During the truce between Kobe and Nash, Chu Xuan once used Jackson, Brother Alphabet, Green, Gasol, and Whiteside to form the starter, and then Jeremy Lin, Novak, Thackeray, etc. as the main substitutes.

The strength of such a lineup is indeed a little weak, and because of the tacit understanding of the players, the final result is not good.

Although he was constantly losing, Chu Xuan didn't have any pressure, he knew that a team with full health could win, and it was not unacceptable to lose now, after all, before the playoffs began, this was his chance to train his newcomers.

Of course, through these games, Chu Xuan was also able to have more experience in using players and try more subtle tactics.

Soon, when the time came to the end of March, Nash and Kobe applied to play, and Chu Xuan's training plan was terminated, and he rearranged Kobe and Nash into the starter, and then let Gasol take a turn.

After a well-rested session, Kobe Nash's competitive condition did become very good, and under the guidance of the two, the Lakers were back on the road to winning.

I have to say that in the last stretch of the schedule, the Lakers need to face many strong teams, which makes Chu Xuan feel a headache, because if they keep playing in a state of recuperation, it will undoubtedly be difficult for the Lakers to maintain the No. 1 record in the West. Considering the home advantage and alignment in the playoffs, Chu Xuan finally decided that he must maintain the first record in the West.

After making up his mind, the Lakers returned to the team, and Chu Xuan decided to use all his strength to play the last five games.

In fact, Chu Xuan's worries were not without reason. After the All-Star break, especially after the Lakers locked up the playoff spots and began to rotate, the competition in the West has simply entered a white-hot state for playoff tickets.

At present, the Lakers' first advantage is not very obvious, and if they continue to let it go, the Rockets and Clippers may surpass the Lakers.

When the gap between wins is getting smaller and smaller, fans can't help but wonder if the Lakers can maintain the first place in the West. Could it be that the Lakers can get back strong?

If this question is given to Chu Xuan to answer, the answer is, of course, yes.

Soon, the media interviewed Chu Xuan, talking about the poor performance of the Lakers during this period because of the main rotation, Chu Xuan said: "We have a lot of veterans, and rest is a must. After all, there are so many injuries this year and I have to be careful in that regard. Not enough, now that the season is over, we have to play at full strength again, try to win all the games and then go into the playoffs in the best possible shape. ”

After Chu Xuan's declaration was issued, the last leg of the Lakers' regular season journey began.

The first opponent in the last five stops is the Houston Rockets.

Before the game, the Lakers had a 55-22 record and the Rockets were 54-22, just half a win behind the Lakers.

There is no doubt that this game is an important game, the final battle between the first and second in the West in the regular season.

Chu Xuan really wanted to win this game, and he did his homework before the game. However, it is a pity that the Lakers players are in very poor competitive form, with explosive rebounds and not playing at the expected level on both offensive and defensive ends. On the other hand, the Rockets, Harden, Howard, and Parsons broke out across the board, suppressing the Lakers all the time.

In this case, the Lakers naturally lost.

In this game, Howard scored 30 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks, Harden scored 33 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists (7-of-11 three-pointers), Parsons scored 24 points, and Brooks scored 20 points and 10 assists.

And the Lakers, only Kobe Bryant scored 26 points.

In such a comparison, the Lakers obviously did not lose.

It's just that what makes Chu Xuan feel depressed is that after this loss, their regular season record against the Rockets this season has become 1-3. This is also the Lakers' worst record against other teams this season.

So, after this game, the Rockets also added the title of "Lakers nemesis".

The vast majority of media, experts, and fans believe that if the Lakers meet the Rockets in the playoffs, they will definitely be eliminated.

Obviously, Chu Xuan's coaching failure made him a little more questioned.

Then, for Chu Xuan, breaking the doubts is naturally what he has to do in the future.

