After the confession failed, I went to the NBA to play and lose weight

Chapter 228 The fierce competition at the end of the season

On March 3, the Magic played their first game without Howard, against an opponent from Philadelphia.

The external statement is that Howard's right shoulder is sore and needs further observation, so he temporarily truces.

Resting him is not only for the purpose of resting him, but also to see how the team can play in his absence.

As a result, facing a playoff-level opponent, the Magic, relying on the offensive state of all members, declared that the game had lost suspense at halftime.

Li Chengming served as the starter and partnered with Lewis. After attracting double-teams inside, Lewis made 3 of 3 outside shots in the first quarter.

Turkoglu and Li Chengming's internal and external dual-core organization also organized the Magic's offense in an orderly manner. The two sent out 6 assists in each half, and the team's assists reached 17 times.

In the third quarter, the Magic continued their efforts and did not give the opponent a chance to breathe. They scored 30 points in three consecutive quarters and suppressed the opponent's score to 60 points.

In the last quarter, the Magic took the lead in replacing all the main players. For Van Gundy, this is a good time to test the remaining personnel.

Anyway, according to the current personnel composition of the Magic team, after entering the playoffs, according to the normal rotation of 8 to 9 people, the Magic team has decided to include Howard, Li Chengming, Turkoglu, Lewis, and Nelson. The main force is included, plus the three outside rotations of Evans, Bogans, and Arroyo, and then select suitable inside substitutes from Foyer, Garrity, Cook and others.

Of course, the roster will definitely include Redick, Augustine and others who have performed well in the past, and this time because of Howard's rotation and the next inside line will be rested, Gortat may also get a chance at that time, it depends on him Can you grasp this good performance and win tickets for yourself to enter the playoffs.

In this game, the Orlando Magic were all soldiers. Eight players scored in double figures, and Lewis, the highest scorer, only scored 18 points.

Li Chengming scored 11 of 7, scored 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. At one time, individual fans felt anxious. After all, he has managed to increase his scoring average to 20+, but if he continues to play in this mode, say It might fall down again.

The next day, the Magic played back-to-back away games against the Hawks, and this time the truce became Lewis.

In fact, Lewis's attendance rate this season is also quite high, and he only had two truces because of a neck injury before. In terms of attendance alone, he is absolutely worthy of his big contract.

Because the previous game was won too easily, Li Chengming and others did not suffer too much physical trouble. With Howard recovering, although the Eagles launched a Jedi counterattack in the fourth quarter under the bonus of home court, they quickly Relying on the continuous connection between Li Chengming and Howard, their offensive was suppressed.

In the end, they narrowly won by 99 points 96:3 and continued their winning streak.

The last half minute was actually a bit thrilling. First, Howard made one of two free throws, and the Eagles hit a three-pointer to close the score to 2 points. Then Li Chengming was affected by the physical strength of back-to-back battles, and he missed both free throws.

The Eagles held the time down. Joe Johnson went to the basket with the intention of playing a 2+1. Unexpectedly, the foul was successful, but the ball went around the basket and went out of the basket.

After Joe Johnson went to the free throw line, only one of two free throws allowed Turkoglu to grab a crucial defensive rebound. The Eagles fouled and sent him a free throw.

In the last less than a second, the Eagles did not pause, and the game ended as soon as the backcourt was served, which also allowed the Magic to win back-to-back away victories in a thrilling manner.

This time the Magic's winning streak has extended to 11 games, and it is also the second time they have played a 10+ winning streak this season.

Although he did not have a long winning streak like Houston, the two consecutive 10-game winning streaks and the current record towards the first 60 wins of the season are more convincing.

And the fact that the team can still have such a state at the end of the season has made many people sigh, especially everyone can see that the Magic's recent adjustments are obviously preparing for the playoffs, and there are some personnel rests.

But maybe it is because the young people are holding their breath to prove themselves, coupled with the strong team temperament they have now, so that they can still bite the score to the end even when the game situation is unfavorable, and then rely on the players With his personal ability, through one or two rounds of excellent offense and defense, he reversed the situation and decided the world.

This naturally makes the outside world have more expectations for their playoff journey. Although it is not a good thing to get out of the state too early, if this state can be continued, who can say what will happen?

In contrast, it was the Celtics who lost the chain first. While the Magic maintained a good momentum of winning streak, the Celtics ushered in a two-game losing streak. Lost in all games.

These two opponents are not weak, and the Hornets are a new force in the West. Now they are competing for the top three with the Lakers and Spurs. The loss of the Green Army in the strong dialogue will definitely make people feel disappointed with them.

Moreover, they have already lost more than the Magic. In the next top spot competition, they have already fallen into a disadvantage. Now the Green Army will also be caught in a decision, whether to strive for the top spot with all their strength, or to take a proper rotation to maintain the state.

For the veteran Celtics, the latter is definitely more suitable, but for them who fail to win the championship this season means failure, there is no room for them to consider too many opportunities.

The only thing to do is to grasp the moment, especially the Magic will be their biggest rival in the Eastern Conference. If the two sides finally meet in the Eastern Conference finals, they will fall into a disadvantage due to their poor record and loss of home court advantage. It will be too late for regret.

No one expected that this season's competition would be so fierce. It is almost the end of the season, but neither the East nor the West has been fully determined. Similarly, the playoff list is also in chaos. Both the East and West have at least three teams competing for the final two spots in the playoffs.

Of course, at this time, it is usually the time for bad teams to perform. Some of them who have been bad for a season may suddenly "cheat corpses" and come up with a scary "robbing the rich and helping the poor".

On March 3th, the Magic played against the Spurs at home. The truce became Li Chengming. As a result, the Magic lost to the Spurs at home, interrupting their winning streak and losing 25 times.

Of course, although Li Chengming was absent from the loss, this does not show how important Li Chengming is to the Magic, but it also shows that the Magic's defensive rotation, especially on the flanks and forwards, is still a big problem.

This time, they were caught and beaten by their opponents. The best performers on the Spurs side were Michael Finley and Ginobili, the two forwards and guards.

The Spurs are not all players in this game, but the main core is there. Obviously Popovich used this game as a preview of the finals to prepare, and he was very targeted defensively.

In Li Chengming's absence, all the Spurs' targets were given to Howard, but the defensive strategy against him was based on Duncan's single defense, mainly to cut off Howard's connection with his teammates, especially outside shooters.

This defensive strategy played a very good role. The Magic only took 16 three-pointers in this game. Although it was not bad to hit 7 three-pointers, the deterrence from the outside line was not so strong.

(End of this chapter)