Late autumn winds always blow to San Francisco earlier than Los Angeles. The waves outside Fisherman's Wharf glow a deeper blue, and people walking by the sea wear hats and scarves, and the whole city comes alive.
Tomorrow morning, a new NBA season kicks off here. Curry and his teammates, although Dream Green gave Poole a punch, but Poole and Wiggins have happily landed on the contract, Green is still enjoying the dividends of the last two years of the last contract, and they are still regarded as the best team in the basketball world and will receive their fourth championship ring in their golden age. Standing across from them is the same as it was last year, the Los Angeles Lakers.
But circumstances and expectations are very different from a year ago. Back then, Curry and the Warriors were Avengers. They had just been blocked from the playoffs by the Lakers the year before, but how many people believe the Warriors can make a comeback in a real sense? Curry is a year older, he is approaching 34, and you will suddenly have a fat figure in your mind saying: He's going downhill; Green is visibly sliding down; Klay Thompson returns from a major injury and is in unpredictable form; The team is on both ends of the road in the direction of trying to win another championship and developing new talent for the future. The warrior is like a giant sail advancing in the thick fog of the Pacific Ocean, and the underwater reefs in front of it are so thick that it is difficult to distinguish.
The Lakers at that time were very different. They can attribute the previous year's playoff loss to the Suns to the injury of Thick Eyebrow. Because until then, their overwhelming superiority is on display. James still had the power of the firmament, and he discussed with the injured thick eyebrows and pulled Westbrook. Although the vast majority of basketball practitioners in the world sharply point out that they cannot coexist, there are still iron fans who believe it; Even if you don't believe it; They also have topics. There is a topic, and there are huge expectations in them.
This world does not need thirty years to the east of the river and thirty years to the west of the river. It only takes one year to turn things around. The Warriors won, in the most fantastic way you can imagine. Curry cast the worst regular season of his career, but played the most personal heroic Finals of his career; None of the high-draft rookies the team wanted to develop proved they were worthless, but a group of veterans who have been in all directions for a long time have blossomed in the Warriors system. They won, they are the defending champions, so they want to win again and you believe they can win again. Whether they end up winning again or not, they are the clearest sign of the league at the moment. Tomorrow at Chase Center's ring ceremony, I guess Curry will say we're going to win again.
Does James not want to win again? On the road to catching up with GOAT, he needs more championships. But the Lakers have changed from "even if you don't believe it, there is a topic" to "no one believes it, only a topic", let alone any expectations. When a team has James and Bushy eyebrows, the discussion about them is not whether they can compete for a championship, but whether they can make the playoffs, which in itself is outrageous and a shocking and funny thing. But that's the truth. Changing the hammer coach can only make you feel that there is a hammer to use. Even if the Lakers still have the possibility of replacing Will Shao after the start of the game to supplement the team, it may happen next year, after the season is deepened, and it cannot change the huge uncertainty that James faces at this time. And this uncertainty is far from being able to influence James. He can't pull the trigger, he can't change Wei Shao, and he can't decide what kind of environment he plays in.
If tomorrow at Chase Center, James is a little envious of Curry, who received his fourth ring, this is it. The world is envious of the successful people in the center of the stage, which is human. But James is different, he has enough achievements. He also has four rings and four Finals MVP trophies. He's about to break Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record this season, and his accomplishments in the vast history are clearly ahead of Curry. But at this moment, a middle-aged person is even more envious of another middle-aged person with definite goals and expectations. It is not to envy the success of wearing the fourth ring at this time, facing the scenery of the crowd, but to be in a strict team, still able to reach the top, still determined to chase the highest goal of the state of life.
In two months, when 2023 arrives, James will turn 38. The closer your career draws to a close, the shorter your window becomes, the more you cherish each year, the greater your expectations for each year, and the higher your requirements for certainty.
Four months after middle-aged Curry shed heroic tears and held the cup, his new season is still full of vows and clear goals. And James returned to the middle of nowhere, looking for a way to break through. Maybe he can still average 30 points per game, but those 30 points, as if they are two points in a life-and-death situation, defensively spread out, more reflect his helplessness - since there is no drama anyway, it is better to score some points himself. The difference in this situation is the truest portrayal of the beginning of the new season.
This is also the label that we define for the new season. Curry receives cheers from the center of the stage, and you can't forget James. But at this time, James was hiding in the darkness of the stage lights. He's in your pocket, like you and me, filming this moment, filming the stage at this time. The feeling of life in his heart is like you put two hands into the pockets of this hoodie, and touch your right hand with your left hand. The temperature in your hands, only you understand.
Meeting the defending champions, championship-contending team Warriors and playoff fringe team Lakers on opener day is the last NBA repertoire of this era. Especially in China. As the NBA's most prosperous era in China comes to an end with a series of unpredictable times, Curry, who turns 34, is the last superstar left over from the previous era and can be called a national idol in China. In the new generation, whether Doncic, Tatum, and Mitchell, they are far from being comparable to Curry in terms of market influence and social visibility, let alone really out of the circle. In terms of real influence, there are only two superstars left in the NBA at the Chinese social level - Curry in the center of the stage tomorrow and James, whose back has been faintly displayed. The NBA fans of that generation who were most enthusiastic about taking the NBA into their lives were also middle-aged, like Curry and James. Who doesn't envy James' superhuman body? Who doesn't envy Curry's accomplishments and destiny?
But my daughter-in-law Teacher Hong taught me that when people reach middle age, the most envious and happiest state should be three points: someone to love, something to do, and expectations. People have no expectations, everything is vast.
I also wanted to take a picture of Curry, right in front of the computer screen.