Chapter 713: A Turning Point of a Generation
"This kid is so strong, he once again resisted Shaq's attack!"
"El, I remember you called Darko a parallel commodity the other day!" After Michaels lamented that Darko Milicic was blocking O'Neal, Magic Johnson unceremoniously exposed him.
"Haha, Erwin, when have I ever said such a thing? You must be mistaken. Michael despises Magic Johnson's stabbing in the back, and Michael will not admit Magic Johnson's "slander" against himself.
Although he didn't admit that he said such a thing, but in his heart, Michaels secretly regretted what he said, as Magic Johnson said, there may be idiots in this league, but there are no fools, as long as the players who are selected in the draft are not talented but also have their merits, Darko Milicic can be selected before Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Posey and other stars, he has his reasons, While he didn't live up to his talent with the Pistons, sometimes it's not the player's fault.
After the Pistons and Kings, Dako Milicic, who came to the Pacers, gradually began to emerge, and through his performance in today's game, Darko Milicic also let the world know why he beat Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in the draft that year.
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Due to the fact that they were eliminated by the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, the Heat have played extremely seriously in every game with the Pacers this season, especially today's home court, in order to keep their home court, injured Shaq O'Neal and Dwyane Wade have chosen to return early, and in addition to the Pacers, they have "lost" Jermaine O'Neal, the interior pillar, so for today's game, the fans who support the Heat are very optimistic before the game starts.
But as the game continued to advance, the Heat fans on the scene turned from optimism to worry, after Jermaine O'Neal was absent, the main lineup of the Heat, which should have had the upper hand, was still pressed by the Pacers from beginning to end, and after the end of the first quarter of the game, it was 22-26, 4 points behind the Pacers, and then after the bench lineups of both sides came on, the Heat's bench lineup could not beat the bench lineup led by James Posey, which led to the score of the two sides being further widened.
Perhaps it was the outstanding performance in the first quarter of the game that made Darko Milicic's confidence soar, so when the main players of both sides came on the court in the second half of the second quarter, Darko Milicic's performance on the defensive end was much tougher than in the first quarter, topping, wrapping, packing, under Darko Milicic's all-encompassing defense and NN-Hilario's bagging, O'Neal played worse and worse in the second half of the second quarter, and he failed to score many consecutive offenses, and even the difference between the two sides was widened to more than 10 points.
Today's game is definitely the worst game he has played since joining the Heat, in O'Neal's career, there are more games worse than today, but like today, full of helplessness and unwillingness, and even make O'Neal feel ashamed, there have not been a few times in O'Neal's entire career.
Because the left knee and hip injuries have not fully recovered, even though O'Neal has no reservations at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, but since the second quarter, O'Neal's performance has been getting worse and worse, 6 shots in the entire second quarter, only 1 goal was hit, so after the game entered the third quarter, the head coach asked O'Neal to give up the ball, although he was 35 years old, but O'Neal was not willing to accept the old, but after the start of the third quarter, he tried hard a few times, but the result was still very unsatisfactory, Shaq O'Neal, who used to be able to dunk with two defenders on his body, is now having some difficulty connecting to the basket with the defense of Darko Milicic and Nn Hilario.
"Heroic Twilight." Because O'Neal and Dwyane Wade played average today, after the end of the third quarter of the game, the Heat basically had gone to the momentum, looking at O'Neal who looked lonely when he came off the court, Meng Xu can only use this word to describe the current O'Neal.
With the major injury at the beginning of the season, O'Neal's strength evaluation this season has fallen below 95, only 94 remains, and as he continues to grow older, O'Neal's strength will continue to decline, a 35-year-old player, has inevitably entered the twilight of his career, even if O'Neal is unwilling, he can't change the status quo that his body is not as good as day by day, maybe in a few seasons, this once dominated the league's most dominant inside, will be the same as those players of his generation, Leave the alliance.
In fact, not only O'Neal, this season is a watershed for many players, those players who have broken out in the league before and after Meng Xu entered the league have also ushered in a turning point in their careers this season, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal, all of whom have declined in strength this season, Tim Duncan fell from 98 to 97, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki fell from 97 to 96, Jermaine O'Neal fell from 94 to 93, and Chris Webb, who had already begun to decline in strength, fell directly below 90 this season.
Almost at the same time as the big four big forwards were supported by the league of the "big four scoring guards", except for Kobe Bryant, they also began to decline, perhaps because of the style of play, their strength declined more than the big four forwards, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, the strength of the three of them has dropped from 96 and 97 at the peak, all the way to 95 or even 94, maybe it won't be a few seasons before their current position, will be completely replaced by those rising stars, and what awaits them is gradually fading out of this alliance.
In addition to the above superstars, many of the league's power stars, such as Ray Allen, Paul Pearce, Rasheed Wallace, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, their strength has also declined to varying degrees this season, and they now have to face the embarrassing situation of those superstars of Jordan's generation, who are all old, but have not yet worn championship rings.
Corresponding to this is the rise of the younger generation of players, as the most famous draft year in recent seasons, the 03 generation of champion LeBron James reached the peak of his personal ability when he entered the fourth season of the league, and after LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, have also entered the peak of their respective careers this season, maybe the future of the NBA really belongs to them!