ATPnovel Chapter 152 Critical Moments
Chapter 152 Critical Moments
Chapter 152 Critical Moments
When the All-Star voting ends, not much has changed from before.
In the East are Wade, Rondo, James, Anthony and Garnett. Because Rondo was injured, Bosh was officially added to the All-Star starter.
In the west, there was a slight change. Xiang Chu still dominated Howard, but because the fans of the two had been fighting and did not vote for each other, Griffin, who was 10,000+ votes behind the two at the beginning, lay down and won, and overtook them at the last moment. Howard a little vote.
In this way, the starters in the Western Conference became Kobe, Paul, Durant, Griffin and Xiang Chu.
Howard was extremely depressed, even if he couldn't compare to Xiang Chu, now he didn't even have an All-Star starter.
He was still the top voter last season, and the gap in coming to Los Angeles is too big.
The key team's performance is not good, Kobe still overwhelmed James to become the top voter, fans voted for Kobe and not for him, this differential treatment is too obvious.
Xiang Chu posted on social media, "The eyes of the fans are discerning."
Xiang Chu officially became the All-Star starter, and Jim Smith was also full of confidence when talking about commercial endorsements, allowing merchants who had previously expressed interest in each other to raise prices.
The days of the Nuggets sitting at home are still going on. On January 1, they ushered in the challenge of the Blazers again.
The competition to enter the top eight in the West is becoming more and more fierce. The Blazers now have a winning rate of more than 50%, and they can only become the top eight goalkeepers in the West. The Jazz behind them are only half a game away from them, and their winning rate is also over 50%.
Therefore, the Lakers whose winning percentage is still far from 50% will be particularly disappointing. If other teams play like this, they can give up this season. That is to say, they have many stars, so many fans feel that they still have a glimmer of hope.
The Blazers' performance has improved this season because the No. 6 pick Lillard is very strong, plug and play.
They are also strong in three-pointers this season, and the Nuggets need to pay extra attention.
But they don't have a real center, and the inside five is a mobile JJ-Hickson.
The Blazers lineup is also poor defensively, especially inside.
When Xiang Chu encountered an insider whose height and weight were not as good as his, he was undoubtedly crushed.
As soon as the game started, the two teams began to explode each other, Ty Lawson and Lillard, Gallinari and Batum, and Xiang Chu blasted JJ-Hickson, and Aldridge blasted Faried.
Both sides felt good, so it became an offensive battle.
The Blazers hit 5 three-pointers in the first quarter, so although the Nuggets fell behind by 2 points in the end, they didn't feel wronged, but the outside defense still needs to be adjusted.
George Karl didn't remind him during the game, because the Nuggets' offensive rhythm is also very good.
But after the first quarter, George Karl immediately pointed out a problem.
The Nuggets played a little excitedly in front of them, the details were not done well enough, and they did not make preparations before the game.
For the second time, both sides strengthened their defense, and the decline in attack power of the two teams during the rotation period also led to a stalemate in the score until the main players of all parties came back to play.
Once again, the tip of the needle was facing Maimang, both sides broke inside, but in different ways.
Aldridge mainly relied on his good touch to single-handedly play Faried, while Xiang Chu played all kinds of strong inside shots. JJ-Hickson suffered a lot against Xiang Chu, whether it was a strong dunk or a post-up. With the little hook, Xiang Chu simply did whatever he wanted.
However, both teams had some problems with their perimeter accuracy, especially the Nuggets, who began to habitually hit the iron again. It was naturally easy for the two teams' cores to play one-on-one, but it was also very troublesome when encountering auxiliary defense. The performance at the end was much worse than that in the first quarter.
By the end of the first half, the Blazers, who hit 7 three-pointers, still led by 3 points.
The Nuggets are getting used to being behind in the first half.
George Karl's adjustment to the game is still very good. He will not watch the team always at a disadvantage, and will continue to try, especially during the halftime break. He will formulate the tactical arrangement for the second half based on the situation in the first half.
In fact, in terms of matchups, the Nuggets still have a big advantage. The Blazers are too disadvantaged by not having a center, and Adelaide's style of play is doomed that he cannot maintain a high shooting percentage throughout the game, but Xiang Chu can do it.
It is the best choice to defend the outside line and let the opponent's collision determine the outcome.
In the second half, Iguodala kicked off the team's performance with an excellent personal defense.
He steals Matthews and helps the team get the first chance to score.
The strategies formulated by the Nuggets midfielder played a role. Aldridge felt a little bit down, and the Nuggets took the opportunity to overtake the score.
The Blazers also strengthened their defense, and the pace of the two teams slowed down. Xiang Chu's stable performance became the decisive factor in the game. The Nuggets stabilized their lead under his strong performance.
The Blazers chose to make a substitution in less than half a quarter. They replaced Luke Babbitt and planned to pull out to fight Xiang Chu.
Luke Babbitt is capable of three-pointers, but his defense is worse.
The Blazers trailed even more after Luke Babbitt missed a [-]-point attempt.
The Blazers adjusted again a few minutes later, speeding up and playing a small lineup.
The Nuggets, Xiang Chu, stayed in charge and responded to all changes without change. After the end of the three quarters, they gained a 5-point lead.
If you deliberately want to play Xiang Chu, the rhythm will not be very fast. It feels easy to accurately hand the ball to the inside at the right time, but it is not so simple, especially it is too difficult to do it throughout the game.
But this way of winning is stable. As long as the opponent doesn't explode, the Nuggets will not capsize.
The performance of the two teams' substitutes was lacking, which also allowed the Nuggets to maintain their lead until Xiang Chu came on the court.
Aldridge was earlier than Xiang Chu, and when Xiang Chu went up, he just hit another shot.
Xiang Chu got double-team treatment as soon as he went up, but outside Ty Lawson and he have also hit the CIC in recent years, the Blazers are a little bit powerless.
Entering the last 2 minutes, the score has not caught up, and the Blazers requested a timeout.
Playing again, Lillard performed well and blocked Ty Lawson's shot. Aldridge took the opportunity to score 4 points in a row. Although the Nuggets have always been leading, they only have a 5-point lead.
If the two teams are only one point apart, anything can happen.
Xiang Chu attracted the defense again, allowing Ty Lawson to hit 2 points.
But at the critical moment, the Nuggets' defense had problems again. Matthews hit from outside the three-point line. When the time was only a few tens of seconds left, the Blazers even tied.
The Nuggets requested a timeout and they had to hit it.
The home fans at the scene, the audience in front of the TV, and the live camera all focused on Xiang Chu.
The Nuggets once again have their own All-Star this season. Although he is an inside player, this man will never be soft at critical moments. They hope to see Xiang Chu's domineering performance.
After the timeout ended, Xiang Chu set foot on the field again. Xiang Chu's eyes were firm. At the critical moment, it was always the time of the star, and he was obliged to do so.
(End of this chapter)