In the penultimate game of the season, the Lakers faced the Golden State Warriors, who have not played well this season because of Curry's injury and suspension, and have been determined to be unable to make the playoffs so far.

However, when it comes to the Lakers, the Warriors still play extremely hard, especially Curry, who frequently shoots from the outside and shows his superb shooting skills. It's as if this game has become his exhibition match.

However, Chu Xuan still has a lot of experience in treating warriors. In this game, Chu Xuan made a bold change, he put Green, who had returned to the starting lineup for a short time, to the bench again, and then let a person no one expected as the starting No. 3 position, Steve Novak.

Yes, Chu Xuan used the new three-point king as the starter to play the Warriors, which was Novak's first start of the season and one of the very few starts in his career.

The final result of the game was also quite satisfactory, the Lakers defeated the Warriors, Kobe Bryant contributed 20 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds, and he only made 11 shots in the whole game, completing the organizational task perfectly. Led by Kobe, Novak hit five three-pointers and contributed 15 points. Nash had 11 points, Jeremy Lin 12, Noll 16 points, and Antetokounmpo 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

As for the Warriors, Curry had 38 points and 9 assists, and Barnes had 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

defeated the warriors, and Chu Xuan was also reassured.

However, then, in the penultimate game of the season, the Lakers hosted the Grizzlies.

This game once again exceeded everyone's imagination, the Grizzlies under the leadership of Conley's organization, actually played a very rare offensive performance of the season, although the Lakers players played tough, and the state is excellent, but still can not avoid the situation of being suppressed by the Grizzlies in the final quarter.

In this situation, Kobe Bryant stepped up again, he scored 10 points in a row, and assisted Noll to beat the Grizzlies 112-111, drawing a perfect end to the game.

After the game, ESPN described the game as the Lakers' Game of the Year.

In this game, Conley contributed 20 points and 15 assists, and with his tandem activation, the Grizzlies scored seven double-doubles.

However, the Lakers' performance is not weak. Bryant contributed 39 points, 9 assists and 2 rebounds, playing a perfect point guard performance. As for the twin tower combination, Noll had 19 points, 13 boards, 3 blocks and 3 steals, and Whiteside had 13 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. In addition, Green played 16 minutes off the bench and contributed 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. As for Novak, who started the game, he hit three three-pointers and scored nine points.

After winning the Grizzlies, the Lakers only have 2 games left this season, and in the competition for the first place in the West, the Lakers' advantage is still not obvious, and the Clippers and Rockets still have the possibility of catching up.

At this time, owner Jim Bass gave a task, if the best two games were won, the Lakers players would be rewarded with $20,000 each, the head coach with $30,000, and the coaching staff members with $10,000 each.

Under the temptation of huge bonuses, the fighting spirit of the Lakers erupted.

In the penultimate game, the Lakers' opponent is the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz currently have the second-to-last record in the West this season, and it's clear that this is a very weak opponent. According to the predictions, the Lakers could easily win this one.

However, after the first three quarters of the game, the Lakers only led by 5 points, which was not at all as strong as expected.

At this time, Chu Xuan boldly used Steve Novak and arranged him to be the main point of attack, and Kobe Bryant and Jackson were used as feeding points for the first and second lineups.

As a result, the fourth quarter that shocked everyone appeared, and the Lakers got the Jazz 32:12 and also got the game.

The biggest contributor to the win was Novak, who started 22 minutes and made 11 of 15 shots, including 9-of-11 three-pointers, contributing a career-high 31 points. It is worth mentioning that 24 of Novak's 31 points were scored in the fourth quarter, and all of those 24 points were three-point goals. In other words, Novak hit a horrific 8 three-pointers in a single quarter. Thus breaking this historical record.

In addition, Noll had 24 points, 5 boards, 3 blocks and 2 steals, Kobe Bryant had 16 points, 10 boards and 10 assists, and Jackson had 12 points, 11 boards and 11 assists, and the two got a triple-double at the same time. (To be continued.) )