Chapter 1530 1529. Now that We Are Number One, We Must Strive for It with All Our Strength (Asking for Monthly Votes)

Why do we say that the fierce competition in January this season has nothing to do with the Hawks?

In addition to the fact that the Hawks are not one of the competing teams, the most important thing is that no matter how other teams compete and want to win, when they meet the Hawks, they are all trampled by the Hawks' iron hoofs...

The advantage of veterans over rookies is that they know their own strength and are unlikely to make any obvious progress. They know how to integrate into the new team.

After defeating the Nets, the Hawks have played 35 games. After O'Neal Jr. returned, the Hawks' lineup was complete and the tactics were well coordinated. The most important thing was the change in Wade's playing style after his comeback. He focused on leading the rotation lineup to maintain defensive continuity and accommodated his teammates' playing style on the offensive end...

So, the Hawks entered the best stage of the season so far!

On January 10, 12, and 14, the Hawks' remaining three consecutive home games will be against the Bulls, Nuggets, and Cavaliers.

All of them are strong rivals, two of which were in the Eastern and Western Conference Finals last season, and one of which was a strong team that played the Hawks to a tiebreaker in the second round last year.

This was a big battle originally arranged by the league to attract the attention of fans. Of course, fans are also very excited to see a head-to-head confrontation.

However, all three games were one-sided...

The Hawks are too arrogant!

In the game against the Bulls, the Hawks scored 36 points in the first quarter!

The core play of the Bulls this season is still defense-focused, but the Hawks scored 36 points in a single quarter!

Of course, compared with last season, the Bulls' offense with Reed is much better, and they also scored 26 points in the first quarter, but they couldn't stand the Hawks' 36 points in a single quarter. The Hawks took a 10-point lead in the first quarter.

Reed was in ecstasy when he was traded to the Bulls in the summer. It was the first time in his career that he played for a truly strong team.

The Bulls' record also made Reed feel wonderful. In the face of such fierce competition among the top five teams in the East, they stayed in the top four for a long time.

This time against the Hawks, Reed was ready to perform well.

However... the Bulls were suppressed by the Hawks from the beginning and had no chance to counterattack throughout the game!

The Hawks were in such explosive form. Liu Mang scored 19 points in the first quarter, and he scored no matter how he shot. Especially the three-pointer that was 3 in 3, Reed hit it in the face, but Liu Mang still made it.

What else could Reed do?

The Bulls adjusted their defense from the second quarter and double-teamed Liu Mang from all directions.

At this time, Rondo began to use Liu Mang's ability to attract a lot of defense as soon as he received the ball, and directed his teammates to use Liu Mang as a transfer station for ball rights, and played a beautiful team offense.

At the end of the first half, the Hawks scored 67 points, and the second quarter scored more than 30 points in a single quarter...

The Bulls lost 67 points in the first half, creating a new record for the Bulls' halftime loss this season!

The Bulls scored 26 points in the first quarter and only 23 points in the second quarter. Liu Mang was blocked on the offensive end and could only pass the ball, so he focused on Reed's defense.

The Hawks led the Bulls by 18 points at halftime, 67 to 49!

The Bulls' halftime loss and halftime lag both set their worst records this season!

The Hawks played with a sense of unstoppable momentum, and did not give the Bulls any chance from the beginning to the end. In the end, with Liu Mang's 29 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists in 33 minutes, Rondo's 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, McGrady's 19 points, Jason Terry's 21 points, Wade and Kwame Brown both scored 10 points, and Marion's 7 points and 14 rebounds, the Hawks had five players score in double figures and won the Bulls at home with a score difference of 118 to 93, 25 points!

Can there be a situation where there is nothing worth talking about in a strong confrontation?

Yes, the Hawks played such a game.

The Hawks suppressed the Bulls throughout the game, and the Bulls did not make an effective response. Maybe they actually responded, but the Hawks' suppression became more fierce, and the Bulls had no chance to fight back!

From the perspective of Hawks fans, this one-sided game was of course ecstatic. The fans at the scene were always enthusiastic, and the Bulls fans in front of the TV had turned off the TV long ago.

But in the eyes of neutral fans and some neutral TV commentators, such a game is too boring. From the scene, the Bulls have never struggled.

The game of a team like the Bulls, which relies on stable defense, is actually boring, but the Hawks did it!

After defeating the Bulls, the Hawks tied the Spurs' highest record of 9 consecutive wins this season, and their record became 30 wins and 6 losses, not far from the Spurs' 32 wins and 5 losses!

And... this is not over yet!

On the 12th and 14th, the Hawks will continue to move forward against the Nuggets and Cavaliers!

In the game against the Nuggets, the Hawks defeated their opponents 95 to 87.

In this game, the Hawks played defense, which actually meant that they couldn't make shots, but the Hawks have been in good offensive and defensive form recently.

