ATPnovel Chapter 398 Top 2 in the West
Chapter 398 Top 2 in the West
Chapter 398
In the third quarter with the Jazz, Favors still crushed the fourth position, and Gallinari and Faried couldn't handle it.
The point is that Nurkic has a truce, and the Nuggets can't play the Twin Towers even if they want to play now.
In the past, the team looked at the shooters, but now there are enough shooters, but not enough insiders.
But the Nuggets are not in a hurry, and the inside problem is not a problem.
It's just that Xiang Chu can't say that he can fight against him now, and it's not good to give people an exaggerated impression.
As for the rotation lineup, Jazz young players Hood and Burke still performed sharply.
In fact, both of them have starting strength. The Jazz are improving their lineup now, and they are just playing off the bench.
The Jazz quickly hoarded a lot of young players, like Kanter, who were all sent out, and those who remained in the team would also choose.
The Nuggets are actually similar, except that some choices will be made passively by the Nuggets, and what they want to keep may not be able to stay because of money problems.
The luxury tax sometimes protects the small ball market, and sometimes restricts the small ball market. Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke is also a rich man in the league, but he is still not as willing to smash people as the big ball market. Business is about making money.
The same is true for other small ball markets. The players they play may be poached by other teams with money, and they will only keep their most promising young players.
The lack of troops and the opponent played well again, and the Nuggets did not fight the opponent to the end.
The team has another injury, and they are also afraid that someone will be affected again.
After all, they are a team that wants to show off their ambitions in the playoffs. Unlike those teams that are on vacation after the regular season, they must be extra cautious now.
The outside world will definitely have various doubts, but let them go.
Xiang Chu also communicated with George Karl. The team is now all about the playoffs, and they will no longer deliberately compete with the Warriors for the first place in the Western Conference.
Of course, they don't mind overtaking at the last moment if given the chance.
There are fewer days in February, and if there are games, it will be March.
The Nuggets played well in the first half of March, with more home games. The first opponent they will face is the Pelicans who are now competing with the Mavericks for the eighth place in the Western Conference.
The Pelicans are a bit miserable now. Davis is on a truce during the critical month of competing for the playoffs.
Holiday hasn't come back yet, and Davis has a truce. The Pelicans may feel yellow.
However, they still have fighting spirit. Their goal is to enter the playoffs, and they have been working hard during this time.
If the Nuggets underestimate them, they may capsize in the gutter.
Cunningham replaced Davis in the starting lineup. The Pelicans' current lineup is absolutely weak on the offensive end.
Their current number one firepower is Evans, and Evans also played very well at the beginning of the game.
In many cases, relatively disadvantaged teams always start well when they encounter a strong team. They are ready to break the boat, but their lineup will not be able to support it if the game lasts for a long time.
In this game, the Nuggets' bench lineup played well. In preparation, the Pelicans' rotation was too bad. Louis Williams took care of everything for the opponent alone.
In the second quarter, Knight, Middleton and Gallinari all started to play, and the Nuggets also successfully stabilized their lead.
In addition to Evans and Cunningham, the Pelicans performed well. The Nuggets now feel that their weak links have become habitual.
This is a bad habit, but fortunately, their advantages on the offensive end have been shown.
During the intermission, the Nuggets players seriously discussed tactics.
They lost a few games, the pressure on the players is not small, and no one wants to lose.
They started the third quarter very well, and there was a tendency to widen the score gap, but the Pelicans broke out again, and it was Eric Gordon.
Gordon was also a bit nervous, and he missed the shot completely in the first half, but he didn't expect it to be completely different after the intermission.
It did not allow the opponent to turn the score over, but the lead did not continue to expand.
Nurkic has a truce, and the Nuggets also tried the previous small lineup, but Faried is not in good physical condition now, and he can't afford the small lineup now.
The Pelicans' backup center Ajinsa took the opportunity to score points. Seeing that the Pelicans were about to catch up with the score, the Nuggets also replaced Xiang Chu a little earlier.
The Nuggets' principle of using Xiang Chu is that they can use it more at home, and they can fight if they are not far behind. If they feel that Xiang Chu is tired or the gap is too big, they will simply let Xiang Chu rest.
Xiang Chu's tactical position in the team is important, so he has this kind of preferential treatment.
The more important reason is that the team's record is good. If they are in the top eight, the team will not care whether Xiang Chu is tired or not, and he will definitely be fucked to death.
The warmth of the capital is in advance, and everything is a benefit.
After Xiang Chu went up, he caused Akinsa to foul twice in a row, and the Pelicans had to replace Asik again.
This is the reality, as long as Xiang Chu is on the field, their inside attack cannot be launched.
The Pelicans' last-minute attacks can only be concentrated on the outside, mainly Evans and Gordon.
Under Gallinari's full restraint, Cunningham could not become a point of attack at this time.
The attacks of Evans and Gordon did cause some trouble for the Nuggets, but Xiang Chu's deterrence is obviously stronger.
Under the impact of Xiang Chu, the Pelicans lost several rebounds at the last moment, and the Nuggets led by 2 points with only the last 7 minutes left in the game.
In this case, the Pelicans panicked. They are the ninth in the Western Conference, and the pressure to hit the playoffs is relatively high, and the [-]th Thunder in the Western Conference is getting closer and closer to them. If there is hope, they will worry about gains and losses.
They started shooting consecutive shots from beyond the arc, but only Gordon hit one.
The efficiency of the Nuggets at the last moment was not very high, but it was more than enough to stabilize the score advantage.
At 1 minute and 09 seconds, Xiang Chu stepped to the free throw line and made one of two free throws.
In 53 seconds, Gallinari hit two points, and the Pelicans were a little too late.
In 38 seconds, Evansbo got two free throws, but his two free throws were of little significance. They now need a three-pointer, and then the Pelicans adopted foul tactics, but then Evans appeared a Disappointed, Knight succeeded in stealing, and the Pelicans did not continue to struggle.
At home, the Pelicans made the Western Conference experience another cruel feeling.
In fact, their current record is not too bad, and the third Rockets in the Western Conference are far behind them, but the Warriors' record this season has maintained too well.
The current record of the Nuggets is the same as that of the No. [-] Eagles in the Eastern Conference, and the Eagles are also somewhat magical this season.
What the Nuggets players have to do now is to calm down. After all, the Warriors have maintained their current state, and they only have a chance to step on each other in the playoffs.
As for other teams, the Nuggets don't want to pay attention now. Unless Xiang Chu stops playing, the Nuggets' top two position in the Western Conference is extremely solid.
(End of this chapter)