Chapter 214: Winning streak and catching up
On Feb. 19, the Grizzlies vs. the Bucks.
The two teams have already met once this season, and it was the beginning of the Grizzlies' winning streak, and after more than a dozen games, the Grizzlies' winning streak is not over.
Playing against the Bucks again, the Grizzlies are fighting back-to-back, with limited physical fitness, Qiao Hai also has a rotational rest, Rasius Nestelovic and Chauncy Billups start instead of Brad Miller and Mike Bibby, Sean Marion tops the fourth position, Ragabel starts, plus Maddie in the third position, this is the starting lineup of the Grizzlies in this game.
Qiao Hai directly took turns to rest the three main forces.
Mainly in the last game against the Timberwolves, the Grizzlies failed to gain a huge advantage, and until the end of the game, the lead was only about ten points.
Such a lead made the Grizzlies' main force not rest as soon as possible, and as a result, in this back-to-back battle against the Bucks, the main force's physical fitness dried up, and Qiao Hai was forced to be helpless, so he could only choose to take turns to rest, but Qiao Hai didn't care too much about the outcome of this game, he lost if he lost, and he won if he won.
Again, the Grizzlies are now ranked first in the West and first in the league, which is already a surprising result.
Qiao Hai will not expect more, his goal is still to lead the team to the top four in the West, and it has not changed.
The Grizzlies, who had a large rotation off, played a little hard away, Maddie was not in good shape, missed three consecutive shots in the opening, and then under Qiao Hai's adjustment, they began to impact the interior and finally scored, but the continuous impact on the interior score, this offense was still a little too difficult.
It just so happened that Ray Allen broke out on the Bucks' side, hit three points in a row, and after the first quarter, the Grizzlies still trailed by 6 points.
Although Qiao Hai doesn't care much about the outcome of the game, he will still fight for every victory.
So in the second quarter, Qiao Hai made some adjustments, the No. 5 position was rough, Sean Marion continued to play the No. 4 position, plus Maddie in the No. 3 position, Chauncey Billups and El-Boigins in the backcourt, the Grizzlies' lineup on the court was an ultimate big four small.
The Grizzlies directly picked up the speed and attacked with a small lineup.
Each of the five players on the court can shoot from a distance, including the approximate number five position, the approximate total rating has risen to 70, and the outside open three-point score has also been quite stable, Qiao Hai gave roughly a new template, not Dirk Nowitzki, but Robert Horry.
With a potential value of 75 points, if you can become Horry, you can be considered to have fulfilled your potential.
Don't underestimate Horry, although Horry is only a role player, Horry has 7 championship rings, more rings than anyone else, and has been a savior at key moments many times, saying that he is a role player, but he has played a superstar-like role.
The general daily training is still very effective, at least the speed is much faster than before, and the confrontation is not as difficult as when I first arrived in the NBA.
The Grizzlies play a fast break, and the offensive end is roughly between the bottom corner and the restricted area, and if a teammate breaks through, he retreats to the bottom corner, and if a teammate floats outside to shoot, he jumps near the basket and is ready to grab a rebound.
Anyway, the location is very fixed.
On the defensive end, the approximate position is more fixed, that is, stay under the basket and do not move.
The Bucks don't have any outstanding interior lines, both of which are blue-collar players, so the Bucks' interior offense is not a threat to the Grizzlies, but the outside projection is a bit fierce, so the Grizzlies' defense is expanded outward, and the main defense is the Bucks' outside projection.
With such a change of formation, even the Princeton offense was abandoned.
The result is a miracle.
In the first half of the game, the Grizzlies played a wave of 22:8 and directly surpassed the Bucks by 8 points.
You know, this is the score of the half-quarter game, the Grizzlies scored 22 points in the half-quarter, and the offensive firepower is very ferocious, if you play a whole quarter, it will be 40 points up.
40 points in a single quarter, in the era of 2000, which is a defense-oriented, is a rare scene.
