"He didn't surprise me, we all took it for granted. That's how I felt about Michael Jordan as a player. ”
After winning the seven-and-death battle with the Kings, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of his favorite Stephen Curry. On this night, the 35-year-old and 48-day defending FMVP turned on full output mode, made 38 crazy shots, scored 50 points alone, broke a record basket, and most importantly, won the game for his team and survived.
Before the start of this series, not many people could have imagined that the Warriors would play so hard against the Kings. Although they stumbled in the regular season and eventually appeared only on the playoff stage as the sixth in the West, not only did the famous coach Rudy Tomjanovich warn the world to "never underestimate the heart of a champion", but the Warriors' roster strength and game experience were also higher than the regular season ranking third in the West.
However, as soon as it came up, the Warriors lost two away games in a row and were forced into a cold sweat. In the third game of the series, with Green suspended, the Warriors fought back, won a city at home, but after continuing to win G4 and G5 like thin ice, they lost at home and put themselves in danger again.
It turns out that when it comes to life and death, only superstars are really worth relying on. Today's Curry, no longer has the slightest humble and amiable appearance on weekdays, his face is full of murder, again and again with the ball to force the penalty area, personally tear the defense, pierce the opponent's heart, of the 20 goals scored in the game, 13 goals are completely hit by personal ability, 11 goals come from within the box, such "aggressiveness", in Curry, is not common.
But that's the definition of a superstar, and the ultimate expression of personal heroism, who will always find a way to bring you victory when it comes to him.
In this era of flooded stars, the "Big Three" or even the "Big Four" at every turn, only a very few people can withstand the test of big waves, laugh to the end, and become stars among stars. And when it comes to the real "one step to heaven and one hell" moment of life and death, giving the ball to a superstar will always be your most reliable way to win.
Curry isn't the first star to be compared to Jordan in this year's playoffs, and before that, the Heat's Jimmy Butler also took individual heroism to the extreme in a series against the regular-season champion Bucks.
In that series, Butler faced four-time Defensive Team of the Year member Joe Holloday, averaging 37.6 points per game and shooting 59.7% from the field! In the fourth game of the series, when the two backcourts Hiro and Oladipo had already been reimbursed for the season due to injuries, and he was still trailing by 12 points in the last six minutes of the game, he scored 19 consecutive points to lead the team to complete the comeback and win the series point first.
In that game, Butler scored 56 points in the game, not only setting a new record in the history of the Heat, but even surpassing the playoff single-game scoring record of legendary superstars such as Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson!
Just two days later, Butler played out a similar scenario again - the Heat trailed by 16 points at the start of the fourth quarter, but under Butler, they once again completed the Jedi counterattack. Butler scored 12 consecutive points for the team at the most critical moment, and the last-second tie before the end of regular time was even more shocking!
The Heat eventually defeated the Bucks in overtime to complete the sixth Black Eight miracle in NBA history. Compared with the previous five times, this time the difference in paper strength between the two sides is the largest, and the final score is the most different. Many people don't understand how the Heat won until the end of the series, but the reason is actually very simple - in the head-to-head superstar match, Butler defeated the alphabet brother, which directly led to the imbalance of this set of matchups.
The NBA is star-studded and talented, and in any era, there is no shortage of talented competitors, and there is no easy road to championship. Great as Michael Jordan, in his legendary career, has also experienced a variety of formidable opponents, respectable enemies.
But what makes Jordan great is that it will live up to your trust in any difficult situation.
In the pinnacle showdowns against the Utah Jazz in 1997 and 1998 alone, Jordan staged historical scenes such as "The Flu Game" and "The Last Shot", not to mention the various extreme personal heroism performances when he singled out the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Pistons when he was not around him in the early years of his career.
Before Jordan, the NBA has also had many great stars - from George McCann to Bill Russell, from Abdul-Jabbar to Magic Johnson, but the courage of "although thousands of people go for it" was not perfectly interpreted until Jordan.
The reason why Jordan is regarded as the first man in history by most fans is not only because of his amazing physical talent, absolute beauty on the court, countless astonishing scoring records, and near-perfect Finals resume, but also because of the mental strength he shows on the court, the most exciting heroic moment in sports!
Because of this, every time a descendant presents a personal heroism performance again, Jordan's name is repeatedly mentioned - from Kobe Bryant and Iverson, to Wade, James, to Curry and Butler.
Because Jordan is synonymous with personal heroism, and personal heroism will never go out of style.