The Legend of the Hungry Wolf in Basketball

Chapter 427 [Approaching the historical winning streak record! 】

The Clippers are once again approaching the 33-game winning streak, the immortal legend left by the Lakers in NBA history.

In the 1971-1972 season, the Lakers Chamberlain was 35 years old and Jerry West was 33 years old.Captain Elgin Baylor is 37 years old, and after the start of the season, Baylor only played 8 games before being forced to retire due to a serious knee injury.

But new Lakers coach Bill Sharman made some key adjustments to keep the team alive.In order for West to concentrate on organizing the team's offense, he put Gail Goodrich into the starting lineup to share West's scoring burden.In addition, Sharman also persuaded Chamberlain to focus on defense and pass the ball for teammates instead of scoring, which made the Lakers very competitive.

1971年11月5日，湖人110比106击败了巴尔迪摩子弹队，至此他们开始了两个多月没有输球的旅程，连胜33场。

When the Clippers achieved a winning streak last year, the fans had already turned over the NBA's winning streak and waited. Unfortunately, they only won the second consecutive victory in history and stopped.In the shrinking season, the Clippers seem to have a better chance of breaking this record. They defeated the most threatening New Jersey Nets twice, and they are already the dominant team.

When the Clippers broke a league-record regular season record last season, people began to fantasize about the day they broke their 33-game winning streak.

This record seems illusory and out of reach.But for the Clippers with a strong lineup, it is not far away.Like the Lakers in 1971, they did not rely on the individual ability of the stars to win, but on teamwork and excellent skills and tactics.Coincidentally, Ye Feng, like Chamberlain back then, reduced his shots and increased his support passes.

Another advantage the Clippers have is Tom Thibodeau, an excellent coach.

Thibodeau's success stems from the efforts of more people than he has invested.Whether in the Rockets, Boston, or the Clippers, Thibodeau gives people the image of a workaholic.In the morning, Thibodeau was the first one to enter the gym; in the evening, he was the last one to leave.If you ask what kind of person he is?His professionalism is the first thing most people bring up.

Thibodeau is obsessed with work, nothing but basketball, and it is this focus that has earned him the trust of players and other coaches.Celtics coach Rivers admired Thibodeau's work deeply. When evaluating the former assistant, Rivers said: "Tom has an incredible work intensity. He has won the trust of the players. He The ideas that were presented to us, we all took and it worked.”

Dedicated to basketball almost 24 hours a day, this kind of focus makes Thibodeau know everyone in the league like the back of his hand.Thibodeau has read countless people. He can easily find out the weaknesses of opponents and find ways to help players on the team.Like Yi Jianlian.In the Clippers, Yi Jianlian's data has dropped compared to before, but his efficiency has improved a lot.The shooting percentage also reached 45.3%, which is not bad for him who relies on shooting offense.

Thibodeau is not only able to help a player advance by leaps and bounds, he also knows how to bond a team.In his eyes, there is no distinction between big players or not. He has always been stern and unselfish. He has mercilessly accused Love, Curry and other players face to face countless times, especially when there are loopholes on the defensive end. The accusation will be more severe. He is not right about the matter, but every word and every accusation of him is so loud. Through his understanding of individual players, he connects the ideas of the entire team together.

Now Thibodeau is already a coach who can attack and defend well.In Ye Feng’s previous life, he coached the Bulls. There was not a single superstar in the team. Derek Rose, whose rookie contract had not been fulfilled, was the number one core of the Bulls. Thibodeau let the Bulls surpass him with a not particularly outstanding lineup. The Heat achieved the best record in the league that year and made Rose the regular season MVP!How could he easily lose when the trump cards he could play became the Gasol brothers, Love, Smith, Ye Feng and others?

The Clippers' next schedule is very favorable. The opponents are the Suns, Rockets, Pistons, Pacers, and Thunder.

The away game against the Thunder on the 22nd is the biggest obstacle for the Clippers to hit the winning streak. As long as they win, their winning streak will reach 31 games.The subsequent opponents, the Hornets, are the underdogs who gave away for nothing. The home game against the Grizzlies on the 25th will be a key battle. If they win, they will tie the record. The game against the Nuggets on the 27th will determine the birth of a new record. They can even improve the record by several games. There is no possibility of defeating the Clippers.
Four days and three battles, but the one who trembles is the opponent, the door of dreams has been opened.The Clippers have made critics afraid to ignore reality and continue to hold on to the view that "the record of 33 consecutive victories cannot be broken".

ESPN's columnist Sheldon has painted a beautiful dream for the Clippers before they start their campaign: "The Clippers should be able to walk through the first four games unscathed, and the first three opponents are not on the playoff list. The team. The Pacers lineup is flawed, and it is difficult to beat the Clippers... In other words, they only need to win the Thunder, and they can run to 34 consecutive victories! And the Thunder have never defeated Ye Feng the Clippers."

