In the first round of the 2017-18 playoffs, in addition to eliminating the Nuggets of the Lakers and the Rockets who defeated the Trail Blazers, the other two groups of matchups on the Western side, the Warriors eliminated the Mavericks 4:1, and the Spurs swept the Thunder 4:0.

These two sets of matchups are worth mentioning a little, although the Mavericks have Harden, who can score points with Wang Chao in the regular season and score 35+ points per game, but the overall strength of the team is too poor, and the reason why the Warriors' veteran Barnes will be abandoned is because of his technical characteristics and ceiling defects, and Nowitzki is dying of old age and can't provide much help to Harden at all.

This is completely different from the Rockets in the 17-18 season in another time and space, although the Mavericks' tactical choice is the same as that of the Rockets, using blocking and pick-and-roll to let Harden take out the military training Curry, but the overall difference in strength makes the score gap between the two teams obvious.

On the Spurs' side, the situation was even more one-sided, directly a 4-0 sweep.

Thunder fans are disappointed, after all, they have formed a super triumvirate combination this season, even if Anthony's performance collapsed, but continued to average a triple-double Westbrook and Paul. George also has a certain amount of combat effectiveness.

It also makes them look forward to the playoffs a little.

However, after looking forward to it for a long time, the result was that the team was neatly defeated by the opponent for 4 consecutive games, and there was no way to fight back.

No way, the Spurs and the Thunder, the two teams are like two extremes, one is highly integrated, with tacit understanding and a clear division of labor, the Spurs, who focus on team basketball, and the other side is the Thunder, who only temporarily put together the Big Three lineup last summer, lacking run-in and vague team tactics, and completely relying on superstars to win all the way to the playoffs.

When the two teams meet head-on, the Thunder is like a assembled car, shattering with a slight collision and being vulnerable.

This can't be helped, the Spurs under the training of Mr. Popovich, as long as there are a few talents that can be created, are definitely among the strongest teams in the West.

The combination of Butler + Howard, although it is quite difficult to win the championship, there is still no problem in dealing with a temporary patchwork giant team like the Thunder.

In the 4 games, the best data performance is Westbrook, who averaged 28 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5 assists per game, but compared with his average triple-double data during the regular season, the data in the playoffs truly reflects his actual strength, especially in terms of scoring offense, although the average score of 28 points per game is very high, but referring to the shooting rate of only 39%, it is definitely not efficient.

This is also the fact that the Spurs currently do not have the right player for the point guard position, resulting in Westbrook, who is known for his speed and power, can frequently carry the ball to the basket, otherwise his scoring and shooting percentage will only be lower.

George averaged 24.7 points and 6 rebounds per game, and his shooting rate in the early 40% can only be regarded as a decent performance, but this score can still rank second among the two teams, because the highest score on the Spurs' side is Butler with 23.6 points, but unlike Westbrook and George, who hovered around 40% shooting, Butler's shooting rate reached 46.3%.

In addition, the Spurs have six players on the team averaging double-doubles per game, although Westbrook and George dominate the top two scorers, but from third to seventh place are Spurs players, Anthony can only rank eighth with an average of 11.8 points per game.

The regular season was terrible, and the playoffs were even worse.

It only took one season for Anthony to go from a superstar worth more than $20 million when the Knicks were worth more than $20 million to a poison contract that no one cared about.

The Thunder are desperate, because Anthony still has a super contract worth $25.53 million next year, plus Westbrook's 28.53 million and Adams' 22.47 million, not to mention Paul George, who is considering the expiration of his contract extension, and they even have to pay a high luxury tax with a total salary of more than 130 million meters.

At such a cost, the result was only a first-round tour, no different from last year's Westbrook single-core lead, which was enough to make the Thunder owner, who spent a lot of money, doubt his life.

No matter how rich you are, you can't be so bad.

The Thunder, who were eliminated by the Spurs and had already taken an early holiday to fish, the next main job is how to find a way to send Anthony away, and then renew Paul's contract. George, at least keep the current roster, but that's all after the playoffs end with free agency opening.

After the Spurs eliminated the Thunder with excellent strength, they will face the Warriors who have suffered from the past two years, and it is still unlikely that they will be able to cross the Warriors.

No matter how Strategically Popovich is, the gap in the team's hard power cannot be bridged in any way, the head coach is of course a vital part of a team, but don't really rely on the coach for everything, the role of the players in the game is more important, if not, Popovich will not have encountered the dilemma of the Black Eight in the past.

The two sets of matchups in the second round of the division semifinals on the Western side are Nuggets vs. Rockets and Warriors vs. Spurs, which are exactly the same as most media predictions.

On the Eastern side, the Nets with a luxurious lineup defeated the Wizards 4:1, the Raptors swept the Heat 4:0, and the Cavaliers eliminated the Bucks 4:2.

The overall strength of the Green Army is strong, even without Tatum, but it also used the high draft pick in the same year to get a good instant force, plus Irving and Hayward have not suffered major injuries, and they are currently in a relatively healthy competitive state, and the overall strength is still quite good.

