In the 17~18 season, at the end of the regular season, to everyone's expectations, the Spurs were the first to fall behind in the Western Conference.

Parker suffered a major injury at the beginning of the season, and Leonard returned from injury and only played 9 games, and then it was revealed that he had a disagreement with the team's medical team, and the conflict between the two sides escalated, and finally the season was reimbursed.

Although the Spurs handled this matter very low-key, as long as insiders know that the root of this matter is that the Spurs do not want to offer a super cap salary.

Leonard has successfully activated the "veteran clause", and he has the opportunity to sign a super-large contract like Li Ze and Curry.

35% starting salary, 8% growth, $219 million over 5 years, that's what Leonard's team is after.

The GDP combination ushered in an era for the Spurs, during which they would choose to take a pay cut to keep the roster competitive and the secret of the Spurs' success.

But unlike the old-school basketball of the past, players in the new era don't talk much about feelings, and everyone is more in pursuit of data and big contracts.

Chris Paul, as president of the players' union, has always advocated that players should not take a pay cut, and a player may only be at his peak for four or five years, and there is no reason to miss the opportunity to make a lot of money.

The regular season has reached the final stage, and after eating the Spurs' big melon, everyone has turned their attention back to the regular season.

On March 2, the Rockets flew to Los Angeles and will take on the Clippers on the road tonight.

Chris Paul has had a hamstring injury this year due to weight gain.

The Rockets have been incomplete in the first few meetings between the two teams, and by the end of the season, D'Antoni was no longer resting and began to finish in March.

The Rockets want to challenge for a championship this year, and after the All-Star, they have absorbed the veteran Joe Johnson, who was bought out.

So far, everyone has fully adapted to the magic ball style of play, and compared to last season, the Rockets have indeed completed the transformation.

Kick-off at 8 p.m. and visitors can also come to the stadium two hours early to warm up.

Chris Paul looked at the huge screen above the Intuit Dome arena and regretted his decision back then.

He still overestimated his body, and the hamstring injury was more troublesome than he thought.

"Kayce had a chance to pick up 76+ wins, having been rested at the end of the season last year, but this year's schedule is too stressful and they can definitely break the record easily."

Tucker saw Paul in a daze and began to make small talk about the Clippers' record.

Paul is of course keeping an eye on the Clippers, who don't have back-to-backs in April, but have a game every other day:

"No. 2 is an awkward position, and if we make it through the first round, we're going to face the Warriors in the semifinals."

"The Clippers have a huge advantage in the schedule, and in the semifinals, there is a high probability that they will meet the Trail Blazers again!"

Paul patted the ball, his tone was a little helpless, they were now in a state of not being able to go up and down.

If they meet the Warriors in the semifinals, the team will have to maintain home-court advantage, and to Paul's dismay, they have a chance to pick up 60+ wins this year, but they can only finish second.

On the MVP candidate list, Li Ze crushed everyone again, Paul has completely given up his illusions, if it weren't for aesthetic fatigue, there is a high probability that this award will be Li Ze's later

Paul, who was still pondering, looked around at his teammates, and then immediately asked in a loud voice:

"Hey, where did James go? I didn't see him in the afternoon training session! ”

Ariza saw Paul, who was aware of it, spread his hands slightly, and reminded in a loud voice:

"This is Los Angeles, and Harden can move around freely!"

“.”

Paul was speechless for a while, as a super privileged player of the Rockets, the bearded golfer will never suffer himself, and when he arrives in the big city, he must be dashing.

Although Harden has reduced the number of nightclub trips this season, Paul is still a little uncomfortable with certain habits of the bearded player.

Harden, who had been playing for a night, officially warmed up 40 minutes before the start of the game, although he lost his legs and was weak, but he was physically and mentally comfortable, and his shooting touch was very good.

The assistant coach of the Rockets didn't dare to say anything more, and the bearded baller was the future of the team.

This season has exploded again, and the new owner loves the star player and has almost everything he asks for from Harden.

The atmosphere at Intuit Dome began to heat up as fans entered early, and the Clippers haven't lost at home so far.

