The Cavaliers have been in good form lately, winning seven in a row before visiting Los Angeles and overtaking the Nets and Heat to the top spot in the East in the regular season.

No matter how the team ages in terms of structure and configuration, the star combination of James + Irving has no matching opponent in the entire East.

The Heat is known as the Big Three, but Wade's state has declined more seriously this year, injuries have eroded his knees, and at the age of 32, he is no longer the Flash, his average points per game have dropped to 18 points, and the Heat's offensive focus has shifted from the outside to the inside, and Bosh has become the Heat's top scorer.

This can be said to be against the tide, although they have Dwight Howard on the inside, but Howard's offense is completely insufficient to support an efficient offensive system.

Ray Allen and Lewis are also facing serious degradation on the outside, and small potatoes like Nate Robinson are very useful as substitutes, but the defense is really not good, and the height is indeed a lot worse.

Spo even had to devise some tactics and routines specifically for him to play to his outside firepower while covering up his defensive weaknesses.

On the one hand, this shows that Nate Robinson, a small potato, still has some strength and potential, and on the other hand, it shows that the Heat's outside line is indeed lacking in firepower.

Another veteran team, the Nets, was in good shape, with Bryant putting in a great regular season and finishing in the top three on the MVP list at one point.

However, by the middle of the season, Bryant began to suffer from some injuries and his attendance dropped.

Together with veterans such as Pierce and Garnett, they took turns to rest due to injuries, in fact, to accumulate strength for the playoffs.

For the Nets, it is enough to be in the top half of the regular season, and there is no need to strive for too good a record and consume the precious health of these veterans.

Moreover, the competition for the Eastern Conference ranking is not fierce, giving the Nets veterans plenty of room to rest.

Ahead of the trade deadline, the Nets made a major trade as they traded away veteran Jason Terry for top-notch small forward Evan Turner from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Since the last time the Nets followed Min Congda's advice and found a way to get Rassell Butler, Jason Kidd has discovered how important a tall, all-around small forward is in the league right now.

In the past, when the inside giants were rampant and the No. 4 position was full of super power forwards, the small forwards were simply chicken ribs on the court.

I can't beat the inside line, I can't play the outside line, and I can't rely on the pure four or six.

However, at present, there are more and more shackles of giants, and the technical level is declining more and more.

O'Neal and Duncan are getting old, and Howard can't make any strong sounds, and the alliance is no longer the world of dinosaurs.

Once the dinosaurs became extinct, it was the mammals that were once considered dwarf, but more adaptable, that thrived.

These small forwards are short, more adaptable mammals, and they can keep up with the fierce and flexible guards on the outside, and they can also take on the position of center and power forward on the inside, and they can also shoot three-pointers or rush to the basket on offense.

What was once a disadvantage has become an advantage as the environment, tactics, and rules have changed.

After the Nets completed this deal, it is believed that it was specifically aimed at LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They are hoarding strength on the front line in order to contain LeBron in the playoffs and attack the Finals.

But even so, in the middle and late stages of the season, the Cavaliers' lineup combat effectiveness is still unique in the East.

The Heat are top-heavy, the Nets are dying, the Bulls are dying before they can get out of school, and the Pacers are rising but they don't seem to be fully rising.

But this sense of superiority disappeared after encountering the Clippers, and the Cavaliers fought with the Clippers on the road for four quarters, and tried their best to bite the score in the first three quarters, but in the fourth quarter, the Clippers suddenly had a wave of offensive shockwaves, 35:25 in a single quarter, and the torrent generally took the Cavaliers away.

At the end of the fourth quarter, James realized that the Clippers didn't exert any strength in the first three quarters, playing and experimenting with tactics.

The Cavaliers' tactics of trying to drag the Clippers into the quagmire completely failed, and the Clippers used clever misplaced offensive coordination to still have a high offensive success rate in slow-paced positional battles.

Steve Kerr realized that the quagmire tactics were no longer working against the Clippers and that they had to play on offense and play well on the offensive end to win the game.

