Capítulo 1327: Chapter 533: Final Battle (Part 1)

Moreover, the three of you are the leading scorers for your respective teams. In Harden and Durant’s last season together on the same team, both were the top scorers of the team.

But after the new season started, you ‘Compton Three Giants’ fiercely slapped the faces of those who said you couldn’t cooperate and would become the next F4 combination.

Harden and DeRozan primarily attack in isolation during regular time, you mainly play off the ball in regular time, and take over ball-handling in crucial moments for isolation plays. The coordination is very smooth, and your willingness to sacrifice stats for each other is even higher than the three stars on the Warriors team!

You played all 82 regular-season games, averaging 33 minutes per game, with an average score dropping to 25.1 points, a new low since joining the Lakers, but your shooting percentage reached 53.9%, a career-high;

An average of 3.3 three-pointers per game, a new low in three seasons, but a shooting percentage of 44.4%, a career high;

Reduced playtime led to a decrease in steals, but you still had an average of 2.4 steals per game, winning the steals king for four consecutive years.

And you also achieved a career-high average of 4.1 assists per game, plus a team-high 7.5 rebounds, with five triple-doubles in a single season, surpassing the total sum of the past three seasons. This season, the top-notch facilitation talent you had shown early in the Spurs team has found its way to shine once again!

During the three-peat, since Kobe moved to a secondary role, serving as the outside axis point, people forgot that you were once a facilitating genius.

DeRozan played 75 games, and his average score dropped from 24.2 points last season to 20.8 points, plus 4.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He no longer needs to withstand the pressure as the boss, nor does he need to lead the team as the second leader; he’s playing more relaxed and joyful than ever, as if returning to those high school days ruling California together, thrashing Harden, Collison, and others in joy-filled times.

Harden played 80 games with an average playtime of 34 minutes, scoring 23.2 points, a new low since Westbrook left the Thunder Team in 2012, but his 46% shooting percentage is a new high since he started as a starter. He had once achieved a 49% shooting percentage as a bench player, but it has consistently been below 45% since starting as a starter, with the highest being 44.9% in the scoring king season.

With an average of 6.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game, both career highs.

Besides improved offensive efficiency, under your friendly interaction, Harden unexpectedly demonstrated potential as a defensive gatekeeper, becoming the second best single defender on the Lakers team’s perimeter.

His extremely strong physique even allows him to complete single defensive tasks against some power forwards that you can’t.

The average scores of the three of you add up to less than 70 points, only about 5 points higher than your, Gasol’s, and Kobe’s three giants combo, leaving everyone astounded.

The Warriors’ Curry, Thompson, and Durant, even under extreme restraint, collectively averaged 75 points.

Under Budenholzer’s coaching, your team’s perimeter depth is fully utilized. Williams, Clarkson, Young, and rookie Bogdanovic have all performed outstandingly. The inside, led by veterans West and Nene, is doing what needs to be done, striving towards that great goal.

You have become one of the league’s two ‘super perimeter powerhouse teams,’ starting the competition for the league’s top spot with another ‘super perimeter powerhouse team’ from the start of the regular season.

Towards the end of the regular season, both you and the Warriors surpassed 60 wins, while only one other team, possibly breaking 55 wins, is the Spurs.

Eventually, after being overshadowed by the Warriors team in the regular season for two years, you finally claimed victory with 65-17, surpassing the Warriors’ 63-19 to take the top spot in the regular season. The Spurs secured 55-27, thanks to a winning streak at season’s end.

In the East, the Celtics, who nearly toppled the Cavaliers last season, became the new number one in the East with a 53-29 record. The Cavaliers won 52-30. Besides them, no Eastern team achieved over 50 wins.

Before the regular season began, you and the Warriors were vilified by the media. But after the regular season, the media declared the doomsday of the basketball world, with the NBA having only two teams left.

However, someone still stole your spotlight this season—Howard was traded by the Rockets to the Hawks team, and Westbrook activated triple-double machine mode, achieving 39 triple-doubles in a single season, ranking second in history, with averages of 28.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 11.4 assists. He also won the scoring king and assist king, taking his team to 46-36, better than the year he had conflicts with Howard, and entered the playoffs as the seventh seed, being compared to the Big O and becoming everyone’s favorite for MVP.

After the playoffs started, in the first round, you swept the Trail Blazers 4-0, and the Warriors also swept the Rockets 4-0 easily. Westbrook, just awarded the regular season MVP, received the MVP trophy dressed in a floral suit in the office.

In the second round, you met the Western fourth seed, the Clippers, with a 50-32 record. During the second round, the best lineup was announced. In the past two seasons, you, Curry, and Harden were dominating the first team, all collectively missing from the first team this time.

Westbrook, Chris Paul, Leonard, James, and Anthony Davis teamed up to make the first team.

Curry, Harden, you, and Durant only made it to the second team.

Last season’s third team guards, Thompson and DeRozan, and second-team forward Green, all missed the best lineup.

Facing you, Paul, who saw himself in the first team, didn’t feel well, and they lost two consecutive away games. Their home games were almost like away games, to begin with, and the media even hyped up the opponent with a buff. As Paul anticipated, the next night, you and DeRozan went into a frenzy mode, and Harden delivered the cannonballs.