The invincible kryptonite of basketball

Davis suffered a sore shoulder after the last game and may miss the tiebreaker.

After the training, the players all left the locker room one after another, looking a little downcast in their momentum.

Tang Tian didn't go back to the hotel right away, but went to the hospital next door, where Davis was undergoing recovery treatment.

"Don."

Seeing Tang Tian approaching, Davis forced a smile on his face.

He looked even more disappointed than the rest of the team.

He should be the most frustrated one if he can't play the tiebreaker.

After finishing the treatment, Tang Tian and Davis sat down and chatted.

"I'm going to play a tie-break."

Tang Tian was surprised when Davis spoke.

"I'm going to get a block shot."

Under Tang Tian's surprised eyes, Davis continued.

"no, you can not."

Tang Tian thought that Davis' injury had changed, but he didn't expect to hear this, so he immediately said with a straight face.

The closed needle is to mix the therapeutic drug with the hormone and inject it into the vein of the injured part.

On the one hand, it reduces inflammation and relieves pain, on the other hand, it numbs the injured part, relieves pain caused by inflammation, and eliminates fluid accumulation.

This kind of thing seems to work well, but because it involves hormones, the side effects are very serious.

Wounds heal slowly, body functions decline, and endocrine disorders are all possible.

And in the case of playing closed games, it is easy to get injured again, leaving the root of the disease.

Therefore, athletes are very cautious when choosing closed needles.

There are countless counterexamples of this kind.

The most well-known is Tracy McGrady. In the first round of 08, he played closed games in order to win. Not only did he fail to win, but he also changed from a young man in fresh clothes who scored like cutting melons and vegetables in the second year to a A fat man who bounced only 30cm, dunked an empty basket and was covered by the basket.

There is also Ibaka of the Thunder, who has been closed in the Western Conference finals in history, and eventually changed from a best defensive player to an ordinary rotation level.

There are countless cases like this.

And more importantly, such efforts are not worth the candle.

Although these players who play closed games barely play, the results are not good. The general result is to lose, and their careers are also greatly affected.

The Pelicans are in a similar situation now. It is difficult to play with Davis in the tie-break, let alone Davis who is forced to play in a closed game.

Tang Tian is someone who has experienced it, and he knows that Davis listens to him very much, so his attitude is very tough.

Davis was silent after listening, and it took him a while to speak.

"I know the Willis Reed story, and the team needs me to play."

Tang Tian froze for a moment when he heard this.

Among the players who play closed games, Willis Reid is a rare success, and "Reid's return" is also the most classic moment in NBA history.

Reid, as the legendary center of the Knicks, is an existence that can compete with Bill Russell.

As the star of the Knicks at the time, he led the team to play five games against the Lakers in the Finals, leading 3-2.

But he left with a knee injury in Game 3, and the Lakers tied the series at 3-[-].

Moreover, Reid's situation at the time could not make the tiebreaker, and the Lakers won the championship in all likelihood.

But Reid was not willing to give up, and played in a closed game in the tiebreaker, and made consecutive shots above Chamberlain's head at the beginning of the game.

But his injury was too serious, and the sealing effect was gone soon, and he couldn't insist on being substituted.

But miraculously, inspired by the strong spiritual appeal and belief of "Reed's Return", the Knicks did not give up, won the game in one go, and successfully won the first NBA championship in team history.

This is the classic history. Davis said this example. Obviously, although he is cute, he also has the same competitive spirit as Reid.

Chapter 548 This Is Just the Beginning (Fourth Change!)

"No, you can't do that."

However, Tang Tian's attitude was still the same as before.

"Reed Returns" is inspiring and at one point the second-highest among NBA moments.

But few people have learned about it in depth. The first super center in NBA history to win consecutive regular season MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP retired at the age of 31.

That is, four years after the Reed moment.

The impact of the closed needle is far worse than imagined.

Although the medical conditions are getting better now, it only reduces this risk.

"AD, this is only our first year, and our situation is different from the original Knicks. Even if you play close, we are lucky to win the tiebreaker, and then what? Were we swept by the Spurs?"

Seeing that Davis still wanted to persevere, Tang Tian continued.

Davis didn't say a word when he heard this. His thoughts were relatively simple and he didn't think so far.

But what Tang Tian said is true.

It is not easy for the Pelicans to play against the Spurs. He can't play, and it is difficult for the Pelicans to win.

And what Tang Tian said was also mentioned, this is only their first year, and reaching the Western Conference semifinals in the first year is already very good.

You must know that the Clippers they eliminated in the first round have only reached the Western Conference semifinals once in three years since their formation.

"What we want to have is the future."

Seeing the change in Davis' expression, Tang Tian stood up and patted him on the shoulder and said.

