Joel Embiid and DeMar DeRozan’s final night

For NBA stars, whether they can build military exploits in the playoffs is a very important part of their evaluation. They need a remarkable to advance to a higher level of certainty. Joel Embiid and DeMar DeRozan did lack this moment in the past, but today , they waited.

The playoffs and the regular season are different worlds.

From the team’s point of view, no matter how many wins in the regular season, as long as they fail to get the four wins in the championship game, this season is still a pity. From a player’s point of view, being able to play well in the regular season is only one thing, and being able to lead the team to win in the regular season is the other thing. Only players whose strength helps the team win can truly enter the forest of superstars.

Even, there may be some players who are not necessarily the top players in the league on the technical side, because they can make many contributions in the playoffs with a strong heart, so they get higher evaluations. The results of the game are indeed top stars, but because they have repeatedly eaten turtles in the playoffs and lost in a situation that is not as expected, they have been labeled as negative examples. Take last season’s championship MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo as an example. In terms of hardware, he is undoubtedly the top forest in the league, defending the MVP of the year in 2019 and 2020, but lost to the Tyranny in 2019, and 2020 was blocked by the Heat in the second round, making him His personal achievements and the Bucks’ two-year regular season leading results were all in vain. It was not until Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to win the championship last season and bombed the Suns penalty area with an unstoppable 50 points in a single game in Game 6 of the championship game. Let people recognize his playoff masterpiece.

In the past, Joel Embiid and DeMar DeRozan were always disappointed in the playoffs, and they have not been able to wait for a day worth keeping in the fans’ minds, but fortunately, on April 20, 2022, their careers may be will get a chance to flip.

The Different Player

May 12, 2019, Scotiabank Stadium, a night Joel Embiid doesn’t want to recall, or rather, was the most frustrating night he was seen.

Kawhi Leonard dribbled the ball to the bottom line under the defense of Ben Simmons, the ball bounced four times on the rim, like two seconds after time stood still, what left the world was the revelry of the Tyrannosaurus and the entire Scotiabank Stadium, Maybe there will be a city-wide celebration of the Tyrannosaurus’ first championship in a month, but behind the joy of the Tyrannosaurus is the tearful image Embiid was captured in the lounge aisle. After Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris formed a four-star lineup, their dream of winning the championship came to an abrupt end in the second round.

Jimmy Butler is the aforementioned player who has received more positive reviews for his outstanding performance in the playoffs, which means that the Sixers may have a chance to move forward in 2019, but this is all in the second round. The game ended after Game 7, and the later disagreements between Butler and the Seventy Sixers led to some changes to the Seventy Sixers’ Trust the Process reconstruction plan. In exchange for James Harden, the favorite of director Daryl Morey, he continued to move forward in the project.

But for Embiid, who was almost impeccable in addition to his health, he has never been able to break out of the Eastern District, and because the 76ers always have a lot of thunder and little rain, they have never been able to get too many positive comments. The six were swept by the Celtics in the bubble circle. They were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last year, but they were knocked out by the Eagles in the second round. It is also an indisputable fact that he has produced some representative works and changed the disadvantages of the Seven or Six People. But all of this suddenly brought an opportunity to turn around again this year, and this time he seized it.

The 76ers have been in the leading group in the Eastern Division this season, and they have also taken the lead on their own. In the end, they were only the fourth seed after a slight decline in the second half of the season. Originally, the entire team started the season against the disadvantage of lacking Simmons. The team's progress to get Harden through a mid-season trade seems to have stalled, and they are not dead. Their opponent in the first round is the morale of the Raptors in the second half of the season. In the NBA playoffs, the fifth seed vs. fourth The seeds were originally a close combination in the first round. Historically, the fifth seed's winning rate against the fourth seed in the first round was slightly higher than that of the fourth seed. Last year, the fifth seed Eagles in the Eastern Division defeated the fourth seed Nick. In this season, the 76ers have 1 win and 3 losses against the Tyrannosaurus, and after the mid-season trade, that is, after the 76ers got Harden, they lost both games. In addition, because they were not vaccinated, the 76ers defenseman Matisse Thybulle won't be able to play in Toronto, which has caused more concerns about the Sixers' first-round game before the playoffs begin.

