2065438+March 2008, lost to the Blazers and Timberwolves one after another, and the Warriors were pulled away by the Rockets. The remaining 15 regular-season warriors have a difficult schedule, and it is extremely difficult to regain the top spot in the West or even the regular-season champion. Because the Rockets' record against the Warriors in the regular season is 2 wins 1 loss, the defending champion can only be ranked first if his record is better than the other team. At this time, if we look at the prediction made by ESPN before the start of the season (see the above picture), we can't help feeling that even though we have won two championships in the past three years and four people have been selected as All-Stars for two consecutive years, it is not easy to "win" Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, two warriors who are at the peak of MVP. A little carelessness will ruin the great cause of defending the title.

In basketball, the team is far more important than the individual, and I also enjoy the taste of victory very much. I am willing to fight side by side with my brothers and strive for the final victory. -Curry

More than 30 years ago, the combination of Dr. J and moses malone did not have a happy ending. After the first cooperation season was a complete success, they were unexpectedly defeated by the Nets in the first round of the 1984 playoffs, and their defending tour came to an abrupt end. 1985 in the eastern conference finals, facing the Celtics who made a comeback, the 76 ers had no strength to fight back, and 1-4 was out. 1986 In the Eastern Conference semifinals, Moses Malone suffered an orbital fracture, and they were eliminated by the Bucks 3-4. In June 1986, 16, the 76 ers traded Moses Malone to Washington Bullets, and the MVP team broke up after only four seasons. However, their cooperation is of great significance, which enables Dr. J and moses malone to get rid of the "uncapped superstar group" composed of elgin baylor, Buckley, karl malone, stockton and Nash, and will not be criticized after retirement. When Moses Malone died at 20 15, Owen said frankly in an interview: "It was not an ordinary season, it was an affirmation of our entire career-will we become legendary superstars without champions? The outside world often ignores those people because they have never won the championship, which is simply the end of the world for them. Of course, I don't think so. I don't just watch the success of the game. Even if I don't succeed in the end, there are still many things worth pursuing. In my opinion, only after giving up completely can it be regarded as a real failure. "

Unlike Dr. J, Curry and Durant are still at the peak of their careers. Even if there are many strong teams in the league, LeBron is not old, and the younger generation of new stars emerge one after another, the Warriors still have a chance to win the championship again, perhaps more than once. They still have to face many difficulties: injuries, team signings, star contract renewal ..... they can't relax.

In the past two years, the only "contradiction" between Curry and Durant was a sentence that Durant inadvertently said after winning the championship last year: "No one wants to wear Andema's shoes to play." From the perspective of Nike spokesperson, Durant's ridicule of competitors is understandable, but Curry, as the top basketball spokesperson of Andema, obviously doesn't want to hear this sentence.

"I think it's harmless, but others think it's just breaking the news." Durant said afterwards, "We always make fun of Nike and Andema, but outsiders always try to pick things up, such as,' Oh, did you hear what Durant said about Andema? That's the company that Curry endorsed. They don't like each other at all. I have already explained it to Curry, who understands my words and deeds and thinks it is not targeted. We are full of love. Like I said, I respect everything Curry says and does. "

Actions speak louder than a thousand words. Last summer, Durant's full support for Curry was in everyone's eyes: he helped Curry get the top salary for five years through salary reduction and team renewal, which was equivalent to acknowledging Curry's position as the number one star in the team. Since then, Durant has always stressed that he is not suitable to be the leader of this team. Curry also expressed his respect for Durant in his own words: "I am willing to make sacrifices for the team and always know what I should do and what Durant should do. I think that in basketball, the team is far more important than the individual. I also enjoy the taste of victory very much and am willing to fight side by side with my brothers to win the final victory. "

Curry was injured again, making it very difficult for the Warriors to keep 65 wins in the regular season. Moreover, the west, from today's rocket first to the recent fierce pioneer and George Anthony's thunder, is not an idle generation. It is almost impossible for the Warriors to win the game as they did last year. However, the cooperation between Curry and Durant's two top stars Qi Xin is the greatest capital of the Warriors. As long as they stay healthy, the dual-core warriors can operate normally and have the confidence to beat any team in the league.

"When I first joined the Warriors, Curry's performance was completely out of my expectation. I know that he is a natural fighter, which also helps me a lot. "

Durant said, "I am learning from him and all my opponents. At the same time, I know Curry better and know that he is the best player in the league, so I want to observe how hard he works every day. I also know very well that he and I are the same type of people. I like being with him. I can learn a lot from him. I think. We have taught each other a lot and people are proud of their excellent quality, so I hope to be with the best players and make myself a better player. "

They got "Buddha-Fei-Buddha" and we got "Buddha-Buddha-Buddha-Fei". -Durant

LeBron+Ross, Kobe+Nash, O 'Neill+Karl Malone, Olajuwon+Buckley ... Before Curry Durant joined, it was not unheard of for two regular season MVP winners to become teammates. However, either one of these combinations has passed the peak, or the partner was injured and did not play its due level. Only Moses Malone and Julius Erving in 1980s can compete with Curry Durant. They are the first MVP partners in NBA history.

