basketball pope

Chapter 246 [10 consecutive victories, new record]

Injuries are an important factor affecting a team's winning percentage.The Raptors lost a lot in March, which is not unrelated to the absence of Christie and Curry.

Especially Christie, he is the Raptors' best perimeter defender and is in charge of the matchup scorer every game. If he is there, Eddie Jones will have a hard time scoring 32 points from the field.

At this time, Yang Rui was faced with a choice. The team doctor suggested that Christie be given more rest and come back in the playoffs.It is also possible to return to play early, but there is a possibility of recurrence of the pubic muscle injury.

After thinking about it, Yang Ruisi decided to let Christie continue to rest, and the playoffs are the key.Hardaway, Hill, Barkley and many other painful examples prove that there is no good result when playing with an injury.

The Knicks have a stark example recently.

Ewing originally had a knee problem. In order to compete for home-court advantage in the first round, he increased his playing time. In the game against the Pistons on March 3, he sprained his knee after fighting for backcourt rebounds and was unfortunately out for the season.

The scene of Ewing's end was edited by fans, accompanied by tragic music and played in slow motion.

Van Gundy had a broken-hearted expression on the sidelines, regretting it too late.His mood was as if he was about to be turned into a terracotta warrior, helplessly watching his lover in red jumping into the sea of ​​​​fire. (Is Ewing the Gong Li in the Qin Terracotta Warriors?)
On April 4, the Raptors host the Pacers.

This month, the Raptors have two games against the Pacers, one against the Heat, which is a suspenseful game. Other games are easier, and they have already finished the strong teams in the West.

In the first quarter, the two sides were evenly matched. In the second quarter, the Pacers' backup power forward Sam Perkins was convulsed and made four three-pointers in a single quarter to help the team widen the difference to 20 points.

At the beginning of the second half, Perkins made two more three-pointers, 6 of 6, and the biggest difference between the two sides reached 25 points.

Veteran Perkins is 39 years old, and the only highlight of the season was the Raptors.

However, the Pacers were not happy for a long time. Yang Rui sent Boykins, McGrady, Carter, Jumaine Jones, and O'Neal Jr. to hit and run, reducing the difference to only 6 points before the end of this quarter.

Boykins has become a key factor. He is quick on the fast break, plays the pick-and-roll in positional warfare, and can break through the Pacers' interior defense.In order to prevent the pick-and-roll, the starting center Schmitz played only 17 minutes.

In the final quarter, O'Neal and Carter took over the game. Carter made a sharp breakthrough, and O'Neal played with his back efficiently.The two scored 11 points and 10 points respectively in a single quarter, leading the team to complete a 109-104 reversal.

This game greatly improved the morale of the team. Next, facing the underdogs such as the Eagles, Bulls, and Cavaliers, the Raptors easily won six consecutive victories.

Carter, Tracy McGrady, O'Neal Jr., Billups, and Miller increased their playing time and played for about 35 minutes. Any two of them are in good condition, and they can win the game with their role players.

Ryan Bowen, who hasn't played much all season, has also done well, and the Pistons' Grant Hill and the Hawks' Jim Jackson have done well.

On the 14th, the Raptors beat the Pacers again.

博伊金斯首发砍下个人生涯最高的25分5助攻。224CM的高中锋施密茨成为防守弱点，步行者首发控卫马克-杰克逊6投0中，一分没得，只有5篮板4助攻。

The 35-year-old veteran Jackson is not fast enough to guard Boykins, and his shooting is too poor. He still has to rush to the inside for a singled out small man, and the penalty area is blocked by the Raptors.

The Pacers lost two starters, 77-102.

After the Raptors' 7-game winning streak, everyone believed that they would definitely break the record, and only the Heat had a strong team to play.

On the 16th, the Raptors beat the bottom-placed Bulls 106-84.

On the 18th, the away game 103-97 defeated the Heat, which lacked Tim Hardaway, and broke the Bulls' regular-season record one game earlier. Fans all over the world were shocked.

On the 19th, the opponent in the back-to-back final battle was the Magic. The Magic, which had lost hope of the playoffs, chose to give up and rested the main force, giving the Raptors a victory in vain.

As a result, the Raptors ended the regular season with a 10-game winning streak, with a record of 74 wins and 8 losses.

Home games are covered by all sports media.

"In a season against the sky, the Raptors broke the Bulls record!"

"This Raptors team is destined to be remembered in history. Their dunks, fast breaks, passing, three-pointers are all deeply attracted fans. People expect the Raptors to continue to create miracles in the playoffs."

"Many people say that the Raptors play soft balls. Statistics show that they lead the league with 478 dunks in a single season, and they are the team with the most dunks in the league in actual combat. The Raptors emphasize fast breaks. They're very good at it."

"The Raptors scored an average of 115.8 points per game, ranking first in the league in offensive power. Yang Rui achieved an offensive win."

The East 2-8 are the Heat, Pacers, 76ers, Hornets, Knicks, Pistons, Bucks.

The Pacers have won 4 more games than the Heat, but they have no choice but to be in the same central division as the Raptors. According to the rules, they can only rank third, and they will face the Knicks in the first game.

The Knicks only finished sixth in the Eastern Conference, with players taking turns to get injured, preventing them from gaining home-court advantage in the first round.

9-15 are the Celtics, Magic, Cavaliers, Nets, Wizards, Eagles, Bulls.The Bulls finished last for the second year in a row with 17 wins.

In the Western Conference results, the Lakers finally achieved a record of 67 wins and 15 losses, ranking first.

2-8 are the Jazz, Blazers, Spurs, Suns, Timberwolves, Sonics, and Kings.

The Jazz trailed the Blazers by 4 games, and also ranked second because of the division championship. The Blazers played poorly in the second half due to player injuries and only won 59 wins. In the first round, they will meet the challenge of the Timberwolves.

9-14 Mavericks, Nuggets, Rockets, Grizzlies, Warriors, Clippers.

The Rockets went 11th without Francis, and history changed.

In 98, the 14th overall pick in the first round of the rookie, Michael Dixon, stayed with the Rockets and played the entire season, averaging 18.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. The trend of the Rockets boss.

In Yang Rui's previous life, after he moved to the Grizzlies, he only played a good season before being seriously injured and was reimbursed for serious injuries. After two consecutive seasons of serious injuries, in the 02-03 season, he was prematurely injured due to a hamstring injury that was so serious that he could not fully recover. Choose to retire.

Now, Tomjanovich has arranged tactics for him. He has outstanding physical fitness and can shoot suddenly. This season, the three-point shooting rate is as high as 41.6%.

Both the Grizzlies and the Nuggets have improved from last season, but the Clippers are as bad as ever. After choosing Olavokandi and Lamar Odom, they are about to usher in the next high-ranked rookie.

The regular season data king has been determined, O'Neal averaged 29.7 points won the second career scoring trophy.

Eagles center Mutombo became the rebounding leader, averaging 14.1 per game.

Suns Jason Kidd led the league in assists, averaging 10.1 per game.

The Heat's Alonzo Mourning was the top shot blocker, averaging 3.7 per game.

The steals leader is the Hornets' Eddie Jones, averaging 2.7 per game.

Experts predict that in the playoffs, the Raptors' opponent in the first round of the playoffs is the Bucks, who are not weak in attack and average in defense.The second round will be against the winner of the 76ers and the Hornets. Although the two teams have beaten the Raptors once in the regular season, their overall strength is obviously inferior, and it is difficult to upset them in the best-of-7 playoffs.

Not surprisingly, the Raptors have locked in the Eastern Conference finals!

(End of this chapter)