May 27th, US time, today is the fourth game of the Western Conference Finals.
This game is still played at the home court of the Spurs.
As soon as they walked into the AT&T Center Arena in San Antonio, the entire Lakers team felt a huge pressure. The relaxed and even slightly cheerful atmosphere made people feel uncomfortable and uncomfortable. It was as if the series was over.
Of course, in a sense, this is the end.
After falling behind 0-3, there has never been a comeback in NBA history.
Not even once.
That's why ESPN is so arrogant, why James is secretly happy, and why die-hard Lakers fans are so dejected.
There is no other way, now that we have reached this point, who would really think there is a chance to make a comeback?
In fact, few Lakers players still have faith in their hearts.
The 1.7-second buzzer beater in the last game almost destroyed the Lakers' last resistance.
Now, more players just complete the task and then end the series and the season like zombies.
Here, even Nash and Gasol have no enthusiasm. After all, the big score of 0-3 is really shocking. This is not something that can be changed by just shouting "I can't control my life".
Reality is reality. It’s useless if you don’t admit defeat.
The Lakers have been eliminated this season.
Even "Lakers Nation" and "Los Angeles Times" began to adjust the focus of their narratives and started summarizing the season in advance.
This all means that no one is optimistic about this Lakers team.
99% of the people in the world feel that the Lakers will definitely lose this series.
Before D'Antoni's game, he was a little "feeble" in the locker room. Although the Western Conference finals had exceeded his original season expectations by much. However, having come to this point, who doesn't want to go a little further? Especially
He, he also hopes to use a Larry O'Brien Cup to prove his coaching ability.
However, there is no but, after falling behind 0-3 with a big score, the suspense has disappeared.
The last 1.7 seconds of the last game was the moment when the Lakers fell to the ground.
This game, ugh...
As I said before, this Lakers team was not built according to the championship team at all from the beginning, so a large number of them are "mercenaries" and "temporary workers". There are only a few of them with a one-year veteran's basic salary.
This kind of team is fine when it wins, but once it loses and falls into adversity, it will instantly have internal problems. This is the case with the Lakers right now.
Many players are a bit "uninterested in playing".
Especially some people who only signed a one-year short contract and a veteran's minimum salary began to shift their thoughts off the court and how to get the next contract after the season. In fact, there is nothing wrong with it, and you can't go too far.
Criticize and blame them. After all, compared to star players, they have no endorsements and rely on this "dead salary" to support their families. Moreover, their sports lifespan cannot be as long as that of star players. Many of them will fade out at the age of 30.
alliance.
Under such circumstances, since there is no hope of promotion, their focus will naturally begin to shift.
Negotiation, contract renewal, or entering the free market to test the waters, etc., are all top priorities.
As a result, before the Lakers game even started, people seemed to be panicked and distracted.
This is also real professional basketball, the real NBA. Sometimes if you want to win, you need to consider more than just on-court factors.
Before you see hope, no matter what slogans you shout at them or how hard you try, it will probably have no big effect. They are all adults. In the face of a meaningless future, of course, real contracts and beautiful swords are more important.
It's attractive.
When Kobe saw this scene, his expression was extremely bad, but he also knew that it was useless to say anything now.
You can only do your best and leave no regrets.
But if you really try your best, can you leave no regrets?
My last season, my hard-won last all-around peak season, is about to collapse here?
How much, still not willing to accept it?
Kobe took a deep breath. The moment he walked out of the tunnel, he suddenly said in his heart:
If this is my last career game, I will definitely give it my all and won’t hold anything back.
Players from both sides came on the field, and while listening to the Spurs' on-site commentator's various light-hearted jokes and jokes, Tang Qian couldn't laugh at all.
He is the same as Kobe, he doesn't want to lose yet.
So as soon as he came up, he made up his mind to break out early. Although this is not easy, it is also something that superstars and players above the superstar level should do.
