2020: Mamba s back·The Lakers 17th Championship·Broken and Redemption

The 2019-20 season is full of separation, interruptions, accidents and twists, and it is the most fragmented season in NBA history.

We bid farewell to Kobe and David Stern and witnessed the breakdown and resumption of the season.

The last Bubble Park Tournament is like a metaphor: this season seems to be separated from previous history.

At the end of the 2010s and the beginning of the 2020s, the order of the previous years was completely broken up. The Warriors, Cavaliers, Rockets, Spurs, Thunder and even the defending champion Raptors all left the championship stage when 2020 comes; injuries made superstars such as Durant, Curry, Clay and Irving silent for a while; unprecedented park games, empty courts, diamonds in the soil, and forgotten old people, take turns to go on stage or bow down in this year when everything can happen.

The biggest tragedy and final comedy of the year revolve around Los Angeles.

Before the summer of 2019, the biggest news was also in Los Angeles: the transaction was completed on July 15, 2019. The New Orleans Pelicans accepted the second place winner of the 2017 No. 2 Lonzo Ball, the 2016 No. 2 Brandon Ingram, Jason Hart and three draft picks, handing over the Thick-Brow Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Davis has entered the NBA's first team three times and the NBA's defensive lineup twice. He was the most outstanding off-ball attacker among the NBA players at that time: inward, outward, mid-range shot, and shot, the perfect finisher. On the defensive end, he was the top defense replacement and coverage ability in the world. His off-ball finish and defense are perfectly in line with LeBron James's hobbies. Other veterans also came here. Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Javi McGee, and Danny Green came to the Lakers one by one.

The Lakers' coach is Frank Vogel, who has fought with LeBron many times on the Pacers: the first thing he did when he arrived at the Lakers was to emphasize defense. As for the offense? LeBron told his teammates, "Our offense will catch up quickly."

Los Angeles are in the same city, another big news: After Leonard won the championship for the Raptors, he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. At the same time, the Clippers sent Italian Danilo Gallinari, young defender Shea Alexander and draft picks, asking the Thunder for Paul George. The Thunder not only sent George away, but also Westbrook, and had to return Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets, and a lot of draft picks to start rebuilding. So Westbrook and Harden reunited on the Rockets.

In hindsight, the Clippers gave the Thunder 2025 championship.

The Thunder's former ace Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors this summer and signed with Brooklyn.com. His injury would delay him for a year before playing, but the net was not in a hurry: they also signed Kyrie Irving, hoping that Durant would reign with Irving in the East after he recovered.

After leaving the Warriors, Durant and the Warriors Cole also spoke. Previously, Kerr believed that Durant had just arrived in the Warriors' 2016-17 season, and the team's pass-cut system was well combined with Durant's excellent one-on-one, which was the peak of the team. The next year, in the 2018 Western Conference Finals, Cole once criticized the team's transfer ball without name, and advised Durant to reduce singles.

After leaving the Warriors in 2019, Durant believes that it is difficult to win the championship by just passing and cutting, and he has to use one-on-one challenge in the end of the playoffs. This is a battle between him and Cole.

The Golden State Warriors, who lost Durant and Clay, lost two consecutive games at the start of the 2019-20 season, losing 47 points in total against the Clippers and the Thunder. In the fourth game of the season, Curry broke his left hand and began to recover. So the 2019 Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors ended the season early. This year, Curry, Durant and Clay Thompson were all silent.

The summer of 2019 was relatively less sensational: 30-year-old Jimmy Butler signed with Miami Heat.

Previously, after the Bulls played three-year All-Star performance, Butler went to the Minnesota Timberwolves to partner with 2014 No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins and 2015 No. 1 pick Carl Anthony Towns. After a year and a half, he went to Philadelphia 76ers to partner with 2016 No. 1 pick Ben Simmons and the talented giant Embiid. In the summer of 2019, he went to Miami Heat, which had 39 wins and 43 losses the previous season, and was in charge. At that time, the team was led by Coach Spoostera and was full of young people: Michigan scorer Duncan Robinson, Illinois defender Kendrick None, old defender Golan Dragic, Kentucky swinger Taylor Sheero, swinger Jay Claude who wandered around the team, and Kentucky's short and strong support insider Ban Adebayo.

Later, the team's 40-year-old veteran Yudunis Haslem commented on the team as "diamonds in the soil." After the 2019-20 season begins, LeBron James no longer takes over the team's offense as he used to. Davis is responsible for the ending of the Lakers, and LeBron is more focused on passing.

