The name of Zhan Duku is not available! The NBA pattern changes drastically: The prelude to the era of the new king being the first to be a new king

In the NBA playoff Western Conference semi-finals, the Thunder showed unstoppable dominance at home.

The first quarter set the tone with a 13-0 offensive climax. In the second quarter, Jaylen Williams scored 17 points in a single quarter, leading the team to widen the gap to double digits.

The side changes again, the Thunder continued to suppress both ends of the offense and defense, and the score difference once widened to more than 20 points, and finally ended the series with a huge gap of 125-93, with a total score of 4-3 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

Nuggets' core collectively dumb

As the absolute core of the Nuggets, Jokic's performance in this game is a rare low in his career playoffs. He played in the game for 37 minutes and made only 5 of 9 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers and 9 of 11 free throws, scoring 20 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, but with 5 mistakes, the plus-negative value is as low as -23. What is even more surprising is that this MVP-level player who averaged more than 20 shots per game in the regular season only had one shooting attempt in the second half. His presence on both ends of the offense and defense almost disappeared, and he completely lost control of the game.

Westrow played in 21 minutes and made 2 of 7 shots, scored only 6 points in 5 three-pointers, but made 4 mistakes, with the positive and negative values ​​as low as -34, and failed to provide effective support on both offense and defense; core point guard Jamal Murray played for 34 minutes, made only 6 of 16 shots, and only 13 points in 8 three-pointers, with a positive and negative value of -21. The two of them had a plus or negative value of -55, which became the direct fuse for the Nuggets' defeat.

As one of the team's highest-paid players, Michael Porter Jr. made only 3 of 8 shots in 23 minutes, made 0 of 4 three-pointers, scored only 6 points and 3 rebounds, with a plus-minus value of -8. Data shows that in the four games lost in this round of the series, he scored only 19 points in total, made 7 of 32 shots, and his three-point shooting percentage was as low as 9.1% (2 of 22 shots).

Netizens sharply criticized his "one game, one ghost game, six games" and "can't play high-end games", and his contract with nearly 80 million in the remaining two years was even questioned for "five-star trading difficulty", which became the most difficult problem for the Nuggets' offseason.

Jokic's maximum salary renewal and lineup adjustment dilemma

Despite the playoff Waterloo, Jokic's future is still stable.

According to ESPN salary experts, he is eligible to sign a three-year, $212 million early renewal contract with the Nuggets this summer, with an average salary set to a record NBA history.

Currently, Jokic's salary this season is $51.42 million, followed by $55.22 million and $59.03 million respectively in the following two seasons, and there are $62.84 million in the 2027-28 season. The Nuggets are expected to complete the contract renewal without hesitation, demonstrating the team's absolute trust in its "future championship core".

However, Porter Jr.'s downturn is in stark contrast to his high-paying contracts. When he was unable to open up space through outside shooting or restrict his opponents on the defensive end in a key battle, the management had to face the difficult choice of "whether to reorganize the role players around Jokic."

fans even proposed the assumption that "there was no such thing when the Raven was replaced back then", highlighting their concerns about the competitiveness of the existing lineup.

NBA pattern has changed drastically

With the Nuggets being eliminated, the NBA has ushered in a historical record: 7 different championship teams have been born in the past seven seasons (2018-2025), and the league has never had such a long championship change fault before. This phenomenon not only shows the fierce competition in the league, but also indicates a new ecosystem of "it is difficult to win consecutive championships and even more difficult to enter the finals."

At the same time, the East and West finals are all announced: the Knicks and the Pacers in the East, and the West is the Thunder to face the Timberwolves. Leaders of the four teams - Edwards (Timberwolves), Alexander (Thunder), Brunson (Knicks) and Halliburton (Pacers), are the most popular young generation representatives in the league.

It is worth noting that the Thunder (excluding the Supersonic Period), Pacers, and Timberwolves never scored the championship, and the Knicks' last win dates back to 1973. This means that this season's NBA championship trophy will surely fall into the hands of a "first career champion" winner. No matter who is at the top in the end, he will write a new glorious epic for the team.

The old king's curtain call and the new king's rise

Despite the regret of being eliminated, the Nuggets' tenacity has won respect. As commentator Wang Meng said: "We must still pay deep respect to the Nuggets. They are labeled as ‘not favored’, but they always maintain fighting spirit, confidence and calmness in on-the-spot response."

The rise of young troops such as the Thunder marks the official opening of the NBA's chapter of "the new king should be established". When Alexander scored 35 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, plus or minus + 32 all-round data, when the four young leaders showed their sharpness in front of the camera, the league's scepter was handing it from the older generation to the new generation.

This is an era full of suspense and vitality: the exit of the old king paves the way for the new king, and the journey of the new king has just begun.

New stories are being staged in Madison Square Garden, Indiana Pacers Banker Life Arena, Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Arena and Minneapolis Target Center. We are witnessing the change of history and looking forward to the birth of the next champion legend.