On the ESPN commentary bench, Jeff Van Gundy was touting the Rockets' defense:

"A lot of people think the Rockets shouldn't shoot too many three-pointers, but three-pointers are never a problem, and the Rockets have such a good record because of their excellent defense."

"Smaller players on the perimeter can also keep changing defenses, and Capela has grown a lot this year, and a lot of times he can do a good job of blocking and pick-and-rolling."

"Defense wins championships, and I believe the Rockets can make it to the Western Conference Finals, and they'll be a strong opponent for the Clippers!"

Seeing that his old partner was in a good mood, Mark Jackson no longer talked about the shortcomings of the Rockets' lineup, and also blew two sentences:

"Louis Williams has a chance to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, and the depth of the Rockets' roster is outstanding."

Even though tonight's game was broadcast live across the United States, neither of them touted the Clippers too much, because they really couldn't blow it.

The same starters, the same rotation, and Li Ze's unchanged data make the Clippers have an extremely stable ability to abuse vegetables.

After the game started, it quickly entered the offensive rhythm of the Clippers, Capela has indeed grown a lot this season, but in the face of the Clippers' continuous hand-to-hand hand-to-hand play, some rounds are still a little confused.

Two consecutive attacks, both of which were from Paul George's hand-to-hand to the frame, this time the cover went to the right elbow of the free throw line.

Capela didn't notice the difference either, as Li Ze stopped moving on the left side after handing over the ball, and Ariza followed Paul George to quickly slide from left to right, and then bounced outside, ready to save the ball with a hand-to-hand pass.

While the defense was focused on Paul George, Jokic suddenly turned around, put the ball with his right hand, and rushed to the basket.

Then he turned around quickly, and Jokic flicked off Capela before putting the ball in steadily.

Tucker looked at Li Ze in front of him who hadn't attacked after the opening, and the Clippers still scored consecutive points, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart:

"Champion Heritage."

The Rockets used Harden on the defensive end to play Harris and Paul to defend the new Jaylen Brown.

Coach D'Antoni just doesn't want to let the two cores be too drained, and at the same time let the defensive stalwart guard in front of the Clippers' core players.

Jokic scored easily, and the scene erupted in cheers, seeing the Rockets' fast baseline ball, Paul advanced with the ball, and immediately began to shout for the defense again:

“Defense！ Defense！ Defense！ ”

Paul, who dribbled through the middle line, was immediately led by Li Ze, and his explosiveness has further decreased this season, and he can't get rid of the defense by rhythm alone.

Protecting the ball with his back, he suddenly accelerated with the ball in his left hand, pulled back with a cross step, and after dribbling the ball under his crotch, Paul's body shook to the left and quickly changed direction in front of his body.

Paul had just passed on the right side of Capela's body from the top of the arc, and the next second Li Ze squeezed through the cover to complete the pursuit.

Capela went down the screen in sync, but it was clearly not the right choice, and the paint area suddenly became four, and Paul almost crashed into Jokic's arms.

In the face of the retreating defense, Paul finally chose to hold the ball in his right hand and circle on the inside, which is a familiar offensive routine for Li Ze, and under strict pursuit, Paul finally had no choice but to return the ball to Harden at the top of the arc.

At this point, the Rockets pulled away, Paul slowly came to the left wing, Tucker and Ariza stood in the left and right corners, and Capela sank to the left near the baseline and waited for a cake.

There is no need for Li Ze to remind that the new Jaylen Brown knows that Harden is going to start playing singles

Continuous crotch dribbling and body change of direction, taking advantage of Jaylen Brown's backward step, Harden, who had just completed the change of direction, accelerated the breakthrough with the ball in his left hand, only dribbled one step, and immediately stepped back.

Shake off the defense, get back to the three-point line, ignore Jaylen Brown's block, Harden stepped back and made a quick jumper!

"Bang!" Hit the nail in a rage!

Li Ze saw the opportunity to return to the paint area early, and the long rebound ball popped up and was immediately accepted by him.

At this time, the Rockets have completed the retreat, which is also a characteristic of the Rockets' defense, and the retreat speed is extremely fast.