1September 5, 1982, the Rockets sent Moses Malone, the winner of the two-time regular season MVP (1978-79 season and 198 1-82 season), to Philadelphia in exchange for 76 people who had been selected as all-star centers, Cod Wilbert Jones and 65438+. The 76ers have a regular season MVP: Julius Erving, the champion of 1980-8 1 season. As a result, this team, which reached the finals three times in the previous six seasons, once again became a favorite to win the championship.

However, few people know that moses malone and Dr. J met in the famous Nassau Stadium before they met in Philadelphia, which was an embarrassing encounter.

Nassau Stadium is a stadium built in memory of veterans. Elvis Presley, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and other superstars have held solo concerts here, which is the home of NHL New Yorker and ABA new york Nets. From 65438 to 0974, Dr. J, who just moved to the new york Nets, led the team to win the first championship in team history, which is also the first championship of Dr. J 1974 10. On June 8, the defending champion opened the new season, and an opponent in the Utah Star Array just turned 19. At that time, Dr. J was asked to speak as a player's representative and welcome new players like Moses Malone. In fact, Dr. J has never seen a game in moses malone before. He can only stand beside the young man who is three inches taller than himself with a microphone and say a few grandiose words.

"I said,' Mo (the nickname of Moses Malone), the sea is wide and diving. It's time for you to swim with the big fish. In an interview with Yahoo Sports a few days ago, Owen recalled the scene and said, "I just said some cliches, but since then, we have become good brothers."

For the next eight years, Dr. J's career was smooth sailing. When ABA merged with NBA, he switched to Philadelphia 76 ers and never moved. Moses malone had a bumpy career. From Utah Stars to St. Louis Ghosts, Malone was selected by Portland Trailblazers when ABA merged with NBA, but was traded to Buffalo Warriors before the start of 1976-77 season and sent to Houston Rockets after playing two games. It was not until the season of 1982-83 that the two met in Philadelphia. In order to pursue the NBA championship, Dr. J, who needs the full support of the other side, formed a frustrated alliance with Moses Malone.

198 1-82 season, Moses Malone averaged 3 1. 1 minute, 14.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 0.9 steals. According to personal technical statistics, he was elected MVP of the regular season. But he is also the first MVP in history and the only MVP in the regular season. The Rockets 198 1-82 scored only 46 wins and 36 losses, ranking only sixth in the West. The first round of the playoffs was eliminated by the Sonics 1-2. Although the Rockets reached the finals in 1980-8 1 season, their regular season record was only 40 wins and 42 losses, and their absolute strength could not reach the championship level. In fact, Moses Malone's rockets have never won 50 games in six regular seasons. At the same time, Dr. J and the 76ers became the biggest losers in the finals, especially after 1980 and 1982 were defeated by the Lakers twice, their psychological defense line almost collapsed.

The MVP winners of the previous two seasons joined hands, and the combination of Dr. J and Moses Malone showed their strength: they won 65 regular-season games and won the regular-season championship with great advantages. Moses Malone averaged 24.5 points 15.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks 1.3 assists 1 steals, and was elected MVP of the regular season for the second consecutive season. The 76ers are even more unstoppable in the playoffs: they swept the new york Knicks 4-0, defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 4-/kloc-0, and even swept the old enemy Lakers in the finals. 12 win 1 negative playoff record is a league record for a long time, only more than Moses Malone's rhetoric before the playoff "fo-fo-fo" (fo means 4-0).

"They got' fo-fi-fo' (fi stands for 4 to 1), and we got' fo-fi-fo-fi'." Talking about the experience of the Warriors winning the championship last season, Durant mentioned the old story of the 76ers that year. Although it failed to win the championship, the combination of 20 14- 16 regular season MVP library and 20 13- 14 season MVP Durant is no less powerful than Dr. J+Moses Malone more than 30 years ago. After all, Dr. J is over 30 years old and his career is going downhill. After winning the championship, the 76ers only reached the Eastern Conference finals once in the next three seasons, not to mention reaching the top again. Can Curry and Durant surpass their predecessors?

