The favourites at the start of the season have been knocked out one after another, with the favourites in the West being eliminated in the first round. The Suns were swept 4-0 by the Timberwolves, the Lakers were swept by the Nuggets 4-1 gentlemen, after these two teams, the Clippers carried one more game, and were eliminated by the Mavericks 4-2.
In the Clippers game against the Mavericks G6, the Clippers were still able to keep up with the opponent in the first half, and the two teams played very closely. But the game came to the second half, under the strong offensive of the Eastern European combination, the Clippers completely collapsed, the Clippers lost 20-35 in a single quarter by 15 points, and the difference between the two teams in the fourth quarter was stretched to 26 points.
The duo of Doncic and Irving have maintained their form well in this series, and the two have not performed badly. Doncic's three-point shooting in this series was indeed a bit stretched, shooting 16 of 67 three-pointers in six games in the series, shooting only a pitiful 24%. Even if there is one person in the team, he can make up for the other person, this is the role of the Mavericks' dual core, although Doncic pulls his hips with a three-point shot, but his assist efficiency can make up for the lack of offense, which is the terrible thing about the Mavericks.
This year's Clippers are over again, and this season they almost stayed healthy, and brought in super two-way guard Harden to form the Big Four, but it backfired, and they still couldn't make it to the end. It's not what the players want, it's not what the team and the fans want, but it's the way it is, a loss is a loss, another season is over.
The two teams G6 fought to the death, and Harden and George were ghostly on the offensive end. Paul George shot 6-of-18 from the field and 2-of-10 from three-point range to finish with just 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, and his plus/minus was a team-low of -19. Harden was even more dumb on the offensive end, shooting 5-of-16 from the field and 0-of-6 from three-point range, scoring only 16 points, but Harden delivered 13 assists and completed it with only 1 turnover, which can be regarded as making up for the lack of offense.
Throughout the first round of the playoffs, Harden averaged 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game, shooting 44.9% from the field, 38.3% from three-point range and 90.6% from the free throw line. Compared to the rest of the team, Harden is definitely the best player for the Clippers in the playoffs. But compared with the opponent's Eastern Europe, it is still a little inferior, and I really have to sigh that the years are not forgiving! The 18-year Rocket team can never go back.
Losing will cause conflicts, someone has to stand up and take the blame, and to be honest, Leonard's injury is definitely the defeat point of this season. According to the latest reports from TA Clippers reporters Sam Amick and Law Murray, Ballmer is willing to continue to spend money to keep all the core, as long as Harden and George are willing to renew their contracts, the Clippers will still have the core of the Pepperden lineup next season, without mentioning Wei Shao, his future is uncertain!
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