Title: Seasonal Key Scoring Comparison: Harden with 30 Points, Lillard with 139 Points, Curry with 189 Points, and LeBron?
April 17th Update: In the just-concluded NBA playoffs play-in game, the Pelicans fell to the Lakers 106-110 at home, with the Lakers advancing to face defending champions, the Nuggets, in the first round of the playoffs. Post-game, Lakers’ head coach Ham was questioned about deliberately losing to avoid the Nuggets.
In the NBA playoffs play-in game, the Lakers defeated the Pelicans 110-106 on the road. As a result, the Lakers will enter the playoffs as the 7th seed in the Western Conference and face the 2nd seed Nuggets.
In the regular season, the Lakers lost all three games against the Nuggets. Including last season’s playoffs and regular season, the Lakers have now lost to the Nuggets 8 times in a row. Last season, they were swept 4-0 by the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, which was quite embarrassing for the Lakers.
During the post-game press conference, a reporter asked Lakers’ head coach, “In the coming days, there will be frequent discussions about the Nuggets. There’s a voice suggesting you should give up this game to avoid the Nuggets. How big of a challenge is facing the Nuggets?”
Ham looked puzzled, “What kind of reports?”
The reporter elaborated, “It’s from a TV show.”
Ham inquired further, “What did they say?”
The reporter repeated, “They suggested you should give up this game to avoid the Nuggets.”
Ham responded directly, “That’s from the mental hospital as a news source.”
The reporters burst into laughter, and the previous reporter earnestly affirmed, “Really, that’s what was said.”
Ham added, “Definitely just released from the mental hospital. Got it.”
Talking about the team’s entry into the playoffs, Ham said, “The team’s performance in these two games is what we need in the playoffs. Now all teams have a 0-0 record, rankings don’t matter anymore. Our bench players have performed well in these two games, especially when LeBron and AD’s shooting percentages were low, missing some mid-range opportunities. Other players stepped up and made significant contributions in crucial moments. Vincent’s few three-pointers were of great help defensively. This is the state we need to maintain in the playoffs, everyone stepping up and doing their job.”
In response, netizens commented, “Yang Yi, Cefotaxime, are you listening?”
“Cefotaxime’s words were well said, just do it.”
“Ham: Shen Jin, made me laugh.”
“Yang Yi: Are you polite?”
“Only LeBron and AD are tired and injured, yet they’re going to play another game against the young Thunder. Isn’t it even more difficult than resting for a few days and playing against the Nuggets?”
“Those who say the Lakers would deliberately lose are basically pseudo-fans. In such a situation, if the Lakers dare to deliberately lose, then I think they might not make it to the playoffs in the end. Sometimes it’s about morale. It’s one thing if the Lakers can’t beat the Nuggets, but deliberately avoiding them means they’re truly intimidated, then what’s the point of playing?”