In the classic movie "Titanic", poor boy Jack relies on a card game to board the giant ship full of hope. At that time, his eyes were full of a bright future and a rich life.
When the giant ship hit the iceberg and sank, he was frozen to death next to the heroine Ross. Meanwhile, Captain Edward John Smith locked himself in the cockpit, hoping that the icy waters of the Atlantic would help him atone for his sins.
And in the real NBA world,
The down-and-out MVP Westbrook boarded the Los Angeles Clippers at the end of the season with an annual salary of $780,000. There's Leonard, there's Paul George, there's the deepest team in the league, and he only has championships in his sights.
Today, however, when they were beaten 136-130 by the Suns on the road, he became "Captain Edward", and the "thighs" he expected were all dressed in civilian clothes watching him fight on the sidelines.
This time he didn't replicate the magic of his previous game, with 14 points, 8 boards, 8 assists and 5 turnovers, including a missed layup and a passing error in the key moments of the fourth quarter that buried the team's efforts throughout the game.
It's over, it's all over.
For Wilson, for the Clippers, for Kapepper, it's all over.
The Clippers started the season slowly, cautiously using the two cores, and finally burst into strength in the second half of the season. However, when the playoffs began to face the Western Conference's biggest favorite, the two bosses were injured one after another, and the bamboo basket was empty again.
Young Master Wei spent a depressed year and a half with the Lakers, and this loss-making deal is a huge harm to both the Lakers and Wei Shao. He was reluctant to join the Clippers, thinking that Ka Pepper, who followed the style better, would be able to raise his eyebrows, but after playing two games in the playoffs, the burden once again fell on him.
When the Clippers sank, he turned out to be the team's last captain.
G1
In the first game of the series, when everyone was optimistic about the home Suns, the resilient Clippers were fighting with high spirits.
Leonard had 38 points, five boards and five assists to neutralize the firepower of Durant and Booker, but only led 100-99 in the final three minutes.
Then the game went into "Westbrook time".
He shot 3-of-19 from the field for 9 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, and was a "war criminal-level performance" that needed to be pulled out for a meeting.
Then he burned every inch of the pitch with his fighting spirit. Grabbed the rebound in the front court, assisted Leonard for a three-pointer, 103-99,
The Clippers missed the shot, flew up again and scrambled to hit Ayton, and the Clippers had the ball.
In the final moments, he first caused Booker to make two free throws, and then turned around and not only blocked Booker with a "Bill Russell-esque" block, but also smashed into him to get the ball, completely finishing the Suns.
Leonard led the team to 45 minutes, but the last 3 minutes of the game were won by Young Master Wei.
G2
The Suns, who lost one game, were cornered, but the Clippers were still able to lead 45-34 in the second quarter. But the rounds of Durant and Booker allowed the Suns to regain their advantage, especially Booker, who scored 38 points from this one.
Wei Shao and Leonard a 28+5+5, a 31+7+7, the performance can not be described as outstanding. The Clippers couldn't stop Booker while there was nothing they could do about them.
Even if they lose 109-123 to 1-1 on aggregate, the advantage is still on their side because they have broken the Suns' home court first.
G3
Then Leonard was injured.
Whether it is accumulated labor or disaster, the only super strength point in the Clippers team, the biggest magic weapon in the playoffs, and the only superweapon that can compete with Durant has returned to the factory for overhaul again, leaving behind a hooded Clippers team.
So in the third game, Wei Shao had to stand up.
Take out the tape of being with the Thunder four years ago and think about how you played back then.
This time, his 30 points, 8 boards and 12 assists, plus Powell's burning small universe-like 42 points in a single game, once again forced the Suns into a corner.
Lu coached the late-minute gambling "Super Death Five," with Wei Shao as the center's five guards, leaving the Suns at a loss in the fourth quarter.
It's a crazy confrontation where either you die or I die.
The clipper gave up the inner height to allow the sun to enter easily, and in turn filled the speed and space, hitting the sun under the assault of Young Master Wei who was still encroaching like fire.
If it weren't for Chris Paul's bright mind always at the helm of the team's attack, and Booker's hot hand, the sun would be difficult to hold on.
Even so, the fiercer and fiercer Clippers made the sun panting, and 38-year-old Paul and 35-year-old Durant were unable to do enough under this rapid interspersion.
With 1 minute and 24 seconds left in the end, when Young Master Wei made two free throws to narrow the gap to 116-119, fans on both the sidelines and the screen couldn't wait to stand up and watch the game.
And Durant's brilliant pass and Craig's three-point shot finally let the Suns escape.
But Young Master Wei's 30 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists, especially in the fourth quarter as the engine of the whole team, it was under his drive and rush that made the final death five so tireless.
G4
By Game 4, Powell didn't work, and the Suns saw that he was the most consistent scoring point on the Clippers' front and gave him all the treatment he had intended for the Peppers.
So he only had 14 points in this game.
But this Young Master Wei returned to the Land Immortal!
When the teammates around him were suppressed, he seemed to return to the Thunder of the 16-17 season, and only by himself could he have the possibility of winning.
He rushed and rushed, killed and killed, just like the 28-year-old self,
His sprint is no longer as fast as it was back then,
His starting and jumping is not as fast as before,
His shot is no longer as deadly as the peak as a flying sword,
He is old, his body repeatedly reminds him that he is almost 35,
But his heart seems to have always been 25 years old.
He shot 17 of 29 from the field, scoring 37 points, 6 boards and 4 assists, including 24 points in the second half and 14 points in the fourth quarter.
He led the Clippers and never gave up catching up, and the Suns did not dare to relax in the slightest, for fear that if he was not careful, he would really return to the age of 25 and be washed apart by him like the Spurs, Warriors, and Lakers.
How many NBA fans have moist eyes at this moment, whether it is the Thunder or other team supporters, seeing Wei Shao fearlessly break through again and again, as if taking his own time backwards and returning to the time of ten years ago.
G5
Today's game is not only the epitome of this series of Clippers, but also the true portrayal of Young Master Wei's entire series.
They were still reluctant to give up, trailing 30-32 in the first quarter, but a 40-29 tie-down in the second. In the third quarter, the sun regained the initiative, and in the fourth quarter, he rose again to chase only two points, but in the end, he fell short.
And Young Master Wei, like when he was young,
Each round of the series will have a magical play like a god,
But there will also be one or two fights that make people want to cry without tears, sighing for him.
After scoring 67 points, 14 boards and 16 assists in the previous two games, he only shot 3-of-18, with 14 points, 8 boards and 8 assists.
In the end, they still lost.
But no one is going to blame him, Tyronn Lue, the remaining Clippers.
Like Wei Shao, they fought until the last minute, even if they were facing the most formidable opponents in the West.
And Young Master Wei is really a person like his name.
He came to the Clippers in confusion to hug two thighs to compete for the championship, but he became the team's only hope, the last captain.
And he, as always, fought until the last moment.
I accept both good and bad,
Blood and regret, I stayed on the pitch,
This is Young Master Wei's way of basketball, which is why so many people like him.