For professional players, individual awards do not mean everything. Although I may not get the MVP trophy, I can continue to maintain the MVP level. -Durant

Curry, who just turned 30 this month 14, is the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history and can create all possible super point guards by shooting; Durant, who is six and a half months younger than Curry, is the top scoring machine in NBA history and has now grown into an all-round striker with both offensive and defensive skills. The combination of these two superstars can undoubtedly arouse the infinite imagination of the public more than other combinations. However, compared with their predecessors, the acceptance of the Warriors binary star is far less than theirs. The reason is simple: Warriors won the championship in 20 15 season, and set a record of 73 wins in the regular season in 20 15- 16 season. Such a super team beat Durant in the summer of 20 16, which obviously affected the balance of the league.

In the 20 16- 17 season, the Warriors won the second championship in three years without bloodshed. This is not only reminiscent of the 76 ers who won the championship that year. Moses Malone, 28, helped the 76ers lose 2-4 to the Lakers in the 1982 finals, and took revenge in the 1983 finals. Malone not only won the first championship in his career, but also successfully defended the MVP in the regular season and was elected MVP in the finals. At that time, Dr. J voluntarily gave up his position as a star master and helped moses malone, who was four years younger than himself, with peace of mind, which became a much-told story. "I have tried my best to lead the 76 ers to victory." Owen said frankly: "At that time, I was old, and it was time to step down and let Xian be the second master. It doesn't matter, we have a big mo. At that time, I felt that we could win every game, and we didn't even care who our opponents were because we were strong enough to do whatever we wanted. " As for Curry and Durant, the two MVPs are about the same age. Both of them are in the most mature period of their careers. They are all humble and polite, willing to sacrifice, and they all hope to keep the warriors for a long time. Curry renewed his contract for five years last year, and Durant has repeatedly stressed that he will renew his contract this summer. They should have a better time than Dr. J and moses malone.

In the eyes of opponents, the Warriors used cheating when they teamed up: Durant's introduction made them an unquestionable quasi-dynasty team and one of the most powerful championship contenders in the foreseeable future. But for Curry and Durant themselves, these two superstars who can't distinguish between primary and secondary can only be realized by mutual accommodation and mutual tolerance. To be sure, the data is lower than when individuals lead the team, which obviously does not help them to compete for personal honor, such as winning another regular season MVP trophy. From 20 16 to 17, the Warriors won the championship in the regular season for the third consecutive season, but neither Curry nor Durant entered the top three in the regular season MVP selection: Curry, who was elected MVP for two consecutive seasons, was only ranked sixth and Durant was only ranked ninth. You know, since the 2009- 10 season, Durant's ranking has never been so low as long as he is qualified to participate in the selection.

Curry admits that he and Durant have not reached the realm of "Buddhism", and it is impossible to have no idea about MVP. Of course, he also hopes to achieve a win-win situation like moses malone. But compared with winning the championship, such a sacrifice is tolerable. "I think we cooperated well, won the game and won the championship. We have no time to discuss who is eager to be elected MVP. If MVP is our goal, even winning MVP is more important than winning the championship, which may lead to unnecessary disputes and even unnecessary contradictions. None of us are like that. "

So far this season, the Warriors are not as good as the same period last season, and the Rockets are likely to win the championship in the regular season. Even if the Warriors went against the sky in the last month and won 65 games in the regular season for the fourth consecutive season, leading the league, Curry and Durant could hardly rank in the top three in the MVP selection and get the opportunity to participate in the award ceremony this season. Harden of the Rockets, Demar demar derozan of the Raptors, Owen of the Celtics, Lillard of the Trailblazers, anthony davis of the Pelican ... can even push the Warriors out of the top five again.

"For professional players, individual awards don't mean everything." Durant said, "In my opinion, although I may not get the MVP trophy, I can continue to maintain the MVP level. I know my true level, everyone in the circle knows this, and fans know it very well. Some people don't admit this, and even refer to the deer as a horse, but there is no denying that opponents on the field will be afraid of me. Not even opponents. When I shoot in the open field, I can obviously hear the audience's commotion, and I will hear it every time I shoot. Everyone fears me. Obviously, everything I say and do can't satisfy everyone. They like the confrontation on the court and the suspense in the game, and I often kill all suspense, which obviously runs counter to everyone's expectations, so they don't like me. As for those rumors, I know very well that they are bound to appear. I won the MVP, and I know what it feels like. It's time to move on and experience different things. "

I think we can survive perfectly and have a great chance to work together with NBA legendary superstars. Of course, we will not use traditional methods to achieve our goals, but there is no need to care too much about other people's ideas and statements. -Curry

Curry and Durant are not the kind of people with hot personalities. They like to make friends. But they were not real friends until they became warriors teammates on 20 16. Durant is the absolute core of the US team that participated in the Turkish Men's Basketball World Championships on 20 10, and Curry, who just played 1 in the NBA, is the backup guard. They had close contact and communication, but they never thought that they would join hands one day. This is different from the script that LeBron Wade planned to "fit" when he participated in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

It was not until 20 16 that the warriors who lost in the finals began to consider lobbying Durant, who had not won the championship for 9 years, and Curry began to recruit each other. He changed basketball camp's schedule and took time to go to new york to communicate with Durant. In the face-to-face conversation, Curry specifically told Durant: You don't have to worry about who is the signature figure of the Warriors, who has more shots, and you don't have to consider off-site factors such as the sales of endorsement shoes.

