Chapter 443 Eastern Finals Opponents and Best Team
Chapter 443 Eastern Conference Finals Opponents and Best Team
Looking at the overall lineup, the Lakers are obviously the better team.
This season, Jimmy Butler and Ingram were both selected to the All-Stars. At the same time, although they lost Wang Feng and Lopez, the Lakers successfully retained Kuzma and acquired Sexton, Garland and
Evan Mobley and three high-ranking young rookies.
These three rookies of the Cavaliers are extraordinary. Sexton averaged 24.2 points, 3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game for the Cavaliers last season. Garland also averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists! As for Evan Mobley, he himself
He is a high-quality potential inside player who is favored by the public.
These three people have just filled the vacant positions of the Lakers, and their performance in the regular season this season has been remarkable. Although the data has declined compared with last season due to the fact that the Lakers' main offensive focus revolves around Butler and Ingram.
, Sexton only had 15.7 points and 3.7 assists, and Garland had 14.4 points and 7.4 assists, but no one thought that the strength of the two young guards had declined, and their efficiency was even higher than when they were with the Cavaliers.
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It is worth mentioning that in another time and space, Sexton was supposed to suffer a serious injury and be reimbursed for the season in the 21-22 season. However, due to the butterfly effect, Sexton, who moved from the Cavaliers to the Lakers, did not continue to be injured.
As the core point of the ball attack, he was lucky enough to avoid serious injuries that would affect his career.
The Lakers' overall lineup is very strong, but many people still don't think they can successfully break through from the Western Conference.
Compared with the overall strength, the Lakers are indeed stronger, but if compared with the quality of the stars, it is obvious that the Clippers with James + Leonard are the better team.
There is absolutely no comparison between Jimmy Butler + Ingram and James + Leonard.
In the 19th season of his career, LeBron James can still perform with amazing efficiency.
He played 75 games in the regular season and averaged 26.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game. Although he did not average 30+ points per game during the same period in another time and space, James' Clippers did not suffer setbacks like they did in another time and space.
This has to mention Leonard. Although he lost a championship ring that he should have won with the Raptors because of Wang Feng, Leonard's career trajectory has also changed.
In another time and space, minor injuries and illnesses were common, but the attendance rate was obviously much better.
James' condition has indeed declined in the 21-22 season, and his contribution to the team on the defensive end has plummeted. However, because of Leonard's presence, James does not need to worry about the Clippers' defensive problems, and he can devote more energy to it.
Invest in offense and organization.
This is also the reason why the Clippers, like the Lakers of another time and space, were able to successfully enter the playoffs and advance to the Western Conference Finals despite the arrival of Westbrook.
After entering the playoffs, the Clippers decisively moved Westbrook to the bench position, with James holding the ball. The effect was immediate, and they eliminated the Warriors in the conference semifinals and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors were also miserable enough. Under the leadership of the Splash Brothers, they successfully ended the regular season with the first record in the Western Conference. However, also because of Wang Feng, several strong players in the team were poached. The overall strength was different from that of another team.
The difference in time and space is more than a little bit.
Without Poole, Otto Porter Jr., and Gary Payton II, it would be really difficult for the Warriors to go far in the playoffs relying solely on the Splash Brothers and Green.
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After the Eastern and Western Conference finals are announced, the best lineup for the 2021-22 season will be announced first before the game begins.
The five players selected for the All-NBA First Team include Wang Feng, Antetokounmpo Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum and Curry.
The five players on the second team are Doncic, DeRozan, Durant, James and Embiid.
Selected to the third team are Trae Young, Jimmy Butler, Davis, Leonard and Paul George.
With the announcement of the best lineup, there are all kinds of doubts and controversies.
This kind of thing happens every year, such as why Harden, Zion, Ingram, Towns and other stars are not selected for the best team.
After all, in the minds of fans, their own star is the best in the league.
Compared to the All-Defensive Team, blue-collar awards like the Best Defensive Team receive much less attention, but Wang Feng was still selected for the All-Defensive First Team, and was selected for the All-Defensive First Team for N consecutive years.
