Chapter 877: Crazy Record, The Last Hurricane
The Clippers' tenacity is beyond many people's imagination, but mentality is something that is constantly changing.
The lawsuits and controversies about Sterling have not stopped for a day, and the hearts of the Clippers players have never been completely relieved, especially the impact of the surrounding public opinion environment on the Clippers players is slowly emerging.
Just think about it, this is also something that is difficult to avoid.
You know, in everything you interview, the Clippers players have to be mentioned about Sterling, the team changes hands at every turn, and the choice of where to go in the future is in front of you, and you will feel endless pressure.
The uncertainty of the future can sometimes be the most torturous, maybe you're still playing hard today, you're told tomorrow that the team is being hosted, and then you have a cheap sale from Los Angeles, which has a good commercial income, to a small city with little popularity, and even your career that was on the rise has fallen to the bottom.
The Clippers, who have a 56-4 record, enter March and have 15 games to play this month. Looking at the locker room, where the mentality has become increasingly impetuous, Ruan Erniu decided to give the Clippers players another bowl of chicken soup.
"I know there's been a lot of talk about your future lately, and I think a lot of people don't know what their future holds, but don't forget that you're a professional and as a professional you should give your all to the game, no matter where you are.
Now that we're on the verge of 56 wins and have 22 games left in the regular season, I think it's time for us to set a goal – a new NBA season win record!"
Whether as the leader of the team or the head coach, Ruan Erniu's words have convinced the Clippers generals, and the first person in the current team is so HOLDING.
When a god-like guy tells you that we want to set a new record, it is not that we can't do it, but that if he is there, he may be able to do it.
Nguyen Er Niu led the Atlanta Hawks to set a new NBA single-season win record in the 08-09 season and 09-10 season - 73 and 75 games respectively.
Speaking of which, the Clippers didn't pay much attention to the regular season record this season, they just won 74 wins and the longest winning streak last year, not to mention that they are experiencing this situation again.
But just as Erniu proposed this idea, the Clippers realized that even if Bruniu didn't mention it, it was entirely possible for them to make new history under normal games.
As Erniu said, there are only 22 games left in the regular season, and if you look at the percentage of wins in the first half of the season, it is entirely possible that they will only lose less than 2 games in the remaining games.
Even if a certain elementary school math is taught by a physical education teacher, the author of the street fighting class will not miscalculate this problem, and if he wins another 20 games, the Clippers will become the all-time number of wins in a single season.
People's fear of the future often comes from a lack of self-confidence and a lack of sense of purpose, and when someone does give you a realistic and achievable goal, the restless heart will naturally calm down.
In the first eight games of mid-March, the Clippers made great progress all the way, beating the Hornets, the Suns, slaughtering the Lakers, narrowly beating the Hawks, and beating the Warriors.
A small goal was completed in stages, and this time there were only 14 games left, and the Clippers would have to win 12 of them to break the record.
Unfortunately, in the next game against the Denver Nuggets, the Clippers suffered another loss.
This season, the Nuggets lost Andre Iguodala from the 76ers, reportedly due to a conflict between former Nuggets head coach George Karl and Brother One, who switched to the Warriors in the offseason, and George Carr, the best coach last season, was also fired at the beginning of the season, and the current head coach of the Nuggets is Brian Shaw.
Some people are destined to work together.
The first brother is the type who is very tough defensively, but disdains to use yin moves, which in some people's eyes is a fair and honest performance, but in some people's eyes, this is a lack of ruthlessness, or self-motivation.
As we all know, even if Jordan and Kobe Bryant have a history of dark elbow injury, the real supergiant can't be screenshotted, because often as soon as you take a screenshot, you will find that their small actions are no less than that of role players, and they can make black materials just by looking for them.
A fierce man like Er Niu dared to attack his predecessors in the rookie season, and the classic was too much of the "cross" to McDyes, and the retired former Pistons center even called Kraft Nguyen a butcher.
At one point, George Carr once accused Iguodala of being a "spy" for the Nuggets at home, citing the fact that he leaked the Nuggets' defensive strategy in the series with the Warriors.
said that it was a defensive strategy, but in fact, seeing that the score gap was too large, he wanted to arrange an opportunity to abolish Stephen Curry.
Of course, the head coach can't just say who is going to kill that on the court, but it is a real thing to become more ferocious and replace Julian Stone, who has played very little regular season minutes, against schoolboys.
