When the Mavericks take a 2-0 lead in the West, you understand: why did Durant have to go to the Warriors back then?

Dearest Basketball Jun

2024-05-25 16:04Published in Guangdong

The first 2 games of the Western Conference finals were completely unexpected, and after the Timberwolves eliminated the defending champion Nuggets, they were already regarded as the strongest team in the West, and the Mavericks did not look like an opponent. Who would have thought that in the 2 home games, the Timberwolves lost to their opponents, G1 lost by 3 points, and G2 suffered a big reversal with a lead of 18 points. Now for the Timberwolves, it is already very unfavorable, but for the Mavericks, half of the body has already stepped into the Finals.

The last time the Timberwolves reached the Western Conference finals was 20 years ago, when they lost 2-4 to the Lakers, and since then, the team has changed several batches, and even the core players have changed and changed before they re-entered the stage. And the Mavericks' last Western Conference final did not last long, losing 1-4 to the Warriors in 2022. Although the core of the Mavericks is still Doncic, there are still a number of people around him, and the two most important teammates, Brunson and Porzingis, have gone to the Knicks and Celtics respectively. Now Doncic's partner has been replaced by Irving.

In this year's playoffs, Doncic averaged 28 points, 9.4 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, which is still at the top level, but compared with the previous playoff experience, it is still far inferior. The reason is that Doncic has been playing with injuries, which has affected his performance to a certain extent. But the lone ranger is still like a divine help, and he has passed all the way. The reason, of course, is Irving, who averaged 21.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the playoffs, and he didn't look so impressive. But he always shot in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter to dominate the game, such as G2, Irving hit 2 difficult three-pointers single-handedly, and efficiently hit 13 points and 3 assists in a single quarter, leading a big reversal. There is also a record, Irving's promotion to the playoffs, has won 14 consecutive games, ranking first in history. When the Mavericks take a 2-0 lead in the West, you understand: why did Durant have to go to the Warriors back then?

Owen's outburst this year has awakened everyone's memories of him. In the first four games of the 2016 Finals, the Cavaliers were already 1-3 down and in a desperate situation. But James didn't give up, Irving didn't give up, G5 broke out and both scored 31 points, and G7 even hit the winning shot to kill the game, helping the Cavaliers win the first championship in team history. At that time, Irving was in high spirits, and James was a strengthened version of Doncic in terms of ability, plus there was Lefu on the inside, and the Cavaliers were in full swing and had a tendency to build a dynasty.

If the Warriors and Thunder, the Western Conference finalists that year, did not make reinforcements, it would be difficult to match the Cavaliers in the lineup, so Durant had to choose to join the Warriors. Because Curry was the only guard who overpowered Irving in strength at the time, and the Warriors also had a top-level offensive and defensive system. Durant went to the Warriors and also reduced his consumption in the Western Conference playoffs in order to retain more energy against James and Irving in the Finals. If Durant didn't go to the Warriors, but went to the Green Army or other teams, as rumored, he wouldn't be able to pose a real threat to the Cavaliers. It can only be said that Durant's choice is correct, but it is difficult to understand just from the perspective of fans.

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