Almighty Athlete Chapter 22: Into the playoffs
"You guys see it, this Spurs lineup just doesn't want us to enter the playoffs!" D'Antoni took a deep breath and then said: "Think of what we have experienced in the first half of the season ? Losses, injuries...Everyone thinks the Lakers are over, everyone knows that the Lakers can't enter the playoffs! But now, one of our feet has reached the threshold of the playoffs!" /
"But they have to close the door to the playoffs! They don't want us to go in!" D'Antoni pointed to the Spurs on the opposite side, and then roared loudly: "Are you willing? Can you be reconciled? You Do you want to be so humiliated that you are locked out of the playoffs? Do you have to watch and watch, did all your previous efforts go to a halt at this moment?"
"No! We can't let anyone slaughter!" D'Antoni replied himself, his voice burst into excitement, and even his expression became grim.
"The more they don't want us to enter the playoffs, the more we want to enter the playoffs! I used to be only 16 wins and 32 losses, we were sentenced to death by everyone! But now, we Already alive, we have to tell the world that we will create a miracle! An unprecedented miracle!"
At this moment, the Lakers' emotions were completely mobilized.
Not just D'Antoni, every player on the team, especially those who have experienced the first half of the season, are very excited. They recalled that they suffered a series of painful failures in the first half of the season, and now immediately It's going to be as hard as possible, but it meets a roadblock like the Spurs.
"Kill San Antonio!"
"We must win!" The Lakers' morale soared.
......
Memphis, Mavericks and Grizzlies entered the first official timeout.
"Boys, I have good news to tell you that in San Antonio, the Spurs have sent all the main players! They are going to die with the Lakers!" Grizzlies coach Dave George said. Said.
I heard this. On the Grizzlies bench, regardless of the players who are resting or those who have no chance to play, all eyes are on. The Grizzlies were most worried about the Spurs putting the Lakers on the horse. After all, the Spurs are now firmly seated in the first position in the West. They and the Lakers are desperately unable to improve their rankings. Moreover, the main force of the Spurs entered the state of rotation as early as half a month ago. Too.
Now, the Spurs have sent the main lineup, which shows that they are not ready to put the Lakers.
"The Spurs have all the main lineups and the Lakers will lose!" Coach Jorge continued: "Our opportunity is here! With this game, we will have a chance to enter the playoffs!"
Not to mention Coach Georg, the Grizzlies players already know what to do.
For the Grizzlies, their only chance to enter the playoffs is that the Lakers lose to the Spurs and they defeat the Mavericks in front of them!
At the same time, on the bench on the other side, the Mavericks have also heard the same news.
"The Spurs sent their strongest lineup, which means they don’t plan to let the Lakers lose in the last game of the regular season. Once the Lakers and we lose at the same time, the Grizzlies opposite us will become the West. Seventh, and we will fall to eighth in the West." Carlisle coach continued: "Popovich must know this too. They think it's easier for us to play in the playoffs than the Lakers."
As coach Carlisle said, he looked at his players. Nowitzki, Monta Ellis, Marion, Calderon, Carter and other people's faces have become dignified. Obviously they didn't want to meet the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. To be precise, no team in the league wants to meet the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.
"You should not want to meet our old friend in the first round of the playoffs!" Coach Carlisle said.
As a team in Texas and a playoff team, the Spurs and Mavericks are really old friends. Since Duncan and Nowitzki both entered the NBA, the two have been fighting the rest of their careers. Needless to say in the regular season, just playing history in the playoffs is enough to make an NBA blockbuster.
In the 2001 playoffs, the first round of the playoffs was still a five-game three-win game. In the second round, only seven games and four wins were played. At that time, David Robinson led the young Duncan. 4 Beating Nowitzki, Nash, and Finley to form the Mavericks troika, it was Duncan and Nowitzki's first game in the playoffs.
In the 2003 playoffs, when the Mavericks troika was at its peak, they met the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. At that time, the Spurs, Parker was a sophomore, and Ginobili was a rookie, but it was This "GDP" combination that hasn't been formed yet kills the Mavericks 4 to 2.
