NBA: I am the card dealer

The next day.

Back-to-back games went to Orlando again to challenge the Magic once again.

The two sides met a few days ago, but the Nets lost the game at the last minute, which led to their losing streak. Today they are naturally here for revenge.

However, they are playing back-to-back, which is still somewhat challenging. Fortunately, they have ended their losing streak in the previous game, and their morale has been greatly boosted.

In particular, Xue Liancheng scored 55 points in three quarters, injecting great energy into the team.

After all, the confidence brought by having someone to back them up is enough to greatly boost their confidence, especially for young players. They are in the emotional stage of playing, and everything goes smoothly. Once they encounter setbacks, they will easily fall into struggle.

Therefore, the victory in the last game and Xue Liancheng's 55 points did bring them unprecedented strength.

The game begins.

Anunoby rushed forward very aggressively and successfully scored in two consecutive fast breaks.

Then Sabonis Jr. repeatedly grabbed rebounds under the basket and completed the second attack.

Even Carroll’s attitude on defense has become more positive.

They attacked in one go and stopped the Magic directly.

By the time the Magic reacted, they had already gained a certain advantage.

In addition, Xue Liancheng strictly controlled Lonzo Ball, and they had the initiative throughout the first half.

In the second half, the Magic launched a crazy counterattack.

At this time, Xue Liancheng, as the team's backup superstar, began to play a role.

First, he made a pick-and-roll attack, assisting Lonjo Jefferson who cut into the empty space on the other side to score.

Then after passing the ball to Sabonis Jr., he made a circle using Sabonis Jr.'s body as a screen, then took the ball and retreated, pretending to jump, tricking Fournier and successfully getting three free throws.

Then they played a fast break counterattack. Everyone thought Xue Liancheng would rush to the basket and tear apart the Magic's defense, but no one expected that he would just chase after the opponent and make a three-pointer.

Hit again!

……

A series of scores immediately helped the Nets gain a foothold.

In the fourth quarter, the Nets were still leading by 8 points, but the Magic had not given up. After a period of tug-of-war, the gap between the two sides narrowed again.

The time came to the last two minutes.

Xue Liancheng showed his might once again, displaying the style of a true superstar, hitting four consecutive three-pointers, directly destroying the Magic team's plan for a counterattack.

finally.

The Nets defeated the Magic 128:119 and won two consecutive victories.

Thanks to his strong performance in the third quarter and the last two minutes of the game, Xue Liancheng still scored 41 points in the whole game, plus 15 assists and 8 rebounds.

And his efficiency is quite good.

He shot 21 of 13 overall, 10 of 6 from three-point range, and 9 of 9 from free throws. As a guard, it is quite rare to have such a shooting percentage.

But it is very common in Xue Liancheng and did not cause much stir.

阿奴诺比13中7，三分5中1，依旧拿到了15分11篮板的两双数据。

Sabonis Jr. made 5 of 4 shots and also got 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The two still have a lot of problems at the moment, and have made as many mistakes as they should, but their performance on the court has improved visibly.

Moreover, they showed a very good mental outlook, which greatly enhanced the team's vitality on the field.

Carroll enjoyed eating cakes very much, making 9 of 6 shots and 4 of 3 three-pointers, scoring 17 points. His condition has obviously improved a lot.

It is at least several levels better than the 8.9 points per game he averaged in the Raptors period, and it can even be described as incomparable.

The efficiency has improved, and the average points per game has also soared like a rocket. So far, the average is 14.2 points per game, which is somewhat returning to the style of the Hawks period.

of course.

In Xue Liancheng's opinion, Carol is still not in the long-term plan.

reason?

Naturally, it was Carroll's slackness on the defensive end.

Lonjoe Jefferson also performed well, making 10 of 5 shots and scoring 13 points, and his statistics also increased significantly compared to last season.

Crabbe was weak again, making only 5 of 1 shots and scoring 6 points from free throws.

If this situation continues, it will be difficult for Crabbe to make another move. They can only bite the bullet and take on the remaining two years of his contract worth nearly 4000 million US dollars.

Dinwiddie made 15 of 6 shots, and his efficiency is still very unsatisfactory, but he got 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He is currently the team's more reliable ball-holding offensive organizer, so such efficiency is barely acceptable.