But in the fifth game of the season, LeBron took over rarely: 39 points, 12 rebounds, 16 main attack and 4 steals. Because on the opposite side, the second-year Slovenian genius Luka Doncic is facing him: that day Doncic scored 31 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists.

Although they have different sizes and one round of age difference, Doncic admits that he learned to play LeBron when he was a teenager: they do have similarities, their natural reading ability, judgment ability and broad vision. Doncic's name is pick-and-roll, squeezes through, pauses, chooses to layup, take a three-pointer or send a deadly pass, which is similar to Harden. That day, Doncic was outside the Lakers' locker room door, waiting to exchange jerseys with his idol LeBron.

And LeBron praised Doncic: "He can create good shooting opportunities for his teammates, and I love him that. The way he plays is the right way. ”

In Houston, James Harden continued to monopolize the scoring: He scored 59 points against the Wizards on October 30, 2019, scored 60 points against the Hawks a month later, the next 50 points against the Spurs, and then December 11 and 13, with two consecutive games, with 55 and 54 points. His scoring thrust was interrupted when 2020 arrived: Westbrook, who was struggling to explore the first two months of the season, found it when 2020 arrived The idea: not jump shots, only break through. The Rockets' play style has also been simplified to: "Westbrook and Harden each shot 25 basketballs, and the others took the opportunity to shoot three-pointers."

In Milwaukee, defending regular season MVP Giannis continued to lead the Bucks to win: this year, the Bucks lost defender Malcolm Brogden, and Giannis's ball rights were correspondingly more.

In Portland, because the main center Yusuf Nukic was injured, the team lacked the support axis, and Damian Lila German must take over the Trail Blazers offense: On November 8, 2019, he scored 60 points against Brooklyn Net.

and then entered a turbulent 2020. On January 1, 2020, David Stern, who had stepped down as former president and pushed the NBA to the peak of history, passed away at the age of 77.

1984-2014, during his thirty years as NBA president, he made the NBA form a total of 23 teams in 1984 The league worth $15.5 million has become a giant with an average value of $600 million for 30 teams in 2014. It has turned the NBA from an institution with a swaying broadcast contract into a large institution that now has 200 countries outside the country rushing to broadcast and continue to make money in the Internet era. Seven teams have been added, twenty-eight new stadiums have been built, and five teams have been hosted. When asked in 2006, "What do you think you are responsible for?" Stern replied: "I am the president of the NBA. My responsibility is to make money from the team bosses. "He did it.

His death was the end of the entire NBA era. On January 26, 2020, 41-year-old Kobe Bryant flew from Orange County to Los Angeles with his second daughter Gianna, college baseball coach John Altobery, and nine others, crashed on a hillside outside Calabasas.

This incident shocked the NBA. He experienced a competitive, stubborn, hardworking, and brilliant career Afterwards, Kobe was enjoying a wonderful retirement life, but the New Year was about to fall, and misfortune came. Shark, who was both a rival and a friend of Kobe, shed tears in the subsequent interview program, describing himself and Kobe, like the Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney: a pair of creative geniuses pushing music to the peak. LeBron learned about Kobe's misfortune during his journey from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. At the subsequent press conference, LeBron said with red eyes:

"Brother, I swear, your legend will continue. ”

After that, due to the global epidemic, the NBA regular season was forced to be suspended on March 11, 2020. On May 29, NBA President Adam Xiaohua announced that the NBA will continue the season on July 31. 13 Western teams and 9 Eastern teams will play in several regular season games to determine the top eight in the East and West, and then directly play the playoffs. The game venue will be near Orlando. The park is underway.

At this point, the 2020 playoffs will usher in an unprecedented situation: the

The court is empty, regardless of home and away.

In an abnormal season, did this ending method? Just during the offseason, 43-year-old Vince Carter announced his retirement, ending his 22-season career that began in the summer of 1998.

The season reopened on July 31, 2020. Lillard scored 11 three-pointers against the Nuggets in one game, scored 45 points and 12 assists, followed by 51 points against the Philadelphia 76ers and 61 points against Dallas. He pulled the Portland Trail Blazers into the playoffs by himself. In the first game of the 2020 playoffs after

, Lillard led the eighth Trail Blazers in the Western Conference against the No. 1 Lakers in the Western Conference, scored 34 points, and led the team. 100-93 win. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers once led by 6 points, then Lillard scored a 9-meter long shot from outside and tied to 87; after that, Lillard scored a 10-meter long shot, leading 92-89: In front of him, Anthony Davis, who led the Pelicans to sweep him in 2018.

