Chapter 287: Injuries and Illnesses
Usually, unless there is a favorite star or a favorite team, most of the time, people like the strong.
Victory is everything, and no one hates the strong.
The Lakers are the most successful and popular club in the NBA because of the league's highest number of championships.
In the entire NBA, in terms of the number of championships, only the Celtics have won 17 championships more than the Lakers.
But of the Celtics' 17 titles, 11 of them were won in ancient times, when the Celtics had a luxurious roster and excellent coaches that almost monopolized the entire league.
That era is still too far away for current fans, compared to the five championships of the Lakers Magic period, the three consecutive championships of the dynasty during the OK combination period, and the recent time range of Kobe's subsequent two championships, which is more impressive.
This is true not only for the NBA, but also for other sports.
In the football world, the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona almost monopolize the vast majority of fans.
The current Wizards have reached their peak in the league, with a gorgeous style of play, a young and energetic lineup and the league's best results as support, and the team's fans are growing rapidly every day.
This has also made the number of All-Star votes for George, Thompson and Leonard have been increasing, although they are still not as good as those old star players, but there are few players in the new generation of players.
The Wizards didn't disappoint their supporters either, continuing to blow the horn of victory and win game after game.
In the regular season in January, the Wizards won all six home games and won eight of their 11 away games, a staggering 82 percent win rate.
You must know that this is in the case of 11 away games in a single month, and the winning rate of the Wizards' home games is far higher than that of the away team, and according to this trend, the Wizards really have the possibility of hitting 70 wins in a single season this season.
However, Wang Xiao knows very well how difficult it is to win 70 wins or more in a single season, although the current Wizards team is very strong, it is slightly worse than the 73-win Warriors in 15-16, even if it is that Warriors team, there is a lot of luck in getting 73 wins.
Because of this, although he wants to break the Bulls' 72-win record, Wang Xiao doesn't want to put too much pressure on the players, most of the players on the Wizards team are not very old, and the pressure to defend the championship is already very big for them.
At the end of January and the time entered February, Wang Xiao increased the intensity of rotation rest, the number of appearances of the main players in the away stadium was reduced, and the time of the game at home was also strictly controlled.
However, in such a cautious situation, accidents are still inevitable.
In early February, in a home game against the Bucks, Caron. Butler crashed his right knee into his opponent during a layup, fell to the ground on the spot, and was examined in detail after the game, and finally announced that the season was reimbursed.
This is something that Wang Xiao and even the whole Wizards team did not expect, especially Wang Xiao, as a traverser, he knew that after Butler was traded to the Mavericks by the Wizards in the 10-11 season, he suffered an injury not long after playing, and was reimbursed for the entire season, so he missed all the games in the entire playoffs and even the final championship of the Mavericks that season.
In this time and space, because of Wang Xiao, a traverser, he was not traded to the Mavericks, and he did not have serious injuries in the 10-11 season, but he was still injured two years later.
Caron. Butler's season reimbursement was a pretty serious blow to the Wizards, and while his playing time shrank further this season, Caron. Butler is still an important scoring point on the bench, and Butler can score second on the entire Wizards bench, behind Jamieson.
Luckily, the Wizards have plenty of reserves at the swingman position. Butler & Chandler. Parsons can come in handy, even Caron. Butler's injury has given them more opportunities to play and perform.
……
Caron. Butler's injury made Wang Xiao more cautious.
He wasn't sure if Butler's injury was an accident or a butterfly effect caused by the absence of injuries in the 10-11 season.
It's not just Cuaron who has an injury history with Wizards players. Butler is the core of the team, point guard Stephen Butler. Curry also has a history of serious injuries on another plane.
In the entire 11-12 season, Curry only played 26 games, and he was constantly injured and stopped, and he was not much better than Rose this season.
It was precisely because of the injury-ridden 11-12 season that the Warriors and Hook Company lost their trust in Curry, and the Warriors were only willing to offer Curry a four-year contract worth $44 million, and Hook Company made a humiliating offer for a sneaker contract.
Now, with the intervention of Wang Xiao, Curry has become two consecutive regular season MVPs, and holds a championship and FMVP, and has just signed a contract with the Wizards with a maximum salary, which is the most proud.
Wang Xiao is worried that Curry will be like Caron. Butler gets injured like that and then the whole season is reimbursed or something, that's damn!
Curry is strong, but there is one weakness that cannot be ignored, and that is that it is too brittle.
As a superstar, while having strong strength, you also need to have a strong body to ensure adequate attendance, such as James, Kobe, Durant and other stars, although they have also had injuries in their long careers, but most of the time they can stay healthy.
Almost subconsciously, Wang Xiao further reduced Curry's playing time, and his average playing time of 35 minutes per game was further reduced to an average of 32 minutes per game, and he would take turns when encountering high-intensity games such as consecutive back-to-backs.
Wang Xiao's special protection of Curry caused Curry's personal data to decline further, from nearly 26 points and 8.5 assists to 23.8 points and 7.9 assists.
Although this statistic can still rank seventh in scoring and fourth in assists, it is obviously a lot inferior to the explosive stats of the previous two seasons.
Curry's reduced playing time and attendance are directly reflected in the team's record.
In January, the Wizards maintained an efficient 82% win rate against 11 away games, but after more home games in February, the Wizards' win rate decreased, losing several away games that they shouldn't have lost.
With the failure of these games that should not be lost, the Wizards have completely lost hope of hitting the winning record, and many fans who expect the Wizards to hit 70 wins this season or even break the Bulls' 72 wins are disappointed.