unfinished glory

Chapter 229 Closing
After winning the Lakers, the pressure on the Grizzlies will not be so great.After these two games, Li Chongxiao's mentality has also calmed down, and he has returned to the style of a scoring maniac. No matter how the team wins or loses, I will not move.

The other players of the Grizzlies had no objection to Li Chongxiao taking the right to shoot. After all, after he came, he greatly improved the team's record and allowed everyone to live a good life for two seasons.

Not only that, except for Mike Miller who left the team, everyone else is the beneficiary of the increased exposure.

Take a few main players as an example. Gasol was criticized for being too soft when he was the team's top card, but after becoming the second in command, everyone tolerated him a lot. Widely recognized and praised.Not only that, but also entered the All-Star last season.

Gasol Jr. has entered a team that has just established a winning culture, so he doesn't have to suffer for a few years like his brother.As a second-round pick, a lot of exposure allowed him to show his inside passing and defensive ability, which made him into the All-Rookie Team.

Conley was originally a substitute. After the team found that he was more suitable for Li Chongxiao, he was directly promoted to the main force, and the number of assists also rose sharply. This season, he has averaged 7.3 times per game.

The coolest thing is Battier, he doesn't need to defend the opponent's arrows at critical moments, and he has his own junior in the locker room as the backing, and the captain has a good time doing it.

More importantly, after following Li Chongxiao, his exposure in China has greatly increased. A sneaker company from China has come over and said that his temperament fits the brand image, and intends to sign a sneaker contract with him.

……

Artest of the Lakers also signed with this sneaker brand. He was noticed because of Yao Ming's exposure.This personality player once said: "Give me a sneaker contract, and I am willing to wear slippers to play."

Now he has got his wish, so after Artest signed the endorsement contract, he also wanted to give Yao Ming a 30% commission.

This news is what Li Chongxiao got from Yao Ming when the Grizzlies played against the Lakers for the third time.

The Grizzlies attached great importance to this game and played very hard. Li Chongxiao scored 52 points, and the inside twin towers also scored 39 points and 20 rebounds, but they still lost to the Lakers.

The two stars of the Lakers made another effort. Yao Ming and Kobe scored 83 points together, beating the Grizzlies for the second time this season.The two sides played against each other three times, and the Lakers led 2:1.

The game was the last for the Grizzlies in March.
They achieved a record of 58 wins and 17 losses, still ranked second in the Western Conference.

The Grizzlies have a total of seven games in April against the Rockets, Suns, Spurs, Magic, Cavaliers, Hawks and Trail Blazers.Except for the Rockets, a bad team that can't make the playoffs, the others are tough.

The Spurs and Trail Blazers are still competing with the Thunder for the remaining two playoff spots in the West, and the other four teams have already won the playoff tickets.

But no matter the strong team or the weak team, every game is the key point for the Grizzlies. Only by winning can they have a chance to win the first place in the Western Conference.

Especially the penultimate game against the Cavaliers is very likely to be the weathervane of this season's MVP.If the Grizzlies win, Li Chongxiao may get this honor; if the Cavaliers win, basically James will be stable.

……

In the game against the Rockets, the Grizzlies won very easily.Although Tracy McGrady still has enough energy to average 25 points per game, the Rockets have no future at all.

After Morey came to power, he made a lot of fuss, which caused the Rockets to slip from the strong position in the Western Conference. The record dropped again and again, and the lineup became worse day by day.

A top player like Yao Ming who was in peak form was squeezed out, a historical superstar like Shaquille O'Neal who was in his twilight years couldn't stay, and a potential new star like Bynum couldn't stay.From a team with a tradition of super centers, it has become a famous center black hole.

In the summer, every insider they recruited shook his head and refused. McDyess, who had recommended himself, didn't listen to the offer from the Rockets at all, and went to the Spurs without looking back.

Except for McGrady, they don't have any player who can do it well.The highly anticipated rookie Jonny Flynn, after one season, did not show even a hint of the possibility of an All-Star.

If it weren't for the Knicks' No. [-] Thabeet, the Rockets would have become the biggest joke in the draft above.

Now the Rockets can only count on this year's draft to see if they can pick a player with potential to come back.But their level of poor performance is not enough, and the probability of the No. [-] pick is not high. Now they can't catch up with the Nets even if they lose desperately.

With such a team, Li Chongxiao didn't need to face McGrady for the entire game. He scored 40+ points in three quarters and easily took them away in one wave.

Immediately after the game against the Suns, Li Chongxiao still played steadily, but he couldn't withstand Stoudemire's explosion. He made 18 of 14 shots from the field, defeated Gasol, and sent the Grizzlies a defeat.

With 59 wins and 18 losses, the gap from the Lakers' 63 wins and 16 losses has not narrowed.The Grizzlies can only fight for the victory in the game against the Spurs, and they have to count on the Lakers to lose to catch up with the opponent.

Although Popovich's team tried their best for a playoff spot, the Grizzlies never held back against the Spurs.

Not only because of Li Chongxiao's personal reasons, the Grizzlies were swept by the Spurs in the first round of the three playoff trips that year.

127:106, a big win.But the Grizzlies' victory was dull, and the Lakers also won another field, and their record became 64 wins and 16 losses.

Even if the Grizzlies win the last four games and the Lakers lose all three games, with the same record, the Grizzlies will be at a disadvantage because the two sides have a 1:2 record.

Affected by this, in the second duel with the Magic, the teammates were a little unwilling to fight, and fell behind by 20 points at halftime.

After the third quarter, the point difference has not narrowed, and there is no hope of winning.Carlisle simply replaced all the main players to save his energy and prepare for the next game.

……

The game against the Cavaliers is meaningless for the Grizzlies. The Lakers in front can't catch up, and the Suns behind them don't have to worry.

But for Li Chongxiao and James, it is of great significance, and it is directly related to the regular season MVP competition between the two.

James has always led this season, but Li Chongxiao also has supporters.Comparing the data of the two, James' average of 30.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game cannot suppress Li Chongxiao's 36.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists. Even after careful calculation, the latter's data is even better.Not to mention that Li Chongxiao's steals and blocks are even better.

It's just that the record of the Cavaliers has always been ranked first in the league, and in the direct dialogue game, James also won.Coupled with the poor record of the Grizzlies against strong teams, everyone favors him even more.

But as Li Chongxiao broke the curse of invincibility against strong teams, and played against the Spurs with sky-defying statistics, the two became evenly matched.

This duel will become the winner, and it is very likely to determine the ownership of this year's MVP.

(End of this chapter)