In 2006, the Mavericks troika had long been disintegrated, but the Spurs’ GDP portfolio gradually entered the golden age, and the Spurs were the defending champions. However, in the second round of the playoffs that year, the Mavericks struggled seven games, and finally eliminated the Spurs at the Spurs' home. In this series of playoffs, Duncan averaged 32 points and 11 rebounds per game. Nowitzki field With an average of 27 points and 13 rebounds, this is a peak match between Nowitzki and Duncan.
In 2009, the Mavericks and Spurs met in the first round of the playoffs. This may be the most unsustainable matchup between the "Bull Horse". The injury caused the Spurs, and the Mavericks beat the Spurs 4-1. .
In 2010, the two teams met again in the first round of the playoffs. In this round, the Spurs successfully revenge 4-2.
If there is no Zhang Guan, this year's Mavericks will be the eighth in the West, meet the Spurs again, and will be the only team in the playoffs this year to compete with the Spurs in Game 7.
More than ten years of fighting, Nowitzki knows very well, how difficult the Spurs are, and how difficult Duncan is.
"I don't want to meet the Spurs in the first round! Our destiny must be in the palm of our own hands!" Nowitzki clenched his fists.
If the Mavericks can beat the Grizzlies in this game, the Mavericks can avoid the Spurs regardless of the outcome between the Lakers and the Spurs.
......
San Antonio.
Pau Gasol's face is fierce. He confronts Duncan with his arms raised and jumps directly to hit the basket from the front.
Duncan is depressed. In his impression, Gasol rarely attacks this way.
"What's wrong with Paul today? Playing so hard, he used to shoot when he played with me in the past. How did he change to a strong front today? This is not in line with his usual style, right? Be possessed by his younger brother!" Duncan thought to himself.
basketball hit the basket, circled around, and popped out.
"Grab the rebound!" Duncan shouted, and Split leaned back sharply, trying to get stuck and stopping Kaman behind.
However, a powerful force came from behind Split. Split did not stand firm, but instead lost his position, made a big step forward, and lost a good position.
Kaman jumped high, grabbed a rebound from Split's hands, and took a hook.
"Kaman! This old guy can jump so high!" Split was slightly surprised.
Actually, Kaman was born in 1982, two years younger than Dayao, and only 32 years old this year, and Split is already 29. They are all athletes before 1980 and 2005. They are considered the same generation. people. It's just that Kaman has been blessed in the past two years, people will look fatter, and still have a big beard, plus some gratitude on the head, the surface looks like a man in his forties, saying it is fifty Some people may believe it.
Kaman scored this goal, and the Lakers immediately heard a loud cheer from the bench. Although Thackeray has been laid off, White has inherited Thackelet’s work very well. As he waved his towel, Pizzaclay was more passionate. White Edge has some ADHD and is still a narcissist. This person's skill in grabbing the lens is definitely the best in the world. Various towel-waving skills are better than Thackeray.
Coach Popovich frowned.
The Spurs’ tactics were implemented without any problems, and the players played very seriously, but Popovich felt that it was difficult to win this game. The Lakers on the opposite side are fighting fiercely. Gasol and Kaman, who are in their thirties, are playing like young men in their twenties, and the young people in their twenties are all one by one. Beverly possessed his own opponents like crazy dogs.
"I expected the Lakers to be desperate, but I didn't expect them to be so desperate!" Popovich suddenly felt a trace of regret in his heart, but the Spurs are already riding a tiger.
If the Spurs just sent a group of substitutes, it doesn’t matter if they lost. But the Spurs sent the main lineup in this game. If they still lose, it means that they will also lose to the Lakers in the playoffs. This is a confidence for the team. Not a small blow.
Popovich finally realizes that he is using a double-edged sword, which can hurt the enemy and is more likely to hurt himself.
......
"Zhang Guan, 3-pointer, score!"
"Zhang Guan, hold the ball to break through, stop the jumper, enter!"
"Zhang Guan, steal Parker, fast break, score the goal! Although Parker catches up, he didn't dare to foul!"
Parker was tucked in his waist and his face looked depressed. This was his fourth mistake today.
"Let me defend him!" Leonard passes the ball to Parker, and then finds Zhang Guan.
