NBA: The God of Basketball Begins with Precise Scoring

Chapter 69 Semifinal Situation Analysis: Warriors Actively Prepare!

Because the first-round series in the East ended relatively early, their second-round series also started early.

The Clippers and Mavericks' first-round Game 7 won't be until tomorrow night, while the Eastern Conference second round starts tonight.

The Brooklyn Nets, led by Kevin Durant, were the first to start the season, having assembled a super team of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, with their sights set on the championship.

Their semifinal opponent is the Milwaukee Bucks, led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Looking at the familiar opposing sides, Li Xingchen felt a sense of disorientation.

In my previous life, this series was quite memorable.

In this series, James Harden and Kyrie Irving were injured one after another, leaving Kevin Durant to carry the team alone.

Moreover, Kyrie Irving was forced to leave the game due to a foul by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the opposing team's star player.

This cast a shadow of regret over that series, and Giannis's championship that season was also highly controversial. The "foot-planting" label has followed him ever since and can never be erased.

In the final three crucial games of that series, Durant delivered a phenomenal triple-double of 49 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists in Game 5, single-handedly leading his team to victory.

In the final Game 7, although Harden returned, his shooting percentage was less than 30% due to injury, while Durant played the entire game and scored 48 points.

Unfortunately, his final game-winning three-pointer went out of bounds, becoming the longest two-pointer in NBA history. And the magic was lost in overtime due to exhaustion, which is why he was mocked for "turning a game-winner into a tie, and going 0-for-6 in overtime".

Objectively speaking, Durant was indeed incredibly strong that year. To be able to perform like that after returning from a major Achilles tendon injury is unique in the entire history of the NBA, and even the Iron Man Kobe Bryant never achieved it.

That was also the year he came closest to leading his team to a championship...

After Harden left the team, Durant was swept by the young Celtics in the first round of the playoffs the following season. He then went to teams such as the Suns and Rockets, but he never had such a magical performance again.

Because both of his career championships were won while he was with the Warriors, there has been a persistent questioning of Durant's ability to lead a team to a championship on his own.

Therefore, he continued to try to prove himself in the later stages of his career, but unfortunately he never succeeded, which made his defeat in the 2020-2021 season all the more regrettable.

Li Xingchen even couldn't help but have some strange thoughts. Should he remind Irving to be careful of Giannis's foot-planting during the game, or remind Durant to be careful not to step on the three-point line when he makes a game-winning shot?

However, he quickly shook his head with a wry smile, dismissing these chaotic thoughts from his mind.

Fate makes history happen the way it does, and there are always some unknown reasons behind it.

It's best not to meddle or interfere in things that are none of your business.

Who knows what kind of butterfly effect this reminder will trigger?

What if Durant makes up for his regrets, fights his way to the Finals, and then defeats the Warriors in the Finals? Where can you even begin to argue with that?

I even reminded others to make up for their regrets, but the regret turned out to be mine.

Of course, this only considers some low-probability scenarios. In reality, if they really faced off against the Nets in the Finals, Li Xingchen would have more confidence in Curry and his own abilities.

After all, if he really makes it to the finals, he will most likely be able to complete one or two more system tasks in the time leading up to the finals. It is still unknown how much he can improve as a result.

Compared to the intense second-round battle between the Nets and Bucks in the East, Li Xingchen should be more focused on the outcome of the Game 7 between the Clippers and Mavericks in the West.

After all, this is what truly matters to the Warriors.

Fortunately, although the team did not have training scheduled for today, Kerr also informed everyone that they needed to have a meeting this afternoon to discuss the situation of their opponent in the second round.

After a half-day rest, it's time to start preparing for the second round of matches.

……

That afternoon, in the team's meeting room.

The Warriors' head coach, data analysts, and players gathered together.

Having just secured their advancement after being upset by the eighth seed, most people appeared relaxed and cheerful. Even Curry, who had been feeling anxious lately, had a light smile on his face today.

Cole quickly posed his first question of the day.

"Who do you think will advance in Game 7, the Clippers or the Mavericks?"

"Because we don't know the outcome yet, but we have to choose an opponent to start studying first, instead of just waiting and wasting time."

"So let's all vote and see who's more likely to advance. We'll start by researching them!"

Li Xingchen scratched his head, feeling that Cole's method was quite scientific.

As a time traveler, he did know the outcome of the match.

In the previous life, the Clippers would have advanced.

Moreover, the Paul George duo defeated the top-seeded Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals, propelling the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Unfortunately, Kawhi Leonard was injured again in the second round, leaving only Paul George to lead the team in the Western Conference Finals. In the end, they were defeated by the Suns and their journey ended in the Western Conference Finals.

Based on this perspective, the Jazz team that year wasn't actually that strong, considering that Paul George was able to lead the team to victory in the last two games of the second round series.

And Gobert, the Defensive Player of the Season, was even used as a target by Mann, a role player on the opposing bench. In one game, Mann scored 39 points off the bench, making Gobert the backdrop for his career-defining moment.

However, although Li Xingchen remembered most of this information, he couldn't just say it casually.

It doesn't matter if the predictions for the match results are accurate, but if they can even match some of the details of the match, that would be a bit astonishing.

So Li Xingchen didn't say much, he just cast his vote and the Clippers won.

Fortunately, as professional players, none of them were ignorant of basketball, and almost everyone predicted that the Clippers would win in Game 7.

The reason is also very simple.

"Is this Luka's first time playing in the playoffs? He doesn't even have any experience in a Game 7, so how could he possibly win?"

"Yeah, and I feel like his mind isn't really on the playoffs right now, but rather on finishing this season quickly so he can go back to his national team to prepare for the Olympics..."

"The Clippers will definitely advance; they also have home-court advantage."

"The Leonard-George frontcourt duo is going to be tough to beat..."

The statistics came out quickly.

Only one vote supported the Mavericks' advancement; the rest were unanimous in their opinions.

Cole smiled and said, "Very good, it seems we all think alike."

"Next, let's study the Clippers carefully and make good use of these extra few days to develop targeted tactics."

"Let's see if we can gain an advantage right from the start of the second-round series!"