It's a pity that in the fourth quarter, the Clippers, who have been playing with you for three quarters, suddenly made a force and easily took the Cavaliers away.

As the season deepens, the overall state of the Clippers is getting better and better, and the tactics, feelings, and tacit understanding have all come to a peak in recent years.

James scored a triple-double of 37 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in this game, and the table is quite luxurious, but in the end it really can't be beaten.

The Clippers' offensive efficiency was too high, Anthony Davis took three forwards and one Curry, and the offensive and defensive ends were infinitely misplaced, and a wave overwhelmed the Cavaliers and directly disabled.

The Cavaliers scored 25 points in the fourth place, purely because the Clippers didn't want to work so hard, and they were afraid that the players would fight too hard and get injured, so they didn't make the scene too ugly.

James felt the fear of being dominated by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007, even more than then.

Because in '07 he still had a big future, in '14, he has been in the league for 10 years, even if he can play 20 seasons, 10 years is more than halfway, and a player's best youth career has passed.

James felt shaken inside, but he didn't mention it to anyone, and at the end of the game he left the Staples Center with his head down and returned to the locker room.

Speaking to reporters, James said: "The Clippers are a very strong opponent, but I don't think we're doing our best yet, and if we meet in the playoffs, I think there's still a chance to beat them." ”

In the face of the media, James's mouth is still very hard, after all, losing is not losing, and the Cavaliers may not be able to enter the finals.

For a team, the strength of the book is of course very important, but the heart, especially the heart, willpower and desire to win of the core players, is also the key to success or failure.

Any player who has achieved great things in the NBA has a strong desire to win, tenacious willpower, and a fanatical pursuit of victory and honor, far beyond ordinary people.

From this point of view, those superstars are actually not normal people, and from the perspective of ordinary people, they are all people who are more or less seriously ill.

But James, and Kevin Durant, these two guys are actually very similar to ordinary people, they have gifted bodies, but from the perspective of mental will, they are too much like normal people around them.

If the two of them have a perverted desire to win one day, it must be because they have experienced too many disappointments, criticisms, and setbacks, and have been tortured by the outside world to the point of madness, desperate to win a championship trophy.

And people like Kobe Bryant and Jordan are mentally ill, nothing has happened, they just don't want to live a good life, they just want to seek enemies in the void, set targets for themselves, and climb one peak after another set for themselves in their hearts.

So, sometimes it's not a good thing to be a normal person in the NBA.

In contrast, Stephen Curry's desire to win is often underestimated, because this man has a good temper off the court, and he is also a schoolboy who concentrates on playing without causing trouble, and at most shakes his head and annoys people.

In fact, his small body was also filled with a great and great desire to win, which came from his upbringing.

Growing up, he was underestimated and ignored because of his size and style of play, he was not the chosen one, not someone who stood on a high place from the beginning, but a man who needed to constantly prove himself with victories and prove that he was not short and weak.

After aiming to win the MVP at the beginning of the season, Curry has always maintained a strong desire to win, giving it his all in every game.

This season, with the rest of the Clippers more or less taking turns to rest, Curry has only rested three games due to ankle discomfort.

It was a very healthy, full regular season for him, and he increased his playing time to 35 minutes, contributing quality offense in every game.

Accurate three-pointers and tireless off-ball movement provide the Clippers with the most consistent source of outside scoring, as well as plenty of defensive appeal.

He was the undoubted tactical cornerstone of the Clippers and the biggest draft failure of Min's career.

After beating the Cavaliers, the Clippers were on a tight track, and until the playoffs began, there was no one to stop the defending champion, who wanted everyone to play.

The Clippers' final game of the season was played in Portland against the Trail Blazers.

At this time, the Clippers have won the first place in the league, 62-19, and the last game loss, still the first place.

So winning or losing is no longer important to the Clippers, who have been resting their main players since the last game.

But when this came to Portland and the Clippers were still going to take a rest before the game, Curry said that he didn't want to take a rest and that he was going to play.

