rpbooks Chapter 550 The New Pattern
Chapter 550 The New Pattern
Chapter 550 The New Pattern
The Thunder have looked calm this summer.As the defending champions, what they have to do is to retain their winning lineup.Therefore, they immediately signed a contract extension with Paul George, and kept Felton with a basic salary contract, and extended Grant with a three-year $3 million contract.After doing this, the Thunder's management began to repair their lineup.They signed Noel for $2700 million over two years, a very talented post player, especially on the defensive end.Signed this year's No. 2 pick Hamidou Diallo for $350 million in three years, a young man with exaggerated bounce.Of course, what comes and goes.The well-known "Company Commander" Brewer and fringe figures such as Dozier, Huestis, and Hamilton have not received a contract extension from the Thunder.Can only leave Oklahoma to find another job.
When the climax of this summer cooled down and all the teams began to sort out their gains, everyone realized that the league had still undergone tremendous changes.
The teams in the East collectively breathed a sigh of relief.In fact, last season everyone saw the hope of getting ahead, but James just relied on his own strength to severely spank the little brothers who had been suppressed by him for nearly ten years.Now, he's finally gone!
The Cavaliers are definitely going to fall out of the Eastern Conference finals, and many people are not even optimistic about their promotion to the playoffs.Then, among the remaining teams, there are not many who can break out of the Eastern Conference.The Celtics, who lost to James in the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive years, will definitely have a place.The young people in their team are too good, coupled with Irving and Hayward who have returned from injury, the strength on paper is too strong.The second is the Philadelphia 76ers. Embiid is indeed a man who can make the whole city wait for two years. He has become a superstar.Simmons, who has been playing for a year, is not like a rookie at all. His all-round skills are the biggest helper around Embiid.Coupled with the joining of the tough guy Butler this season, I believe they can go further in the playoffs.Then there is the Raptors with Leonard and Danny Green.They were originally a strong team in the East, and they were still number one in the East in the regular season last season.If Leonard returns to health and has enough motivation to carry the team, the Raptors will be the strongest team in the East in the new season, and they are also the most popular team in the Finals.The Raptors exchanged DeRozan for Leonard, which is an obvious upgrade. What's more, they also got the offensive and defensive balance of Danny Green in the transaction.Coupled with the Bucks led by the grown-up Alphabet Song, the eastern sky basically belongs to these four teams.But who can register as king will have to wait until May next year.
Compared with the covetousness in the east, the west looks clearer.Of course, the competition in the entire West is still much stronger than in the East.Taking players as an example, a single start for the Warriors may not be much worse than the All-Star starters in the East!James' journey to the west has made the league's situation of being strong in the west and weak in the east even more serious.There are seven active players who have won the regular season MVP, all in the West.But most of these teams are just foils.Even if the season hasn't started yet, it's already evident.
The Lakers want to make some achievements this year.It's an obvious signal that they got James in the first place.But the subsequent trend made them very passive.Cousins' joining the Warriors cast a shadow over their plans, and the deal between the Spurs and the Raptors wiped out all suspense.
The Warriors' $530 million mini-middle-level exception was supposed to be for the likes of O'Quinn, but also for wings like Evans, Gerald Green or Hezonja.For the Warriors, signing any of the above with such a contract has already gained a lot.But it's unbelievable that the Warriors signed Cousins, one of the best centers in the league.
It is not only the Lakers who are desperate, but also the vast majority of teams in the entire league that hope to hit the championship.Many people are asking questions, is there still suspense for the new season championship?
Cousins may have to wait until December or January to return, but that doesn't matter to the Warriors, who don't care much about the regular season.The Warriors have enough capital to let Cousins slowly recover on his own schedule, and then welcome him back late in the season.The Warriors' starting five in the new season look more like the starters of the Western Conference All-Stars. Even if Cousins is only 12% of his previous level, this team is unstoppable.Cousins can space the floor, and he can rebound like crazy, filling one of the few holes in this well-rounded and powerful Warriors team.
The Warriors look flawless, but that doesn't mean everyone thinks they can win a championship.At the very least, if the Warriors want to win the championship, they must break through the Thunder.Just like last year, the Thunder challenged them.Although on paper, the Warriors have the upper hand.But they need to run in. Whether Cousins can quickly integrate into the Warriors' system determines the power of this lineup.After all, basketball is not a sport that depends solely on individual ability.
In this regard, the Thunder is much better than the Warriors.They have perfectly retained their championship lineup: Westbrook who is getting calmer and calmer, Paul George who is both offensive and defensive, An Luo who is a huge threat from outside the three-point line, defensive giant Robertson, and dirty work. Adams, who was caught by the son, and a group of relatively good rotation players, they can at least play the combat effectiveness of this year's Western Conference Finals.According to this comparison, whether Cousins can improve the overall strength of the Warriors by that much is really a big question.
In addition, one of the problems the Warriors must face is injuries.This factor affects the game even more than the team's lineup.For so many years, there have been countless teams that have fallen on the way to the championship due to injuries.In the past few seasons, the Warriors were rarely affected by such things, and the players maintained their best condition.However, this does not mean that the Warriors players have no hidden dangers.Cousins' body may have the opportunity to become the focal point of a chain reaction for the Warriors.Of course, this problem also plagued the Thunder.The same goes for other teams in the league.
In general, the entire Western Conference is likely to be a duel between the Thunder and the Warriors.But whoever can stand on the highest stage will have an advantage.After all, the entire East has been ruled by James for too long.Most players don't know what it's like to be in the finals.
(End of this chapter)