The NBA playoffs are still in full swing, and this year's playoffs are indeed a pity, those popular giant teams are out early, and there is no heat when they reach the division semifinals. can be regarded as an old-school star, and the one who has not been eliminated should be Owen. Irving is not young now, but his role in the team is still obvious, and he still has the level of his peak in terms of ability, and his key ball ability is very good. In fact, the old-school superstars in the league have not fallen off the altar in terms of their individual abilities, but they are a little worse than before. Like the 39-year-old James, who averaged 28 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists per game in the playoffs, ranked first in the three-point shooting percentage, and during the regular season, James' outside shooting percentage also set a career high.
Although Curry has not been able to lead the Warriors into the playoffs, his three-point deterrence is still there, this season's Curry is still the league's highest three-point production player, the Warriors' fall this year, the biggest reason is that their other core players have regressed too quickly, Wiggins and Thompson, the efficiency has been low, coupled with Green's ban in the middle of the season, the sudden death of the assistant coach, the impact on the Warriors team is still great. Even if it is difficult for them to rise to the height of the championship, they will not fall to the level that they can't get into the playoffs. The 35-year-old Durant's scoring ability is also the top in the league, he averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in the regular season, and 26.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the playoffs, as the most stable core of the Suns.
In the first round of the playoffs, there are not a few fans who are optimistic about the solar elimination of the Timberwolves for two reasons, first of all, they have more stars, more playoff experience, and a more luxurious lineup. Second, during the regular season, the Suns did not lose against the Timberwolves. However, when it comes to the playoffs, they are exposed, the interior and defensive shortcomings are too serious, the bench depth is quite limited, and no role players can step up and score. Even the three core players of them, Durant, Booker and Beal, can't play any coordination connection, and the offensive end is all their own singles, after all, all three are pure scoring players and have little experience in organizing tandem. The trio, known as the strongest trio at the start of the season, was indeed overrated, and in the end, they were swept 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs.
After being eliminated, the Suns dumped the pot on head coach Vogel, and after the Lakers fired Coach Darwin Ham, the Suns also fired Vogel. NBA commentator Perkins said: "Frank Vogel was fired after one season in office, and it was all because two-time champion and two-time FMVP winner Kevin Durant didn't talk to him or listen to him for the past three months, and the incident became the fuse. Perkins said Vogel shouldn't lose his job, he's a championship coach, but everyone knows that if the Suns had to choose between Vogel and Durant, they would undoubtedly choose Durant. And the Suns players should take responsibility even more, unless Beal stays healthy and Booker learns to be selfless, they will still be the same next season.
After firing Vogel, the Suns quickly hired a new coach, Mike Budenholzer, who had coached the Hawks and Bucks and led the Bucks to a championship in 21, reached a five-year, more than $50 million contract with the Suns. In fact, Booker has changed head coaches 6 times in his 10-year career, including Durant, who has also changed 6 head coaches since leaving the Warriors, but only won two series. The head coach is often the one who bears the blame, the secondary factor of the team's loss, the players are the most critical, the adaptability of the squad structure, and the depth of the squad are also very important. The Suns have a flashy roster right now, and honestly it's not as good as they were before they were traded.
At least the trio of Booker, Paul and Ayton also broke into the Finals in 21, and last summer's offseason, the Warriors, Suns and Wizards were equivalent to completing a three-way deal, the Warriors sent Poole to the Wizards, the Wizards sent Beal to the Suns, and the Suns sent Paul to the Warriors. The Suns lacked a point guard after sending Paul away, and a blue-collar center after sending Ayton away, the Warriors' lineup was already small, and it was even smaller after welcoming Paul, and both teams ended up with worse records than last year. The Wizards are not much better, they planned to train Poole to be a star, but they didn't expect that after Poole left the Wizards, he completely lost himself, and the efficiency of more ball possession was lower, I don't know if Poole will have a chance to become an All-Star player again in the future?