You should cross the mountains like a brave man

Chapter 851 Your defense seems to have regressed
Chapter 862 Your defense seems to have regressed
In early February, the 76ers came to the second-ranked Spurs in the league with 14 losses.

But in January before this day, the basketball world has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Kobe Bryant officially announced in the player forum that after the end of this season, he will retire.

He used a letter to bid farewell to the basketball that has accompanied him for nearly 40 years.

That famous letter:

"From the first time I put on my dad's stockings. I can no longer be as obsessed with basketball as before; because this season, I have given up everything; my heart can still endure all kinds of hardships, my heart can still endure all kinds of hardships, but my body can no longer hold it; I understand that even if you can't let go of your love, it's time to say goodbye"

Wei Xia read this letter many times.

Kobe announced it out of the blue.

Wei Xia knew what Kobe was thinking before. At the beginning of the season, he planned to give it a try. At that time, he had no idea of ​​retiring at all.

When did it start?
In order to keep up with the times, he changed his outside shooting action. As a result, his old and injured body could no longer adapt to the new technology.

It took him several months of trial and error, and he finally determined that he was no longer able to play the role on the court that he thought he could play.

So, he and his team began to contemplate retirement.

With half of the regular season left, he can start his retirement tour like other great stars, which is his well-deserved glory.

If Kobe chooses to stop here, Wei Xia can only bless him.

He is bound to have regrets.

Bryant decided to retire, and Wechat's plan to steal Bryant from Los Angeles died prematurely.

He waited until the next day to say hello to Bryant.

The schedule is heavy, Wei Xia can't fully focus on this matter, he still has to play. The record of the 76ers has been ups and downs. At present, the number one in the Eastern Conference has been firmly occupied by the Cavaliers. They ranked second until February, facing the Spurs, who are second only to the Warriors in the current record list.

It took only one year for the Spurs to turn Leonard, the original four-man in charge, into the actual big man in charge, and let Aldridge, who came to vote in the summer, support the offensive pressure that belongs to Duncan.

Before this season, the Spurs were the most flashy team in the league.

Their transfer of the ball, their weak-side pick-and-roll passes, let people see the beauty of team basketball.

Then, with Leonard righting up and Aldridge, they suddenly changed from a team that likes to move the ball a lot to a team that likes to play positional warfare with a lot of post-ups and shooters.

Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili averaged 44 shots per game at their peak, and the Big Three, who averaged 35 shots per game two years ago, averaged 25 shots per game this season.

Leonard was questioned as unusable after playing last season. This season, his offense and defense have the look of a superstar, and he is considered to be in the top five in the league, second only to Wechat, Curry, James, and Durant.

In so many cases, the Spurs have the third-highest offensive efficiency and the fourth-highest defensive efficiency in team history.

If it's some teams that don't have much team history to talk about, this statistic can only make people laugh, but if it's the Spurs, the meaning is different.

The Spurs' excellence was overshadowed by the Warriors' historic performance.

The two sides gathered at the AT&T Center Arena, home of the Spurs.

The new boss and the old boss of the Spurs are both in the Iceberg department, and a few words can’t make a difference. Wei Xia and Leonard often communicate in private. When using various communication tools for thousands of miles, Leonard is more open. Face to face, his indifference to Wei Xia is as if Wei Xia has never taught him.

Compared with the Spurs' starting lineup in the past few years, only Duncan's partner has changed.

Splitter was replaced by Aldridge, and the other three were Parker, Green, and Leonard in turn.

"For the 76ers, the start is critical. I hope the Spurs can make a good start."

Spurs star Sean Elliott naturally hopes to get off to a good start.

As a result, the trend of the game did not go in the smooth direction.

The 76ers won the jump ball, and Cousins ​​​​actively took the position in the positional battle.

Cousins, who was in his prime, faced the 40-year-old Duncan. The PK between the two in the final two years ago was talked about.Cousins ​​​​is like a late student used to set off his predecessors, and was embarrassed by Duncan.