However, the Trail Blazers' good show ended here: the Lakers then made four consecutive games.

The Lakers did not hesitate to give in to the second game Rard broke through and made a layup to defend his three-pointer. Davis scored 31 points and 11 rebounds by himself, and the Lakers won 111-88. In the third game, LeBron scored 29 points in the first half, and the Lakers fought for defense in the second half. Lillard scored 34 points, but the Lakers won 116-108. Then the Lakers won the fourth game 135-115, leading 3-1, and Lillard was injured. In the fifth game, Trail Blazers defender CJ McIlome shot 36 7 assists, but Anthony Davis scored 43 points and 9 rebounds, while LeBron scored 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists triple-double: The Lakers won 131-122 without any danger, eliminating the Trail Blazers 4-1. On the other side, the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets played a magical showdown. In the first game of the series, Jazz third-year guard Donovan Mitchell got a breaking team The record-breaking playoffs 57 points in a single game. In overtime, the Nuggets attacked in advance and forced Mitchell to give up the ball, and won 135-125. After

, the Jazz won three consecutive games, and Mitchell scored 51 points in the fourth game, giving the Jazz 3-1 lead.

The Nuggets changed their team and put the talented new forward Porter Jeremiah Grant on the bench to start, allowing forward Jeremiah Grant to start. In the fifth game, Murray scored 42 points and 8 assists, and Joggy Qi scored 31 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and the Nuggets won 117-107.

In the sixth game, Murray scored 50 points, Jokic sent 9 assists, Mitchell scored 44 points, but the Nuggets still won 119-107.

In the seventh game, the two sides had a slow-paced showdown, Jokic scored 30 points to dominate the game. In the last moment, Mitchell drew 74. Murray did not wait for Jokic to get in place, and Mitchell scored a strong shot and took the lead.. The Nuggets made a Jazz turnover by a pinch, and Murray made a layup, 78-74. After the Jazz used the Nuggets' open position to tie the ball to 78, Jokic singled Gobert to score a winning goal, winning 80-78. The Nuggets, who fell behind 1-3, completed a big reversal and came to the Western Conference semi-finals for the second consecutive year.

Another group of Western Conference playoffs, Luca Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks faced the second in the Western Conference in the first playoff game of his NBA career. The Los Angeles Clippers set a record: 13 of 21 shots, 15 free throws and 14 free throws, the highest performance in the playoffs in history.

Perhaps because Doncic's pass was too good, he led the Mavericks to the highest NBA history at that time, with high efficiency of 116.7 points per 100 leg. The Clippers strictly guarded against Doncic's passes from beginning to end. As a result, except Doncic, the Dallas team made 24 of 60 shots. The Clippers took the first game 118 to 110. In the second game, the Mavericks scored multiple points, and the team's 221 cm giant Christapas Poggins scored 23 points. The Mavericks won 127 to 114. In the third game, Leonard organized the instigation, with 36 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, allowing the team to score 14 three-pointers. The Clippers won 130-122, 2-1.

Mavericks' Pokingis was injured, but Doncic played a magical fourth game: the Mavericks were once behind 21 points in the second quarter, and Doncic took over in the third quarter, scoring 13 points and 5 assists in a single quarter. Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Mavericks have led 110 to 99: Doncic has scored 30 points. The Clippers' Coach Rivers changed the lineup: Louis Williams at 185 cm, Reggie Jackson at 191 cm, Leonard at 201 cm, George at 203 cm, and Marcus Morris at 203 cm, with a small ball lineup plus a switch to defense. The Clippers chased to 121 and entered overtime.

3.7 seconds left in overtime, the Mavericks fell behind. Luca Doncic, 21 years old and 177 days old, took the ball with the left wing, forced Reggie Jackson to replace the defense, and took a three-pointer to make a move. 135 to 133, Doncic defeated the Clippers. 43 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists in the game. Mark Jackson on the sidelines sighed: "Full of confidence, never waver, extremely calm!"

But Doncic was unable to support his one-arm. The Clippers won two consecutive games afterwards, eliminating Dallas 4-2 to the Western Conference semi-finals.

