ATPnovel Chapter 539 The Final Stage
Chapter 539 The Final Stage
Chapter 539 The Final Stage
The time came to March 3, and the Eastern team the Nuggets were going to play against was the Hornets.
The Hornets played well this season. The growth of Walker and the addition of Batum have improved their offense to a higher level. However, due to injuries and the decline in Jefferson's strength, their offense has improved while their defense has declined. They have no further reason.
In the middle of the season, the Hornets traded to Courtney Lee, and the defensive ability of the back line has also improved.
There is no doubt that they are also preparing for the playoffs, and the young teams in the East actually have more opportunities.
The Hornets also belong to that kind of flexible style of play. Now Jefferson has been placed on the bench, and the center position is the third-year student Cody Zeller who can be pulled out to shoot.
But obviously, the so-called flexible lineup facing the Nuggets inside is just looking for a fight.
It's not just about Xiang Chu, Jokic can also eat opponents hard in the paint.
The strength of the Hornets must be Walker, but the efficiency is not very high. Walker is also an outsider who eats the basket.
As far as the rotation is concerned, both sides are pretty good. The Hornets sacrificed some offensive power of the starting lineup just for the balance of the lineup.
However, the Nuggets entered the state earlier, perhaps because they lost a game earlier, and the players were very serious in this game.
After Nurkic rested, he also had a physical advantage in front of Jefferson.
Jefferson has good strength, but he is not tall enough to move slowly, and he often suffers from hand feeling.
Relatively speaking, a tall insider like Nurkic can play more easily.
As a result, the Nuggets' lead has steadily increased.
Xiang Chu was also a little surprised. The Hornets seemed to be much weaker than expected. Many of their offenses were singles by Walker or Batum, but they were not the kind of incomprehensible players.
By the second quarter, the Nuggets had already led by double digits.
The Hornets, whose offense has improved a lot this season, did not expect to be so bad when they met the Nuggets.
The Nuggets' method of blocking three-pointers is really a nightmare for many teams with poor outside strong shooting ability.
Moreover, the Hornets played too many hero balls. When the Nuggets overturned, most of the opponent's role players broke out. Obviously, the Hornets did not give the role players this opportunity.
The Nuggets don't need to change their defensive strategy in the second half, just limit Walker and Batum to two points.
In the third quarter, the Hornets' offense still did not improve, and the initiative of this game was completely in the hands of the Nuggets.
The Hornets once double-teamed the inside line, but Middleton and Gary Harris outside were unambiguous. Their entire defensive system collapsed, and the offensive end could not be played. The final quarter almost became garbage time.
However, the Hornets did not give up. After the Nuggets came to the bench, Jefferson and Batum broke out on the Hornets, especially Batum, who scored several three-pointers.
They managed to get the Nuggets' main force back on the field, but that's about it.
After Xiang Chu came on the field, the team quickly turned the score advantage into double digits again, and time was running out. The Hornets just lost better.
After the game, Hornets coach Clifford did not brood over the failure, "Our goal is to enter the playoffs, we are only short of the goal, the Nuggets are very strong, losing to them does not mean anything, we will accept Come down and win the game you deserve.”
For the Hornets, their goals for this season have almost been achieved.
Not every team in the league is eager for a championship, so the Nuggets have nothing to be complacent about. What they really have to do will start next month.
In the last game of the Eastern Expedition, the Nuggets played away against the Cavaliers, and they were in trouble.
James beat Middleton in the first quarter and scored 17 points in a single quarter. JR and Frye also performed very well. The Cavaliers took a double-digit lead in the first quarter.
The Cavaliers exploded this time, and the Nuggets did not keep up.
Mozgov is honestly a meat shield, but he is actually quite qualified. The Cavaliers did not play a purely small lineup this time. In order to deal with the Nuggets Twin Towers, they even put the older rookie, who is also the second Russian strongman on their team. Sasha Cowan sent up.
But the main thing is that they came up and shot hard, and their rotation players also played well. Dellavedova, Thompson and others can help the team. They are undoubtedly the strongest team in the East.
The Nuggets counterattacked in the second quarter, relying on Xiang Chu's violent performance to help the team narrow the score gap to single digits.
But in the third quarter, the Cavaliers' outside line once again played a very high level.
James is not as offensive as he was at the beginning, but his deterrence has not diminished. The Cavaliers rely on him to attract defensive attention, allowing other outside players to hit a lot of shots.
In the final quarter, James showed off again, and when the time was running out, the Nuggets chose to give up.
After all, it's not the playoffs now, and the Nuggets are still reluctant to use Xiang Chu to go all out.
And in the duel between strong teams, after the Cavaliers have a clear advantage, it is not easy for the Nuggets to get back.
The Nuggets have fewer pure shooters in their lineup this season, and it's really hard to play without Gallinari.
Middleton's ability to play with the ball is still not as good as Gallinari's, and Jokic has not fully grown up. Even if this happens in the playoffs, the team will find it difficult to solve it.
However, the regular season has appeared, and Xiang Chu will not let this happen easily in the playoffs.
The two teams can only meet in the finals. At that time, Xiang Chu will also explode with all his strength. If the Cavaliers can't open the score, the Nuggets will not have any worries.
After the game, facing the excited reporters from all sides, Xiang Chu just said lightly: "There is nothing to worry about, we are still number one in the league."
The reporter looked constipated, and Xiang Chu was still so arrogant, but there was nothing he could do, because he had the capital to be arrogant.
Originally, they might have been squeezed to second place in the Western Conference by the Warriors, but the Warriors just lost to the Spurs in a strong matchup and did not seize this opportunity.
In fact, even if the Nuggets are not number one in the Western Conference, Xiang Chu is not so stubborn. They are still the defending champions, and they have the ability to pull them down in the playoffs.
If you are tough, you have to pay attention to the problem, but the most important thing for the Nuggets now is the health of the players.
The playoffs are getting closer and closer. If there are one or two more injuries, it will be really difficult to defend the title.
In any case, this road trip in the East is finally over.
When Xiang Chu returned to Denver, he also enjoyed a few hours of family warmth.
There were only eleven games left. After training the next day, Xiang Chu had a good exchange with George Karl.
The two-day chat was quite exciting, mainly about the team's strategy in the final stage and some issues in the playoffs.
Three consecutive championships, both of them are very much looking forward to.
The team's performance is good, and George Karl feels that his body is much better. He really didn't expect that he would have the opportunity to improve his historical status in the later years of his coaching career. It's cool to think about it.
(End of this chapter)