The invincible kryptonite of basketball

He can throw his temper and leave, but the meaning of Holt's second sentence, if he elaborates further, is related to his coaching ability.

He has been the coach of the Spurs for 22 years, and he doesn't want to end up being swept out.

"I'll try."

Popovich eventually agreed.

The Spurs are now No. [-] in the league, and they still have the capital to make such an attempt.

Just think of it as leveling Green and Leonard.

He could only think so in his heart.

The All-Star Game is a demarcation point, because there will be no more transactions after that, and the seasons of each team are basically finalized.

The Thunder and Heat went all out to hit the No. [-] position of the Spurs in the league.

The Nuggets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Knicks and other second-tier teams also strive to win to consolidate their position in the top half of the playoffs.

And teams like the Jazz, Mavericks, Rockets, 76ers, Raptors, and Bobcats began to fight for the playoffs.

Of course, the Magic, Cavaliers, Wizards, Suns, Pelicans and Kings have already begun to think about how to lose well, so as to seek a good pick in this year's draft.

The Spurs are the simplest of these teams. They only need to stabilize their No. [-] position in the league.

The day after the trade deadline, the Spurs played against the Grizzlies at home.

This game is a strong matchup. The Grizzlies have a better style than the Spurs, and the game is destined to not be too easy to play.

After 4 quarters, the two sides tied at 90 and entered overtime.

In overtime, Conley scored 5 points in a row facing Green's defense, helping the Grizzlies win the game 97-92.

It is not too unexpected for the Spurs to lose to the Grizzlies.

But sharp-eyed fans noticed that Tang Tian only played about 25 minutes in this game, and he didn't play in the critical overtime stage.

Tang Tian was injured?

这是很多马刺球迷的第一反应，毕竟这场唐天8投4中的命中率并不差，还贡献了3助攻2抢断1盖帽。

However, the Spurs officials did not report any news related to the injury.

After a day of rest, the Spurs started their Eastern Conference road trip.

They first played a game against the 76ers.

结果朱·霍乐迪爆砍30分10助攻，帮助76人队以101比96胜出。

唐天依旧只打了25分钟，得到12分3助攻1抢断2盖帽。

Although he appeared at the last critical moment, the team was already behind by as much as 10 points at that time.

The Spurs fans were talking loudly at this time, and the loss to the Grizzlies was acceptable, but the loss to the 76ers was acceptable.

Although the 76ers are now working hard for the playoffs, but now that the Thunder are chasing closely behind, this kind of game definitely shouldn't be lost.

Popovich shut himself in his office after the game.

Tang Tian's style of play is very 3D, but after these two games, he found that Tang Tian's importance to the team was greater than he imagined.

Or he overestimated the overall strength of this team, and this Spurs team is not as strong as he thought.

Thinking about it carefully, in many games of the Spurs this season, when they were passive or unable to start the situation, they all relied on Tang Tian's defense to start their momentum.

Green and Leonard are not bad, but they are still a long way from Tang Tian's dominant defense, let alone the offensive end.

And players are human too, Tang Tian suddenly played less, and his teammates couldn't get used to it all at once.

But there is no way, if he does not reduce Tang Tian's playing time at this time, depending on Holt's meaning, the Spurs may lose Tang Tian in vain this summer.

Putting down the tactical manual, Popovich took out a few sips of red wine.

But as soon as he poured it, he found that drinking alone was boring.

He glanced at the empty chair across the table.

He didn't know when it started, he was used to drinking with Tang Tian face to face.

"This is really embarrassing an elderly person!"

He put down his glass and shook his head helplessly.

After playing the 76ers, the Spurs then played a game with the Pistons. Facing the underdogs, the team won 97 to 71.

The team appears to have recovered from the All-Star break.

But following back-to-back games against the Heat and the Knicks, they both lost by more than 10 points.

In this Eastern Conference road trip, they finally achieved a record of 1 win and 3.

And during this period of time, the Thunder's record was just behind the Spurs'. It was 4 wins and 1 loss, directly tying the Spurs' record.

The Pistons basically gave up this season, and that game actually didn't have much reference value.

In other words, after reducing Tang Tian's playing time, the Spurs' record was 0 wins and 4 losses.

Popovich had already figured it out at this time.

Maybe both Green and Leonard can grow up in the future, but at this stage.

Holt asked that he can't win without him?

After practice, the answer appears to be yes.

ps: The fourth update arrived. I just looked at the list of monthly tickets, and it was pulled away a lot. Brothers with monthly tickets threw 2 tickets for Shuijiao. These days, they are doubled.

Chapter 362 Clippers: Killing you while you are sick (5/10)

"What's the matter with the Spurs recently? It's completely gone from the strong momentum it had at the beginning of the season."

