basketball pope

Chapter 287 [The advantage is not there, the bull rises]

The next day, the media hyped the Raptors to slaughter the Pacers, and they lost the night, a 101-104 back-to-back loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The reason for the big victory in the first game is not only because the Raptors are strong in attack, but also because the Pacers are weaker.Even if Jaylen Rose comes back, it's hard for them to make the playoffs. Without a star, they're just underdogs.

The 76ers retained their core lineup from last season, and the newly added Morris Peterson also performed well, scoring 9 of 4 shots and 4 of 2 three-pointers, scoring 10 points, 1 rebound, and no assists.

替补的库科奇11分5篮板3助攻，阿隆-麦基11分3篮板2助攻, 76人角色球员集体爆发，全队六人得分上双。

猛龙对艾弗森的防守比较成功，他全场23投9中，三分球4中0，罚球6中6，得到24分5篮板5助攻4抢断。

The Raptors' starting offense was still strong, with four scoring in double figures, but only Harplin scored 12 points off the bench, and Jackson scored 8 points and 5 rebounds.Boykins misfired, 8-of-1 from the field and only 2 points.

Media analysis believes that the strength of the 76ers has increased again and can threaten the status of the Raptors in the East.They still only have Iverson as a star, but they have a number of excellent defensive players, and their offense attack has also been improved.

The Lakers also lost back-to-back on the same day, losing to the Spurs at home.Kobe Bryant and O'Neal both scored 30+, and only Isaiah Ryder scored 10 points and 6 assists for the other players.

O'Neal made only 18 of his 6 free throws, which was the main reason for the failure. He missed consecutive free throws when the score was tight in the final quarter.

On the 3rd, the Raptors defeated the Celtics 101 to 93, and the team was reduced.

Backup power forward Jumaine Jones was fouled by Matt Blunt during a layup and fell off the baseline, hurting his shoulder.

Blunt failed to get a contract after playing in the preseason on behalf of the Raptors, and received a minimum salary in the Celtics. In this game, he played with a breath, and the foul action was a bit big.

After an MRI examination, Jumaine will miss at least 4 weeks of games.

On the 4th, it was another back-to-back game. The Raptors defeated the Wizards at home, 113 to 106.

Although they won, the Raptors' weaknesses were revealed, and their perimeter defense became weaker.Once Christie left, Carter, Reed, and Halprin were unable to take on the task of defending the perimeter.

In the summer, Yang Rui thought about signing Laga Bell, an undrafted player, but in his impression, Bell became stronger defensively after playing under Larry Brown for two seasons, not immediately.

Bell is very thin now, with poor confrontation, and no one wants it at all. In Yang Rui's previous life, he joined the 76ers as a temporary worker in his first season. He only played 5 regular season games for the team, and he was absolutely marginal in the playoffs.

There are not many defensive experts in the league. Yang Rui's most familiar swingman defense expert is Bruce Bowen, but history has changed. The Knicks changed their head coach and did not give up Bowen, and became the 2nd and 3rd position backup.

After discussing with the assistant coach, the Raptors defensive end arranged pseudo-joint defense every game, shrinking near the penalty area, and relying on the whole to make up for the lack of individual defense breakthroughs. The disadvantage is that the defense against long shots has become weaker.

It wasn't until the 20th that the Raptors lost their second game, a 94-105 home loss to the Hornets.

In the summer, the Heat and the Hornets made a big trade. As a result, the Heat started with 5 wins and 6 losses, but the Hornets played well, ranking third in the Eastern Conference with 7 wins and 4 losses.

After Eddie Jones left, Steve Francis became the new core of the team. His physical quality is amazing, his breakthrough ability is super strong, and PJ Brown's pick-and-roll coordination is very powerful.The Raptors strictly guard against the Hornets pick-and-rolls, and Mashburn can also hold the ball one-on-one, averaging 20 points per game, which is better than his performance in the Heat when he has the ball.

