Nine Hundred and Fifty-Six. I Have to Rely on Myself This Time!
Playing against the Mavericks and the Spurs, the Grizzlies felt powerless. It was not that they could not win, but they felt uncomfortable even if they won. They felt like they were ready to punch the opponent to death with all their strength, but they hit cotton.
Maybe this is what the head coaches of the two teams want.
Although he was very unhappy with the head coaches of the two teams, Sun Ce didn't have time to care about so much, as the next schedule was still tight.
And he defeated the Spurs. His data of 15+9+6+3+3, Dio played 20 minutes tonight and got 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. It was an internal test to surround the opponent in all directions!
At the end of the game, the system prompt came as expected.
"Balance bracelet advanced event (b):
Goal 1: In the new season against Boris Dio, the host's score, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals must all be higher than Boris Dio. (Completed)
Goal 2: In the new season against Josh Smith, the host's rebounds, assists, and blocks must all be higher than Josh Smith. (Completed)
Goal 3: In the new season against LeBron James, the host's score + rebounds + assists must be higher than LeBron James. (Completed.)
Congratulations to the host, the c-level equipment Oscar Robertson's balance bracelet has been upgraded to the b-level equipment LeBron James' balance bracelet."
"LeBron James' balance bracelet (b): The host will adapt perfectly to the three positions of point guard, small forward, and power forward. If you choose to change positions, you will be evaluated with extremely high adaptability."
After completing all the goals related to Josh Smith, James, and Dio, the balance bracelet was finally upgraded! Tonight, Sun Ce tried so hard to assist in defense, just to ensure that all five statistics are higher than Dio.
Although the issue of playing the third and fourth positions is not considered for the time being, if the star experience card of the inside player is used, the bonus will be higher!
…
There is no time for the Grizzlies to relive this uncomfortable feeling. On the 12th, they returned to Memphis to rest for a night, and came to play back-to-back games at home, playing against the Jazz and the Hornets.
When playing against the Jazz, the Grizzlies beat the opponent 89 to 79, relying on defense to win the opponent. The opponent's defensive routine was to lock down the other Grizzlies and let Sun Ce shoot. Fortunately, Sun Ce played 38 minutes, 26 shots, 12 of them, and scored 33 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. He performed very well and was not defeated by the opponent's targeted tactics.
Hold on.
But in the fourth game of 6 games in 8 days, the last game of two consecutive back-to-back games, the Grizzlies couldn't hold on, 79 to 88, and were upset by the Hornets.
It was purely because they couldn't make shots. Hornets head coach Byron Scott worked very hard. Except for Irving, all the players who played well were replaced, but the players on the court still fought hard. They were not working for Byron Scott's plan to play badly, but for their own contracts. Seeing that except for Sun Ce and Gasol, the other players on the Grizzlies had a bad touch, they decisively double-teamed the two, and the others didn't shoot if they wanted to.
And Irving scored 28 points and 4 assists tonight, surpassing Sun Ce who scored 20 points and 5 assists in terms of points and assists.
Under Irving's leadership, the Hornets defeated the Grizzlies unexpectedly.
The Grizzlies' 4-game winning streak was ended, and their record became 48 wins and 11 losses, and their goal of tying the Bulls' lowest single-season loss was shattered.
What’s interesting is that although this game was not broadcast live, the photos of the scene circulated after the game showed that Byron Scott had a desperate expression on his face, which was heartbreaking...
Before this game, the Hornets had 18 wins and 31 losses, and they would definitely not be able to catch up with the Bobcats, who were ranked last in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets had 6 wins and 52 losses, and they were the worst team in the Eastern Conference. They were about to break the Grizzlies’ record of 8 wins.
But the Hornets were originally the second to last in the league, and now they have defeated the Grizzlies, and their win count has increased to 19 games, tied by the Wizards and the Suns!
Scott, the master of control, was also unable to resist the pressure of the schedule.
…
The devil’s schedule of 6 games in 8 days is still going on. After playing two back-to-back games, another back-to-back is coming soon, playing the Timberwolves and the Bobcats at home and away.
The day after playing the Hornets, on the 15th, the Grizzlies did not arrange training.
But the coaching staff still has to work, and today they will hold a meeting to discuss how to play the remaining 7 games.
The new LED screen in the FedEx Arena conference room lists the results so far this season.
Each team has only 6 to 8 games left, and the current ranking competition is very fierce.
In the West, the Grizzlies are ranked first with 48 wins, the Lakers are second with 45 wins and 15 losses, the Spurs are third with 44 wins and 16 losses, the Thunder are fourth with 42 wins and 17 losses, the Nuggets are fifth with 40 wins and 20 losses, the Clippers are sixth with 35 wins and 25 losses, the Mavericks are seventh with 33 wins and 26 losses, the Jazz are eighth with 33 wins and 27 losses, the Warriors are ninth with 30 wins and 30 losses, and the Rockets are tenth with 29 wins and 29 losses.
In the East, the Heat are first with 45 wins and 14 losses, the Bulls are second with 45 wins and 15 losses, the 76ers are third with 40 wins and 19 losses, the Pacers are fourth with 38 wins and 21 losses, the Knicks are fifth with 38 wins and 21 losses, the Celtics are sixth with 37 wins and 23 losses, the Hawks are seventh with 30 wins and 30 losses, and the Bucks are eighth with 27 wins and 31 losses.
The top eight teams in the East and West have generally had good records this year, but this has also led to particularly poor records for non-playoff teams. There are 10 teams in the league with a winning percentage of around 30 percent.