It is worth mentioning that this year Wang Feng's voice for the best defensive player is quite loud.
In the past few seasons, although Wang Feng has been able to win the title of steals every year, and has gradually averaged more than 1 shot per game in terms of blocks, and his defensive contribution is visible to the naked eye, he will always be awarded the best defensive player in the end.
Gobert, Antetokounmpo and others.
There is no way around it. Although his defensive statistics are not weaker than those of these big players, Wang Feng's height has still become one of the factors limiting the judges' scores.
Over the years, there have been very few players in the league who are about 2 meters tall who can win the best defensive player award, and the latest one is Kawhi Leonard.
But this season, things are a little different.
The Cavaliers' lineup is visibly weak, especially in terms of interior defense. Jarrett Allen, as a substitute rotation player, will only play more minutes under certain circumstances.
In most cases, in order to ensure the smoothness of the Cavaliers' offense, the main inside player is Kevin Love, who has three-point shooting ability. In this case, the task of protecting the Cavaliers' basket is shouldered by Wang Feng.
The average of 13.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game are both new highs in Wang Feng's career. The reason why the Cavaliers can overcome all obstacles in the regular season is due to Wang Feng's contribution on the defensive end!
What's more, it can be seen from the high-end data that when Wang Feng is on the court, the Cavaliers' points loss per 100 possessions is significantly different than when Wang Feng is not on the court. In this data, Wang Feng is the best in the league, far ahead of Gobert.
, Antetokounmpo and many other competitors.
Due to the combination of various factors, Wang Feng currently has the biggest call for winning the best defensive player.
However, the best defensive player is also just a blue-collar award. No matter how many awards you win, it is not a key factor in judging a star's historical status. It can only be regarded as the icing on the cake.
Just like Jordan won the Defensive Player of the Year once in his career, but when people talk about Joe, they always talk about his six championships, five regular season MVPs and ten scoring titles.
Therefore, what Wang Feng pays more attention to is the regular season MVP.
The current Wang Feng has won the regular season MVP for four consecutive years, and as he came to the Cavaliers this year, he directly brought the Cavaliers, which was last in the Eastern Conference last season, to the first place in the Eastern Conference. He has also been far ahead in the regular season MVP selection.
, steadily suppressing competitors such as Antetokounmpo, Curry, and Doncic.
Four consecutive regular season MVPs are unprecedented in the history of the league. If Wang Feng continues to win the regular season MVP this season, five consecutive MVPs plus the buff of being able to continuously win regular season MVPs after changing teams will further increase Wang Feng's historical status.
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And if Wang Feng can win the NBA championship this year... with 7 championship rings in hand, even if Wang Feng's number of FMVPs is not as many as Jordan's, he is definitely qualified to knock the God of Basketball off the altar!
As for whether Wang Feng can lead his team to win the championship, it still depends on whether the Cavaliers can pass the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference finals.
The first game of the Eastern Conference Finals will be played on May 15 in Cleveland, home of the Cavaliers.
Before the game, everyone generally believed that this would be a close battle. After all, the Cavaliers and Nets are recognized as the two strongest teams in the Eastern Conference.
But no one expected that as soon as the game started, the Cavaliers quickly took the initiative and quickly established a huge advantage.
The Cavaliers' group of outside shooters who had inaccurate shots in the conference semifinals suddenly found their touch again when facing the Nets, and they were able to shoot as if by divine help.
The massive three-pointers made the Nets dizzy.
In the first quarter of the game, the score between the two teams was 39:27, with the Nets trailing by 12 points. They lost another 6 points in the second quarter, and the score difference was close to 20 points at halftime.
When the game entered the middle of the third quarter, the score difference was directly opened to 20 points.
In the fourth quarter of the game, both teams had replaced role players, and the game ended early.
This situation is unexpected by everyone, but it is reasonable.
The Nets are different from the Bucks. The former is a team that relies entirely on the performance of the Big Three. Although the Bucks are also equipped with the Big Three, their lineup revolves around Antetokounmpo and a number of role players, creating a very good defensive lineup.