This series shocked Doncic in the NBA, and the Clippers also seemed to have some problems: Paul George can play in an ups and downs throughout the series. They don't have a reliable offensive player except Leonard? In the 2020 Western Conference Semi-finals after

, the Clippers quickly led the Nuggets 3-1, only one step away from the Western Conference Finals. However, in the history of the Clippers, there have been 6 opportunities to "go to the division finals if you win" in total - I didn't seize it once.

In the fifth game, the Nuggets' Coach Mike Malone discovered that when the Clippers assisted in the defense, they would give forward Paul Millsap a short shot, so Millsap shot continuously in the third quarter, and the Nuggets reversed and won by 15 points. In the third quarter of the sixth game, the Clippers led 19 points again 68-49. Coach Malone suspended adjustments. Jokic made 3 points, 3 shots in the fourth quarter, and 7 shots were outside the penalty area. He scored 34 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists in the whole game. The Nuggets won 111-98 and dragged into the seventh game again.

So far, Jokic's four playoff series - against the Spurs, against the Trail Blazers, against the Mavericks, against the Clippers - each time they played to Game 7.

In the seventh game against the Clippers, Jokic scored 16 points, 22 rebounds and 13 assists in the game, and Jamal Murray scored 40 points. The entire Clippers team was inaccurate. The Nuggets defeated the Clippers 104-89, completed a 1-3 major reversal in the second consecutive round, advanced 4-3, and went to the 2020 Western Conference Finals.

This is the third time Rivers' coaching career that he was reversed by a 3-1 lead. After the series, he ended his seven-year coaching career with the Los Angeles Clippers and left.

But this is not the biggest upset.

Miami Heat, fifth in the Eastern Conference regular season, eliminated the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in the first round, and then won 115-104 in the first game against the Eastern Conference regular season Milwaukee Bucks, the first in the Eastern Conference regular season, shocking the league.

Jimmy Butler scored 40 points, while insider Adebayo scored 12 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists. Opposite regular season MVP Giannis scored only 18 points and made 6 turnovers. Coach Eric Spoostera of Miami Heat made a strange move. He learned from the defensive experience of the Celtics and the Raptors the previous year: three players formed a formation when retreating to prevent Giannis from starting up and rushing straight to the basket; he used the lower set of the small defender Kaganis to hinder him from breaking through.

The second game, Miami did not focus on Jimmy Butler: Dragic's pick-and-roll main attack at the beginning, followed by Duncan Robinson's long-range shot; then entered Ban Adebayo's high-level instigation mode. Jimmy Butler only shot 8 times in the game, but made 4 screening assists and 6 passes that destroyed the Bucks. The whole team blossomed, winning 116 to 114. 2 to 0.

In the third game, Giannis was defended to 7 of 21 shots, while Butler scored 30 points, Adebay scored 20 points, 16 rebounds and 3 main attackers, and scored a super climax of 40-13 in the last quarter, winning 115-100, 3-0. In the fourth game, the Bucks won a game 118-115 in overtime, but Giannis was injured; there was no chance in the fifth game: The Hot Six scored more than 12 points, blossomed at multiple points, won 103-94, and eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks 4-1. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat's opponent was the young Celtics: they fought hard seven games, eliminating the defending champion but losing Leonard's Toronto Raptors. In the seventh game, the Celtics' new All-Star, the third-year-old Tanhua, and Jason Tatum, 22-year-old and 193-day Jayson Tatum scored 29 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists, while Jaylen Brown scored 21 points in 2016. The Celtics also have excellent defender Marcus Smart and new player guard Kemba Walker, which is their third time in four years to the Eastern Conference Finals.. Before the seventh game, Jaylen Brown said to Jason Tatum: "It's a great honor to play with you, learn from you and grow." However, in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics encountered heat, which showed that they were too young after all. In the first match of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics led by double-digit score differences many times, but used Jimmy Butler's inside threat to instigate the perimeter. With 22 seconds left in regular time, Butler scored a long shot from the right corner, and then Tatum made a free throw, and both sides dragged into overtime. In overtime, Butler scored a three-pointer on Tatum, and Hot took the lead. Adebayo emerged and blocked Tatum's dunk. In the end, Hot won 117 to 114. In the second game, the Celtics once led by 17 points in the second quarter. But in the third quarter, the Celtics made a big splash and made 7 mistakes in a single quarter. After the game, Coach Stevens admitted that there were too many "unsimple passes" on his side. Jimmy Butler scored 6 points, 2 steals and 2 assists in the last 4 minutes of the game, ending the Celtics' pursuit. Heat won 106 to 101, 2 to 0.

