I was determined to be bad, but I went straight to the Basketball Hall of Fame

Chapter 551
After a month of NBA season, the situation between the east and the west has gradually become divided.

The Clippers are the best in the league, and no team can beat them.

Although the Clippers won some games very risky, the feeling to the fans is that once the critical moment is reached, they will definitely win.

The Clippers have such strength now, and they may get into a fight with their opponents in the front, and someone must stand up and kill them at critical moments.

Everyone in the starting five has the ability to hit the key ball, and the opponent is completely unable to focus on defense.

Stronger than the Lakers, Heat, and Spurs, they can't even touch the word "evenly matched".

In addition to the Clippers, the top four in the West are the Thunder, Grizzlies and Lakers.

The Thunder are still strong this season, and Durant and Westbrook are entering their prime.

They are also the team that poses the biggest threat to the Clippers in the regular season in November.

Whether it is style of play or talent, the team in the West that is most likely to stop the Clippers is the Thunder.

Although the third-ranked Grizzlies were beaten badly by the Clippers in the first game, this fiasco also woke up the Grizzlies and made the Grizzlies grit their teeth to deal with the following games.

They had an excellent record of 11 wins and 10 losses in November.

Blake Griffin averaged 11 points, 26 rebounds and 10.7 assists in November.

He won the title of Best of the Month in the Western Conference in November, which is the first time in his career that he has won the Best of the Month in the Western Conference.

The honor of Rookie of the Month in the Western Conference was won by Anthony Davis.

Although Anthony Davis came off the bench, the Clippers gave Davis plenty of playing time in every game.

Especially when the game hits garbage time, Anthony Davis will be on the stage. It can not only exercise his game sense, accumulate game experience, but also brush up the statistics by the way.

Old Davis, who was still worried about his child's future development before, was relieved when he saw his son's victory, statistics, and honors in the Clippers.

Of course, Min Congda was about to start worrying.

He faintly felt that this Anthony Davis didn't seem to be a parallel importer!

His observations on players' potential abilities are as bad as ever.

There seems to be a fog covering the eyes, and it is always difficult to see clearly.

The fourth-ranked Lakers looked a little weak for the first time in the West where there are many strong players.

In fact, their lineup is quite good. Compared with last season's impressive momentum, this season's Lakers are more pragmatic.

As long as Kobe does not experience a sharp decline, the Lakers' playoff competitiveness this season may be even stronger than last season.

However, Kobe is 34 years old, and his decline has been expected and inevitable. It's just a matter of time.

The Spurs, who want to revive their glory, can only be ranked fifth. They ushered in Rudy Gay at the third position. He is young and energetic, but it is still difficult to satisfy Popovich.

Popovich looked at the three-headed monster in front of the Clippers, especially Leonard, it was so greedy!

The Clippers are really a luxury, can you share one with our poor Texas cowboy?

The sixth-ranked Golden State Warriors are a force not to be underestimated.

They are developing and growing silently. They have been aiming at the Clippers from the very beginning, setting up lineups and rehearsing tactics with the Clippers as the goal, and preparing for "he can replace them" one day.

It can be seen that since the Clippers won the championship last year, the West has once again entered a pattern of one super and many strong.

In the west, the heroes take overthrowing the Clippers as the top priority, repeatedly studying their tactics and matching different lineups.

In the East, the chaotic and weak situation since Jordan's retirement in 1998 has passed more than ten years until today, and there is still no fundamental change.

The decline of the eastern teams is like the old factories in the rust belt that are declining in the context of global trade and the rise of Chinese production. No matter how hard they struggle, it will be difficult to reverse the tide of the times, and they cannot compete with the Internet and technology upstarts on the west coast. .

It is said that the economic base determines the superstructure, which is also applicable in the basketball world.

The Warriors and Clippers in the West are actually backed by the financial participation and support of Western upstart technology companies.

Warriors and Bay Area tech companies like Oracle, Clippers and video companies like YouTube.

There are also Microsoft behind the Blazers, several major TV stations behind the Lakers, etc., ensuring that the team has sufficient economic and social resources, and promoting the application and popularization of new technologies in basketball training and tactical analysis.

As for the east, the typical ones are Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit near the Great Lakes.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, dragged by James, have reached their limit.

If it weren't for Min Congda's conversation that changed James in 10 years, James would have left the Cavaliers for the South Coast long ago.

Also in Chicago, Rose was injured, and the team immediately fell into a trough. After Jordan retired, they won many high-ranking picks, two No. [-] picks, two No. [-] picks, and a total of eight top-four picks. It can be said that the resources are quite rich.

Moreover, the Chicago Bulls are also one of the few teams in the East that are relatively open and good at using European players.

As a result, more than ten years have passed, and their results have not been satisfactory.

Their defensive traditions, their old management methods, and their Bulls LOGO, which has not changed for decades, all reveal a sense of obsolescence, which makes them useless in the new century.

Detroit's success in 04 and 05 was more like an accident.

