Since being promoted on the 24th, the Blazers' players feel like they are almost exhausted.
Of course, this kind of complaint is just a joke in private. If you really say this in an interview, the Trail Blazers will definitely become the public enemy.
On April 28, the sixth game of the Eastern and Western Conference playoff series ended, and finally there was another team that advanced to the conference semifinals.
In the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers defeated the Hawks with a total score of 4:2. In this game, James led the team to a near triple-double with 38 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, and was named the best of the game.
On the other hand, the Hawks, Paul Millsap, Dennis Strode, Howard and others who performed brilliantly at Quicken Loans Arena in the last game, all performed offline tonight, causing the Hawks to lag behind the Cavaliers throughout the game, with no chance of overtaking.
hope.
In the West, the old arms and legs of the Lakers were unable to withstand the impact of the Spurs' new generation of dual-core players. Although they once caused a lot of trouble to the Spurs in the series, the series went deeper and deeper. The core players of the Lakers
The physical problem was eventually exposed.
In the crucial sixth game, the performance of the Lakers players, who returned to Staples at home, can only be said to be quite satisfactory.
Kobe once wanted to be an emergency team with all the firepower, but after all, it was difficult to resist the erosion of time. In the end, he made 9 of 23 shots and scored 25 points with free throws. He was once a scoring maniac, but now he tried his best and couldn't even score 30 points.
arrive……
Then there was Pau Gasol, who made 7 of 17 shots. He had a double-double tonight with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
As for Chris Paul…
What about this?
That's very interesting.
Because... Paul was hurt again!
Whether it's bad luck or lack of physical strength, Paul always has to remove the ladder at critical moments in the playoffs, which has almost become a label for Paul in the playoffs.
There is no way, similar cases have happened to Paul too many times.
Just as people will evaluate Doc Rivers in the future - the essence of human beings has been reversed!
This principle also applies to Paul.
On the contrary, it was the steady performance of the Spurs' dual-core team.
Leonard finished the game with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. He once again showed his ability to combine offense and defense, and his performance on the court was astonishingly stable.
Love scored 26 points and 19 rebounds. He was only one rebound away from breaking the double-20 mark in a single game in the playoffs. Spurs fans felt a little sorry for this.
After all, not everyone is like Wang Zelin. Countless players are eyeing all kinds of unbelievable performances, but for him, it is as simple as eating and drinking.
However, the Spurs fans only felt sorry for a moment, and their hearts were soon filled with great joy again.
4:2!
The Spurs advance!
The Spurs became the third team in the Western Conference to advance to the conference semifinals this year. More importantly, they did so on the corpse of the famous Los Angeles Lakers.
The old king is dead and a new king should be established?!
After the game between the Spurs and the Lakers, a voice suddenly appeared on the Internet: In the entire series, to everyone's satisfaction, Kawhi Leonard's performance was better than that of Kobe Bryant in all aspects... No matter
This is true for both offense and defense!
Compared with the old antique who will be 39 years old in about 04 months, Leonard, who is in his prime, is obviously more suitable to be a target of praise.
Don’t think it’s too much, this actually has a certain historical heritage.
In the NBA, it doesn't matter whether you are one year older. In such a land, the only way you can prove yourself is to show strength that makes others respect you.
Therefore, when the 26-year-old Leonard averaged 27, 7, 4, 2, 1.5 all-around statistics per game against Kobe Bryant's single defense in the series, even the stubborn Comey had to recognize a reality.
.
That is: Black Mamba is really old.
At this stage, Kobe's ability to maintain an output of 25 points per game in the series is actually very scary. It is a bit difficult to expect him to make the same contribution on the defensive end.
This situation is really like when Kobe Bryant scored high points against the Wizards Jordan more than ten years ago.
The difference is that the person who was highly praised and praised by the media back then changed from Kobe Bryant to Leonard.
The person who has become the background for young people to rise to the top is from Jordan back then to Kobe now.
When the news that the Lakers were eliminated came out, it immediately caused an uproar in the public opinion. After all, during the playoff preview period, the Lakers were considered to be a strong team this year, and they had a certain championship look.
When people never expected it, they actually fell in the first round and lost to their old rivals, the San Antonio Spurs.
At the post-game press conference, Kobe's face was extremely gloomy, making the atmosphere at the scene particularly deserted.