Even in the Celestial Empire on the other side of the ocean, Su Junyang, who was in charge of the commentary at the time, saw it the same way, and said that Nuggets were ready to do bad things.
What did Iguodala do then?
He reminded Curry to watch out for the Nuggets' defense during the break.
Later, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson also confirmed the news, telling the media that he had inside information that the Nuggets were interested in hurting Curry, but someone objected?!
Since the rhetoric of both parties can match, the first brother still deserves the hat of "Nugget Spy, Warrior Benefactor".
Looking back at the game, with the departure of the first brother, the Nuggets' record this season has declined, but the iron and blood gene left by George Karl has not been lost, and the Clippers have played quite hard from the beginning of the game, and the two sides have fought fiercely until the end of the quarter.
As a result, Randy Foye, a former Clippers player, stepped up at a critical moment and successfully opened the score on the offensive end with a three-pointer and a 2+1 layup, and sealed the Nuggets victory.
At 108:110, the Clippers suffered a five-game loss of the season after losing to the Grizzlies at the end of February, and stopped their winning streak.
There are 13 games left in the game, but the Clippers have a chance to make a mistake.
Let's take a look at the schedule, two at home, five at home, five at home, plus the last away.
For the Clippers with goals, the hardest thing is undoubtedly that five-game road streak.
Paul privately took the initiative to find Erniu and said: "Should we lower our goals and not take the regular season record too seriously, after all, defending the championship and then building a Clippers dynasty is the first place." ”
Ruan Erniu immediately retorted: "Cannon, I have won five championships, and you also have two rings on your hands after working with me, you tell me, what is the most critical thing to win the championship?"
Without waiting for Chairman Cannon to answer, Er Niu pointed his index finger to his chest and said, "Never underestimate the heart of a champion! That thirst for victory is the foundation on which a dynasty is built." Especially in an eventful time like this, the more times like this, the more you can't admit defeat, and you have to hold on to it even if you grit your teeth!"
persuaded Sancang, Erniu was not idle, he began to hold frequent intra-team meetings, and analyzed the team's situation to everyone again and again.
After a few laps, Erniu felt that after he retired, there was no problem in opening a pyramid scheme lecture class.
The Los Angeles Clippers, who have a unified mind, won the next two home courts first, the Pistons and the Bucks were originally rebuilding teams, and the Bucks' record was even more signed for the champion, and the Clippers didn't spend much effort to get the opponent.
In the next five consecutive away games, the Clippers will play against the Hornets, Mavericks, Rockets, Timberwolves, and Suns.
It's all away from home, and the overall strength of the opponent is not bad, especially the Mavericks and Suns.
The Hornets and Timberwolves are all types of wantless and wantless, unable to get a playoff spot, wanting to compete for the top pick, and their records are better, and this kind of opponent is easy to deal with.
The Rockets basically locked in a 4-5 pick, and in addition to the fierce competition with the Trail Blazers, they have several wins away from the Western giants before and after, so it's not much of a problem.
The toughest games are the Mavericks and Suns, as both teams are battling for the final playoff spot in eighth place in the West, and they'll give it their all against either team.
The Hornets were the first to be taken by the Clippers, and then the back-to-back Clippers faced the Dallas Mavericks.
In a hard-fought battle, the Clippers were in the state of pursuers from the first quarter of the game, and it was not until the second half of the final quarter that they caught up and overtook the score and won the game.
Tonight's culmination is Kawhi Leonard, and tonight's kawaii can be called a one-defense three, from Monta Ellis, Sean Marion to the ageless Vince Carter.
In particular, "Demigods", Carter scored a Macricks-high 23 points in just 28 minutes of rotation, and if it wasn't for Kawaii's last-minute UFO three-pointer, the Clippers would definitely have collapsed in Dallas.
The Los Angeles Clippers, who escaped alive, didn't give their next two opponents, the Rockets and the Timberwolves, much of a chance.
The pickle girl combination clocked out of work in two consecutive games and three quarters and got rid of the opponent, and the five consecutive visitors only had the last opponent left, the Phoenix Suns.
This season, the Clippers have played against the Suns three times in the regular season, and the Clippers have won three times, and they have an absolute advantage psychologically.
But the Suns are a team that is looking to make the playoffs, and the Clippers' recent victory over their direct rivals, the Dallas Mavericks, has made Phoenix want to lay the groundwork for the final spot with a crucial victory.