Mav Albert, who commented on the game, was very surprised, the Grizzlies were not playing the Princeton offense that they were good at, but a little bit of a run-and-gun tactic.
The surprised Mafu Albert couldn't help but praise: "Qiao Hai is worthy of being an offensive master, Princeton is good at playing, and the run-and-bomb tactics are not bad, this offense is too hot!" ”
Qiao Hai is a master of offense, no one will question this, in the Lakers big triangle offense, to the Grizzlies, it took two or three months, and then started to play Princeton offense, in which occasionally played a quarter or two of small ball, but also played flying.
In this game, the Princeton offense was completely abandoned in the second quarter, and the run-and-gun tactics were played.
In this way, the four major offensive tactics, Qiao Hai has not played and blocked the attack.
If you expand the scope outward, you may have to add tactics such as the Hawks offense, but I have to mention that the Grizzlies' usual offensive play also has the shadow of the pick-and-roll offense and the Hawks offense.
For example, in the blocking and dismantling attack, Qiao Hai designed several sets of singles tactics for Maddie, the core of which is to block and dismantle the attack.
If you calculate it carefully, these sets of singles tactics still have a bit of the meaning of the Eagles' offense, and after blocking and dismantling, the scoring guard is misplaced and singled, isn't this the Hawks attacking?
Therefore, after careful calculation, almost all the offensive Qiao Hai has played, and Qiao Hai obviously deserves the name of this offensive master.
On the court, the Grizzlies overtook the score in a wave.
Then throughout the second quarter, the Grizzlies were sticking to this tactical style of play, with a steady stream of offense, and the Bucks' defense was already poor, and in this tidal attack, the Bucks were difficult to resist.
After twelve minutes of play, half-time ended.
In the second quarter, the Grizzlies really brushed a 43-point single-quarter super high score, 43:24 in the single quarter, and in the second quarter alone, the Grizzlies won by 19 points.
At halftime, the Grizzlies led the Bucks by 13 points, 65-52.
With a 13-point lead at half-time, this game was not too difficult.
Throughout all the games since Qiao Hai took charge of the Grizzlies, as long as the Grizzlies are ahead, the Grizzlies will not be overturned by their opponents, which is not an inherent trait of the Grizzlies, but a reflection of Qiao Hai's ability.
With the assistance of the on-the-spot command assistance system, as long as the opponent improves and wants to chase points, Qiao Hai will respond in time and quickly make adjustments to curb the opponent's momentum of chasing points, and even sometimes make adjustments, not only to curb the opponent from chasing points, but even to continue to suppress the opponent and continue to open up the point difference.
So, as long as you put the Grizzlies ahead, no matter who the opponent is, don't think about turning the game.
The same is true of the opponent in this game, the Bucks, who led by 13 points at halftime, and at the beginning of the second half, the Grizzlies played with all their main force and beat the Princeton offense.
The 13-point difference is like a trench, and the Bucks have tried their best to chase the score, but helplessly, the Grizzlies firmly control the rhythm, and the Bucks are together, and the Grizzlies speed up and play a wave of offense in turn, and then the defensive intensity suddenly increases.
Relying on the advantage of rhythm, the Grizzlies easily suppressed the Bucks.
The 13-point lead was extended to 15 points and maintained until the end of the game.
In the end, the Grizzlies won 111-95.
Thirteen straight wins, the Grizzlies' winning streak continues, and in February, the Grizzlies also won eight games in a row and went undefeated once.
After beating the Bucks, the Grizzlies moved to Cleveland and rested in Cleveland for two days before the Grizzlies played the Cavaliers on Feb. 21.
In mid-January, the Grizzlies defeated the Cavaliers, and more than a month later, the Cavaliers became more and more erosive, this against the Grizzlies, the Cavaliers also had no power to resist, at this time the Grizzlies had won 13 consecutive victories, Qiao Hai had no intention of stopping, and continued to win, he wanted to see where the end of this Grizzly Bear was.
