The Lakers gathered together the "Avengers"? The four major disappointed finals teamed up, the curse or the championship code?

"Four-year finals, four failures - now these four 'tragic warriors' are wearing purple and gold robes at the same time! Is it a coincidence, or is it a carefully planned turnaround plan by the Lakers? "The latest news from the well-known sports media "Basketball Forever": There is a secret in the Lakers' lineup. The four core players who lost in the finals from 2021 to 2024 - Ayton, Smart, Vincent and Doncic have quietly met in Los Angeles. Interestingly, they came from the Suns, Celtics, Heat and Mavericks, but they all failed to win the O'Brien Cup. Is this Lakers, who are nicknamed "The Frustrated League" by fans, playing a big game or digging a trap? In the 2021 Finals of

The "Heartbreaking Past"

The 2021 Finals, Ayton partnered with Booker and Paul to form the Suns Trident. Under the good situation of leading 2-0, the Bucks led by Antetokounmpo scored four consecutive games to win the championship. The scene of him kneeling on the ground and holding his head after the game broke countless fans' hearts. In 2022, Smart, as the backbone of the Celtics' defense, fought with the Warriors for six games. He was defeated by Curry's performance like a descending earth while leading 2-1. The roar of "We should have won this series" has echoed in North Shore Garden.

In the 2023 finals, the unknown Vincent created the Black Eight Miracle with the Heat, but was completely beaten by Jokic in the interior. The scene of him bowing his head and leaving the court after a 1-4 defeat is moving. In the just-concluded 2024 Finals, Doncic supported the Mavericks alone. Facing the Celtics' iron wall, even if he averaged 32+9+7 per game, he still couldn't escape the fate of being eliminated 1-4. The moment he angrily threw a towel when he was replaced before the end of the game became the focus of hot discussion on social media.

The foresight behind the Lakers' signings This signing is a model of "high risk and high return": Ayton joined at a super low price after being bought out by the Trail Blazers. Smart only won a "scratch" contract of 12 million yuan after experiencing a serious foot injury. Vincent's three-point shooting rate plummeted to 12% due to a knee injury last season, and only Doncic is regarded as the core of the team building. But if the hidden dangers of injury are ignored, the technical characteristics of the four players are perfectly complementary - Ayton sits in the inside to provide rebounds and end, Smart builds an iron gate on the outside, Vincent regains his true nature as a key ball killer, and Doncic controls the overall system to organize the offense.

Some media mocked this as a "big collection of losers", but the Lakers prefer to regard it as an "experience wealth". After all, these four people have experienced 28 finals in the past four years, and their cumulative playing time has exceeded 1,000 minutes. Their reading ability and stress resistance to top duels are far superior to ordinary players. Especially when the opponent targets the Lakers' defensive weaknesses, the Smart + Vincent's backcourt combination can effectively fill the defensive loopholes of Reeves and Russell, and Ayton's ability to protect the frame will greatly reduce the defensive burden of Thick Brow.

fatalism or scientific theory? Dialectical thinking of the championship puzzle

Pessimists bring out the "runner-up curse" theory - in history, no team has been able to win the championship by gathering the disappointed finals. In 2013, the Lakers F4 and the Nets' Big Three were all bloody lessons. But optimists gave examples to refute: the Spurs in 2014 were composed of the original team who lost the championship in 2013, and finally completed the perfect revenge.

What is more interesting is the psychological level: have the failure experiences of these players transformed into stronger fighting spirit? Vincent once revealed in an interview: "Every time I see the Nuggets winning the championship, I will practice until late at night"; Smart was photographed practicing three points in the stadium at 5 a.m. during the offseason, with the caption "Unfinished Mission". According to Lakers' team reporters, four people spontaneously formed a "sacrifice team" during training in the team, and the desire to win shocked the coaching staff.

Ending:

When four frustrated chapters are re-written at Staples Center, the Lakers' gamble has gone beyond the category of simple basketball - it is related to the psychology of self-salvation, the metaphysics of probability theory, and the most moving "Return of the King" script in competitive sports. Some fans joked: "If you win the championship next year, the Lakers should send thank-you letters to the four teams that have beaten them ". Do you think this lineup is "Champion puzzle" or "Curse Continuation"?