But Kobe is not a person who is unwilling to admit defeat, or in other words, at his age, he has to admit defeat even if he doesn't want to.
"You asked me how I would evaluate Kawhi Leonard's performance in this series?"
"Oh Shet! As you can see, I couldn't guard him at all. I was blown away! This is the end of the Lakers' journey this year. This is a very frustrating thing."
Facing reporters' questions, Kobe seemed very excited at first, but as he spoke, he finally shrugged, looking helpless.
After a moment of silence, when Kobe raised his head again, people found that the seriousness and anger in his eyes were no longer there, but instead there was a trace of relief.
Seeing this scene, the reporters around them felt anxious. The rich experience gained from many years of interviewing career also gave them a strong premonition that there would be big news coming from Kobe's mouth next.
"From 1996 to 2017, before I knew it, I had played for this league for 21 years. 21 years, it feels dreamy just thinking about it."
"However, no matter how dreamy the story is, it will end one day. There is a message faintly conveyed in my body: Maybe, this time it is really time to say goodbye to everyone."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After saying that, Kobe directly put down the microphone, stood up, turned around and left the press conference.
When everyone came back to their senses, the atmosphere at the scene reached a climax in an instant.
The reporters at the scene looked at each other, and they all saw great shock in each other's eyes, and the comments came one after another.
Oh my god!
What did they just hear?
What does it mean that a story will end one day?
What does it mean to really say goodbye this time?
That proud Black Mamba, that proud man, actually bowed his head in front of the media one day!
Just now, from the mouth of the man named Kobe Bryant, people couldn't tell that he seemed to reveal his plan to retire.
After Stone Buddha, will Mamba also withdraw from the world?
…
…
"Fuck!"
"What did you say? That guy Kobe is planning to retire?"
When Wang Zelin woke up at home in Portland, he saw dozens of missed calls on the screen of his mobile phone, including Lillard's, Patton's, Batum's, and Jokic's.
After looking at it, Lillard's number was the most, a total of 18, so he decisively dialed Lillard's number.
As soon as the call was connected, he heard a piece of news from Lillard that shocked him so much that he couldn't help but ask.
"It's not certain yet, but judging from what Kobe said in an interview after the Lakers were eliminated last night, it seems that he really has plans to retire."
On the other end of the phone, Lillard recounted everything that happened last night.
Hearing this, Wang Zelin was silent for a moment, and then replied: "Well, I understand."
Last night Kendou suddenly wanted to drive. As a veteran driver with two years of driving experience, Wang Zelin naturally had to stay with his girlfriend at all times.
As for the live broadcast of the Spurs and Lakers game, he has forgotten about it.
He thought at the time, he could just get up tomorrow and read the game report.
Unexpectedly, I actually missed a big show.
After hanging up the phone, Wang Zelin was stunned for a while, then opened his laptop, switched his account and wandered around on major social media platforms, trying to see the fans' reactions.
Sure enough, after the fans learned that Kobe Bryant revealed his intention to retire, they felt the same as Wang Zelin, which was complicated and shocked.
Although everyone knows very well that this season is the 21st year of Kobe's career, some people even speculated before the game that this is likely to be the last season of Kobe's career.
But at that time, Kobe immediately came out to squash this rumor, and no one mentioned it again during the entire regular season.
Unexpectedly, after the Lakers lost in the first round of the playoffs, Kobe, the original owner, actually took the initiative to bring up the past, which was no less than a 12-magnitude earthquake in the fan base.
That's the Black Mamba!
That's Kobe Bryant!
No matter how picky and brainless Kobe is, he will not deny the legendary nature of Kobe's career.
From a comprehensive perspective of career achievements, off-court popularity and reputation, and commercial value, Kobe can be called the number one player in the NBA in the first decade of the 21st century.
The only one who can compete with Kobe for this title is probably Duncan who just retired.
In terms of career achievements, Duncan is slightly better than Kobe. Unfortunately, the gap between the two in terms of popularity and commercial value is still too big.
The NBA is, after all, a business league!
Compared with the simple stone Buddha, the majority of fans tend to prefer the gorgeous Black Mamba.
Therefore, Kobe's legend and greatness are beyond doubt.
When a legend of this generation revealed his plan to retire, it instantly detonated the entire basketball circle and quickly radiated throughout the entire sports circle.
For a time, basketball fans and sports fans all over the world were discussing crazily. Everyone was speculating: Is Kobe's statement about retiring true, or was it just a moment of anger?
