The first round of the NBA playoffs is nearing the end, and the pattern of the West is basically set, with the Timberwolves sweeping the Suns 4-0, the Nuggets eliminating the Lakers 4-1, and the Timberwolves and Nuggets will meet in the semifinals. The Thunder swept the Pelicans 4-0 against either the Clippers or the Mavericks, and the Clippers lost 93-123 to the Mavericks by 30 points in the Battle of Kings Mountain, trailing 2-3 and returning to Dallas in the next game, the Mavericks have a good chance of ending the series. The Clippers face an exit and if the Mavericks eventually advance, they will be the only team in the West to finish below the first round.
In this game, the Mavericks played a perfect performance, Doncic slashed 35 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, and stood up to lead the team to win the game in key games, Doncic has proven himself. Irving had 14 points, four rebounds and six assists on 6-of-14 shooting, Jones had 12 points, Kleber came off the bench with 15 points and three rebounds, and the Mavericks hit 14 three-pointers as a team. The Clippers' George had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists on 4-of-13 shooting, Zubac had 15 points and six rebounds, Mann had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Powell had 14 points off the bench. Harden played another embarrassing "masterpiece" of the playoffs, scoring 7 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 turnovers on 2-of-12 in the Tianwang Mountain game, and 1-of-7 three-pointers.
Originally, Harden's performance in this year's playoffs has changed a lot, and his performance in G1 and G4 is very good, especially in the fourth game, Harden scored 33 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, leading the team to chase the big score to 2-2. If Harden helps the Clippers win the Kings Mountain and the Clippers advance, Harden will completely prove his strength in the playoffs, however, he is still the bearded man we are familiar with, and he pulls his hips when it comes to the most important games. The Clippers lost miserably in the battle of Tianwang Mountain, and Harden was the most responsible, unable to score on the offensive end, and frequently made mistakes, and was blown up by the Mavericks' backcourt with two shots.
Harden also set a record for the worst NBA playoff in history, according to media statistics, Harden became the star with the most single-game shooting less than 20% in NBA playoff history, reaching 11 games, surpassing Bob Cousy (10) to become the "first person in history". I have to say that when Harden fell into the circle of fighting iron, even the iron god Cousy had to bow down. The playoff stage is the best test of the star's quality, Harden may be the most hip-pulling MVP in history, the regular season is as fierce as a tiger, and there are not a few masterpieces in the playoffs, which is also speechless.
In addition to Harden, who is an active player, the other players who have shot less than 20% in a single game in the playoffs, the top ten are basically ancient players, and the Green Army legend Pierce ranks 9th, but he has only 6 playoffs in his career with a single-game shooting rate of less than 20%, and Harden is nearly twice as strong as Pierce. Harden's career is destined to be without a championship, he is difficult to turn the tide in key games, and his form is extremely unstable, compared with great superstars such as Curry, James, Jokic, etc., the gap is too big.
If the Clippers can't make it past the first round, the Big Four will likely fall apart. Since 2019, the Clippers have tried to stock up on stars, but the effect is not ideal, George and Leonard have been frequently injured in the past few years, especially in the playoffs, as if it has become a curse, Wei Shao and Harden have joined one after another, but the two of them are not big players, and it may only be a matter of time before the Clippers are out of the first round of this year's playoffs. After entering the offseason, what is the future of Harden and Westbrook is also worth watching, the two MVPs have been wandering frequently in recent years, where will they end their careers?