Li Ze quickly advanced past the half, Tucker stepped forward for the first time, and Jokic observed Capela near the paint area, and just after halftime, he simply made a high pick-and-roll.

Seeing Jokic coming to Li Ze's right side, Tucker subconsciously slid to the left to adjust his defensive position, but he didn't expect Li Ze to suddenly make a bold attack.

Seeing the right time, Li Ze's body shook to the right for the first time, and then immediately changed direction sharply in front of his body, without using cover, and after completing the change, he suddenly accelerated with the ball in his left hand.

"Oh!!"

The exaggerated misdirection made the fans cheer, and Li Ze, who was close to the three-point line, faced Capela who came up to help defend in and out, wrapped the ball with one hand with his left hand, and swayed his right and left.

Capella, who learned his lesson, made an excellent prediction, slid to the right at the first time, and saw Li Ze shake and change direction again in the next second

Capela, who was desperately defending, naturally wanted to slide to the right, but the big man's defensive center of gravity was too high, and his body couldn't keep up with his brain.

The Intuit Dome arena instantly exploded, the Clippers fans shouted happily, and Li Ze, who was unguarded in front of him, accelerated with the momentum, rushed up in three steps, grabbed the ball with one hand with his right hand, and slid and dunked!

From the online fake block to the change of defense, Li Ze's offense was silky and smooth, and the semi-conversion scored easily again.

At 12:17, the Clippers widened the margin by another drop.

For a three-pointer team like the Rockets, a five-point margin may only take two rounds.

Also in the top of the arc singles, the bearded player threw in a three-pointer against the defense this time, and the difference was immediately narrowed to 2 points.

Li Ze still handed over the ball quickly, and then came to the right flank, and commanded his teammates to the line in turn to complete the hand-to-hand pass.

Paul George at the top of the arc immediately moved to the left wing, and instead of receiving Jokic's hand, he quickly made an off-ball screen for Harris, who started in the bottom left corner.

This time Jokic really completed the hand-to-hand pass, seeing Harris accelerate the breakthrough with the ball in his right hand, the white fat man moved slowly, came to the left flank and stood still, opening up the offensive space.

The bearded golfer's defensive attitude has improved a lot this season, and at this time he desperately slid to the left back, Harris did not slow down, and continued to break through with the defense.

Li Ze on the right wing suddenly started, Tucker was delayed by Jaylen Brown's sudden uplift in the right bottom corner, and Paul, who was still commanding his teammates, was slightly stunned, and Li Ze had come to the bottom right corner.

When the ball arrived, although the quality of Harris's pass was average, Li Ze, who received the pass, did not make too many adjustments, drifting to the right to complete the bottom corner three-point!

"Huh!" Three-point shot hollow into the net!

Paul, who raised his hand in front of Li Ze, didn't play much role in defense, as long as he didn't change the defense in time at the first time, he could only pray that Li Ze would shoot iron.

In an offensive round, all 5 people on the field were involved in the attack, and there was a seamless switch between the ball and the ball, and Jeff Van Gundy couldn't help but praise loudly:

"It's a great fit, that's why the Clippers keep winning, and in the starting lineup, five people can carry the ball, and only the Warriors in the league have that configuration."

When Mark Jackson saw that his old partner had become a fan of the Clippers after the game began, he immediately joked:

"It seems that the Rockets' defense needs to continue to work hard, the Clippers are good at using their height advantage to complete the offense, and Coach D'Antoni doesn't have too good defensive resources at the moment."

At 15:20, the Clippers continued to lead.

Both teams want to have a good game in this game, but the way the game is played is completely different.

The Clippers prefer to attack the basket and use their size advantage to complete the offense under the basket, while the Rockets are star singles, Paul is dumb, and Harden carries the offense, shooting and bursting, and constantly scoring points.

While +2 in a row, and +3 on and off on the other, the Clippers really couldn't open up the difference for a while, and the three-point shot was indeed a weapon for chasing points.

Li Ze was not in a hurry, facing the more mobile Rockets, there was no chance to switch offense, so he handed over the ball as soon as possible, allowing Paul George to enter the state first.

