On March 14th, the Lakers will challenge the Spurs away from home. For the Lakers, this is a back-to-back game because on the 13th, they just finished beating the Thunder and challenged the second place in the Western Conference and the first place in the Western Conference for two consecutive days. The team, even Zhang Guan, feels that it will be a quite tough battle.
The current Spurs team is fully staffed, with no illnesses or injuries. Although the GDP combination is old, it is still capable of fighting; Leonard, Danny Green, Plitt, Meeks and others have also grown up. , and this season the Spurs can easily defeat the Heat 4-1 in the finals.
Before February, the Spurs often lost at home, but since February, the Spurs have not lost a game at home. The current Spurs home court can be regarded as a devil's home 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. The relationship between Duncan and Gasol was more like two veterans playing Tai Chi. Leonard and Danny Green have become the main scoring points in the Spurs' starting lineup.
Regarding the starting lineups of both sides, in terms of scoring ability, the Lakers are definitely better. After all, Zhang Guan is on the court, and Zhang Guan's three-pointers are not a vegetarian. In comparison, Danny Green's three-pointers in the Spurs' starting lineup are more accurate. Parker has reduced the frequency of his three-pointers in recent years, while Leonard's three-point shooting rate this season is not high, averaging only one per game.
In terms of shooting percentage, the Spurs maintained a pretty good score, but only scored two points for each goal, while the Lakers had to pay more attention to three-pointers. Before Zhang Guan took a break, the Lakers led 23 to 20. Temporarily ahead.
However, when the substitutes came on, the Spurs launched a 15-4 offensive surge.
…
After three quarters, the Spurs led 89 to 65 by a full 24 points.
"This game is over!" Zhang Guan sighed. Although he didn't want to admit it, he knew that this game was definitely lost.
The gap between the Lakers and Spurs is mainly reflected on 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' bench includes Ginobili, Matt Bonner, Belinelli and Diaw, all cunning guys.
Moreover, the Lakers are playing back-to-back games on the road. When they defeated the Thunder in the last game, the Lakers really played hard. Now facing the Spurs, in the third quarter, their physical problems have become prominent. The score also opened up a relatively large gap at this stage.
On the other hand, for the Spurs, coach Popovich used a rotation of 12 players, and all 12 players scored. This is the scariest thing about the Spurs. There is no useless person in the 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 use a group of substitutes to improve their statistics. The Spurs also replaced their starters and all substitutes came on, and the game entered garbage time.
In the end, the Spurs defeated the Lakers 119-101. The Lakers' 17-game winning streak ended, and Zhang Guan also tasted his first defeat after joining the NBA.
…
"The 17-game winning streak ended, 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, Pacers, etc. without losing a single defeat. Now he finally lost to the Spurs. superior.
Many people feel sorry for the Lakers. After all, they are back-to-back away games, and they are playing the Thunder and Spurs respectively. To win one of them is already a very remarkable record. For the Lakers, the guest factor still occupies the main reason for the loss of this game.
The media's evaluation of the Lakers is relatively positive. After all, before this 17-game winning streak, the Lakers were so miserable that they couldn't even get five players on the court. Such a team suddenly managed a 17-game winning streak. The record is definitely an inspirational performance. Although they lost to the Spurs, the majority of people are optimistic about the future of the Lakers.
Magic Johnson also stood up immediately to support the Lakers: "I think the Lakers' door to the playoffs has not been closed. The Lakers' current record is 33 wins and 32 losses, and the winning rate has exceeded half. They have 16 left. In the regular season, if the Lakers can win another 16 games in a row, they still have a chance of entering the playoffs!"
If it were 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 it is not impossible to create another 16-game winning streak.
The competition in the Western Conference this year is indeed too fierce, and the 50-win playoff threshold is not unreasonable. If the Lakers lose this game, they will have 49 wins at most. With a record of 49 wins, they can finally enter the playoffs, which feels a bit resigned.
