Chapter 229 [Soaring Power Rankings]
38-21, the Thunder were beaten in the first quarter and lost faster than the previous game.
Before the Warriors didn't have Marion, the Thunder played better. Their tactics are simple, mainly relying on Durant and Westbrook to block and attack, but Marion is very good at blocking and pick-and-roll. Durant is also greatly less efficient under his defense, and it is difficult to break through, and he can only shoot jumpers.
A large number of shots also created a lot of rebounds, and Randolph scored 8 points and 8 rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting in the first quarter, stealing the limelight from Zhou Xuan.
In the second quarter, Margeti, Azubuuk, and Moro partnered on the outside, and Turiaf and Anthony on the inside? Randolph. Randolph Jr. is now in a steady rotation, Brandon? Wright, a high-pick rookie, doesn't have many opportunities to play, and Dolby and Watson can only play for a while while the roster rotates.
The Thunder's bench was too miserable. Earl? Watson, Kyle? Weaver, the small forward is still Durant, Green is not off the court, and the center is Nick? Collison.
The two main forces are present, not that the Thunder want to win this game desperately, but that there is really no one to change. Mason is injured, Joe Smith is injured, and as for Atkins, Wilkins, Swift and others are all team mascots, they can only be blown up when they play. With such rotten bench depth, it's not difficult to understand why the Thunder are 13-43 at the bottom of the West.
Durant and Green can score, but the Warriors have a stronger attack combination on the outside and a significant height advantage on the inside. The score continued to widen.
After the official timeout, Nelson Sr. replaced Marion, Jackson, and Ellis, and still let Randolph and Zhou Xuan rest off the court. With a lead of more than 20 points, he felt the need to let the star player play a little less. The next game against the Clippers will be another battle without suspense, and in the past few days, Zhou Xuan and others can fully recover their physical strength.
Zhou Xuan won the MVP during the star game, he worked very hard, he worked hard against the Lakers, and the old Nelson was also overdrawn.
Zhou Xuan has played the most minutes of any Warriors player, both averaging and total. When he first came, he felt that he could play more than 30 minutes a game, but he didn't expect to become the team's "iron man" now.
Old Nelson said to Zhou Xuan: "Today I am going to let you play less for a while, we will definitely win, your data will be almost good, don't you have any ideas?" ”
"Nope. Winning is the most important thing, and if I play more in this kind of game, the news will say that I am playing statistics. Zhou Xuan said with a smile.
Thanks to the New York Knicks, he is now a lot ahead of Paul in assists, which is not so easy to catch up, and the Hornets are worried about internal and external troubles, and they can't even fast forward in the playoffs, Paul is now under much more pressure than him. Now he's set his sights on the playoffs. Trying to catch up with the Lakers in the regular season and strive for home-court advantage is the most important thing for the Warriors to do.
Zhou Xuan sat with Randolph on the bench for the entire quarter.
Randolph is also tired of brushing up on stats, and his performance since arriving at the Warriors has been truly impressive, with a willingness to be a blue-collar player on the inside, a fierce offensive end, and a consistent scorer. Now people also have a high opinion of him, much better than Jazz Boozer and Jefferson of the Timberwolves.
Record is always key, Randolph played a lot of time in the Knicks before, it was really thankless, it seems that the whole team is not working hard enough for him alone. Now he sits on the court and chats with his teammates to watch the game, and when his teammates play beautiful attacks, he stands up and waves a few towels and cheers, but he looks more like a star.
In the third quarter, Zhou Xuan continued to rest, and the old Nelson arranged a combination of internal and external tactics, with three pitchers on the outside, Morrow, Dubie, and Azubuike, and Zach on the inside? Randolph, Jackson. This tactic can be both run-and-bomb and positional warfare.
Randolph ravaged Kostic in the low post, and the Thunder didn't dare to shrink the defense too tightly, otherwise they would shoot three points from the outside. Nelson Sr. made a surprise move and continued to suppress the Thunder with a bunch of substitutes, with a maximum margin of 34 points.
The score difference was too much, and the Thunder coach was reluctant to let the three main players stay on the court in order to lose less, and they were next in a four-game game of the devil and needed to maintain their physical strength. The three young cores of the Thunder can't beat the Warriors. The inside line has always been at a disadvantage, Malik? Rose, Atkins, Wilkins, Watson and others are too bad.
The Warriors were all benched, Randolph Jr., Wright, Azubuuk, Morrow, and Duby partnered to continue to run. Dubie scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three three-pointers, and by the time he arrived with the Warriors, he shot 44 percent from three-point range and announced a rebirth. Old Nelson did have a bit of a knack for turning stone into gold.
Zhou Xuan played 12 minutes in the first quarter, scored 2 points, 5 assists and 1 steal, and then sat on the bench to cheer for his teammates.
The real powerhouse is not to play with people until the last two minutes of every game, and the stars step up to play key shots, but quickly establish an advantage in the first three quarters and turn the fourth quarter into garbage time. The Warriors already have the demeanor of a strong team.