The Celtics relied on Tatum's 25 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, Jaylen Brown's 26 points, plus Walker's 21 points and Smart's 20 points, and won a goal in the third game 117-106. But in the fourth game, 20-year-old Miami Heat freshman Herro took the action. Because the Celtics wanted to watch Butler and Dragic, Kemba Walker, the weakest defense link of the team, went to face Hero. As a result, Hero shot 23 points in the second half of the third quarter to the middle of the fourth quarter: 37 points in the game. The Heat won 112 to 109 and led 3 to 1.

The Celtics won 121-108 in the fifth game with Daniel Theyce's 15 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and multiple switches. But in the sixth game, Miami Heat didn't wait: both sides were tangled up until the fourth quarter, and the Heat once fell behind to 91-96. Adebayo immediately took over the game. Adebay scored 32 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists in the whole game. The Hot won 125-113 and eliminated the Celtics 4-2.

In terms of talent, ferment is no better than Celtics. In six games, the Celtics scored 675 and Hot 674. They advanced entirely through tenacity and hard work.

And this is just the beginning of the Heat's feud with the Celtics.

Return to the protagonist of the Los Angeles Lakers in the west. After the Lakers lost first and then won 4-1 in the first round, they crossed the Trail Blazers 4-1, the Western Conference semi-finals were defeated by the Houston Rockets: they lost 97-112.

The second game begins, Coach Frank Vogel decides to increase Davis's moving catch and improve the team's pinch and counterattack. The Lakers led 36-20 in the first quarter and won 117-109 in the end. In the first half of the third game, the Lakers relied on LeBron to support the game: LeBron scored 29 points, Harden scored 21 points, and Westbrook scored 17 points. In the second half, the Lakers became a small ball lineup and added joint defense, while Davis made a rebound in the frontcourt, and LeBron blocked four blocks in a single quarter. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Rondo, who came on the bench, shone brightly, and scored 10 points and 4 assists in half a quarter. The Rockets, who scored 64 points in the first half, scored only 38 points in the second half. In the end, the Lakers won 112-102. After the game, LeBron admitted: During the halftime break, the whole team watched the videotape together and made major adjustments to the defensive end.

In the fourth game, the Lakers started with Danny Green leading the defense, attacking Harden with a pair of attacks, and quickly converting to defend on the weak side. So Harden only scored two goals in the whole game. In addition, the Lakers used Davis to rotate Westbrook, and LeBron and Rondo were responsible for protecting the basket: LeBron and Rondo had a total of 21 defensive rebounds and 17 assists, pushing the Lakers forward and allowing the Lakers to make 19 points in the game. The Lakers defeated the Rockets 110-100. The Lakers lead 3-1. In the fifth game, Harden scored 30 points, but the Rockets had no more energy. The Lakers easily won 119-96 and eliminated the Rockets 4-1. After the game, the Rockets' Coach Mike Dantoni also ended his term and left.

This can actually be regarded as the end of the Harden Rockets era.

Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers play against the Denver Nuggets.

In the first game, the Lakers used a lot of defense to cut Jokic's organization, and the Nuggets' offense could not be implemented. LeBron scored 13 of 15 points in the second quarter, giving the Lakers the initiative. During the halftime break, Coach Vogel reminded the Lakers that the Nuggets were very strong in the second half and should not be capsized. In the third quarter, Coach Vogel sent the old Warcraft Dwight Howard to start, sucking Jokic's strength. LeBron scored 5 assists in a single quarter, and the Lakers once led by 24 points. In the end, the Lakers won 126-114, without any danger.

But in the second game, the Lakers encountered danger: in the third quarter, they led 70-54 to 16 points, and then the Nuggets were suspended. Coach Mike Malone arranged a lot of defense replacements and used Jokic to fight alone. In the last moment of the game, Jokic scored 11 points in a row, and Davis also scored 10 points in a row.

Lakers are behind 102 to 103. Davis received the ball on the bottom line and started with a three-pointer. Jokic fills up the position, watching the ball pass through his fingertips and goes straight to the basket: the Lakers win 105-103, leading 2-0. After

made the ball, Davis rushed to the bench, hugged his teammates, and roared all the way: "Bobe!"

Coach Vogel said after the game that the Nuggets missed the man gave Davis a chance to take action. He believed that he had his own will:

"Mamba (Kobe's nickname) is there."

