets selectively let go. He returned with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the final quarter, both punishing the Nuggets for their contempt for him and making his Hall of Fame dad cheer for him. It's not that the Nuggets don't want to defend him, it's just that the Nuggets really don't have enough defensive resources to play against everyone in the Warriors.
This season's MVP (although not yet issued, but allow me to take a loan) was out in the first round. Before leaving, he used his performance to reverse the winds of public opinion and win respect. In the first quarter of the final game, he needed to chisel each ball into the inside line, because the Warriors' inside height is their only weakness, the only way to quickly hit Looney up and make the Warriors' offense uncomfortable; he needs to show aggression in the last quarter of the game when surrounded by opponents, because although the team's outside line is full of small people, they only have a 20.7% three-point shooting rate, and everything depends on him. Injured Jokic couldn't run or jump, but he still relied on his magical hands to help the Nuggets extend the hopes of the series to the final minute.
As a player who has never been very friendly to his opponents, Draymond Green was kind enough to say to Jokic: "It's an honor for me to be with such a talented and skilled player. A lot of players who are also talented and skilled will be a little soft, but Jokic is not that kind of person, he is very tough, and the experience he has gained in his position makes me feel like my defense has improved again. ”
With Jokic playing yesterday in a game of 30 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists (only 9 times in history), the media and fans who had been critical of his MVP content two weeks ago wisely chose to steer the rudder and instead began to discuss "whether Jokic will choose to leave the team in this hopeless team".
Malone was still those clichés after the game, including but not limited to "I lost, but I'm proud of my team", "we weren't defeated", "Jokic is a warrior", "we will be better next year"... He said all this last year, but it didn't work. It's true that next year's Nuggets may be better than this year's Nuggets, but it's hard to imagine it's better than the 2020 Nuggets: When will Murray and Porter be back? How long does it take to re-adapt to the game? Can they play better than they did before the injury? Porter's $30 million contract will go into effect next season, and Button's $16 million contract hasn't expired yet, where is Tim Connery going to find better and cheaper role players? The Nuggets have shown their limits, and great ones like Jokic have struggled to take it any further. Jokic is 27 years old, his contract will expire next summer, and one of the best players in the league, Lian Zhuang MVP, will be tied to this team that seems to have reached the ceiling for another five years?
Jokic said, yes.
"Of course I want to renew my contract with the team, but it's not something I can decide. I felt that if they put the contract on the table, I would definitely sign it. I love this team, I love everyone who works here, from the boss to the gear manager, I have a very good relationship with everyone. I've seen some teams in the league trying to build the Galactics, and frankly, I don't think they've had any success either. ”
With the values of fans of this era, it may be difficult to understand why a top player in the league would settle for a "wasted time" in a small market team. Compared with the 1990s, the NBA has turned upside down today. According to our understanding of capitalism, those who own the means of production are capitalists. What is the most important means of production in the NBA right now? Certainly not basketballs, floors, timers, record tables and basketball racks. As a player's level of play becomes higher and higher, his personal image becomes more and more popular, his irreplaceability rises rapidly, all of which are magnified countless times by television, the Internet and social media, and then resonate with the club and the fan community, the superstar itself has become the league's most important means of production.
When they have the ability to decide their own destiny, more and more super teams are born. With the development of star cognition, "hugging the group" has become a shortcut for them to grab honors and benefits. They don't care so much about where they go to get together, they only care about who they are with. So many team owners have to bow to the superstars and admit that they "share" the team with themselves. At the launch of the elimination a few days ago, Kerry Irving did not deny this: "I will stay here with Kevin (Durant), we will manage this team with Tsai Chongxin and Sean Max, make some changes in the offseason, talk openly and honestly, and build something that will make everyone fun." 」 ”
When players go from being workers to capitalists, you'll see teams like the Brooklyn Nets: the club's staff, including management, the coaching staff, obey the players' personal wishes, and even the selection is entirely determined by the players' personal wishes, but not every player will do their best to return the club. Some people will choose to play part-time and explain on social networks that "basketball itself is not very important", while others will buy luxury cars, watch Wimbledon, fall in love, get engaged in a year, but when it comes to playing, they will have back pain and leg cramps. When the times gave superstars power without restraint, you can't expect them not to abuse that power, because that's human nature.
But Jokic is not such a superstar. Three years ago, Jokic, who had just been inducted into the league, said in an interview with Serbian media about his understanding of the NBA: "The NBA is like a big show, wherever I go, people want to take pictures, want to take pictures with us, it makes me feel like animals in the circus. But I also find it interesting because such treatment makes people feel good about themselves. The presence of social media has allowed some athletes to influence beyond some of the really important people in the world, which has also made many NBA players forget that we are just athletes, and our job is just to play basketball. ”
Even by circus standards, Jokic's presence is unique. The audience was accustomed to seeing lions drilling fire rings, dogs jumping ropes, and monkeys stepping on stilts in the circus, and it was of course shocking to see a polar bear that could perform a big transformation and walk a tightrope in the air for the first time here. But polar bears are well positioned for himself, he doesn't care if he's named Circus Actor of the Year, and no matter how much money he makes, he just wants to eat a few more fish — and if possible, a seal would be better. If you don't believe me, you can listen to his interview:
"I never dreamed of it (winning the MVP). If it happens, it's certainly a great thing that will make me a legend and make my name remembered forever. But if I hadn't gotten it, I wouldn't have died either. ”
This is Jokic, if you know exactly who you are, don't care what other people think of you, don't mix basketball forums, don't fight with Charles Barkley, and don't scare the trolls on social networks, you can of course lie back and rewind. His contribution on the field is worth every penny he earns, and when a hard season is over, the tired worker doesn't want to be caught up in any kind of departure drama and trading rumors, but just wants to hurry back to Sombor's happy hometown, ride his beloved pony, and enjoy a rare vacation - if in a few months he signs the 5-year, 254 million renewal contract, at serbia's consumption level, he can raise whatever horse he wants.
For a fat Balkan man, what is the ultimate goal of life? Could it be the honors, achievements, legends, endorsement contracts and historic positions that American stars flock to?
- Of course, go to the dock to order fries.