All-round Athlete

Chapter 916 Sprint to the Playoffs

On March 14th, the Lakers will challenge the Spurs in an away game. For the Lakers, this is a back-to-back game, because on the 13th, they just finished playing the Thunder, and they challenged the No. 2 in the West and No. 1 in the West for two consecutive days. The team, even Zhang Guan, felt that it would be a rather tough battle.

The current Spurs team is full of personnel, free from illness and injury, and the GDP combination is old but still capable of fighting; Leonard, Danny Green, Preeter, Meeks and others have also grown up , Also this season's Spurs can easily kill the Heat 4-1 in the finals.

Before February, the Spurs often lost at home, but since entering February, the Spurs have not lost a game at home. The current Spurs' home court can be regarded as a devil's home court in the league.

At the beginning of the game, the score between the two sides was very tight. Under Zhang Guan's defense, Parker was a little misfired. Between Duncan and Gasol, it was more like two old fritters playing Tai Chi. Leonard and Danny Green became the main scoring points in the Spurs' starting lineup.

The starting lineups of the two sides, in terms of scoring ability, the Lakers must be better. After all, with Zhang Guan on the court, Zhang Guan's three-pointers are not vegetarian. In comparison, in the Spurs' starting lineup, that is, Danny Green's three-pointers will be more accurate. Parker has reduced the frequency of three-pointers in recent years, and Leonard's three-pointers this season are not high, averaging only one per game.

In terms of shooting percentage, the Spurs maintained pretty well, but only two points for a goal, while the Lakers have to pay more attention to three-pointers. Under the ebb and flow, before Zhang Guan went to rest, the Lakers scored 23 to 20. Take the lead for now.

However, when the bench lineup came on, the Spurs played a 15-4 offense.

...

After three quarters, the Spurs led 89 to 65 by a full 24 points.

"This match is over!" Zhang Guan sighed softly. Although he didn't want to admit it, he also knew that the game was lost.

The gap between the Lakers and the Spurs is mainly reflected in the bench. The Lakers' bench was overwhelmed by the Spurs on both offense and defense. Bazemore and Farmar are still capable of fighting against ordinary teams, but compared with the Spurs, they are far behind. The Spurs had Manu Ginobili, Matt Bonner, Belinelli and Diaw on the bench, all crooks.

Moreover, the Lakers played back-to-back away games. When they defeated the Thunder in the last game, the Lakers were really fighting hard. Now facing the Spurs, the physical problem has become prominent in the third quarter. The score was also widened by a relatively large gap at this stage.

In contrast to the Spurs, coach Popovich used a rotation of twelve players, and all twelve players scored. This is the most frightening thing about the Spurs. There is no useless person in the whole team. Even the guy sitting at the end of the bench can contribute to the team as long as he comes on the court.

In the fourth quarter of the game, the Lakers simply chose to give up and put on a group of substitutes to brush up their statistics, while the Spurs also replaced the starters and all came off the bench, and the game entered garbage time.

In the end, the Spurs defeated the Lakers 119-101, ending the Lakers' 17-game winning streak, and Zhang Guan also suffered his first loss after joining the NBA.

...

"The end of the 17-game winning streak, the Lakers finally lost"

The loss of the Lakers attracted the attention of the national media. After Zhang Guan joined the Lakers, he led the Lakers to defeat such strong teams as the Thunder, Clippers, Rockets, and Pacers. superior.

Many people feel sorry for the Lakers. After all, they played back-to-back away games against the Thunder and Spurs respectively. To win one of them is already a very remarkable record. The loss of this game, for the Lakers, the off-office factor is still the main reason.

The media's evaluation of the Lakers is quite positive. After all, before the 17-game winning streak, the Lakers were so miserable that they couldn't even get five players to play. Just such a team, they played a 17-game winning streak abruptly. The record is definitely an inspirational performance. Although they lost to the Spurs, the people who are optimistic about the future of the Lakers still account for the majority.

Magic Johnson also stood up for the first time and supported the Lakers: "I think the door for the Lakers to enter the playoffs has not been closed. Now the Lakers have a record of 33 wins and 32 losses. The winning percentage has exceeded half. They still have 16 points left. In the regular season, if the Lakers can win another 16 consecutive victories, there is still a chance to enter the playoffs!"

If it was mentioned a month ago that the Lakers would have a 16-game winning streak, no one would believe it. However, now, the Lakers have just created a 17-game winning streak, and another 16-game winning streak is not impossible.

