Game 4 of the 2020 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers vs. Nuggets.
Head coach Vogel will play a season's substitute Dwight Howard put on the starter to deal with the "destroyed" teacher in the bubble.
Master Huo not only scored 8 points and 8 rebounds in the first 9 minutes of the first quarter, but also consumed a lot of physical strength in the melee of the appointment teacher, limiting him to 16 points, 4 assists and 5 fouls. The Lakers 114-108 got the match point smoothly.
The teacher may have forgotten, in the bubble, at Disney, at Orlando , the big man who guarded him used to be the king here.
The only DPOY "three in a row", led the team to eliminate LeBron, Green Army , reached the league's first center in the finals.
It’s just that ten years have passed.
2004 NBA ushered in another high school student champion, a center Dwight Howard who loves to play tricks, and he happened to be selected by the Orlando Magic.
The last center who likes to be funny and talented and comes from Orlando was the 1992 Shark. Everyone hopes that this big boy who believes in Jesus , has no tattoos and is accustomed to smiling will become another legend.
He is used to smiling,
"Probably when I was 12 years old, I always smiled on the court, because opponents always wanted me to perform poorly, and I thought they could not do it. You can't stop me, you If I can’t beat me, I just want to laugh and enjoy happiness. ”
He did it.
From 2004-09, he added a heavy 15 kilograms of muscle to himself, and evolved from a slightly thin 2.08 high school student into one of the most terrifying defensive monsters in history. In the 08-09 season, he led the Magic to kill LeBron's Cavaliers and defending champion Celtics , only to lose to the Lakers.
2009-12, he won the best defensive player for three consecutive times and became the undisputed number one center forward. But it is not as happy as before. The change of the main players (Turkoglu left and back), the contradictions of the management, the decline of the record, and even his smile have become the object of criticism.
"I still smile when faced with difficulties, but we do have to make changes."
When they lost to the Celtics in 2010, the Garnetts were like wolves and blood. However, when he was still smiling on the court, various infamy such as "lack of leadership temperament" and "destructive chemical reaction" came to him one after another.
Everything he had with the magic came to an abrupt end in 2012. The Lakers, who failed to beat the championship for two consecutive years, made a desperate move and brought him to Los Angeles in a big four-way trade, hoping that he and Kobe can form a new generation of " ok combination" and return to the top.
But 26-year-old Howard still thinks of everything too simple.
He thought he would get a unique core position like in the Magic.
He thought that Kobe would tolerate his character like his former teammates.
He thought that he could conquer Los Angeles like a shark just by smiling,
" Boy, let me teach you how to become a champion. ”
Kobe’s harshness greeted him,Media attention and the 2012-13 season that the Lakers have been very unsuccessful from the beginning.
The last four main Hall of Fame players (Kobe, Howard, Gasol , Nash ) almost missed the playoffs. Kobe scored the seventh in the Western Conference after smashing the Achilles tendon. The result was a 4-0 sweep by the Spurs in the first round.
When he was sent off for two technical offenders in only three minutes of the third quarter of Game 4, his fate with the Lakers ended.
What he and the Lakers didn't expect is that this breakup made both sides fall into a long-term trough, until 2019 they joined hands again to return to the peak.
He has been in the industry for almost ten years. Everyone knows that under his brilliant smile is a complicated heart.
He pursues happiness, but he is extremely sensitive. Both opponents and teammates are easily affected by his emotions.
He wants to be taken seriously, but he doesn't like being too harsh. In the game, he was eager for every ball to be handled by him, but he was disgusted with people pointing to his shortcomings (techniques, free throws, etc.).
He seems humble and warm, but he is actually very stubborn. No O'Neal These center forwards have solid offensive skills, but they are used to squatting in the penalty area. Once very disgusted for the frequent pick-and-rolls of outside players, thinking that this is a practice of self-devaluation.
In the 2013 offseason, he chose to join Houston. With the support of Moses Malone, Big Dream, Sampson, and Yao Ming, Howard received a courtesy that broke his imagination. It seems that I have found the happiness I want.
Of course the most important thing is that he will join hands with a super defender,James Harden.
But their relationship is still unpleasant.
Harden's offense with the ball requires a high-quality pick-and-roll wall and enough interior space, and Howard still claims to be the league's number one center, and finishing behind is the offensive method he should enjoy.
is different from the “ok combination” of the past in terms of ball power and status. The focus of their contradiction is space and play style.
Therefore, the two have never turned their faces publicly in three years but have been in a cold war. In Harden's words, this kind of disagreement is that handles things differently.
The Rockets management can also see that they have to choose between two superstars who don't match up. But it was 2016 after all. The Warriors have already spread the small ball trend throughout the league. They easily chose James Harden, who is younger and more in line with this era.
So in 2016 he joined Atlanta Hawks , his hometown with 70.5 million in 3 years. Once again, people saw his long-lost smile.
"I have all the Hawks jerseys. Whenever I wear them, I feel like being one of them. It feels like my dream comes true when I go home. "
But the good times are not long, only one season of the Hawks He was sent to the Hornets, accompanied by the cheers of the Eagles locker room after sending away the "uncle".
“ always likes to talk loudly before the game, saying that he wants to play harder, work harder and so on, but in the game he is very lax and his words and deeds are inconsistent, which confuses his teammates.” ESPN reporter Lowe Broke the news.