The more depressed person for the Hornets is David Wesley. In the past, the team let power forward Anthony Mason Jr. organize. Wesley was 185cm tall and played the role of a shooting guard on the field.

Now that Mason is gone, Francis starts as a point guard, and Wesley becomes unsuitable for starting. He and Francis have overlapping positions, and neither can defend the opponent's No. 2 position.

The Hornets have obviously become stronger. On the 22nd, they defeated the 10ers who had won 76 consecutive victories at home again, and their record was closely following the Raptors.

On the 23rd, the Raptors beat the Pacers 115-91 on Thanksgiving Day to avoid a losing streak.

Rose's comeback didn't help much, because there was no O'Neal in the inside, only Camby was added. This Pacers team is weaker than Yang Rui's previous life.Camby has played for so many years and is still a center who likes to jump and block shots on defense.

On the 25th, the Raptors defeated the Knicks 91-75.

The Knicks are currently 9 wins and 5 losses, with a good record. However, the biggest star in the team, Grant Hill, has only played 6 games and was reimbursed for the season because of a serious knee injury, which greatly affected the inspirational Knicks.

Center Luke Longley with an annual salary of $575 million can only be a marginal person, averaging 12 minutes per game, scoring 2 points and 2.6 rebounds, and is not a qualified substitute for Ben Wallace.

Glenn Rice has an annual salary of 758 million and can average 12 points per game, but it is a defensive loophole. The team loses more points when he is on the court. It is better to use Bruce Bowen.

The Knicks have two million-dollar players Sprewell and Larry Johnson, and the marginal center Tyrese Knight from the Lakers has an annual salary of $320 million, comparable to Brad Miller. Compare.This season, the Knicks' total salary has reached 7700 million US dollars, the first in the league, plus the luxury tax is close to [-] million.

The Raptors lost back-to-back 100-109 to the Bulls, their third loss.

The Bulls formed a trident of McGrady, Artest, and Brand, with veteran Hoiberg and former Pacers point guard Mark Jackson on the periphery.The Bulls also have Ron Mercer and Jamal Crawford on the bench who can score from the outside, and they have risen strongly.

The Bulls' flaw is that they don't have a good center and a good power forward backup, but that doesn't prevent them from becoming one of the teams that are watched by the league.McGrady's popularity this season is high, and he has become another "Jordan successor" to compare with Carter.

因为有布兰德分去球权，麦迪不像在魔术数据那么猛，出场时间上升到37分钟，拿下24.6分6.5篮板4.8助攻。布兰德场均20分10篮板2.8助攻1抢断1.6盖帽。公牛内外双核更容易赢球。

The Bulls' fortunes were rewritten, and they were all but locked in for a playoff berth.

Now that Crawford has not grown up, if Mercer is sent away in the future, he can get a good role player again.The management of the Bulls has already begun to consider transactions. Mercer, McGrady and Artest have some overlapping positions, and it is too wasteful to play off the bench.

The Bulls can attack and defend now, only the point guard position is slightly weaker. Since there is only one high-paid player in the team, McGrady, with a total salary of only 3500 million, the Bulls will not have any pressure to renew Brand in the future.

This lineup makes Yang Ruidu feel a lot of pressure. As long as the management does not trade indiscriminately, the Bulls will be the powerhouse in the Eastern Conference for many years in a row, and they can even hit the championship.

In this way, the Clippers will definitely be worse than Yang Rui's previous life, they will miss the star, everything will be different.

In 2001, the Bulls had the bottom record, so they traded Brand for Tyson Chandler, and now that the team is playing well, that trade probably won't happen again.

After the Raptors beat the Mavericks away on the 28th, they lost to the Hornets 99-103 in back-to-back away games and suffered their fourth defeat.

The Raptors are still a powerhouse in the East, but only in second place, and everyone can see that they no longer have the overwhelming advantage they had last season.

(End of this chapter)