In this game, the Grizzlies easily ended the game in three quarters, and the bench players played the fourth quarter, and at the end, the Grizzlies scored a 22-point victory.
14 consecutive wins, this streak tied Qiao Hai's previous streak record, this time, Qiao Hai is going to raise his streak to the top.
At the same time, the Grizzlies' crazy winning streak has also attracted the attention of all the media in North America, and the 14-game winning streak is still second, the main problem is that the Grizzlies actually firmly occupy the first place in the West and the first place in the league.
A month ago, the first place in the league and the first place in the West was still the Lakers, and a month earlier, the first place in the league and the first place in the West were the Spurs.
As a result, the Lakers first accumulated a lot of money and overtook the Spurs to become the first.
The Lakers' first throne has not yet been hot, and after a month of hard work, the Grizzlies have overtaken them, of course, the Grizzlies can overtake the Lakers, relying on this wave of consecutive wins.
The winning streak that began at the end of January quickly closed the gap between the Grizzlies and the Lakers, and completed the comeback in early February.
At this time, the Grizzlies won 14 in a row, with an overall record of 42 wins and 10 losses, and the Lakers were 41 wins and 11 losses, and the two teams were a full 1 win apart.
You know, a season ago, the Grizzlies were still the bottom of the West, who would have thought that just one season later, the Grizzlies would become the first in the West plus the first in the league?
Therefore, the major media focused on the Grizzlies' winning streak.
ESPN hit the headline: "When is it over?" ”
Sports Illustrated began to analyze: "After becoming the No. 1 in the league, will the Grizzlies' goals change this season?" ”
And Yahoo Sports analyzed the Grizzlies' current record: "Since late February, the Grizzlies have won the 42nd win of the regular season, which means that even if the Grizzlies don't win a single game in the next game, the Grizzlies' winning rate will exceed 50%, and according to the pattern of previous seasons, the Grizzlies who have won 42 games have almost locked a playoff spot, as long as they win a few more games, the playoff seat will be certain......"
Finally, hoop sports also came out with a special feature, analyzing the data of the Grizzlies' 14-game winning streak, the main author of this feature is John Hollinger, and Qiao Hai also took the time to read this analysis.
In these 14 consecutive wins, most of the games, the Grizzlies have beaten their opponents.
But there were also a few small wins, and through data analysis, in these 14 games, the Grizzlies' offense topped the league, averaging as many as 5.2 points per game behind the second-place Kings. The defense is not bad, ranking in the top five in the league, and it can be said that during the 14-game winning streak, the Grizzlies' offense dominates the league, and the defense is also the top in the league.
The Grizzlies are crazy about winning streaks, and there are many depressed people, but the most depressed ones are naturally the Lakers.
Especially Phil Jackson, originally, coaching the All-Star Weekend West Team made Phil Jackson happy, and the Lakers' record finally surpassed the Grizzlies.
Therefore, Phil Jackson almost gritted his teeth to fight for the victory of the regular season one by one, that is, to overtake the Grizzlies.
As a result, the Lakers not only overtook the Grizzlies, but also overtook the Spurs and became the first in the league.
This made Phil Jackson very happy, the Lakers became the first in the league, and the Los Angeles media, which had been criticizing him, reversed course and began to praise Phil Jackson, what is not a loss is the dynasty godfather who founded the Bulls dynasty, and what veteran coach is stable, all kinds of winning streaks or something.
After reversing public opinion, Phil Jackson was relieved.
But the Grizzlies are behind, so before the All-Star weekend, Phil Jackson still didn't relax and continued to fight for one victory after another.
But who knew that at this time, the Grizzlies began to exert their strength, and at the end of January, a wave of five consecutive wins, almost overtook Phil Jackson, and then continued to win in early February, six consecutive wins, seven consecutive wins, eight consecutive wins, and when the Grizzlies won eight in a row, the Lakers lost one game, and the two teams were only 0.5 wins away.
