807. Old Soldiers Never Die

Reasons, no matter how far-fetched the logic is or how ridiculous the content is, as long as there is logic and a reason, it is at least a reason.

Therefore, the three reasons of the Spurs and the first three reasons of the Grizzlies can at least be considered "heartfelt". If you think about it carefully, if you really want to take it seriously, those things are not impossible to happen, even if the probability of occurrence is only 0.00%... countless zeros... 0.1%, at least there is a probability event, at least it gives a reason.

But Sun Ce...

The news anchors on the TV station joked during the live news: What's wrong with the Grizzlies management to issue such a reason for rest?

The owner, general manager, head coach of the Grizzlies... even the team employees and security guards who saw the news were shocked. Their own team is more playful than the Spurs!

Coach Hollins was stunned for a long time after seeing the post. General Manager Chris Wallace and the owner were having dinner with representatives of the team's sponsors outside to celebrate winning the second place in the regular season and the home-court advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs. It's not that the sponsors will be disappointed if they don't win the regular season championship. The Grizzlies' 50 wins have already met their pre-season expectations. 55 wins are already the best expected state, and 60 wins have already exceeded expectations!

But after receiving the secretary's notice at around 12 o'clock, the two immediately apologized to the sponsors and rushed back to the stadium.

In Coach Hollins' office, the two saw the dazed Coach Hollins, and saw the specific details of the "rest reason" given by their team on the computer screen, and they were also dazed...

"What is that bastard Chris doing! Wait, it seems that we asked the lord to give the rest reason. Is my brain filled with sea water? Like a dolphin, half of my head rests during the day?

But Chris, you bastard dare to send out such a reason? Isn't it just that the reason you gave was not adopted?"

Another roar came from the head coach's office...

However, including the owner Robert Pera, the entire management and coaching staff of the Grizzlies cannot do anything to the press officer Kyle. At most, they can blame him a few words, and it is unlikely that he will be fined.

This is an old employee who has worked in the team for more than ten years regardless of how the team changes. He has a high reputation in the local basketball community in Memphis, and even the boss admires this old employee of the club.

This made Chris Wallace and Coach Hollins, who was awakened by Chris Wallace's roar, angry and aggrieved.

As for Sun Ce...it was them who took the initiative to find Sun Ce to find a reason, who can be blamed? Not to mention that they sent it out without reviewing it,

just talking about the current team situation, they can't blame Sun Ce for this...

And what made the two even more angry was their own team owner.

After a while of stagnation, the owner actually began to appreciate the reason given by Sun Ce: "Chris, Lionel, it has always been the Spurs' group of despicable guys who stole the limelight during the rest period, and now it's finally our turn!"

Chris Wallace and Coach Hollins were really about to vomit blood when they heard the boss's words: Boss, you're going to be fined, and you know that you're going to be made fun of by fans and the media?

……

For the Grizzlies, rest is a must, and fines are probably inevitable. The league is so angry that it can't be avoided, and the fans' ridicule can't be avoided.

For the TV station, the live broadcast of the Suns vs. Grizzlies game will not be cancelled. This game is different from the game between the Bulls and the Heat. The game between the Bulls and the Heat is worth watching and is considered one of the alternative tracks for the preview of the Eastern Conference Finals, but the two teams have already locked in the regular season rankings. If Rose doesn't play, then he won't play, and ESPN will continue to broadcast it.

But the live broadcast of the game between the Suns and the Grizzlies will not be cancelled, just like the live broadcast of the game between the Mavericks and the Rockets will not be cancelled no matter what.

The Suns and the Rockets currently have the same record. The penultimate game between the two teams will most likely determine the eighth place in the Western Conference. If the Suns lose to the Grizzlies and the Rockets beat the Mavericks, the Rockets can almost be considered to have advanced to the playoffs in advance.

The game between the two teams tonight is their "playoff life and death game". No matter what, they must win, whether it is the Suns or the Rockets, because the Rockets guessed that the Spurs, who have already locked the regular season championship, have a chance to rest. Of course, the rested Spurs may not necessarily lose to the Suns, but the Rockets hope that the Grizzlies will definitely beat the Suns, and believe that the Grizzlies can beat the Suns in back-to-back games.

Once this happens, for the TV station, if the Grizzlies rest, this game may give the Suns a chance to win. It's just that without Sun Ce, the live broadcast ratings may be affected by Sun Ce fans, but the Suns have a greater hope of entering the playoffs. The fans of Nash, Carter, and Hill, three popular veterans, may have a higher desire to watch the live broadcast.

Moreover, it is not only the Grizzlies who rest, but also the Spurs who have confirmed the rest, and the Spurs announced the rest two days in advance, which means that the Spurs are very likely to let the Suns enter the playoffs in order to avoid the Rockets, who have Anthony, a mid-range shooting expert, and Al Jefferson, a low-post beast.

If the Suns can beat the Grizzlies, the Spurs will most likely let the game go!

In the end, it seems that the one who got hurt was not the TV station, but the Rockets who did nothing and just took a Memphis Panda punch!

Because the Mavericks will most likely go all out to fight for the possible home-court advantage in the Western Conference Finals!

