NBA: I am the god of basketball

In fact, if they are compatriots who have traveled from the future, just by looking at the current lineup structure of the Lakers, you can know what their combat effectiveness is.

Compare it to the Timberwolves in the 17-18 season in another time and space.

The Timberwolves in the 17-18 season also had the No. [-] pick in the team. Not only that, they also had the second No. [-] pick Andrew Wiggins in exchange for Love. Mal Crawford and other players.

Of course, the most important thing is that the Timberwolves introduced a very tough man who was underestimated by the league this year, Jimmy Butler!
Under the leadership of Butler, with many potential new stars, the Timberwolves, who seem to have a bright future, finally stumbled into the playoffs with the eighth place in the Western Conference.

Incidentally, this is the first time the Timberwolves have entered the playoffs since the 03-04 season.

It's funny to say that Garnett, the wolf king who claimed to be able to compete with Duncan for the league's top power forward at his peak, failed to lead the team to the playoffs for three consecutive years in the peak years of his career. His ability to lead the team is touching.

Everyone knows what happened later. After only one year in the Timberwolves, Butler asked the Timberwolves' management and players to break through the defense together, and turned around and ran to the 76ers.

The management is unwilling to renew his contract with a maximum salary. The attitudes of Towns and Wiggins openly flaunting at a young age are really hard for this tough guy to accept.

It's just that he never expected that after leaving Downs, he met Embiid again.

Both are inside players, Towns and Embiid have very similar technical characteristics, and even their personalities are very similar, and the attitude of the 76ers' management towards Butler is exactly the same as that of the Timberwolves.

Giving a maximum salary to a veteran who averaged only 24 points per game and is over 76 years old is too wasteful. The [-]ers chose to give the younger Tobias Harris a maximum salary. The salary contract is exactly the same as the Timberwolves choose to renew Wiggins' maximum salary in advance.

It's no wonder that Butler later led the team to kill the thriving 76ers when he was in the heat, and he still said angrily, "Do you want Harris or me?"
Although the Lakers don't have Wiggins on their side, the comparison between Ingram and Wiggins can only be compared even at their peak. As of 2023, their career averages are 19.2 points and 5.2 points per game. Rebounds 4.1 assists, shooting 46.4% from the field, another 19.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists, shooting 44.9% from the field.

In terms of assists and shooting percentage, Ingram has a slight advantage, but in the 17-18 season, Ingram, who is only a second-year player, is stronger than Wiggins, who has been in the league for four seasons. It must be a big difference.

As for Tatum in the first grade, he is even more different from Butler.

The Lakers team formed by these rookies is like a balloon. It looks very powerful, has excellent inside and outside, and has a bright future, but it explodes instantly when you poke it with a toothpick.

In the G1 game, Wang Chao didn't even exert much force at all. Just the young players Gobert, Mitchell, Murray and Kuzma fought back and forth with each other.

It's a coincidence that the young players on the Nuggets' side are slightly in line with the Lakers' side.

Insider Gobert can face Downs, Murray and Tatum can match up, Kuzma's height is even more comparable to Ingram, although the static talent is slightly inferior in wingspan, but Kuzma's movement The ability is stronger than Ingram, especially in the 17-18 and 18-19 seasons, Kuzma's performance in the regular season is not worse than Ingram.

The only one who doesn't match up with the young rookies of the Lakers is Mitchell.

There is only one Julius Randle left in the Lakers. In the future, he will also be an All-Star player who can contribute 25+10 per game, but he is a power forward, and there is no way to form a match with the 1-meter Mitchell. counterpoint.

But this is not a one-on-one duel, and there is no need to study so meticulously.

Having said so much, what I want to express is actually very simple. When the Nuggets completely let a Wang Chao, the main force of the Lakers can only compare with the Nuggets a little bit, and Wang Chao averaged 35.8 points per game during the regular season. Points, scoring 32% of the Nuggets, there is no suspense in this game.

After only three quarters, the Nuggets established an advantage of more than 20 points at home, especially in the third quarter. After a sudden improvement, the Lakers ushered in the most nightmare 5 minutes.

