One Thousand Seven Hundred and Nine. The Spurs’ Conspiracy

On the morning of January 30, 2015, in the guest lounge of the FedEx Arena in Memphis, a strong aristocratic atmosphere spread in the lounge.

The game between the Grizzlies, who had won 13 games in a row, and the Spurs, who had won 14 games in a row, was undoubtedly a focus battle.

The Spurs arrived in Memphis yesterday morning, and after a day of rest, they came to the guest arena early this morning to prepare for the game.

The NBA fashion godfather, with his chin-length hair and shoulder-length hair, and the team's head coach Popovich sat opposite each other.

"Greg, do we have to rest again?"

"Yes, we don't need to fight with them. Let them have a greater chance to create a new record of wins, so that they won't have a chance to rest. It's more beneficial for us. We can't get the first place in the West again this season."

"I understand."

The four-time champion Deng nodded, didn't say anything else, and turned to leave the lounge.

Duncan really wants to play more with Sun Ce, Aldridge, Randolph, Klay Thompson, Paul George, etc. He knows that if he plays one year less, he will not be able to make up for it by continuing his career.

However, Duncan has higher aspirations - he wants to surpass O'Neal's 4 championships, and even catch up with Kobe's 6 championships.

He knows that no matter how hard he tries, he will have only until 2017 at most, and he will have to retire by then. He will be 41 years old.

Including this season, he still has three years of opportunities. When this contract expires, he will not play.

If the team loses the chance to compete for the championship, he may choose to end this contract early and open a barber shop, an Internet cafe, a motorcycle modification shop, etc. to form a noble one-stop industry.

In fact, Duncan has a lot to say, but he didn't say it.

For example, he doesn't think this will have much impact on the Grizzlies, but! If there is a chance that the Grizzlies will have a harder time in the regular season, he is willing to bear the pain and reduce the chances of playing against Sun Ce.

The main reason is that the Grizzlies' schedule after the All-Star Weekend is extremely difficult. He and Popovich have studied the Grizzlies' schedule after the All-Star Weekend. Although there are not many back-to-back games and the schedule is loose, there are many strong teams!

If the Grizzlies lose six or seven games before the All-Star Weekend,

they may only try to protect the regular season championship after the All-Star Weekend, which will be easy for the Grizzlies. Other top teams will lose at least 17 to 22 games. The Grizzlies can easily cope with the tight schedule after the All-Star Weekend.

If the Grizzlies lose less than 5 games before the All-Star Weekend, the Grizzlies will have to fight after the All-Star Weekend!

I definitely didn't think so when I rested at the beginning of the season, but the ideas of each team will change with time. The Spurs now hope that the Grizzlies can strive to break the Bulls' regular season win record.

…

“It is as expected…”

Looking at Duncan and Ginobili in suits, the Spurs did not go too far this time. Parker, Gay, and Rondo played normally, but the strongest player and the old demon sword who was not inferior to anyone when he exploded were rested… This was a huge weakening for the Spurs’ starting lineup and substitutes!

During the team meeting yesterday morning, several veterans were discussing with the coaching staff whether the Spurs would rest.

Sun Ce did not think the Spurs would rest at first. He felt that the Spurs would not let them continue to win so easily and would not want to see their Grizzlies make history.

However, after communicating with Carter, a veteran superstar who had a deep hostility towards the Spurs, Sun Ce felt that there might be another situation…

This is an open conspiracy!

They, the Grizzlies, will definitely try their best to create history. This may be the only chance in their careers.

And to do it, it is not only not easy at all, but also very difficult!

Today Parker was put on the bench, and Rondo, Danny Green, Gay, Dio, and Split’s starting lineup came on the court.

On the Grizzlies side, the starting lineup of Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Randolph, and Aldridge appeared.

After the game started, the Spurs played very actively. Even if Duncan did not play, the Spurs players were still confident. As long as Duncan had not retired, he was their biggest reliance.

However, once the ball was dead, whoever played well on the Spurs side was replaced.

At the beginning, the Grizzlies were at a disadvantage because they were not used to the starting lineup of the Spurs, but before the Grizzlies began to adjust, the Spurs became weaker and weaker.

Rondo played well today, so Popovich let Parker and Mills, who were not in such good shape today, play more. Belinelli was accurate in three-pointers today, so Popovich let Zhang Tielin play more...

There was no suspense in the game. The Grizzlies beat the Spurs by 21 points 120 to 99.

Sun Ce played for 25 minutes tonight, clocked out after three quarters, and got 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Randolph started for a while, Klay Thompson played for only 20 minutes, and Paul George and Aldridge led the team for most of the time.

