At the NBA headquarters in New York, President Adams opened the NBA column of a certain media and glanced at the headlines of the news.
In the most obvious position of the prince, a headline appeared: "10 overtimes in three games, the Los Angeles Clippers set an NBA record."
"The Clippers have grabbed a headline position. But having said that, there has been a lot of news about the Clippers recently." Adams said to himself.
There are many games every day in the NBA. Except for some focus teams, it is really difficult to get a headline position in other games. There are no top superstars in the Clippers today, and the team's strength is also at the bottom. It is not easy to grab the headlines.
"It's rare to play overtime in three consecutive games, and it's even more incredible to play 10 overtimes in three games. I didn't expect that the Clippers would show such resilience after a new owner. It's really surprising. Surprised." Adams couldn't help but check the Clippers' recent schedule.
"In the past three games, the results have been two wins and one loss. The Clippers' next opponent is the Orlando Magic. The Magic are determined to mess up this season and want to draw the No. 1 pick. It seems that the Clippers can win again. A victory." Adams touched his chin and said to himself.
…
Orlando, the Clippers visit Amway Field to challenge the Orlando Magic.
In the players' locker room, assistant coach Cassel looked at the Clippers players. At this time, he was sensitively aware that the players' state was completely different from the previous games.
The previous Clippers had a very bad record. They lost too many games. Coupled with the turmoil of the team, the players had long been unwilling to play. They were not that concerned about winning or losing the game. Every game Just like going to work every day, you clock out after 48 hours. Even if the team loses, no one will be depressed and they will still pick up girls and go to nightclubs.
After a total of 10 overtimes in the previous three games, the spirit of the Clippers players was obviously different from before. They had a kind of resilience. Cassell could even feel that they wanted to win. Desire gradually returns to the players.
In the three away games, the opponents were all playoff-level teams. A record of two wins and one loss can indeed cultivate the players' confidence and make the Clippers players feel that they can compete with strong teams. , which also inspired their inner desire to win.
After all, those who can enter the NBA, even the last substitute players, are all very good basketball players. Each of them is a leader among their peers. Many of them have won games since they were young. They are all Some people who have a strong desire to win. It's just that the Clippers were so bad before that even those who still have the desire to survive will slowly lose their desire to win if they keep losing.
Today's victory has allowed the Clippers players to regain their confidence. This kind of victory after overtime will make people feel that it is hard-won. At the same time, consecutive overtime games have also made the Clippers more resilient. This is also the Clippers' biggest gain.
As a relatively weak team, resilience is a very important attribute, and it is also an attribute that is difficult to cultivate. For a professional player, you can lose, but you can never admit defeat.
The current Clippers have gradually developed resilience through several overtime games.
Cassell even remembered the last game, when they lost to the Indiana Pacers after four overtimes. The anger and unwillingness on the players' faces, Cassell could feel the deep feelings in the players' hearts. The incomparable desire to win is completely different from the momentum of a bad team that has always been at the bottom.
"I didn't expect that from the time the boss was changed to now, the team has undergone such a big change in just three games." Cassel thought of this and looked at Dai Li not far away. At this time, Cassel realized that all these changes had happened after Dai Li came.
"Coach Li, does he really not understand basketball?" Cassell only felt that the Li Dai in front of him was becoming more and more confusing to him.
…
The Clippers' opponent in this game is the Orlando Magic.
The Magic are currently ranked second to last in the Eastern Conference, with only half a game separating them from the first.
A team at this position is naturally determined to perform badly and try to get the No. 1 pick. Moreover, there is a bottom-ranked team behind the Magic, so the Magic really want to lose in order to "catch up" with the bottom-ranked team as soon as possible.
The Clippers' record is also poor. Although the Clippers' own draft rights have been traded away, for the Magic, they don't want another team with the same bad record to compete with them for the No. 1 pick. , so the Magic are eager to lose to the Clippers.
The Clippers definitely want to win. The players' desire to win has been aroused, and the opponent is a team that is one point weaker than the Clippers. Naturally, the Clippers will go all out. I want to win this game.
One wants to lose, the other wants to win, and the result is predictable.
The Clippers vented all their resentment and unwillingness to lose to the Trail Blazers in four overtimes in the last game on the Magic, and launched a fierce attack from the beginning of the game. The Magic were happy to lose to the Clippers. They resisted for a few times and then surrendered.
