NBA opening draw to twilight Shaquille O'Neal

Chapter 1129 Stable and Scary

"At the end of the season with 6 consecutive victories, the Mosaic team is firmly ranked fourth in the Western Conference and the fourth seed in the league." - "Houston Daily"

"The combination of Lanterns scored 61 points, easily defeated the Kings, and tied the best record in team history with 58 wins!" - "Houston Times"

"The Mosaics and Trail Blazers are about to start the final regular season chase!" "Los Angeles Times"

……

On the morning of April 4, the Internet was almost full of news about yesterday's 12-win record for the Houston Mosaics.

The Houston Mosaics currently have 58 wins and 23 losses, ranking fourth in the Western Conference and fourth in the league. They are one of the out-and-out favorites to win the championship.

Moreover, the Mosaic team only needs to win the final game of the next season to create a new team history record, so Harden and Anthony are full of expectations and desires for this game.

The Trail Blazers are currently 71 wins and 10 losses, and their record is the best in the league. They are only one win away from tying the third record in history-the 96 regular season wins set by the Chicago Bulls in 72!
Originally, everyone thought that the Trail Blazers could win 70 wins again, which would be great, but they didn't expect that they were about to win 72? !

That was the first record in history. Before the Trail Blazers and Warriors turned out, it was once considered to be one of the most difficult great records in NBA history.

Now in the hands of the Trail Blazers, it seems to have become a toy to play with casually, and you can get it with a little effort.

This makes the outside world have to marvel at the dominance of the Blazers once again, and truly deserves to be the second three-peat dynasty team since the new century!
If he can really get 72 wins, it will be a very worthwhile bargaining chip for Wang Zelin in this season's regular season MVP battle.

"The Blazers have indeed regressed compared to last season, and barely regressed to the level of the 96 Bulls..."

At home in Portland, Wang Zelin has already figured out how to play 13 in front of the media after winning tonight.

The scenes that suddenly appeared in my mind are exciting to think about.

Of course, the premise is that the Blazers can win tonight's game.

Don't get slapped in the face if you don't pretend to be 13 at that time, it won't be worth it.

During breakfast, Wang Zelin looked at today's game list while eating.

On the last game day of the regular season, the league has arranged 11 games, and there are several games worthy of his attention.

For example, Bulls VS Nets, Spurs VS Jazz, Pacers VS Eagles, Thunder VS Nuggets...

Except for these groups, the other groups did not pay attention to Mr. Wang's attention.

After dinner, Wang Zelin went out.

Training was carried out as usual at noon. At 4 pm, the nutritionist delivered a specially prepared nutritious meal. After eating, he rested for two and a half hours. At about 6:40, Wang Zelin and his teammates began to enter the field to warm up.

The Mosaic team also entered the field early. After the players from both sides met, Harden and Anthony also took the initiative to come over and say hello to Wang Zelin and the others.

The games on the court belong to the competition, but their personal relationship is not affected off the court.

Harden and Anthony are quite angry with Wang Zelin, especially Harden, who is also a member of the Kini Taimei Dance Troupe. When they see the leader of the troupe, they naturally have to take the initiative to contact him.

The two teams were already very familiar with each other, so they exchanged a few simple greetings and started their respective warm-up sessions.

Soon, the pre-match preparation time was over, and the five starters from both sides entered the field.

For the Trail Blazers, the starting lineup of Lillard, Button, Batum, Jokic, and Wang Zelin debuted

For the Mosaic team, the starting lineup of Harden, Eric Gordon, Anthony, Clinton Capela, and Jusuf Nurkic played.

As the number one shooting guard in active service, Harden is actually not only responsible for scoring in the Mosaic team, but also serves as the core of the organization.

While scoring nearly 30 points per game, he also averaged nearly 12 assists per game, plus 8 rebounds and 1.5 steals...

Thanks to Harden, the iron man, the bearded man is in his prime at the moment, with a tough physique and is very durable. As long as it is replaced by someone else, I am afraid that he will be exhausted long ago.

Back to the Mosaic team.

It has to be said that the mosaic team in this time and space is actually much more luxurious than the mosaic team in the original time and space. Although Beverly and Harrell were cut off by Wang Zelin and went to the Trail Blazers, they also received the unexpected joy of Nurkic. At the same time, they also recruited Carmelo Anthony, a super scorer who was at the end of his peak last summer.

Perhaps the overall defense of the Mosaic team is a little worse than in the previous life, but the offensive end is much stronger.