Just wanting Duncan to play the performance he did two years ago again is like hoping that the 40-year-old Jordan will let Kobe see him without scoring 50 points.

As long as Kobe is in that state, he will definitely get that 50 points.

Duncan means to Cousins ​​what Jordan means to Kobe.

Cousins ​​came up and hit brutally hard, squeezed into the paint, turned around and scored with a hook.

2 is better than 0
"Kawhi, I hope you are as energetic as Boge." Wei Xia said expectantly.

Wei Xia's expectation of Leonard is just like the first time he met Durant that year.

The difference is that from the first day Durant entered the league, everyone knew that he had a great future, but Leonard's great future was not discovered until his third or even fourth year in the league.

Last season, after Wesha's special offseason training, Leonard became the first Spurs team's leading scorer not named Duncan, Parker or Ginobili since 1997.

Then, now, he is the league's second-ranked Spurs' chief attacker and chief defender, averaging 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block per game, with a true shooting percentage of 27.3% and a PER efficiency value of [-], which ranks fourth in the NBA.

Wei Xia can see his progress every year.

When he met Wei Xia, Leonard's face was still like a robot without emotional fluctuations. However, he suddenly opened a one-on-one match, dribbled the ball under his crotch and changed directions in turn, throwing off the ambition of scoring a goal with a little position, which shows how eager he is to prove himself in front of Wei Xia.

What Leonard did was exactly what other peepers of the throne wanted to do.

Challenge Wish, beat Wish.

The Warriors play great basketball and have the power to overwhelm everything. The Spurs also ushered in the peak regular season in team history, but Wei Xia still sits on his throne until the 76ers are out of the playoffs. Otherwise, no one can declare that the Iron Throne has changed hands.

Leonard's seemingly reckless and forced attack has its own deep meaning, but the shooting touch is not always available, and Wei Xia's defense against him is not trivial, and the intensity and tightness are in place.

Leonard's shot naturally deviated from the designated direction.

"boom!"

What's even worse is that Wei Xia knew that his shots would not be scored, and he played fast breaks very fast.

As soon as Cousins ​​grabbed the rebound and passed it in place, Wei Xia followed his pass to the frontcourt and scored a dunk.

4 is better than 0
Popovich growled lividly: "Kawhi, do you fucking want to retire with Kobe?"

"Coach, Kawhi didn't do it on purpose." Wei Xia pretended to be peacemaker in a strange way.

"This matter has nothing to do with you!" Popovich knows why Leonard's style of play has selfish attributes.

This is entirely a bad habit that Kobe picked up after watching too much game video.

"It's really sad. During the offseason, Kawhi was with me like glue every day." Wei Xia never found out that he was using his talent for the opponent's head coach. "Now I know why he looks depressed every day. You must have put too much pressure on him. Please review yourself."

Wei Xia has the idea of ​​doing things, and even the idea of ​​helping Leonard get ahead.

May I ask which team's young core players will be sprayed by their head coach for a casual shot?

Except for the Spurs, there will be no second case.

Popovich dared to yell at anyone because Duncan never cared about him.

But how many players are open-minded to Duncan's level?
Except for Wei Xia in his rookie season, there is no third person.

Leonard seems to be taciturn, but in fact, he has his own views on the environment in his heart.

The patience and silence at this time are completely different from Duncan's wordless stability.

When Leonard got the ball again, Wei Xia could see through his eyes-this is an ambitious young man.

How long will an ambitious young man endure a coach and team that does not give him core authority at all?

Just as Wei Xia was thinking about it, Leonard shot a three-pointer over his head.

"Your defense seems to have regressed."

What is more terrifying than being shot by Leonard for a three-pointer is being spammed by Leonard.

Wei Xia woke up from all kinds of strange thoughts in an instant, and looked at the situation seriously.

"He seems to have ridiculed my defense after shooting the goal?" Wei Xia said with a smile, "You all leave me alone, I am a mature player, and I won't care about him."

Cousins ​​was confused.

Rondo yelled directly: "Give him the ball, didn't you see that he was going crazy?"

(End of this chapter)