Chapter 538: The Final Battle
All-Star Weekend was a vacation for most players and coaches, but when the regular season restarted, they quickly put their energy back into the game. Many teams have chosen to start working at this time in the hope of gaining an edge in the rankings, and of course those teams who are still losing as always, and their goal is not to make the playoffs.
However, there is a big day before the end of the regular season, and that is the trade deadline, after which teams can only sign free agents as supplements, and cannot trade other teams. This has no effect on the Bobcats, neither Klysses nor Jackson have any intention of making a trade, not because they don't think the team needs reinforcements, but because they think the Bobcats have a good enough roster right now that they don't have a good opportunity to make a trade.
Chang Wei is naturally happy to be leisurely, as long as the team wants to make a transaction, he will always let him analyze the feasibility, and Chang Wei can't simply say that the price offered by the other party is worthless, and the player has no future in the future, so he can only try his best to make up reasons, which is more tiring than training players. Now that the team is not going to make a trade, he can naturally breathe a sigh of relief, and it is always good to have less workload.
But it's not that there are no other teams that have made offers to the Bobcats, in fact, in the past two seasons, the team management who carelessly let the Bobcats select players regret that they want to commit suicide, and the players they don't like have played well when they arrive at the Bobcats, where can this kind of thing be justified? While the price is not high, it is better to make up for your mistakes first!
As a result, they didn't expect that the lynx had no idea of trading at all, and there was no reason to return it if they took advantage of it. In the face of the influx of quotation calls, Klysses always said the same thing: "I'm sorry, Jack/Ariza/Milicic/Ellis...... It's not for sale, at least not this season, thank you and goodbye! ”
His attitude made the other general managers feel helpless, you can't force the other party to trade, right? They had no choice but to laugh haha, while complaining in their hearts about the sloppiness at the beginning, and giving the stone to others, but they didn't expect it to be a piece of jade.
After the door to the trade market closed, the team management also breathed a sigh of relief, now the Bobcats have no players to add, and under Chang Wei's deliberate attention, the players have not suffered any serious injuries enough to be reimbursed for the season, and the 11 players in the rotation have left Jackson with a lot of room to line-up, and he does not need to worry about no one available.
The Bobcats didn't lag behind when the other teams started sprinting, first on a six-game winning streak and then on a four-game winning streak after the spurs halted the winning streak. While continuing to secure third place in the East, they also loom as a threat to the Cavaliers' second place in the East. This made the Cavaliers feel a lot of pressure, originally their lead was not small, but now it seems that as long as they relax a little, they may switch places with the Bobcats, so they will naturally have to be two hundred percent in spirit.
However, this has struggled for the Cavaliers players, who have not had a high draft pick every year after drafting James and gradually transforming into a powerhouse in the East, and the management has not seen it well. Coupled with the huge contracts of James and O'Neal, they have to sign a number of veterans to supplement the roster, and now the huge pressure makes Mike Brown dare not rotate easily, and every game requires the players to give it their all, which is quite torturous for those veterans.
This was not Chang Wei's expectation, he just advised Jackson to try to grab the victory that he could, and at the same time give his all for those games that have a chance to win, but he did not expect to put pressure on the Cavaliers. But that's not bad, if both sides can make it to the second round of the playoffs at their current standings, they will be direct rivals, and there's nothing wrong with weakening early.
But the Celtics, who are fourth in the East, have not given up, and no one wants to play against a strong opponent like the Pistons in the second round, and they will also strive for third. While the Bobcats are soaring, the Celtics are not idle, and the Big Three have gradually improved after most of the season, and they have also played a wave of 12 consecutive wins, and they have tightly bitten the Bobcats in terms of record.
The two teams will have a direct meeting at the end of the regular season, with the Bobcats playing the penultimate game and the Celtics playing the penultimate game. After this game, both teams will face a bent fish, so it will be worth a lot of money for them, and whoever wins will have an advantage in the battle for third place and even determine the heights they can reach this season.
Jackson took this game very seriously, so much so that he completely ignored the games in front of him. His absent-mindedness was all seen by Chang Wei, he shook his head secretly, and thought: It seems that the rookie still can't hold his breath, even if it's the coach.
After a training session, Chang Wei stopped Jackson, who was about to go to the office to rest for a while, and asked with a smile, "Damon, are you free?" I invite you to a cup of coffee, you have worked hard these days, come and relax with some coffee? ”
Jackson complained: "Damn, you say this as if I am your subordinate...... but Jackson complained and complained, and followed Chang Wei to the small café in the training hall. After ordering a cup of black coffee, he sat down on the sofa and let out a long breath, he had slept in the early hours of the morning last night, and was now sleepy.
However, Chang Wei obviously didn't have the consciousness to let him rest well, he patted Jackson on the shoulder, and asked seriously: "I watched the Celtic video last night, right?" You've been like this for the last few days, and I'm really worried about your IQ. ”
Jackson didn't mind Chang Wei saying that his IQ was not high, he took a small sip of coffee, and said lazily: "That's what you said about me since we first met, I've long been used to it, you just say anything, don't beat around the bush." ”
Chang Wei nodded and asked, "How many games do we have left in the regular season?" How many wins ahead of the Celtics now? ”
Jackson was a little confused, and he replied casually, "You can't have a bad brain, do you?" Can't remember any of this? We have seven games left until the end of the regular season and are now two wins ahead of the Celtics......"
Speaking of this, Jackson suddenly choked, he suddenly understood what Chang Wei wanted to say, the first few games will be overtaken by the Celtics if one is not careful, and then the key game will only be worth 1 win, maybe it will be useless! Jackson wiped the sweat from his forehead and said gratefully: "Chang, I know what you want to say, you can rest assured!" ”