For a full 5 minutes, the Lakers could not score a single point. Whether it was Towns, Ingram or Tatum, they were completely unable to score in the face of the Nuggets' defense.

Throughout the third quarter, the Lakers scored only 14 points.

The final score of the two teams was 82:106. The Nuggets won by 24 points at home and won the playoffs.

After the game, the Nuggets didn't even have much interest in talking about the game and their opponents. There was too much difference in LV levels. The head coach of the Nuggets was so excited that even though it was only the first game, he put it down in front of the reporter. bold words. "We are already thinking about our opponents in the next round."

And listening to such arrogant words, no one thought it was unreasonable.

After all, the Nuggets are No. [-] in the West and No. [-] in the league.

Looking at the entire NBA history, there are only eight black-eight miracles, and this will also count the Heat and black-eight Bucks in the next 22-23 season.

The probability is so low that it doesn't need to be considered at all.

Even the Lakers thought so. The head coach of the Lakers at the time was very low-key and humble in interviews with reporters.

"Our goal in the playoffs is to train, so that young players such as Towns, Ingram and Tatum can accumulate game experience as soon as possible. In this playoffs, we encountered the best defensive team in the league. Their devil's home court, this series will definitely allow the young players to grow a lot and make them better in the future."

This is equivalent to surrendering in advance, although there is no rule of surrendering and losing half in the NBA.

And what the head coach of the Lakers said is actually quite boring.

What is exercising newcomers?

Towns, Ingram and Tatum are newcomers, but Mitchell and Murray are not?
Even Gobert, who joined the league in 13, is only 26 years old now, only 15 years older than the No. 3 pick Downs in [-].

The Lakers are a new team, and the Nuggets are even more. Except for Wang Chao, most of the main players are young and have a bright future!
On April 4, the second game of the series, still at the home of the Nuggets, the Nuggets continued to win two consecutive victories with a score of 18:116, leading by a big score of 99:2.

After the two home games, the two sides will go to the home of the Lakers, the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the game.

Although returning to their home court to gain home court advantage, even the Lakers fans never thought that their team could win in front of the Nuggets, even if they win a game to avoid being swept away, it is unlikely.

During the home game in Los Angeles, a more interesting episode also happened, that is, when Wang Chao arrived outside the Staples Arena, there were thunderous cheers, and countless fans lined up outside the Staples Center to greet him , holding up various posters of Wang Chao.

Of course, these fans are not fans of the Lakers. They are fans of the Los Angeles Clippers, the sworn rivals in the same city who share the same arena with the Lakers.

These Clippers fans hope that the Nuggets will be stronger, sweep the Lakers 4-0, and then win the championship in one go, so Wang Chao will have a reason and opportunity to join the Clippers, even if Wang Chao is really that strong, come on. If the Clippers win the championship within one to two years and then leave, it is not a loss. After all, the Clippers have not had a championship in team history for nearly 50 years!

They really hope that Wang Chao can bring them a championship.

The fanatical Clippers fans are in stark contrast to the Lakers fans who have no hope for their team's victory. The result is that the atmosphere of the Lakers' home game is not much different from the away game. Nearly half of the seats are occupied by the Lakers. The boat fans are occupied, cheering loudly whenever Wang Chao takes the ball.

However, no matter whether there are off-court factors or not, the difference in strength between the two teams is still too great. There is no slight difference between the Lakers' two home games and their away games. Win the game.

With a total score of 4:0, a group of young Lakers players were swept out and went home early to fish.

This result is acceptable to both teams.

The Nuggets swept the Lakers and advanced to the second round as they wished, continuing to attack the championship.

As for the Lakers, although they were beaten badly, they have indeed accumulated some experience in the playoffs as the head coach said. After all, they can play against Wang Chao, the recognized king of the playoffs, in the playoffs. Definitely a rare experience.

For the Lakers, victory or defeat is only superficial. The more important strategic value hidden in the Lakers team is the free market this summer!

By this summer, several junk contracts of the Lakers will expire, and the team has enough salary space to win a superstar to join in the league, and the Lakers management is also full of confidence in this.