The media and fans never imagined that last night they were still discussing the possibility of the Rockets defeating the Spurs. This morning the situation suddenly changed and the Rockets became the worst!

…

Office of the President and Head Coach of ATT Arena in San Antonio.

Popovich tore the tissues in his hand as he looked at the reasons for the rest given by the Grizzlies.

This time, they actually came up short in the duel due to reasons for resting!

The finishing touch is the reason for resting Sun Ce.

It seems ridiculous, but after six seemingly well-conceived nonsense reasons for resting, it seems so abrupt and conspicuous but not lacking in flaws...

Popovich likes to play with these weird things, just for his own entertainment. He didn't expect that someone would "break his head" with them. As a result, he was so experienced that he actually lost the duel!

Old men are men too, and men's happiness is always very simple. This kind of little joke that does not hinder work and is harmless is very fascinating.

Popovich plans to study more after this season, and he must win the next time he faces the Grizzlies!

Putting aside such trivial matters, the Spurs defeated the Hornets and Magic back-to-back the day before yesterday and yesterday, locking the regular season championship in advance. They only have to play the Suns on the 17th. Win or lose does not matter.

Popovich not only needs to take a rest, but also needs to let everyone know in advance that they will take a rest. This should give motivation to the Suns and boost the confidence of the Rockets, giving the Suns more motivation to defeat the Grizzlies, or let the Rockets beat the Mavericks. Time is affected and cannot complete the upset, as long as the Suns can win when the Rockets win, or the Rockets can lose when the Suns lose, that's fine! Popovich must lose to the Suns in the last game to ensure that the Suns' record is at least the same as that of the Rockets. Then the Suns, who have a mutual advantage over each other, can win eighth place.

Popovich wants to ensure that he meets the Suns in the first round of the playoffs and can avenge being swept last season!

…

Dallas, American Airlines Center.

Carlisle felt that the management of the two teams in the same division were really good at playing, and the brain circuits of the two head coaches made him feel that they were not too refreshing.

Reasons for resting are usually found by the head coach, so he naturally regarded them as weird reasons thought up by coaches Popovich and Hollins.

And like the fans and media, it feels like Coach Hollins just wants to compete with Popovich...

But Carlisle will not be affected by this. Their goal is the championship, and their biggest imaginary enemy is the Lakers.

Regardless of the fact that they are only fifth in the Western Conference, if the Lakers lose the last two games and win the last two games, they will have the highest probability of having a two-round home court advantage in the playoffs!

It is true that the ranking is based on the division system, but the home court advantage is based on record. Even if the probability is extremely low, Carlisle will fight for it. Fighting for it is better than not fighting for it.

As for the Rockets in the same division... Carlisle is not familiar with them.

…

…

On the night when Sun Ce was stunned by his handsomeness and this weird reason for resting was being hyped to the sky by fans, the Grizzlies' penultimate game started.

The Grizzlies sent out a starting lineup of Conley, Morrow, Paul George, Darrell Arthur, and DeAndre Jordan.

The three water cooler keepers, Vazquez, Darrell Arthur, and Sam Young, all have a chance to play in tonight's game.

The Suns still have one senior and four juniors, with the starting lineup of Nash, Hamilton, Carter, Hill, and Frye appearing.

Just as Coach Hollins thought, in order to give the opponent enough respect, his players will play very hard as long as they play.

Conley turned on the chocolate mode tonight. He wanted to be as showy as possible, but if his ability to organize offense was not enough, he relied on passing the ball to make it happen!

Darrell Arthur was extremely uncomfortable, but the other three were already very experienced, and the Grizzlies played hard and coquettishly.

However, when the two teams start running and fighting, the Suns still have the absolute upper hand without Sun Ce. Even if Sun Ce is here, if they fight in a run-and-gun battle, they can only rely on the power of their own two emperors to compete with Nash. To gain the upper hand, impossible.

Although it was a back-to-back, the veterans who vowed to win seemed not to be affected by the back-to-back and played very well. Especially the Grizzlies' defense dropped sharply. Although the defensive discipline and awareness of defensive cooperation are still there, their ability has dropped a lot. The Suns were better than the last game!

In a battle, the two teams played a very high score. The Suns scored 17 three-pointers in a single game. Carter scored a game-high 33 points. Nash received an assist. Hamilton scored 22 points. Conley scored 22 points. In terms of assists, Yi Jianlian and DeAndre Jordan both scored 15+, and Morrow and Paul George each scored 3 three-pointers...

In the end, in this game that was broadcast live on .T, the Grizzlies were fined $150,000 for resting, and the ratings did not drop as much as expected, the Suns defeated the Grizzlies and won their 45th win of the season!

However... the Suns were not able to immediately lock in eighth place in the Western Conference. If the Mavericks beat the Rockets in the following game, the Suns would be able to advance in advance.

However, in the Rockets' away game against the Mavericks, which started at 8 o'clock Eastern Time, Anthony exploded. In a single game, he made 7 of 12 three-pointers, 8 of 10 free throws, and scored 55 points. He led the team to an upset defeat with all players in the game. And the Mavericks, who went all out, kept their hope of competing for eighth in the Western Conference.