The Suns' starting lineup for tonight is:
C Miles Plumlee
PF Channing Fry
S.F. P.J. Tucker
SG Gerard Green
PG Goran Dragic
The Clippers are also the main force, striving to win this wave of five consecutive away games with a winning record.
The Clippers, who are bent on winning, encountered big trouble in the first quarter, and it was clear that Phoenix in April was not cold at all, but the Clippers players just felt cold as a whole, how to shoot and how to not.
Except for Erniu, who played normally and scored 11 points in a single quarter, no one in the team scored more than 5 points in a single quarter, and the sound of iron came and went, as if the Suns had added a lid to the visiting team's basket.
At 16:28, the Suns, who were playing at home, did not release enough offensive firepower, but the visitors fell behind in the first quarter by double digits.
In the second quarter of the game, the overall feeling of the Clippers recovered slightly, but it did not improve much.
However, Ruan Erniu ushered in an outbreak, scoring 22 points in a single quarter and hitting 4 three-pointers, supporting the Clippers' performance on the offensive end.
However, tonight's Suns are also open and out, fighting against the defending champions, and the whole team has blossomed more and made full efforts, blocking the Clippers' counterattack more than once.
At 32:37, the Clippers trailed by five points in the first quarter.
At halftime, the score of the two teams came to 48:65, and the Los Angeles people who were playing away had fallen behind by 17 points.
Do you want to lose on the last away game?
In other words, in the next five consecutive home games, in the case of playing against strong teams such as the Mavericks and Thunder, the Clippers will not have any possibility of forbearance.
Is the goal unattainable?
Many Clippers players fell into a frustrated mood, and Nguyen Erniu, who scored 33 points at halftime, only said one sentence in the locker room: "Give me the ball!"
The second half of the game began quickly, but the Suns leader Dragic felt a chill as he stepped onto the court, a strange and familiar feeling, and when he looked up, Kraft Nguyen, who seemed to be a grim reaper, happened to pass by him.
"Oops!"
The claw machine didn't have time for his teammates to be more careful, because the subsequent game completely entered Ruan Erniu's rampage time.
"Brush!", "Brush!", "Brush!"
……
Chase the three-point shot, raise your hand is to shoot!
The bull started firing two steps from beyond the three-point line, and Channing Fry didn't react to the first two shots, followed by all kinds of close wrapping just after halftime, but Kraft relied on the advantage of strength and speed to play Frye without temper with only one or two feints.
The most important thing is that the bull can throw the ball in.
As the three-pointer burrowed into the net again and again, the Suns' on-field commentator Eddie Johnson was completely stunned, and the former best sixth man had never seen such an unreasonable three-point shooter in his career.
When Ruan Erniu hit his 10th three-pointer in a single quarter, the Suns were completely crazy.
Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek on the sidelines simply let PJ Tucker and Frye go to the sidelines, and Gerard Green and Dragic on the side also have the right to help defend if they see the right time.
This is almost a team defending one person, but that's it, the Suns couldn't hold down the crazy Ruan Erniu, and the bull turned on the assault mode after that, hitting the basket several times, and hit his 11th three-pointer in the third quarter at the end of the third quarter.
While breaking his single-quarter three-point record, he also refreshed his single-quarter scoring record and single-quarter three-point shooting record with 15 of 17 shots in a single quarter, including 11 of 12 three-pointers and 1 of 2 free throws, and scored 42 points.
The Clippers overtook the score 93:90, Ruan Erniu, who scored 75 points in the third quarter, did not stop his pace, and in the last quarter of the game, Ruan Erniu continued his strong performance, scoring 13 points in a single quarter, and hit the 18th three-pointer of the game, breaking the single-game three-point shooting record held by himself.
At 118:110, the Clippers defeated the Suns and won the last game of the five-game road streak.
In other words, Ruan Erniu single-handedly killed the Suns, who had excellent hands, because he scored 88 points in the game, which broke Kobe Bryant's 81 points in a single game.
After the game, Abby, the glamorous daughter of Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek, interviewed Ruan Erniu as a reporter, and when asked why he was able to score an incredible 88 points in a single game, Ruan Erniu said with a smile:
"Believe it or not, I'm just thinking about winning!"
Hehe, it doesn't matter believe it or not, anyway, the alliance blew up!