"Stephen and the old man had an argument in the morning, and I heard that the team was going to lay him off." Before boarding, Danny Green said mysteriously.

"Don't talk nonsense." Leonard looked around, and the Spurs were a team that focused on unity.

"It's true, Stephen has privately said a few times that he will trade him without him, and this is his contract year."

Zhang Xiaotian was also a little interested, and when it came to playing time, several of them were competitive.

But it's hard to say anything when everyone sits together on the plane, and Stephen Jackson does have an unhappy look on his side.

They're now flying away and playing the Eagles back-to-back.

The Hawks' former centerpiece, Joe Johnson, left last summer, and the team is now focused on Josh Smith and Al Horford.

Their record isn't too bad in the East, but the injury to Louis Williams, a key figure on their bench in the last game, could have an impact on the team.

Due to the physical condition of the players, Duncan stayed at home to rest, and Ginobili was also suspended due to injury.

It was Dio who started in place of Duncan, and Dio's height certainly couldn't play inside like Duncan, so the Spurs were mainly on the outside at the beginning of the game.

The Hawks used Josh Smith to play the No. 3 position, and Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia both played, which had an advantage in height, but they generally dismantled outside after blocking and dismantling inside, in fact, they were mainly mid-to-long-range shots, not to mention pure pitchers like Kyle Korver.

The two sides went back and forth when the main players were still on the court, and when it came to the rotation stage, the Spurs, who were missing two main rotations, still gained the advantage.

Matt Bonner got the opportunity to play and hit three points in a row, and I have to say that Popovich has a set of players who can generally be used.

And without Louis Williams, the Eagles are really a little unaccustomed.

The height of their bench lineup has dropped, and Zhang Xiaotian has played steadily and maintained a good efficiency.

When he played in the league, he was not very long, and Zhang Xiaotian's ability may not have improved a lot, but because of his vision and the relationship between his opponents, he can already play very confidently and calmly in front of some role players, and can give full play to his advantages.

Stephen Jackson also got a chance to play, but he was immediately replaced by Popovich after missing three consecutive long-range shots.

Popovich would rather give a chance to a marginal man who doesn't play much than let him play.

The first half ended with a 10-point lead for Spurs, and it didn't feel like it was affected by the absence of players.

But once Matt Bonner's point is noticed, there is no chance to play it.

Devin Harris came off the bench in the third quarter and suddenly broke out, scoring 12 points in a single quarter to help the Hawks chase the score back.

During the rotation, the Spurs need someone to step up.

If Zhang Xiaotian can't replace Ginobili's role in the first three quarters, but when the time comes to the last quarter, he can definitely do it.

The Eagles didn't have a pure No. 3 position at all, and rookie Mike Scott, who came off the bench, was too slow, and Zhang Xiaotian broke through him three times in a row, directly forcing the opposing coach to call a timeout.

Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver came on early to stabilize the Hawks.

When Leonard came on the court, Zhang Xiaotian went down to rest for a while, and then the Spurs were a big and four small lineup, but Duncan was replaced by Split.

And the Hawks, in order to improve the tempo and chase points, also replaced Pachuria, leaving rookie John Jenkins on the court.

Somebody gets injured and somebody gets a chance, it's professional sports.

It's just that whether you can seize the opportunity or not depends on the individual.

With five minutes remaining, Korver hit another three-pointer to cut the gap to three.

The Spurs immediately switched to Zhang Xiaotian for him to target Korver, while Leonard was for Josh Smith.

Zhang Xiaotian hit two points when he came up, and followed Korver tightly, a shooter like Korver who was not fast enough and did not have much ability to hold the ball, was really afraid of Zhang Xiaotian's brutal defensive style.

Korver was limited in this point, and the Hawks' offense began to dominate the pick-and-rolls of Jeff Teague and Josh Smith, which added defensive pressure to Leonard, who received consecutive fouls on Teague and Josh Smith.

However, he didn't have a foul on him before, so he didn't mind much.

It can be said that when Zhang Xiaotian, Leonard and Danny Green are on the court, the opponent is easy and difficult to shoot on the outside, and the Hawks can only let Teague kill inside, and Josh Smith and Al Horford inside are pulled out.

John Jenkins had an opportunity, but he didn't take it from beyond the three-point line.

Watching Zhang Xiaotian hit another two-point shot to bring the Spurs' lead to seven points, John Jenkins felt very uncomfortable.

In the summer league, he was no worse than Zhang Xiaotian, but he didn't expect him to play at all in the regular season.

This time Louis Williams was injured, he had a chance to stay on the court and participate in the victory, but before the game started, he gritted his teeth and vowed that he must play better than Zhang Xiaotian.

It's not that he doesn't have the ability, he just doesn't have that many opportunities.

But now that the opportunity is in front of him, he can't hold it with both hands, and the man who lost the draft, the man who was originally only a supporting role, made Korver deflated and put their team in a huge crisis.

Could it be that he can only look at the back of a failed draft, it shouldn't be like this.

John Jenkins reached for the ball, and he was going to show great marksmanship.

However, he is only a small role, and his teammates will not give him the ball easily if he misses before.

Teague broke through and gave the ball to Al Horford, but Al Horford's shot was interfered with by Split, and Josh Smith did his best to grab the rebound, causing Leonard to be fouled again.

Unfortunately, it was only one of two free throws, and in turn, Spurs Parker easily hit two points.

The gap is getting bigger and the time is getting shorter, and the Hawks can finally only hope for a three-point shot.

John Jenkins finally got his chance, and the Hawks chose him because of his shooting skills, and he was not Zhang Xiaotian in front of him, but the Spurs' most unremarkable starter, Danny Green.

But it was this mediocre 3D player who stood in front of him and put him under tremendous pressure, and it was clear that he needed to play to save the team.

John Jenkins shot, struck iron, shot again, hit iron again......

He's desperate, not everyone can do miracles, it's more helpless on the professional court.

Leonard hit a free throw at the end to give the Spurs a 100-92 victory.

Zhang Xiaotian stepped forward to celebrate with his teammates, not noticing the loneliness on John Jenkins' face.