James wins first again, should Doncic leave or stay? The Lakers face three major choices...

Looking at the comprehensive positive and negative rankings of this year's playoffs so far, Jokic and Antetokounmpo tied for the top with outstanding numbers of more than 10, while James ranked fourth with outstanding performance, although his journey has unfortunately stopped. In the fierce showdown between the Lakers and the Timberwolves, James' comprehensive contribution is the top of the two teams, proving that time has not weakened his edge.

Perhaps some people will be skeptical of James' high contribution value, questioning why he scored not much in the fourth quarter and became the most contribution? We need to think deeply about this. In this round of series, the Lakers were struggling to rotate personnel and were able to compete with the Timberwolves with just about 5.5 people's core lineup. Whether it is the depth of the lineup or the coach's playoff experience, it is difficult to compete with the Timberwolves. Against this background, James had to stand up and do his best in the first three quarters to shoulder the heavy responsibility of both offense and defense to ensure that the suspense of the game continued. We cannot demand the 40-year-old veteran by the standards we were young. He is no longer at the peak of 24 or 34 years old.

In short, if a team needs to rely on a 40-year-old veteran as the core of the highest contribution value, its future path will undoubtedly be full of thorns. We hope that James can retreat to the second line at the right time, play the role of the second leader with a more relaxed attitude, and moderately retain his physical strength in the first three quarters. At the critical moment in the fourth quarter, he stood up with his big heart to decide the direction of the game. However, the reality is cruel. The current Lakers lineup configuration is still flawed, and they have to continue to rely on James' performance until the moment he retires.

Looking at today's NBA arena, the Nuggets defeated the Clippers in the tiebreak battle, and the game lost its suspense after the third quarter. Harden was in a sluggish state, making only 2 of 8 shots in the game, contributing 7 points, 5 rebounds and 13 assists. The Nuggets eliminated teams from Los Angeles in the first round of the playoffs for two consecutive years, showing their strong strength.

With the Clippers losing in tiebreak, four of the five teams in the Pacific Division have bid farewell to this season: the Suns miss the play-offs, the Kings were eliminated in the play-offs, the Lakers were eliminated in the first round, and the Clippers lost in tiebreaks. At present, the Warriors are still fighting hard, and they will have a tiebreak final battle with the Rockets. Looking back at yesterday's Warriors' match with the Rockets, we can't help but hold our breath for this fierce competition. I deeply admire the outstanding performance of the Rockets' big centers, especially when they sent out a tall lineup composed of Shin Kyung, Adams and Jabbarry Smith, which made an astonishing 42.7 points more than the Warriors per 100 attacks. The following data reflects this advantage intuitively:

- Attack efficiency is as high as 115.6

- Defensive efficiency is 72.8

- The net profit margin has reached an excellent level of +42.7

Faced with such a powerful inside combination, the Warriors seem helpless and difficult to score. It is worth mentioning that when Adams is on the court, the Rockets can beat the Warriors by 53 points; and once he gets off the court, the Rockets will lose 39 points, which shows its influence.

In addition, the news that Doncic, Pelinka and Redick have dinner today has attracted widespread attention, and they are likely to be discussing the renewal and the team's plans for next season. For Doncic, he faces multiple signing options:

1. He can choose a four-year, 229 million contract extension, which can be signed as early as August 2.

2. Alternatively, he can choose a three-year short contract of 165 million, which contains player options for the 2028-29 season. By giving up his super top salary qualification, he is expected to sign a five-year super contract of 418 million in 2028 (when he has been in full ten years).

3. Of course, he can also choose to wait and see, and make another decision in the summer of 2026 after executing the existing contract. At that time, he can choose to renew his five-year contract of 296 million, or transfer to his team to sign a four-year contract of 219 million.

According to internal news from the Lakers, the Lakers are open to any contract structure that Doncic may choose. In any case, Doncic is extremely likely to stay in the Lakers. He has repeatedly said that he feels very happy in Los Angeles and the Lakers, and that the fans here are very welcome. The Lakers management even regarded him as the successor of the post-James era, and did not hesitate to trade him with Dark Brow as a bargaining chip.