unfinished glory

Chapter 283

Chapter 283

The Warriors have come a long way this season.After the old Nelson laid the foundation and Mark Jackson took shape, Steve Kerr took over and sublimated the team.

In the past few seasons, they have successively acquired Australian center Bogut, former 76ers core Iguodala, and three-point shooter Korver acquired during the offseason, and the team has completed the reconstruction step by step.

Under the leadership of Curry this season, they started to play a fast offense, taking about 90 shots per game.By comparison, the Grizzlies are taking just 80 shots per game.

Although in recent seasons, Li Chongxiao has been the player with the highest number of three-point shots and three-point shooting percentage in the league, but he can't be as eye-catching as Curry.Curry regards three-pointers as a regular offensive method, accounting for about half of his shots.

Driven by him, the Warriors ranked first in the league in both the number of three-pointers attempted and the number of hits.

Many teams couldn't stop this wave of offensive frenzy, and fell at the feet of the Warriors one after another.Even the Grizzlies, in November's away game, couldn't withstand the devastation of the Warriors.Although Li Chongxiao scored 11 points, the defensive system that has not yet fully formed failed to withstand the Warriors' offensive fire and was defeated.

The other teams, all in this wave of offensive, were left behind, allowing the Warriors to take the lead.This is why Curry can rank first in the MVP list with an average of about 25 points per game.

However, Curry did not sit in this position for a long time, and the MVP list changed in December.The Grizzlies slowly took shape and firmly occupied the first place in the defensive list.Li Chongxiao quickly adapted to the changes in the team. Since the teammates on the inside couldn't share too many offensive tasks, he passed on this part of the shooting power to himself.

With a burst of explosion in December, he stretched his personal average score to 40.5 points, surpassing Curry and ranking first on the MVP list.

This season's Christmas game, he visited the Staples Center to play against the Lakers.Bryant's injuries have been repeated and his recovery is far away. The team is now relying on Paul and Yao Ming to persevere.

Paul played well this season and can still maintain a 20+10 stat. Even with the Lakers' old players and injuries, he still ranks fifth in the Western Conference.After winning the championship, his competitive spirit did not fade away, and he was still on the way to chase the next championship.

This season, Yao Ming's performance has declined significantly. Although he can still average 20 points per game, his rebounds have dropped to 8.7.On the defensive end, his regression is very obvious. Now he can only stick to the three-second zone and rely on his height to deter opponents.Once the opponent chooses to pull it out, he can't take care of it.

The inside of the Grizzlies has no offensive power, which will not have any impact on the Lakers, but the defensive end makes Yao Ming miserable.The four big men took turns to fight, causing Yao Ming's shooting rate to drop sharply. He only made 18 of 7 shots and scored 19 points.

The Lakers suffered a disastrous defeat.After the game, Yao Ming smiled wryly and said to Li Chongxiao: "After this season, I may really have to leave."

……

In the slow run-in, the Grizzlies' record continued to rise. Before the All-Star Game, they came to the third place in the Western Conference, ahead of the Warriors and Thunder.

For Li Chongxiao, this year's All-Star Game lineup is the most unfamiliar.Kobe was dropped, he didn't play a game, and Curry took his place.Anthony Davis became the new darling of the fans and was selected as the starting list for the All-Star Game.He is expected to be the same as Rose. During his rookie contract, he will enter the starting lineup of the All-Star Game twice in a row, activate Rose's clause, and get a maximum salary.

For the Eastern All-Star team, the Gasol brothers were all selected as substitutes. This was not the national team game, and they teamed up again to fight against Li Chongxiao.

The Warriors, ranked No. 40 in the Western Conference, and the Grizzlies, No. [-], have only one player selected for the All-Star Game. Naturally, they are powerless to prevent the three Thunder players from scoring.Westbrook scored [-] points, helped the Western Conference team win the game, and won the All-Star MVP.

The price of getting this honor requires a player to be sacrificed, and the third brother became the victim.In the game against the Rockets at the end of March, Harden stepped on Beverly's foot for a European layup, fell to the ground with a fracture, and was reimbursed for the season.

Originally, their 2:1 Grizzlies this season had already taken the lead in record, but Harden's injury made them mess up. They were a little distracted in the next game and lost consecutively.The Grizzlies took the opportunity to play a winning streak, and at the last moment, the record surpassed the Thunder.

Due to the Thunder's loss at the last minute, the biggest favorite to win this season has become the Heat.Among the superteams formed over the years, only they still maintain the integrity of the lineup.

The Grizzlies are no longer considered to be championship candidates.Some people ridiculed that Mike Brown deserved to be an assistant coach in the Spurs. He didn't learn anything else.

Their record against strong teams this season is very poor. The Warriors and Thunder in the West both lost more than they won.Facing the strong teams in the East, they didn't take advantage of it.The best situation is also a 1:1 tie with the Heat.

But facing non-playoff teams, they have not lost a game this season.This allowed them to achieve a record of 60 wins, ranking second in the Western Conference and third in the league.

This record is Ellison's best result since he bought the team. After the team's big change, it can still maintain such a good competitiveness, which makes him more and more convinced that the team should follow his thinking to build a team.

As for the loss of the two rookies selected this season, he didn't mention a word.Anyway, it was a draft pick that was picked up in vain, and it was all used as a supplementary water dispenser seat.

……

There is nothing special about the tactics of the Grizzlies, but the Warriors' style of play this season has caught the eyes of many head coaches in the league.In particular, Curry's offensive focus surprised everyone.

At the beginning of the draft, Curry was very favored by the Knicks.But the old Nelson cut the beard first, just one pick higher and snatched him away.Later, even in the season when he showed the attributes of the glass man, he sent Monta Ellis away without hesitation, and devoted himself to strengthening Curry.

Curry only stayed healthy last season, and the Warriors immediately sent a four-year 4400 million contract.The contract amount exceeded Curry's expectations, and he agreed without hesitation.It now appears that the Warriors bet right.

Curry averaged 18.4 shots per game, including 9.3 three-pointers, more than half.This style of play has aroused the interest of many commentators and head coaches, and they have studied what kind of changes this offensive style will bring to the league.

In fact, Curry hit 4.1 three-pointers, not as many as Li Chongxiao.However, compared with Li Chongxiao's physical fitness, there is a big gap.

No matter what kind of attack method Li Chongxiao uses, it is impossible to defend.Three-pointers are just one of his arsenals. It is normal to score or not to score, and it is difficult for others to imitate.

But Curry is different. He looks thin and small, not very confrontational, but he can find his own way and play his own unique style of play.This has great reference significance for both players and teams.

Except for a few outside players of the Grizzlies, who were deeply influenced by Li Chongxiao and did not deliberately change, many players in the league began to change the position of their shots in a planned way.

Li Chongxiao also felt that the team didn't need to follow suit at all, and the three-point tactics were simply suitable for the current Grizzlies.They can get the second advantage in the Western Conference, and a large part of the credit is due to the inside defense and rebounding.If you all shoot three-pointers, it is easy to produce long rebounds, which is a bit self-defeating.

And when you encounter a team with a good fast break, such as the Warriors, once you lose a rebound, it is easy to be hit by a fast break.Especially the big center of the Grizzlies can't run, and they must not be able to keep up.

So even though other teams are having fun, the Grizzlies are still standing still, still playing according to their own rhythm.

(End of this chapter)