Paul felt that if the game continued so slowly, once the Rockets were out of line, it was very likely that it would be cold directly.

"Hey, get nervous, we need to increase the defensive intensity!"

Paul, who retreated to the halfcourt, once again reminded his teammates loudly that it was just that Harden could not be counted on in defense, and in the end it was still up to Tucker, Ariza, and Capela

Harris frequently came to the line and cooperated with Jokic, pulling Harden's defense, playing 3 to 3 locally, and the Clippers can always find holes.

This time, Li Ze was directing traffic on the right flank, and with the same tactic, Harris came to the left flank, received a pass from Jokic, and immediately broke through.

After the fake cover, Jokic suddenly accelerated down, and Capela naturally couldn't delay.

After a few rounds of continuous defense, the bearded golfer slackened a little, and Harris made a pull-up jumper at the free throw line to score two points easily.

Coach De Nagro stood next to him and clapped his hands triumphantly.

Even if Li Ze is not involved in the offense, all teams have to put the best defenders in front of their thighs.

The terrifying containment force allows the Clippers to always find reasonable offensive opportunities.

With 3:42 left in the first quarter, Harris was 3-of-3 from the field and had six points to score.

At 18:26, the Clippers steadily widened the difference.

Head coach D'Antoni wasn't in a hurry, bringing on Ryan Anderson late in the first quarter, who came on the pitch and made a three-point shot on the left wing.

With the blessing of three-point shooting, the Rockets always kept the difference at about 5 points, and by the end of the first quarter, at 29:35, the Clippers had a solid lead.

During the rotation phase, Luis Williams, Beverley, Bamot, Joe Johnson, and Nene Hilario rotated.

The Clippers also made a large number of substitutions, bringing in five players in order: Brogdon, Eric Gordon, Powell, David West, and Kevon Looney.

Both sides are with the Super No. 6 as the offensive core, and the Clippers are more athletic, so they naturally play faster and faster in the rotation phase.

Coach D'Antoni kept signaling Beverley to slow down the pace, but after more than 2 minutes of the game, the veteran coach helplessly held his forehead:

"Lost rebounds again"

Kevon Looney's offensive talent may have been ruined by injury, but whenever he is on the court, he will go all out to grab rebounds.

Powell broke through to the basket and missed the basket, Nene completed the defensive interference, just landed, and tried to protect the rebound, but was snatched by Looney.

Throwing the ball outside the three-point line, Brogdon did not stop the ball after receiving the ball, and distributed it to Gordon on the left wing for the first time.

One step away from the three-point line, Bamot had no time to make a save before Gordon had already finished shooting.

"Huh!" Three-point hit from a long distance!

At 33:43, the margin came to double digits.

In the Intuit Dome arena, the Clippers fans erupted into the biggest cheers of the game, and it was back to their familiar rhythm of the game.

"Terrifying roster depth, the Clippers have won most of the game in the rotation this season, and the bench has done a really good job of rebounding."

Mark Jackson has been appreciative of the Clippers' rotational lineup.

Seeing Louis Williams hit another shot from beyond the three-point line after the pick-and-roll, Jeff Van Gundy also felt that the tempo of the game was starting to slip in favor of the Clippers:

"In the playoffs, I believe the Rockets will reduce the rotation, eight players will be enough, and if necessary, we can learn from the Clippers and make the main players play full."

Under the large rotation, the Clippers had a big advantage, and after a three-minute break, D'Antoni was the first to replace Paul.

Every time he meets the Clippers, Louis Williams doesn't play well, he doesn't feel like he has an outside touch, and he can't play the pick-and-roll offense.

The main lineups of the two sides have gradually returned, and the difference has come to 7 points.

The three-point shot couldn't be stopped, and after Louis Williams threw it, Harden continued to throw it, and near the end of the half, Jeff Van Gundy was completely speechless:

"7-of-19 from beyond the three-point line, the Rockets have a chance to shoot 20+ from outside the three-point line in the half!"

Throwing 40 three-pointers in a game is a routine operation for the Rockets, but once the iron is struck, the scene is a little ugly.