Iverson has no choice. Occasionally, he will encounter such a situation, where the opponent is in such good form that he can't deal with it at all.

Kenyon Martin, Nene and Camby were blocked 6 times by a guard. How can they play?

Kenyon Martin's counterattack dunk was blocked. He couldn't run away and couldn't attack in positional battles...

After the Nuggets were defeated, the Hawks became the first team to win 10 games in a row this season!

On the 14th, the Hawks defeated the Cavaliers again with a score of 97 to 91, and the Hawks had won 11 games in a row!

The Cavaliers also fought hard, but in the end, the Hawks were still better.

The Hawks, with a domineering attitude, won all eight games in the first half of January, a month full of strong opponents!

The Hawks are like a clear stream in the league. Other teams have lost after entering the new year, including the Spurs. The Spurs lost to the Suns on the 4th. Let alone other teams, there will always be losses when strong teams meet, especially the Western Conference teams. Nine of the 15 Western Conference teams have the opportunity to win 50 games, and the confrontation is a bloody battle.

And the Hawks have been winning no matter who the opponent is or what the situation in the league is!

…

"The battle for the first place in the league kicks off"

The NBA official website gave such a headline.

After the Hawks won 11 games in a row and saw their record become 32 wins and 6 losses, the gap with the Spurs, who have also won 6 games in a row and have a record of 34 wins and 5 losses, is very small.

Before, there was always a gap between the Hawks and the Spurs, but now, the Hawks have a chance to overtake!

The Spurs are really a peculiar team. Just last season, they were eliminated in the first round, and the fans celebrated with singing and dancing.

But this season, the Spurs have become a popular team.

Except for Duncan, the popularity of other Spurs players may be just so-so. It is obvious in the All-Star voting that Ginobili and Parker did not have many votes.

But the popularity of the Spurs team has become very high.

The Hawks and Spurs began to compete for the first place in the league, and their official support rates in the NBA were actually evenly matched!

The Hawks had a support rate of 53%, and the Spurs had a support rate of 47%. There were more than 90,000 fans who participated in the voting on the first day, which is quite representative.

In other words, judging from the support of most fans, there are really many people who support the Spurs to get the first place in the league!

As for the Hawks, why not fight for the first place in the league?

And the Hawks don't want to end their 11-game winning streak.

On the 15th, the Hawks rested in Atlanta for a day, and on the 16th, they left for Milwaukee, and then they had two consecutive away games.

On the plane, Liu Mang was called by the coaching staff to hold a small meeting to discuss the rotation.

The main thing is that the next opponents are not as exaggerated as in the first half of the month.

In the first half of the month, the Hawks played eight games, 8 games in 14 days! And they played two games against the Cavaliers, the Hornets, the Bulls, and the Nuggets.

The opponents in the second half of the month are relatively not so exaggerated. Although there are also 5 opponents in the top nine in the West or the top five in the East, and the last five games in January are five consecutive away games, the Hawks' schedule in January is definitely a devil's schedule, but it is much better than in the first half of the month.

Now the team is in surprisingly good shape, Coach Kruger is a little worried and decided to start resting.

Liu Mang supports this idea, and he doesn't want to encounter the tragedy of the Mavericks in the playoffs.

However, Liu Mang himself was very firm in his position of not taking a rest.

The coaching staff could not persuade Liu Mang, as Liu Mang had never been so-called "tired".

So they followed the experience of the past few years.

When playing against weaker opponents, McGrady and Kwame Brown took a rest.

Marion and Jason Terry's rest depended on the situation, while Wade did not play the second game of a back-to-back.

There was another benefit of taking a rest, which was that players who had less playing time in the early season could have more playing time in the middle of the season and improve their condition in order to cope with the schedule in the second half of the season.

After deciding on the rest plan, the Hawks continued to move forward.

The Hawks players, who were in good shape, began to fight with the Spurs for the first place in the league with high morale!

On the 17th and 19th, the Hawks played two consecutive away games against the Bucks and the Trail Blazers.

McGrady and Marion did not play in the first game, and Jason Terry and Kwame Brown did not play in the second game. The Hawks easily won the game with a lead of more than 10 points.

The Hawks beat the Bucks 113-101, and beat the Trail Blazers with sophomore Roy and Aldridge, and Liu Mang and McGrady both scored 30+ and easily defeated their opponents 106-91.

After defeating these two opponents, the Hawks won 13 consecutive games, continuing to refresh the winning streak record this season, and improved their record to 34 wins and 6 losses.

However... When the Hawks returned to the hotel after playing the away game against the Trail Blazers, Liu Mang saw the news that the Spurs, who played at the same time as the Hawks, also won 8 consecutive games... 36 wins and 5 losses!

The Spurs, who have played 41 games, have only lost 5 games!