This year's competition in the Western Conference is indeed too fierce, and the 50-win playoff threshold is not aimless. And the Lakers lost this game, at most they won 49 wins. With a record of 49 wins, they can finally enter the playoffs, which feels like resignation.

Among the current Western Conference teams, the Spurs and Thunder have secured the top two positions in the Western Conference; the Rockets, Clippers, and Trail Blazers all lost within 22 games, and the gap between them and other teams It is relatively large, and it is relatively safe to enter the playoffs.

The Nuggets, Pelicans, Kings and Jazz have a winning percentage of less than half, and it is completely impossible to enter the playoffs.

The remaining Warriors, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Suns, Timberwolves and Lakers, these six teams will compete for the remaining three playoff tickets.

The record of the Timberwolves is similar to that of the Lakers, both of which are just over half, but they are also the least hopeful of entering the playoffs among the six teams. Losing to some underdogs, if it is in the East, a team like the Timberwolves can get a ticket to the playoffs, but in the West, the Timberwolves have no hope.

The Warriors, Grizzlies, Mavericks and Suns all have similar records at present, and their losses are all around 26 games. But the Warriors have won the most games, reaching 41 games, and their chances of entering the playoffs are relatively greater. If the Warriors can win another 9 games, they can lock in a ticket to the playoffs. With the Warriors' current schedule, it is not difficult to get a record of 50 wins.

The Grizzlies, Mavericks and Suns have almost the same losses as the Warriors, but they have five to six fewer wins than the Warriors. Therefore, if these three teams want to enter the playoffs, their mutual record is very important. If these teams win each other, the ebb and flow is equivalent to winning two games.

What's more, there is now one more spoiler, the Lakers. In the next game, the Lakers will also face the Suns, Mavericks and Grizzlies respectively. These three games are extremely critical for the three teams One stop, and for the Lakers, even more so.

Now, the Grizzlies, Mavericks and Suns all want the Lakers to lose as soon as possible. In such a cruel west, as long as the Lakers lose 2 more games in the remaining 16 games, they will almost lose their qualification for the playoffs. Once the playoffs are hopeless, I believe the Lakers will not fight them.

For the Lakers, they can't lose a game, and the next thing they have to face is to play against the Spurs at home!

...

On March 19, after a full four-day break, the Lakers ushered in the Spurs at home.

Coming to the home court, the Lakers are naturally unwilling to lose to the Spurs again, not to mention that the current Lakers must fight to the death and win all 16 games to have a chance to enter the playoffs. Just look at the faces of other teams.

"We must win!" The entire Lakers team looked like they were united, and the home fans were even more hysterical.

However, the old and cunning Popovich chose to let Duncan and Parker both take turns to rest. Even Ginobili played less than 20 minutes. Throughout the game, Belinelli and Bonner Sr. played the most minutes on the Spurs.

In the past, the Spurs only started to let the GDP combination rest in April to accumulate energy for the playoffs. But this year, the Spurs' rest is a little earlier.

In the last game against the Jazz, the Spurs had already won their 50th win and had already secured their place in the playoffs. And because the Thunder lost to the Lakers three times, the Spurs have the advantage of three wins, and the No. 1 position in the Western Conference is relatively secure. Besides, playing the Lakers in an away game is also a hard job. The Lakers are fighting with their backs. There is no need for the Spurs to fight the Lakers. If someone is injured, the gain will not be worth the loss, so Popovich simply let Duncan and Parker rest.

The Spurs' bench is not weak, at least as good as the starters in terms of scoring. It's just that they are a bit older and their physical talents are relatively average. Facing the Lakers' running and bombing style, they can still keep up in the first half. In the second half, they couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the Lakers. In the end, the Lakers were 125 to 109, which can be regarded as revenge for the away loss.

Two days later, the Lakers made persistent efforts and defeated the visiting Washington Wizards at home. The Wizards' champion Wall was beaten by Zhang Guan on both offense and defense, and contributed a rather embarrassing double-double: 15 points 10 turnovers. Restricting Wall, the Wizards will be crippled for more than half, and losing is inevitable.

After this game, the Lakers won another piece of good news. Nick Young, the biggest firepower on the Lakers bench, finally returned from injury.

On March 23, the Lakers faced the Magic. This magic team was supported by rookie Oladipo alone. Like Wall in the previous game, Oladipo contributed a lot under the defense of Zhang Guan. Embarrassing double-double, 13 points and 11 turnovers.

Nick Young also played well in this game, scoring 26 points on 8 of 16 shots, most of which were singles.

Unknowingly, the Lakers won another three-game winning streak at home.

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