The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 205
The three days of the All-Stars also passed quickly. Zhang Xiaotian stayed in the hotel by himself most of the time.

Communication with people is so-so, he is the type who neither refuses nor is good at.

After the All-Star Weekend, each team will go all out to playoff strategy.

Even if they are hopeless in the playoffs, they will start preparing for next season.

A team like the Heat will reserve some strength while ensuring the record. As for those marginal teams in the playoffs, they have to use 120% of their strength to fight hard.

The Mavericks they met after the All-Star Game belonged to those who wanted to fight for tickets to the playoffs.

The Western Conference is strong and weak, which leads to the fact that a team like the Mavericks with a winning rate of more than 50% may not necessarily make it to the playoffs.

In addition to the Heat and Pacers in the East, there are a lot of teams with relatively average strengths and weaknesses. It is easier to enter the playoffs with a winning percentage of more than 50%.

The Mavericks are also strong offensively and weak defensively. The main reason is that the players are too old. Defensive players like Marion can no longer do what they used to because of their age.

With Wade's comeback, the Heat's current lineup is also complete.

The old problem of the Heat's rebounding appeared at the beginning of the game between the two sides, but the Mavericks couldn't find a player who could limit James at all.

When James can play at will, it doesn't matter if the Heat lose rebounds.

Because they can completely restrict the opponent's outside line, it is not enough to have rebounds and not score.

However, the Mavericks have Carter, Brandon White and others on the bench, and they still have to take advantage of the rotation period. Most of the time, they actually play Carter and the Heat to play the first and fourth juniors.

It's just that their big, four, and small four are all at the old man level. Although the Heat also have many veterans on the team, they are all rotation players, and the starting five players are still in their prime.

And they played with the Heat's lineup, so they couldn't guard James even more.

Whether it's Carter or Marion, James can pass with one acceleration. Does he expect Nowitzki to help defend? Nowitzki was not good at this when he was young.

So although the Mavericks gritted their teeth to prevent the score from being stretched too much, the situation is still getting better and better for the Heat.

That is to say, Wade was holding back and playing, but when Zhang Xiaotian also broke out in the second half, the Mavericks collapsed and the Heat easily won the game.

Then, there is only the last one left in the Western Conference.

Because they were separated by the All-Star Weekend, they didn't seem too tired this time.

However, their last opponent is the Thunder, a strong team in the Western Conference, and it is the Thunder with a complete lineup.

Westbrook just came back this time, and this guy is also an extremely proud player. Generally, players who haven't played for a long time will choose to come back to find their form when they play against underdogs. But he deliberately came back when he played against the Heat with the best record.

He also intends to prove to everyone that injuries will not affect him.

Facing the Heat, the Thunder still stubbornly put out his starting lineup, although they knew that Kendrick Perkins, whose defensive ability had regressed, was useless against the Heat.

Westbrook started aggressively, first forcing Chalmers to make mistakes, and then scoring strongly.

His eyes are sharp, the meaning is obvious, he is still so powerful.

However, this momentum didn't last long. He didn't play well this season. Even if he was a basketball god, he wouldn't be fine in his first game.

Then he showed that he was not suitable, and he continued to strike iron.

But the biggest problem is not Westbrook's side. In the duel between Durant and James, James has a clear advantage.

After the All-Star Weekend, James was in a hot state and scored 42 points in the last game. Today it seems that he is still unstoppable.

The Thunder can only replace players honestly. In fact, these few minutes are completely wasted. Scott Brooks is too ignorant of flexibility, or too confident.

Maybe it's because the couple didn't have a partner for a while, and they obviously didn't feel it at first.

Only Ibaka played well, grabbing offensive rebounds and making consecutive hits.

However, the Thunder and the Heat are the same type of team. The boss in the team is too strong, so that when the boss does not perform well, other players will be a little at a loss.

The Heat seized the opportunity and quickly established a double-digit lead in the first quarter.

However, they are still a strong team, and they recovered relatively quickly. Through the adjustment of the rotation period, they still slowly played out their advantages.

Of course, several main players of the Heat also took advantage of this time to rest for a while, but fortunately they had enough energy for a decisive battle in the second half.

It turns out that Fisher's outburst last time was just an accident, and the Heat didn't give him any chance in this game.

At the end of the first half, the Heat also led by 7 points.

In fact, this game is better than last time. Westbrook, who just came back, has not kept up with his momentum, and he can't play for such a long time. It will take time for him to integrate with the team. The Heat will restrict Durant. good.

In the third quarter, Zhang Xiaotian didn't show much, but he was not in a hurry. Most of the Heat's opportunities now focused on James. The Thunder strengthened their defense in the second half, but they still didn't restrict James.

As long as the All-Star level players are in good condition, it is really difficult to guard against.

In the third quarter, the Heat once led by 20 points, and Durant hit consecutive hits in the rotation period to catch up with only 11 points.

But at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Zhang Xiaotian scored 5 points in a row, and the Heat once again widened the gap with the opponent.

By this time, the Thunder had run out of options. Of course, they didn't fight desperately, because the difference in points was not five or six points, so both young and old should rest.

Almost halfway through the fourth quarter, the two sides switched to the main lineup.

James made a tough breakthrough as soon as he came up, but it was this breakthrough that found an accident. James was injured by Ibaka's elbow on the face and left the field early.

However, the situation of the game has already left the field at this time. Even if James leaves, Wade, Bosh and Zhang Xiaotian can completely suppress each other.

In the last away game in the West, they still won by a huge advantage of 20 points.

However, there was still some trouble when James was smashed, and the team took the opportunity to give him a rest.

Athletes have too much strength, and even ordinary people's seemingly insignificant movements may cause a lot of damage.

In order to protect the face, James also customized a protective gear.

Many players in the league have experienced things like Mask Man.

Therefore, even on the court, it is very important to protect the face.

Injuries, especially minor injuries, the athletes take it very seriously, but the fans can't accept it, because the referee didn't call the foul.

The Heat want to feel sad, the referee's whistle is sometimes subjective, and they also want to get some care. Zhang Xiaotian also cooperated and posted a photo of James wearing a mask on social media.

(End of this chapter)