6. Those who say bravery out of bounds are both stupid and bad!
Leonard's entanglement with the Spurs and his trade was a complete soap opera that lasted for a long time and has been the focus of the league.
Objectively speaking, both sides have problems in this matter, and the Spurs have a bigger problem.
For Leonard, as a superstar, he wants to be treated like a superstar. This is no problem, or it is natural.
What are the benefits of a superstar?
The first is that the maximum salary contract is offered in advance, and the team cannot hesitate at all!
In fact, there are many maximum salary contracts in the league, but only a few can be called superstars. Therefore, maximum salary is inevitable for superstars, or it is a cheap and good contract, which is good for the team.
Excellent value.
Some people can get maximum salary contracts because of market competition. Some teams have no stars and want to take a gamble, which forces the parent team to follow the price. Some people can get maximum salary contracts because according to the rules, NBA players can only
I can take this much, but I can't take more.
Therefore, the biggest problem was the Spurs' initial hesitation in offering Leonard a maximum salary contract.
You already took advantage of me by giving me a maximum salary contract, what else do you want?
In addition to max-salary contracts, superstars often have a certain say in the team and have a transcendent status.
For example, James, for all previous transactions by the Cavaliers, needed to consult his opinion. If James did not agree, the general manager would not be able to make any transactions.
Whether on the court or in the locker room, as the boss of the team, a superstar often has a higher status: he has to shoot the key balls and score the points, and others will do the dirty work. The team must always pay attention.
Due to his injury, he has to return to the bench after a timeout. Others must quickly give up their seats...
In short, a superstar has absolute power within the team, and almost everyone depends on his face.
But the Spurs don't think so. They have been working hard to create a team culture that puts the team first and the players are screwdrivers.
If the coach thinks you should be a substitute, then you should be a substitute. If the team thinks you should hand over the ball, then you should hand over the ball. If the team thinks you should take a salary cut, you should take the initiative to apply and try your best.
Think about the team.
The Spurs have been like this for more than ten years. Whether it is Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Diaw and others, they all agree with this and do this.
But one thing the Spurs forgot is that it is difficult to do this, or they are lucky to have been able to do this before, because they have a special boss-Duncan!
The temperament of the team leader is the temperament of the team. Duncan is very selfless and puts the interests of the team first in everything. He can lead by example, so the Spurs have had this kind of culture for more than ten years.
But now that Duncan is old and retired, Leonard has become the team boss!
You know, not everyone is Duncan, Duncan is a very small minority, ordinary people are the majority!
What Leonard wants is not too much. It is what most superstars want and what they all have.
But the Spurs miscalculated all this. They believed that Leonard should be like Duncan and put the interests of the team first, so the two had conflicts and eventually broke up due to irreconcilability.
So the Spurs made more mistakes, and Leonard made mistakes, but not much.
…
After the trading market ends, most team lineups are fixed.
There are no major changes to the Warriors' lineup. Apart from bringing in Cousins, McGee and David West are gone.
As for Bogut returning to the Warriors and bringing in Jerebko, McKinney, and Damian Lee, they are all irrelevant.
After some time off, the new season will come soon.
Training camp, preseason, opening game, regular season with a dense schedule...
In the new season, the system requirements are more stringent, and the ability to treat diseases is almost not available. Deng Fang can only arrange personnel more carefully to avoid injuries.
Of course, with the strength of the Warriors, as long as they are not too promiscuous, there will be no big problem.
The Rockets have undergone a lot of changes in the new season and will not pose much of a threat to the Warriors.
With Leonard coming, the Spurs' competitiveness has been greatly reduced, and there is almost no threat.
The Lakers look very strong, but James alone is not enough. Without his legs, James has never been able to play well.
As for other teams, they are all here to make fun of themselves, so there is no need to consider them.
Soon, the 18-19 regular season will be over.
In the end, the Warriors ranked first in the Western Conference with 57 wins and 25 losses.
For the Warriors, the regular season doesn't mean much, it's just for fun.
Of course, the Warriors think so, but other teams don't.
For example, the Rockets think they are strong enough and may defeat the Warriors again.
The Rockets' biggest reliance is Harden, who has put up fantastic numbers this season!
In the 18-19 season, Harden's game averages were 36.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists!
You know, the single-season average of 36.1 points has surpassed Kobe's 35.4 points per game in the 2005-06 season, and is the highest score in the league in the past 32 years since Jordan averaged 37.1 points per game in the 1986-87 season!