As the only successful black general manager, Joe Dumars gathered the Pistons in a rather coincidental state and became an important pole in the East.

It's a pity that their disastrous draft in 03 caused the team to miss a best opportunity for inheritance and development.

With Detroit going bankrupt in the economic crisis and the owner of the Pistons changing hands, this team, which is not favored by the league or fans, has not seen the slightest hope of revival in recent years.

As the upstart in the East, the Heat are the kingdom built by Pat Riley. They stubbornly practice Riley's team building and basketball philosophy on the South Coast.

The only surprise in the East this year came from the New York Knicks, who took the No. 11 spot in the East with a record of 11 wins and 4 losses after the November game.

Carmelo Anthony won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for November.

In fact, the Knicks lineup is not neat, Amare - Stoudemire suffered injuries, missed all games in November.

But the Knicks introduced the aging Kidd, and the team's offense became orderly under the care of the veteran.

There is Tyson Chandler protecting the basket on the inside, and JR-Smith provides shooting on the outside.

With Anthony's singles as the core of tactics, the Knicks have won consecutive battles.

And their schedule is not easy. They defeated the five-star Heat in the opening game and won six consecutive victories in the opening season.

After a large number of away games, the Knicks gnawed down several hard bones. This biggest basketball market, which has been rotten for more than ten years, finally ushered in some dawn.

However, whether it is the Grizzlies who "know the shame and then be brave", or the "chaotic talent master" Thunder, whether it is the Lakers who have improved combat power, or the Knicks who brought surprises, whether it is the Warriors who are aiming at the Clippers to follow suit, or James. The distance between the Cavaliers and the Clippers is visible to the naked eye.

Very big.

On December 12, the Clippers, who have won 2 consecutive victories, ushered in the challenge of the Cleveland Cavaliers today.

This is the first time the Clippers and Cavaliers have met in the finals this season, and naturally it has attracted much attention.

However, unlike the Clippers' triumphant progress without a single defeat, the Cavaliers' state after the start of the season this year is not very good.

Seemingly taking a huge blow from last season's Finals loss, the Cavaliers currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 9-6 record.

In the summer, the Cavaliers' signings did not gain much after losing Min Congda's guidance. The only gain was Birdman Anderson.

The team very much hopes to have a ball-handling attacker in the fourth position to share the pressure of James' ball-handling attack.

Antawn - Jamison is old, last year he averaged 17 points per game, this season's scoring average has dropped to single digits.

The team's offensive pressure is more distributed to James and Irving.

For the Cavaliers, the good news is that Irving lived up to his status as the No. [-] pick.

After honing in his rookie season and hard training in the offseason, Irving has made great progress on the offensive end in the new season.

The average scoring has increased from 18 points to 22 points, which can share more shots and make up for the lack of third attack points.

The bad news is that the morale of the team has been affected by the loss in the finals, and the start of the new season is not strong enough.

In addition, the team was hit by injuries at the beginning of the season. Sean Battier and Danny Green were all absent due to injuries.

The team is short of major generals, so it is inevitable that they will be unable to do what they want in some games and lose a few games that should not be lost.

Before the start of the game, Shane Battier and Danny Green both returned from injury.

This is a very good opportunity for the Cavaliers to beat the Clippers to revive morale.

But on the plane to Los Angeles, the Cavaliers looked tired.

The whole team doesn't have the kind of one-hearted mentality of killing the Clippers and revenge.

The key to all this lies in James. As the boss of the team, his state in November was rarely in a downturn.

在11月的15场比赛中，他有3场比赛得分没有过20分，有一场比赛仅得12分。

This is quite rare for James. After all, with his ability and basketball IQ, scoring is simply cutting melons and vegetables.

Even if he is not in good shape today and the game is about to lose, he can still make his score look good.

But in November of the new season, he doesn't even seem to have such thoughts.

It's okay to lose the game without hope, and it doesn't matter the statistics if it's bad.

This poor state, logically speaking, will definitely attract a lot of criticism, right?
But in fact it didn't. On the contrary, James began to enter a state of "everyone will praise him if he plays well, and forget him if he plays badly".

This state is very good for ordinary players. The highlights are paid attention to, and the lows are not asked.

But for a superstar who needs attention, it is very dangerous.

Because this means that when you have a negative topic, there are no media and fan groups willing to stare at you, and there are no fans who support you to jump out and fight for you.

The so-called black fans are also fans, and public opinion needs controversy, confrontation, and repeated pulls between the pros and cons to produce a hot public opinion effect.

If you can't get everyone to praise you, it's better if half of them praise you and half of them scold you than if no one scolds you.

In addition to renewing his contract with the Cavaliers in 2010, James had another important contract renewal that year, which was the contract with Nike.

At the age of 18, James signed a 7-year $9000 million super contract. Since entering the league, he has carried a weight on his shoulders that no one else has ever had.

Again, huge money, honor and expectations will at some point turn into huge pressure and anxiety.

Like when you fail.

The 10-year contract extension for the Cavaliers is actually not a wrong decision.

