The Jazz lost two home games in a row, which no one expected.
Although I know that the Jazz may not be the opponent of the Lakers, the situation cannot be so one-sided. This is the Lakers who are missing in Butler's absence. The Jazz are also the first team in the Western Conference after all, but they are facing a team with a broken team.
So vulnerable.
If you lose two games in a row at your own home court, how can you play the next game in Los Angeles, the home of the Lakers?
If before the start of the series, some Jazz fans still believed that their team had some hope of winning, now almost no one thinks that the Jazz can get past the Lakers.
The top spot in the Western Conference will stop at the conference semifinals in the second round of the Western Conference.
On May 4, G3 of the series kicked off, and the venue returned to the Lakers' home court, the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
This game did not surprise anyone. The Lakers established an early lead and suppressed the Jazz throughout the game. Although the Jazz also had the momentum to counterattack in the second and third quarters, they were quickly defeated.
Wang Feng led his team to suppress them in time.
113:105.
The Jazz lost three games in a row, and the score reached 3:0. The Lakers gained four match points, and there was no longer any suspense in entering the Western Conference Finals.
The Jazz head coach said helplessly at the post-game press conference.
"Although our record in the regular season is better, everyone knows that the regular season and the playoffs are completely different concepts. Our core players are still too young and lack experience in the playoffs, and our opponents are extremely strong.
There is no doubt that Wang Feng, in particular, has a dominant performance on both offense and defense."
"The game is not over yet. Even if there is one last game left, we will go all out to deal with it seriously. I also believe in the Jazz team with Rudy (Gobert) and Donovan (Mitchell) as the core inside and outside."
It will become stronger in the future..."
Mitchell, who is the core of the team's offense, seemed quite frustrated.
"I have the main responsibility for the situation the team is currently facing. As the core of the team's offense, I failed to shoulder the team's offense..."
In the three games, Mitchell scored 11 points, 19 points and 25 points respectively. His performance was better than each game. It was obvious that he was gradually adapting to Wang Feng's high-pressure defense, but with the big score already 0:3, Mi
It was a bit late for Chel to adapt.
Although he is called a young player, in fact, Mitchell, who was born in 1996, is already 25 years old. He has been selected to the All-Star and the All-NBA Third Team this season. He is already ranked in the top 20 or even the top 15 in the league.
A powerful scorer.
Such a talented player was so powerless when faced with Wang Feng's defense, which really disappointed many Jazz fans.
In another time and space, in the 2021-22 season, the Jazz once again failed in the playoffs. Then the Jazz chose to tear down the existing lineup and rebuild it, and the two core players in the team were traded and left the team.
Mitchell was traded to the Cavaliers, while Gobert was traded to the Timberwolves.
At this point, the Jazz team of Gobert and Mitchell has completely become history after a short period of glory.
Wang Feng didn't know about this, because when he traveled through time, the 21-22 season playoffs were still in full swing, and the Jazz were eliminated by the Warriors in the first round.
Even if Wang Feng knew the subsequent results, he would not have any special thoughts.
The Jazz's two core players, Gobert and Mitchell, can only be considered second-rate stars in the league. Their own strength and development potential have their own limits, and they are somewhat similar to the Trail Blazers' two-hundred-dollar backcourt.
Lillard and McCollum.
As a powerful team, it is not difficult to reach the playoffs every year, but it is extremely difficult to make some breakthroughs in the playoffs.
In a small ball market like Salt Lake City, instead of spending a high maximum salary to keep two people, it is better to choose to trade them while they have good trade value and exchange for some draft picks. If you are lucky, you can
Acquiring future stars like Doncic, Trae Young, and Morant will make a lot of money. This is also the only way for small-market teams to rise.
…
The big score was 0:3. It was no longer just one foot on the edge of the cliff. The Jazz had already stepped out with both feet, but they were clinging to the edge of the cliff with their arms and only had one final step to completely fall in.
In the abyss.
In this case, the Jazz completely let go.
On May 6, in the G4 game of the Western Conference semifinals, at the Staples Center, the Jazz played the most exciting game in the entire series.
Gobert, Mitchell, and Bogdanovic scored 20+ points at the same time. At the same time, Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles also scored in double figures. The Jazz started the first quarter.
The Lakers were suppressed throughout the whole process, but the Lakers also took it lightly due to their excessive advantage, and eventually lost the game, with the score reaching 3:1.
The Jazz took a breath before they died and successfully dragged the game back to their home court. However, it was only a matter of time before they were eliminated. After all, the Lakers still held three match points. How could they lose the game?
Two days later in the G5 series, the Lakers' starting lineup was adjusted. Jordan Poole was moved from the starting lineup to the bench. Poole's replacement was Jimmy Butler, who had been training for six months.
.
Butler's recovery period was quite smooth. He began restorative training as early as the beginning of the playoffs. From the first round of the playoffs to the second round of the G5 series, more than 20 days have passed. Butler has been able to
He will conduct daily training with the team and officially play on May 8.
Butler's comeback is of great significance to the Lakers.
Although the Western Conference semifinals with the Jazz have lost suspense, this does not mean that the Lakers do not need Butler.
As the second-in-command of the team, Butler is very important to the Lakers on both offense and defense.
Even though Ingram's scoring average this season has exceeded Butler's career-high season, Butler is obviously better than Ingram in terms of his ability to hold the ball in key situations. After all, he is the best player in the league.
Hard sex is by no means an unearned reputation.
