On the evening of November 20th, the Los Angeles Clippers faced the Denver Nuggets at home.
Min Congda did not go to watch this game. He did not want to see a huge crowd of people at Staples and the whole stadium was full.
The fans in Los Angeles really let him down. Do you have to watch the game if the Lakers are not here? Can't you watch TV at home?
Or make little people and suck the leaves, wouldn't it be beautiful?
You must come to Staples Center to buy Clippers tickets to watch the game. I heard Rosser said that the box office of this Clippers game exceeded one million!
The last time the Clippers' regular season box office exceeded one million in a single game was back in the 2006 season. At that time, Captain Brand led the Clippers to a spectacular performance, and the Clippers' popularity was once high.
Nowadays, things have changed, and the only player left during Brand's era is Chris Kaman.
In this way, Kaman became a thorn in Min Congda's side and wanted to find an opportunity to trade him.
Kaman now ranks among the best in the team in terms of points and rebounds per game.
The media said that based on Kaman's performance this year, he has a chance to be selected as an All-Star.
An All-Star on your team? Min Congda couldn't accept it.
In the apartment, Min Congda cooked two side dishes for himself, went down and bought a bottle of beer in advance, ready to eat while watching the game.
Unconsciously, he had developed the habit of watching games.
On the one hand, the task requires him to pay attention to the game. At 2,000 yuan per game, isn't this the same as gambling on football?
No wonder those betting dogs are more active than the fans watching the games every day. It’s different after adding money.
The difference between Min Congda and betting on dogs is that he can only lose by betting on the Clippers and has no other options.
And he has no capital, his capital is his own time and energy.
On the other hand, Min Congda found that the basketball game was quite enjoyable.
Most people watch football to watch the stars and the excitement.
So and so is great, so and so is awesome, the star I like is the strongest and has the highest status in history.
Which team has more dunks and has a good offense, and which team has strong defense and is airtight.
Or which team’s jerseys look good, which players play well, etc.
Fans can always find their own focus and have fun.
Min Congda admitted that the NBA is indeed awesome in terms of commercialization.
Just like an excellent online game, different players can find different fun in different places.
Competitive players play competitively, casual players fish, traveling players wander around, and professional players just play.
Min Congda is now capable of being a competitive player. He wants to be a casual player and make money as a professional player, but currently he is running around like a tourist player.
After taking a sip of wine and eating some food, Min Congda sighed. He was not very optimistic about the Nuggets for tonight's match against both sides.
The Nuggets reached a glorious point in history last season. They battled with the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals and once pushed the Lakers to a desperate situation.
In the end, the Lakers relied on Ariza's magical steal to get the match point and finally eliminated the Nuggets.
In the playoffs that year, the Lakers encountered greater resistance in the Western Conference Finals than in the Finals.
The duel between Anthony and Kobe became a classic.
Nuggets general manager Mark Walkendian was elected General Manager of the Season for trading Iverson for Billups in 2008.
After the start of this season, the Nuggets' lineup reinforcements were limited.
They acquired Afflalo from the Pistons and Mark Allen from the Bucks.
He's not a great player and doesn't fundamentally improve the team.
George Karl's strategy is still the same. The team is brave enough but lacks discipline.
The team's record in November was very good, continuing the morale of last season, and it can be seen that they are very enterprising.
It’s just that the season is long, and getting out of shape too early is not necessarily a good thing.
Of course, Min Congda does not pay attention to these off-court things. His judgment mainly comes from the lineup and playing style itself.
What the Clippers are more afraid of is a team with a quick point guard and a power forward with range and defense.
The typical example is the Hornets. The Hornets' record this season is not good, but they performed very well in the two games against the Clippers.
It's because the combination of Paul + West has captured Davis and Randolph.
The Mavericks and Suns both have point guards who are agile and capable of shooting.
Davis's legs and feet are weak now, and he is relatively heavy. There is no one to assist him at the third position, and there is no defense inside. The small and fast point guard can do whatever he wants in the mid-range.
Terry, Nash, Paul, the Clippers had nothing to do with their mid-range shots at critical moments.
Then at the power forward position, West, Nowitzki, and Stoudemire Jr. are all people who can suppress Randolph.
If these two core tactical points of the Clippers are contained, the game will be difficult to play.
So what's going on with the Nuggets? At point guard, Billups was a key figure in the Nuggets' rise last year.
The problem is that Billups is a heavy defender like Davis. He is 33 years old, moves slowly, and relies on rhythm and experience to defeat his opponents.
Baron Davis is not afraid of this kind of point guard.
As for the Nuggets' power forward position, Kenyon Martin, Captain Ma, is the backbone of the Nuggets' defense.
He is 2.06cm tall and smaller than Randolph. He is severely lame offensively and can only eat cakes, have a stiff small hook and mid-range.
Randolph cannot crush Martin, and he is not Duncan, but Randolph will never be contained by Martin, and Randolph will not be consumed on the defensive end.
The Nuggets cannot take advantage of these two points, and it will be very difficult to beat the Clippers.
"The only advantage the Nuggets have is at the third position. But this Anthony, when I see him playing, he always wants to rush in. He has a mixed style at the third and fourth positions. This style is not something the Clippers are afraid of. You have to shoot more. Pass the ball more, brother."
Min Congda thought that Anthony was the Nuggets' best point against the Clippers, but his style of play was that of an inside attack. He liked to rush for offensive rebounds under the basket and make second attacks.
Thornton likes this kind of defense the most. He always likes to stay under the basket and rebound the ball to help with defense.
Thornton was extremely unhappy to meet Anthony like this.
Of course, these are all predictions on paper. The actual lineup on paper is one thing, and the state and performance on the court are another.
The coach's strengths and weaknesses, the players' on-the-spot performance, as well as the preparation before the game, the feeling and state during the game will all affect the final result.
Even if he is not optimistic about the Nuggets, Min Congda still hopes that the Nuggets can gain some momentum and win a victory at Staples!
…
An hour and a half later, the Clippers led the Nuggets 100:91 by 9 points, with 3 minutes left before the end of the fourth quarter.
"Fuck! Stop watching! What the hell did the Nuggets beat!"
"Bah!" Min Congda angrily turned off the TV.
His good expectations did not come true. The Nuggets played tonight just as Min Congda expected before the game, almost exactly the same.
Billups didn't perform at all at this point, and was suppressed by Baron Davis. He went 1 for 5 in the game, and his condition was extremely poor.
Martin couldn't guard Randolph, and Randolph was clocking in and out, scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Anthony's statistics were outstanding, scoring 37 points, and no one on the Clippers could stop him.
But his style of play is to rush in, make 1 of 3 three-pointers, and make a lot of strong attacks at the basket.
It caused damage, but not enough, and there were too few assists, which did not lead to the whole team.
The Nuggets' fast pace failed to come out and they entered the Clippers' game mode.
108:100, the Clippers finally won with an 8-point advantage, giving the 18,997 fans a wonderful victory.
It also gave Min Congda a sleepless night. He had to think of a way to lose this ball.
(End of chapter)
