After the outside world boasted a lot about the value of the Blazers' ten-game winning streak, their eyes turned and more and more people suddenly noticed that the Blazers' current exaggerated record of 41 wins and 4 losses...
When the Trail Blazers played their first 45 games last season, what was their record?
Soon some omnipotent netizens made the answer to this question public:
Last season, the Trail Blazers started with an unprecedented 26-game winning streak. In the following 19 games, the Trail Blazers lost a total of 3 games. In other words, in the first 45 games of last season, the Trail Blazers had a record of 42 wins and 3 losses!
Finally, by the end of the 2015-16 regular season, the Trail Blazers' total record was an astounding 75 wins and 7 losses, ranking first in history!
The Blazers' current record is 41 wins and 4 losses, which is not much worse than last season. This can't help but make people have unlimited reveries about the Blazers winning 70+ games for two consecutive seasons.
That’s two consecutive seasons with 70+ wins!
If we really want to do it, there is a high probability that a new record will be added to the list of the most difficult records to break in NBA history.
You know, after the Bulls achieved a record-breaking 72 wins and 10 losses in the 1995-96 season, the regular season record in the 1996-97 season, although still the league's best record, was still inevitable. It fell to 69 wins and 13 losses, one win away from achieving 70+ wins in the regular season for two consecutive seasons.
As we all know, if people want to achieve a certain achievement or achieve a certain goal, the most difficult thing is often persistence.
The historical experience of various countries tells us that the most indispensable example from ancient times to the present is the example of people who have traveled a hundred miles and half a century. It is obvious that many people are just one step away from success and becoming great, but just such a step is like a natural chasm. It is difficult for people to overcome in their lifetime.
The outside world does not expect the Trail Blazers to break the record of 75 wins in the regular season set last season. That is simply not something that humans can do. To lower the difficulty a little, just expect the Trail Blazers to win 70 games in the regular season this season. good……
Once this is accomplished, the Blazers will truly be qualified to become the number one team in history.
After all, the regular season wins have exceeded 70+ for two consecutive seasons, a miracle that none of the great teams that once dominated an era, such as the Celtics dynasty, Lakers dynasty and Bulls dynasty, have ever achieved.
But now, maybe the Trail Blazers can really do it!
…
After the game against the Lakers, the Trail Blazers continued their unfinished January schedule.
They have five games left, including the Grizzlies, Warriors, and Thunder. Will they continue the madness in January? Or will the winning streak end here...
Everyone is looking forward to what kind of performance the Trail Blazers will show.
Although there are many strong opponents in the remaining five games, the Trail Blazers still have a certain advantage because they will usher in a wave of four consecutive home games and will not go to Oklahoma City until the final game at the end of the month. Playing the Thunder away from home.
With the geographical advantage at home, the Blazers players don't have to be tired of running around. As long as they have good physical reserves, they will be confident to win the tough battles ahead.
Two days later, on January 23, the Trail Blazers faced the Grizzlies at home.
Different from the constipation-like rhythm of the game 10 days ago, the Trail Blazers showed strong offensive aggressiveness from the beginning tonight. Wang Zelin took fewer long-range shots today and chose to finish at the basket.
In some rounds, even if he encounters a black and white bear that is entangled at the same time, you still choose to bite the bullet and take action forcefully.
The intention is also very obvious, that is, to cause as many fouls as possible on the black and white bears. The entire tactical system of the Grizzlies team is actually built around Gasol and Randolph.
So as long as Gasol and Randolph are dealt with first, the Grizzlies' system will be self-defeating.
In the pre-game tactical meeting, Coach Terry was aware of this, so he made relevant arrangements to let the players attack the basket like crazy tonight.
This move worked quickly. Just after the first half, Gasol had 4 fouls. Although Randolph had one less than him, don't forget that the Grizzlies are a defense-oriented team. Although Randolph's offense is fierce, he cannot do without the little guys and teammates to help him wipe his ass on the defensive end.
Otherwise, where would he have so much energy to focus on offense? !
Less than three minutes into the second half, Wang Zelin and Lillard caused defensive fouls on Gasol one after another. The speed was so fast that Grizzlies coach David Fizdale did not expect it.
When he came back to his senses, he only saw Gasol holding his head in his hands on the court and communicating with the referee. In the end, the communication was fruitless, and he could only return to the bench with an annoyed look on his face.
Without Gasol, the pillar of strength, the Grizzlies' overall defense immediately dropped by one level, and the defensive quality of the interior dropped by at least two levels.
The Trail Blazers, led by Wang Zelin, launched an unstoppable offense. After three quarters, they quickly cut through the mess and expanded the score to 18 points.
The Grizzlies are not a team that is good at chasing points. For them, falling behind by 18 points is basically equivalent to announcing a death sentence in advance.
