800: More than just 4 to 0
Every year in the middle of summer in June, the world of basketball gets as hot as the temperature.
At this time of year, the two teams that stand out from the East and West meet on the stage of the Grand Final. In a best-of-seven match, whichever team wins first with four wins will lift the final championship trophy, the most valuable trophy in the basketball world.
So every year in the finals, almost all of them are bayonet duels. After all, the fact that the two teams that could meet in the Finals have already eliminated three teams each, shows that both teams are among the best in the league. Every team will do their best, even beyond the limit, to win every game.
As a result, the Finals are almost the most intense and best-looking of all the games in the playoffs.
In the 2010 Finals, the two rivals of the Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers contributed a wonderful tie-break for fans.
In terms of defensive intensity and physical confrontation level, this tie-break may be one of the top tie-breaks in NBA Finals history. At that time, the total score of each game between the two sides was only about 80 points, and the Lakers shot 32.5% from the field as a team, while the Celtics shot 40%. Players from both sides also broke out in physical altercations on more than one occasion on the field, and the intensity can be seen.
The 1994 Finals was also a round of "real men" competition, with the teams averaging 86.9 and 86.1 points per game. Olajuwon, Ewing and Charles. Oakley presented the fans with a wonderful and brutal inside hand-to-hand fight.
Push forward another 10 years, and the 1984 Lakers and Celtics tie-break is synonymous with the fierce battle in the Finals.
It was in that series that there was a "clothesline" foul that now seems to have no moral bottom line, and there was also the problem of "damage" of the air conditioning in the arena.
Of course, it's different from the other day when the air conditioner at the Federal Express Arena was damaged. That year, the air conditioning in the North Shore Gardens was turned off by the "Cardinal" Auerbach people!
Jabbar later looked back on that game as hell, "How hot it was at the North Shore Garden Arena, I guess, it was like being in a sauna where you did 100 push-ups with your clothes on and then you came back and played 48 minutes, and we were like walking in the mud." ”
Auerbach himself was quite proud of this, "The Lakers players are so pampered, we train in such a harsh environment every day, we are used to it. So the Lakers' victory over the Celtics will never happen. ”
Therefore, it is no exception to say that the NBA Finals are a war of civilized societies.
But not all finals are that intense, and not all finals will be tied for seven.
The No. 23 Bulls, who is known as the "god", has never played a tie-break in the Finals, and he can always solve the opponent before seven games.
And in the history of the NBA Finals, there have been a few examples of 4-0 sweeps.
The first Finals sweep came in 1959, when the Boston Celtics swept the Minneapolis Lakers to win the championship. Then there were the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks sweep of the Baltimore Bullets, the 1975 Golden State Warriors sweep of the Washington Bullets, the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, the 1989 Detroit Pistons sweep the Los Angeles Lakers, and the 1995 Houston Rockets sweep the Orlando Magic.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, there have also been two examples of finals sweeps.
The first time was in 2002, and that era at that time was completely the era of the Lakers.
The Lakers have won two consecutive championships under the leadership of Kobe Bryant and O'Neal in the previous two seasons, and the momentum is in full swing, and the league is trembling because of the strong dominance of the "OK combination". This year is also the year when the Lakers are preparing to achieve three consecutive championships and create a Lakers dynasty.
The New Jersey Nets were the Eastern champions that time, and as we all know, the invincible Lakers finally swept the Nets 4-0, giving the opponent no chance at all, and establishing the last three-in-a-row championship dynasty in the NBA so far.
As for the other 4-0 Finals in the 21st century, it was the Spurs and Cavaliers in 2007. Undoubtedly, that is the biggest pain point of James' career so far.
Although James single-handedly led the Cavaliers to the Finals, he has proven his greatness. But even so, it is still difficult to hide immaturity.
The Spurs have head coach Popovich on the top and a troika of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. As a result, the Holy City Legion swept James bloodlessly. After the game, Duncan also said the famous "future is yours" to James.
At full play, there have only been 8 times in NBA history when the Finals have gone 4-0. Most of the time, the finals go in a more intense and brutal direction.
So when Link said in his press conference that he wanted a 4-0 resolution to the fight, he made headlines again.
"Link wants to sweep the Heat, who have the Big Three? It's a fool's dream! It takes 4 games to win the series to actually win the game, and Link will definitely pay the price for his conceit! ”
"I don't know what Link is thinking, since the 21st century, the teams that have been swept in the finals are not too strong. But the Miami Heat, this is a team that can be ranked in the history of the NBA! ”
Link may have forgotten that they only won the Heat by five points in their last game. The gap between the Heat and the Grizzlies is not yet 4-0! ”
Link got up the next day to take a look, and sure enough, public opinion exploded.
To what extent? The bombing of his two records in one game was drowned out by this overwhelming shouting and scolding.
Again, Link was the wicked.
But is he really that evil? His original intention was nothing more than to tell the Miami reporter what respect is.
But there is no way, when your image of a wicked person has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, everything you do is bad. It's like Snyder's bad face, even with a friendly smile, it's like the villain in the movie is smiling evilly.
Fortunately, Link has never cared much about what the media thinks of him, and besides, what Link said is indeed the truest thought in his heart.
4-0, it's not because Link wants to humiliate the Heat or anything, but simply wants to win the championship as soon as possible.
Fans may love a tight battle until they get to a tiebreaker, but as a Link player, they don't want a tight game.
He is not a Saiyan in the second middle school, and he can obviously solve the opponent with one blow, but he has to drag it out to the end for the so-called thrill and fun of fighting.
He just wants to win the championship as soon as possible, start the holiday as soon as possible, and get ashore safely as soon as possible. Of course, it is better to prepare for the triple crown as early as possible.
That's right, three in a row!
Since that 2002 Finals, no team has achieved three consecutive titles. Although the Spurs' five-year triple crown is also considered a dynasty. But to be honest, a dynasty with three crowns in five years is far less convincing than a dynasty established by three consecutive crowns.
Since you've done it twice, why not work on it for the third time?
It is said that human desires are endless. Even if you earn 10 million, you will not be satisfied, but will rack your brains to get 20 million.
However, after entering the NBA, Link found that his desire for money is really not very strong now. He is quite satisfied with his current assets.
So for a while, Link had questioned that sentence. He believes that human desires also have boundaries.
But Link now finds that he just has boundaries for his desire for money. But his desire for victory and championship is indeed endless!
After winning last year, Link wanted to win back-to-back titles. He hasn't won the championship this year, but Link is not just thinking about 4-0, but already wants to build a dynasty!
Since they have all gained such a strong ability to reverse growth, what is the point of not being the best player in history?
Thinking of this, Link immediately turned off his phone and began to pack the luggage he needed to go to Miami.
He didn't bring much with him because he believed that after two games, he wouldn't have to go back to the South Coast.
And when he comes back to Memphis next time, well...... I'm sure to experience the wonderful feeling of being on top of the world again.