Although it is related to the loss of the rookie Scottie Barnes, who has already established a firm foothold in the team in the first game, and is in line with the team’s army building goals, but after two games in the series, the Tyrannosaurus front group was completely unable to resist Embiid’s bombing in the penalty area, followed by The aforementioned 76ers will lack Thybulle’s Game 3. The 76ers did face a disadvantage during the game, trailing by up to 17 points in the first half. Embiid only scored 5 points in the first half, but he first scored 18 in the third quarter. The 76ers were only 1 point behind before entering the fourth quarter. Although his three-pointer missed in the last 6.3 seconds of the regular season, the two teams fought to the playoff, but in the last 0.8 seconds of the playoff, Embiid’s The three-pointer broke the net and helped the Sixers win 104:101, and the series achieved an absolute advantage of 3:0.

I talked to Joel and we both know what happened the last time we came here in the playoffs, and that means a lot to us, said Harris, the only player to have played alongside Embiid since 2019. Embiid said before visiting Toronto for the game: Whether it’s the 2019 series or this year’s game, I know exactly what the T. I knew I was going to be a different player, a better player.

33 points is not the highest score in the playoffs of Embiid’s career, nor is the 13 rebounds the most. In terms of statistics, only 3 three-pointers in this battle tied his single-game record in the playoffs, but this game, and even this one. The significance of the series so far, this game-winning shot, or this Game 3 performance, definitely deserves Embiid as the playoff masterpiece of his career so far.

May 7, 2018, can be regarded as DeRozan buried a low point in his life.

As the leader of the Eastern District that year, the Tyrannosaurus led by DeRozan was beaten by the Knights in the second round. In the fourth battle on May 7, the Tyrannosaurus faced the situation not in the middle of the preparatory series, but only in the middle of the series. I hoped to avoid the disgraced face after being swept away, but it backfired. The Tyrannosaurus was powerless in Game 4 and lost 35 points. As the leader of the Eastern Division, it was eliminated in the second round with a shaved head and was eliminated in the playoffs. Against the Cavaliers 10-game losing streak, it was obvious that DeRozan was selected to the All-Star Game for three consecutive years, the Tyrannosaurus broke 50 wins for three consecutive years, and created the best record in team history twice, but at that peak, for the Tyrannosaurus, or DeRozan, LBJ and Cavaliers Just like their natural enemy, or an unbreakable inner demon. Especially in the third game of 2018, when LeBron James made the winning shot before the shot, DeRozan, who was in a downturn that day, was substituted ahead of schedule. He was not a member of the closing team selected by the coach. In addition, in February of that year, DeRozan admitted himself. I’m battling depression, and losing a battle like this is unbearable.

To make matters worse, this was his last fight in a T-Rex jersey. Even though he was promised no rumors by the uniform, DeRozan was still traded by the Tyranny to the Spurs in the off-season for Kawhi Leonard, the former Spurs master who had been at odds with the Blackshirts at the time. Tyrannosaurus renews, he established his status in Toronto and became the only player willing to stay in the Northland after being abandoned by several ace before and after the Tyrannosaurus, but the team was equal to after several years of disappointment in the playoffs. , cast a vote of no confidence in DeRozan, the blueprint for him to leave the team from now on. What is even more ironic for DeRozan is that Leonard actually led the Tyrannosaurus to win the championship the following year, and then became a free body and flew to Los Angeles. In terms of historical positioning, DeRozan, who dedicated 9 years of youth to the Tyrannosaurus, is undoubtedly the The first person in team history, but in terms of team performance, he can never match the official record of Leonard, who was dissatisfied with the Tyrannosaurus for 365 days.

In all fairness, no matter how much sympathy for DeRozan, I have to admit that DeRozan is not a reliable hero in terms of past playoff performances. In 2018, it was said to be his low point, but it also changed DeRozan. Under the prevailing trend of three-point shooting at that time, he used mid-range jumpers as a weapon to increase his ability to fight inside and organize the ball, and swing from the simple periphery. The man has transformed into a frontcourt that can play two positions in the frontcourt, and has become a very useful frontcourt with the ball under the current trend. This season, he moved to the Bulls. He successfully led the Bulls, who have missed the playoffs five times in the past six years, and ranked fourth at the beginning of the season. Within the strong, even after the slump in the second half of the season, it finally advanced to the playoffs with the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

However, the test for the Bulls is very severe. Their opponent in the playoffs is the defending champion Bucks. Although they are only third in the Eastern Conference this season, they have the ultimate weapon, Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and others who worked well last season. The Bucks are side by side. The Bucks are one of the most promising teams in the Eastern Conference playoffs. In the first game, although the Bulls tried desperately to limit the Bucks on the defensive end, they completely stalled. DeRozan only scored 6 goals in 25 shots, and the Bulls bitten tightly. In the end still lost to the bucks.