Their starting lineup alone is already very luxurious.

There are two super scorers Harden and Anthony on the perimeter, plus a tough guy with a round face. The offensive firepower is not inferior to that of any active team. Even if you encounter the Warriors' Curry, Thompson, and Durant trio, you can barely make it [-]-[-]... Ahem, at least during the regular season.

The inside line is the combination of Nurkic + Capela. The former is a European big white bear averaging 15+10 per game when he grows to the peak, and the latter is a generation of cake king. He averaged 16+12 per game in the peak season.

In addition, they also sit on the bench with high-quality substitutes such as chaos master Louis Williams, anti-aircraft gunner Ryan Anderson, extreme 3D Trevor Ariza, and iron-blooded titan Nene.

Gangzhen, if it weren't for the crazy involution and constant arms race in the West in the past few years, the current lineup of the Mosaic team would not have failed to break through 60 wins in the regular season.

It is mainly placed in the East, and it is not impossible for the Mosaic team to hit 65 wins.

I don't think it's an exaggeration. According to the NBA's game system, there are 82 regular season games, divided into 15 teams in the East and [-] teams in the West. An Eastern team will play two games with Western teams every season, once at home and once away.

Therefore, according to common sense, 82 of the 30 regular season games of the Eastern teams are suitable for the Western teams, and the remaining 52 games are all in the Eastern Conference.

Considering the great difference in the competitive environment between the East and the West, the pattern of the West being strong and the East being weak is still the main theme of the league. Therefore, generally speaking, with the same record, the gold content of the Western teams is often higher than that of the Eastern teams.

For conversion, if the Celtics, who are currently ranked first in the East and have a regular season record of 53 wins, are placed in the Western environment, according to his winning percentage against Western teams this season, their regular season record is actually less than 50 wins after conversion.

It's no wonder that so many fans complained for the Clippers and Nuggets, because if their records are converted to the Eastern Conference, they will be in the playoffs.

Then in the Wild West, they can only condescend to ninth and tenth in the West, and will miss the playoffs again.

……

Rose Garden Stadium.

After the start of the game, because both sides knew the basics, the players of the two teams went all out as soon as they came up. Based on the state of the opponent today, the characteristics of the opponent's style of play after the All-Star Weekend, and the past experience of the opponent, they played a fierce offensive and defensive battle.

The Mosaic team just celebrated a wave of six consecutive victories, and the momentum is like a rainbow!
The offensive end relied on Harden's breakthroughs, Anthony and Gordon's containment, catch-and-shoot, big crossbows, and cake kings to score.

On the defensive end, the big ballista sits under the basket to protect the basket, and the highly mobile Cake King is responsible for various defenses. Anthony and Harden are also very strong today, and they will get up when they need to.

For the Trail Blazers, Wang Zelin played very steadily tonight. Now his strength can be said to be unique in the league. James, who used to have the same overall ability score as him, has dropped to 99 this season, which is in the same grade as Curry and Durant.

After that, there are Harden with an ability score of 97, Westbrook with 96 and Davis with 95.

Except for a few of them, there is no ability to score players who break through to superstars in active service.

And Wang Zelin is undoubtedly a superstar among superstars, and the only panel evaluation among active players gave him stronger confidence.

His steady performance allowed the players to play very steadily. Their current starting lineup ranks first in the league in offensive firepower. When the outside shooting mentality is stable and the impact of the impatience mentality eager to tie the Bulls' 72 wins is reduced, the overall offensive performance is very good!

Relying on the potential of the outside trio, Wang Zelin played better than Capela tonight, playing all kinds of bottom line and pick-and-roll cuts.

His teammates are so strong, Jokic only needs to see the timing, pass at will, and he can get assists one by one with tears in his eyes. The assist data is not too easy.

When the Mosaic team failed to make a shot and Wang Zelin grabbed the defensive rebound, Lillard's chasing three-pointer, Button's cut to the basket and the second pass can also be played.

At 6 minutes and 48 seconds of the first quarter, the Blazers scored 24 points!
However, the Mosaic team also scored 21 points steadily!
In terms of offense, because Capela and Nurkic at this stage lack effective outside range, they must not be able to surpass the Blazers simply by clearing the sky, but they have a good chance of catching the Blazers' breakthrough.