Min Congda traveled to Portland with the team in the final game, and he asked Curry, "Are you sure?" If you get injured in the last game, it's the end of the season, you think about it. ”

Curry replied: "I'm in good shape, I promise I won't get hurt, I just want to play. ”

"Are you trying to farm data?"

"I don't have Smart! Because I know there will be a lot of fans who come to watch me play away from home and they are very supportive of me and I don't want to disappoint them. ”

In a similar vein, Michael Jordan also said that as an icon of the league, a card figure, this is a kind of spiritual consciousness, not only seeing the NBA as a salaried job, but also as a career that needs to be inherited.

Think about it, why do a group of people who play basketball on the court make so much money in a year?

In the final analysis, it is because fans are willing to spend money to go to the stadium to watch the game, from the 1950s, many players are part-time, step by step to today, and their influence is all over the world.

The superstars who have made their mark in history have a strong sense of responsibility, not only playing, but also spreading the values and sportsmanship that the NBA embraces, as spiritual icons that have influenced generations and allowed basketball and the league to spread among young people.

Now, Curry is the idol and role model of the younger generation, and his self-consciousness is quite the backbone of the older generation of stars.

Curry's personality has also infected other young players of the Clippers, everyone can not take a break without a rotation, if they can't play, most likely because they really have injuries and need to rest.

Seeing that Curry did not take a rest, Jimmy Butler, Harden and others also said that they wanted to play in the last game.

Min Congda said very directly: "There are no fans who want to come to see you, you better rest." ”

"Mr. Smart, your words are too hurtful, aren't they? I also have a lot of fans, okay? ”

"Me too, and fans have written to me saying they really enjoy watching my games."

"Mr. Smart, I'm not going to take a turn off, it's the last game, play a good rest and prepare for the playoffs."

Even Leonard, who rests when he has nothing to do, treats no injury as a minor injury, and treats a small injury as a major injury, and Leonard in the crematorium said that he will not rest, play the last game, and adjust the time for a week.

When Min Congda heard that this was going to turn the sky upside down, do you think you are all iron men?

Didn't you know that you were in such good shape thanks to the big rotation and the strategy of everyone having the ball?

Now that they have become the face of the league, they must inherit the will of the older generation and carry forward the spirit and culture of the NBA.

It's time to start learning from Michael Jordan, and for the sake of the fans watching the game, he will not rest.

There's only one Jordan, and people don't necessarily come to see you.

However, due to the high mood and high morale in the final battle of the regular season, Min Congda did not cut everyone's face, so he decided not to take a turn off.

The real rest is veterans like Randolph, Bonner, Milicic, and Gasol Jr. is also very interesting to rest, he thinks that no one will come to Portland to watch him play, just rest.

The Portland Trail Blazers are not underdogs, and this summer they acquired guard Dion Waiters from the Nets via a trade, draft picks and some expiring contracts.

This guy is a genius, but also a thorn, and when he learned that Kobe Bryant was coming, he offered to request a trade and sent himself to Portland, where there is more room for development.

In Portland, Speights made him switch to point guard and, like Westbrook, to discover his talent for offense and playmaking with the ball.

The Trail Blazers have been doing well this year, currently sitting sixth in the West, and are firmly in the playoffs, but they still have to go all out to win the final game in order not to fall to seventh place.

As a result, when encountering the Clippers with the main player, Curry also made his debut, and the thorn leader Vitesse was undaunted and led the Trail Blazers and the Clippers to attack.

As a result, Vitesse scored 33 points in this game, Aldridge scored 31 points, and the two led the Trail Blazers to 110-105, a five-point advantage at home to defeat the league's first and main team of the Clippers, and successfully entered the playoffs as sixth.

After the game, the atmosphere in the Clippers' locker room was quite awkward, and Curry and others took a bath and didn't want to talk.

Leonard, who has always been taciturn on weekdays, said to Curry next door when he took a shower: "It's all your fault, I shouldn't have beaten if I knew I wouldn't have played." ”

"Then if you can not fight in the future, don't fight."

"Well, I must."

(End of chapter)