The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 499 Competition Changes
James was in a bad mood. A few days ago, he and Zhang Xiaotian selected candidates together and laughed several times.

After he went down, it was Jeff Green defending Zhang Xiaotian, which felt completely ineffective. Zhang Xiaotian helped the Spurs expand their lead in a few minutes.

James wants to win, especially those games that the outside world pays attention to. He has a good face.

He likes to act like he doesn't care and win games handsomely.

But in recent seasons when he played against Zhang Xiaotian's team, he was always upset.

He has tried his best in today's game, but out of the five starting positions, four were blown.

Their bench lineup is obviously stronger in personal data, but they were taught by the old Spurs and rookies when they played.

When he goes to rest, the team has problems, and he still has to pretend to be calm, which is really tiring.

Soon, James wasn't just tired.

After re-entering the court, James was more closely defended, and he made a mistake when he came up.

Then finally hit a three-pointer, and the Spurs immediately scored 5 points in a row.

He felt impetuous, and his desire to win was not so strong. He just wanted to end the game quickly.

The core players are all unstable, and it's a ghost if the Cavaliers can reverse.

Of course, no matter how good James' mentality is, the Cavaliers have no chance of reversal.

At 3 minutes and 19 seconds, James made another mistake. At this time, the Cavaliers were already behind by double digits.

Two minutes later, the Cavaliers surrendered early, and the Spurs won sixteen consecutive victories.

This defeat has a greater impact on the Cavaliers. They have been questioned this season. If they beat the Spurs, they can breathe a sigh of relief. Now the players' confidence may also be shaken.

The East can't occupy the best position, how can it play against the West with three first-tier teams.

It was already a pain for them to be swept last season. This season they feel even weaker. For a team aiming for a championship, their performance is too substandard.

After the Spurs beat the Cavaliers, they will go to the away game to play back-to-back. Everyone feels normal when they beat the Cavaliers.

At this stage, their battlefield is still in the west, and the meaning of being number one in the west is fundamentally different from previous years.

On January 1, in the away game against the Grizzlies, the Spurs' substitute players played well, eight players scored in double figures, and the once troublesome Grizzlies were settled at halftime.

The Grizzlies are now muddling along, the league structure is obviously changing again, and Zhang Xiaotian still has some feelings about how the once difficult team has become like this.

The Spurs' winning streak did not continue to increase to 76 games this time. They lost to the [-]ers at home.

Ben Simmons was in hot form this time, and the Spurs dug a big hole in the first half, but they didn't fill it in the end.

The 76ers are playing better and better now, which can be said to be a surprise for the East.

The Spurs' insiders also had problems this time. If it comes to the playoffs, Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard will have to take on more responsibilities. They can't take it lightly because of the success of last season.

After being studied in various ways, the defense Zhang Xiaotian encountered became more targeted.

On the training ground, the Spurs players did routines made up of simple tactics over and over again.

To stay at the top, good teamwork and strong personal abilities are indispensable.

In the regular season, team cooperation occupies a larger proportion.

Even if the Spurs are now competing for the No. [-] position in the Western Conference, Popovich will not let a few strong points fight on it. Injuries are much more terrifying than strong opponents.

Of course, they also have choices. The background of a strong team is not something to brag about.

On January 1th, the Spurs faced the Kings, and they killed their opponents like cutting melons and vegetables.

As the season progressed, many games were left without suspense at all.

This is also where the fans are dissatisfied. If the results are not ideal, it is better to make a poor pick, or not to train young players without results, so that they cannot play exciting games.

Competitive sports are always prone to spoilage when they are stained with interests.

This kind of thing is difficult to put an end to, so some teams deserve it because they can't sell tickets well.

Fortunately, things usually have two sides. Teams with news have active players. Now that the stars of the top teams collide, it is simply a festival for fans.

Zhang Xiaotian can't control other people, all he has to do is to help the Spurs win.

The Spurs will have to fight a tough battle at the end of January. Teams like the Nuggets are always on the verge of the playoffs, and they will work hard every game.

Although they play like this in the regular season, even if they barely make it to the playoffs, they will still be dead, but each team has different pursuits, and it is easy for a strong team to encounter them.

The two sides entered the rhythm of confrontation at the beginning of the game. The Nuggets shot a good three-pointer and almost stunned the Spurs, but their poor defense did not turn it into an advantage.

Zhang Xiaotian, Leonard and Aldridge all played well. In terms of individual scoring, the Nuggets are far behind, but their bench performance is better.

The situation in the first half is difficult to define the true strength of a team. At this time, everyone is full of energy, and it is easy to use various tactics when the pressure of victory and defeat is not imminent.

It is often in the second half that the real strength is revealed.

The Nuggets' scoring points are scattered, but they are very threatening outside the three-point line, and their key figure is Jokic. The key is not to score, but to organize.

The current players in the league are becoming more and more comprehensive, but the organizational insiders have not appeared for a long time.

The treasure that the Nuggets picked up in the second round has evolved to threaten strong teams in the league's third season, but it is only a threat, and there is still a long way to go before winning.

This is what the Spurs should focus on guarding against in the second half. It is not to attack, but to cut the connection between him and other players, and the Spurs must guard the three-point line.

In this case, whether it is Aldridge or Dedmon, they must show great strength when facing each other, so as not to allow Jokic to have the opportunity to attack easily.

Without scoring, if there is only a pass, it is difficult to pass a threatening ball. The Spurs know it all too well.

The execution of the Spurs players is still good, and their defensive targeting came up in the third quarter.

It was very successful at the beginning, but Jokic's organizational ability could not be used, and the Nuggets' attack was a bit messy.

But soon there was a problem. It was Jamal Murray who broke the game for the Nuggets. He scored consecutive points and turned the Spurs' targeted defense into a defensive loophole.

In the league, this kind of thing often happens.

Why can't a player suddenly show off his power and can't prevent it? That is because the focus of the defensive system is elsewhere, and the opponent doesn't think he will continue to show off.

It's not that the Spurs didn't expect Jamal Murray's strength, but the opponent's outbreak was too sudden.

By the time they reacted, the Nuggets had already overtaken the score.

Unable to kill the opponent with one stick, the Spurs simply slowed down the pace and left the problem to the final quarter to solve.

(End of this chapter)