The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 71 Not Everyone Has Miracles

"Stephen had a quarrel with the old man this morning, and I heard that the team is going to lay him off." Before boarding the plane, Danny Green said mysteriously.

"Don't talk nonsense." Leonard looked around. The Spurs are a team that values ​​unity.

"It's true. Steph has privately said several times that he can be traded without him. This is his contract year."

Zhang Xiaotian is also a little interested. Speaking of playing time, they are all in competition.

But it's hard to say anything when everyone sits together on the plane. Stephen Jackson really looks unhappy.

They are now flying away to play the Eagles back to back.

The former core of the Hawks, Joe Johnson, left last summer, and now the team is based on Josh Smith and Al Horford as the main offensive points.

Their record is not bad in the East, but the key player on their bench in the last game, Louis Williams, was injured for the season, which may have an impact on the team.

In this game, due to the physical relationship of the players, Duncan stayed at home to rest, and Ginobili also had a truce due to injuries.

It was Dior who replaced Duncan in the starting lineup. Dior's height certainly couldn't play inside like Duncan, so the Spurs mainly showed their power on the outside from the beginning of the game.

The Eagles use Josh Smith to play the third position, let Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia play, and they have an advantage in height, but they usually roll outside after picking and rolling inside, and they are actually mid-to-long-range shots. Mainly, let alone a pure pitcher like Kyle Korver.

When the main players are still on the court, the two sides can be regarded as going back and forth with each other. When it comes to the rotation stage, the Spurs, who are missing two main rotations, still gain an advantage.

Matt Bonner got the chance to play and hit three-pointers in a row. It has to be said that Popovich has a set of players, and he can generally use them.

And without Lou Williams, the Eagles are really not used to it.

The height of their bench lineup dropped, and Zhang Xiaotian played steadily and maintained a good efficiency.

Playing in the league is not too long, Zhang Xiaotian's ability may not have improved a lot, but because of the relationship between his vision and opponents, he can already play very confidently and calmly in front of some role players, and he can give full play to his advantages .

Stephen Jackson also got a chance to play, but after he missed three consecutive long shots, he was immediately replaced by Popovich.

Popovich would rather give a chance to a marginal player who doesn't play much than let him play.

The first half ended with the Spurs leading by 10 points, and it didn't feel like the lack of players affected their strength.

But once this point of Matt Bonner is noticed, there will be no chance to play it.

In the third quarter, Devin Harris came off the bench and broke out suddenly. With 12 points in a single quarter, he helped the Eagles chase the score back.

During the rotation period, the Spurs need someone to stand up.

If in the first three quarters, Zhang Xiaotian couldn't replace Ginobili's role, but when the time came to the last quarter, he would definitely be able to do it.

The Hawks didn't have a pure third position at all. The rookie Mike Scott who came off the bench was too slow. Zhang Xiaotian broke through him three times in a row, directly forcing the opposing coach to call a timeout.

Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver played early to stabilize the Eagles' situation.

When Leonard played, Zhang Xiaotian went down to rest for a while, and then the Spurs had a lineup of one big and four small, but Duncan was replaced by Splitter.

In order to improve the rhythm and chase points, the Eagles also replaced Pachulia and left rookie John Jenkins on the court.

When someone gets hurt, someone gets a chance. This is professional sports.

It's just that whether you can seize the opportunity depends on the individual.

With 5 minutes left in the game, Korver hit a three-pointer again, narrowing the gap between the two sides to 3 points.

The Spurs immediately replaced Zhang Xiaotian and asked him to mark Korver, while Leonard dealt with Josh Smith.

Zhang Xiaotian hit two points and followed Korver closely. A shooter like Korver who is not fast enough and doesn't have much ability to hold the ball is really afraid of Zhang Xiaotian's brutal defensive style.

Korver was limited at this point, and the Eagles' offense began to focus on the pick-and-rolls of Jeff Teague and Josh Smith, which added defensive pressure to Leonard. He got fouls on Teague and Josh Smith consecutively .

But he hadn't fouled before, so he didn't mind much.

It can be said that when Zhang Xiaotian, Leonard, and Danny Green are on the court, it is easy for the opponent to shoot from the outside. The Eagles can only let Teague kill inside, while Josh Smith and Al Horford inside pull it out.

There was an opportunity for John Jenkins, but he didn't grasp it from beyond the three-point line.

Seeing Zhang Xiaotian hit two points again, bringing the Spurs' lead to 7 points, John Jenkins felt very uncomfortable.

In the summer league, he was as good as Zhang Xiaotian, but he didn't expect him to play well in the regular season.

This time Louis-Williams was injured, he had a chance to stay on the court and participate in the victory. Before the game, he gritted his teeth and vowed that he must play better than Zhang Xiaotian.

It's not that he's incapable, it's just that he doesn't have so many opportunities.

But now the opportunity is in front of him, but he can't grasp it with both hands, and the undrafted man, the man who was only a supporting role, deflated Korver and plunged their team into a huge crisis.

Could it be that he can only look at the back of an undrafted pick? It shouldn't be like this.

John Jenkins is reaching for the ball, and he's going to show off his shooting skills.

But he is only a small role, and his teammates would not easily give him the ball if he missed a hit before.

Teague broke through and handed the ball to Al Horford, but Al Horford's shot was interfered by Splitter, and Josh Smith tried his best to grab the offensive rebound, causing Leonard to foul again.

It's a pity that he only made one of two free throws. Turning around, the Spurs Parker easily hit two points.

The gap is getting bigger and bigger, and the time is getting shorter and shorter. The Eagles can finally only hope for a three-pointer.

John Jenkins finally got his chance. The Eagles chose him because of his shooting skills. He was not Zhang Xiaotian in front of him, but Danny Green, the most mediocre starter of the Spurs.

But it was this mediocre 3D player who stood in front of him and put him under tremendous pressure. It was obviously time for him to show his strength to save the team.

John Jenkins shoots, strikes, shoots, strikes again...

He is desperate. Not everyone can create miracles, and there is more helplessness on the professional field.

Leonard finally hit a free throw and the Spurs won 100:92.

Zhang Xiaotian stepped forward to celebrate with his teammates, but he didn't notice the loneliness on John Jenkins' face.

(End of this chapter)