ATPnovel Chapter 405 Want to win
Chapter 405 Want to win
Chapter 405 Want to win
"I'm full of energy, but I have to say, I don't like back-to-back away games."
"Xiang, let's have a match, we have to fly for a while."
On the plane to the away game, the Nuggets players were not so quiet. The feeling of No. [-] in the Western Conference is different. They don't want to lose it immediately.
However, the next schedule is not easy. The consecutive away games will start with back-to-back away games.
With fewer and fewer games left, the Pelicans' hopes of making the playoffs have dwindled.
But they still have a possibility. Their record has improved a lot this season, but the West is just so difficult to mix.
Davis has returned, but they have the confidence to kill any team at home.
They are less stable on the outside. On the inside, they have meat shields and a fourth-position attacker like Davis. They have the capital to fight against the Nuggets.
In the first quarter, the Pelicans played very well, and the offensive end was close to perfection.
Davis can ask for anything in the fourth position, scoring in double figures in a single quarter, Evans and Gordon on the outside are not bad, and they have shown their ready advantages.
While others are nearly transparent, the Pelican has taken it to the extreme.
However, injuries have always plagued the Pelicans. With Anderson's truce, it is difficult for them to have someone who shines on the bench.
To be honest, the Nuggets' bench performance is not good, but it can still suppress the opponent.
The small advantage the Pelicans managed to lead quickly disappeared, and Pelicans coach Monty Williams had to increase the playing time of three offensive points, especially Davis.
Without Davis, the Pelicans would not be able to play outside. Although he has not yet reached Xiang Chu's level, his impact on the team is similar.
It's just that Davis doesn't have Xiang Chu's physical strength, so the Pelicans will definitely have hidden dangers in such a fight.
Obviously, Davis doesn't have that kind of efficiency in the second quarter.
As a result, the Nuggets successfully overtook, with only Gallinari maintaining their efficiency on the outside.
Of course, it's not that Davis has no physical strength, he just can't continue to be efficient. He is just an ordinary All-Star now, and there is still a big gap between the top players in the league like Xiang Chu.
During the intermission, Xiang Chu and the coaching staff also communicated.
They thought the situation in the first half was good, and letting the Pelicans play star football was what they hoped for.
If the opponent blooms more, they will not be very easy to guard against.
The Pelicans play star football, even if their efficiency has not been low, the Nuggets' targeted defense at critical moments can teach the opponent how to behave.
And role players who are not familiar with the touch can't do much at critical moments.
In the third quarter, Davis once again showed high efficiency. The two teams played inextricably.
This has been expected by the Nuggets. They consume Davis while doing a good job of offense.
For the outside line, the main thing is to limit the opponent's three-pointers. This is also the defensive method that the Nuggets have always advocated. In the past two years of overall defense, they have done the best in limiting three-pointers.
Of course, this is only a three-pointer for relatively ordinary players, and Curry and other players are not included.
That's enough, the All-Star players are not so restricted, and the team's defense is originally designed to make the opponent's All-Star players lose their helpers.
"We can beat them, our performance is not worse than them." Monty Williams loudly encouraged the players.
On the surface, Davis's performance is really no worse than Xiang Chu's, and his defense is also very good.
In fact, the key is stability, and the ability to deal with defensive upgrades has reached a critical moment.
But for the Pelicans, there is still the problem of their rotation players.
They don't have a player like Williams, and the scoring ability of their bench players is too poor.
If Holiday is here and Evans or Gordon is on the bench, this problem can be solved. It can only be said that the injury prevented the Pelicans from taking a further step.
The Pelicans didn't let Davis rest in the second half. They wanted to take advantage of Xiang Chu's end to establish the victory in one fell swoop.
As it turns out, they still overestimated Davis a bit.
After fighting continuously, Davis' offensive efficiency dropped. After 3 minutes, the Nuggets won by 2 points instead, and the Pelicans could only arrange for Davis to rest first.
Then Xiang Chu came up and gave Akinsa his fourth foul.
Ajinsa lasted for 10 minutes in this game, and almost could only stop Xiang Chu with fouls.
Asik's performance was much better, and Asik's physical strength was not very good. The Pelicans fought against Xiang Chu, but the physical strength of the players defending Xiang Chu couldn't keep up.
In the end, Davis only rested for a minute or so and continued to play. Without him on the court, the Pelicans felt like they were about to collapse.
Teams like the Nuggets always give people an illusion. They feel that as long as they perform a little better, they can compete with this Western Conference team. The Nuggets have indeed lost inexplicably.
But only when they really meet them will they understand that the Nuggets' No. [-] in the Western Conference is well-deserved.
Because of defending Davis, Gallinari got into foul trouble. After Faried stepped up, it didn't have any impact on the team.
With Xiang Chu attracting the opponent's defensive attention, Faried also has the opportunity to steal points, and Knight, Belinelli and Middleton on the outside will also be a concern for the Pelicans to shrink their defense.
At 3 minutes and 49 seconds, Belinelli scored a three-pointer from the outside, and the Nuggets' lead came to 8 points.
Immediately afterwards, Middleton steals Davis with a very beautiful double-team.
This happened when everyone knew the Pelicans were going to pass the ball to Davis.
At the last moment, the Nuggets' lead came to double digits.
The Pelicans did not give up. They put their hopes on three-pointers. Evans and Gordon hit three-pointers against the defense one after another, helping the team narrow the gap between the two sides to 6 points.
They can hit prickly shots, but they can't last that way.
The next two Pelicans offenses were hit by Davis, but the Nuggets didn't care about the 2 points, and Xiang Chu could retaliate every time.
In the last tens of seconds, Gordon made another three-pointer against the defense, but this time he missed.
The Pelicans then carried out foul tactics. Gallinari, who had just replaced him, made two free throws. The game lost its suspense and the Nuggets shattered the opponent's hopes.
After the game, Pelicans coach Monty Williams also said: "Anthony performed very well. I am mainly responsible for the loss. The players really worked hard."
As a Nuggets player, Xiang Chu didn't have time to understand the regrets of the Pelicans.
Their next opponent in back-to-back away games is to keep the top four Grizzlies in the West. Even if Conley is sidelined due to injury, the Grizzlies are still a difficult opponent, especially when they are back-to-back.
Xiang Chu needs to get ready because he wants to win.
(End of this chapter)