When asked how the two former scoring champions survive, Curry replied: "I think we can survive perfectly and have great opportunities to cooperate with NBA legendary superstars." Of course, we will not use traditional methods to achieve our goals, but there is no need to care too much about other people's ideas and statements. We just play basketball and enjoy everything wholeheartedly. "

Curry said he could do it. Unlike Owen, he was not dissatisfied with losing the ball, but took the initiative to make sacrifices to help Durant integrate as soon as possible. On the other hand, Durant still played well after changing doors, which also eased Curry's pressure to lose the championship because of his poor performance in the 20 16 playoffs. Although he signed a short contract with the Warriors twice, Durant hopes to stay here for a long time. He has got a championship ring, but he is still eager for more. He wants to be a warrior brother, not a cold-blooded machine that only fights for honor. Although he didn't have close contact with Curry for a long time, Durant praised his humble, friendly and selfless way of doing things off the court, which is also the foundation of the Warriors' success. When talking about Curry, Durant's words are full of respect: "Everything comes from mutual respect. We do different things, such as I don't play golf, I don't get married and have children; If Curry and I have similar interests in all aspects, but I don't respect him, we don't really like each other. Therefore, although we act in different ways, I respect everything about him, which also makes our relationship closer. "

It is this sincere respect that allows warriors and stars to face some problems calmly in the early stage of cooperation. Of course, these contradictions appear more in Curry, who originally had an absolute core position. Curry, who won the MVP in the regular season for two consecutive seasons, was already the most popular star in the league before losing the 20 16 finals, and was considered to replace LeBron as the first person in the world. However, in order to get Durant the ball and position he deserves, the super three-point shooter who triggered the basketball revolution had to take the initiative to make adjustments.

Unlike Curry, Clay Thompson, Draymond Green and even Iguodala, who have played for the Warriors for a long time, Durant, who joined midway, is not familiar with this system, nor does he adapt to how to partner with Curry, a super point guard with a completely different style from Westbrook. Therefore, Durant was confused from time to time at the beginning of last season: he found that after covering with Thompson, it affected Curry's movement; He can catch and throw the ball like Harrison Barnes, the former Warriors' main small forward, but he needs more opportunities to hold the ball than his predecessor. When Curry throws those unreasonable three-pointers, he doesn't know for a moment whether to grab the frontcourt rebounds or go back to his own half to prepare for defense ... This means that other warriors need to make more or less changes to let Durant find the most comfortable position in the system, including Curry.

Curry has never been a selfish person. He is willing to make such changes and even accept all kinds of criticisms and even criticisms from outside. But after losing to Owen in the Christmas War on 20 16, Curry felt very depressed. Warriors coach Steve Cole also admitted that Curry and Durant had not found the best way to survive at that time, especially Curry, who actively adjusted, could not exert his maximum energy.

"You can't just pass the ball to them and tell them that you are the most talented team in the league, and then solve those problems yourself." Curry said, "Before Durant joined us, we all played in a fixed way, but now everything is very different. We must change ourselves. Durant's joining has brought us to a new height, but we need to find our own way to find a balance in the new environment. We had some ups and downs, and although we still won most of the games, we obviously didn't reach the level we hoped to achieve. Besides, I think we are a little worried about these problems. We do have some problems, but we will face them and solve them. So I firmly believe that we will become better. "

In the second half of last season, during Durant's long-term truce due to knee injury, Curry found his daily state, led the Warriors to win the championship in the regular season and gained home court advantage in the playoffs. After Durant returned from injury, the Warriors returned to the finals without bleeding. At the last moment of the third game against the Cavaliers, Durant scored the winning goal under LeBron's defense. The shot that decided the direction of the series was the epitome of Durant's entire finals, and it was a fatal knife for the Warriors to stab the old enemy knight.

"Last season, the Warriors showed us what they really wanted." Former Cavaliers point guard Owen said with emotion, "Durant is playing better than before, and Curry is still the omnipotent Curry. Although he made sacrifices for Durant, actually Durant+Curry+Thompson+Green is a perfect combination, each with its own division of labor and duties. They have reached the finals for three consecutive seasons, and they may reach the finals for the fourth or fifth time, or even more. LeBron reached the finals for seven consecutive years. Although the Warriors are not the first in the division, they are still the number one enemy in the hearts of all championship teams, because their previous abilities have made them invincible in the playoffs. Of course, warriors should always be vigilant and face the challenges of all opponents. "