Mark Jackson didn't say anything to answer, but silently looked at the technical statistics, and the Clippers also have 16 three-point shots so far:

"Times have really changed."

Li Ze returned to the court after the official timeout.

Taking advantage of Ariza's iron, after receiving the rebound, he immediately launched a transition attack in the middle.

Paul, who actively retreated, guarded in front of Li Ze as soon as possible, and wanted Li Ze to slow down and stop the ball, but was crushed by the tank all the way

Li Ze carried Paul's defense, converted the offense and went straight to the basket, crushed and broke through to the bottom right of the basket, and picked up the basket with his right hand!

Paul, who has grown bigger, is not in a beautiful mood again, facing the backcourt of the Warriors, he can still fight, and he is lost again when he encounters Li Ze and the Clippers' forward group

For the remainder of the half, the Rockets slightly reduced some of their three-point shooting and began to add some offense under the basket in addition to the bearded ballsters.

At 55:65, the Clippers entered the second half with a 10-point lead.

Such a point difference is not a problem for the Rockets, as long as they can defend the Clippers' offense.

Despite being a regular season game, Coach D'Antoni didn't want to end too early:

"If we change defenses faster and communicate actively when we defend, we still have a chance!"

D'Antoni looked at Harden, and the main thing was to tell him that the Clippers' role players were too easy to score with the bearded players.

"I'll do my job defensively."

Harden promised to come down, and his attitude was fine, but the result could only depend on the sky.

The assistant coach exchanged glances, and Coach D'Antoni began to expand his thoughts:

"There are too many rotations, and by the time the playoffs come, seven should be enough for most games."

Under Li Ze's defense, Paul behaved very averagely, and throughout the first half of the game, most of them were directing traffic.

After the start of the second half, he also missed the mid-range, which made Paul curse.

The Rockets' three-point rain and Jedi counterattack did not appear, on the contrary, the Clippers frequently played conversion offenses and blossomed more on the court.

And as the game time went by, the bearded golfer gradually became a little tired, his feet went limp, and the throws in the paint area began to hit the iron.

At 24:29 in the first quarter and 79:94 in the third quarter, the Clippers had already sealed the win.

"With a win against the Rockets, will the Clippers lose in March? It's truly unparalleled dominance. ”

Jeff Van Gundy sighed and began to help fans smooth out the Clippers' schedule in March.

Mark Jackson also felt that it would be difficult for the Clippers to lose:

"There will be some challenges in back-to-back games on the road at the end of March, and the Clippers do have a chance to keep winning!"

As soon as the game started in the fourth quarter, the two began to discuss the Clippers' victory in the commentary box, and when coach D'Antoni switched to the bench, the Intuit Dome arena rang into cheers again.

At 105:122, the Clippers finally managed to defeat the Rockets at home.

Paul was 3-of-12 from the field and finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 4 turnovers.

Chairman Cannon knew that he was stretching, and he was embarrassed to continue complaining about Harden's defense.

The Clippers' home fans were very friendly to Paul and didn't boo much throughout the game.

After the game, Li Ze saw the frowning Paul, and knew that the other party must be thinking about the ranking:

"Actually, there is not much difference between 2nd and 3rd place, and 4th place is also not a good position, Chris, you should enjoy the game and take care of your left hamstring by the way."

The two exchanged fists, and Li Ze reminded Paul that weight gain has a price, and he is not optimistic about Chairman Cannon's choice.

Paul is also lacking in confidence in his body, but fortunately, at the end of the season, the Warriors have begun to rotate, and the Rockets are likely to be able to sit in the second place:

"Kayce, see you in the Western Conference Finals! I'll take care of myself! Don't worry about veterans. ”

Looking at the confident Paul, Li Ze finally just smiled and nodded:

"The floor of the Western Conference Finals is not so easy to touch."

The Clippers have five games to play in early March, and the schedule is very light, so you don't have to fly around, and the first four games are all at home.

On the morning of the 13th, the Clippers departed for Chicago to officially start their road trip.

With a winning streak, Amerika's ball critics began to work hard every day for the Clippers.