But on the other side, the Hornets are not easy to mess with, Charlotte's three Jays are getting stronger and stronger, and Davis, a thick eyebrow, has been selected for the first team and one defense at the same time for the second year in a row, averaging 28+11 big double-doubles and 2.6 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, demonstrating his dominance on both offensive and defensive ends of the court.

And his right-hand man, Kemba. Walker and Oladipo can also contribute 20+ points in the regular season, especially Oladipo, who was supposed to be in the 17-18 season is his rising year, and Oladipo, who should have been on the Pacers at this time, should have been selected for the best three teams and best defense with an average of 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

By the side of Brother Thick Eyebrows and Walker, his average points per game was only in the early 20s, and his defensive performance was also diluted by Brother Thick Eyebrows, resulting in not only not being selected to the All-Star Team, but even the honor of defending first team was reduced to the second defensive team.

But the reduction in honor did not affect his own strength.

The Hornets played around the big three of Oladipo and Walker on the inside, and despite the lack of tactical changes and the support of other teammates, the fighting power was quite good, causing considerable problems for the Celtics.

The two teams staged a fierce battle in the first round of the game, and the game went to the tie-break.

In the end, the Celtics relied on Irving's scoring at a critical moment to pass the test, 114:112, 2 points narrowly defeated the Hornets to advance to the second round.

The Charlotte Hornets, on the other hand, were helpless to be eliminated in the first round.

Unconsciously, it has been 5 years since the Charlotte triumph gathered, and Hornets fans have watched the three young heroes grow up little by little, looking forward to them making a difference in the playoffs, but three years have passed, and the performance of the Hornets in the playoffs has always been unsatisfactory, which makes people wonder if the triumvirate combination of Brother Thick Eyebrows, Oladipo and Walker will have a chance to win the championship throughout their careers.

However, the team owner Qiao Gangster didn't care too much about this, and he had become a capitalist, and he couldn't stop smiling.

The Hornets have three All-Star-level players, including the top superstar of Bushy Eyebrows, plus the team has changed its name to the Hornets and returned to Charlotte's arms, making the team's market value soar all the way, and Joe's gang can be said to have made a lot of money.

After becoming a capitalist, Jordan naturally considered completely different from when he was a player, if the team can win the championship, it is of course excellent, but if it can't win the championship, it is actually very different, as long as it can make money.

The matchups in the second round of the Eastern Conference are Nets vs Celtics and Raptors vs Cavaliers, and the difference is not much from the prediction.

Looking at this trend, the matchup in the Eastern and Western finals is very likely to become the Eastern Nets vs Cavaliers, and the Western Nuggets vs Warriors.

If that's the case, then this season's East-West Final will also be a pinnacle matchup.

——

The first game of the second round between the Nuggets and the Rockets began on April 29, and the venue was still Denver's Devils' home court.

Before the game, the media had a preliminary prediction for the series, and most media generally believed that the Nuggets would be able to settle the game in less than six games.

There is no way, who makes the difference in strength between the two teams clear at a glance.

The core of the two teams, the comparison between Wang Chao and Leonard is needless to say, no matter how well Leonard plays, it is impossible to compare with Wang Chao.

And the comparison between other players is not better, and the comparison is simply infuriating the Rockets management.

Not to mention anything else, just the interior defensive pillar, the comparison between Gobert and Whiteside, can make the general manager of the Rockets depressed for a long time.

This season, Gobert can contribute an average of 7+10+2 blocks per game during the regular season, although the data performance is decent, but he is positioned as a blue-collar player, and it is understandable that his scoring is not high, his rebounding conversion rate and blocking data are very high, and more importantly, Gobert's contribution to the basket is far from being reflected in the data.

This season, the Nuggets conceded the lowest points per game in the league, and Gobert contributed a lot, and because of this, he squeezed out Howard and was selected for the best first-team defense list with Wang Chao.

By the way, the best defensive team and the best team were announced at the same time, and the five players shortlisted for the best first defense this year were Wang Chao, Leonard, and Zhu. Holiday and Bushy Davis and Gobert.

The five players in the defensive second team are Butler, Oladipo, Green, Horford and Howard.

The Rockets' interior defensive "gate" Whiteside averaged 14 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in the regular season, which can only be described as mediocre, if his contract of up to $25 million is included, as a blue-collar player, he is not as good as Jordan Jr., who has an annual salary of $22 million and averages 12 points and 15.2 rebounds per game on the Clippers' side, let alone Gobert, who has an annual salary of only 15 million.

Gobert is a full 10 million cheaper than Whiteside, and his interior defense and basket protection ability are not at the same level at all.

Thinking that last summer, they chose to let Gobert go for nothing just because of their annual salary of 15 million, making him Wang Chao's right-hand man, the general manager of the Rockets felt a faint pain in his chest and regretted not being at the beginning.

Loss, loss!

Even now they can't help but fantasize that if they can be a little bold in the summer of '17 and match Gobert's contract, and at the same time find a way to trade Whiteside's big contract, even if it is to take a few first-round picks and exchange a strong All-Star from other teams, such as Paul. George or Hayward, Team Rocket doesn't take off, right?