Harden sent out 4 assists in half a quarter. With Wang Zelin in the Trail Blazers lineup, Capela and Nurkic can be easily restrained. After all, Gordon's ability is limited. Anthony is also under Wang Zelin's crazy defense. The efficiency is also gradually decreasing, but Harden's single-play breakthrough or pick-and-roll breakthrough is very poor.

In other words, under the current rule system, there is no one in the league who can restrain Harden in one-on-one defense. After all, what Barton and Batum are facing tonight is a ruthless person who gets up at 4 in the morning and memorizes the rules of the league.

So far this season, Harden ranks first in the league with an average of 11 free throws per game and an average of 9.2 free throws per game. In the field of fouls, Harden has entered the unique realm in history.

Therefore, as long as Harden can easily open this point, the other four points of the Mosaic team can get good offensive opportunities.

When Wang Zelin in the penalty area had to defend Harden, Capela and Nurkic had the opportunity to cut into the cake and super offensive rebound.And when Batum and Button on the perimeter switch defenses, Harden can always find an open teammate to pass the ball in the first time, allowing him to score easily.

In the middle of the first quarter, the two sides played evenly on the scene, and soon the official timeout came, and the coaches of both sides began to adjust personnel.

Judging from the current situation, the match against the Mosaic team is destined to be a protracted battle. I am afraid that the winner will be determined at the last moment, so Coach Terry chose to let Wang Zelin play for about half a quarter before resting.

The main reason is that the team's offense was very stable tonight, and the most important thing is that Wang Zelin played very steadily!

Although Wang Zelin has always shown himself with a strong self-confidence, tonight, Coach Terry found that Wang Zelin has become more calm, not in behavior, but in temperament. The kind of self-confidence from the heart is somewhat different from before.

It may not be different if you take it out and compare it alone, but this little change in details makes Wang Zelin more comfortable in the game.Especially when playing with his teammates who performed the best offensive five in the league, Wang Zelin scored 6 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assist and 1 block in more than 1 minutes without a single turnover, playing exceptionally stable.

In turn, the whole team's offense is very stable!
"Could it be that the legendary law of metaphysics that Wang Zelin explodes when he meets the Mosaic team is true?"

Coach Terry murmured to himself.

He has always advocated science and is not superstitious, but when he thinks of Wang Zelin's explosive performance every time he meets the Mosaic team in the past, combined with his super stable performance after the opening tonight... he is completely convinced.

Wang Zelin set the tone of the team's stable offense and defense, and the next step is to see the performance of the whole team.

The Mosaic team on the opposite side also played very well, so let's work hard.

While fighting for the state, the head coach's personnel adjustments to tactical changes are also the top priority.

When the status of the players is almost the same, it will test the ability of the head coach.

One general is incompetent, and the three armies are exhausted, this is not just talk.

The typical representative is a certain pig-headed coach.

Coach Terry replaced the lineup of Beverly, Connet Lee, Harrell, Yi Jianlian, and Zubac.

For the Mosaic team, Harden continued to play, and the other four positions became Lu Wei, Ariza, veteran Corey Brewer, and Anderson.

With this lineup of the Trail Blazers on the field, the defensive ability suddenly improved.

Except for Yi Jianlian, the rest of the players on the field can be called defensive champions among players in the same position.

Connett Lee Needle 3D, Beverly and Harrell have defense-level defensive capabilities, and the European great Pyrenees Zubac is good at fighting against the tough style of the ball.

Even Yi Jianlian, who has the weakest defense on the surface, has not been a fool for nothing in the past few years in the Blazers. He has been able to do a single defense on the court without delaying his legs, and he is able to assist in defense with ease.

In the second half of the first quarter, Harrell blocked Ariza's breakthrough layup twice, and Mosaic's offensive rhythm was abruptly interrupted!

The further we play, the Mosaic team can output steadily except for Harden, and all other players on the field are defended to scum, and even the normal offensive system is difficult to operate.

In the end, the offensive end of the Mosaic team can only become Harden's one-man show.

After the first quarter, the Mosaic team was only 33 points behind the Blazers at 38:5, but Mosaic coach D'Antoni frowned, because this did not meet his expectations at all.

In his vision, after the first quarter, it should be Harden who continues to drive the team's offense. As a result, Harden attacks alone, and the other four can only contribute negative effects.

If it weren't for the firepower of our general, Big Beard, who scored 15 points alone in the first quarter, I'm afraid the point difference would have been widened by double digits.

This Trail Blazers is terrible, not only the starting lineup is terrible, but also the rotation lineup.

D'Antoni couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

(End of this chapter)