The Lakers' record of 33 consecutive victories has been dusty for 40 years. At that time, Lakers coach Goodrich once said that "33 consecutive victories are a record that can never be broken."Now someone is already thinking about it, and it is not the Clippers' own YY, but experts from all over the league are designing the future for the Clippers. There is nothing to dare to think about.

Not only are they invincible in the regular season, but they are also very likely to successfully defend their title in the playoffs.In addition to this winning streak, the Clippers averaged 127.2 points per game.They may break two ancient records in a single season. At the same time, they are not only good at offense, they also have another weapon based on the playoffs-defense!
They have two star insiders, and the outsider is Ye Feng, who is almost guaranteed to be the MVP of the regular season. What else do they lack?Under the light of dreams, the Clippers' lineup doesn't even have an obvious goal!Even if there is, it will be difficult for other teams to catch.

On March 3, the Clippers played away against the Suns.

Maybe God wanted to make it easier for the ship to win. Steve Nash missed this game due to injury, Shannon Brown entered the starting lineup, and the Clippers pulled out any guard at random, which was better than Brown.Even if Nash plays, it is impossible to defeat the Clippers. Now Channing Frye and Jared Dudley are the strongest attackers that Solar can take. The ending can be imagined.

135 to 96, the Clippers won by a big score.Ye Feng had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Pau Gasol had 24 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Love had 15 points, 17 rebounds and 5 assists, and Smith had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.The Clippers scored a lot of points, and Ye Feng didn't score points against underdogs. He had completely set his goal on breaking records, and his personal statistics were not important anymore.What the Clippers have to do now is to play as flexibly as possible to ensure winning.If you lose a game before breaking the record, I'm afraid that the entire Clippers team will regret it for life.

On the 18th, the Clippers played away against the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets' usual starting lineup is Dragic, Kevin Martin, Budinger, Patrick Patterson, Dalembert.

The Clippers sent Curry, Ye Feng, Smith, Love, and Gasol.

Ye Feng's fight against Martin in the second position was not confrontation, but abuse.Even if the Clippers asked Budinger to defend, it would still be abusive.The Clippers took advantage and another big victory.Martin had a defensive loophole on the court, and he couldn't score offensively. He was defended by Ye Feng. He made 14 of 3 shots and 4 of 4 free throws. He scored 10 points.Ye Feng scored 27 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.

On the 19th, the Clippers went back-to-back with 13 wins and 32 losses. The Detroit Pistons, who were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, also won easily. The strength of the two teams is too great.

On the 21st, the Pacers handed over their guns in three quarters. David West was defended and only scored 3 points and 4 rebounds. He didn't score in sports games. He really didn't deserve his annual salary of tens of millions.

30 consecutive victories!People exclaimed that the Clippers are crazy!They are the most powerful team ever in the NBA.If the Mavericks hadn't won a game, the Clippers would have won an unprecedented 45 consecutive victories.

On the 22nd, the Clippers played back-to-back away games against the Thunder.

The crucial battle has arrived.The Thunder is not weak, and now has a record of 35 wins and 11 losses and ranks second in the Western Conference.They are the team closest to the Clippers in the Western Conference. If they also lose, how can other teams win?Rely on the fourth Grizzlies in the West?The Grizzlies also lost to the Clippers this season. There is also a gap in strength between the two teams, mainly on the outside.

Before the start of the game, the Thunder chanted the slogan of winning, and they wanted to play this game as the finals.But just shouting slogans is not particularly useful, and there is no bonus. The NBA does not allow owners to give players extra bonuses.If the owner says he wins the game and pays $500 million, the Thunder players may rise up immediately.

Durant doesn't want to lose again, but now it's not a contest between him and Ye Feng.It wasn't Ye Feng he was trying to defeat, but the Clippers.Ye Feng knows how to help his teammates and achieve himself at the same time.The Clippers rely on the whole, and the Thunder rely on the stars. There is an essential difference between the two teams.

The Thunder's state has been ups and downs recently. Facing the powerful Clippers in this scene, the Thunder attacked aggressively at the beginning of the game, but they hit a snag. The Clippers sent in a defensive lineup. Tony Allen started, together with Ye Feng and Smith. The outside line has a super defense line, and the inside line Paul Gasol and Love have protected the backcourt rebounds.The Clippers use zone defense, and the Thunder are very uncomfortable.

The disadvantage of this Thunder team is obvious, that is, the lack of three-point shooters. Perkins, Ibaka, Sefolosha, and even Rose are not good at shooting three-pointers.The Thunder are afraid to shrink the defense, and this is precisely one of the tactics that the Clippers players are best at.

(End of this chapter)