"It has something to do with their schedule, right? Look at their opponents. Three of the five are in the championship echelon. Although the 5ers are not, they are fighting for the playoffs and must be playing very hard."

"That's what I said, but the Spurs won against such an opponent before? Didn't they already kill the Thunder three times this season?"

"Is it because Tang has less time to fight?"

"I also have this feeling. As the most stable player outside of GDP, Tang has to play more than 30 minutes."

"You are exaggerating too much. Tang performed well before, but a role player does not have such a big impact on the team's outcome."

"It's true. I think the strength of the Spurs lies in the entire team, not just any individual. I feel that there is something wrong with the Spurs."

"Yes, Tang's trading rumors may give the Spurs some ideas."

"Or maybe Popovich is getting old?"

"It's possible. I've always felt that it's unreasonable for the Spurs to be able to play this kind of record when they are old. Now it seems that my thoughts are right."

……

The team's recent situation is not good, and fans continue to question it on social media.

The Spurs returned home after their away trip, and their opponent in the next game was the Clippers.

After training for the day, Green left the locker room to find Popovich.

"Danny, why are you looking for the old man?" Ginobili just came back from the training hall at this time, and stopped him when he saw Green's actions.

"I want the coach to give Don more playing time." Green looked at no one else, walked up to Ginobili and whispered.

Green is a good person and a relatively pure person, just like he said before that he and Tang Tian used competition to win playing time.

He is very clear that his strength is not as good as Tang Tian's now, and more importantly, the atmosphere and record of the team will be greatly affected if he continues to play like this.

"The old man is sure of himself."

Ginobili shook his head and signaled Green to go back.

"Believe me, if it keeps going like this, you can go a few games later."

Ginobili saw that Green didn't move, and then added another sentence.

After hearing what Ginobili said, Green returned to the locker room.

Popovich doesn't play social media, but he does read newspapers and news.

When he saw that the news had begun to question his coaching ability, his brows were furrowed.

At the end of the day, he was the one to blame!

He put the newspaper down, having decided he didn't want to bother with it.

He is no longer a member of the team's management. Since Holt has that kind of attitude, then this kind of problem should be left to next summer, and let the team's management solve it by themselves!

The game between the Spurs and the Clippers has attracted much attention because of the ups and downs of the Spurs' recent record.

If the Spurs lose again in this game, it will be a wave of 3 consecutive losses, plus losing the top spot in the Western Conference.

For the Clippers, this game is also very important.

They are now ranked fourth in the Western Conference. If the playoffs start at this time and they successfully advance to the second round, they are likely to meet the Spurs again.

The 58-point loss last year is vivid in my memory, and they lost the two games they played against each other before the season.

So this may very well be their last chance to build confidence.

In an open practice session the day before the game, the Clippers looked in high spirits.

After training, Griffin was interviewed by reporters on the sidelines.

"The team has recently won a wave of 3 consecutive victories. The team looks very good. What is the reason for the team's winning streak?"

The reporter just came up and asked a relatively routine question.

"We went through some running-in before, and then suffered a wave of injuries. Now we are all healthy and the team is running in very well."

Griffin's answer is also more honest.

His nickname in college was Shiba Inu, which refers to his personality.

"We know that the Spurs have not performed well recently. They just suffered a wave of 3-game losing streak. Will this give you more confidence in the game tonight?"

The reporter asked.

"Of course, this is an opportunity for us. Being able to beat the No. [-] team in the Western Conference will be a good boost in confidence for us."

Griffin's answer was still very honest.

"Then do you have the confidence to defeat them?" The reporter asked.

"Like I said before, we're all healthy, so I'm pretty confident going into the night."

After Griffin answered, he seemed to think of something, and then added something with high spirits.

"They gave us a hard punch in the playoffs last year, and now it's time to pay back!"

After Griffin's interview was reported by the media, there was an uproar.

"Really Shiba Inu? The content of this answer is really undisguised!"

"Compared to the way they talked after winning the playoffs last season, this is not bad."

"Almost, the last sentence is time to go back..."

"Haha, I don't know why, but I really want the Spurs to beat them up again!"

"I feel the same, buddy. I don't know why, but Griffin's way of speaking is very embarrassing!"

"I know why, because they didn't say anything when the Spurs had a good record before, but now they jump out when they are not in a good state."

"I'll kill you while you're sick!"

"You are going to be warned by Tyrannosaurus Rex Fist! (￣..￣)"

"However, I think the Spurs are in such a state that they really may not be able to beat the Clippers."

"Yeah, it makes people feel a little uncomfortable to think about the wave of arrogance after the Clippers won the game."

……

On the night of the game, the attendance rate of ATT Arena was close to 7%.