With Mitchell leading the Cavaliers from 18 points behind to complete a comeback to eliminate the Magic, all the top eight in the East and West have been produced. There is a prominent phenomenon that the old stars around the age of 35 have basically disappeared, and the Mesozoic and younger generations have taken over.
For the first time in history, none of the active playoff top 10 scorers made it to the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
By star, of course, we mean the heart of the team, the family, the signboard, the tactical foundation of the team, the guy who watched him play in the last five minutes. Being old and able to play and occupy the center of the stage, this is the flow. In the quarterfinals of the playoffs, the older generation of stars were completely shut out, which means that the flow of traffic has collapsed for this playoffs.
However, what should go will eventually go, and what should come will always come, metabolism, endlessly, this is the law of nature. It comes almost every 15 years or so, because those signature stars who can play and survive are almost 15 years as the standard length of their careers. For example, he started to be famous at the age of 20, and after 15 years, he will be 35 years old, and it is too normal for this age to decline, but James is an isolated case and cannot represent a phenomenon.
After the '96 generation, the next blowout of outside stars was in 2009, and Curry, Harden, and DeRozan all belonged to that class. Fifteen years later, although they can still play at a high level, Curry can no longer bring an aging roster, and Harden has long since transformed, so he cannot make it to the quarterfinals or even the playoffs.
Similar blowouts rarely occur later, so when the Mesozoic and younger generations take over in full succession, there will be such a dilemma: they each carry limited traffic, it is difficult to concentrate like the '09 generation, and their careers have not played for a certain number of years, and there are too few classics. So, after the full withdrawal of traffic teams and stars, who will be the face and sign of this league?
Of the remaining eight playoff teams, the oldest core with tactical value is Irving and Gobert, both in their mid-32s. As a center and defensive player, Gobert's popularity is obviously not comparable to Irving's, so Irving is the king of popularity in this age group. But beside him, there is Luca, a young and more popular balloon star of the Mesozoic Era, and the Mavericks will become another traffic team if they play well in the Western Conference semifinals. Although Luka is already an NBA signature with global influence, Irving has won the championship, Luka has not yet reached the Finals, and he has to win at least one championship if he wants to reach the level of Janduku.
Jokic, with his all-round skills, soft and rigid style of play, and Buddhist mentality, has conquered many pure and non-star-chasing fans, but as a center, he is from Europe, which is contrary to the NBA's star-making laws, and it is quite difficult to bring commercial traffic.
Among the Mesozoic stars, several representatives are Tatum, Mitchell and Bronson, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
The most experienced player in the playoffs is Tatum, who is also the most qualified to be a signature in today's fashion as a ball-handling forward. But alas, every time he went out in the playoffs and finals, he wasn't tough enough in the final quarter or the last five minutes. The NBA's signature stars have built their names in the playoffs, not only convincing their opponents, but also their fans, and they are always convinced by their opponents, and the fans will definitely not buy it. So, despite his high regular-season record, he's probably been discussed the fewest times in any playoff game. To reverse this strange phenomenon, only Tatum himself proves it by winning a championship. If he can contribute a few classic playoff scenes and return home with a cup, his traffic may suddenly explode.
Mitchell's future may be limited by his height, and if he had traded a few of this year's first-round scenes to Tatum, the effect would have been different.
Bronson may be the closest to Jimmy Butler's type, the style of play is more traditional, and the flow seems to be small, but the vast majority of fans have nothing to say. For Bronson, he can detonate the traffic in New York, which may be far from the league's signboard.
Bronson's Haliburton, who he will face in the semifinals, is a young defender who may have super traffic in the future, and with the same conditions and record, Haliburton is more likely to become a traffic star, and he has just turned 24 years old.
Despite being in Indianapolis, a small market, in today's Internet age, where geographical boundaries are not so clear, imagine George who made a name for himself early on, and Haliburton would have been more likely to capture the hearts and minds of fans if he had shown a more loyal side.
SGA and Edwards will definitely succeed in the future, as they are very young like Haliburton, at 25 and under 23 respectively, and even if they suffer some setbacks, there is still plenty of time to correct them.
Originally, the characteristics of these two people were completely different, SGA has gorgeous and traditional superb ball skills, shooting is one of his musts; Edwards has outstanding physical condition, dunking strongly, shooting is his shortcoming, but in the elimination of the Suns, Edwards overcame his shooting weakness, and even performed a few replica gang actions, which makes people can't help but love him.
It's also because they're so young that they haven't had enough time to prove that they can go far in the playoffs every year. Just imagine, the 26-year-old Tatum has amassed 99 playoff games, made it to the Finals, and is still criticized, and SGA and Edwards have only played 17 and 16 playoff games respectively, so they must be mentally prepared to endure setbacks.
To sum up, in the next 10 years or so, the flow stars who can prop up the face of the league are Luka, Edwards, SGA and Haliburton, who can bring a steady stream of traffic to the NBA when they accumulate enough playoff games and make achievements.
Of course, if Morant turns back in time, he will have time to catch up with this wave of renewal, and Wembanyama, the best among the elders, will also have the opportunity to refresh the concept of the king of traffic.
Before they put up a façade, this era belonged to Jokic and Alphabet, because they were MVP regulars and both won championships. Although they can't bring more super traffic, there are old stars like Curry and James to protect the league.
Xiao Hua can only secretly pray that Curry and James will play a little longer, Edwards, SGA, and Luka will mature a little faster, and Tatum had better turn around his image as soon as possible.
It's hard to connect seamlessly, but the sky won't fall, just like when Jordan announced his retirement, no one would have thought that in 2000, when so many stars appeared on the stage at once, supporting the flow of the next ten years.
Those who should go will go, and those who should come will come, just like the great river to the east, Hao Hao soup.