NBA: I am the god of basketball

Chapter 387 The 11th crown to be achieved?
The well-known Charlotte Three of the Charlotte Hornets have been famous in the league for many years. Although they have never made any substantial gains in the playoffs in the past few years, they are definitely recognized as the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Especially Anthony Davis, the big-browed brother, has been selected as the best first-team defense for several consecutive seasons and is recognized as one of the best inside players in the league.

Coupled with Oladipo, who is not injured, and Kemba Walker, who should have switched to the Celtics at this time, the team's strength is indeed good.

But in terms of strength, the Toronto Raptors are obviously better.

Trash brothers Kyle Lowry and Jamal DeRozan are both long-established All-Stars, and the team also has Siakam, VanVleet and other young and emerging players in the lineup.

The most important thing is that this summer, they got a more qualified All-Star player, Paul George, which made the Raptors' overall strength a qualitative leap.

Because of this, when the Raptors and Hornets met, with a deeper lineup, the Raptors successfully defeated the Hornets 4:3 and entered the Eastern Conference Finals.

The showdown in the Eastern Conference Finals is between the Bucks and Raptors.

From the perspective of star strength, the Bucks with Antetokounmpo definitely have an advantage.

But judging from the overall strength of the main players, it is obvious that the Raptors are stronger.

When these two teams meet in the Eastern Conference finals, it's really hard to say who will win. At least compared to the suspense of the finals in the Western Conference, it's much less suspense.

Western Conference Finals, Lakers vs. Clippers.

If the Lakers have a full lineup, they may be able to compete with the Clippers a little bit.

But Cousins' season reimbursement left the Lakers with no capital to compete with the Clippers.

With just James + Towns, and possibly Tatum, why should they fight against Wang Chao's Clippers?

Previously, the league announced the list of the best team of the season and the best defensive team.

The five players shortlisted for the best team are Wang Chao, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Antetokounmpo Antetokounmpo, and Davis.

Yes, James was not selected for the best team. This is the first time he has fallen out of the best team since the 07-08 season.

This time and space is different from another time and space. The Lakers led by James did not miss the playoffs in the 18-19 season, so he was still the best team that year.

But this year, although the Lakers' regular season record ranked third in the Western Conference, James was still squeezed out of the best team.

Although his average of 25+8+10 per game is very luxurious, because Wang Chao and Westbrook, two big brushes, have been playing for several years in a row, people are no longer surprised by such data, considering the Lakers' luxurious lineup. , and James's visible decline on the defensive end and at critical moments, this result is not surprising.

After all, among the three strikers Wang Chao, Antetokounmpo and Big Eyebrow, he can't squeeze out any one.

Of course, James just fell from the best first team to the second team.

He was selected to the All-NBA Second Team along with Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Jokic.

As for the five players on the best third team, they are Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert.

Although the 19-20 season is a special season, these players above are still the undisputed 15 strongest players in the league.
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The Eastern and Western finals will start as scheduled in the park.

Different from the strong atmosphere of the respective teams' home stadiums in the past Eastern and Western finals, in the park, with empty stands, I always feel that something is missing. The exciting atmosphere of the stadium no longer exists.

After all, people are emotional animals. When tens of millions of spectators shout loudly on the field, it will give the players a more positive game attitude and fighting spirit.

These are things you can’t experience in a park competition without spectators.

It was in this embarrassing atmosphere that the Western Conference Finals officially started.

The Clippers' starting lineup has not changed from the first two rounds. It is still Wang Chao, Alexander, Gallinari, Anthony and Lopez.

On the Lakers side, due to Cousins' injury, the starting lineup was adjusted. Towns returned to the center position, James temporarily guest-starred at power forward, and Danny Green was appointed as the starting small forward. Rondo and Tatum It's point guard and shooting guard.

This lineup arrangement allows the Lakers to put together a decent starting lineup, but this is obviously not enough to compete with the Clippers.

Without Cousins, Towns alone cannot support the Lakers' inside advantage. After all, Los Angeles' defense is not that easy to deal with.

