A shameful 64 points, an embarrassing triple-double, the ugliest data brush in the NBA is officially born, and you and Harden Jokic are not the same kind of people at all!
Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu
Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu
As we approach the halfway point of the new NBA season, the situation in the East and West of the league is gradually becoming clearer. In the East, the Celtics, 76ers and Bucks are the leaders, and their standings are almost in suspense, and all three teams have strong rosters and strength. On the western side, however, the situation is more complicated and the competition is fierce. From the Timberwolves at the top of the table to the Warriors at 12th place, the difference between the wins between neighboring teams is only one or two games, and the standings change daily.
In this context, the performance of the players is also crucial. Times in the NBA are indeed changing, and with more and more stars in today's league choosing to compete for championships, teams like the Celtics, Clippers and Suns with a Big Three or even Big Four are no longer uncommon. However, this phenomenon of star clustering has also directly led to a general decline in personal data, which is actually a natural thing.
This season, despite the decline in the stats of some stars, there are still quite a few top scorers in the league. It is worth mentioning that there are as many as 4 players who have averaged 30+ points per game alone. Among them, Embiid topped the list with an average of 34.6 points per game, followed by Doncic with an average of 33.7 points per game. In addition, Alexander and Antetokounmpo are also quite good, averaging 31.5 and 31.4 points per game, respectively.
The appearance of these super scorers undoubtedly adds more excitement to the game. Scoring high scores in a game is a testament to a player's ability to score. However, if a player deliberately scores in pursuit of good stats, then such behavior is too ugly.
In fact, Doncic is the Mavericks' ball-handling core, and many times he has to help the team by scoring. Especially when Irving was sidelined with injury, no one else in the team could take on the responsibility of sharing the pressure. If Doncic can't score, then the game can easily be played by the opponent. This is not uncommon in NBA games, and many teams rely on the play of superstars to win.
The same applies to Alexander of the Thunder. As a young player, Alexander plays an important role for the Thunder. In many games, Alexander usually doesn't have the ball if the starters are in good shape. However, when the team is in a scoring drought or struggling to perform, Alexander will step up and become a key figure for the team. The data shows that Alexander's shooting rate is as high as 63.4% at critical moments, and the winning rate of leading the team at critical moments has also reached 64.9%, which can indeed win the respect of the outside world.
However, there are some stars who do the opposite, and do not hesitate to stay on the field and deliberately brush up on statistics in order to pursue personal honors and records. This phenomenon is especially evident in some players, such as the Bucks' Antetokounmpo. In the offseason, the Bucks sent away outside defensive stalwart Holiday and caused the team's defensive efficiency to plummet. Despite this, Lillard's addition has upgraded the team's offensive efficiency to the top three in the league. However, this kind of team that abandons defense and only focuses on offense often gives people the illusion that it is like this season's alphabet brother, who performs incomprehensible operations on the field again and again.
Last month, in the Bucks' game against the Pacers, Brother Alphabet scored 64 points and 14 rebounds, breaking 8 records in one game, and indeed showed a strong scoring ability. However, there was a funny scene after the game, Brother Alphabet originally planned to take the game ball as a souvenir, but found that the Pacers had taken the game ball one step ahead of time. The two sides had a rather unpleasant argument, and at the end of the day, it was the Pacers who thought that Antetokounmpo was brushing up on stats in the final moments of the game. In fact, by the last minute or so of the game, the two sides had opened up a 15-point gap, but he still made foul free throws on the court, and even when the opponent had given up resistance, he was still scoring quickly. This kind of behavior can really be disgraceful to the walkers.
And in the interview afterwards, Brother Alphabet even used the ridiculous reason of "the coach arranged me to break the record" to prevaricate, which is simply shameful. As a professional player, he should understand that the true meaning of the game is to win and respect the opponent, not to brush the stats for the sake of breaking records.
More than that, another Bucks vs. Jazz game. After trailing by 33 points in the first two quarters, the Bucks then closed the deficit to just 10 points in the third quarter. At this time, Brother Alphabet appeared early in the fourth quarter, and the coach's purpose was obviously to chase points. However, when the score gap was reduced to single digits, Brother Alphabet once again showed his mystery operation, he suddenly stopped the attack, and began to look for teammates Middleton and Livingston, looking at the statistics, Brother Alphabet is one assist away from achieving a triple-double. When the brother was satisfied with a triple-double, the Jazz widened the gap to 16 points, and the game lost suspense again. Brother Alphabet would rather give up the team's victory and chase the data, isn't it embarrassing to have such a triple-double?
I have to say that Brother Alphabet is really not the same kind of person as Harden and Jokic. Harden can win for the Clippers, hardly shooting, focusing only on organizing and connecting the team's offense, often scoring 19+9 or 9+10, and the statistics are not good-looking but win for the team. Jokic is the same, just the day before yesterday against the Pistons, he only took 3 shots, only scored 4 points, but contributed 7 rebounds, 16 assists and 5 blocks, and didn't care about personal data at all, for Harden and Jokic, the team's victory is the most important thing.
On the other hand, Brother Alphabet, in order to pursue the gorgeousness of personal data, even hurt the team. Such an approach is undoubtedly the opposite of Harden and Jokic. In competitive sports, the pursuit of victory should always be the main thing, and data is only an adjunct to victory. If you focus too much on the numbers and ignore the wins, you put the cart before the horse. This is also the biggest difference between Brother Alphabet and Harden and Jokic.