But the second game was different. DeRozan declared after the first game that the second game will never be 6-for-25 again, but with his past performance in the playoffs, he may not be able to get too much credit. It’s better to sit up and walk. DeRozan scored 17 points in the first half of this battle, helping the Bulls take a double-digit lead. In the third quarter, when the Bucks were only 3 points behind, it was DeRozan who stepped forward to take the lead again. , and twice scored a jumper in front of Antetokounmpo, who had won the Defensive Player of the Year award. The Bucks did not give up. In the last 56.4 seconds, Brook Lopez made a three-pointer and then chased it down to only three points. As long as the Bulls were successfully defended, the Bucks would Can get a chance to tie, but the Bucks first missed two defensive rebounds in a row, and Pat Connaughton wanted to foul to stop the game, but after the referee did not sound the whistle, DeRozan decisively cut into the penalty area and made a layup in front of Antetokounmpo to score an insurance point, and it was hard to defend the Bulls. ‘s road win to tie the series 114-110.

DeRozan made his post-game declarations come true, shooting 16-for-31 and scoring a career-high 41 points in the playoffs. Under the circumstances of disapproval from all walks of life, he did not allow the Bucks to easily gain an advantage, although the Bucks will still be in the long run. A better team than the Bulls, but it is already a fact that the series has been tied and the home field advantage has been lost. To make matters worse, the second-ranked Middleton has an MCL sprain in his left knee. Although there is no further news, it is very likely that the entire series will be absent. The Bulls The first-round prospect of a sudden has a huge turnaround.

Having had the experience of the Tyrannosaurus, DeRozan is well aware of the difference between the playoffs and the regular season. After the game, he said: No matter what the regular season is, the playoffs are a brand new beginning and require a completely different will to challenge. And the appearance of his career playoff masterpiece, whether it means to him or to the Bulls this season, seems to be a brand new beginning.

From Star to Superstar

It cannot be denied that in terms of personal ability and league status, from Embiid and DeRozan’s point of view, Embiid’s actual combat power and influence will undoubtedly be higher than DeRozan’s, but at the moment they are on an equal footing and can be called star players in the league. , but they didn’t have a championship, they didn’t pass the division championship, and they didn’t even come up with too many reliable masterpieces in the playoffs, but strictly speaking, this is not a disadvantage. After all, they didn’t collapse as soon as they reached the playoffs. , just not enough to be trusted, and today, they finally used an important representative as their playoff career to write exploits.

From star to superstar, sometimes these things that are not necessarily related to ball skills are lacking. In 2014 and 2015, when the Tyrannosaurus led the playoffs with DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, they lost to the Nets. With the Wizards, Pierce, who has stayed in the Nets and Wizards for the past two years, is the star who established the reputation of the playoffs in the past, and it is he who made the soft hands of the Tyrannosaurus at the time an indelible label. And Kevin Durant, who was already at the top of the pyramid and at the MVP level, didn’t really see him until he played 48 minutes, scored 49 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists in the fifth game of last season’s second round. dominance.

It is possible to win or lose. Many stars are chasing the championship all their lives, and even for the championship, they would rather take shortcuts, put themselves in the comfort zone, and get out of the challenge process in order to achieve a more secure victory. In the end, they may indeed win the championship, but these burning small universes. , In the face of adversity, rely on yourself to do your best to write the achievements of the competition with representative works and prove that you can stand up for the team. Even if you don’t necessarily help the team win the championship in the end, you can still get yourself a more positive evaluation. , and leave a better impression on the fans. Perhaps in terms of certain values, chasing the championship always comes first, but the evaluation of these players, or the experience of transforming from a star to a superstar, will never and should not be erased.

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