West plans to rebuild the Grizzlies, no doubt about it.
But at that mont, what truly moved West wasn’t the chips the Lakers could offer.
At ixi Arena, after halfti, the ga resud.
Although the Suns trailed the Warriors by 12 points in the first half, for this run-and-gun team that could close a 12-point gap at any mont, at least in the eyes of those grinding their teeth among the Suns fans at the scene, they were far from despair.
In the third quarter, Marion and Bell each hit a three-pointer for the Suns, briefly narrowing the gap to less than 10 points.
However, on this night, the fuel consumption rate of the Suns’ offensive engine Nash...
Was clearly a bit faster than usual.
Brown, who was wreaking havoc on the Suns’ inner line, grabbed his 10th rebound of the ga before the third quarter ended.
Notably, of those 10 rebounds, 7 were offensive rebounds.
Since the Suns couldn’t solve the damage Brown was inflicting on their paint, nor could they resolve the deadly angles Qin Yue found to attack them,
by the end of three quarters, it was 98-81.
The Warriors further widened their lead over the Suns.
anwhile, in front of the TV, West, knowing that the Suns’ periter shooting wasn’t enough to defeat the Warriors tonight, also turned off the TV.
Even though there was still a quarter left, West had already gotten the answer he sought.
At the end.
to 107.
The golden wave of Oakland completely overwheld Phoenix this night.
The Golden State Warriors, led by Qin Yue with 41 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks, won the first ga of this year’s Western Conference Finals!
Previously, during the latter half of the regular season, when Deng Liwei and Artest advocated Qin Yue "preserve energy" and save it all for an explosive playoff performance, they took credit in the locker room, saying, "Playing well in the regular season only proves you’re an ordinary star.
Only scoring 30-40 points as easily as slicing through lons in the playoffs proves you are a superstar."
This year, Qin Yue’s explosion in the playoffs was indeed related to his following the advice of Artest and Deng Liwei during the regular season.
In addition, after entering the playoffs, the entire Warriors team gathered closely around him.
Of course...
Qin Yue did not disappoint the expectations and hopes placed upon him by his teammates and the coaching staff.
Instead, he converted the resources the team invested in him into the devastating havoc West ntioned, demolishing the opponent’s defense.
Throughout the playoffs, Qin Yue, who constantly found misalignnts to exploit, had already submitted an awe-inspiring report card on his first playoff journey.
By the end of the first ga of the Western Conference Finals...
Qin Yue averaged 37.2 points per ga for the Warriors, a figure even peak Michael Jordan would have to bow to slightly. (From ’88 to ’98, excluding the retirent, Jordan’s playoff average points per season were: 36.3, 34.8, 36.7, 31.1, 34.5, 35.1, 31.5, 30.7, 31.1, 32.4 points)
In the eyes of the world, Qin Yue’s performance this season even surpassed The Dream - Olajuwon when he led the Rockets to defend the title! (In the 94/95 season, Olajuwon averaged 33 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.8 blocks, and 1.2 steals)
"His positional advantage has amplified his offensive strengths infinitely. I don’t want to say the league has welcod a new Michael Jordan, but until a player erges who can stand against him, this will be an irrefutable fact."
After the first ga of the Western Conference Finals ended, Jerry West was seen issuing yet another warning to the world through The Los Angeles Tis.
Admittedly, the Tian Ji horse racing tactic the Warriors adopted in the regular season and that league compensation contributed to Qin Yue’s elevation in his rookie season...
But West was well aware that as long as there was no solution to the devastating havoc Qin Yue caused on defense and stopping him from further applying his explosive creativity to the entire Warriors team...
Then he is, without a doubt, the banner of this era, the undeniable leader of the NBA.
On the night he struck the "zero-cost purchase agreent" with Kupchek, there were many reasons that ultimately led West to agree to the deal.
Among them, West admitted, he indeed didn’t want to see the NBA dominated by an Asian player.
He watched Qin Yue with curiosity and skepticism, scrutinizing every ga since he entered the league.
And he hoped this ssiah, Qin Yue, might bring a world-ending tsunami to the otherwise monotonous NBA.
But at the sa ti...
He also didn’t want the NBA to be dominated by Qin Yue in the future, nor did he wish for the Lakers to miss Kobe’s precious peak because of it.
Human beings are such complex and conflicted creatures.
Since West is not a god, he cannot be exempt.
Two days later, the second ga of the Western Conference Finals between the Warriors and the Suns continued at ixi Arena.
Mike D’Antoni pulled Stoudemire, who only scored 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in the first ga, from the starting lineup, instead putting Thomas as the center and Marion as the power forward, with Diaw, Bell, and Nash forming the backcourt of the make-or-break small lineup.
After the first ga, even though D’Antoni was never known for defense, he knew the Suns couldn’t stop the Warriors’ offense.
Hence, in the first quarter, with the mindset of "if you can’t defend, don’t bother defending," the Suns, spearheaded by Nash, frequently launched transition attacks towards the Warriors’ region.
This insane decision allowed the Suns to seize a ray of hope this night.
Just as West said, as Qin Yue repeatedly destroyed the opponent’s defense with crushing blows and applied explosive creativity for the Warriors, his energy consumption rate was destined to be rapid and irreversible.
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