After the Grizzlies played the Spurs away and rested the three cores in rotation, the outcome of the game was self-evident.

The Grizzlies lost, but only by 8 points.

The reason is that Popovich saw that Qiao Hai took turns to rest the three main forces, and after leading by 10 points in the opening wave, he also replaced the substitute, used the opening lead, and spent it until the end, and finally won by 8 points and won the game.

After this victory, the Spurs overtook the Trail Blazers by half a win and drilled into third place in the West.

So, after the game, reporters seemed to find another reason for Qiao Hai to rest the main force in this game - in order to send the Spurs to the third place in the West.

If the Spurs are third in the West, then no matter what, in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, the Grizzlies will not touch the Spurs, do not touch the Spurs, against the Trail Blazers, the Grizzlies have a good chance of winning, I have to say, Qiao Hai played a good calculation.

Qiao Hai is very helpless, the conscience of heaven and earth, the last game was back-to-back, this game continues to let the main force play, what if the main force is injured? Who does he use to play the playoffs? And even if you are the main team, you will spend energy fighting for four quarters of the game, and it will not necessarily be the Grizzlies who will win in the end.

So, simply, Qiao Hai took turns to rest the three cores and gave up this game.

As for the ranking or not, Qiao Hai didn't pay attention to it at all.

What's more, Qiao Hai is ready to win a Spurs, this season, the Grizzlies have played three games with the Spurs, losing all three, plus being double-killed by the Knicks this season, they have lost one game to the Timberwolves and one game to the Trail Blazers.

Exposed the Grizzlies' problem – not being able to cope with a strong defensive team.

Before playing the Spurs, the Grizzlies won against the Timberwolves, roughly determining the tactics when playing a strong defensive team.

The last game of the regular season, that is, the next game, the Grizzlies still have to play the Spurs, Qiao Hai is ready to test a wave of tactics in the end, and there is a high probability that the Grizzlies will encounter a strong defensive team on the way to the playoffs.

So, the Grizzlies didn't mean to lose to the Spurs, they just had to do it.

But the reporters couldn't understand it, because they had come all the way to San Antonio, not to watch a big fight off the bench.

At the press conference after the game, Qiao Hai was asked by an excited reporter, and Qiao Hai only responded once: "The day before we just won the Timberwolves through a big battle, this game, our main players can no longer support 48 minutes of fierce battle, and at the current playoffs, for the health of the players, I can only choose to rotate the main team." ”

Then, there were reporters to ask, Qiao Hai turned his head and left, and a post-game press conference broke up unhappily.

Another media asked Popovich, and Popovich's answer was surprisingly consistent with Qiao Hai: "The Grizzlies' regular season ranking has been determined, this game is not very important, in the last game, their main players fought for four quarters, so it is normal for the main players to rest in this game." ”

Popovich said this in front of reporters, behind the scenes, when he and his assistant Mike Budenholzer talked about the Grizzlies' rotation policy, he said: "Qiao Hai is too bold, the core of the team is really not afraid of the media, and he is not afraid of the league's punishment." ”

Mike Budenholzer didn't think it was a big deal: "The league won't punish it, there's no relevant regulations." ”

Popovich nodded: "That's right, then he is also bold and not afraid of the media." ”

The next day, the Grizzlies flew to Taras for an away game against the Mavericks.

They had a day off in Dallas, and Byron Scott brought Joe a lot of newspapers and newspapers, and the headlines of the major media outlets were slamming the Grizzlies' rotation policy.

is really excited, and Qiao Hai only has a headache.

The playoffs are about to begin, and the Grizzlies are making headlines in the media at this time, which is not a good thing.

But Qiao Hai is just a headache, the media has to make the Grizzlies make headlines, and there is nothing he can do, and these headlines have little impact on the Grizzlies' preparation for the playoffs, because Qiao Hai believes that in the last game of the season, Qiao Hai will shut everyone up with a victory.

On April 16, the Grizzlies played the Mavericks away.

The Grizzlies led by five points in the third quarter, and the Grizzlies led by 14 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run, and the difference was maintained until the end, and the Grizzlies won their 63rd game of the season.

On the other side, the Lakers also broke 60 wins and locked up second in the league.

On April 19, the Grizzlies played the Rockets in Houston.

With the same 10-point lead in the third quarter, the Grizzlies had another wave of settlement battles in the fourth quarter, winning for the 64th game of the season!

After playing two away games, the Grizzlies set off for Vancouver.

In the next game, the Grizzlies will sit at home against the Spurs, and this game will not affect the Grizzlies' standings, and the only impact on the Grizzlies is whether they can get their 65th win of the season.

65 wins is also a hurdle, a team with 65 wins is infinitely close to the category of a historical powerhouse.

Of course, no one thinks the Grizzlies have the strength of a historic powerhouse, although the Grizzlies have a chance to win a 65-game.

This game is of little significance to the Grizzlies, but it is of great significance to the Spurs.

With one game left in the regular season, the Spurs are half a win ahead of the Trail Blazers.

But if the Trail Blazers win the final game of the season and the Spurs lose, the Trail Blazers will overtake the Spurs and move into third place in the West.

So, for a third-place spot in the West, the Spurs must go all out to win the game.

……

San Antonio, Spurs are packing for their flight from San Antonio International Airport to Vancouver.

While waiting for the plane, Popovich talked about the last game.

"In this game, we have to win, the third place in the West is not important, but if we are fourth, we will play the Jazz in the first round, this opponent is not easy to bite, so if you can be third, try to be third."

The western rankings have been roughly released.

The first Grizzlies, the second Lakers, the third and fourth Spurs and the Trail Blazers are half a win, and the final battle will determine the ranking of the two teams.

The fifth has been determined to be the Jazz, Jerry Sloan is Jerry Sloan, the Jazz started badly, but it broke out in the second half of the season, rushing to the fifth place in the West in one fell swoop, if it faces the Trail Blazers, maybe the Jazz will have a chance to rush to the second round.

The sixth-ninth places in the West are still a bit confusing.

The Suns are currently sixth, but they are also only half a win away from the Timberwolves in seventh, and the SuperSonics in eighth, but the Kings are also only half a win away from the SuperSonics and ninth.

So, in the final battle, the top eight places in the Western Conference playoffs will be decided.

The Grizzlies are also uncertain at the moment, they may play the supersonics, or they may play the king, but if Qiao Hai had to choose, he would choose the supersonics, and the kings seem to be behind, but they are more difficult opponents to deal with.

Popovich decided to fight for third, his expression was serious, and then, he laughed: "But don't worry too much, the last game has no impact on the Grizzlies, maybe, in order to prepare for the playoffs, Qiao Hai will continue to rest the main ......"