unfinished glory

Chapter 130 Competition
The Spurs' winning streak lasted until Game 21. On December 12, they unexpectedly lost to the Lakers on the road.

In this game, the Spurs also played very well offensively. The team shot 51% of their shots, which was higher than their opponents.But it is impossible to limit the opponent's core players in defense.

Kobe, at the peak of his career, brought his proficient offensive skills to the extreme.

No matter whether it is Bo Wen or Li Chongxiao, in the case of single defense, it is useless to face the crazy Kobe.

Bowen hugged Kobe, who was rushing to the inside, and was thrown in by the opponent with one hand, scoring 2+1; Li Chongxiao's block covered Kobe's entire shooting space, and the latter still made a three-pointer with an increased arc.

In desperation, the Spurs adopted a double-teaming tactic, only to contain it a little bit, and lowered Kobe's shooting percentage.

It has to be said that Kobe during this period was definitely the most powerful in the league in terms of offense.

In addition to Kobe's 45 points, another contributor to the Lakers' win was Odom, who scored a triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.The "left-handed magician" who doesn't distract himself on the court definitely has the strength of an all-star.

The Spurs expected the outbreak of these two people, but Luke Walton's 15 points and Kwame Brown's 13 points hurt the Spurs a bit.Who knows why these people suddenly exploded when they were playing against the Spurs.

After losing to the Lakers, although the Spurs quickly played a second wave of winning streak, they lost two games more than last month.After losing to the Lakers, they lost to the Rockets and Jazz.

However, the record of 28 wins and 3 losses is enough to stand out from the crowd. Although the No.2 Mavericks have a very good record, with 24 wins and 7 losses, they are still 4 wins behind the Spurs.

There are only players in the NBA who can't be dealt with, and there are no tactics that can't be cracked. After other teams gradually figure out the Spurs' routines, they can also start with some effective tactics.

In January 2007, as soon as the new year started, the Spurs suffered a blow, losing consecutive losses to the Cavaliers and Timberwolves, and suffered their first losing streak of the season.

And the third game is against the Mavericks at home. After two consecutive losses, they are only two games away. This kind of direct dialogue is worth a win.

In the game related to the playoffs, both teams are desperately trying to win.Nowitzki and Josh Howard broke out and scored 61 points together.

But Li Chongxiao and Duncan's performances were even more eye-catching, scoring 37 and 34 points respectively, suppressing the Mavericks duo.

Especially in the decisive moment of the fourth quarter, the two scored 26 of the team's 23 points and helped the Spurs win the game.

But the Mavericks returning from failure are full of resilience, and they have not been left behind.In the game before the All-Star Game, he kept catching up with the Spurs.

The Spurs only lost 19 of 4 games, which is already terrifying, and the Mavericks are even more exaggerated, they only lost 19 of 2 games.

到2月14日，马刺的战绩是44胜9负，小牛43胜10负，双方只差一个胜场。

The Spurs have maintained a weak lead only by relying on enough wins accumulated in November, coupled with the 11:3 record achieved in the direct dialogue with the Mavericks.

Coupled with the Suns and Stoudemire who returned from injury, they achieved 40 wins and 12 losses.

The record of the top three in Niu Ma Ri will ensure that they will enter the playoffs in the Eastern Conference this season, but in the Western Conference, they will face a tragic fight.

The top three maintained a winning rate of more than 75%, suppressing the other teams in the western part of the world, and they could only transfer the pressure to the eastern teams.

Other teams in the West that are interested in the playoffs, if they can't win a game from this league, they can only start with the teams in the East.

The two leading teams in the East, the core of the Pistons went to the Bulls, the team's strength dropped sharply, only 32 wins and 19 losses.

The Heat suffered a wave of injuries. O'Neal and Wade were frequently absent. With a record of 25 wins and 27 losses, they were on the verge of the playoffs.

The two teams fell behind, making the weakness of the entire Eastern Conference more obvious, and the winning percentage against the Western Conference teams was even less than 40%.

The new Cavaliers, who are ranked second in the Eastern Conference, only have a record of 31 wins and 30 losses, and can only rank sixth in the Western Conference.

Therefore, the top five most popular teams in this year's championship are all from the West. The Spurs, Mavericks, Suns, Rockets and Jazz are lined up. The sixth and seventh are the Pistons and Cavaliers.

This decline also continued to the All-Star game.

The eastern team is led by James, Wade and Bosh of the 03 generation, plus O'Neal and Arenas, forming the starting lineup.

Then there are Carter, Dwight Howard, Joe Johnson, O'Neal, Billups, Hamilton, Caron Butler and other substitutes.

This combination is not weak on the books, but compared with the starting lineup in the West, it seems a bit insufficient.

For the Western Conference Stars, Li Chongxiao and Yao Ming still won the first and second places in the All-Star voting, and the other three starting players were Duncan, Kobe and Garnett.

This lineup can beat any combination of Eastern All-Stars, both offensively and defensively.

Not to mention the starting lineup, even if it is on the bench, it is enough for the Eastern Conference to drink a pot.

This year's competition in the Western Conference was even reflected in the All-Star bench lineup. McGrady mistakenly put himself in the guard, fell behind in the competition with Li Chongxiao and Kobe, and could only play as a substitute.

Among the remaining substitutes are Iverson who transferred from the Eastern Conference in December, Dirk Nowitzki, the MVP of last season, Nash + Stoudemire, the core of the Suns, and Anthony, the 12 generation and the top scorer.

A player like Josh Howard, who averages 20 points per game in a strong team, can only make it to the All-Stars by relying on the team record and the balance between the top three teams.

Even players like Ray Allen, Parker, and Marion couldn't make it to the All-Stars, and none of the fifth Jazz in the West and the Warriors eighth in the West were selected.

Boozer averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds per game, but as a power forward, he couldn't compete with Duncan, Garnett and Nowitzki. Even Stoudemire could only sign up as a center.

Even if Baron Davis gets 20+8 data, he still has no chance of struggling in front of the five guards.

Under such a disparity in strength, the score was 153:122, and the Western Stars beat the Eastern Stars by 31 points.

Kobe just got the extra 31 points and won the All-Star MVP. This is the second time he has won this honor.

It is worth mentioning that during the All-Star event, regardless of McGrady's black face, he kept getting close to Yao Ming and Li Chongxiao, and told some jokes that were neither embarrassing nor embarrassing.

During the game, he repeated the shoulder pinching action, kept passing the ball to the two, and even asked Yao Ming if he wanted to have a Lianzhuang.

Although this kind of dog-licking performance was resisted by Duncan, it also brought certain benefits. The "smart" combination of reciprocating favors helped Kobe get a lot of points.

(End of this chapter)