From today on is the king

Chapter 1548. Chapter 1547. Adjustments after winning streak
Lost to the Rockets 75 to 83, lost to the Clippers 93 to 117...

After a 36-game winning streak, the Eagles lost both at home on the 13th and 14th against the Western Conference teams.

Against the Rockets, only two Hawks scored in double figures. Liu Mang scored 21 points, Scola scored 15 points, and none of the other players scored in double figures.

Playing against the Clippers, the offense got better, but the defense collapsed again.

Sometimes, even most of the time, the form is so good that there is no need to play tactics

In fact, during the 36-game winning streak, the Eagles' tactics were not always very good, and they were divided into two stages.

During the first 18 consecutive victories, the tactics were very good. When the 18th consecutive victories won the Suns, they still had a routine, and they followed the tactics one by one.

But after the 18-game winning streak, the next 18 consecutive victories, including double-killing the Lakers, were all rowed by the old bustard.

What is the purpose of tactics?

Get easy shots, get better shots.

What do better shots and easy scoring chances mean?It is to be able to throw the ball more confidently.

But during the next 18 consecutive victories of the Eagles, they didn't need those things at all. No matter how well the opponent defended, the Eagles could make the ball.

That kind of state is simply too good. When the opponent is close, the shot can be shot, and sometimes it can be shot, but besides luck, that kind of ball needs to have a keen sense of smell that can grasp the momentary opportunity, and can grasp a little bit of opportunity in the close defense. Those who can seize this kind of opportunity are undoubtedly superstars.

Usually, when shooting against defense, even Kobe only has an overall shooting percentage of 40.00% five-six, and Liu Mang is about the same.

But during the next 18 consecutive victories, anyone in the Eagles could guarantee that kind of shooting rate. However, when the 35th consecutive victory was played against the Heat, the Eagles' offense had already withered.

After playing against the Clippers, the Clippers took advantage of some of the Eagles' current problems, and the Eagles failed to defend at all.

This kind of problem is what Coach Kruger is worried about.

At one time, the state was so good that it caused the team's tactical discipline to decline. They wanted to rely on good state to win, and the offense could not score and the defense lost enthusiasm...

This kind of problem is very troublesome. Even if the physical fitness is fine because of the rotation, it will still be very troublesome. It may be solved when the hand feels recovered, but Coach Kruger can't count on this. What did the Eagles rely on during their three consecutive championships?It's defense!

Although the offense is strong, the defense is the focus in the playoffs!
……

On March 2008, 3, International Consumer Rights Day, the Eagles held a team meeting.

Having just experienced two consecutive losses, the Eagles' record has become 57 wins and 8 losses. Saying goodbye to the hope of breaking their own team's 74 wins and 8 losses, coach Kruger gathered the players together for a meeting before the team started a three-game losing streak.

The process of the meeting was very short. Coach Kruger only spoke for ten seconds to mobilize the crowd and left, but the short content of these ten seconds is very important!
"Starting the next game, I need to see that our tactics can be played out on the offensive end, and the defensive end must return to the level before the 36-game winning streak. If anyone fails to do so, they will not need to play in the future. We have many talented players waiting to get more playing time to show their abilities."

After Coach Kruger finished speaking and took the coaching staff away, the conference room exploded!

"My God, did the coach eat gunpowder today? Why is he so irritable?" Jason Terry exclaimed.

"The coach is right, we should reflect on it." Finley is very supportive of Coach Kruger's idea.

"Yes, we played too badly on defense yesterday. It's a shame that the Clippers scored 117 points." Grant Hill also echoed.

Finley and Grant Hill, two highly respected veterans, said so, and others felt a little shame.

Sit down and think calmly.

After two consecutive losses, most of the Eagles players are actually still immersed in the madness of the previous 36 consecutive victories.

Not only the Eagles players, but also the fans and the media didn't care about the Eagles losing two games, thinking that the Eagles were already invincible.

Liu Mang thought that the Warriors started off with 24 consecutive victories, but ended up losing the championship with 73 wins and 9 losses...

Does the winning streak in the regular season have anything to do with the playoffs?Of course, if you can win more than 20 consecutive victories, your record will definitely not be bad, let alone 36 consecutive victories.

The Eagles are now 57 wins and 8 losses, and the league's first place is very stable. The Spurs are now 53 wins and 12 losses behind the Eagles by three and a half games.

The current 50-win teams are the Hawks and Spurs, and the Raptors are only 49 wins and 16 losses.

But apart from the home field advantage, the regular season record really has no other help for the playoffs.

Even if the Eagles win all the next games, 17 consecutive victories and 74 wins break the historical record to enter the playoffs, but if the playoffs do not perform well, this is meaningless.

Liu Mang felt that it was because of adjustments to reverse the current bad atmosphere of the team.