The Nuggets used a lot of defense replacements and contractions to limit the Lakers' single-handed challenge. The Nuggets won a goal 114-106, 1-2. In the fourth game, the Lakers started with Dwight Howard, scoring 8 points and 8 rebounds in 9 minutes in the first quarter, and Jokic scored only 16 points, 4 assists and 5 fouls. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers set up a small ball team. LeBron personally defended Murray and completed the counterattack in one breath. In the end, the Lakers won 114-108 and led 3-1.

In the fourth quarter of the fifth game, the Nuggets chased the points as usual. Veteran Danny Green first blocked Jokic and then filled the team to interfere with the Nuggets' long shot. Davis made a key three-pointer, giving the Lakers a 102-92 lead. At this time, LeBron stood up: Four jumpers locked in the game. The Lakers defeated the Nuggets 117-107 and ended the series 4-1.

LeBron scored 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in the game. At the age of 36 in three months, he went to the NBA Finals for the tenth time in his career. He will take Rondo and Dwight Howard, the old Eastern Conference opponents from ten years ago, to the 2020 Finals, playing for coaches Miami Heat and Eric Spooester, who had won the first two championship rings with him.

This is also the fifth time that LeBron has encountered Andre Iguodala in the finals.

The first game of the 2020 Finals, the Lakers' forward line, LeBron at 203 cm tall, Dwight Howard and Davis at 208 cm tall.

The hot front line, Jimmy Butler, 201 cm tall, Claude, 198 cm tall, and Ban Adebayo, 206 cm tall.

Hot's small ball speed lineup once took a 23-10 lead. So the Lakers replaced Dwight Howard and began to play small balls firmly. Rondo and Davis led the team and launched a 21-5 offensive in one go. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Lakers continued to play small ball teams: LeBron's inside line. Jimmy Butler scored a one-on-one in the second quarter, sprained his ankle and fell down after getting his 16th point. The Lakers ended the half with a 65-48 lead. In addition, Dragic and Adebayo were injured one after another, and the heat lost its resistance. In the end, the Lakers won 116-98.

The second game, the hot play was impeccable: Butler scored 25 points, 8 rebounds and 13 assists, the team made 11 of 27 three-pointers, the team made 36 of 71 shots and 34 free throws, 29 assists and only 9 turnovers, Kyrie Olynik scored a career masterpiece of 24 points and 9 rebounds. Coach Vogel praised Hok for his excellent offensive operation after the game. In contrast, the Lakers only had 17 free throws, and only made 16 of 47 shots in sloppy three-pointers, and the two starters made 3 of 19 shots.

However, the Lakers won: they have two superstars.

LeBron scored 33 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, with a scary 0 mistakes, and casually penetrated the hot defense. Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds, making 15 of 20 shots efficiently, doing whatever he wanted in the hot penalty area. LeBron and Rondo kept using high-level support to break through the Hot joint defense, and the Lakers won and led 2-0.

After the game, Davis also reviewed himself:

"We didn't have some rotations on the defensive end."

LeBron said: "We are not satisfied with victory, but yearn for greatness."

The third game, Hot chose to attack Anthony Davis on the defensive end. The Lakers made 7 mistakes in the first 6 minutes of the first quarter. In the second quarter, LeBron led the team back, but Jimmy Butler reunited. In the second half, the Lakers expanded their defense and locked the hot three-pointer. But Butler insisted on holding the ball and playing singles. In the fourth quarter, LeBron scored 11 points in one shot and passed, giving the Lakers a 91-89 lead. However, Butler first tied the score with one single match, then assisted two three-pointers and one inside scored.

Jimmy Butler scored 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists in the whole game:

The third triple-double in NBA history was 40+, and only Jerry West in 1969 and LeBron in 2015 did it.

In the post-match interview, the reporter first asked Butler how he won tonight? He replied: "We catch the rebounds, this is the key." The reporter induced him to say that he had just played 40+ triple-double, the best game in his career. What were he thinking during the game?

Butler replied: "Win. I don't care about the data, I just want to win... If we can guarantee that we will win in the next game, it doesn't matter if I score 0 points."

Jimmy Butler also scored 40 points in the first game against the Bucks. When asked by reporters, Giannis said he followed Coach Budenholzer's instructions.

Many journalists believe that Giannis does not want to take responsibility. Thomas Jr. complained that as the defensive player of the year, Giannis has the responsibility to defend Jimmy. "I know Smart, Avery Bradley and Leonard will volunteer to defend Jimmy."

