The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 501 Evaluation
It often happens in the league to change the outcome of a game because a certain player is in good condition.

Rubio has now scored 30+10, and has dragged the suspense of victory to the last moment.

The Jazz are now attacking very smoothly, and have also adjusted Zhang Xiaotian's defense. They only make up defenses and do not pinch. Their two inside lanes have the ability to assist in defense. The idea is to limit Zhang Xiaotian two or three times, and then the team relies on This chance wins the game.

There is no way, and it is also a gamble. The Spurs are too dangerous outside the three-point line.

Zhang Xiaotian held the ball, Leonard came over to cover, the two cooperated very tacitly, when Leonard stopped, Zhang Xiaotian started, one step wiped the Jazz defender, Zhang Xiaotian immediately pulled up.

He didn't choose to break through the ball, nor did he directly adjust the Jazz's inside line, but responded in another way, that is, the mid-range.

Unless the pick-and-roll comes to flank him, otherwise Zhang Xiaotian's move will be impossible to prevent.

They can also hope that Zhang Xiaotian will not be so accurate, in fact, the Jazz are also waiting.

For the game, a lot of time needs to be patient, and then seize the opportunities that suddenly appear.

If it were other stars, maybe they would give their opponents a chance, maybe they wouldn't, but Zhang Xiaotian definitely wouldn't.

Most of his current abilities have exceeded the limit of the All-Star level. If there is no defensive player to block him directly, his shooting rate will be infinitely close to 100%.

At 2 minutes and 29 seconds, Zhang Xiaotian hit again, and the point difference between the two sides became 5 points for the fourth time.

The Jazz finally couldn't sit still, expecting a player of Zhang Xiaotian's level to make mistakes. Now it seems a bit whimsical, but they really have no better way.

Is it better to bet on other Spurs players? Coach Schneider wiped the sweat from his forehead with his cuff, not caring about staining his expensive suit.

As long as the offense is better and the defense is difficult to choose, he hopes that the offense can give him some surprises.

Facts have proved that their performance today is already a joke, and it is obviously inappropriate to expect too much.

Ingles hit the iron with a three-pointer, and Rubio forcibly missed the shot.

Asking for more often leads to losing faster. After Zhang Xiaotian picked and rolled Leonard again, Leonard received the ball and hit a three-pointer. The time was 27 seconds, and the Spurs led by 6 points.

After the Jazz missed another three-pointer after a timeout, the game was concluded.

After a slightly tortuous process, the Spurs avoided losing streak.

However, this game also reminded the Spurs that in the second half of the season, some teams are going to work hard, and the Spurs must be mentally prepared if they want to hit better results.

After playing the Jazz, the Spurs have a few days off.

The team participated in community activities, and the training was slightly adjusted, mainly to relieve the fatigue of the players.

On February 2, the Spurs were a guest in Phoenix and slaughtered the Suns at halftime.

The entire second half turned into garbage time, and all thirteen Spurs players came on the court to have a good time.

But then, the Spurs played away against the Warriors. In the first half, the Spurs capsized in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Zhang Xiaotian struggled for half a quarter and failed to recover. Popovich chose to give up.

After losing to the Rockets and the Warriors one after another, the public opinion suddenly changed a lot.

Public Enemy The Spurs have become a pseudo-strong team in many people's minds. Many people swear that the Spurs will not be able to get out of the Western Conference this season, or even make it to the Western Conference Finals. It was just luck to win the championship last season.

Although the team asked players not to care about such topics, many teammates were still very upset.

These two games were not played well enough, but it is not necessarily true to say that there is a gap between everyone.

To be honest, Zhang Xiaotian still feels that the Spurs have a big advantage, but Popovich likes to play tricks during the regular season, basically the main players play less time than the opponent.

The duel between strong teams changes in an instant, and it is easy to lose if you don't try your best.

So many fans like to say that the Spurs regular season is different from the playoffs. In fact, the old man's methods are not new. It seems that he didn't pay so much attention to the usual tests when he was a student. He will be happy when he gets better in the official test.

Doing so can help players build confidence in the playoffs. If they tell too many lies, they will believe them, and the Spurs players also believe that they will be stronger in the playoffs.

But this approach often backfires, that is, it has not tried the team's bottom line, and it is too late in the playoffs, and it is easy to lose.

However, the psychological hint of the Spurs is also traditional. There was an experienced GDP end before, and now there is Zhang Xiaotian who is cheating. Popovich's tricks can still be played for the time being.

But losing was still a bit aggrieved, Zhang Xiaotian also went to talk to the head coach.

He told Popovich not to replace him easily in the fourth quarter. In addition to his obsession with winning, Zhang Xiaotian also wanted to maintain good statistics.

Popovich definitely understands this aspect, but he also has a mature coaching method. Even if Zhang Xiaotian repeatedly stated that he would not be injured because of this, he did not get a completely positive reply.

It is certain that the Spurs still have strength, but Zhang Xiaotian also feels very dangerous about the scoring explosiveness of the Rockets and Warriors. When they meet them in the playoffs, it is absolutely impossible for the team to relax even for a second.

"Don't practice so hard, be careful to hurt yourself again."

"No, it has been delayed for so much time. If I don't practice, I will be pulled down."

Zhang Xiaotian can't say much about Leonard, who is not good at it, "Why don't we play a few games and see if your extra training during this period of time has any effect."

With a blank expression on his face, Leonard came to Zhang Xiaotian and put on a defensive posture.

There is another advantage of having more All-Star players on the team, that is, there are often opportunities to compete at the same level, which can keep people's fighting spirit high at any time.

Regardless of how the outside world judges, the goal of the Spurs is to defend the title.

The new Spurs must do what the old guys failed to do.

Before the All-Star weekend, the Spurs will play back-to-back away games, and Zhang Xiaotian also hopes to welcome the All-Star trip with victory.

The opponent is the Jazz again, or the Jazz returned by Mitchell.

But this time Rubio was unable to play, and the fate of the Jazz was a bit bumpy, but in this case they can still maintain their competitiveness, which is enough to show their tenacity.

Dealing with such a team cannot be taken lightly at any time.

The Spurs are rarely prepared to take a rest this time, but Aldridge needs to adjust because of a minor injury, and he will not play before the All-Star.

The Spurs still put Danny Green in the starting lineup to play the first and fourth juniors, but without Aldridge, their first and fourth juniors are a bit awkward and can only attack from the outside.

If this lineup wants to perform well, Zhang Xiaotian has to bear a greater responsibility.

Of course, he is bound to do so.

(End of this chapter)