It so happened that the strongest league in the world became the Stars League. They earn the highest salary, influence the formation and subsequent fate of their team’s roster when they request a transfer to another organization. And often NBA stars influence the fate of the league and the development of basketball in general, like the creation of the first Big Three in Boston in 2007 or the “Two-in-three” formula proposed by Gregg Popovich in the 2014 Finals.

When we hear the term “hero basketball”, we first remember the performances of Michael Jordan (especially the “Flu match”), Kobe Bryant (after breaking ties with Shaq), and LeBron James. However, this first round from the West created such rival pairs that team basketball would go up against heroism, namely the stars. Curious. So let’s take a look at these couples.

Denver Nuggets – Minnesota Timberwolves

Larry O’Brien Trophies: 0-0
Regular season matches: 2-2

The undisputed winners of the Western Conference during the regular season took on perhaps the weakest opponent among those currently playing in the first round. And in the composition of this weakest opponent are Gobert, Townes and Edwards – the stars who lead the team behind them. This is especially true for Edwards, who scored more than 24 points per game during the regular season.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone has developed great team basketball. Leader Nikola Jokic is a versatile basketball player, averaging nearly a triple-double in one season. With 24.3 points per game. Coach Malone has all the players playing for the team, no matter how talented. Even Jamal Murray, whose first playoff since 2020. Especially after his wounds.

You want to prove yourself on the field because this has been expected for a very long time. It can hurt sometimes. I realized that I needed to calm down, exhale, and just play basketball,” the Denver quarterback said after the first game with Minnesota.

What is the coach’s role in team building? He doesn’t let the selfishness of talented basketball players defeat him. Michael Malone clearly tells his players – you are part of the mechanism, just do your duties for the good of the team. And you have full confidence in this: “At the beginning of the game, Jamal told me several times that it was his fault (when he didn’t hit the basket),” says the Denver coach: “You shouldn’t take it too much. Don’t blame it too much. Just keep playing. Show your game. Your shots will fly into the ring. I have no doubts about it.” “.

In “Denver”, individual strong players were selected while team basketball was taught at the same time. Of all the participants in the conference playoffs, can such a star but weakest team stop this car?

Memphis Grizzlies – Los Angeles Lakers

Larry O’Brien Trophies: 0-17
Regular meetings: 1-2

LeBron has done well this season with 28.8 points; 8.4 rebounds; Average 6.8 assists. He rested well before the decisive stage of the season – he was injured for a month and a half. So James is ready for the qualifiers.

“We need to rest and watch our attack. Discover what we did well and what we did worse,” Derwin Ham shares.

And indeed, LAL is no longer scarred. The underplayed Hachimura is gaining more and more confidence from the coach, DiAngelo Russell gains momentum every game, Reeves and Schroeder take turns shooting 20+ points. Yes, they depend on the mood of their stars – James and Davis. But this is the Lakers. Must be a hero.

“I think the guys have the mindset for the game and they looked really good today. But I think we can get stronger,” said LeBron James, sharing his impressions of his first game with Memphis.

Interestingly, they teamed up with Memphis in early March while LAL was still struggling for play-in. And he celebrated the win in that game (without LeBron and Morent).

“It’s tough. I have to be in the game for my men. But he’s under threat right now,” said Ja Morent, who is likely to miss the second game of the playoff series.

By the way, Adams and Clark will not star in this series at all. The Lakers have all the cards to advance to the next round.

Sacramento Kings – Golden State Warriors

Larry O’Brien Trophies: 2-7
Regular meetings: 1-3

As a team, the Kings grew up with Domantas Sabonis, a great passer who can vacuum rebounds and attack from any distance. It is most commonly used in disposal combinations in the NBA. In this way, the basketball player makes 7.2 assists per game during the regular season. But also thanks to Sabonis, Fox got the space under the basket and the team’s ability to attack more efficiently from afar – first in league points scored and second in field goal percentage in the regular season.

Once upon a time, Mike Brown was hostage to the presence of a young LeBron James on the team. Now he is establishing his own team, consisting of equal basketball players, where everyone serves each other. And even DeEron Fox thinks first of all about his fans, not how many points he has earned today: “We performed well today. “But I’m doing this for our fans, because I know how they support the team through any and all challenges,” Fox said after his first game against the Warriors.

In Auckland, they complain about the absence of Wiggins. Couldn’t a team that could use the substitutes to destroy the Dallas, played by Steph, Clay and Dray, win the playoffs without their under-stellar performance? Obviously, Golden State should show their championship character and start proving their claim from the very beginning.

Moreover, “Sacramento” turned the “Golden State” upside down once again. The Warriors, which showed high efficiency in shots from under the basket and from the middle distance, simultaneously drowning Curry and the company in the team defense, took 22 losses tonight.

Thus, the Warriors defeated the Kings three times during the regular season, especially in early April and without Wiggins, in one loss. And now they are very close to relegation after the season. By the way, “Sacramento” – third in terms of performance in the playoffs. Doesn’t this show the strength of the team? And are the Warriors arrogant after last year’s victory? It will be much more interesting to see if Curry decides to solve each subsequent game on his own.

Phoenix Suns-Los Angeles Clippers

Larry O’Brien Trophies: 0-0
Regular meetings: 2-2

The Arizonas have Cam Payne injured and the LAC has Paul George (due to a horrific knee injury). This means that Kawhi must fulfill his usual role to lead his team to victory. Would that be easy to do against Durent, who took 15 shots? Or against Paul, who had a triple-double with 10 assists on eight shots?

Phoenix has a handful of individually strong players joined by Kevin Durent, who was taught to share the ball by Chris Paul and left his ego behind in Oklahoma. The Clippers have Kawhi and Westbrook, who can score 19 baskets and only three.

“He went crazy because of the misses. Then I intervened and asked me to better choose the location and time for the shots. Do these wisely. But today he added value to the team as a rebounder,” Tai Liu said after winning the first game of the playoffs.

According to Lenard, he played 42 minutes in that game and scored 38 points while putting his team ahead. Like in the old “San Antonio” or “Toronto”.

“We trusted it, which means we took care of it ahead of time. “We have to play tough times here in the playoffs, especially when Paul George leaves the game.”

However, Kevin Durent seems calm in his team. And the fact that nothing is clear in this series yet gives us confidence: We definitely wanted to start off better after this season. But this happens sometimes. It matters how quickly we move away from this loss.”

The Clippers are again unlucky before the playoffs due to injuries, but they have their own hero, Kawhi. He beat an undefeated team in the NBA Finals before, can he beat them again?

Vyacheslav Shevchenko