"With six consecutive wins at the end of the season, the Mosaics are firmly ranked fourth in the Western Conference and the fourth seed in the league." - "Houston Daily"
"The Lanterns scored 61 points together, easily defeated the Kings, and tied the team's best record of 58 wins!" - "Houston Times"
"The Mosaics and Trail Blazers are about to begin their final regular season chase!" Los Angeles Times
…
On the morning of April 12, the Internet was almost full of news about the Houston Mosaics' 58-win record yesterday.
The Houston Mosaics currently have 58 wins and 23 losses, ranking fourth in the Western Conference and fourth in the league. They are one of the most popular teams to win the championship.
Moreover, the Mosaic team only needs to win the final game of the season to create a new team history record, so Harden and Anthony are full of expectations and desires for this game.
The Trail Blazers currently have 71 wins and 10 losses, leading the league in record. They are only one win away from tying the third record in history - the 72 regular season wins set by the Chicago Bulls in 1996!
Originally, everyone thought that it would be great for the Trail Blazers to win 70 games again, but they didn't expect that they would actually be aiming for 72 wins? !
That was once the best record in history. Before the Trail Blazers and Warriors came out, it was once considered one of the most difficult records to break in NBA history.
Now in the hands of the Trail Blazers, it seems to have become a toy that can be played with at will, and can be obtained with a little force.
This makes the outside world once again marvel at the dominance of the Trail Blazers. They are truly worthy of being the second three-peat dynasty team in the new century!
If he can really win 72 games, it will be a very worthwhile bargaining chip for Wang Zelin in the battle for MVP of the regular season this season.
"The Trail Blazers have indeed regressed compared to last season, barely regressing to the level of the 96 Bulls..."
At home in Portland, Wang Zelin has already thought about how to pretend to be 13 in front of the media after winning tonight.
The scenes that suddenly appeared in my mind were exciting to think about.
Of course, the premise is that the Trail Blazers can win tonight's game.
Don't let 13 fail to pretend and get slapped in the face instead, it won't be worth it.
During breakfast, Wang Zelin looked at today's game list while eating.
On the last match day of the regular season, the league has scheduled 11 games, and there are several games worthy of his attention.
For example, Bulls VS Nets, Spurs VS Jazz, Pacers VS Hawks, Thunder VS Nuggets...
Except for these groups, the other groups of competitions did not attract his attention.
After dinner, Wang Zelin went out.
Training continued as usual at noon. At 4 p.m., the nutritionist served a specially prepared nutritious meal. After eating, he rested for two and a half hours. At about 6:40, Wang Zelin and his teammates began to enter the field to warm up.
The Mosaic team also entered the court early. After the players from both sides met, Harden and Anthony took the initiative to come over and say hello to Wang Zelin and the others.
The game on the field is a game, but it does not affect their personal relationship off the field.
Harden and Anthony are still very angry with Wang Zelin, especially Harden, who is also a member of the Kinitaimei Dance Troupe. When they see the leader, they naturally have to take the initiative to contact him.
The two teams were already very familiar with each other, exchanged a few words and began their respective warm-up sessions.
Soon, the pre-game preparation time was over, and the starting five players from both sides took the field.
For the Trail Blazers, the starting lineup of Lillard, Button, Batum, Jokic, and Wang Zelin appeared.
On the Mosaic side, the starting lineup of Harden, Eric Gordon, Anthony, Clinton Capela, and Jusuf Nurkic came on.
As the current number one shooting guard, Harden is actually not only responsible for scoring in the Mosaic team, he also serves as the playmaker.
While averaging nearly 30 points per game, he also averaged nearly 12 assists per game, plus 8 rebounds and 1.5 steals...
Fortunately, Harden is an iron man. The bearded man is in his prime now, has a strong physique and is very durable. If it had been someone else to do it, he would have been exhausted.
Let’s talk about the Mosaic team.
It has to be said that the lineup of the Mosaic team in this time and space is actually much more luxurious than the Mosaic team in the original time and space. Although Beverley and Harrell were intercepted by Wang Zelin and joined the Trail Blazers, they also gained something. In this unexpected surprise, Nurkic also recruited Carmelo Anthony, a super scorer at the end of his prime, last summer.
Perhaps the Mosaic team's overall defense is worse than in its previous life, but the offensive end is much better.
Their starting lineup alone is already very luxurious.
