April 29, 2022, is a day to make the former Rockets fans have mixed feelings. The Rockets' last ace combination closest to the championship was on this day, each leading their teams to defeat their opponents, and they made it through the first round of the playoffs by the same score of 4-2. Interestingly, both teams' Mesozoic strengths were injured, and both relied on the bravery of the veterans. Harden scored 22 points and 15 assists at Philadelphia, which made Paul's playoff history with 14 shots.
And the Rockets over there, long away from the playoffs, enter a new round of dormancy and waiting...
01
Due to the failure and unhappiness of the Rockets, and because there has never been a championship ring, Harden and Paul, a veteran who have made outstanding achievements in the NBA, also hang the label of "not too hard, pulling the crotch at critical times". Such a question reached another peak on the 29th, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Suns are dominant in strength, the situation is dominant, and they are all injured by the ace of the home by the opponent who is weaker than their own, the total score will be close, if the 29th loses, the total score will be 3 to 3, suspense.
Questions about Harden
Mainly after the Twists and Turns of the Nets, whether it has experienced a cliff-like landslide. The Rockets, who scored 30 or 40 points at every turn, appeared to be uninterested in scoring in the fifth game of the first round, so that Embiid, who insisted on injury, directly named Harden at the press conference as "should take more points." Some people speculate that it is a drag on last year's hamstring injury, and some people wonder whether Harden is just not working.
Then Harden came up with 22 points and 15 assists on 7-of-12 shooting, and the point was clear: I could still score, but I'd rather have my teammates score together. Harden's plus-minus stats are the highest +38 in the game, and Philadelphia also beat the Raptors 132-97.
Questions about Paul
It is more inclined to "still be able to distinguish between whether he can still distinguish between them" outside the organization. Paul's role as a master of organization is needless to say, but in the fifth game of the squadron, the scoring master Booker was absent due to injury, paul was difficult to support and only scored 4 points, which is easy to recall the dilemma when he was against the Bucks in last year's Finals - if the ability to organize the master score decreased, it was not easy to pass a good ball.
Like Harden, Paul responded with a flawless performance. It's just that in a different way, he really went to score. 14 of 14 shots is the most perfect shooting performance in NBA playoff history, and the previous best was only 13 of 13 shots. Of course, it also makes sense that Booker, although he returned with an injury, was significantly less in form than Philadelphia's Embiid, who still had 33 points, shooting only 1 of 6 - this was a three-pointer that killed suspense in the final decisive moment, and it was also an assist from Paul. But most of the time, the Suns still had to rely on Paul to score, and in the end it was only a small win over the Pelicans 115-109.
02
What bothered the fans who supported the light bulb combination at that time was that in 2022 they were still so powerful, if the two could continue to cooperate in the Rockets, would there be another world?
It's just that assumptions are only hypotheses after all. Not to mention the personality conflict between the two at that time, the Rockets' business philosophy of "killing and not paying luxury taxes" is really hopeless. Harden and Paul's performance this day is certainly heroic, but they also have strong helpers around them, in addition to mesozoic masters such as Embiid and Booker, they also have high-quality puzzles such as Maxi, Harris and Bridges, and Ayton.
The 2018 Rockets did own Ariza, but turned around and sent him away in order not to pay the luxury tax. In order to make up for the defensive loopholes he left behind, Paul was forced to gain weight to adapt to the defensive arrangement of infinite changes of defense, and eventually worn out his state and health, wasting the golden years of the light bulb combination.
Let's look at the salary levels of these two teams now. The 76ers ranked eighth in the league, with a luxury tax of tens of millions. The Suns are eating rookie dividends from Ayton, Bridges and others, but next season is basically certain to be on the luxury tax list... And who is at the top of the luxury tax list? It was the warrior who could win the championship without paying a luxury tax, and the $170 million luxury tax can be fully understood as taking the tax of that year to pay now.
That is to say, the luxury tax must be paid if you want to win the championship, and if you don't pay it now, you have to pay it in the future. If you don't pay for it, just look at the rocket.
Text/Hubei Daily reporter Guo Xiaoming
Photo/ Weibo, Xinhua News Agency