This season, with his ability to protect the basket, Luo was successfully selected for the All-Defensive Second Team, second only to Rudy Gobert who was on the defensive first team.

Towns is inherently weak in confrontation, not as good as Cousins. Against a heavy center like Los Angeles, he can basically only shoot three-pointers from the outside for a long time.

This will cost James his life.

Rondo no longer has the ability to attack with the ball. Although Tatum is very good, he is in a semi-wasted state in the Lakers. It is completely different from the important task he was given in the Celtics at the same time. More often, he only Can play like a spot-up shooter.

Coincidentally, when it comes to fixed-point shooters, Danny Green fits this position better.

Now even Towns has perfectly integrated into the segment, staying on the outside and hanging up with Tatum and Danny Green. Isn't this the rhythm of a thirty-year-old man who is exhausted?

James was both a father and a mother during the game. He frequently hit the basket with the ball and scored, and he also did not forget to distribute the ball to these guys for shooting. His physical fitness, which had already declined due to age, was consumed rapidly. In just half a game, he was able to score. Starting to feel exhausted.

When James was still on the court, the Lakers could barely contend with the Clippers. As James took a break in the third quarter, the situation suddenly changed. The Clippers launched a 12:0 offensive, directly widening the point difference to Double digits even went straight to the 20-point difference!

James, who was sitting off the court without even having time to sit down, was on the verge of tears.

How to fight this TM?
The Lakers called an emergency timeout, and James could only get back into battle.

He himself did not get a good chance to rest. Even on the court, it was difficult to support the Lakers' offense, especially on the defensive end. James could only put his hands on his hips and watch the Clippers attack and score while panting.

114: 99.

In the first game of the Western Conference Finals, the Clippers defeated the Lakers by 15 points and won their first victory.

But the process of this game was not as intense as the Clippers and Spurs in the second round.

Wang Chao only played for a little over 30 minutes, and he didn't play seriously at all. He didn't directly confront James at all during the whole process, but he won the game easily and casually. This is the difference in strength between the two teams after missing Cousins. Huge gap.This can also be regarded as the end of the entire series in one game.

The Lakers did not have any ability to compete with the Clippers. What was even more desperate was that James was on full fire in this game, scoring a triple-double of 31 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. However, Wang Chao did not take it seriously at all and played In less than 30 minutes, he had only 24 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists.

But even so, the Lakers still only lasted for three quarters under the Clippers' fierce attack.

In fact, the Clippers' main lineup is not bad. It is not as strong as expected. It just relies on Wang Chao's performance.

But their bench lineup is still too powerful.

Lu Wei and Harrell scored 36 points with just two players, which was higher than all the Lakers substitute players combined!
It is completely conceivable that if Wang Chao is serious, let alone play the entire game, just play normally for about 35 to 38 minutes, it is unimaginable how miserable the Lakers will be beaten.

The only thing Lakers fans are thankful for at this time is that in this park game, they don't need to go to the scene to witness how their team was unilaterally bombed.

Sure enough, in the following games, although the Lakers fought hard, they obviously couldn't resist the black and strong Clippers. They could only close their eyes and accept their fate as if they were enjoying it.

4:0, another sweep.

I don’t know how many times James has been swept out by Wang Chao’s team, but to be precise, Wang Chao has swept his opponents in every round. He has become the player who has swept the most opponents in the history of the NBA playoffs.

The only difference is that this time James was swept and there is a fig leaf, that is, the team is missing a general. If Cousins ​​​​is still there, the outcome is still uncertain... At least some of the tough-talking Lakers fans can use This serves as an excuse to excuse one's own team.

Fans of Wang Chao and the Clippers naturally have no interest in arguing with a bunch of losers.

After winning the Western Conference Finals, the Clippers officially entered the Finals and were on the stage of the Finals, waiting for the outcome of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Different from the completely one-sided Western Conference finals battle.

The intensity of the Eastern Conference Finals is much higher.

The Bucks and Raptors are definitely a close battle.

When the Clippers eliminated the Lakers 4:0 to advance to the Finals, the Bucks and Raptors had just tied at 2:2 and were about to engage in the battle of Tianwang Mountain.

