rpbooks Chapter 677 The Contest Between FMVPs
Chapter 677 The Contest Between FMVPs
Chapter 677 The Contest Between FMVPs
This season may be another extremely critical turning point in the history of the entire league.
The end of an era is often the beginning of the next glorious years.When James, who had ruled the Eastern Conference for nearly a decade, left the Eastern Conference, those strong Eastern teams that had been suppressed by him for many years emerged one after another.And in the second half of the regular season, reinforcements were completed through trades successively, and Bingfeng pointed directly at the Eastern Conference champion that James had occupied for many years.
The competition for the championship has always been fierce.But any team that has a chance will fight bloody for that trophy.Especially those two teams that went all the way to the finals, the competition is fierce.After all, who wants to fall on the last leg?Therefore, there will rarely be a one-sided situation in the finals.
But the first finals game between the Thunder and the Raptors was a big disappointment.Except for the third quarter, the two sides still felt a bit like the finals, and the other three quarters were very boring.It's okay if the defense of both sides is particularly tough, but whether it is the Thunder or the Raptors, the defense in this game is not good.Playing poorly is purely in a bad state.Especially in the first half of the last quarter, the Raptors had almost no resistance.Originally, their hope of winning was not small, but the power was suddenly cut off, as if he had been stunned. After he woke up, he was powerless.
"The worst finals ever! No sense of experience."
"The sudden power outage of the Raptors made this game lose its color!"
"Leonard can't be a good leader yet!"
"Lowry is still the same Lowry."
……
With the development of the Internet, all fans in the world can participate in discussions on various topics.After the first game between the Thunder and the Raptors, the debate about this game heated up in an instant.
The Raptors and Leonard are under tremendous pressure.On the whole, it is not particularly unacceptable for the Raptors to have such a performance in the finals for the first time.But Leonard's performance really disappointed everyone.In 41 minutes, he made 16 of 5 shots, including 5 of 1 three-pointers, and scored 11 points with 22 free throws.The hit rate is poor, and the performance at critical moments is even worse.In that wave of big rhythm, Leonard, the core of the team, did not stand up and make his due contribution.And in the final counterattack, Siakam and Gasol Jr. behaved more like the leaders of the team than Leonard.
As a player who has won FMVP, the finals is where Leonard can play the most value.The reason why the Raptors want to exchange DeRozan for Leonard, even if they only have the right to use it for one year, the most important reason is their performance in the playoffs and experience in the finals.Now it seems that the performance in the playoffs is acceptable, but Leonard's performance in the finals has not yet met the expectations of Raptors fans.
In this league, the result is always the most important.No matter how good any player's performance in the whole process before the result comes out, if the final performance is too poor, his evaluation will not be improved much.Just like Antetokounmpo, he performed at a historical level in the regular season, leading the Bucks to advance to the playoffs with the No. [-] record in the Eastern Conference.Antetokounmpo has always been the most powerful contender for the regular season MVP, and can be said to be the strongest player during the regular season this season.But when it came to the playoffs, especially after the Eastern Conference finals, people's evaluation of him suddenly dropped several grades.
After all, Leonard is the one who won the FMVP.In the second game two days later, he adjusted his state and played his due performance on both offense and defense.
In this game, the Raptors continued the tactics of the previous game.Focus on defense, limit the Thunder's outside offense, and allow players such as Westbrook and Paul George to rush to the basket to end the offense.Both Gasol Jr. and Ibaka are top defenders in the penalty area.Coupled with Leonard and Danny Green who can support at any time, the Raptors' defense caused great trouble to the Thunder.
Of course, Leonard's role on the defensive end is more reflected in the restrictions on Paul George.In fact, he did very well in the last game.This point, there is no big change.As for the offensive end, Leonard's biggest difference is that his touch has recovered.
The Thunder, who were playing at home, carried the momentum of the previous game and launched the strongest attack in the first quarter.The leader is still Westbrook.His sharp breakthrough can easily tear through the Raptors' defense to score.
The highlights of the entire first quarter were focused on the two finals MVPs of Westbrook and Leonard.Of course, the other players weren't completely silent, but in comparison, it seemed normal.
The first direct conversation between the two occurred with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter.Paul George made a screen for Westbrook on the right three-point line. His pick-and-roll quality was very high, and Lowry was directly stuck outside the three-point line.Leonard switched defenses at the first time, but he didn't stick it up, but blocked the route of Westbrook's breakthrough, bowed his waist, a pair of long arms enveloped Westbrook, and the small steps under his feet didn't stop for a moment .Leonard's purpose is obvious, that is, to let go and not let go.
Westbrook himself understands, but he is not afraid of the opponent's defense.He half-turned, the left half of his body was pressed against Leonard, and he pushed hard against the opponent, accelerating towards the basket.Westbrook's speed is too fast, Leonard can only follow closely behind him.At this time, if Gasol Jr. goes forward to help defend, Westbrook must pass the ball, but Adams firmly stuck him behind him.Without the threat from the inside, Westbrook directly chose to layup.
Leonard took off with Westbrook almost at the same time. He stretched out his right hand and patted the basketball in Westbrook's hand.Westbrook naturally knew the opponent's ability very well. He retracted his right hand, easily avoided Leonard's block, and then pulled the bar to dial the ball into the basket.
Looking back, Leonard was near the free throw line at the left elbow, turned around and passed Paul George halfway, and pulled it up to make a mid-range hit.
This kind of confrontation was staged very frequently in the first quarter.The two FMVP players, Westbrook and Leonard, stood up from the beginning. They used their best methods to create damage when other players were not able to provide stable scoring.As the leading players, the duel between them is very exciting.
(End of this chapter)