They are the Lakers, the biggest giants in the league, synonymous with the City of Angels in Los Angeles, and the team is not a big team now. There are many potential players in Towns, Ingram and Tatum. Any superstar can join. Directly airborne as the boss of the team, raising the team's combat effectiveness to the top of the league.

The only pity is that there is no Wang Chao's name in their signing list. The second largest championship team in history after the Celtics naturally lost the capital to pursue Wang Chao.
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The opponents of the Nuggets in the second round are fourth and fifth in the West, the winner between the Trail Blazers and the Rockets.

The strength of the Blazers and the Rockets is basically equal. On the Blazers side, with the main lineup of Lillard, McCollum, Aldridge and Nurkic, the overall strength is quite strong.

On the Rockets side, the only main players who can make a move are Leonard and Whiteside.

However, on a stage like the playoffs, the role of a top star is often more important than a few ordinary stars.

Leonard embodies this perfectly.

In the game against the Trail Blazers, Leonard was full of firepower, averaging 33 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He abruptly led the Rockets to beat the Trail Blazers 4:2, defeated the Blazers and entered the second round.

In contrast, although Lillard and McCollum on the Trail Blazers side contributed steadily and averaged 20+ points per game, Aldridge's performance was very average, averaging only 6 points and 16.5 rebounds per game in 7.4 games.

The most disappointing thing about the team is Lillard, who has high hopes.

Nicknamed Cousin Lillard, there is no doubt that he has a strong scoring power. Even in different time and space, he has staged many wonderful lore scenes.

But in his playoff career, he always ended in failure. Even if he broke into the Western Conference Finals in the 18-19 season and tied Paul's career best record in the playoffs at that time, there is still an upper limit after all, and there is no way Compared with a player like Leonard.

It's just that Leonard, who led the team to the second round, didn't feel too good. After all, their opponent in the second round was the Nuggets.

Facing the boss of his own team in the past, neither Leonard himself nor the fans of the Rockets thought that they could pass the mountain of Wang Chao. The gap in strength was too great!
The first round of matches ended one after another, and the league also announced the list of the best team for the 17-18 season in due course.

As in previous years, the list of the best team will always have a few unshakeable names and some floating names.

For example, during the first round, the names of Wang Chao and James are as stable as Mount Tai, and the thick-browed brother Anthony Davis has also been selected for the first round for several consecutive seasons. As for the two players on the guard, they are Curry and Harden.

The five players in the second team are Westbrook, DeRozan, Durant, Leonard and Antetokounmpo.

In the past, when Wang Chao was the point guard, he would always occupy one of the guards' rosters. Now that he returns to the forward position, the result is that Durant is squeezed into the second team. correct.

The competition for the list of the best three teams is the most intense, because there are many players who have the strength to be selected for the best team, and the places are just that, and they can only be distinguished in the fierce competition.

The five players who finally came out of the crowd were Lillard of the Blazers, Irving of the Celtics, Butler of the Spurs, Embiid of the Cavaliers and Cousins ​​of the Warriors.

Every season when the best team is announced, there will be a battle of scolding, and some fans complain about the stars who were not selected for the best team.

This time is no exception.

"Why is Embiid selected to the third team? He is just a younger brother who follows James. Where is our Big Towns worse than Embiid in terms of statistics? And he also led the team into the playoffs as the core of the team. Not much stronger than you?"

"Howard is 18+12 this season, the core of the Spurs' interior defense. Why should he lose to Cousins, who is 20+10?"

However, in the scolding battle, there was surprisingly no controversy about the Nuggets. Even as a team with the league's first record, only Wang Chao was an All-Star and an All-NBA player throughout the season. Of course the same.

"Isn't this normal? Isn't it the credit of Wang Chao for the Nuggets' No. That's all, based on their performance, is it possible that they still want to compete for the best team or something? Is this possible?"

In another time and space, Gobert and Mitchell were selected to the All-Star for the first time in 2020, and Murray was selected to the All-Star only once in the 21-22 season. When partnering with Wang Chao, a radiant superstar, it is estimated that only after Wang Chao wins the Nuggets and leaves, their brilliance will gradually bloom and be recognized by the fans. (end of this chapter)