As a result, the NBA playoffs, which were originally in full swing, were overshadowed by the news that Kobe Bryant was suspected of retiring.
It can only be said that Kobe’s 21 years of accumulated power is really terrifying!
…
…
Los Angeles.
Staples Center.
In the general manager's office.
Kupchak looked at Chris Paul in front of him and wanted to make a final appeal: "Chris, if you think there are any shortcomings in the Lakers' current lineup, we can make up for it during the vacation. You still have
In the last year of the contract, there is really no need to choose to leave the team so soon."
Perhaps due to the recruitment of Chris Paul in previous seasons, the Lakers formed the Big Three of Kobe, Paul, and his wife, so Kupchak was not fired by the Lakers in February 2017 like in his previous life.
, he is still the general manager of the Lakers.
However, the Big Three of the Lakers, who were once highly optimistic, once again proved that they were unable to help the Lakers compete in the Western Conference where there are many strong teams. With this year's loss in the first round, the Jenny family can no longer tolerate the current situation of the Lakers.
.
As one of the two most powerful teams in the NBA, they have formed the Big Three. Not to mention the finals, they have not even been able to reach the conference finals for several years in a row. It is really a huge irony.
Therefore, the Lakers are in urgent need of a scapegoat to stem the anger of countless Lakers fans.
Obviously, the Lakers executives, led by Jeanie Buss, finally selected Kupchak as the scapegoat.
On the one hand, this is because Kupchak has sufficient qualifications, and on the other hand, it is because Kupchak did not side with Jeanie Buss in the battle for the Lakers. He chose Buss Jr.
Now that there is an emperor and a minister, and the Lakers' recent first-round exit, Kupchak's resignation has become almost a certainty.
But even so, Kupchak still wants to make a final struggle. He hopes to prove his skill by retaining Chris Paul.
Unfortunately, Paul was indifferent to his words. After a moment of silence, he shook his head gently: "Mr. Kupchak, you don't need to persuade me anymore, I have decided to go."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In fact, from the moment the Lakers were eliminated by the Spurs, Paul, who was sitting on the bench in a suit and leather collar, had already determined his intention to leave the Lakers during the offseason.
To be more precise, his purpose is to escape from this cruel purgatory in the west!
The reason why he initially chose to trade within the same city and join the Lakers was partly because of Kobe's lobbying, and partly because the Lakers' traffic far exceeded that of the Clippers.
Of course, in essence, he still hopes to hit the unreachable division floor by joining the Lakers!
After entering the league in 2005, Paul quickly established himself and became the league's number one open shot player. After 2008, Paul has basically secured his position as the league's number one point guard.
However, as a perennial double first-team player, Paul has never touched the partition floor, and this incident has slowly become a permanent pain deep in his heart.
I originally thought that joining the Lakers would break this curse, but unexpectedly, with the rise of the Trail Blazers, Warriors, and Mosaic, and the Spurs also completed core replacement in recent seasons, in the West, where powerful enemies gather, the Big Three of the Lakers
He couldn't even get past the semifinals.
At the end of the regular season, the Lakers management vowed to pick Mark as their first-round opponent, but they were easily challenged in 6 games.
This year's first tour was the last straw that broke the camel's back for Paul.
Labor and management don’t want to stay in this shitty West for a moment!
After the Lakers went out last night, Paul took the initiative to find Kobe and told him that he did not intend to execute the last year of his contract and planned to leave the Lakers.
Paul's current contract is a five-year, 107 million yuan contract signed with the Clippers on July 10, 2013. In the fifth year of the contract, which is 2018, Paul has member options.
After learning that Paul wanted to leave the team, Kobe ignored the grief after the Lakers were eliminated and repeatedly tried to persuade Paul to stay, but Paul remained indifferent.
The sorrow piles up, and this leads to some angry words made by Kobe Bryant at the post-game press conference last night.
"Okay, I choose to respect your decision."
After his last effort was in vain, Kupchak pretended to smile, sent Paul away, then sat on the general manager's chair and slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened it again, he was already prepared to be fired.
In the afternoon of that day, the Lakers officially put Chris Paul on the shelf. This news quickly became a hot search topic across the country, and the entire basketball circle once again experienced a big earthquake.
First, Kobe was suspected of retiring, and now there is news of Paul leaving the team. Are the Lakers going to disband and rebuild?