NBA Christmas game, it’s the Warriors again, and it’s James again.
Even for pseudo-fans, James of the Lakers is familiar. The Warriors , in recent years, can be said to be the most prosperous team, with big-name stars coming to vote one after another. In the past few years, the NBA Finals has always staged scenes of multiple Warriors stars beating James. The things James and the Warriors had to say have become the main tone of the Christmas vs. games in recent years.
Several other battles are also important, such as the Knicks vs. Bucks, Thunder vs. Rockets , Celtics vs. 76ers, Jazz vs. Trail Blazers . However, compared with James vs. Warriors, the impact The strength is still a bit lacking.
is not influential enough.
can only make up for it by playing games on Christmas.
NBA looks very beautiful. There is a Christmas war every year, but there is nothing we can do about it. Christmas in the United States is equivalent to the Spring Festival in China, and most Americans are busy. During the holidays, among the sports in the United States, the most popular among the American people is football. The National Football League (National Football League, referred to as NFL) is also the number one major sports league in the United States. The Super Bowl is held every year. , can be called the Spring Festival Gala in the United States. It has been the most watched television program in the United States for many years and has gradually become an unofficial national festival in the United States.
The second-ranked game in the United States is not the NBA, but Major League Baseball (MLB for short). Baseball is regarded by many Americans as their favorite in the past and is the national sport of the United States. Its history can be traced back to the 18th century, and its development has gone through many stages. Today it has become one of the top ten sports in the United States. Major League Baseball was established in 1903 and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States. Its season runs from April to October every year.
Among the four major professional sports leagues in the United States, the NBA ranks third. The full name is the National Basketball Association. It is a men's professional basketball league composed of thirty teams in North America. It can be said that it brings together the world's most professional basketball leagues. Top basketball player. But compared with the NFL and MLB, the NBA's influence is still far behind.
Football and baseball games have attracted more American sports fans. The leaders of the NBA have always wanted to surpass the first two and make basketball the most popular sport. Unfortunately, this ideal has never been realized. However, fortunately, neither the NFL nor MLB will schedule games on the big day of Christmas. Basketball can occupy this blank market. Since the 1940s, the NBA has launched heavyweight games on Christmas Eve. Tradition.
Every year on Christmas Day in the United States, the NBA will only arrange a few heavyweight games. These games are also called Christmas Wars. After television broadcasts became popular, watching exciting NBA live broadcasts on Christmas Eve has become an American tradition.
Looking at the world of sports, football is the number one sport. However, except for some hard-working Premier League who will play games during Christmas, other football leagues, such as La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, etc., all give players and teams a holiday. On days when there are no football games, it is also possible to watch a basketball game.
There are many classic games
Jordan , Kobe , and O'Neal were all regulars in the Christmas War.
When it comes to classic games in the Christmas War, Air Jordan cannot be mentioned. In the 1990s, Jordan and his Bulls won the 26th Winning the NBA championship is a well-deserved ruler of the NBA.
In 1992, the league's dominant Bulls faced the New York Knicks, their opponents in the previous year's Eastern Conference semifinals after seven bloody games. During the game, the Knicks relied on their defense and rebounding advantages to first control the game. The Bulls fell behind by 10 points in the first half. Jordan was like a god in the second half. The Bulls only allowed their opponents to score a pitiful 28 points in the second half. In the end, the Bulls came back to win 89:77. Jordan scored 42 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals, leading the team to the last laugh despite being at an absolute disadvantage in rebounding 35:54.
In the Christmas game of 1997, the protagonist was still the Bulls team, and the opponent was replaced by the Miami Heat , the opponent of last year's Eastern Conference finals. The Bulls had Jordan, and the Heat had center Mourning who was still healthy at this time. In the first quarter, the Heat took control of the situation with Mourning and Mashburn performing together. In the second quarter, Jordan stepped forward and scored 11 points alone, leading the Bulls to a 42:37 lead at halftime. The Heat tried their best to prevent Jordan from scoring points, but Mourning had to leave the field with 6 fouls because of the foul trap created by the Bulls. In the end, the Bulls won 90:80.
After Jordan retired, the Bulls dynasty also collapsed. The protagonist of the Christmas war will be the Lakers who have risen strongly and have O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. However, the Lakers' Christmas luck was not as good as Jordan's Bulls.
In the 2002 Christmas Day game, the Lakers faced the Kings. In this game, which was dubbed the "Revenge Game" by the media, O'Neal and Kobe Bryant teamed up to score 32 points in the first half, helping the Lakers lead 53:49. . However, the Kings, who were holding back their resentment, clearly had a stronger desire to win, defeating their enemy Lakers, who specially put on new white Christmas clothes, 105:99.
In 2003, it was still the Lakers, and the opponent was the Rockets with Yao Ming . This time the gimmick was the "Yao Shark Battle." During the game, Yao Ming's height and perfect outside shooting touch made it difficult for O'Neal to guard against him. Whenever O'Neal attacked with the ball, Yao Ming would always cleverly use the strength of his teammates to create double teams, causing the "big shark" to pay every time he scored. Great cost. In the end, they could only sit back and watch the Rockets win 99:87.
The Warriors and James
The Christmas War has been entangled for many years.
The collision between James and the Warriors can be said to be the focus of the NBA in recent years.
In 2014, James returned to the Cavaliers from the Heat. In the finals of this season, the Cavaliers faced the Warriors in the finals for the first time, winning 2 and losing 4, and watched the Warriors win the championship.
In the 2015-2016 season, the Warriors' regular season record was finally settled at 73 wins and 9 losses, breaking the record set by the Bulls in the 1995-96 season (72 wins and 10 losses), becoming the team with the best single-season regular season record in NBA history. As a result, in the finals, facing James' Cavaliers, they were overturned by the Cavaliers with a 3-1 lead. The Cavaliers won their first championship trophy in team history with a score of 4-3, becoming the first team in history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship.
After the 2016-2017 season, the Cavaliers lost to the Warriors 1-4 in the finals. In the 2017-2018 season, in the finals, the Cavaliers met the Warriors for the fourth year, but were swept 4-0 by the Warriors.
If James' Cavaliers hadn't won a championship, the Warriors would have already established a dynasty, and the hatred between the two seemed deep.
On Christmas Day 2015, James and the Warriors began to fight. This fight lasted for three years. After Christmas in 2016 and Christmas in 2017, James led the Cavaliers against the Warriors.
In the 2015 Christmas Day game, the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 89-83; in the 2016 Christmas Day game, the Warriors lost to the Cavaliers 108-109; in the 2017 Christmas Day game, the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 99-92.
Finally, in the summer of 2018, James left the Cavaliers to join the Lakers. He left James' Cavaliers and once again became the bottom team in the NBA. The Lakers, which had declined before and after Kobe's departure, seemed to have once again ushered in an opportunity to rise.
However, the encounter between James and the Warriors stars seems to have been destined. In the NBA, there seems to be no player more famous than James. Players with similar fame and strength to James, such as Curry, Durant, etc., are all in the Warriors.
The Christmas war is all about fame. Whoever is more famous will be more attractive. In addition to die-hard fans, it can also attract fake fans and non-fans to watch the game and get higher ratings.
In the next few years, perhaps, James will continue to be entangled with the Warriors.
Qilu Evening News·Qilu One Point reporter Zhu Honglei compiled
