unfinished glory

Chapter 69 March
For the Spurs in the March game, there is nothing worth talking about, except that they lost a little more.

The Spurs have met all the teams that can wrestle with them for the championship, and they have all won.Except for the Grizzlies, the Spurs have also avenged everything they can, and the rest is waiting for others to avenge.

The start of March is four consecutive home games, with numbers 2, 4, 6, and 8 lined up.

In the first home game against the Raptors, Li Chongxiao scored 29 points in 18 minutes, which aggravated the opponent's regret.

The second home game against Li Chongxiao's old classmates, Luol Deng and Chris Duhon, didn't take much effort.

It is worth mentioning that Muhammad has a good run-in with the team and scored 10 points in this game.Duncan's plantar fasciitis showed signs of recurrence, so he chose to rest in the third game.

The result was that although Ginobili overwhelmed the opponent and got 15 free throws, the gutter still capsized.The Jazz, the second-to-last in the West, scored three-pointers in the last two points and turned the score over.

After losing the game, Popovich called Duncan back just to be on the safe side.As a result, the Nets were vulnerable. Duncan played for 15 minutes and sat on the bench the rest of the time.

94:72, the seventh team in the East is not as good as the Jazz, which is second to last in the West.

Just after playing four home games, they ushered in back-to-back games, away to Phoenix to challenge the Suns.

This is the Spurs' first big game in March, but it's just watching others complete their revenge.Since Duncan did not travel with the team, the Spurs' inside offense was greatly reduced.

After more than half of the season, the Suns have finished running in.In addition, Stoudemire has grown very rapidly. In this game without Duncan's "care", he played very freely, shooting from outside and grabbing inside, scoring 42 points and 5 offensive rebounds.

Muhammad and Nesterovic have their own advantages and disadvantages for Stoudemire's defense.The former can follow up to defend against shots, but limited by his height and physical fitness, he is unable to work against Stoudemire's basket.The latter has the height to cover it, but it can't prevent it.

Parker also scored 30 points in the face of Nash, but the latter sent 13 points and 16 assists.

Li Chongxiao is very stable in every game, and this time is no exception, he and Marion hurt each other.Both made 11 of 4 shots and also scored 12 points.The difference is that Marion had 12 rebounds, while Li Chongxiao sent 8 assists.

Manu Ginobili and Nesterovic scored in double figures for the Spurs, but Joe Johnson and Barbosa also fought back.

In the end, the sun succeeded in revenge with 107:101.

After winning the game, the Suns' record came to 47 wins and 14 losses, continuing to catch up with the Spurs with 49 wins and 12 losses.

Next, the Spurs returned to the home court. Although the team doctor had determined that Duncan had recovered, in order to protect the players, Duncan still did not appear on the team roster.

The Nuggets' record has been outstanding after the coaching change. George Karl is also an experienced and veteran coach. He seized the problem of Duncan's absence and the Spurs' emptiness inside, and used Kenyon Martin as Stoudemire. Martin used 17 He scored a game-high 11 points on 28-of-[-] shooting.

Although Anthony was defended by Li Chongxiao and Bowen and made 17 of 4 shots, he caused fouls by the Spurs many times, got 13 free throws, and hit 12 of them.Especially when the two teams were tied in the end, he held Nesterovic to grab an offensive rebound and caused the latter to foul, and then made two free throws to overtake the score.

Li Chongxiao failed to execute the last shot, Manu Ginobili missed a three-pointer, and the Spurs lost two consecutive games.

But the Suns didn't seize the opportunity and stopped winning.In their home game against the Rockets on the first day, Tracy McGrady scored 38 points and Yao Ming scored a super double-double of 27+22.

It was followed by a game against the New Orleans Hornets, and the only thing that could arouse fans' interest was the fact that JR Smith took the Western Conference Rookie of the Month from Li Chongxiao last month.In this month's game, JR Smith's scoring average has reached 15 points, while Li Chongxiao only has 13 points.

Popovich activated Duncan, starting him for 16 minutes and warming up.He didn't play in the second half and watched his teammates abuse food off the court.The Spurs beat their opponents 121:86.

Li Chongxiao played 20 minutes and scored 7 points, while JR Smith only scored 5 points.

In the next two home games, the Spurs played against the Timberwolves and Bobcats respectively. Duncan's playing time slowly recovered, and the Spurs easily won.

But before the away game against the Pistons, bad news came. Duncan's condition recurred, and the Spurs panicked.

The team put Duncan on the injured list again. According to Li Chongxiao's understanding, he will not return for the entire March game.

In Detroit, two defensive teams played an offensive battle, and the Pistons defeated the Spurs 110:104.Six players from both sides scored in double figures, and their shooting percentages exceeded 6%.

After the game, fans expressed that they watched a fake game.

The next game against the New York Knicks was considered a vacation, and the Spurs won easily.But then lost to the Pacers without Jermaine O'Neal.

With three consecutive aways, two losses and one win, the Spurs shed a layer of skin.The last three games in March have all been played at home, but things are not looking good for the Spurs.

The first opponent, the Eagles, was easy to deal with, but the Rockets and the Sonics followed.

In the game against the Hawks, the Spurs once again played the feeling of team basketball. Seven people from the team scored in double figures and scored 7 points, while the Hawks only scored 122 points.

The game against the Rockets made the Spurs nervous for a long time, but the process and results were unexpected.The Spurs continued the state of the previous game, with 6 players scoring 84 points in double figures.

But Yao Ming and McGrady did not have the prestige of the previous three games against the Spurs.Neither of them scored more than 20 points. These are the only two players in double figures. The Rockets only scored 65 points.

After killing the Rockets, the Spurs beat the Sonics to the ground in one go.Not so many of them scored in double figures this time, but the Sonics were also bleak.

Ray Allen was defended against 21 of 5 shots and only scored 15 points, which is still the highest in their team.

88:72, the Spurs ended smoothly with a wave of three consecutive victories.

This month, the Spurs have lost five games, but that's not something to worry about. The important thing is Duncan's health.His condition is still not stable, and the team doctors have been afraid to let him play.

Li Chongxiao took the opportunity to go to his house for several meals to show comfort.Duncan seemed relatively calm. He suffered more serious injuries in his career and survived.

On the eve of the 2000 playoffs, Duncan suffered a serious injury with a torn meniscus and was reimbursed for the season. The Spurs were defeated by the Suns 3:1 in the playoffs.

Although Duncan doesn't have the reputation of "Wake Forest Flying Devil" as rumored by netizens, but he also has an explosive side in his play, with many breakthroughs and dunks.

The injury affected his physical fitness. After recovering from the injury, Duncan's statistics have not changed, but his explosive power has dropped sharply, his jumping and speed have been greatly affected, and his style of play has begun to undergo some transformation.Now Duncan is more called "big basic skills".

Although the team doctor expected Duncan to come back after half a month's rest, Popovich made a bad plan. He assumed that Duncan would not come back until the playoffs, so he didn't ask the Spurs to win the first place in the regular season. .

这会太阳还是差两个胜场，54胜17负。马刺是56胜利15负，但是四月的11场比赛，他们只有4个主场了。

Fortunately, in exchange for Muhammad, the Spurs' inside line will not be stretched.The Spurs' tactics on defense can still be rotated. Popovich's headache now is how to continue the offense.

(End of this chapter)