This season's NBA regular season is over, and the playoffs have been in full swing. Compared with the past few years, there are many dark horses in the ranks of the East and West playoffs this year. On the Eastern side, Brunson's Knicks climbed to second place, including the Magic, who led the offense with defense, and also ranked fifth, except for the Celtics, the overall gap between other teams is not large. On the Western side, the Thunder and the Timberwolves have quietly risen, although the Suns have taken the playoffs with the help of the Lakers, but through the play-offs, the Lakers have advanced thrillingly, while the Warriors are unfortunately out. The establishment of the play-offs did not allow the ninth and tenth divisions of the East and West to complete the counterattack, on the contrary, it allowed the Lakers to meet their nemesis Nuggets in advance, and in the first game of the playoffs, the Lakers lost again. In the words of the Nuggets reporter, we rule the Lakers, and we can keep sending LeBron "mileage sadness".
As the Nuggets who won the championship last season, Jokic and Murray led the team to grow step by step, but the real blossoming was in the past two years. First of all, Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9 assists per game, and the MVP of the season has lost its suspense; After winning the championship last season, bidding farewell to Jeff Green and Bruce Brown, the thickness of the team's lineup should have declined, but as soon as the playoffs start, the Lakers still can't beat it, or will it suddenly collapse at some stage, what's the problem? From the Lakers to the best puzzle piece for the championship! Average 10 points per game, but you let the West gradually lose suspense.
Things have to start with the 20-year bubble park. That year, the Lakers won the championship under the leadership of James and Bushy Eyebrows, but you can't ignore the role players of Pope, Danny Green, Caruso, Morris and even Rondo. In those two years, the Lakers led by Vogel have been in the top three in the league in defense, even if the offense is unstable, but the Lakers have never been afraid of anyone after winning the championship! After winning the championship, the Lakers began to dismantle the team, and successively bid farewell to Warcraft, Rondo, Danny Green, Caruso and others, including in the summer of 21, after being eliminated by the Suns in the first round, Pope and Kuzma became the target of public criticism, especially Pope, who averaged 6.2 points per game in the playoffs, and even attracted some threats from extreme Lakers fans!
It's a circle to go around in circles. Pixar revealed that James pressured the Lakers to trade for Wei Shao, and when he found that Wei Shao and the team were not suitable, he asked the team to send Wei Shao away. In the end, the Lakers traded with the Timberwolves and Jazz in exchange for Russell + Beasley + Vanderbilt, and also took a 27-year first-round pick. In the words of the Nuggets reporter, the Nuggets never expected to get Pope easily, but they didn't expect the Lakers to abandon him unexpectedly, and picking up Pope from the Wizards was a pure surprise! What is Pope's value? List a few statistics! Last year's Western Conference finals 4 + the first game of this season's playoffs, when Russell faced Pope, a total of 3 of 15, 8 of 8 three-pointers! Remember the Bubble Park West Finals, Murray averaged 25 points per game, but against Pope, he was 4-of-11 and had 4 turnovers.
In the words of Jokic and Malone, Pope is "an underrated player, a champion player" and James is not shy about praising Pope for his experience and ability to play at a high level. Last season, the Nuggets won the championship, and Pope was sluggish on the offensive end of the Finals, but on the defensive end, Vincent faced Pope 5-of-12, Adebayo faced Pope 1-of-7, Love was 1-of-4, and Butler was better, 7-of-15. Including four times this season against the Warriors, Pope defended Curry, Curry was 10-of-27, shooting only 37% from the field, and had four turnovers. There is also a set of data that is thought-provoking: Pope's offensive efficiency this season is 122.4, second in the league, second only to Pritchard of the Celtics, and the eighth in the league in net efficiency, the duo of him and Jokic on the court has the highest net efficiency value in the league!
This season, Pope averaged only 10 points + 40.6% three-point shooting per game in the regular season, but the plus/minus was +7.5, ranking fifth in the league. His role in the Nuggets, chasing and defending the opponent's offensive arrows, around the cover is extremely efficient, and the efficiency of receiving and shooting three-point (defensive counterattack) has made the Nuggets score in the top three in the league in the past 2 years! Just imagine, several potential opponents in the Nuggets West, the Lakers really can't beat the Nuggets, the Suns' Big Three have two giant guards, including Edwards of the Timberwolves, and even Alexander of the Thunder, Pope has too much value in the playoffs! Even Ham is saying that Pope is a top all-around defender in the NBA, can shoot threes, and has a championship pedigree!
At the beginning, as the Lakers' backbiter, Pope's departure was the biggest loss to the Lakers, and the Lakers have never been able to find a replacement, and then Schroder, Reaves, Russell, and the defensive end are not enough. Although the Nuggets bench lineup is not deep enough, in addition to Jokic and Murray, Porter's projection, Gordon's impact, Pope's defense and conversion three-point shot, each has its own role, and the playoffs are not about whose bucket has a longer longboard, but whose shortcomings are longer. Does the Nuggets have shortcomings? It turns out, but the Lakers are equivalent to giving away a championship puzzle piece for nothing, and the West is gradually losing suspense this season!