What's more, on the defensive end, Butler's perimeter defensive ability and experience are far superior to Ingram's.
With Butler back on the team, the Lakers were much more stable in the Western Conference Finals, whether they faced the Clippers or the Warriors.
Of course, Butler's G5 debut was just an attempt after recovery. Although he was the starter, he only played about 20 minutes. His personal data was not outstanding, only 9 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
No one thought Butler's performance in his debut was bad. After all, he was a recovering player who had not played in the entire regular season. It would take some time to re-adapt to the rhythm of the game.
In this game, the Lakers still won the G5 game 109:104, eliminated the Jazz with a total score of 4:1, and entered the Western Conference Finals for the third consecutive year.
While the Lakers are entering the Western Conference Finals, the Clippers and Warriors are still fighting fiercely on the other side.
After five games, the Clippers won the battle of Tianwangshan 3:2 and took the lead in gaining match point.
Being behind, and having to go to the Clippers' home court for the G6 game, the Warriors are in danger and on the verge of being eliminated.
If the Clippers defeat the Warriors, then the two teams in the Western Conference Finals will both be teams that can defeat the top and complete the counterattack, one is fourth in the Western Conference, and the other is sixth in the Western Conference.
In the east, the war situation is gradually becoming clearer.
The Nets eliminated the Celtics 4:1 and took the lead in entering the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Bucks also took a 3:2 lead in the showdown with the 76ers.
The situation in the Eastern Conference can be ignored for the time being. That is an issue that needs to be considered until the finals.
Wang Feng and the Lakers are still focused on the showdown between the Clippers and the Warriors.
Most people, including Wang Feng, believe that the Clippers will eliminate the Warriors at home and advance to the Western Conference Finals. However, the development of the plot is often full of drama.
The Clippers, who had the upper hand at the beginning of the G6 game, suddenly experienced a sudden change in the second half. Not only did the Warriors take advantage of the momentum and directly reverse the score difference by 14:2, Kawhi Leonard, one of the two cores, even made a breakthrough.
He injured his right knee and returned directly to the locker room.
Leonard was injured in such a crucial game!
The Clippers home fans, who were originally overjoyed that the team was about to advance to the Western Conference Finals, were dumbfounded.
Everyone knows the importance of Leonard to the Clippers.
So far in the playoffs, Leonard has averaged 30.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, which is even more dazzling than James' average of 26 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game.
To put it bluntly, without Leonard, the Clippers would not have been able to achieve their current lead against the Warriors.
Once Leonard was injured, the entire Clippers team was confused. Even James was sleepwalking and made mistakes in practice.
The score that was originally being overtaken began to widen in reverse.
The Warriors escaped death and won the G6 game. The score was tied at 3:3, and the final tiebreaker will be held two days later.
At this time, the focus of everyone's attention is not the tiebreaker, but Leonard's injury.
One day later, the Clippers officially announced that Kawhi Leonard suffered a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and required surgery. Let alone the tiebreaker a day later, it would be difficult for him to return to play next season.
.
Once the news was announced, everyone knew that the Clippers were finished.
Without Leonard, the Clippers are left with only the aging James and Westbrook, who turns into an undercover as soon as the playoffs arrive. Their strength is simply incomparable to the Warriors.
This is also true.
In the tiebreaker, James transformed into Thanos James after a long absence. He played for 41 minutes and scored 44 points, 9 rebounds and 12 assists, a near-triple-double. However, he was unable to make a comeback and could only watch the team lose the tiebreaker and be eliminated.
Even Wang Feng did not expect the sudden change.
In another time and space, Leonard was also injured in the second round of the 20-21 playoffs, but the Clippers' opponent at the time was the Jazz, and after Leonard was injured, the Clippers were still under the guidance of Paul George.
He led the team to eliminate the Jazz and fought the Suns in six games in the Western Conference Finals before finally losing.
Although due to the epidemic in another time and space, the playoff schedule is different from now, the schedule time period when Leonard was injured is surprisingly similar. I don’t know if this is a coincidence.
No matter what, the Clippers are finished.
This season is not over even if it ends in the second round. Leonard will also miss the entire season next season. James must lead the team alone, and even the situation he faces is worse than Wang Feng.
Butler is injured, Wang Feng is surrounded by Ingram, Kuzma and other promising young players, but James is surrounded by only Westbrook, who will be regarded as a negative asset in any transaction.
It's hard to say whether the Clippers can make the playoffs next season.
Some media have even used the words "the king is late" to describe James.
At the end of this season, James will be nearly 37 years old, and will be 38 years old in the playoffs next season.
If it were other players, they would have retired early or been reduced to role players by this age, their competitive level would have dropped significantly, and their personal data would have plummeted.
Even someone as strong as James would find it difficult to overcome this hurdle.
Last summer's big gamble to form the Big Three was James' last chance to win the fourth championship of his career. He failed to do so even this season, and there is even less hope next season without Leonard.
And if we wait until 2023, James will be 39 years old, and it's hard to say whether he can continue to play.
Of course, people still don’t know that in another time and space, the 38-year-old James can still average 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in the 2021-22 season.
Even though James' defensive end at that time had become a colander and was criticized, his scoring was also suspected of being a waste of points, and even with such data, he failed to lead the Lakers to qualify for the playoffs or even the play-offs, but it still did not affect his performance.
The shock that James brought to people.
A 38-year-old player can perform like this, what else can he ask for?