It wasn't until the night of the 28th that the Clippers faced the Rockets back-to-back away games and lost Game 1 of March.

The Clippers rested Harris that night, and as the regular season drew to a close, health became the Clippers' number one priority.

After the away win over the Trail Blazers on the night of the 30th, the Clippers had a 15-1 record in March, and on social media, lemon essence fans were chanting for the finale, this record is heavenly!

From the beginning of this season, the Player of the Month award for March and April will be judged together, and although the results have not yet been announced, everyone knows that this award will definitely belong to Li Ze.

By April, the Clippers had six games to play, no back-to-backs, and only one on the road.

When the lemon essence saw such a schedule, it suddenly became sour again.

On the night of the 5th, the Clippers rested Paul George in rotation and lost to the Jazz who were playing a card battle.

The top three teams in the Western Conference will be able to adjust by the end of the season, while the teams behind will have to work hard for the standings.

From 4th to 9th place, everyone is only one win away, and the competition for a playoff spot is fierce.

However, the Clippers treat them equally, and they can lose on the road and continue to beat their opponents on the home court.

On April 11, the final game of the regular season, Clippers fans began to celebrate wildly after the first quarter of the game at the Intuit Dome arena.

At 22:40, the score over the Lakers' arena was out of emotion for a while, so admit defeat and lie down.

Josh Hart came out in the rotation to get a rare amount of playing time, and after coming on the court, he went all out to defend and scored three-pointers.

This budding newcomer doesn't care if the game is a game of abuse, and roars passionately after scoring the goal, and by the way, he also provokes the budding newcomer Caruso on the opposite side.

There were also some Lakers fans at the scene, but most of them were autistic at this time, and after a season, everyone can already confirm that Lonzo Ball is likely to be in the water.

With 34 wins and 47 losses, such a record is also difficult to satisfy Lakers fans.

A lot of people are fed up with Luke Wharton's egalitarianism, and if nothing else, the young coach will be out of class next season.

Halfway through the third quarter of the game, Li Ze had already rested, watching Josh Hart continue to throw in three-pointers after coming on the court, and also stood up and flung the towel with the atmosphere group.

After holding back for most of the season, Josh Hart completely broke out tonight, and the Clippers fans on the scene did not skimp on their cheers, and the sound came wave after wave.

By the fourth quarter of the game, everyone even started shouting MVP for Josh Hart.

By the end of the game, the new Josh Hart was yelling as he held the ball, and tonight he took his chance.

The big screen above the arena shows Josh Hart's stats:

Playing 36 minutes, 9-of-15, 7-of-9 from beyond the three-point line, and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line, Josh Hart slashed 30 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers tonight!

Hard work pays off, even if he doesn't play much time throughout the season, but through such a game, Clippers fans will completely remember this newcomer.

In the post-match interview, Li Ze even brought Josh Hatra over and let the budding enjoy the treatment of a star player.

'I'm so excited, I'm proud of the team, 78 wins, we got 78 wins, everyone works hard every day, it's what we deserve!'

The Fox Sports reporter looked at Josh Hart next to him and shouted excitedly, and did not interrupt the other party, but kept nodding, this season does belong to the Clippers.

The NBA league released a poster of the Clippers as soon as the game ended, and also took stock of the historical record on Twitter:

In the 95~96 season, the Bulls achieved a 39-2 record at home, almost breaking the record set by the Celtics;

In the 85~86 season, the Celtics played an amazing 40-1 home record, a record that has been sealed for a long time and no one has broken it;

In the 17~18 season, the regular season ended, and the Clippers won 41-0 at home, breaking the record set by the Celtics and becoming the first team in history to win all at home!

At the same time, the Clippers are 78-4, once again breaking the best record in history, which is unprecedented, and it is difficult to come again.

Amerika's sports media also took advantage of the hot spots, and immediately released the data posters of the Bulls, Celtics, and Clippers on social media, with the accompanying text very simple:

"78 wins and 4 losses, God's record! (Goat .jpg) (Crown .jpg) #见证伟大#快船国度"

Thank you all for your subscription support~

5 to 8 can also win, the Lakers did pull across-. -

(End of chapter)