On November 5th, the Clippers faced the Denver Nuggets away from home.
The Nuggets experienced a disappointing 2010 season.
They originally maintained good momentum in the regular season and achieved fourth place in the Western Conference.
I originally thought about meeting the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals to avenge the 2009 Western Conference Finals.
Unexpectedly, they were blocked by the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs, and they lost badly.
Look at the Jazz again. They were shaved off by the Lakers in the semifinals. The pride that the Nuggets had accumulated since the 2009 season was instantly wiped out.
This summer, the younger generation of superstars who are about the same age as Anthony have made decisions.
James stayed behind, Wade and Bosh gathered on the South Coast, and Stoudemire went to New York.
Now, New York has extended an olive branch to Anthony, hoping that Anthony can return to his hometown to play and form a powerful offensive combination with Stoudemire.
Although the defense of both players is not very good, they are a team of superstars after all, and they can sell a lot of tickets even if they are selling tickets.
After the start of the new season, the Nuggets' current performance can only be said to be quite satisfactory, without the high morale at the beginning of last season.
In fact, if the team remains stable enough, with the strength of the Nuggets lineup, there will be no problem in remaining competitive in the Western Conference.
Anthony is still in his prime, and Billups is 34 years old and still capable as a point guard.
However, being eliminated in the first round in 2010 was a huge blow to the Nuggets team and management.
The turmoil in the summer of 2010 even caused changes in the minds of the team members.
Once the people's hearts are lost, it will be difficult to lead the team.
Of course, the season has just begun, and if the Nuggets' record is good enough, they can suppress all controversy and dissatisfaction.
In the professional league, victory is the basis of everything.
The Los Angeles Clippers also desperately need a victory to end their losing streak.
Of course, the mentality of the Clippers team is much better than that of the Nuggets, and they have no pressure.
The general manager never clamored with them about winning, winning, and fighting hard.
The boss doesn't even exist, and the head coach and assistant coaches never talk about winning.
Clippers players want to win, mostly out of their inner competitiveness. The desire to win is an endogenous motivation.
For example, you tried your best to make the playoffs last season. Why? For Mr. Smart, of course.
Although it was later confirmed that Mr. Smart's death was a rumor, but if Smart can continue to serve on the team, who says it has nothing to do with the team's playoffs?
From last night to today's day, another rumor about Mr. Smart began to circulate within the team:
Mr. Smart is an orphan. His parents died not long after he was born. When he was a little older, he was trafficked and worked in a Cantonese restaurant in Southeast Asia (this one comes from Curry, because Curry said the Cantonese food he cooked was delicious) .
After becoming an adult, Smart was taken to San Francisco by smugglers and worked illegally in Chinatown (no wonder his English was not very good and his handwriting was ugly.)
However, he did not give up hope in life. While studying cultural knowledge diligently, he fell in love with basketball and started playing basketball. (This also comes from Curry, who said that Smart's basketball level is actually very high.)
Because of his high level of wild ball, he should have been discovered by Sterling one day, and for some unknown reason Smart was asked to engage in scouting work (Milicic added, he said that Smart has a strong recruiting ability.)
Later, by chance, he gained Sterling's trust and gave him a chance to become the general manager of the Clippers with full authority (Ricky Davis thought there must be a hidden secret, and Sterling might have some leverage over Smart). hand.)
Unexpectedly, Smart achieved great success in his first season, but for the growth of young players, he always withstood the pressure and did not burden everyone with the burden of winning.
In Curry's words, "Mr. Smart must have tasted all the suffering and darkness in the world and stood up in the midst of suffering to have such an optimistic and open-minded spirit. He is a man with a great personality."
Harden heard about Smart's various deeds last season in the gym, and his admiration for Min Congda arose spontaneously.
It turns out that he is such a great person, a person with such noble sentiments. As long as you play well with the Clippers and gain his appreciation, you don't have to worry about your future at all.
Curry told Harden, "You will gradually realize Mr. Smart's good intentions. Look at my ankle. If it weren't for Mr. Smart, I would not have had surgery so early."
Because of Curry's ankle surgery and early contract extension, he became the first player among the 2009 rookies to receive a maximum salary contract, although it was only a verbal agreement.
This made Harden very envious, thinking that as long as he played well and gained Smart's appreciation, he would still be offered a big contract even if he was reimbursed for the season.
Such early contract renewal will greatly improve the morale of the whole team.
Nowadays, the longest contract in the NBA can only be signed for five years. The super-long contracts that used to last for seven, eight, ten or even fifteen years are no longer allowed.
Therefore, the players' sense of security has been greatly reduced, and the degree of competition and involution has also been greatly increased.
A general manager who is generous to his players is definitely popular with his players.
Of course, some teams that are generous are often called fools by fans and other teams.
Such as the New York Knicks.
The Clippers seem to have the same risk, and Curry's early contract extension has been subject to a lot of controversy.
But Min Congda thought: "This contract only came into effect in 2013, 2013? The ClippersTM have already gone bankrupt! What does it have to do with me?"
With this kind of indifference, Min Congda didn't even blink an eye when he was given the big contract. It wasn't his money anyway.
Before the game started, the Nuggets players, Clippers players, Nuggets management, and Min Congda all had different mentality.
The game process between the two sides was also full of twists and turns, which was very exciting.
After experiencing four consecutive losses, the Clippers made adjustments to their starting lineup.
Although Kirk Hinrich is experienced, he is very stable on the court.
However, his lack of offensive power has compromised the Clippers' offensive efficiency.
Having an old man like Baron Davis on the court is enough to slow down the pace.
Another Hinrich was too much to bear, and Dunleavy didn't understand why Min Congda had to let Gordon go and bring Hinrich back.
After some deliberations, Dunleavy boldly used new players and promoted Bledsoe to the starting point guard position.
Bledsoe, the 19th pick, is young, has impact, and is excellent in shooting and breakthrough. He can make up for Curry's absence on offense and allow the Clippers team to continue to maintain the previous fast and free offensive rhythm.
For the Nuggets, their main acquisition in the free market this summer is Al Harrington.
However, they encountered injury problems inside at the beginning of the season. Two generals, Nene and Kenyon Martin, were absent due to injuries.
In this way, the Nuggets' inside line was stretched thin, and they were ravaged against Randolph and Gasol at the beginning, falling behind the Clippers by 9 points at 21:30 in the first quarter.
However, at the beginning of the second quarter, Carmelo Anthony took over the game and continuously beat Ricky Davis one-on-one.
After years of training, Anthony's jump shooting skills have reached the pinnacle. He can jump directly after the three threats and his touch is unstoppable.
The Clippers insisted on one-on-one defense and did not double-team. At the same time, they used Baron Davis to pester Billups, destroying the integrity of the Nuggets' offense.
But the scary thing about superstars is that if you insist on not double-teaming, he may really beat you to death one-on-one.
In the second quarter, Anthony scored 19 points in a single quarter, single-handedly helping the Nuggets take the lead, leading the Clippers by 3 points at 55:52 at halftime.
When Min Congda saw Anthony's amazing mid-range jumper skills, he sighed in his heart, "James must have this jumper to be invincible in the world."
(End of chapter)