Butler smoothed out for Giannis. "Giannis is one of the best defenders in the league. I can understand that he doesn't come to guard me. He just focuses on what he does."

But in the fourth game of the finals, Coach Vogel chose to let the team's first leader Davis do what Giannis didn't do: against Jimmy Butler.

Butler scored only 22 points in the whole game. In the second half, the Lakers changed their starting lineup, and Markieff Morris started instead of Dwight Howard, launching the space team. Within three minutes, LeBron scored 9 points in a row. After catching up to 83 in the fourth quarter, LeBron scored 6 free throws with one layup and scored 8 points in a row, breaking the gap again. The Lakers finally won 102-96. LeBron's instigation and Davis' defense gave the Lakers a 3-1 lead.

Fifth Game, after playing the third NBA Finals 40+ triple-double in the history of NBA - the previous two were Jerry West and LeBron James in 1969 - Jimmy Butler scored 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the fifth Game: This is the second time in the history of the NBA Finals, someone played the second 30+ triple-double in the single series: the previous one, and LeBron James in 2015.

The two sides fought a decisive battle in the fourth quarter, and Re could no longer cooperate. The Lakers scored 18-3, leading 99-96, and the championship was already at their fingertips. But Jimmy Butler took over the game and the two sides took 6 alternate leads, Butler's free throws allowed the Heat to lead 109 to 108, and in the end, he narrowly won 111 to 108. LeBron scored a season-high 40 points plus 13 rebounds and 7 assists, and the highest 6 three-pointers in the career finals. However, Butler, who had only rested for 48 seconds in the game and the tenacious Heat team, held back the victory.

In the sixth game of the 2020 Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers adjusted their starters:

Put down Dwight Howard and send Caruso.

Davis acts as the center, and the small ball lineup determines life and death.

Jimmy Butler passed the first half of the game, LeBron personally took the three-point line to lead the defense. Caruso insisted on sneering at Hiro, who made consecutive mistakes. The Lakers' pressure made the Heat make 6 mistakes within 10 minutes. In the second quarter, LeBron got the ball in the backcourt and rushed to the basket with Butler all the way to commit a foul, 18 minutes before the game, LeBron made 7 shots and 6 were at the basket. Coach Vogel applauded on the sidelines, "Good defense! Good defense for six minutes!" The Lakers led 64-36 in the first half. The Lakers won 106-93 in the whole game, winning the 2020 NBA championship 4-2 - it is also the longest-span championship in a single season in NBA history. The 17th championship in team history tied the Boston Celtics.

LeBron and Davis won the championship this time, after West and Chamberlain in 1972, and Magic and Tiangou in 1987, and won the championship: Assistant King + Giant.

LeBron won his fourth championship in his third team, averaging 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists in the six games in the finals. His fourth finals MVP - winning the finals MVP in three teams, unprecedented. But this Lakers are different from the 2012-13 Hot and the 2016 Cavaliers: it is no longer a group of shooters who pull out the space and take over by LeBron, but he acts as the organizer and allows everyone on the team to play their strengths.

This is a long year of disasters: Stern passed away. Kobe passed away. Even former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan passed away on May 22, 2020. After a long offseason, the playoffs came to Orlando. After the offseason, self-disciplined players played better:

Fast-for-life like TJ Valen, big heart like Lillard, and Jimmy Butler. Jokic began to lose weight, and the two 1-3 behind in the playoffs made a big comeback, and he vaguely showed his MVP posture.

Walking to the last four teams, the Nuggets reversed all the way, and the hottest defeats all the way, the Celtics are the ones that young people have fought hard.

The Lakers team is 29.5 years old and the oldest in the league. The regular season is the number one in the West and should have always had a home and field advantage, but there is no home and away game at all in the playoffs, which is actually a waste of effort in the regular season.

Defense support. Two superstars are in charge. Fine character players fill in the details. The most experienced team won the championship.

The new president Xiao Hua said at the award presentation: "This is far beyond the meaning of basketball itself." That's true. At the post-match awards, Davis and the Lakers' female boss Jenny Buss mentioned that it was the deceased Kobe who was inspiring them to fight. Indeed, during this long season, every time the Lakers shouted pre-game slogans, it was the same sentence:

"1-2-3, Mamba!"

In 260 days after the unexpected death of Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers won the championship. It seems like this is the best ending of this long and turbulent season.

source:7m vn cn