As soon as the Spurs came up, they used Parker as the point of attack. This is almost a must-do for any team with an offensive strongman at the 1st position this season to deal with the Lakers. 40-year-old Nash, what's wrong with him on the defensive end?
It's also completely scumbag. Calling it a "cash machine" is absolutely not unfair at all.
The aging of the body's functions cannot be stopped. Even if you are Joe, after the age of 40, in his last season with the Wizards, your defense is also terrible. The difference between his last season with the Bulls is huge.
Different situations.
Considering Jordan's physical talent and anti-aging ability, what's more, Steve Nash, who originally had average physical fitness and ordinary defense? There is nothing to despise for the Spurs to do this. In professional basketball, everything is about winning.
, there is no such thing as "sympathy"? Sympathy is a matter off the field. On the field, it is absolutely impossible.
This team in particular is the San Antonio Spurs, which is famous for its execution and discipline.
Parker singled out Steve Nash at the beginning, and with a change of direction that was not particularly powerful, he passed Nash cleanly. Note that it was really clean, a complete breakthrough, and there was no shadow at all.
The rest. Then Parker made a sudden stop and shot, and the basketball hit the net accurately without interference.
The Frenchman Tony Parker is no longer the stupid young man who could only break through. Over the years, it is difficult to say three-pointers, but the mid-range has been completely developed, which is completely different from what it used to be. He is now COSCO
The shot rate from the basket is almost 1/3 of the total shot rate, specifically 36.9%, and the shooting rate is as high as 45%!
This is already a super accurate shooting rate in mid-range shooting.
For mid-distance and mid-long distance, if it exceeds 40%, it is considered excellent.
After all, the mid-range shot cannot be improved quickly by relying on the simple muscle memory of practicing three-pointers. Therefore, Parker was able to go from an unreliable mid-range shot at the beginning to a hidden mid-range shot master. This transformation was definitely unknown to him.
of hard work.
Soon the Spurs relied on Parker's 3-for-4 shooting in the opening game and one free throw to score 7 points. What about the Lakers? Still zero points, still a duck. This opening situation made the entire AT&T Center Arena
A large number of cheers erupted, and Tang Qian could clearly feel that the atmosphere in this arena was becoming more and more relaxed, and more and more conducive to the performance of Spurs players.
On the Lakers players' side, they made a lot of mistakes at the beginning, were distracted, lacked concentration, and made low-level mistakes. These are all unacceptable things. But tonight, it seemed that the entire Lakers team was possessed, and one person infected the other.
People, even the experienced Steve Nash, feel a little vaguely "absent-minded".
This is undoubtedly disastrous for a team, especially a team that is lagging behind by a big score.
The Spurs outscored the Lakers 15-6 in the first half of the quarter, leading by a full 9 points. In the end, it was temporarily slowed down by D'Antoni's timeout, and then they went off joking. What about the Lakers?
He made 4 mistakes, made mistakes without thinking, passed the ball in a timely manner, and the list goes on and on.
It's ridiculous to still want to win against the Spurs in such a situation.
In fact, this was Tang Qianqian's defensive performance in the penalty area. Otherwise, this score would probably be far more than that.
However, Tang Qian didn't feel anything to be proud of, because now the Lakers had reached the cliff. No, one foot had already stepped off the edge of the cliff. If they retreated, they would fall directly off the cliff and die without a burial place.
But what can he do? All he can do is defend and rebound.
And as if God still wants to make things difficult for him and make the Lakers' misfortune come singly, tonight's "inner demon" suddenly deducted a full 25% of Tang Qian's competitive status. This is equivalent to him inspiring the "demigod descending to earth", then
The effect is also a weakened version.
After using it, it is not as powerful as the original one.
Fortunately, Tang Qian's state exploded quickly, so it was delayed a bit, but it was not enough. Just defending the explosion was not enough.
Because of the 25% "Inner Demon Discount", this is a bit too much.
It needs to be in a higher state to break out.
And it has to last! It can’t be shorter!
Damn it! We can’t just give up! We must fight this game!!!