In the end, the Trail Blazers relied on a preemptive offensive strategy to completely disrupt the Grizzlies' original defensive system, easily defeating the Grizzlies 117:91 and winning 11 consecutive games!
Two days later, on January 25, the Trail Blazers faced off against the Warriors for the third time this season.
Whenever there is a battle between the two sides, it will definitely cause a sensation in the entire basketball circle. Before the game between the two sides starts, various discussions on the Internet have already been in full swing.
The Trail Blazers attach far more importance to the Golden State Warriors than any current team. Even the Cleveland Cavaliers, their finals opponent in the past two years, is not as threatening to them as the Warriors.
At the mobilization meeting in the afternoon, the entire Blazers team was ready for a desperate fight in the evening.
But when the game started in the evening, everyone was dumbfounded...
"Did the Warriors players get knocked off their heads tonight? Or did the Blazers' basket suddenly block them? This is so tough, tsk tsk tsk..."
After the first half, when the Warriors made 4 of 17 three-pointers, a shooting percentage of only 23.5%, the commentator couldn't help but joke.
In the first half, Durant made 1 of 6 three-pointers, Thompson made 1 of 5 three-pointers, Curry made 1 of 4 three-pointers, Green... well, three thighs in the team are like this, how can he dare to take action?
If this was against an average team, Cole could still maintain a calm attitude. The Warriors are notorious for their flurry in the third quarter...
However, what they encountered today was the Portland Trail Blazers, their strongest opponent on the road to the championship. Their offensive performance against the latter was as bad as the French army who chose to raise the white flag in advance before Paris was captured. .
Entering the second half, Durant gave up three-point long-range shots and continued to pull up in the mid-range. He made 4 of 6 shots, plus 2 of 2 free throws. He had an efficient performance of 10 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in a single quarter, trying to lead the Warriors to rise. .
But how could Wang Zelin allow his opponent to be so presumptuous at his home court...
Playing rough, right? There’s no solution to playing, right?
I'm more arrogant than you! More clueless than you!
Since you, Durant, have chosen to give up three-pointers, I have to focus on the three-point offense and play a game of shrimp and pig heart.
In the third quarter, Wang Zelin began to take a large number of long-range shots, taking advantage of his height and size from beyond the three-point line to constantly seek misplaced singles, and hit pull-up three-pointers over Curry, Thompson and Green.
Again, what we want is a shrimp and pig heart!
"Aren't you known as the strongest three-point team in the league? Why are you so timid now? Come on, keep competing for three-pointers!"
After another three-pointer on Curry's head, Wang Zelin, who had already hit four three-pointers in a single quarter, began to speak provocatively and looked at the Warriors' shooters with disdain.
But who makes the current Warriors shooters feel so cold?
Durant, the only one with a revived touch, could only look for shooting opportunities in the mid-range for most of the second half under the Blazers' crazy attacks.
Shoot a three-pointer? Don’t even think about it!
In the end, the Trail Blazers defeated the Warriors by 23 points at home, 135:112.
This kind of point difference puts the two teams on a completely different level.
It really complies with that sentence. Sooner or later, you will have to pay back if you go out to hang out!
I still remember that night on January 1st. The Trail Blazers' shooters were just like the Warriors' shooters today. They all felt cold. In the end, Wang Zelin could only score a 40+20 double-double.
As a result, Green was full of nonsense after the game and took the opportunity to mock Wang Zelin and the Trail Blazers.
Confucius once said: "How to repay virtue? Repay vengeance with straightness, repay kindness with kindness."
The situation in this game has turned, and it is the Warriors' turn to be unlucky. Naturally, the Trail Blazers, who have won a big victory, will not let them go.
At the post-game press conference, Wang Zelin and his teammates also had a wave of weird comments about the Warriors' performance tonight during interviews.
This made the journalists who were bent on igniting the news extremely happy.
Wan Wanmei thought, before we even took action, you guys had already heated up the situation so much. That was really... Yuan, so wonderful!
They rubbed their hands quietly, as if they saw the banknotes waving to them.
…
After Revenge of the Warriors, Wang Zelin and his teammates let out a fierce sigh of relief, and the team's morale reached an unprecedented peak.
On the 27th, they faced the Hornets again, 141:101. The Trail Blazers waved their butcher knife wildly, setting another tragedy of the season.
Playing against the Mavericks on the 29th, during the warm-up, everyone was polite, but Wang Zelin never showed mercy during the game.
After three quarters, 84:65, the Mavericks were temporarily trailing by 19 points. In theory, there was hope of overtaking the score in the final quarter and upsetting the Trail Blazers.
But the Mavericks are very knowledgeable. To use an old Chinese saying, they are Wei Junjie, the master of Western things.
In the final quarter, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle took down all five starting players and replaced them with substitute players to have fun.