The Cavaliers have entered the finals for two consecutive years. They defeated the Heat and Celtics in the East one after another, showing their strong strength.

As long as James leads the Cavaliers to win the championship, even if he can't reach Jordan's height, at least he can start to embark on the real pursuit of Jordan.

After repeated research, discussion and hesitation, Nike originally planned to give him a 5-year 1 million contract, which was finally reduced to 4 years and 8000 million.

Facts have proved that Nike's caution is justified. The probability of James staying in the Cavaliers to win the championship is indeed lower than going to the Heat.

Losing in the finals for two consecutive years has brought James' reputation and fans' expectations of him to the edge of a cliff.

In fact, there has never been a player in NBA history who, like James, needs a championship so much to complete and shape his image.

Because no player is like James, who got a 7-year contract of 9000 million US dollars as soon as he entered the league. The No. 23 basketball god.

Even Michael Jordan, when he entered the league, was perceived as "a very physical shooting guard."

At that time, the NBA was dominated by centers and forwards, and shooting guard was an obscure position.

The most successful shooting guard in the NBA at the time was the most unsuccessful FMVP Jerry West.

People had no expectations of Jordan at all, and even a little disgusted with this maverick, who didn't play according to routines.

In the end, Jordan achieved unimaginable great success, achieved Nike, and built Nike's sports business empire.

With Jordan's great success, Nike very much hope to have a second, so they took a fancy to James.

With the same number 23, taller and mightier physical fitness, and outstanding performance in high school, James is worthy of this expectation.

But the NBA is obviously not that simple. He failed to hit the championship again and again, and failed in the finals three times. The runner-up is not an honor but a shame for James.

The consecutive defeats have shocked James' heart, his business empire concept has begun to be shaken, and the Nike team is also putting pressure on him.

Nike clearly informed: "Your influence is declining."

This is very difficult for James to accept.

What is even more difficult to accept is: not going to the Heat for 10 years has become a thorn in his heart that is difficult to pull out.

People are like this, A and B make a choice, and if A is chosen, it is okay to say that the road is clear, but once the road is not easy, I will definitely think about it again and again, and I would have chosen B in the first place.

Although it is very likely that choosing B is more difficult than choosing A, people cannot control regret. It will be like a scar that is difficult to heal, and it will ache from time to time.

The most difficult thing to accept is that the team that prevented him from winning the championship was Min Congda who prevented him from going to the Heat!

After the 12-year finals, James' inner anger towards Min Congda reached its peak.

At the Cavaliers' home court, James even wanted to rush to the sidelines and grabbed Min Congda by the collar and asked him why he had to persuade him not to go to the Heat!
Is it just to pave the way for the Clippers to win the championship?It is to prevent the East from forming a super team.

Later, at the Clippers' championship celebration, Min Congda uttered the line James wanted to say, and his anger reached a new level.

It stands to reason that he should bring this kind of anger into the game, and lead the Cavaliers to unite as one in the new season, no matter what, he must defeat the Clippers and win the championship.

However, the Heat gradually became the Galaxy Battleship, the Clippers won the No. [-] pick, the Lakers got Iguodala, and the Cavaliers got almost nothing in the summer, which gradually discouraged James.

There are three seasons left in his contract with the Cavaliers. Without Min Congda's guidance, he and the Cavaliers' management are like headless chickens, and they don't know how to build an effective team.

The previous method of collecting veterans and passing balloon stars has been proven to be useless.

And even if it works, the Cavaliers' fundamentals and urban appeal aren't as good as the Heat's.

With Howard and Nash going to the Heat, Ray Allen and Lewis both chose the Heat.

Whether the Cavaliers can beat the Heat in the Eastern Conference playoffs, let alone enter the finals to challenge the Clippers.

This sense of despair of winning the championship shrouded James in the new season, and then shrouded the Cavaliers with James as the absolute core.

At noon on December 12st, when the Cavaliers' plane arrived in Los Angeles, it was raining coldly, and it was now a rainy winter on the West Coast.

James' mood was as bad as the weather in Los Angeles. After the team stayed in the hotel, he locked himself in the room and didn't want to go out.

In private, James is a very cheerful person. Like many black people from the bottom, he has humor and funny genes in his body.

This is very different between James and Kobe. Kobe is gloomy in nature, and the Italian-like melancholy and heaviness are hidden in the background of his character.

And James is shrewd, long-term, and full of reason when considering his career, and is smart, rational, and calculating on the court.

But he is not a gloomy person in essence, not the kind of person who likes to hide in the dark and dominate everything, he is not a qualified politician.

A qualified politician will not make his intentions and black spots so obvious. He is just a basketball player after all.

He was so depressed that he couldn't breathe. He didn't want to continue like this, but he didn't know where the way out was.

Finally, in the hotel room, he picked up the phone and dialed the number he hadn't dialed for several months.

The phone was connected quickly, and a familiar voice came from the opposite side.

What James didn't expect was that when he heard this voice, he had the urge to cry.

"Smart, I...I need your help."

(End of this chapter)