After the NBA playoffs kicked off, more and more "upsets" appeared. said that it was an underdog, but in fact, in the process of NBA renewal, many legendary superstars have been unable to play dominant, so say goodbye to us in advance. The Warriors, who unfortunately went out of the play-offs, have been stuck in internal friction of alternating the old and the new, and have not solved this problem for two years. The Suns, who were swept in the first round of the playoffs, made all the big three stand-up sticks, no defense and no organization, and the ability to play against the wind was almost 0, the key is that they also carried the heavy burden of Bill; With the exit of the three super giants, the starting team of the US men's basketball Olympic Games has also been "assembled", which is ironic, but also very realistic.
After the Clippers decided to trade Harden this season, they played a strong performance of more than 80% in December and January, and once topped the West in February. But in the next two months, Tyronn Lue changed his style of play, cut Harden's ball possession, including creating more opportunities for George, who had not yet renewed his contract, and the whole Clippers looked chaotic. Of course, both Xiaoka and George have created a new career high for the Clippers in the regular season attendance (Leonard is more than 8 percent, George is more than 9 percent), and the military medal has half of Harden's credit, Harden's organizational strategy, sharing the pressure of the Pepper combination, the key Harden can basically switch seamlessly at the same time, often participate in the top defense and frame protection work in the low post. In Tyronn Lue's words, he knows that whatever task is given to Harden, he can do it well. In the regular season, Harden averaged 16.6 points and 8.5 assists per game, like an old scalper.
But unexpectedly, Xiaoka, like in the past few years, was injured as soon as he reached the playoff stage, as if he had exhausted all his luck when he led the Raptors to the championship. Before the playoffs began, from the media to the fans, even Tyronn Lue said that the small card is the key to the Clippers, and the team needs him very much. But the playoffs are different, the two games in which Xiaoka played, averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds per game, couldn't run or jump, and was named by the opponent for military training in turn, which is not as good as Kofei's defensive problem. What's even more surprising is that in the game where Xiao Ka is not there, Harden is full of firepower, from being a father and mother in the regular season to trotting forward with the team in the playoffs! In the playoffs, he averaged 26 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists per game, and the second-highest scoring player in the playoffs this season (9.4 points more than in the regular season), second only to Middleton! Let's look at a set of data.
When the American media counted the playoffs, Harden's true shooting rate was 73.1% (counting free throws)! The effective shooting rate was 68% and the fourth in the league (not counting free throws)! In addition, Harden averaged 4.3 three-pointers per game, second in the league! In the words of Clippers reporter Eisnashari, he wanted to apologize to Harden, and no one would have thought that Harden would become the biggest backer of the Clippers in the playoffs! But if I want to say, this is all reasonable! Let me give you a few examples, in 21, the Nets Big Three played the Celtics in the first round, Harden averaged 28 points and 11 assists per game, with a true shooting rate of 79%, which was the first efficiency in the history of the NBA playoffs for more than 70 years, leading the team to eliminate the Celtics 4-1! Immediately following the following year, the Nets met the Celtics again in the first round, and after Harden left, the Nets Durant and Irving led the team and were swept out by the Celtics 4-0! As a result, Durant has been complaining about Harden.
Since the Rockets era, Harden has been in his career for more than ten years, with a minimum year of 22 years, and his actual score creation is 46 points, ranking sixth in the league. But in the second year, when the 76ers met the Celtics in the playoffs, Harden had a 42-point + three-point kill, a 45-point + three-point kill, but Van Embiid was a little tougher, or G6 and G7 Rivers Sr. increased Harden's possession (Embiid also complained that he couldn't touch the ball), maybe the 76ers would enter the Eastern Conference finals! In more than a year for the 76ers, Harden was wrapped up twice as many rounds as Embiid. The same is true for the Clippers, in the regular season this season, Leonard and Harden were caught between the two rounds, and the league was far ahead, but the efficiency of the two singles was also the top two in the league. Are the league teams stupid enough to go and attack Harden? It turns out that if they don't target Harden, they can only swallow the bitter fruit.
Last offseason, Harden suffered a series of "insults". For example, some media suggested that the Lakers exchange Russell for Harden, and Lakers columnist Reed bluntly said that Harden could not replace Russell, only deserved the base salary, and he couldn't help when he came to the Lakers. Including the original Suns reporter Larkin suggested that the Suns pursue Harden, but before the free market opened, Durant and Booker recruited Beal to join! and when the Heat was involved with Harden after the failure of the Heat's pursuit of Lillard, the Heat reporter Wendelman bluntly said that the team did not need Harden and would not consider Harden. Any team that has a bit of championship strength seems to scoff at Harden, but what is the result? The Lakers and Suns have been swept by one and the other by the gentlemen, do they need Harden? In addition to Adebayo and Herro, does the Heat have anyone to rely on?
Harden's performance in the playoffs this season, even if the Clippers are out, cannot be blamed on Harden. In order to compete for a championship, he has given up hundreds of millions of dollars in salary in the past few years, sacrificed his stats, and doesn't care about the status of the team, and he stepped up when the team needed him, can he do better? At least Harden's performance is worth about $35 million in average salary, and the Clippers are not bad for money! You ignored him at the beginning, and now the whole league can't afford to climb it. Harden did his best, and there were no regrets in his career.