ace marshal

Chapter 885 The Price of Growth (Part [-])
Gooden, Telfair and some cash were sent to the Cavaliers in exchange for the Cavaliers' 2010 first-round pick and Jamison.

Thornton and Outlaw were sent to the Orlando Magic in exchange for the Magic's 2010 second-round pick and 2011 unprotected first-round pick.

Before the trade deadline, the Clippers made two such deals.

This is also the deal that the Clippers management and Lan Shengli most want to reach.

The Clippers sent away some players who were not within the team's plan and got valuable draft picks.

With a "bole" like Lan Shengli, even at the end of the first round, even in the second round, the Clippers can still select Maxima.

It was already the All-Star game during the conversation, and the team ushered in a rare holiday.

But Lan Shengli was not idle. After all, with so many draft picks, it must be carefully investigated.

However, it is impossible for an NBA head coach to go to the university arena to watch the game in person, so Lan Shengli gave the scouts the list of what he thought to be the key inspection targets.

Let the scouts do the fieldwork.

And Lan Shengli was in the office of the team base, watching one NCAA game after another, looking for Maxima.

"In the current team, there is Harden at the back line, Jordan Jr. at the inside line, and Johnson at the front line, but Johnson is not a player who can be trained as a core player, at most he is a functional player, so the next step is to The most important thing is to choose a small forward with both offense and defense~!!”

Lan Shengli thought about it, planning a blueprint for the team's future and the team's rebuilding plan.

The All-Star Game ended soon, and the regular season entered the final stage.

The Clippers have now fallen to the No.11 position in the West.

And according to the recent trend of the Clippers' winning percentage, it is very likely that they will continue to fall.

The Clippers did not lose every game, but at critical moments, the problem of young players' lack of game experience was very obvious.

This can be regarded as the process that young players must go through in the growth stage, and it can be regarded as the price of growth.

The camera came to the Pepsi Center, home of the Denver Nuggets. The game between the Clippers and the Nuggets has reached the final moment.

"Yeah~!!!"

With the standing and cheering of the fans, the game has no suspense.

The Clippers "no accident" received another disastrous defeat in the away game, setting the team's longest seven-game losing streak in the season.

Harden and other young players are completely lost in Denver.

Harden only scored 7 points and made 4 turnovers in the whole game. His performance was very sluggish.

The performance of other players is also average. The Clippers were short-handed after the trade, but now this situation is even more serious.

Today's Clippers feel a bit like "lambs to be slaughtered".

"Before we had won six games in a row, now we have lost seven games in a row, do you know what it means~?!"

In the locker room, Lan Shengli asked the players.

The team members didn't answer either, and they didn't even face Lan Shengli squarely.

"This shows one thing~!!, whether it is a winning streak or a losing streak, it will end sooner or later, and what we have to do is to use the same state and the same concentration to treat each game~!"

Lan Shengli explained.

"The Nuggets are a strong team, but they have had troughs before, and we will definitely become a strong team in the future, so the trough is only temporary. Everyone cheers up, not for anything else, just to end the losing streak~! !"

Lan Shengli continued to encourage the players.

What Lan Shengli said is quite encouraging, but the reality is that it is not so easy for the Clippers to end their losing streak.

Because next, their opponent is the city brothers - the Los Angeles Lakers.

While speaking, the Clippers have returned to Los Angeles.

Although the Clippers are playing at home against the Lakers this time, because the influence of the two teams in the Los Angeles area is too different, the Clippers can only show it on the floor and on the jerseys. , The fans are supporting the Lakers and Kobe Bryant.

Perhaps because of the influence of the seven-game losing streak, or because the pain of being reversed in the opening game is still in my heart, the Clippers played very proactively after the start of the game.

There are very few turnovers, the outside shooting rate is also very high, and the entire team is in excellent condition.

Just like the opener, the Clippers led the Lakers by as much as 15 points in the first half.

"We lost to any opponent in the seven-game losing streak. There is a reason. There is also a reason to have the opportunity to end the losing streak. That is, I have seen your growth and progress, which is visible to the naked eye, so I hope we can defend our belongings. Our home, let those guys who try to turn the Clippers home into the Lakers home away, we have to use our performance to let those people know that Staples is not just the Lakers home!!"

During the intermission, Lan Shengli encouraged the players in the locker room.

It is a very ideal situation to be able to defeat the Lakers and end the losing streak.

And for these young players, having the opportunity to defeat the defending champion is also an improvement in their confidence in the game.

While speaking, the second half of the game has already started.

Like the opening game, the Lakers, who were behind by a large score, looked like a lion just waking up, and Kobe led the defending champion to catch up.

"Swipe~!!"

Kobe Bryant's signature turnaround hit.

"Swipe~!!"

Gasol made a mid-range shot.

"Dangdang~, brush~!!"

Artest made a long three-pointer from the outside.

The Lakers are more focused on the offensive end, their shooting percentage has skyrocketed, and they put a lot of pressure on the Clippers on the defensive end.

This allowed the Clippers' young players to start making mistakes.

24-second offensive violations, passing the ball out of bounds, three-second offensive, and various mistakes frequently occurred.

"Dum~!!!"

Lan Shengli couldn't sit idly by, so he had to ask for a timeout to remind the players.

"Everyone must forget about the scoreboard~!!, you must show a mentality of fighting against your opponent~!!, you must concentrate, be firm like you did in the first half~!!, and don't double-team Kobe on the defensive end , Kobe's passing threat is very great now, when Gasol takes the ball from the middle distance and plays the triangle offense, he puts pressure on the ball holder and interferes with his passing vision~!!, strengthen the defensive strength~!!!"

Lan Shengli urged.

If the game was a huge deficit from the very beginning, maybe Lan Shengli would not be so serious. After all, there are really not many opportunities to win the defending champion.

Lan Shengli doesn't want to be reversed by the Lakers like in the opening game.

But the reality is that the Lakers have evened the point difference after the third quarter, and the two sides have come to the same starting line.

(End of this chapter)