This kind of badness is not because of conflicts within the team, or lack of desire to win, but because of some complicated factors. What makes this factor appear is the 36-game winning streak that Liu Mang is proud of, but this 36-game winning streak is also a very big constraint for the Eagles!
Liu Mang stood up and patted the table to quiet down the noisy conference room. When everyone's eyes were on him, Liu Mang said, "I support the coach's arrangement. If I don't play well, I don't play according to the tactics, and I don't do well on the defensive end. I also accept the arrangement of being hidden by the snow. I will play again when someone of you performs worse than me."

As soon as this remark came out, the teammates were all shocked.

It has been the seventh year of Liu Mang's professional career, and he has never missed a game due to injury or rest. For more than six years, Liu Mang missed 12 games, all of which were suspended for fighting. Apart from that, he did not lose a game, and he was awarded the title of "Data Maniac".

After being suspended for 03 games in the 04-6 season, from the second half of the 03-04 season to almost 4 seasons now, Liu Mang has played 329 consecutive regular season games, occupying the No. 1 position in the Eagles team history.

The No.1 competition between Liu Mang and Fisher is now one of the things that the fans of the Eagles and Lakers are competing with each other.

Judging from their understanding of Liu Mang, teammates feel that Liu Mang wants to compete for the first place in any field that can compete, and coach Kruger said that if he does not play well, he does not have to play. Judging from the knowledge of the Eagles players on the coaching staff, Liu Mang must be outside the rules.

But now Liu Mang is taking the initiative to be in the same competition mechanism as his teammates...

Wade was the first to echo: "I agree with Ace's statement. I didn't do well in passing and breakthrough, so I went to rest and practice."

"It's the same for me. I didn't do a good job of defending and leading the offense, so I gave up the starting lineup to Jason." McGrady also supported Liu Mang's insistence.

"Go, go, play your starter, don't compete with me for the sixth man, having Dwyane is enough for me to have a headache, I will join too!" Jason Terry also echoed.

What else does anyone else have to say?
Originally, for Grant Hill, Scola, Gortat, O'Neal, Brad Miller and other substitutes, this arrangement is considered a good thing for them. Although they don't fight, they are certainly happy to have more playing time.

Now even Liu Mang supports Coach Kruger's arrangement, and they have no reason to refuse.

Marion and Kwame Brown also felt a sense of crisis, but after losing the finals last year, Marion can't wait to win the championship now. He has already felt the decline in his explosive power and jumping, and wants to win the championship when he is at the peak and can make first-class contributions, instead of hugging his thigh when he is old.

Although Kwame Brown felt the crisis, he supported whatever Liu Mang wanted to do. It was only when he joined the Eagles and played with Liu Mang that he got rid of the nickname of parallel importer.

Rondo is still cool...

Now that the decision is made, it is necessary to discuss how to do it!
Liu Mang turned on the computer, called up the game schedule, and played it on the projector.

"Tomorrow we're going to New York, and we're going to play the Knicks the day after tomorrow. There are 17 games left. The time left for us is not too little, but it's not too much..." As Liu Mang spoke, he suddenly had a sense of national football...

"That's right," Finley continued. He didn't care about playing time, but he wanted to play his role as a leader in the locker room: "For the next game, we'll start with the defensive end. We did a good job defending against the Rockets. The coach didn't get angry when we lost, but our defense against the Clippers was terrible. We don't care how we feel, no matter how we attack, we have to play to the level we should have in defense..."

Just like playing against the Lakers in last year's finals, the Eagles players began to speak enthusiastically after determining the next team rotation plan and competition mechanism.

The short-term goal is the next three consecutive games, the Knicks, Wizards, and Nets on the 17th, 19th, and 21st respectively. The opponents are not strong, but the schedule is very tight. The Eagles played 3 games in the first 14 days of March, which means that there are 8 games in the 17 days from the 31th to the 15st. There are two back-to-back games at the end of the month, and 8 games in the first 17 days of next month.

But at this stage, let's take it step by step. This is a good habit that the Eagles have developed as a strong team for seven consecutive years. It's just that the impact of the 36-game winning streak is too great, and the Eagles as a whole were once shaken.

But this deep-rooted good habit, as long as you determine what to do, you can quickly get back on track.

To get back on track, you have to take it step by step, and slowly get out of the situation where the whole team played blindly in the last 20 games!

As Liu Mang said, 17 games is not too much, but it is not too much to say less.

Coach Kruger is watching the monitor in the office, which is connected to the video camera in the conference room.

Seeing that under the leadership of Liu Mang, the players began to actively prepare for the next three consecutive away games, I was relieved.

With Liu Mang around, although Coach Kruger often wants to hit people, most of the time this kid is still worthy of his trust.

Fortunately, there are still more than a dozen games before the playoffs. I have experience in making adjustments before. Coach Kruger is very experienced in making adjustments...

(End of this chapter)