In the second half of the first quarter, after Kobe passed a few more balls to Gasol, he couldn't hold back at all. He suddenly entered the state of "scoring the zone". But who knew that the guy on the opposite side could not hold back anymore?
The "Third Grader with Facial Paralysis" did not show any weakness, and immediately entered the "Defensive The.Zone".
This made Kobe only 2 of 4 from the field, which is not impossible to say, but judging from Kobe's expectations and the current needs of the Lakers, it is far from enough. He still needs more firepower to increase his firepower.
Seeing this, Popovich is really glad that he traded Leonard. Otherwise, without this defensive genius, the Spurs may really be in big trouble by No. 24 on the opposite side. After all, the way No. 24 plays,
Originally, it was somewhat restrained by the Spurs' style of play and system.
This can not but be said to be a "luck factor" of the Spurs.
In fact, even in the regular season, Leonard did not have the defensive energy he currently has. In the playoffs, it was as if some acupoints and meridians were suddenly stimulated for him. Suddenly it was a series, or even a few games, and the quality of defense was at a loss.
Climbed a higher level. This speed of progress has already surprised Popovich. To put it bluntly, when he drafted Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs team as a whole was actually a little bit weak.
Unsatisfactory. Because the person who went for the exchange was originally a 3D player with good defense. Moreover, he had been with the Spurs for a long time. He was familiar with the techniques, tactics and system operation. The exchange was just for a player.
A pure rookie with the 15th pick in the first round, no matter how you look at it, you feel like you are at a disadvantage.
Because the 15th pick is no longer a green house. Countless rookies like this are lost every year.
Moreover, Leonard's dynamic physical test is still very poor. He is not a particularly athletic No. 3 position. In addition, there are some words in the scout report, such as his future positioning is predicted to be blue-collar, with poor athletic ability, and very poor offensive options.
He is a bit "independent", so his final draft template is actually...Gerald Wallace.
You must know that the Spurs are a very collective team, with poor offensive choices and "too independent". This is a point of natural psychological resistance among Spurs fans. Therefore, when George Hill was exchanged for rookie Leonard, this
It can be regarded as Popovich's personal decision to "go against the wind". Of course, time has proven everything now. This young man with a similar personality to Duncan has far more potential than the scouts saw at the time.
Even Popovich himself probably didn't expect Leonard to grow so fast at first. Especially on the defensive end, judging from his current vision, this guy is close to or even reaching the level of Ron A.
Test's level. And the Ron Artest he is talking about here is the Ron Artest who won the DPOY as an outside player that season.
It's just a pity...
Popovich looked at No. 29 inside the Lakers, shook his head with regret and said:
A blue-collar monster, a blue-collar superstar, has emerged in the league. Otherwise, this DPOY, the Spurs No. 2, would not have had a chance to get involved.
However, if No. 29 can be poached, and Leonard and Leonard form a combined internal and external defensive lineup, the Spurs will be the strongest defensive team in the league for at least the next five years. No one else.
Thinking of this, Popovich once again had his thoughts in mind. As for Tang Qian's repeated criticism of Duncan's recruitment, he didn't care at all.
Because in the NBA, "anything is possible" on the court, it's the same off the court.
In the classic American thinking, well, nothing is truly not for sale, nothing is truly inoperable.
At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers trailed the San Antonio Spurs by 9 points, 25-16, entering the second quarter.
However, falling behind in the first quarter seemed to give the Lakers even more reason to "give up" and "indulge."
It seems that that's it anyway, it's no big deal if the jar is broken and it has nothing to do with the overall situation.
Trailing 0-3 by a big score, and now trailing at the beginning of the fourth game, the Lakers' season should also come to an end.
Many Lakers players began to have such thoughts in their minds.
PS: This is the first update to make up for yesterday’s post. Xiaozi will continue writing the second update and will not break his promise~ Thank you everyone for your understanding yesterday~
Keep going~~~If you can’t wait, you can get up and read it tomorrow morning~~~I guess I will write very late~~~