With two super scorers, Harden and Anthony, on the outside, plus a tough guy with a round face, the offensive firepower is no less than that of any active team on the outside, even if they encounter the Warriors' trio of Curry, Thompson, and Durant. , and can barely achieve a 50-50 split... ahem, at least in the regular season.
The insider is a combination of Nurkic + Capela. The former was a European white bear averaging 15+10 per game when he reached his peak, and the latter was a cake king, averaging 16+12 per game in his peak season. Such an insider Once the combination grows as expected, it will probably be second only to the Trail Blazers among all current teams.
In addition, their bench also has high-quality substitutes such as scrimmage master Lou Williams, anti-aircraft turret Ryan Anderson, top 3D Trevor Ariza, and fierce warrior Nene.
Hong Kong True, if it weren't for the crazy involution of the Western Conference in the past few years and the constant arms race, Li Mosaic's current lineup would not be able to break through 60 wins in the regular season.
Mainly in the Eastern Conference, it is not impossible for the Mosaic team to hit 65 wins.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration. According to the NBA’s competition system, there are a total of 82 regular season games, divided into 15 teams in the East and West. An East team must play two games against a West team every season, once at home and once away.
Therefore, according to common sense, 30 of the 82 regular season games played by Eastern teams are suitable for Western teams, and the remaining 52 games are all in the Eastern Conference.
Considering that the competitive environment between the East and West is very different, the strong West and weak East are still the main theme of the league. Therefore, generally speaking, with the same record, the gold content of Western teams is often higher than that of Eastern teams.
To convert, if the Celtics, who are currently ranked first in the Eastern Conference and have a regular season record of 53 wins, are placed in the Western environment, based on their winning rate against Western teams this season, their regular season record after conversion is actually Less than 50 wins.
It's no wonder that so many fans are complaining about the Clippers and Nuggets, because if their records are converted to the Eastern Conference, they will definitely enter the playoffs.
Then in the Wild West, they could only condescend to ninth and tenth in the Western Conference, and would miss the playoffs again.
…
Rose Garden Arena.
After the game started, since both sides knew the basics, the players from the two teams went all out. Based on the state of today's opponents, studying the opponent's playing style after the All-Star Weekend, and past experience, they fought a fierce offensive and defensive battle.
The Mosaic team has just celebrated a six-game winning streak and is full of momentum!
On the offensive end, they relied on Harden's breakthrough and scoring style, Anthony and Gordon's containment, catch-and-shoot style, and Big Ballista's and Pie King's cutting-and-scoring style. It was a 50-50 tie with the Trail Blazers on the offensive end of the court.
On the defensive end, the big crossbow machine is sitting under the basket to protect the basket, and the mobile King is responsible for various assisting defenses. Anthony and Harden were also very strong today. They used their bodies when they needed to. Gordon mainly handed over his previous level of photography. defense, but also willing to fight.
For the Trail Blazers, Wang Zelin played very steadily tonight. Now his strength can be said to be unparalleled in the league. James, who once had the same comprehensive ability rating of 99 as him, has dropped to 98 this season, and is the same player as Curry and Du. The rand is in a different league.
After that, there are Harden with an ability rating of 97, Westbrook with an ability rating of 96, and Davis with an ability rating of 95.
Except for a few of them, there are currently no players who are capable of rating superstars.
Wang Zelin is undoubtedly a superstar among superstars, and the only panel evaluation among active players gives him stronger confidence.
His steady performance allowed the players to play very steadily. Their current starting lineup ranks first in the league in offensive firepower. When the mentality of outside shooting is stable and the impact of the impatient mentality of eager to tie the Bulls' 72 wins again is reduced, the overall offensive performance Excellent!
Relying on the potential of the outside trio, Wang Zelin played even better than Capela tonight, slipping the baseline and making pick-and-roll cuts.
With his teammates so powerful, Jokic only needs to spot the right moment and pass the ball at will, and he can receive assists one after another with tears in his eyes. This assist data is so easy.
When the Mosaic team misses a shot and Wang Zelin grabs a defensive rebound, Lillard's chasing three-pointer, Patton's cut-in, catch, attack the basket and second pass can also be used.
At 6 minutes and 48 seconds of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers scored 24 points!
But the Mosaic team also scored a solid 21 points!
In terms of offense, since Capela and Nurkic lack effective outside range at this stage, they will definitely not be able to beat the Trail Blazers in terms of pure sky clearance, but they did a good job of seizing the opportunity of the Trail Blazers' breakthrough.