…

Sun Ce didn't know how to describe Popovich. He felt that this guy would do anything to maximize the chance of winning!

What kind of competitive spirit does it seem to be ineffective with Popovich! Only now that information and communication technology is advanced, Popovich has restrained himself.

As soon as the game ended, the league fined Popovich, the head coach of the Spurs, $150,000. This time, the Spurs were not fined, but Popovich himself was fined directly.

Sun Ce saw from the news that a source broke the news that the league was preparing to formulate special clauses for "unexplained rest" and fine the head coach of the team.

Like this time the league fined Popovich, from the rules, Popovich can appeal, and as long as he appeals, the punishment will most likely be revoked, because it makes no sense and there are no specific clauses to quote. The head coach has the right to not let any player play. The impact of Duncan's rest is only the impact on the viewing of the game, which will only affect the fans' viewing experience. It is not a violation of the rules, and the team can only be fined.

Of course, most head coaches will not appeal, after all, this is the first time.

But if it happens too many times, even the head coach of an NBA team will feel pain, so the league is preparing to formulate new clauses. Sun Ce estimates that most teams will agree, including their Grizzlies.

Sun Ce analyzed the pros and cons of this clause. He would not rest unless it was necessary, so it would not have a big impact on the Grizzlies. Even if the other four starters rested, he could still support the ratings.

It didn't matter.

After playing an easy game, Sun Ce felt it was okay. 46 wins and 3 losses, which has exceeded the 10-11 season Spurs' 45 wins and 6 losses in the first half of the season, and tied the 95-96 season Bulls, 72-73 season Celtics' 46 wins before the All-Star Weekend!

Three and a half months after the start, the Grizzlies have won all the games for two and a half months, and only lost 3 games in December. This record made Sun Ce excited and a little scared...

What the Spurs want to see is exactly what the Grizzlies are about to experience!

If the Grizzlies had lost the previous game against the Lakers and the game against the Spurs, they might not have fought for the top 50 wins in the All-Star Weekend with 5 away games and 1 home game before the All-Star Weekend, but now, they must fight!

Although they decided to fight at the beginning, it mainly depended on the situation at that time. If they couldn't fight for it, they wouldn't force it. The overall situation was more important.

But the opportunity is in front of us, so we have to fight for it!

…

The Spurs' rest storm has caused heated discussions, but it's just criticism. Resting during a 14-game winning streak... is really a waste of time.

There are many people who think that the Spurs are doing something wrong, but in recent years, the Spurs system has a large number of supporters. No matter what Popovich does, there are people who speak for him.

Indeed, the Spurs' troika has been used for so many years and is still one of the strongest combinations in the league. Almost half of the new decade has passed, and the Spurs still have the strength to compete for the championship, and they are the favorites to compete for the championship. The play style is also good, and there are many fans.

The two groups of people started to spray each other as soon as they disagreed, and the Spurs fell into a whirlpool of public opinion.

As for the Grizzlies, after playing the game against the Spurs, they went to Indianapolis the next morning and started a four-game road trip. On the first day of February, they played the Pacers, the Pistons on the 3rd, the Raptors on the 5th, and the Heat on the 7th. On the 9th, they returned to their home court to play the Jazz, and then rested for two days. On the 12th, they played the Hawks away to end the schedule before the All-Star Weekend.

Then, on the 13th and 21st, in 9 days, the Grizzlies will usher in the longest All-Star Weekend holiday in NBA history! Each team has a 9-day holiday, but some start from the 14th to the 22nd. Anyway, it is 9 days. The biggest benefit of starting the season half a month in advance is that after playing 55-56 games, there are long 9 days of rest.

At noon on January 31, the Grizzlies arrived in Indianapolis and rested for a night. On February 1st, the first game of the Grizzlies' 4-game road trip arrived.

After the morning preparations, Sun Ce saw the latest list of the Player of the Month Award.

In the East, Pau Gasol won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award with his excellent performance in January.

In the West, when the Spurs' winning streak ended and the Grizzlies won all 14 games in January, there was no suspense. Sun Ce, who dominated the scoring list, steals list, and blocked shots list with a slight lead, beat Duncan and won the Western Conference Player of the Month award for three consecutive months, tying Sun Ce's personal record of 3 Player of the Month awards in a single season, and only one away from James' historical record of 4 Player of the Month awards in a single season!

Previously, the suspense of this award was on Sun Ce and Duncan. During the Spurs' 14-game winning streak, Duncan averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 3.5 assists per game. At first glance, these data are just ordinary top power forwards, but the playing time is 29 minutes per game... Duncan's efficiency value of 25.1 so far this season is the highest since the 06-07 season!

Vertex

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