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To put it simply, without Wall, the Bucks may lose more against the Nets than they win, but if the two teams play against the Cavaliers respectively, it is obvious that the Bucks' lineup is more restrained than the Cavaliers.
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The Nets are extremely capable of single-point scoring under the Big Three structure. Even the Bucks' defense can hardly block the single-point scoring of Durant, Irving, and George.
Of course, the Cavaliers' outside shooters led by Poole and Bane cannot match Irving George's offensive capabilities, so it is natural that their shooting percentage will be affected.
But when Poole's opponent changed from Wesley Matthews, a well-known defensive player in the league, to Irving, the situation was different.
In terms of offensive ability, Irving can be said to have a complete victory over Poole, but if you switch to the defensive end... Irving's defensive ability is far behind.
Irving has always been one of the representatives of the league who is strong in offense and weak in defense. His defensive efficiency value ranks outside the 300th place in the league all year round. He is definitely not a player with outstanding defensive ability.
Except for George and Durant, the other players on the Nets are not strong enough defensively, at least much worse than the Bucks players at the same position.
This undoubtedly made the Cavaliers' shooters who had had a fierce battle with the Bucks feel more relaxed. In addition, they felt good in this game, and Wang Feng's ten-cent badge increased their shooting percentage. Naturally, they could shoot whatever they wanted.
Wang Feng didn't even contribute much. He just scored 26 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, and the game was nothing more than him.
This made Wang Feng a little surprised.
131:115, the Cavaliers won by 16 points at home, easily winning the Eastern Conference Finals on a good start.
In addition to Wang Feng who scored 26 points, the Cavaliers also had Jordan Poole who scored 21 points, Kevin Love who scored 17 points and 11 rebounds, 5 of 7 three-pointers in the game, Bane who scored 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Scored by Seth Curry.
Seven members of the Cavaliers team scored in double figures, with multiple points coming into play. They made 18 of 40 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of 45%.
Of course, the Nets were very unconvinced by such a disastrous defeat.
At the post-game press conference, Irving directly stated that the reason why the game was lost was mainly because the Cavaliers' shooters were too hot. This situation is not uncommon in the NBA, even for the bottom team in the league.
, there will also be situations where it doesn't matter how you vote, but this feeling will not last forever, they will win it back in two days.
Nets head coach Nash gave some advice on the Nets' defense.
"The players of the Cavaliers felt very good today, shot resolutely from outside, and were very confident, but this has something to do with our inability to exert more pressure on the defensive end. The Cavaliers are a team with strong offensive capabilities.
I will emphasize the importance of defense in the next series and formulate corresponding defensive tactics."
There is nothing wrong with this, but it is too inconsistent to say it from Nash's mouth.
As a player, Nash was undoubtedly a top organizer. He could single-handedly make a team the strongest offensive player in the league, bombarding the team with gorgeous and efficient play, but when it comes to defense...
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There were four major shooting guards in the league at that time, namely North Carolina's South Mesico Donai, and there were also four non-point guards, namely, they were all passers, bases were not offensive, Na was not defensive and Long was not shooting.
Although Irving's defense is terrible, he is at least at the middle-lower level of the league's point guards. After all, his excellent physical fitness allows him to not be much different from most defenders.
Nash is different. His defensive enthusiasm is no problem, but his thin body makes him defend any team's main point guard like a misplaced defense.
In addition, the Suns team under D'Antoni's bombardment system did not pay attention to defense at all, so Nash's defense has long been synonymous with black holes.
Now that he is the head coach of a team, Nash actually emphasizes defense. Even though he says this seriously, it still makes people laugh.
Under Nash's guidance, the Nets' defense has always been one of the problems that has been criticized. Previously, there was Jarrett Allen in the team who could check for leaks and fill gaps in the paint. With Jarrett Allen being poached,
After that, you can only rely on the individual defense of the star's personal abilities to support the team's overall defense.
In the G2 series on May 17, the Nets really failed to put up enough defense to restrict the Cavaliers' shooters.
Although it can be clearly seen that the shooting skills of the Cavaliers' shooters have declined compared to G1, they can still hit open three-pointers. As for the points they missed, Wang Feng can just make up for it.