With Gobert on the inside and Leonard on the outside, the Rockets can completely dominate the league with defense like the Nuggets!

It's a pity that there is no regret medicine in this world, and they can't imagine that Whiteside, who got a big contract, opened so quickly, obviously two seasons ago, he was still able to contribute an average of 14 + 12 per game, and the average block per game in the regular season can reach 3.7 times of interior defense, how long has it been, his interior defense ability has declined rapidly, and there are only 1.7 blocks per game, he is not yet 30 years old!

Whiteside's decline in level is actually linked to injuries.

Originally, in the 17-18 season, the Heat team was nostalgic and his attendance was actually not high, only 54 games were played in the regular season, and his statistics declined precisely because of injuries and the adjustment of his tactical position by the Heat.

In the 19-20 season, Whiteside, who joined the Trail Blazers, regained the second spring of his career, averaging 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game in 61 games in the regular season.

It's just that although the statistics are gorgeous, Whiteside's problems still exist, his ability to protect the basket is not as good as the statistics seem, and the defense of the center players under the basket is definitely not simply measured by the number of blocks and rebounds.

No matter how good Whiteside is at blocking, there's no doubt that his interior defense and basket protection ability can't be better than Gobert's.

On the Rockets' side, in addition to Leonard, the most powerful is Whiteside, and the result is not at all advantageous compared to Gobert, even if the score is slightly higher, it is only the result of the difference in tactical position.

Therefore, this game was not a parity at all from the start.

In the first game between the two teams, the Nuggets won with a score of 105:91.

Whiteside played 27 minutes and left the game with six fouls, and his stats were fixed on six points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Leonard had a decent run of the game, scoring 27 points on 44 percent shooting, the Rockets' all-scoring player.

He faced the Nuggets' defensive stalwart PJ Tucker throughout the game, and although he caused some problems, Leonard was able to make a difference thanks to his strong individual ability.

But on the Rockets' side, apart from him, the only one to score a double-double was Gordon.

On the other hand, on the Nuggets' side, Wang Chao scored a triple-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists under Leonard's full defense.

The Nuggets scored in double figures with five players, and the whole game was played very easily, not much different from the first round against the Lakers.

The toughness of the Nuggets is really unexpected, but it is in Wang Chao's plan.

After all, on the surface, the Nuggets do only have one All-Star level player, Wang Chao, but in reality, this is not the case.

Gobert's merits have been said many times before, and now I want to talk about the Nuggets' two guard players, Mitchell and Murray.

Comparing his performance to the same period, Murray's 17-18 season with the Nuggets did not make the playoffs, so it is not worth considering.

But Mitchell is different, Mitchell, who entered the playoffs with Gobert in the Nuggets, was the Nuggets' No. 1 main scoring point during the playoffs, and in the six games that eliminated the Thunder in the first round, Mitchell averaged 28.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, and his 46.2% shooting rate was definitely above the average level of guards.

In the second round, the Nuggets met the Rockets, who won 67 wins in the regular season.

Mitchell is facing Chris, who has the title of the god of point guard and has been selected to the best team seven times in his career. Paul, at the same time, the Rockets also have a Capela who can run and jump and has a good ability to protect the basket, which hindered Mitchell's offensive efficiency, and the shooting rate in the series dropped to 36%, but even so, Mitchell's average score of 19.4 points per game in the second round is still the highest score on the Jazz team, and it is the only point where the whole team's offense is limited.

To put it bluntly, Mitchell in the 17-18 season, his offensive ability is enough to be counted as an All-Star or even the best team, and he is the main contributor to the Jazz's ability to enter the playoffs and even reach the second round, but his rookie status makes him less conspicuous.

So now the question is, when he came to the Nuggets, he has enjoyed Wang Chao's sparring potion bonus in the past whole season, and the training effect has improved a lot, how much has Mitchell's strength improved compared to the same period?

Wang Chao estimated that even if it was not as good as the 2020 playoffs and Murray, who scored 50+ explosive points twice in the first round of the series, he was definitely stronger than himself in the 18-19 season.

And that's just first-year Mitchell.

Murray's performance is inferior to Mitchell, mainly because of the problem of the playing style of the two, but Murray has an advantage over Mitchell, that is, Murray, who entered the league in the 16-17 season, has a little more experience, plus the bonus of Wang Chao's sparring potion, the real strength is not much worse than Mitchell.

So on the surface, it seems that the Nuggets are only supported by Wang Chao, but in fact, counting Gobert, Mitchell and Murray, these are three players whose strength has fully reached the All-Star level, and then counting Rose, Kuzma and Tucker, three outstanding role players, as well as Wang Chao, the first person in the history of the league, the Nuggets are not inferior to the Nets, Cavaliers, and Warriors in terms of lineup.

If not, where did Wang Chao get the confidence to lead this new team to win the NBA championship after only one season at the Nuggets? (End of chapter)