One James has said goodbye, how far can the other James go?

Saying goodbye does not mean leaving forever. LeBron James has ended his NBA journey in the 2024-25 season.

With the Lakers losing to the Timberwolves 1-4, James still left many regrets in his playoff journey in his 22nd season of his career. In the regular season, the Lakers' record fluctuated at first, but overall they remained in the direct playoff ranking, and the operation before the trading deadline shocked the outside world.

James's partner, Davis, was sent to Dallas in exchange for Doncic!

The two sides were running-in very quickly, and the Lakers finally achieved 50 wins and 32 losses in the regular season, ranking third in the division.

James' personal data is 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.0 steals, with a shooting percentage of 51.3% + 37.6%. His 40-year-old state will not be inferior to the new generation of stars in terms of data.

But the performance in the playoffs is different!

vs. Timberwolves, most outside the world thinks that the Lakers are "above signing", but the result is 1-4 and they are eliminated early. In the first game, James scored 19 points, G2 scored 21 points, G3 suddenly exploded and scored 38 points, G4 also scored 27 points, G5 was injured but also scored 22 points.

Faced with the young Timberwolves, James averaged 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. Among them, rebounds, steals and blocks lead the team, but the real influence of the game is not as good as before!

This cannot be based on the fact that the hit rate is still 48.9% + 35.7% as a reference, but should start from the actual game.

This includes that when Doncic performed poorly due to gastrointestinal discomfort, James scored 38 points and it was difficult for him to change the final victory of the game.

Specifically, in the matchup, James faces a far less strong defense than Doncic and Reeves. The Timberwolves' strategy is to have Gobert at the basket, and the outside is mainly to limit Doncic and Reeves.

This makes James supposed to score more points, but the average score and free throws per game (8.0) are not his peak level. Is it time for James to really say goodbye?

Here, it is naturally a strict requirement that it can still lead the team to compete for the championship. After all, if the regular season and playoff data are not to win the championship, it can still play for 3-5 seasons, right?

If you return to the topic of winning the playoffs and pursuing the championship, James has only won 2 games in the past 14 playoffs. In fact, at least the dual-core situation is there. This can only be said that his ability to affect the game is much worse than before!

data is for reference only, but the process is a fact!

23 Western Conference Finals, facing the Nuggets 0-4, and the Nuggets were again in the first round of the following year. This time, it may be 1-4 but in fact it may be 0-4! This season, the opponent was replaced by the Timberwolves and the ending was only 1 victory.

Therefore, this time James gives us the feeling that our mentality is no longer as competing for victory as before, and the outcome seems to have become indifferent?

Of course, it obviously won't retire during this offseason! Shams' latest talk about James bluntly said:

LeBron will play for at least another season!

There are 3 reasons: First, 23 seasons will set a record; second, the All-Stars will be held in Los Angeles next season, and the Clippers will be at home; finally, the second son Bryce James is likely to participate in the 2026 draft?

If there is a fourth reason, do we fans think we want to continue to compete for the championship?

This James is not sure, but the other James is 100% sure!

James Harden, tiebreak is here again!

In the first six tiebreaks in his career, Harden's performance was not ideal, with a record of 3 wins and 3 losses, averaging 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game, and his shooting percentage was only 36.3%!

Of course, we also mentioned earlier that data cannot be truly used as the only reference for affecting the game.

32 points, 18 points, 20 points, 15 points, 11 points and 28 points, this is the single-game score of the Bearded against the Nuggets Series G1-G6.

At present, the two sides have a 3-3 series. Harden's score will undoubtedly affect the final outcome, but it is different from James' situation.

The first game was 32 points, the Clippers lost, G2 had only 18 points, but the Clippers won the game! G3 scored 20 points, the Clippers won a big victory, G4 and G5 scored less than 20 points, and the Clippers lost desperately and suffered a crushing defeat.

Here, Harden's score cannot directly affect the outcome of the game, but his condition will have a 100% impact on the Clippers, including organization and tandem offense.

Harden played for 46 minutes and 35 seconds, making the Clippers better in offense, defense and organization. With Leonard's continued stability, how Harden sorted out the offense and commanded teammates to take the place is far more important than how many points he scored in person.

Of course, this depends on the Nuggets' defensive strategy. If other players are blocked and Harden is allowed to attack, the bearded man needs to score high scores and ensure good efficiency.

Back off the moves, Harden is still at the top in this regard, and his physical fitness will not be affected by his age.

But when the playoffs came to tiebreak, whether Harden can go far is not just about his personal ability and team strength.

Home advantage cannot be ignored. After all, in addition to being accidental in the tiebreak, the advantage of the home court is real..

For this, how far can Harden go this season?

Tomorrow's tiebreak battle will give me the answer!

If the Clippers defeat the Nuggets away, facing the Thunder in the semi-finals, the probability of the bearded returning to the Western Conference Finals is undoubtedly quite high.

The Clippers are not afraid of the Thunder, because what can really limit Harden are players of the front line defense gate type, such as Tatum and Brown, and the Clippers' forward line and inside line have advantages in confrontation.

For this reason, we think that if the Clippers cross the Nuggets, Harden's playoff journey this year may be a surprise?