Harden sent out 4 assists in half a quarter. With Wang Zelin in the Trail Blazers' lineup, Capela and Nurkic can be easily restrained. After all, Gordon's ability is limited, and Anthony is also assisted by Wang Zelin's crazy. The efficiency of defense is also gradually decreasing, but it is very poor to prevent Harden's single breakthrough or pick-and-roll breakthrough.
In other words, under the current rules system, there is no one in the league who can limit Harden in one-on-one defense. After all, Barton and Batum are facing a man who wakes up at 4 a.m. to carry the league's back tonight. A ruthless person with rules.
So far this season, Harden ranks first in the league with 11 free throw attempts per game and 9.2 free throws made per game. In the field of fouls, Harden has entered a unique level in history.
Therefore, as long as Harden can easily open this point, the other four points of the Mosaic team can get good offensive opportunities.
When Wang Zelin in the penalty area had to cover Harden, Capela and Nurkic had the opportunity to cut in and get super offensive rebounds. And when Batum and Button on the outside switch defenses, Harden can always find an open teammate in the first place and pass the ball to him, allowing him to score easily.
Halfway through the first quarter, the two sides were neck and neck. Soon the official timeout came and the coaches of both sides began to make personnel adjustments.
Judging from the current situation, the game against the Mosaic team is destined to be a protracted battle. I am afraid that the winner will have to be determined until the last minute, so coach Terry chose to let Wang Zelin play for about half a quarter and then rest.
Mainly because the team's offense played very steadily tonight, and the most important thing is that Wang Zelin played very steadily!
Although Wang Zelin has always shown a strong self-confidence, tonight, coach Terry found that Wang Zelin has become more calm, not in behavior, but in temperament. The kind of self-confidence from the heart is much more than before. There is little difference.
You may not be able to see any difference if you compare them individually, but this little detail change makes Wang Zelin more comfortable in the game. Especially when playing with teammates who have the strongest offensive five in the league, Wang Zelin scored 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in more than 6 minutes, without making a single mistake, and played extremely stable.
This makes the entire team's offense very stable!
"Could it be that the legendary metaphysical law that Wang Zelin broke out as soon as he met the Mosaic team is true?"
Coach Terry muttered secretly in his heart.
He has always advocated science and was never superstitious, but when he thought of Wang Zelin's explosive performance every time he met the Mosaic team in the past, combined with his super stable performance after tonight's start... he was completely convinced.
Wang Zelin set the tone for the team's stable offense and defense. Next, it depends on the performance of the whole team.
The opposite Mosaic team also performed well, so let's work hard.
While fighting for form, it is also a top priority for the head coach's personnel to adjust tactical changes.
When the players' status is almost the same, it is a great test of the head coach's ability.
One general is incompetent and the three armies will be exhausted. This is not just talk.
The typical representative is a certain pig-headed coach.
Coach Terry replaced the lineup with Beverley, Connett Lee, Harrell, Yi Jianlian, and Zubac.
For the Mosaic team, Harden continues to play, and the other four positions become Lu Wei, Ariza, veteran Corey Brewer, and Anderson.
The Trail Blazers came on the field with this lineup, and their defensive ability suddenly improved.
Except for Yi Jianlian, the remaining players on the field can all be called defensive heroes among players in the same position.
Connett Lee's best 3D, Beverley and Harrell have defensive abilities at the defensive level, and the European white bear Zubac is good at fighting against the tough style of play.
Even Yi Jianlian, who appears to be the weakest defender, has not been in vain in the past few years with the Trail Blazers. On the court, he has been able to defend alone without being hindered, and he can handle assist defense with ease.
In the second half of the first quarter, Harrell missed Ariza's breakthrough layups twice, and Mosaic's offensive rhythm was abruptly interrupted!
The further we go, the Mosaic team can produce stable output except for Harden, but all other players are blocked on the court, and even the normal offensive system is difficult to operate.
In the end, the Mosaic team's offensive end could only become Harden's one-man show.
After the first quarter, the Mosaic team was only 5 points behind the Trail Blazers 33:38, but Mosaic coach D'Antoni frowned because this was completely inconsistent with his expectations.
In his imagination, after the first quarter, Harden should continue to drive the team's offense. As a result, Harden was the only one to attack, and the other four could only contribute negative effects.
If it weren't for the fierce firepower of our general Big Beard, who scored 15 points in the first quarter, I'm afraid the score difference would have been widened by double digits.
This Trail Blazers is so terrible. Not only is the starting lineup terrible, but the rotation is also terrible.
D'Antoni couldn't help but sigh.
(End of chapter)
