Hello everyone, I am Simon, one of the founders of The Clutch Time. This series will launch a weekly event of the week. It is expected to compile about 5 pieces of news, and will add my own personal notes and relaxed talk. Welcome to like it. NBA and basketball fans come in and chat together.
This week we will first talk about whether it is completely bad to watch Kawhi Leonard lead outsourcing from the Clippers clock and extend to the quarrel in the locker room? Then to Antetokounmpo's MVP, predictions for the East-West Conference Championship Game, and finally to the Warriors' most underrated reinforcement.
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【Simon Weekly】
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Kawhi Leonard leads outsourcing
Further reading:War Machine Kawhi Leonard’s Peak Moments/Best Performances in the Playoffs Top 6
If the Clippers lose, they will be chasing war criminals. The Clippers fell apart inside and outside in the final losing streak. The team's cohesion was almost disabled, and the leading starKawhi LeonardLack of leadership is definitely one of the reasons, and it completely highlights Leonard's problem. He can practice it. But he couldn't influence his teammates, but he stood up and united the team's leadership charm.
Leonard had just entered the NBA during the Spurs days, and Leonard had not been trained as a leader at the beginning. At that time, the team had Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu, and in the second half, there were also Patty Mills andLaMarcus AldridgeCome be the lounge leader. Next to the Raptors, he is the ace, and Kyle Lowry is the locker room leader. It can be found that both the Spurs and the Raptors have mature systems and veterans with deep backup and pure pedigree. In addition, the team composition is very good. He is an experienced or recognized role player. As long as Leonard is a good ace, someone will naturally help him with the atmosphere and discourse.
However, the composition of the speedboat is different. Paul George is also a star, and each has a strong personality.Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Patrick Beverley, Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson, basically the main force is a group of proud soldiers. Leonard's leadership style has always been to let performance speak for itself on the court, but these players are all in their prime. Some want to fight for the championship, some want to fight for performance, some want to fight for contracts, and some just want to vent their anger through invitations. You can't make them obey by practicing hard, which also highlights Leonard's inability to unite the team with his vocals.
To judge leaders, a relatively simple division is between "Sound Leadership" and "Lead by Example". The former is a leader with both voice and ability, and the latter is a leader who leads by example. The former is a large group of leadership traits. They are usually cultivated as leader players since childhood. Most of them like to appear in front of the media or online communities, or at least be able to fight with their teammates, such as LeBron as the boss and Curry as the big brother. And Kobe is a strict teacher; the latter is good at taking the lead on the court (he can only do it for everyone to see, but can't tell others what to do), and he is usually selected on the edge of the lottery but has explosive growth, such asGiannis AntetokounmpoWith Leonard, this kind of team usually needs a veteran who has a say, such as the Bucks' current George Hill.
Let's first take a look at what Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said about Leonard's leadership. "Kawhi is a strong player, but he is not a leader. Manu and Patty are the leaders of the team. He has extremely high talent, but this does not include leadership." Temperament, he may grow, but the leaders of the team are Manu and Patty, and then LaMarcus (Aldridge)." But he thinks Leonard is not difficult to get along with, "Kawhi has always been a player who is easy to get along with, he does his job well, Everything is fine with everyone." Bleacher Report interviewed several team GMs last year. One unnamed GM believed that Kawhi did not have a leadership mindset and "he cannot lead a team."
After winning the Eastern Conference Championship last season, Leonard told the team after the game, "Enjoy the moment, stay here, stay together, we're good." This is what the Raptors can do. Success is because everyone has the same goal. "We all know our duty and keep up with Kawhi's lead charge."
When Leonard left the Spurs, it was equivalent to dropping out of the leadership training course. The Spurs should be the team that is best at cultivating such silent leaders. Tim Duncan, Manu, and Parker were all trained in this way, but Leonard chose to leave. There is nothing right or wrong in this matter. , won the championship and FMVP with the Raptors, but it is also true that he currently lacks the ability to lead people. When Harrell looks indifferent when losing, Beverly loses his temper at critical moments, George cuts three-pointers, or Back at the beginning of the semi-finals, Elder Lu ran to the strip hotel and turned a blind eye to the cuteness. He did not supervise his teammates, but played silently as always. However, the Clippers, this group of gangsters, needed a mental indicator to jump out and shout for love.
It is currently rumored that the Clippers are interested in pursuing Derrick Rose. If the rumors are true, this is a good move. It means that they have discovered the lack of Leonard's leadership skills and are trying to outsource this part to Rose to consolidate the lounge.
Are break room arguments really that bad?
There were three locker room quarrels in the playoffs this season, involving the Rockets, Clippers and Celtics, and the Internet was full of negative sentiments, as if these teams were finished. I have never thought that arguing in the lounge is bad, but the premise is that the team has "intense discussions" for the sake of each other's improvement. This is under the premise that everyone wants to pursue victory.
Both the Rockets and Celtics seem to have players who are eager to get better. The reason for the Rockets' defensive rotation is that Shams Charania said in the report that "the players must take responsibility for each other, especially on defense." After the series, many The players also admitted that they were affected by the Danuel House incident, and the news subsided after the loss.
The Celtics had lost their second consecutive game in the Eastern Conference Championship. There were loud shouts after the game, and there were even reports of things being thrown at each other. Moreover, the two protagonists of the quarrel were Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, the best players on the team. After a quarrel, they broke up unhappily. The next day,Kemba WalkerThe main force discussed it again under the coordination of , Celtic did win the third game.