"I still want to play, I can play shut down and play less time."

Davis' words made Tang Tian a little speechless. This guy was so persistent this time, it seemed that he was really unwilling.

Tang Tian was not in a hurry to deny him this time, but took him to consult a doctor.

These hospitals are all cooperating with NBA teams, and they are all doctors of the highest level.

Tang Tian's idea was very simple. If he had to be closed to play, then he would definitely find a way to stop Davis.

Because this is related to the future of Davis and the future of the Pelicans.

But it still makes sense if there are other ways to play Davis.

After some communication, they got good news.

"The shoulder injury in AD is not a hard injury, so there is another way, we can use muscle tape and shoulder pads at the same time, which can minimize the soreness, but it still affects the feel, and it can't be done. confrontation."

What the doctor said was a backup plan.

I didn't say it before because all this plan can do is to ensure that Davis plays, which has a great impact on his competitive state.

"I accept."

Davis made a choice, and he had to.

In the second day's training session, Davis appeared on the training ground wearing shoulder pads.

Before practice began, Williams also announced that Davis would start Game [-].

This boosted the morale of the Pelicans. Although they are still physically and mentally exhausted, their self-confidence has improved significantly compared to yesterday.

This is the "Reed effect".

That night, the tiebreaker between the Pelicans and the Grizzlies officially kicked off at the New Orleans Arena.

Because the final matchup in the East has been released (Heat, Pacers), and the Spurs in the West are also waiting, this tiebreaker has attracted much attention.

The Big Three of TNT also sit in the commentary booth.

At the beginning of the game, Tang Tian and Davis came up and made shots one after another, which made the fans excited.

But Davis was obviously affected by a shoulder injury, especially the defensive deterrence has declined significantly.

Whiteside has been clearly targeted by Jogel until now, and his inexperience is clearly exposed.

The Pelicans played very tenaciously, but it was obviously the feeling of exhaustion.

At halftime, relying on Tang Tian's 15-point halftime performance, the Pelicans entered the second half behind the Grizzlies by 35 points 45-10.

The third quarter became a watershed in the game. Davis' consecutive missed shots made the Grizzlies double-team Tang Tian crazily.

It was very difficult for Tang Tian to make shots against the three layers of defense inside and outside, and his teammates couldn't help him.

In this quarter, the Grizzlies played a disparity of 25 to 10, and the lead after three quarters has reached 25 points.

The reason why the "Reed moment" is called a classic is because it happened only once, and it is too difficult to replicate.

In the last quarter, the Pelicans were also unable to close the score. About 5 minutes before the end, both Tang Tian and Davis were replaced in advance.

The fans at the scene gave them warm applause and cheers.

Davis played with an injury, and Tang had already scored 25 points before the end of the game. The Pelicans had two tie-breakers, and they have far exceeded their expectations here.

The future is bright, and losing here is completely acceptable.

The game on the field was still going on, and Davis watched the score get bigger and bigger, and the circles of his eyes turned red.

In the end, he buried his head in tears.

Seeing this scene, Tang Tian had a new understanding of Davis.

In the past, he only thought that Davis was cute and innocent, but in the past two days, he can feel that he still has a strong competitive spirit.

This is also in line with history. In order to chase the championship in history, Davis chose to leave after playing for the Pelicans for 7 years and saw that there was no hope of winning the championship.

Now that he's in, things like that won't happen again, but the competitive spirit is there.

He reached over to Davis, then reached up and stroked his head.

Davis didn't hide this time.

Tang Tian touched it back and forth a few times, and after experiencing the long-lost feeling, he said:

"AD, this is not the end, this is just the beginning."

Tang Tian also said this sentence to Walker when he won the championship at the University of Kangda.

At that time, they completed the dark horse feat and were about to embark on the journey to the NBA.

Just like the classic "There are tens of thousands of roads, safety first; if driving is not standardized, loved ones will cry."

Saying the same thing in a different context can feel completely different.

What Tang Tian said now was completely different from what he said to Walker back then.

The last time was a rhetoric after success, but this time it was encouragement after failure.

But the same thing is that this is a sentence full of infinite hope.

Davis looked up at Tang Tian suspiciously.

It seemed that he didn't understand the meaning of Tang Tian's words.

"We're going to win it back next season."

Tang Tian didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a while, so he put it in a blunt way.

With the strengthening during the offseason and their growth, they will definitely win back next season and go further in the playoffs.

Davis nodded firmly.

"beep!"

At the final whistle, the Grizzlies beat the Pelicans 96-76 in Game [-] to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year.

This is also the second consecutive year that they have reached the conference finals as the seventh in the Western Conference. They are definitely the most difficult opponents in the playoffs.

After losing to the Grizzlies, the Pelicans also ended their season.