Indeed, at that time, he often had a face sinking like water, with a squat mouth and frowning eyebrows. It’s not Garnett ’s "I’m going to strip you alive today", but simply unhappy "Don’t bother me."Happiness has gone away from him.
and what few people have noticed is that his offensive true efficiency value (OBPM) has been below 1.0 for five consecutive years.
At this time, the league is already under the control of outside players. A large number of high-position picks and rolls, defense changes, and small hits have infinitely magnified his weaknesses. His proud muscles have become a burden when he moves, while inside finishing and coping skills are still in the stage of development.
So he became the hobo of the league, the Hornets, the Nets, the Wizards, and the Grizzlies, everyone wanted to try the once-first center "is it sweet or not?", but he quickly abandoned it. Sure enough, it's a great mallet."
He still has top-notch inside defense and rebounding skills, and he has also scored the ancient miracle of "double 30" (2017-18 Hornets beat the Nets, 32 points and 30 rebounds).
However, considering his insistence on his personal style of play, the "destruction" of the locker room, and the state of decline year by year. After being waived by the Grizzlies in August 2019, the door of the NBA was closed to him.
He and his agent have asked all over the league, but no one cares about him. It seems that he has been classified as a dusty memory.
is that done? Perhaps his consistent piety touched God. The Lakers just signed Cousins during the offseason. The cruciate ligament injury was reimbursed again, and the purple and gold suddenly missed a backup center.
Both LeBron and the Lakers are willing to give him another chance. For the first time in his career, Howard felt the value of playing in the NBA, and he also paid his utmost sincerity.
He lost 40 pounds during the offseason, and he has a more agile and firmer physique.
He voluntarily asked for a non-guaranteed basic salary, leaving the Lakers a way out, and also showed that he broke the boat. determination.
The most important thing is that he is willing to substitute for JaVale McGee ,After all, he had the heart of a giant that he had cherished for many years.
"I am very grateful to the Lakers for giving me this opportunity, thank God. Now I just want to play well, with a humble and grateful heart."
Howard in the 2019-20 season, regardless of body size or mentality It gave people a huge impact. He can still play the level of an All-Star center, but sits on the bench with peace of mind and enjoys the purest basketball time.
He became the inside shield of the Lakers bench, and McGee formed thick eyebrows, the best bodyguards and "thugs", the three giants are Staples' penalty area There is no net. The Lakers were second in the league defensively and first in blocked shots in the regular season that year. And Howard has 14.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per 36 minutes.
He left the three-second zone , which he was obsessed with, and completed the pick-and-rolls that James and his teammates once were not good at and hated. He became a coolie, and he did his best to complete rebounds, blocks and cakes. work.
So it was our turn to exclaim: the original Warcraft is still so strong!
In the playoffs in the bubble, he can play the most conscientious "court atmosphere group" on the bench when facing the Rockets, or he can die when he needs him to suppress Jokic. 35 minutes of starting battle.
He has grown from the invincible, urchin who regards everything as nothing, to a man who is willing to give everything for his dreams and champions.
After winning the championship, the tearful Warcraft kept chanting in the live broadcast: Don’t give up your dreams,Believe me, don't give up on yourself, don't give up on yourself.
And he has become the only center outside David Robinson who has won the championship and the best defensive player at the same time.
After the rebirth of the 2019-20 season, Howard seems to have washed away his lead and has completely grown into a mature man and a role model for professional players.
During the 2020 offseason, the Lakers unexpectedly did not choose to renew his contract, leaving him to choose to go to the 76ers. But he did not have any discord with the management. On the contrary, he used a long and sincere post on social media to thank the Los Angeles Lakers for re-illuminating his career:
Thank you, the Lakers, for returning to Los Angeles and winning the total The championship is really a very pleasant experience. I am very grateful to the Bath family, the Rambis family, Pelinka and the entire Lakers nation.
I love you 100%, thank you for your support over the past year! This season has been filled with mixed feelings, and you have always supported us firmly. Next, I would like to thank my brothers. We have overcome many difficulties and won the victory together. Thank you for allowing us to have many wonderful memories this season, for which I will always be grateful. We will always be champions, and no one can take it away from us.
When the Lakers suffered a fiasco this summer and reshuffled, he was almost the first to express his willingness to return. In the end, he regained the lead with the Lakers with a veteran basic salary, with LeBron, Big Eyebrow, and . Rondo has started another championship journey.
Today's World of Warcraft, without the exaggeration and high-profile of the youth, is replaced by the satisfaction and gratitude after the lead has been washed out and the vicissitudes of life have gone through. For him, a 35-year-old veteran who has experienced 17 seasons,
has not only the glory of leading the team to the finals, but also the loneliness that no one cares about.
has experienced the tragedy of heavy betrayal and the world’s enemies,
has also experienced the happiness of being reborn from the ashes and holding the championship trophy high,
nowadays, every day when there is a ball, God treats him. The gifts of persistence and hard work are his sincere love for basketball.
He is still the laughing boy who wants to play basketball.
Crossing thousands of rivers and mountains, after all the hardships, we still remember "You were a boy" :
Many years ago you had a pair of clear eyes
ran like a spring lightning
I want to see the farthest distance in the world
I feel that I can fly high mountains and oceans with two wings
.
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