The ranking of the top few is still uncertain, and the ranking of the bottom few is also uncertain. One more win and one more loss will cause a big change in the ranking.
The Grizzlies have been the first in the league for so long, but now it is not so stable. Starting from tomorrow, there will be 7 games in 11 days. If they lose too much, theoretically, they may be defeated in the end.
Coach Hollins analyzed the current ranking and switched to the next schedule.
On the 16th, they will play the Timberwolves at home, on the 17th, they will play the Bobcats away, on the 19th, they will play the Trail Blazers at home, on the 21st, they will play the Cavaliers at home, on the 23rd, they will play the Magic at home, on the 24th, they will play the Hornets away, and on the 27th, they will play the Mavericks away in the final game of the regular season.
Coach Hollins said to his colleagues: "The next 7 games are very important. We need to ensure health and performance in this tight time. We also need to prepare the team for the playoffs in the last period of the schedule. We rely on rest to prevent the players from experiencing too many injuries, but it also causes the cooperation to be not as good as in the early stage of the season. We need to adjust. You can express your suggestions on how to arrange the next period of the schedule."
This is the task assigned last night. The purpose of today's meeting is to come up with a plan and implement it immediately.
It is not easy to ensure health and physical strength distribution, prepare for the playoffs, and ensure performance.
Dave Joerger first stated his plan: "We will continue to let Steve, Mark, Zach, and Tony take turns to rest in back-to-back games and stick to our strategy. If we can win at least 3 games, we can stably win the regular season championship and ensure health."
This is a bottom-line strategy when there is no other way. It is very stable, but very conservative. Most things are taken into consideration, but the key end-of-season running-in is not done.
Chris Wallace, as the general manager, also understands basketball and proposed a plan: "We can let Zach, Mark, Tony, and Steve not play in the first four games, rest well, and go all out in the last three games."
This is a good idea, but it is too radical. What if they really take too long to rest and lose their form...
After a discussion, there is still no specific solution.
After all, not all problems can be solved. If you can solve problems when you encounter them... NBA will not change. The strong will still be strong, and the weak will still be weak. If everyone can solve the problem, it means that all problems have not been solved.
Stockton, who was called to attend the meeting, thought for a while and began to analyze: "In fact, I think our players don't have much physical problems now. Their performance in the past few back-to-back games this month fluctuated a lot. I don't think it's just a physical problem. Our rotation plan is very good.
Now our problem is that under such a tight schedule, we still let them play at the time they are supposed to play. Even if they rest for one game, when they play in the next game, they actually only rest for two days..."
After Stockton's analysis, Coach Hollins took the initiative to ask for advice: "What is your suggestion, John? ? "
Stockton pondered for a moment and said: "We can just play according to the playoff lineup, but we need to reduce the playing time of the players who need them to rest, such as letting Steve and Mark play for a shorter time in each quarter, and don't let them play more because of the score or win or lose. Let the young players play more and let them cooperate for 3-5 minutes in each quarter..."
……
……
Sun Ce, after playing 4 games in 5 days, took a good rest for a day, lying down to watch Crayon Shin-chan, talking to Lily Collins on the phone for two hours, and accompanying Zu Ge to do handicrafts... A day passed like this.
After a day of rest, on April 16, the last back-to-back of 8 days and 6 games came, a home and away back-to-back, Sun Ce cheered up again, and in the last 7 games, he had to defend the regular season championship!
This is the first regular season championship banner in his career. Thinking of 65 wins last season, he didn't even have a division championship banner. It was so miserable. This time, he finally had the opportunity to hang the first banner in the team's history over the stadium.
After sending Zu Ge to school, Sun Ce sent a text message to the driver to pick up Zu Ge in the afternoon and go directly to the FedEx Arena. Sun Ce came to the arena to prepare for tonight's game.
If there is anyone in the league who plays 59 games in 3 and a half months like Sun Ce, and gets up early in the morning for a run and goes to the arena at 8 o'clock to practice shooting... maybe there is really no one this season.
Tim Hardaway, the technical assistant coach, is about to collapse. Seeing Sun Ce practicing shooting again with vigor, Tim Hardaway sadly serves the ball to Sun Ce, and from time to time he has to guide Sun Ce on the connection of receiving the ball and jumping...
Sun Ce is not tired, he is tired!
At the pre-match meeting in the morning, the coaching staff announced that all the main players will play in all the next 7 games.
Just when Sun Ce was confused and wanted to ask questions, Coach Hollins continued, "Due to the tight schedule, Steve and Tony's playing time will be limited to 12 to 15 minutes, and Mark and Zach's playing time will be limited to 15 to 20 minutes. In the first half of each quarter, we will arrange the lineup and tactics based on their playing style, and they will not play in the rest of the time..." Sun Ce was confused by this arrangement. After the tactical meeting, Sun Ce finally figured it out and found that it was a trap!
Tony Allen and Gasol are the defensive gates inside and outside, and they only play in the first half of each quarter; Nash is the run-and-gun commander, and Randolph is the strongest offensive player in positional warfare, and he only plays in the first half of each quarter, 12 to 15 minutes. Sun Ce estimates that it may be 12 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes, or 15 minutes...
In other words, in the second half of each quarter of each game, these four big guys may not play!
So who does the team need to rely on if a crisis occurs?
Asked Nash, Nash rolled his eyes at him: "Rely on you! Our V."
"..."
Sun Ce just went to Teacher Na to express his anxiety. Indeed, this time, the team felt that he had to rely on him to make more contributions. There has never been such a situation before. Even if he took a rest, the four big guys would always leave two for him, so that he could find ways to solve problems around these teammates.
But at the end of this season, he has to rely on himself!
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