Among the current Western Conference teams, the Spurs and Thunder have locked in the top two spots in the Western Conference; the Rockets, Clippers, and Trail Blazers have all lost within 22 games, which is a game difference between them and other teams. It's relatively big and can be considered relatively safe to enter the playoffs.
The Nuggets, Pelicans, Kings and Jazz have less than half the winning percentage and it is completely impossible to enter the playoffs.
The remaining six teams - the Warriors, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Suns, Timberwolves and Lakers - will compete for the remaining three playoff tickets.
The Timberwolves' record is similar to that of the Lakers, both just over half, but they are also the least promising of the six teams to enter the playoffs. The Lakers have shown a winning streak, but the Timberwolves have been unexpectedly unable to do so. If they lose to some weak teams, if they are in the East, a team like the Timberwolves can still get a ticket for 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, and their chances of entering the playoffs are relatively greater. If the Warriors can win 9 more games, they can lock in a ticket to the playoffs. With the Warriors' current schedule, it is not difficult to achieve a 50-win record.
The Grizzlies, Mavericks and Suns have similar losses to the Warriors, but have five to six fewer wins than the Warriors. Therefore, if these three teams want to enter the playoffs, their records against each other is very important. If these teams win each other, the difference between one and the other is equivalent to winning two games.
What's more, there is now another spoiler, the Lakers. In the next games, the Lakers will also encounter the Suns, Mavericks and Grizzlies once each. 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 Western Conference, as long as the Lakers lose two more games in the remaining 16 games, they will almost lose their qualifications for the playoffs. Once the playoffs are hopeless, I believe the Lakers will not fight with them.
As for the Lakers, they cannot lose a game, and next, the first thing they have to face is to face the Spurs at home!
…
On March 19, after four full days of rest, the Lakers welcomed the Spurs at home.
Coming to the home court, the Lakers are naturally unwilling to lose to the Spurs again. What's more, the current Lakers must fight against the odds and win all 16 games to have a chance to enter the playoffs. But even if they win 16 consecutive games, they still have to win. It just depends on the other teams’ faces.
"We must win!" The entire Lakers team looked united, and the home fans were even more hysterical.
However, the cunning Popovich chose to rest both Duncan and Parker. Even Ginobili only played less than 20 minutes. Throughout the game, it was Belinelli and Bonner Sr. who played the most minutes for the Spurs.
In the past, the Spurs only started to rest the GDP combination in April to accumulate strength for the playoffs. This year, the Spurs' rest rotation has come earlier.
When they played the Jazz in their last game, the Spurs had already won their 50th win and were guaranteed to enter the playoffs. And because the Thunder lost to the Lakers three times, the Spurs have a three-game advantage, and their No. 1 position in the Western Conference is relatively secure. Moreover, playing the Lakers away from home is also a chore. The Lakers are fighting against the odds. There is no need for the Spurs to fight the Lakers. If someone is injured, the gain will outweigh the losses, so Popovich simply let Duncan and Parker rest.
The Spurs' substitutes are not weak, at least they are as good as the starters in terms of scoring, but they are a bit older and have average physical talents. Facing the Lakers' run-and-gun style, they were able to keep up in the first half. They couldn't keep up with the Lakers' rhythm in the second half. In the end, the Lakers were 125-109, avenging their away defeat.
Two days later, the Lakers continued their efforts and defeated the visiting Washington Wizards at home. The Wizards' No. 1 pick Wall was beaten by Zhang Guan on both offense and defense, and contributed a rather embarrassing double-double: 15 points. 10 turnovers. By restricting Wall, half of the Wizards would be wasted, and losing is inevitable.
After the game, the Lakers got another 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 entirely supported by rookie Oladipo, and Oladipo, like Wall in the previous game, contributed under Zhang Guan's defense. An embarrassing double-double, 13 points and 11 turnovers.
Nick Young also performed well in this game, scoring 26 points on 8 of 16 shots. Of course, most of them came from singles.
Unconsciously, the Lakers won another three consecutive home games.
The first chapter has been delivered. Please give me a guaranteed monthly ticket and a guaranteed recommended ticket.
(End of chapter)