Leonard is an athlete who started by defense. Leonard has grown into a top defender this season. Some people even compare him to Tony Allen. But in fact, Leonard's one-on-one defensive level is still above Tony Allen. Compared with Tony Allen, Leonard has a higher height and arm length, which also has an advantage in defense.
When Zhang Guan was holding the ball, Leonard did not hesitate to sacrifice the set of "death coils" that he was good at.
"Zhang Guan, it was broken!" In the exclamation of the audience, Leonard rushed to the Lakers' half and then layup!
"Whoosh!" A figure suddenly flew from behind, but grabbed basketball in the air.
"What?" Leonard raised his head in surprise, but saw that Zhang Guan had landed.
"You can jump so high! I still underestimate Zhang Guan!" Leonard calmed down. He knew that if he was changed to another person, his goal must have scored, but the physical quality of Zhang Guan It was so good, so I won the ball again.
At the same time, Zhang Guan is also reflecting.
"Leonard deserves to be the king of steals, and an inattentive one was even snatched by him. I should be more careful!"
Zhang Guan thought of this, but the movement on his feet was a little faster. The next second, the other person flicked, clinging to Leonard and rushing past.
......
"Leonard can't keep up with the rhythm of Zhang Guan. If even Leonard can't limit Zhang Guan, it can only rely on the defensive strategy of double-packing." Popovich's eyes narrowed slightly.
Leonard was originally a weapon prepared by Popovich for James, but now it seems that if you want to meet James, you must first pass the Zhang Guan level.
"Are we going to expose our defensive tactics now? That’s for LeBron James. If it is used now, it may not work when the Heat is played. But if it is not used now In the playoffs, the Lakers are about to play. When faced with Zhang Guan, he still has to use that set of defensive tactics." Popovich was caught in a contradiction. He hesitated and called for an assistant coach.
"Go and find out the score between the Mavericks and Grizzlies." Popovich said.
Shortly after, the head coach returned the news that the Mavericks and Grizzlies scored 73, and the two sides were equal.
"The Grizzlies are likely to lose. If the Grizzlies lose, even if we beat the Lakers, the Lakers can still enter the playoffs, and they will still encounter us in the first round of the playoffs. In the end, whether to expose in advance Tactics?" Popovich struggled a bit, weighing the pros and cons, and finally decided to replace the main player.
......
"The Spurs made substitutions ahead of time! Duncan came off, Parker came off, Leonard came off, Green came off, Split also came off! Five for five, is this Popovich's new tactic?" The narrator said.
"No, this is not a new tactic. The Spurs gave up!" Another narrator continued: "The Spurs are currently 8 points behind. This is the third quarter. It's not time to give up the game. Now Would it be too early to give up?"
"Popovich should not want to expose too much tactics, after all, this is only a regular season, and for the Spurs, the biggest challenge comes from the playoffs!"
......
"113 to 110, congratulations to the Lakers for their victory. They got tickets for the playoffs at the last minute of the regular season! Two months ago, who could have thought that it was the Lakers who finally entered the playoffs. !The record of 16 wins and 32 losses is close to the bottom of the west and will be destined to be blocked outside the playoffs! However, in the next game ~IndoMTL.com~ they scored 33 wins and 1 loss!"
"The moment when Zhang Guan joined the NBA, when he said he would lead the Lakers into the playoffs, we all thought Zhang Guan was telling a joke, but he really did it! He really created a miracle! I think this time, Barkley is afraid to kiss his **** again!"
......
In ESPN's studio, Barkley looked embarrassed.
"What's going on? This will allow the Lakers to play in the playoffs, and I have to kiss the **** again! In the future, anything related to Chinese players must never be more talkative!"
......
The Memphis, Grizzlies and Mavericks game has entered the overtime stage, and the Lakers' 113-100 victory over the Spurs has also reached the ears of coach Joe Georg.
"Lost, we still lost!" Jorge looked down at the desperate guys on the field and lowered his head. The Lakers defeated the Spurs, and the Grizzlies' fight has become meaningless.
......
In a mansion in Los Angeles, Bryant walked out of the bathroom. He looked at the score displayed on the TV, but his heart was boiling.
"Won, really in the playoffs!" Bryant took a deep breath, a flash of heat flashed in his eyes.
"I should come back too!"
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