Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 83. "Plague God" Luke

The next day, the league punished the Timberwolves for Eddie Griffin's assault.

After discussion, the league imposed a five-game suspension and a $[-] fine on Eddie Griffin. This punishment is not serious enough.

You know, the Timberwolves and the Spurs are currently competing in the playoffs, and a five-game suspension is basically equivalent to excluding Eddie Griffin from the series.

Unless the Timberwolves can play seven games with the Spurs, Eddie Griffin will not return to the game in this round of the series.

Timberwolves fans are naturally very dissatisfied with the league's punishment results. Timberwolves fans firmly believe that this is just an ordinary court conflict, and it is reasonable to be suspended for one or two games after the game.

Suspending Eddie Griffin for five games at once is obviously a black box operation by the league. Seeing that the Spurs lack Robert Horry, they came up with a balance method.

However, facing the doubts of the Timberwolves fans, the league did not respond positively. Obviously, the league also has a headache for Eddie Griffin. Basically, the Timberwolves will not lack this guy in every conflict.

In fact, suspending Eddie Griffin for five games is enough restraint for David Stern, otherwise Eddie Griffin will not even think about coming back this year.

Because of the news from the San Antonio Spurs team doctor, although Robert Horry is currently awake, he was hit by Eddie Griffin many times in the back of the head and caused brain damage. Lie on the hospital bed to recuperate.

It is said that when Robert Horry first woke up, he couldn't even get out of bed and walk independently, and he didn't gradually regain his mobility until 12 hours later.

Robert Horry's situation is a latent reaction after the brain is severely injured, which is the so-called post-traumatic disorder. As for whether Horry's body can recover to its best state, it is still unknown.

The fans only know that Robert Horry will definitely not come back this season, and the next time can only lie on the hospital bed and confess alone...

…………

Fans are not too surprised that the Timberwolves defeated the Spurs in the first game of the Western Conference Finals. After all, the two teams are evenly matched in strength, and fans will not be surprised no matter who wins the game.

But what surprised the fans was that the Timberwolves beat the Spurs by 19 points in this game, causing the Spurs to lose by nearly 20 points. This result was something fans did not expect before.

The Timberwolves and the Spurs are both very strong, and even the odds of the two teams winning the championship are almost the same, no more than 0.7% before and after.

That's why the fact that the Timberwolves beat the Spurs by 19 points shocked the fans. Even though the Spurs' loss had something to do with Robert Horry's unexpected injury and retirement, Horry was by no means the main reason for the Spurs' loss.

Everyone watched the first game of the Western Conference Finals. Before Robert Horry was injured and retired unexpectedly, the Spurs had been at a disadvantage.

It wasn't until Robert Horry left the game with injury that the Spurs completely collapsed and were killed by the Timberwolves in one fell swoop.

In the first game of the Western Conference Finals, Tony Parker was targeted by the Timberwolves on the offensive end. He even allowed the Madman to score 31 points in a single game, becoming the first player to score 30+ points against the Spurs in the playoffs this season.

Tony Parker's lagging performance ushered in a lot of doubts after the game. Many people are questioning that Parker is a player who is seriously overestimated by fans.

This season is the last year of Tony Parker's rookie contract. Originally, Tony Parker signed a big contract with the Spurs during the offseason.

Parker's poor defense made fans doubt whether the "French sports car" can emerge in a real tough battle.

Even though Parker had helped the Spurs win a championship in the 02-03 season, Parker only shot 40% of his field goals in the playoffs that year.

Plus 23% of the three-pointers hit Duncan's thigh tightly, averaging 14.7 points per game, it is difficult for Parker to become a real giant.

Especially when Parker on the defensive end seriously hinders the Spurs, what kind of contract should be offered to Parker in the current offseason, which will become a difficult problem for the Spurs in the offseason.

.........

In addition, there are currently many fans on the Internet comparing Timberwolves coach Luke to the "God of Plague", because Tony Parker is not the first player this season who was personally beaten by Luke to lose his maximum salary contract.

When facing the Sonics in the Western Conference semifinals, Sonics center Jerome James' first-round performance can be described as a blast.