The Blazers were too embarrassed to take a fatal blow because they were so generous.
Two minutes later, Coach Terry also called a timeout to remove the starting lineup and use the substitutes against the substitutes.
The substitutes of both sides had a great time in the final quarter. The Trail Blazers' substitute lineup scored 37 points, which was already very efficient. The Mavericks' team was even more exaggerated, with a group of substitutes scoring 43 points!
In the end, at 121:108, the Trail Blazers dominated the Mavericks and won their 14th consecutive victory.
January 31st, the final battle at the end of the month.
The Trail Blazers traveled to Oklahoma City to challenge the Thunder.
"Triple-Double Turtle" Russell Westbrook, as Wang Zelin's actual strongest opponent in this season's MVP competition, cannot afford to miss anything in every confrontation with the Thunder.
As long as Westbrook and his Thunder team are defeated in all 4 games in the regular season, he, Wang, will not believe it. With such a record in the game, the media will vote for Westbrook without conscience.
It is true that Westbrook's triple-double performance this season is quite explosive. Looking at history, it is a phenomenal performance, but these triple-double data can never be a reason to close the gap between the two.
The strong is strong, the weak is weak, if you can't beat it, you have to admit it!
As teammates, Lillard, Jokic, and Batum all know very well how eager Wang Zelin is to successfully defend his title, so they put aside all trivial matters in the past two days and devoted all their energy to preparing for the game, maxing out their form early, and preparing for the game. What I want to do tonight is to do my best to help Wang Zelin defeat Westbrook, a powerful competitor.
That night, the Trail Blazers team showed a rare performance in the playoffs... no, to be precise, it was the intensity of the finals level. During the regular season this season, apart from the games against the Cavaliers and Warriors, I am afraid it was only in the games. They only showed such an attitude when playing against the Thunder.
When the Trail Blazers suddenly increased the intensity of the game, Westbrook suddenly found that he couldn't play anymore?
In previous games, the assist data that he could easily get with just one simple breakthrough became extremely difficult today. Several passes were ruthlessly intercepted by Blazers players who were able to defend in time.
The expected assists were not received, and the turnovers continued to increase.
In addition, he also found that tonight's rebounding data was not so easy to grasp.
So far, Wang Zelin's average rebounds per game is 17.8, which seems to be very high...well, it is indeed 100 million points high.
But the point is not that. The point is that Wang Zelin has not had 30+ rebounds in a single game for a long time. The game with the most rebounds this season was 29 rebounds in a single game against Mosaic.
You know, rookie Wang Zelin had several 30+ rebound performances in his first season alone. Why are there so few nights when he becomes a "rebound maniac" now?
Is his ability to control rebounds weaker?
No, on the contrary, his rebounding ability has actually been strengthened every year, especially his rebounding attribute has reached 99, which is an absolute ceiling in the field of rebounding.
The main reason is that Wang Zelin does not need to be a rookie anymore, and he worked so hard during the season. At that time, the overall strength of the Trail Blazers was only considered a strong playoff team in the league, and was far from the championship level, let alone the current dynasty level. .
At that time, even in regular season games, Wang Zelin had to do his best every night in order to win. As a big center, rebounds and blocks undoubtedly best reflect his defensive value and intimidation ability on the court. .
Therefore, he had several 30+ rebound nights in a single game during his rookie season.
Today is different from the past. The overall strength of the Trail Blazers is strong enough. At least during the regular season, he no longer has to try his best without rushing. In ordinary games, he will always hold back for a while, and only when the quality of the game is truly high, he will step up and take over the game.
For example, the previous game against the Celtics.
Moreover, in accordance with "Zen Master" Phil Jackson's concept of dividing the cake, if you want to maximize the team's strength, as the core of the team, you must transfer some benefits to ordinary role players.
In other words, try to let role players with relatively average strength play some "easy balls", and give up difficult attacking balls to superstars who are far stronger than role players.
In this way, the role players can also get a share of the cake. When they are full, they will have the strength to work hard for the team.
Therefore, for the long-term interests of the team, Wang Zelin will consciously control his desire to perform in many games during the regular season.
He himself had almost forgotten that when he first entered the league, his first step to becoming famous was by breaking a series of rebounding records of the ancient rebounding monsters, establishing himself as a "rebounder crazy", and then harvesting the first wave of rebounds. fan value and achieve rapid growth in strength.
Now that many people have said that they have become accustomed to his various scoring performances and have even begun to get tired of it. 35 points and 15 rebounds are not enough to be named the best player in the game. Then, let the change start from this game. Bar……
Comparing data and competing for records, right?
If 35+15 is not enough, then 35+25!
If it’s still not enough, then 35+35!
If this is not enough, then 40+40!
Until...the whole league remembered the fear of being dominated by a rebounding idiot!
(End of chapter)