In this game, Dai Li did not use the term "evenly matched" because Li Dai also knew that as long as the Magic lost this game, they would be tied for last in the Eastern Conference, so they are now "begging to lose" and will not follow. The Clippers struggled.
Without the "even match" effect, and there was no overtime in the game, the Clippers successfully defeated the Magic, ending their four consecutive road trips.
In the four away games, three of the opponents are playoff-level teams, and the Clippers have a record of 3 wins and 1 loss. If you don’t know, you may think that this is a strong playoff team if you look at the record alone. The results achieved by the team.
Next, the Clippers returned to their home court in Los Angeles, and their opponent was the Lakers in the same city.
Whether in Los Angeles or in the entire NBA, the Lakers' influence is far greater than that of the Clippers. And the Clippers and Lakers share a home court, the Staples Center. Therefore, the Clippers' home court will also see a large influx of Lakers fans, and there may even be more Lakers fans than Clippers fans. At Staples Center, it is often the case that the Clippers are at home and fans cheer for the Lakers overwhelmingly.
So for the Clippers, playing the Lakers is more like playing on the road.
The Lakers' record this year is not enough to enter the playoffs, but the Lakers have not deliberately failed. Firstly, they have won three consecutive second places in the draft in previous years. The team is considered to be outstandingly talented. Secondly, As a wealthy team, fans also have expectations for the Lakers.
In fact, as the Lakers are the top giants in the NBA, they don't need to mess up the team to rebuild the team. The attraction of Los Angeles and the magnet effect of the giants, the Lakers can always attract superstars to join. Although the Lakers are not very outstanding this season, maybe next season, the Lakers will be able to form a "Big Three" or "Big Four".
Facing the Lakers, Dai Li once again used the term "evenly matched", and then it was overtime.
…
The face of the Lakers head coach was full of helplessness. This was his first triple overtime since becoming an NBA head coach.
The Lakers boys, although very talented, have never experienced this kind of situation. Facing the third overtime, they began to lose their composure.
On the other hand, the Clippers players are not impatient. After all, in three of the past four games, they have played three overtimes. For the Clippers players, playing overtime is normal.
"This game went to three overtimes again. There was no overtime when the Clippers defeated the Magic in the last game. I thought the Clippers had broken the curse of overtime, but now it seems , the curse is still there." The commentator said jokingly.
Another commentator continued: "Since the Clippers changed ownership and changed to a new coach, their games have often gone into overtime. It seems that I have to comment on Clippers games in advance. Just apply for overtime pay.”
…
The Clippers finally defeated the Lakers in the third overtime and have achieved a record of 4 wins and 1 loss in the last five games. In the new week's NBA strength rankings, the Clippers also rose eight places.
But then, the Clippers encountered a rather devilish schedule.
Playing against the West's No. 1 Houston Rockets at home, the Clippers lost after overtime; playing away against the defending champion Warriors, the Clippers also lost to their opponents in overtime. Immediately afterwards, they played the Grizzlies at home. The Grizzlies were also a bad team. Li Dai did not use a close match. In the end, the Clippers narrowly won. Then there was another home game against the Thunder. This time the Thunder did not give the Clippers a chance in overtime. The Thunder's superstar made a three-pointer at the last second to kill the Clippers. .
Four games, a record of 1 win and 3 losses, which can be regarded as an interpretation of the performance of a weak team.
However, the momentum of the Clippers players has increased, because the Rockets, Warriors and Thunder are all teams competing for the championship, especially the first two, ranking in the top two of the NBA power list. In the current West In a league where the East is strong and the East is weak, whoever can break out of the West will almost lock in the championship in advance. As an underdog, being able to play into overtime with the championship team is a big boost to morale.
In the next game, the Clippers faced the Trail Blazers again, but this time it was the Clippers' home court, and the game once again went to three overtimes.
The Trail Blazers seemed to have a shadow over playing overtime with the Clippers. As a result, they missed two key shots in a row in the third overtime, ruining the game.
The Clippers then went away to challenge the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks. Both games also went to overtime, and the results were one win and one loss.
After Li Dai became the head coach of the Clippers, the Clippers played 12 games, and 9 of them went to overtime. This strange situation also attracted everyone's attention, and even the betting companies specifically Make a handicap and predict how many overtimes the Clippers will play in their next game.
Fans also joked online that the Los Angeles Clippers might as well change their name to the "Los Angeles Overtime Team."