The average performance of 20 plus 10 in the playoffs made Jerome James's maximum salary contract almost available. As a result, once the Western Conference semifinals started, Jerome James was targeted by the Timberwolves' defense and turned into scum.

In the four games, Jerome James could barely contribute 31.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.6 blocks in an average of 0.8 minutes per game.

This data is very different from Jerome James' average of 20 plus 10 per game in the first round of the playoffs. At the same time, under the inside defense of the Timberwolves, Jerome James' lack of offensive skills is also infinitely exposed, which makes Seattle fans Not happy with Jerome James.

According to sources in Seattle, the SuperSonics management originally planned to re-sign Jerome James with a four-year, $4 million contract during the offseason.

However, the Supersonics have not taken any action on renewing James' contract. It is said that they have planned to let Jerome James test the free market.

From a four-year fat contract to giving up the contract renewal, just because Jerome James met the Timberwolves led by Luke in the Western Conference semifinals, I have to say that Jerome James can only admit that he is unlucky.

As long as the Supersonics are eliminated by the Kings in the first round of the playoffs, with the performance of Jerome James, it is more than enough to get a big contract during the offseason.

But what Jerome James is facing now is where to go next.

As for the current situation of Tony Parker, it is also not easy. As of now, Parker can contribute 17.3 points, 3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in the playoffs this year. This data is good enough for the disciplined Spurs.

And Tony Parker has been called "one of the troika" by fans since the season, and he has been placed in the position of a giant like Duncan and Ginobili.

Coupled with Tony Parker's super fast first-step start-up speed, some experts have even included Tony Parker as a first-line point guard in the league.

But with the end of the first game between the Western Conference Finals and the Timberwolves, Tony Parker's lack of defensive ability has been infinitely magnified, which makes fans worry about whether Parker will often be picked up and beaten at attention in the future.

Of course, Parker's reputation would not be so explosive if it was just a lack of defensive ability. After all, Steve Nash, the most eye-catching point guard in the league, also has a defensive ability, but no one has ever questioned Nash.

The main reason is that while Tony Parker has his own loopholes on the defensive end, this round of series with the Timberwolves also exposed his own offensive flaws.

Tony Parker's offensive methods rely too much on breakthroughs. Even if the turns and throws while dribbling make people look dazzling like juggling, Parker's offensive hot zone still cannot be extended.

The Timberwolves' defensive attitude towards Parker in the first game of the Western Conference Finals was very obvious. They put him two steps away from the three-point line to shoot, and the main defense was Tony Parker's breakthrough and pick-and-roll with inside players.

This situation makes Tony Parker become a burden for the Spurs on both ends of the offense and defense. Only when the Timberwolves' main players are off the field, Parker leads the second team to barely play an advantage.

上场比赛帕克在进攻端13投仅有3中，其中三分线外4中1，加上3罚3中的罚球才勉强拿下10分。

This low offensive efficiency made Parker not only fail to contribute to the team, but also caused the team to get into trouble.

It is foreseeable that if Tony Parker's performance in this round of the series fails to break through, the Spurs will not only be at a disadvantage in the situation, Parker's career development is also worrying.

Unlike Jerome James, once Parker chooses to test the free market, he will definitely attract many teams in the league.

It's just that Parker's performance in the playoffs may be difficult to get a generous personal salary. This is similar to Jerome James.

Many fans feel that the title of Luke "Plague God" is very appropriate. Jeff Van Gundy was dismissed in the first round of the playoffs.

In the second round of the playoffs, Jerome James' four-year fat contract was shattered, and Lewis' reputation collapsed. The city of Seattle has lost trust.

In the first game of the Western Conference finals, Spurs player Robert Horry was in a coma and retired from injury. It is hard to say whether there will be sequelae in the future.

Now Tony Parker has been called the focus of the league by the Timberwolves, and he has been directly called an overrated player from the league's first-tier point guard.

"Luke went out to fight, and no grass grew." From this perspective, Luke really deserves the title of "the league's first plague god"!
(End of this chapter)