Joe Harris made 6 of 4 shots, 4 of 2 three-pointers, and scored 10 points. His current performance is much more stable and reliable than Crabbe.

At least there won't be a situation where he is in great form in one game and then has a cold touch in three games.

And the Magic.

Vucevic had a big outbreak, scoring 22 points and 17 rebounds on 41 of 12 shots, which was the main factor that enabled the Magic to keep entangled with the Nets.

Without Vucevic's wild performance, the Magic would have probably been gone in the third quarter.

In the last game it was Harris, and in this game it was Vucevic, which shows that the Magic have a lot of capable players, and all of them have the potential to become stars.

Fournier made 21 of 8 shots and got comprehensive statistics of 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. At present, Fournier is the most stable player of the Magic, but his physical talent may not support him to dominate both offense and defense, and his offensive ability is also a bit lacking.

Harris made 9 of 4 shots and only scored 11 points, which was a mediocre performance.

朗佐-鲍尔6中2只得到了6分6助攻4篮板2∴抢断1盖帽，表现可谓是一言难尽。

You mean to say he is bad?

His statistics are very comprehensive, with outstanding performances in both offense and defense.

You're saying he performed well?

How good can the three singles be? Especially the scoring and scoring efficiency, which are really poor and unworthy of the second place.

The performance of others was average.

The Magic's problem now is that they still can't find the core of the team. Whether it's Vucevic, Harris, Fournier, or even Lonzo Ball, none of them has a very stable performance. They are good in one game and bad in the next, and their sustainability is too poor.

Coupled with egalitarianism, their positioning in the team is unclear, resulting in them being unable to find their own place.

After the Nets won this game, their record became 2 wins and 4 losses, and they can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But they are not satisfied yet. After all, their goals are very ambitious and they need to go further instead of just being satisfied with making the playoffs.

of course.

With their current winning rate, the playoffs will be a huge challenge.

and so.

They still had no reason to be negligent afterwards.

Every other day.

They returned home to face the Nuggets.

The Nuggets were already shining last season, once challenging for the playoffs and ranking among the top eight. If they hadn't been kicked all the way by the Lakers, they would have had a certain chance of making it to the playoffs.

This season, they added All-Star level power forward Millsap without much personnel loss.

no doubt.

Their goal for the new season is to make the playoffs.

However, things went against their wishes and their situation is not very ideal. They currently have 2 wins and 3 losses and have not shown the momentum of a strong playoff-level team.

When the two teams meet in this situation, it is like bitter melon meeting mustard greens, and the miserable people are in trouble.

The Nuggets' current lineup is still very strong.

Starting lineup: Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler, Millsap, and Jokic.

There are also a group of strong players such as Mudiay, Plumlee, Faried, Lyles and others on the bench. It can be said that there are many strong players, and there is still hope for the playoffs.

But when the game starts, it's a different story.

The Nuggets' defense is very poor, or even nonexistent.

This is not surprising. They don't have a single decent defensive player in their entire lineup. Murray, Harris, Chandler, and even Millsap and Jokic are not known for their defense. This means that their defense is destined to be attacked by thousands of people.

Xue Liancheng particularly likes this kind of offensive and defensive rhythm of the game.

obviously.

Jokic has not grown to the level that can be comparable to him, so in terms of offense, the Nuggets will ultimately be no match for the Nets.

finally.

The Nets won another game, defeating the Nuggets 131:124 and winning three consecutive games.

Xue Liancheng fans finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Finally getting into the rhythm.”

"Xue Liancheng has an absolute winning gene, so I'm not worried about whether they can make it to the playoffs. What I'm worried about is that they won't go far in the playoffs with this lineup."

"The most important thing is that Xue Liancheng has been very aggressive recently!"

"The superstar's strength is absolutely unquestionable."

"Another 40+15, really an early start."

That's right.

本场比赛薛连城再次砍下40+，具体是23中14，三分11中6，罚球8中8，再次爆砍下42分，外加15助攻9篮板的全面数据。

This was his third consecutive game with 40+ points. He was fully engaged in the offense, which was quite terrifying.

of course.

The opponent's lax defense also gave him many easy scoring opportunities. After all, the 0.6-second predictive ability is no joke and can help him capture many sudden scoring opportunities.

And Lonjoe Jefferson once again exploded with his energy, making 12 of 8 shots and contributing 18 points.

