The Thunder tied with the seventh tie and eliminated the Nuggets championship and is stable? There is no impossible open pattern

Originally, people thought that this young and energetic Oklahoma City Thunder would give the Nuggets a chance to win the championship in this Western Conference semi-finals - using sweeps to demonstrate their strength in the championship, or at most five gentlemen sweeps to send the defending champion home.

But they didn't do it.

Or, people are looking forward to Alexander's dominant performance in this upcoming MVP-winning season that leaves all defenses helpless.

This also did not happen.

This is a seven-game battle, which not only shows the Nuggets' championship background in many difficulties, but also exposes the shortcomings of this talented Thunder Youth Army. As the youngest team in NBA history to enter the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder's growth trajectory in this round of series is like a microcosm of this season's playoffs - all the cognitions established in the past six months have been subverted: the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers and other powerful men have been eliminated in shame, while the Timberwolves, Knicks and Pacers, who were once regarded as mid-range teams, survived tenaciously. Even though the Thunder defeated the Nuggets 125-93 in Sunday's tiebreak battle, it still cannot change the most wonderful truth about the final four: the title is in the most exciting open pattern.

In this "era of equality between rich and poor" deliberately designed by the labor-management agreement, the melee at the end of the playoffs is perfect. The Knicks returned to the Eastern Conference Finals after a quarter of a century, causing the entire New York to go crazy for its first championship after 1973; the Pacers transformed from the quagmire of 10 wins and 15 losses at the beginning of the season, and moved towards the first championship in team history under the leadership of the genius coach Rick Carlisle; the Timberwolves' desperate trading decision last summer was regarded as financial suicide, but now they have advanced to the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive years, and have won 25 wins and 5 losses in the past 11 weeks (including the playoffs); and the Thunder, a young guard who has killed all sides in the regular season, is only one step away from repeating the mistakes of other giants being eliminated in the second round.

Now, we will witness the peak showdown between the Thunder led by Alexander and the Timberwolves led by Edwards. "My intuition is that the Thunder will win the series," a scout said after the tiebreak. "Their defensive strategy is a work of art - both blocking the penalty area and rotating accurately, not to mention that they have the most unsolvable scorer in the league today, and they are never ruthless at critical moments. "

When Alexander talked with me in mid-April, the 26-year-old Thunder leader revealed the contradictory reality of the team: Although the lineup structure with him at the core (Jaylen Williams 24 and Chet Homegren 23) heralds the window to win the championship in the next five years, the ever-changing competitive environment of the modern NBA cannot be waited at all. The Celtics' experience is proof that even before Jason Tatum's Achilles tendon torn, their dream of "long-term dominance" was in jeopardy. On the one hand, the Thunder's team-building idea focuses on continuing championship competition in the next five years; on the other hand, if it stops in the second round, it will inevitably lead to doubts about "whether to trade superstars (such as Giannis Antetokounmpo).".

"As Coach Dagnot said a few weeks ago, today's Thunder may be the best team I've ever met in my career," Alexander admitted at the time, "You would think that we are not over 25 years old and have a lot of time to grow," but things are unpredictable. "He probably didn't expect this sentence to be so fulfilled.

Ultimately, Thunder deserves the victory in the tiebreak. Alexander overcame the tension of the core lineup's first tiebreak, scoring 35 points (12 of 19 shots) and showing an all-round defense; Jaylen Williams recovered in time with 24 points and 7 assists; Homgren dominated both offense and defense with 13 points and 11 rebounds. But the real hero behind the scenes is the 6-foot-5 defensive genius Alex Caruso - who is entangled with Jokic who is 2.11 meters all night (the latter has 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 turnovers), and is an uncrowned MVP. The Thunder's suffocating team defense (squeezing the Nuggets' shooting percentage to 39.3%) is their most terrifying weapon, no doubt about it.

After the game, young coach Mark Dignot, who has been promoted from the Development League, interpreted the victory with classic quotes from NFL coach Dennis Green: "The most important thing is that we stick to ourselves. As long as we believe in the team's qualities, we will be extremely difficult to defeat. We did not panic when we started passively, and it was consistent for 48 minutes. This is the most energy-rich battle of the team, and they injected soul into the tiebreak. You will remember this battle for the rest of your life. "

But the Thunder's eyes have turned to the Western Conference Finals that started on Tuesday, and their opponent is the Timberwolves who have solved the Warriors five games early and are waiting for it. The Knicks and Pacers' Eastern Conference Final will be unveiled on Wednesday. This is the golden age of the playoffs, and it is the ultimate stage for four teams that firmly believe they can win the O'Brien Cup.

"We trust each other," Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert said after advancing, "We believe in the opportunity to lift the championship trophy in June. This is the goal at the beginning of the season. The adversity and growth pain experienced during the period have allowed the team to transform, both individually and overall. "This is the charm of this playoffs - the belief that "the champion belongs to us" is now burning in the locker room of every surviving team.

(text/mango)