Won by 47 points, lost by 54 points in an unexpected upset, and was completely exposed when he entered the playoffs, the NBA championship giants are indeed overrated!
Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu
Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu
The NBA playoffs are in full swing, the first round of G3 games has all ended, and judging from the situation of the Eastern and Western Divisions, there are many unexpected situations in the NBA this season. In the Eastern Division, the Celtics accidentally lost to Jingzhou in the G2 game, unexpectedly lost to the remnants of the Heat, and immediately responded to the outside world's doubts with a big victory in the G3 game. The Bucks were beaten by the Pacers in two consecutive games during Antetokounmpo's absence, and now Lillard has also suffered a sudden injury, and the road to the playoffs is almost at an end.
In addition, the Magic, the dark horse team in the East this season, also pulled back two games in a row at home and returned to the same running line with the Cavaliers. It is also worth mentioning the 76ers, who were hacked in G2 and managed to pull one back when they returned to their home court. Embiid scored a league-high 50 points in the playoffs this season, and although the penalty caused some controversy, it was enough to prove his dominance on the court.
The situation in the West is even more unexpected, the Thunder and Timberwolves, the two big dark horses, have risen this season, not only ranking in the top three in the regular season, but also showing strong dominance on the playoff stage. They have a solid roster structure, a well-balanced core of the team, and Alexander and Edwards have been particularly impressive, leading their opponents 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs.
At the same time, however, some of the older generation of superstars are in trouble. Curry's Warriors, who also reached the Western Conference semifinals in the playoffs last season, unexpectedly ended their playoff journey early this season. The Lakers led by James, although they won the playoffs strongly and rushed to seventh in the West, they encountered the big nemesis Nuggets in the playoffs in advance. Reversed in three consecutive games and under tremendous pressure, in the fourth game, they finally held the bottom line and avoided the embarrassing situation of being swept away. At the moment, they are down 1-3 and are still in a tough situation, with half a foot still off the cliff, but there is still a chance to fight back in theory.
In the entire Western Conference, the most overestimated by the outside world is the Suns led by Durant, who was once regarded by the outside world as the most likely group of matchups on the next setup, but now they have lost three games in a row and are abused by the Timberwolves. Although they have three superstars in their team, Durant, Booker and Beal, and their star quality can be described as strong, they were unexpectedly beaten by the Timberwolves led by Edwards in three consecutive cities, and were forced into a desperate situation by their opponents, falling behind 0-3. This is undoubtedly an unprecedented shame series for Durant.
Looking back at the history of the Timberwolves, they weren't a powerhouse in the traditional sense. In nearly 30 years, they have only stepped foot in the playoffs four times, three of which ended in a sloppy run, winning only one round before leaving the game, the last time this season. However, it was against such an opponent with little to no playoff experience that the Suns' Big Three played the most efficient round of the playoffs of their careers. The Timberwolves' youthful vigor and aggressive scrambling are in stark contrast to the Suns' twilight veterans, who have built confidence through the Suns' strong rise to prominence.
In the first round of the G1 game, the Suns unexpectedly lost by 95-120 by as many as 25 points; in the G2 battle, the Suns once again defeated the Timberwolves by 93-105 by 12 points, and surrendered in the fourth quarter in advance, which is really ironic; G3 was beaten by the Timberwolves to lose their armor and had no power to resist at all, losing 109-126 again by 17 points, and the total of the three games unexpectedly lost by 54 points, which is incredible. You know, during the regular season, the Suns swept the Timberwolves 3-0, winning by a total of 47 points in three games, so the question is, why did the Suns, who defeated their opponents after the regular season, enter the playoffs and are completely exposed?
The numbers speak for themselves, and the Suns' Big Three averaged nearly 75 points per game during the regular season, but their performance in the three games of the playoffs was a shock. In the first game, the Big Three combined to score 54 points, which is not too bad, but it is clearly lacking compared to their regular level. In the second game, their score was as low as 52 points, and such a performance was undoubtedly the main culprit of the team's loss. Although in the third game, their score returned to 76 points, the plus/minus plummeted to a staggering -47, the lowest of the three games.
Obviously, the form of the Big Three has gone into big problems, with inefficient offense and frequent mistakes. Durant and Booker, as the team's two most important offensive points, have negative plus/minus per game, which means that they not only failed to bring advantages to the team on the court, but became a source of points conceded. The sluggish state of the Big Three has undoubtedly put heavy pressure on the entire team, and in such a situation, it is tantamount to a fool's dream to rely on those veteran substitutes who only receive a base salary to stand up at critical moments.
It has to be said that the Grim Reaper during the regular season does not rule the playoffs, and compared to the Timberwolves' offensive and defensive lineup, the Suns' lineup can be described as top-heavy. According to statistics, the salary of the Suns Big Three Durant + Booker + Beal has reached $130 million this season, and it will rise to $150 million next season, plus Nurkic's $16.88 million, the salary of these four people has accounted for 78.9% of the total salary of the entire team , and the salary of all the rest does not exceed 10 million, the highest is Allen's $8.93 million, and the rest are veterans' base salaries, such a wonderful lineup, the whole team does not even have a defensive leader, and the defensive end is simply given for nothing, when the Big Three offense can't be opened, what do the Suns do to fight the Timberwolves.
If nothing else, this series between the Suns and Timberwolves will soon be over!