The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 88 The Enviable Team

Coming out of Popovich's office, Zhang Xiaotian was not in a good mood.

Popovich is still amiable, but he wants to increase his weight in the team. Obviously, he can't convince the old man just by his performance at some critical moments.

As the head coach of the team, Popovich is not interested in miracles, he needs a stable ability.

What he needs is a player who can show in training and can also play steadily in the first three quarters of the game.

Of course, no one will dislike Mr. Key. Even in the game against the Suns, Popovich will not use Zhang Xiaotian, but he will not always use him.

Zhang Xiaotian's position is to be a substitute, the big heart at critical moments, but not the cornerstone of the team, not the most important part.

"You're not happy even after winning the game. I'm losing money every day. You should come and comfort me."

"Anyway, it's a loss. You'd better not work overtime. Come back and let's play games together."

"Really, in fact, I already feel that I am not a career-oriented strong woman... Well, I was encouraged by you."

Zhang Xiaotian was stunned, he thought Yang Feiyu would be angry for a moment, but he didn't expect this guy to react like this.

That's fine, what do people do when they are so tired in life.

But his basketball career is still different, he is not that stupid girl, he likes to play.

Time came to March, and the competition among teams with playoff ambitions became increasingly fierce.

Of course, the Spurs, a strong team at the top of the league, don't need to worry about playoff spots at all.

What they have to do is to keep the players in good condition, so that they can make some gains in the playoffs.

And those teams that have no extravagant expectations for results are basically muddling along.

In the home game against the Kings again, the Spurs played very easily. They played extremely smooth team basketball from the first quarter, and the Kings' defense was also very cooperative.

Leading by 30 points in three quarters, Popovich was more than happy to let the main rotation players rest together.

It was the same situation against the Pistons on March 3. This time they led by 3 points in less than three quarters. Some of the main players were not as strong as the role players.

Popovich likes this kind of game. If the main players get enough rest and the marginal players get full exercise, the team's condition will get better and better, and winning will become easier and easier. This is a virtuous circle.

However, the Spurs ranked first in the Western Conference in the regular season, which was the case in the first two seasons.

Popovich has set his sights on the playoffs. Duncan is no longer omnipotent. At that time, he needs more people from the team to stand up.

On March 3, it was still at home, but this time they met the Bulls, the powerhouse in the East.

The problem for the Bulls now is that they don't have an absolute leader, but without Rose, they are also a tough nut to crack.

And at the same time of the winning streak, the Spurs outside core Parker has some ankle problems and will rest for a while.

With Parker absent, taking more responsibility on the offensive end is not a backup player, but Leonard.

Leonard also lived up to expectations, and he was absolutely not soft when it was time to make a move.

From Leonard's growth, we can know that the Spurs really have a hand in training players.

The two sides played inextricably in the first half, and Jimmy Butler was very excited to face Zhang Xiaotian again.

But he didn't dare to speak big this time, even though he had the upper hand in the first half, he was always on guard against Zhang Xiaotian's counterattack.

Zhang Xiaotian did counterattack, and he counterattacked with the Spurs' rotation.

The Bulls are actually strong and strong, but injuries continue. Now the main lineup is still relatively strong, but there are indeed no substitutes.

As soon as Manu Ginobili, Mills, and Zhang Xiaotian showed their strength in rotation, the Bulls realized that they were leading by more than ten points. The clock was already the last quarter, and they could only choose to surrender after struggling.

The Spurs are strong, they are strong, they are invincible with or without players.

After Lectra beat the Bulls, the media was full of hymns.

They are very used to the strength of the Spurs, but during this period of time, they crushed others at every turn. They were all weak teams. The Bulls defended very tightly, and they were still killed by them.

What is also enviable about the Spurs is that they can always find some treasures, such as second-round picks and undrafted picks. They may not be particularly strong, but they are especially useful in the hands of Popovich.

Although Leonard was in the first round, he was 15th and was traded by the Spurs. Why did he get up so quickly? Every year is a strong team, so he can't accept it.

So, the Spurs were finally sucked to death.

On March 3, they played against the Trail Blazers, who were not very competitive in the West, at home. As a result, they played well in the first half, but were taken away by Lillard in the second half.

Popovich doesn't care much, a wave?A wave of flow is good, can't the main force rest again, anyway, losing a game can't shake their position.

So the Spurs lost 30 points, and Lillard was in high spirits.

The media didn't feel like they were being slapped in the face at all, instead they bragged about Lillard and stepped on Zhang Xiaotian a few times by the way, who made this matter involved in the rookie game again.

After two full days of rest, the Spurs encountered a real challenge, the Thunder, the No. [-] player in the Western Conference.

Although the Thunder did not have Harden this season, they are still strong and strong. The main players are both young and Ibaka, and Martin is also on the bench. From the perspective of record, it is better than when Harden was present.

So even if Harden played well in the Rockets, the current Thunder can boast that their decision was not wrong.

Leonard's defense is very strong, but it is obviously not so easy to limit Durant. At Durant's level, no one can limit them alone.

At this level in the league now, there are only so-so people, less than ten, the level of ruthless characters in the All-Stars.

In fact, for the Spurs, Ibaka is more troublesome than Durant.

Ibaka's physical fitness is also very good. Although Duncan can still play, he really can't grab rebounds against a young and strong insider.

Suffering from rebounds, and without Parker's strong point, the Spurs were very passive at first.

But what makes the Spurs better than other teams is that when the main force can't play, the substitute can often recover blood.

Among the Spurs' rotation players, the backcourt can be said to be a bunch of strong players. Ginobili is a regular burst, Mills and Gary Neal are intermittent bursts, and Zhang Xiaotian is also stable in front of a team like the Thunder without a backup striker. very.

After the substitute returned blood, the main players also slowed down.

Popovich did not continue to let Duncan fight inside, but took the initiative to Leonard.

Leonard once again showed his superstar temperament, scoring two and three points in turn, showing no mercy in front of Durant.

Zhang Xiaotian is also full of enthusiasm, what Leonard is doing now is what he wants to do.

(End of this chapter)