Westbrook was beaten out of temper, and provoking Zhou Xuan before the game became a joke again. He began to feel that unless they made a transfer or traded for a defensive interior lineman, they couldn't beat the Warriors, and Randolph alone was a big deal.
130 to 100, the Warriors won by 30 points, 7 people scored double-doubles, including 5 substitutes, only two of the main team scored double-doubles, and the others played too shortly, such a Warriors team is undoubtedly more terrifying.
Now there is no need to shout slogans, everyone thinks that the Warriors have the strength to compete for the championship, and the Thunder continue to move forward like the first pick, targeting the beast Griffin. The NCAA tournament is still going on, and this one averages 22 per game. 7 points 14. 4 plates 2. 3 assists 1. 1 steal, 1. The monster with 2 blocks has locked on the champion show, and the others are completely incomparable to him.
After four consecutive wins, the Warriors' 38-20 record is second only to the Lakers and Spurs, and they are third in the West. In a game played at the same time, Nene was absent, and the Nuggets were cleaned up by the Celtics 114-76, and the 37-20 record was overtaken by the Warriors.
Although the time of playing was very short, Zhou Xuan was still sought after by reporters.
The reporter asked: "You are now ranked sixth in the regular season MVP list for the new season, and the short playing time in this game will have any effect on you?" ”
The top three are James, Kobe, and Wade. The data is more beautiful than Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan was able to make the list because of the huge contrast between the Warriors' record and the pre-game prediction. And his popularity is much higher than Randolph's, which represents the warrior. He knew that he had no play, and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, the MVP of the regular season will definitely not be able to choose me, if I am allowed to evaluate it myself, I think I can compete for the best team player award." ”
The reporter said: "There is no such award. ”
"Then I'll have to fight for the assist king and the best rookie." Zhou Xuan smiled.
"You have been on the rookie list for weeks in a row, and if you are selected, you will be the lowest-ranked rookie in NBA history, do you have anything to say about that?"
"I'm the best rookie in the team, and my stats are good, so I'm very happy to get this title, it's the result of the team's efforts, and it has nothing to do with the pick."
For the best rookie, he doesn't need to be so modest. Could it be that if you win the MVP of the Star Game, it is better to only forcibly break through Rose, who plays all kinds of levers? Watching that guy play, Zhou Xuan felt worried about him, and he was brave as if he was ready to scrap it at any time.
The next day, in addition to the news report, the NBA officially announced the latest edition of the team power rankings.
In this list, the Celtics are still in first place, the Warriors, who have been strong recently, have quietly climbed to third place, the Lakers continue to be in second place, and the Cavaliers have fallen to fourth place.
The Warriors have lost only one of their last 17 games, and although they are behind the Cavaliers and Spurs, no one thinks they are weak. There are also experts who feel that they overestimate the Cavaliers, and if they are allowed to play the playoffs with the current Warriors, the result is 0-4 and they are swept.
The Spurs are fifth and the Nuggets are sixth......
In addition, the Rockets became the team with the biggest decline, falling to 21st. Maddie's surgery was reimbursed, Yao Ming was suspended, and after trading Alstom, the Rockets collapsed and suffered a wave of five consecutive defeats.
The depth of the squad is only one aspect, their momentum has collapsed, and the interior line has no pillar that can attract the bag. Scola's stats have improved, but the role of both offensive and defensive ends cannot be compared with Yao Ming. Brooks became a starter, was often booed by the home fans, and also suffered a lot of psychological pressure.
Although Brooks is averaging 10 per game. 3 points 3. 2 assists, but it seems a little insignificant compared to Zhou Xuanyi. Rockets took Richard? Jefferson for Eddie? Griffin, just disgusted the fans for a long time. The abandonment of Azubuk was also dissatisfying, but bearable. Giving up Zhou Xuan may become an eternal pain in the hearts of Rocket fans.
When Alstom was exchanged for Lowry, Maddie couldn't send it away, and Houston fans began to shout "Morey is out"! The fat man carried the big black cauldron for the boss and assistant coach Elston, and became a glorious "backpot man".
The Rocket's current lineup is not reasonable at all, and Yao Ming is a big man on the inside, and he needs to be strengthened. Artest has long publicly expressed his dissatisfaction, saying that some players do not work hard defensively, and Artest himself is a guy who likes to throw waves. At the end of this season, he is a complete free man, and he does not have the strength to win the championship, and he may not stay if the squad is poor. Vaughn? Weaver is in good shape, replacing Maddy as a starter, and his confidence is swelling again, and if he wants to keep him, he is afraid that the Rockets will have to pay a high salary.
Morey doesn't know what to do now, and he's under a lot of pressure.
The boss also asked Morey to find a way to send Yao Ming and Maddie away in the summer. Maddie is easy to do, and there has been an anti-Maddy craze in Houston, and everyone wants him to leave quickly and not use the Rockets as a place to brush up on statistics next season.
However, if Yao Ming is sent away, it will offend the Chinese fans, and it will offend the Rockets fans if he is replaced with someone who is not suitable for the Rockets, and if the record is not good, the boss may be even more dissatisfied, and he must also pay attention to controlling the salary. One more mistake, and Morey was afraid that he would end up in the manager's position.