Then, the Grizzlies won nine in a row, ten in a row, and the Lakers lost again, and the Grizzlies completed the comeback.
Then, although the Lakers gritted their teeth and chased again, the Grizzlies did not give the Lakers any chance, winning 10 in a row to now 14 in a row, the Grizzlies have a ferocious momentum and a hot state, and it looks like they will win in a row.
Phil Jackson had no choice but to continue gritting his teeth and chasing.
On Feb. 22, the Grizzlies fought back-to-back against the Bulls.
The Bulls are currently in the bottom of the West, such a big bad team, Qiao Hai rested the starting rotation again, Maddie and Sean Marion rested, Chauncy Billups and Mike Bibby partnered on the guard line, small forward on Sammark, big forward Raheem, center Brad Miller.
This lineup of the Grizzlies relied on outside double control and power forward Rahim, this game Raheem was also powerful, the opening was connected with a low single, three shots in a row, forcing the Bulls to pinch him, so that the Grizzlies' offense was fully opened.
Easily, after three quarters, the Grizzlies took a 20-point lead and sealed the victory early.
On the other hand, the Lakers also played back-to-back games against the Hornets on the road.
A win difference, no matter whether the Grizzlies on the other side lose or not, the Lakers have to fight for this victory, so, O'Neal did not rest, Kobe Bryant also played the first half, but the Hornets are a difficult bone to gnaw, and the Lakers only lead by 3 points at halftime.
In the second half, Phil Jackson got the news that the Grizzlies were 20 points ahead of their opponents and sealed the victory early.
With a gloomy face, Phil Jackson waved his hand and changed to the OK combination, stunned by the serious consequences of overdrawing his physical fitness, and narrowly defeated the Hornets by 5 points in the final game and fought for this victory.
The difference in wins is still 1 game, but the Grizzlies' winning streak has come to 15 games.
With 15 consecutive wins, the touting of the major media in North America is here again.
ESPN – "15 wins in a row!" Qiao Hai broke his personal record! ”
Sports Illustrated - "Another 20-point win, the Grizzlies have become a historic team?" ”
USA Today – "Crazy March ago, Qiao Hai is fit to coach in the NCAA?" ”
Finally, there is HOOP Sports, this time they analyzed the Grizzlies' 15-game winning streak schedule and concluded that the schedule was also a factor in the Grizzlies' 15-game winning streak.
Of the 15 games, only four teams have playoff quality, including the Magic, Jazz, Suns and Timberwolves, and the other 11 opponents are in the lottery zone, and these four playoff teams are also in the bottom half of the East and West standings, not in the category of strong teams.
Therefore, after careful analysis, people found that the gold content of the Grizzlies' 15-game winning streak was not so sufficient, and it seemed that it was because the opponent was too weak that the Grizzlies won a wave of 15-game winning streak.
Qiao Hai read the report of hoop sports and was happy: "It's rare, all the media are touting us, only this hoop sports has sung a decline for us, which is worth encouraging!" ”
Byron Scott looked helpless, he felt that Qiao Hai was also a strange person, he didn't like to see the media praise himself, and he seemed to like the media to find fault with him.
But what Byron Scott didn't know was that hoop sports was Qiao Hai's own media, and this report, strictly speaking, was even written by Qiao Hai himself, but it was modified by Kevender and hung Kevending's name.
The completely different reports of hoop sports have also attracted a wave of eyeballs, and the website traffic has risen sharply.
The media, which is not used to watching the Grizzlies, also followed the rhythm of hoop sports and hacked the Grizzlies' 15-game winning streak.
Qiao Hai also flipped over the schedule after the Grizzlies because of this report.
The 15-game winning streak is a good schedule, but the rest of the schedule is a bit worse.
After playing the Bulls, the Grizzlies will return to their home court to play the Celtics and Kings in a row.
Then the away game against the Kings, and then the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Raptors, Knicks, 76ers, and many battles, this schedule is much more difficult, so almost all the media believe that the Grizzlies' winning streak is coming to an end......