This season Harden showed what it means to be a historical scorer. In one season, he scored 40+ points 28 times, 50+ points 9 times, and 61 points twice!
This kind of performance is breathtaking. Harden's 50+ times in one season are as many as a historical star's career!
Although Harden's explosive performance is blessed by the rules, it is undeniable that Harden is still quite powerful in the regular season.
Compared with last season, the first weakness of the Rockets in the 18-19 season is that Ariza, the frontline defender, left for the East, and Mbah a Moute did not renew his contract. The forward line suddenly became useless and was often beaten by the opposing small forward;
The second weakness is that Paul is one year older, suffering from injuries, his condition has declined, and his indiscriminate singles ability has declined.
The first thing that makes the Rockets stronger is that Harden continues to evolve, increasing his scoring average from 30+ to 36+ in one breath.
The second enhancement point is that center Capela's ability continues to increase. The guard has a substitute Rivers who can hold the ball. In addition to releasing Paul's pressure to a large extent and reducing injuries, he can also have a guard when the light bulb is double-teamed.
Reliable ball holding point.
Generally speaking, this year's Rockets are slightly weaker than last year, but the difference is not big. They only ranked fourth because of running-in problems.
This season is a dream season for Rockets fans, with many classic games worth remembering.
One of the most mentioned by Rockets fans is the game in which Harden beat the Warriors.
On January 4, 2019, Harden's single-core team defeated the Warriors 135-134 and completed his revenge on the road. Harden played 44 minutes in this game, hit 13 goals in 32 shots, and scored 44 points, 10 rebounds and 15 rebounds.
A super triple-double with assists, leading the team to victory in this crucial game.
In this game, the Rockets trailed by 12 points in the first quarter and 17 points at halftime. In the third quarter, the Rockets, led by Harden, fought back and scored 39 points in a single quarter, narrowing the point difference to 6 points.
In the last minute of the fourth quarter, the Rockets relied on Capela's 2+1 and Harden's desperate 3-pointer to send the game into overtime.
The score alternated in the regular time, and the plot in the overtime was even more ups and downs. In the last 2 minutes, the Warriors established a 4-point lead. Harden stood up at the critical moment, first hitting a 3-pointer against Durant's defense, and then
Rivers' 3-pointer helped the Rockets take the lead again. Durant and Clay scored one goal for the Warriors to overtake the Rockets again. Then Harden fouled and made two free throws. The score was tied at 132 in the last 33 seconds.
Then Curry hit a mid-range shot, but when Durant saved the ball before scoring, replays showed that Durant's feet had stepped out of bounds. This was obviously a huge and obvious missed call, but the referee did not say anything.
.
It is precisely because of this that Harden's career classic game is even more legendary and has been mentioned countless times by Rockets fans.
Surprisingly, this out-of-bounds save did not become a turning point in the game. In the last 5.5 seconds, the Rockets almost missed the frontcourt serve, but Harden finally caught the ball and made a simple adjustment, against the defense of Clay and Green, and made a 45-degree shot.
A very difficult 3-pointer, a hollow basketball shot!
The moment the basketball fell into the net bag, the nearly 20,000 fans in the Oracle Arena fell silent.
The subsequent referee report showed that the ball should have been 3+1.
In the last second of overtime, Durant missed a 3-pointer, and the Rockets won the game with great difficulty.
In the MVP rankings of the previous week that day, Harden was only ranked 5th, and in the MVP rankings of last week, he was only ranked 7th. Fans and media have questioned Harden's ability to lead the team.
In the Warriors' previous game against the Grizzlies, Harden scored 43 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, recording a triple-double in two consecutive games.
After the war, many media and retired players shouted that Harden should win the MVP again. In the latest rankings on the NBA official website, Harden jumped from fifth to first in a row! After all, Harden led the Rockets in the past 12 games.
Won 11 games, 11 consecutive games with 30+ points, and 9 consecutive games with 35+ points. Isn’t this kind of super-god-level performance not worthy of an MVP?
Not only that, Harden's All-Star votes also skyrocketed. In the first round of All-Star voting, Harden received only 541,606 votes, behind Curry (793,000) and Rose (698,000). In this battle, Harden won the victory.
Embiid shocked everyone in the league and even called on fans to vote for Harden on Twitter. The results of the second round of voting were announced. Harden's vote surpassed Rose's and was very close to Curry's vote.