Then in the Battle of Tianwangshan, Antetokounmpo Antetokounmpo played the best performance of his career so far, scoring 45 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists, leading the Bucks to defeat the Raptors and win the key battle of Tianwangshan.

But in the sixth game, trailing 2:3 and half-footed on the edge of the cliff, the Raptors were unwilling to fail. George and DeRozan both worked hard, both scoring 30+ points.

On the other side, Giannis Antetokounmpo seemed to have entered the cooling-off period after his ultimate move. He performed mediocrely in this game, but ended up ruining a wave of opportunities to send away his opponents, and the total score was evened to 3:3.

The two sides will have a tiebreaker.

Wang Chao, who was watching the whole game, couldn't guess who of the two teams would win the final.

If it were a normal season, the Bucks would be more likely to win. After all, the Bucks are No. [-] in the Eastern Conference and have home court advantage in the tiebreaker. In playoff games, home court advantage is a very important factor. .

In a park like this, which does not distinguish between home and away games, has no fans on site, and has completely unified standards, the only thing that the two teams can compete with is their actual hard power.

As a result, the Raptors had the last laugh in the tiebreaker.

Antetokounmpo almost made it to the finals, but unfortunately, this season's Raptors lineup is still stronger, George + Lowry + DeRozan + Siakam + VanVleet, no matter how you look at it, it's better. Greater than Antetokounmpo + Wiggins + Middleton.

In fact, if Wiggins and Middleton can perform slightly better in the playoffs, maybe the Bucks can win the series. After all, before, the Bucks took the lead in winning the match point 3:2, accounting for All the advantages.

It's a pity that sometimes fate is so capricious.

However, the Bucks' ability to reach the Eastern Conference Finals in the 19-20 season is actually considered a success.

After all, in another time and space, the Bucks led by Antetokounmpo were upset and stopped in the second round in the park, and their performance was not as good as here.

In this way, the finals matchup is the Los Angeles Clippers vs. the Toronto Raptors.

The Raptors are actually one of the teams that has been greatly affected by Wang Chao. Because of Wang Chao, they directly lost the opportunity to win the first championship in team history, which was the opportunity to acquire Leonard from the Spurs in the 18-19 season. .

But there was nothing that could be done about it. Who made Wang Chao cut Leonard off to the Rockets when he was a rookie? The latter has been playing in the Rockets for so many years and has not moved away until now.

And to take a step back, even if Leonard really joins the Raptors as he did in the original time and space, so what, let alone facing the Kings, the Nets had a super luxurious lineup in the Western Conference at that time. I'm not afraid of being an opponent.

Now, the Raptors, who have many powerful players, face Wang Chao's Clippers, and there are still very few people who are optimistic that they can win.

After all, that was Wang Chao, who had rarely suffered a defeat in so many years.

Why do you think this group of Raptors players have the ability to defeat Wang Chao?

After all, the Raptors have only Paul George selected to the All-NBA Team this season. Even if they stand out from the Eastern Conference, no one thinks they can win.

Before the start of the finals, ESPN initiated a vote for the championship team. 97% of the fans were optimistic that the Clippers could defend the championship, while only 3% of the fans believed that the Raptors had a chance to win.

"It seems that Wang Chao will win the 11th championship in his career, officially tying the legendary one. The King of the Ring, Bill Russell, is already a sure thing."

"Witness the miracle. The 37-year-old Wang Chao is about to tie Russell. Every step he takes will create new history. Can Wang Chao break Russell's record and win 12 or even more championships? What about the champion? From an age point of view, although he still maintains his peak competitive state, there is really not much time left for him."

All the discussion topics outside are like the above, as if the Clippers have won the championship.

But in fact, this is indeed the case. Although the finals have not yet started, the final decision has actually been made.

Wang Chao cannot let the championship fly away, nor will he give the Raptors this opportunity.

In the first game of the Finals, he used his huge triple-double performance of 44 points, 51 rebounds and 15 assists in 10 minutes to tell the Raptors not to challenge him.

(End of this chapter)