The dispute between the Clippers was caused by mutual ill feelings, especially between George and Harrell. The reason was that Harrell wanted to discuss George's two passing mistakes, but George said that if you run in place, you won't make mistakes. Harrell, who was extremely unhappy, replied to him, " You are always right, and no one can say you are wrong." This is already a long-standing dissatisfaction. Some foreign media said that Harrell and Williams were dissatisfied with the many privileges that George, who landed in the air, had, and Leonard could not jump. Come out and clear up the differences.
The final quote is from Draymond Green, who is best at creating atmosphere: "Teams that care about winning will quarrel. Teams that have no chance of winning can't quarrel at all. If there is no exchange of opinions between players, there will be no progress."
Giannis Antetokounmpo MVPLianzhuang
Antetokounmpo is the third player in NBA history to win the Defensive Player of the Year and MVP of the Year in the same season. Previously, only Michael Jordan in 1988 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994 received this honor.
He is also the 12th player to be elected MVP for two consecutive years. The previous 11 are Jordan, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.
Antetokounmpo averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block per game this season, and received 85 first-place votes from sports reporters and broadcasters. LeBron received 16 first-place votes.
"Please don't call me MVP until I win the championship." I think Antetokounmpo's speech is very true. He is a player with a very specific goal. Regarding the future, he also said that if the team has the same goal as him, He is also willing to sign a long-term contract to stay with Milwaukee for life.
Congratulations to Antetokounmpo and I hope he will continue to move forward towards his goal.
East and West Conference Championship Predictions
West District
Nuggets win in 7
The Nuggets have played 7 games in every series and won all of them with comebacks. Their physical fatigue level is full, but their mentality is extremely relaxed. They have already won a complete victory by reaching the Western Championship. Another game will be considered a profit, so there is pressure. Instead, it will be on the Lakers' side.
The main players on both sides are forwards. The key to victory lies in the third scoring point and the players who can jump out when the wind is against them. The Lakers have Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo, and the Nuggets have Garry Harris and Paul Milsap. Whoever's key green leaves can join the battle will have the advantage. bigger. Although the Lakers are waiting for work and have better experience, the same was true for the Clippers in the last round. The short-term game depends on willpower and recent situations to determine the outcome. I think the Nuggets will defeat the Lakers in 7 games.
After the first game, in addition to the predictable Rondo, Dwight Howard was another surprise for the Lakers. There was no chance in the first two rounds. In the first game, he was ordered to interfere with Nicola Jokic and was very successful. The Nuggets look tired and frizzy, and their execution of many moves is very low. It is very fatal to find no one who can match up with Anthony Davis on defense. Jerami Grant is responsible for dealing with LeBron, and Torrey Craig is an option, but he is determined to be there. On offense, the Lakers will let their shots go, and AD can be more free to double-team or defend inside. How to find a way to deal with AD without losing firepower is a point that the Golden Nuggets must solve.
I think the Lakers will win now, after all, AD is the current nemesis of the Nuggets, but I hope that the Nuggets can continue to stage a reversal legend and let the story continue.
Eastern District
Heat in 5
Both the Heat and Celtics are good at creating mismatches, and both sides have systems to cover personal deficiencies. I personally think it's all about who's more active and proficient in positioning, and who has a greater chance. Facing the Celtics, which is dominated by young strikers, the Heat have a variety of experienced wings to deal with.
The competition in short-term games is about recent situations and critical moments, and the Heat are currently the best in the league. They have Jimmy Butler as their ace in both offense and defense, and they have three outside shooters in Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Jae Crowder who have a shooting percentage of over 40% from the outside. Coupled with the super hot Goran Dragic, the Heat will have a greater advantage.
The first two games were about positioning and output at critical moments. The Heat took advantage of Herro's offense and Adebayo's defense. Especially rookie Herro averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 9.5 rebounds in the first two games, while the Celtics finished the fight. In the third game, they moved more aggressively, and the return of Goran Hayward gave the Celtics one more point to attack with the ball. The current battle is 2-1 with the Heat against the Celtics.
I predict that the Heat should be able to solve the Celtics, especially at the critical moment when no one in the Celtics is sure. The Heat have Butler and Dragic who can take care of it.
Warriors' underrated reinforcements
The Warriors recently announced that 37-year-old veteran Leandro Barbosa and 35-year-old Shaun Livingston will return to the team, but not as players.
Leandro Barbosa will be the player-mentor coach, and Livingston will be the director of player affairs and the highest-ranking black person in active management.
I think this is a great move by the Warriors management and an underrated reinforcement. My thinking is that the management should tell the players that we stand with the players on racial issues. Curry and Green in the Warriors have never hesitated to express their opinions and are also one of the opinion leaders of the players. Barbosa and Livingston will become the management An important channel for communication with players.
Livingston went to Harvard University to get an MBA degree in 2019. This position will report directly to the general manager Bob Myers and Kirk Lacob (special assistant to the general manager). He also said that his job is mainly to help the Warriors hit the championship within three to five years, and then it will be painless. Connect to the next prosperous era. Barbosa's position is rather strange. His main task is psychological counseling, but I haven't found much information on this part. I think he serves as a communication channel between players. In other words, he is the concept of an atmosphere corrector. I will add more information if I find it. .
Next, Barbosa and Livingston have a deep relationship with the current main force of the Warriors and have been key players in the championship in the past few years. They know how to guide and mold the culture of the championship team. Needless to say, the main star will focus on Andrew Wiggins. , Marquese Chriss, Eric Paschall, who was selected to the first team, and the second pick, are also expected to be the focus of training the two old players.
