Chapter 1146 1145. The Second Half of the Madness Begins
After the All-Star break, the league became lively.
The playoff battle, the ranking battle, whether the Eagles can break the historical record of 72 wins... and other highlights make the second half of this season full of suspense.
There is also Liu Mang's speech teasing Kobe in the All-Star Game, and the excitement given to Kobe by O'Neal and Tracy McGrady after winning the All-Star MVP. Fans and media are looking forward to the next games this year.
The bosses of some teams vying for playoff spots expressed their confidence in their own strength and the strength of their teams in interviews. The Eastern Conference is not bad, except for the Hawks, Heat, Pistons, 76ers, The Cavaliers and Nets have relatively stable playoff positions, and the Bulls, Pacers, and Wizards are competing for the remaining two playoff spots.
The main focus is on the playoff competition in the Wild West. After the All-Star Weekend, each team still has about thirty games to play. Starting from the end of the All-Star Weekend, most teams officially enter the competition for rankings and playoff positions. white-hot state.
Liu Mang discovered that his team had become the only team in the league again this year. There was no team to compete with them in the regular season...
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On the morning of the 19th, Liu Mang trained for a while. At 10 o'clock, the Eagles held a team meeting and made targeted arrangements for the next five games. The arrangements were relatively simple, and there was not that much time for the following training. So the main thing is to introduce the current situation of the opponents in the next five games, as well as the general play style. The specific tactical plan will be detailed at the team meeting with each team on the morning of the game. After that, there will be a With six consecutive away games, the Eagles have very little training time.
At the beginning of January, the Eagles players were still a little unaccustomed to it. Compared with the leisurely preparations for games in November and December, the three-month schedule was a headache, but the headaches kept hurting, and they got used to it...
On the 20th, the Hawks ushered in their first home game after the All-Star Weekend, hosting the Sacramento Kings.
The Kings are gradually moving away from the playoffs. Due to the influence of Liu Mang, the Kings did not swap Peja and Artest. This season, the Kings management has no longer thought about winning the championship. Peja is now playing well. He was very frustrated, and even more frustrated after the All-Star weekend. This season was only the first year of the six-year, 72 million contract extension he signed in December 2004, but he no longer wanted to play for the Kings.
In the first game back from the All-Star Weekend, the Hawks gave Rasheed Wallace a rest on the inside and McGrady on the outside.
But even so, the Eagles defeated the Kings easily. Liu Mang played 37 minutes, making 7 of 14 shots, 4 of 9 three-pointers, and scored 24 points, 6 rebounds, 14 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
The Kings have no defense at all and rely on throwing and throwing from the outside. Now they only have three points left to talk about.
With Liu Mang's passing support, the young Eagles played very well. They scored when they cut in and got three-point opportunities when they ran. They played very easily.
117 to 104, in the final quarter the Eagles sent Calderon, Barry, Horry, David Lee, and Mourning, but still won by 13 points in the end.
Easily achieved 12 consecutive victories.
But then there was a lot of trouble. The morning after playing the Kings, Liu Mang left Atlanta with the team and started two consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference, playing the Bucks and Pistons on the 22nd and 24th.
We encountered some troubles against the Bucks. After the first three quarters, the Eagles were still 6 points behind. However, relying on Liu Mang's 14 points in the final quarter, Jason Terry hit two key go-ahead scores and extended the lead to 5 points. With an advantage of three points, the Hawks finally defeated the Bucks 97-94 and won their 13th consecutive victory.
Liu Mang scored 41 points in this game, scoring 40+ points for the fifth time in the season, helping the team win. There were a few assists. His teammates didn't feel good today. McGrady rested for two consecutive games, and Liu Mang was a little uncomfortable with it.
It was very difficult to beat the Bucks, who were temporarily ranked tenth in the Eastern Conference. On the contrary, they played the Pistons, who were third in the Eastern Conference. As if they were just playing, Rasheed Wallace scored 22 points and 6 rebounds, and made a shot. 3 three-pointers and two dunks.
Ben Wallace's defense at the basket has indeed declined seriously. It was fine at the beginning of the season, but the decline becomes more serious later in the season. In the original time and space, it has already experienced the kind of collapse that happened after he went to the Bulls and got a multi-million contract in the 2006-07 season. feeling.
Liu Mang scored 14 points, 15 assists and 3 rebounds. Rasheed Wallace and Kwame Brown both scored 20+ points. Tracy McGrady, who returned, also scored 21 points. Three of the Hawks scored 20 points, winning 101 to 80. A big win over the Pistons and a 14th consecutive victory.
The opponents in the east are easy to deal with, which Liu Mang expected.
The Eagles have become the first team in the league to win 50 games for three consecutive years. Not many people are surprised now. If the Eagles don't win 50 games quickly, fans and the media will be surprised.
But after these two games, the really difficult schedule begins!
On February 26, the Hawks came to Dallas to challenge the Mavericks away from home.
The 14-game winning streak was ended in this game. The Mavericks acted even crazier. McGrady, who always defended Nowitzki very well, could not block Nowitzki's terrible mid-range shot this time. Nowitzki Key made 8 of 12 mid-range shots and scored 16 points from mid-range, forcing the Eagles to double-team. Neither Josh Smith nor McGrady could defend him.
Although Liu Mang scored 33 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, the Mavericks played too well and scored 115 points. The Eagles only scored 109 points. Director Zhang said it well, when the opponent scores more than 110 points, When my side scored less than 110 points, the game was lost.
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Losing to the Mavericks, the Eagles suddenly suffered their first loss after the All-Star Weekend. There was no time for Liu Mang to be depressed. The morning after beating the Mavericks, Liu Mang flew to Denver with the team. Tomorrow, the 28th, will be The last game in February is ushering in an away game against the Denver Nuggets.
When Liu Mang arrived in Denver and saw the news, he realized that he was about to reach a small milestone.
Starting from November 28, 2003, to Liu Mang's game against the Mavericks yesterday, Liu Mang had played in 199 consecutive games. The next game against the Nuggets was Liu Mang's 200th consecutive regular season game without absence. A small milestone!
Liu Mang was very motivated when he played against the Nuggets. Anthony defeated him once and he is still impressed now!
Liu Mang said that he was definitely not being petty, but that the other four top five picks of the 2003 generation had not beaten him... This guy took advantage of him once and did it once!