Anthony was so frustrated that he felt the whole world was against him. He was relieved last night because the Suns failed to upset the Grizzlies. They still had hope for the playoffs. He would not encounter the embarrassment of not being able to enter the playoffs. You know, he has not missed the playoffs since his rookie season.

However, just as he was about to follow the vines to heaven, he was kicked to hell.

So tonight Anthony exploded and scored 50+ for the second time in his career.

After the upset against the Mavericks, Anthony still held a glimmer of hope. He felt that even if the Spurs rested, they might be able to beat the Suns.

However, another day later, on April 17, the Rockets returned to their home court and defeated the visiting Timberwolves, improving their record to a loss. The Rockets players did not leave immediately. The owner Alexander and the general manager were also in the lounge watching the TV.T broadcast of the Suns and Spurs game.

At 9 pm Western Time, the game between the Suns and the Spurs started.

Anthony looked at the Spurs bench Ginobili wearing a suit alone on the TV screen. It was said that the other two giants were banned from entering the stadium by the Spurs management that night...

A group of people were looking forward to the Spurs, without the troika, Iverson, Al Jefferson and George Hill could rely on the team system to lead the team to beat the Suns, who were currently losing.

However, after the game started, the Spurs did not play the system and asked Iverson to challenge Nash!

Iverson started the singles mode!

Nash would naturally not challenge the first MVP of the same class, he wanted to win.

The game seemed to have returned to the 05-06 season. Iverson's 76ers had declined, and Nash, the VP, led the Suns to their peak. The two started a singles VS team duel.

Moreover, Popovich replaced whoever was good at shooting and replaced him with the one with the worst touch to partner with Iverson, putting Iverson in a double-team...

In the end, Iverson was in great physical condition at his age, which was also related to his being raised in the Spurs. He scored 30 points and 6 assists, setting a new season high in scoring and assists, but the Spurs did not have the style of the strongest team offensive team in the league this season, and only scored 91 points.

The Suns scored 107 points, defeated the Spurs, and improved their record to negative!

Accompanied by the wailing of the Houston Toyota Center and the carnival of the four veterans Nash, Carter, Hamilton, and Hill in the ATT Arena, the Suns relied on the advantage of having a head-to-head match against the Rockets in the regular season and advanced to the playoffs with the same record!

Even the Spurs home fans cheered for the four veterans of the Suns.

With the departure of Stoudemire, Jason Richardson, Barbosa and others, the Suns had such a poor start. Everyone thought that the amazing running and gunning would disappear from the league. No matter how beautiful the Knicks' offense was, it could not be compared with the running and gunning storm of Nash + D'Antoni that swept the league in memory.

However, Nash, Hill and Carter held on and slowly caught up with the record. After getting Hamilton, they overtook the Rockets in one fell swoop and kept it until the end.

Who cares about the fact that the opponent rested and won unfairly?

Entering the playoffs means entering!

Losing, this time Iverson did not leave the court early, he knew that the players still played very hard, just like the Grizzlies, the players on the court of the Spurs did not let up. Anyone who sees such a core lineup of four veterans to impact the playoffs will admire from the bottom of their hearts.

It's just that Iverson no longer has the strength to turn the tide and challenge the peak OK combination.

And Iverson is no longer the core. He is very satisfied with such a performance in the curtain call of the regular season.

After the game, Iverson took the initiative to hug Nash, his old rival. Nash was surprised, but when he saw Iverson's short haircut as a rookie, the two of them no longer had the grudge of "who got more first", smiled at each other, and hugged each other.

"See you in the playoffs."

"Yes, see you in the playoffs..."

...

...

The Suns won the eighth place in the Western Conference. Sun Ce and the team have come to Philadelphia, waiting for the regular season finale against the 76ers tomorrow.

In the past three days, Coach Hollins did not dare to show up in public. He could not put the blame on Sun Ce. Although Sun Ce should take the blame, people think that he came up with these weird reasons.

In particular, the Grizzlies management did not deny that he, the head coach, must take the blame!

And what makes Coach Hollins sad is that the four players under him who were "arranged" by Sun Ce, not only did not feel ashamed, but were proud of it, because they became popular!

I have long seen Duncan leading the trend with his hairstyle and Popovich becoming more and more popular because of his coquettishness, and I am jealous of him. Now it is finally their turn.

Fortunately, after the Suns advanced to the playoffs, they finally diverted the attention of fans and the media. The topic of "old soldiers never die" became the hottest topic in the basketball world. No one expected that the Suns could make it to the playoffs with this group of old and weak players.

Although the opponent rested in the last two games, the players on the other side did not let up and went all out. Moreover, they were able to have the same record as the Rockets with Billups, Anthony, and Al Jefferson with two games left, which was enough to shame the entire Rockets team.

Coach Hollins can finally wake up from the nightmare...

But these two points "stay at home" and study every day how to deal with the Nuggets in the first round, and there are still some breakthroughs, which may make it easier to win. Coach Hollins can only comfort himself and hypnotize himself in this way, so as not to see Sun Ce and want to strangle this dead kid...

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