丁威迪也迎来了爆发，10中5，三分6中3，拿到了18分4篮板4助攻的数据。

阿奴诺比这场委靡了一些，11中4拿到了10分8篮板，效率虽然不怎么样，但三分5中2还是提供了很大的拉扯空间。

Sabonis Jr. made 6 of 3 shots and got a reversal stats of 8 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. It's not too good, but definitely not bad.

Crabbe scored 8 points with 3 of 8 shots, which is really hard to describe.

On the contrary, his competitor Joe Harris made 11 of 6 shots and 8 of 4 three-pointers, scoring a total of 16 points. His form has become more stable and his three-pointers have become more and more accurate.

Atkinson has also let Joe Harris play more and more minutes, almost equal to that of starting Crabbe.

The Nuggets' offense was also very fierce.

首先约基奇16中9砍下21分14篮板4助攻的全能数据，但目前为止，他们主要进攻发起还是穆雷和哈里斯这两个点。

They did not develop tactics around Jokic, and Jokic was not developed to his maximum offensive potential, which may be one of the reasons why the Nuggets lost.

穆雷已经崭露头角，14中8，罚球8中8，砍下26分5助攻。

Wilson Chandler scored 11 points with 7 of 18 shots. His offensive ability is still very good, but his defense was just average, not too good, but definitely not bad.

Gary Harris, Xue Liancheng's old enemy, has now let go of the grudge. In this game, he scored 13 points with 6 of 14 shots, as fast as ever, but his potential has basically reached its limit.

After all, Harris was no match for Murray, who is also a guard. Whether it was offensive skills, finishing ability, or even three-point continuity and stability, the gap was evident.

After the All-Star Millsap came to the Nuggets, he had a bit of a hard time adapting to the environment. He only scored 14 points with 5 of 13 shots, and his efficiency was a bit embarrassing. However, he also had 11 rebounds and 5 assists, which barely justified this quasi-maximum salary contract.

Mudiay and Plumlee on the bench also performed well.

But they are role players after all and cannot play a decisive role.

After this game, the Nets' record has reached 3 wins and 4 losses, not far from a % winning rate.

only.

They also started to experience a wave of injuries. Powell has not played in several games and Carroll was also absent from this game. This still has a certain impact on them.

Fortunately, the Nets have enough rotations. After the two players are absent, they can still operate in an orderly manner. Lonjoe Jefferson, Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Lopez Jr. and others can all replace them.

rest for a day.

They are at home, playing their last game at the end of October.

This time they are facing the very bad Suns team.

At present, Bledsoe has been officially traded to the Bucks, and the league's landscape has changed dramatically again.

What followed was that the Suns became more determined to play badly.

Everyone thought that the Nets should be able to defeat the opponent without bloodshed, but no one expected that the game would be so intense that the Nets were suppressed to the point of being unable to breathe.

Fortunately, Xue Liancheng was strong enough to turn the tide at the last moment and won the game ahead of time.

In the end, the Nets narrowly defeated the Suns 126:122 and won their fourth game of the season.

Their winning rate finally reached 50%, and they are getting closer and closer to the playoff threshold.

Xue Liancheng was as crazy as ever, shooting 26 of 14, 15 of 8 three-pointers, and 9 of 8 free throws, scoring 44 points again, in addition to 14 assists and 6 rebounds.

This is his fourth consecutive game with 40+ points, showing the ability of a top superstar.

Most importantly, while his statistics were impressive, he also led the team to four consecutive wins, which shattered the rumors that Xue Liancheng, the No. 4 player in the league, could not even make it to the playoffs.

Anunoby made 9 of 5 shots and scored 12 points and 7 rebounds, which was still very stable.

Lonjoe Jefferson was still fierce, scoring 16 points with 8 of 21 shots.

Now, with the help of Xue Liancheng, he has finally let go of his emotions and is playing very happily, but he has become more perfunctory on the defensive end.

Maybe he put too much energy into the offensive end and he no longer has the energy to continue on the defensive end.

This is a huge problem!

Currently the Nets have scored a lot of points, but their opponents have also scored a lot. Why?

The reason is that their attitude on the defensive end is so bad.

Xue Liancheng's purpose of feeding the ball intentionally is to increase their value so that he can then exchange them for players who are willing to defend.