The strongest basket king

Chapter 233 First place at the beginning of the season
On April 11, the Nuggets went to an away game against the Jazz.

The Jazz started the season with all losses, and the team's state is in a mess.

To be honest, this kind of situation can be said to be expected by the Jazz. Last season, they mainly played Jefferson and Millsap inside. In the summer, Millsap did not renew his contract with the team and went to the Eagles. Now the team is built with Hayward as the core.

In fact, it is rebuilt. The lineup is mainly young people, and both offense and defense have declined.

Xiang Chu is playing against Enes Kanter. This buddy is still a good starter on the offensive end, but his defense is worse than Xiang Chu's original one, which is a horrible type.

As soon as the game started, Xiang Chu completely exploded the opponent's inside line.

Kanter's offense is not enough in front of Xiang Chu, and the no-fly zone is a very useful skill.

However, Hayward on the Jazz is also breaking out. Jefferson's defense is not a bad one, but his physical fitness is really inferior to young people.

As a white striker, Hayward can make the team determined to make him the core, but Hayward is a very tough type.

He scored in double figures in a single quarter, and the score between the two sides has not been opened.

In the last few minutes of the first quarter, both teams started to play one and four, and the Nuggets had the advantage.

The Nuggets' bench is very good, especially when Xiang Chu leads the game.

Belinelli, Dunleavy and Middleton hit three-pointers one after another, and the Nuggets immediately took the lead.

It's no wonder that many teams in the league now pay attention to three-pointers. If a few three-pointers go down, not only the advantage in the score, but also the psychological pressure on the opponent will increase dramatically.

Xiang Chu has absolute dominance in the interior, and only a very small number of interiors in the league can slightly restrict him. This simple tactic is very suitable for the Nuggets.

If there is a passing master, the team will be even more terrifying on the offensive end.

At the end of the second quarter, the Nuggets opened up the Jazz by 8 points.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Fournier also hit a three-pointer, and the Jazz's defense completely panicked.

The key is that Hayward couldn't stand it anymore. After all, he was still the first season as a core player, and he was not so stable. The Nuggets quickly led to double digits.

During the rotation period, Jazz Favors played well, but the Nuggets kept hitting from the outside.

When Xiang Chu had a rest, it took only a few minutes to help the team lead to 20 points, and the game entered garbage time.

Xiang Chu also said after the game: "I am very happy to win the game, but I am even more happy that the team's running-in has initially achieved results. When everyone returns healthy, we will be the strongest team in the league."

The current performance of the Nuggets is something that the outside world did not expect. When Gallinari did not come back, the team had two main players injured. They only lost one game and then won four consecutive victories.

This is largely due to Xiang Chu's dominance, but Xiang Chu's strength is also the strength of the Nuggets. If Xiang Chu can continue to perform like this, this season will be a force that cannot be ignored in the West.

But there are also many people who think that the season has just begun, and Xiang Chu is too tired to play like this.

After the team returned to Denver, both Knight and Chandler plan to return, which is very good news.

The next challenge to the Nuggets is the Lakers. The Lakers do not have Kobe and Nash is injured again, but their record is not bad.

When Gasol, who had the weakest sense of presence last season, was forced to the core of the team, he was still able to play a good game. Sometimes 1+1 between stars would be less than 2, which was the case with the Lakers last season.

There are problems between coaches and players. Stars are very important in a basketball game, but it is not just a pile of stars. It is better than the US team, and there are also experiences of overturning.

Now under D'Antoni's coaching, this Lakers will shoot more three-pointers.

Of course, their defense is also extremely poor, which is completely fishy level.

The fact that the Lakers started better than last season is entirely due to the spirit of the players, and their strength must have declined.

The Lakers are now using Gasol to play the [-]th position, and they can't defend against Xiang Chu, so the Nuggets took the lead when they came up. Knight came back and played very averagely, but Jefferson hit a three-pointer at the beginning. The team's offense has not been affected.

It was during the rotation period that the Nuggets really showed their glory. Originally, the Lakers had Nick Young, and George Karl was a little worried that the performance of the team's substitute would be suppressed.

But Belinelli, Middleton and the comeback Chandler all hit three-pointers, which made the head coach relieved.

And this time Mozgov also performed very well. The Lakers have been strong inside for several seasons. Now Gasol can still play, but they are no longer a strong inside team.

The Lakers' offense is mainly from the outside, and they are also used to pulling out inside to shoot, but they don't make as many shots from outside the three-point line as the Nuggets.

The Nuggets this season can be said to be a real both internally and externally. Although there are no particularly powerful players on the outside, a group of shooters can bring together a group of shooters with very powerful offensive power.

The performance of the Lakers is not bad, but at the end of the first half, the score was still opened.

Without him, the Lakers can't defend at all, not just Xiang Chu.

Their defense has a big problem, and there were several misses in the first half, so even if they played a good offense, it was just a fake.

In the third quarter, the Lakers' defense became more active, which should have been trained by the head coach.

But the strength gap between the two teams still exists, and their rebounding is too poor.

Even if the Nuggets can't get the ball to Xiang Chu at the right time, Xiang Chu still has the opportunity to get offensive rebounds to complete the offense, which is a fatal blow to the Lakers.

The Lakers did a good job off the bench in the second half, but it only delayed the crash.

Halfway through the final quarter, the game entered garbage time.

Xiang Chu scored 30 points, 33 rebounds and 18 blocks in only 5 minutes of playing, crushing both offense and defense.

"They stabilized us." D'Antoni said frustratedly after the game. "We didn't respond well to the opponent's rhythm and shooting. On the contrary, the opponent always insisted on implementing their own characteristics in the game. At the same time, the Nuggets Athletically better than us, and much quicker than us."

Gasol also said: "They are all excellent players. There is no doubt that this is their night. At the same time, on the defensive end, we have not been able to support each other."

On the same day, the Thunder lost and fell to third place in the Western Conference, and the Nuggets reached the top.

Of course, being No. [-] in the Western Conference at the beginning of the season is nothing. Now there are eight or nine teams in the Western Conference that have made a good start. It is estimated that the ranking of the Western Conference will change frequently in the next month, and this change may even last until the All-Star team.

What the Nuggets have to do is to stabilize. When Knight and Chandler come back, they also have the capital to compete for a good position.

Especially Knight, the Nuggets need a strong point who can hold the ball outside. The team expects a lot from him, and Xiang Chu will also help him integrate into the team.

(End of this chapter)