basketball hero

Chapter 440 Playoff Battle
On April 4, the Raptors played against the Washington Wizards at home.The regular season of this season has entered the countdown stage, and each team is also working hard for its own season goals. Those who have a chance to enter the playoffs are trying to win and sprint for the playoffs; , and some have already started preparing for next season. In order to get a better draft pick, losing some games "difficultly" is basically a routine operation.

In this game, the starting lineup of the Raptors at home is: center - Bargnani, power forward - James Johnson, small forward - DeRozan, shooting guard - Ying Xiong, point guard - Karl Deron.

The starting lineup of the Wizards in the away game is: center-Jane Veseli, power forward-Kevin Seraphim, small forward-Chris Singleton, shooting guard-Jordan Crawford, organization Defender - John Wall.

The current record of the Wizards is 12 wins and 40 losses, ranking in the bottom three in the East, and has missed the playoffs this season ahead of schedule.For them, for the rest of the games, the team's goal is not to win many games, but to allow themselves to lose a few more games while allowing the team's No. will be even closer.Of course, if individual young players can perform in these games, it is an extra joy, and it is naturally a great thing.

In the NBA, some things are officially prohibited, such as playing badly, but it doesn't mean that no one really does the prohibited things.After all, NBA clubs have to consider their own interests, and if the rules do not allow it, then play a "side ball"!Your alliance doesn't allow me to be rotten, so what if I look really rotten?

If Gao Ming plays badly, the head coach will "reasonably" arrange the lineup. Whoever plays well will have less time to play, and those who are capable in the team will have more rounds of rest, and more "healing" on the injured list. The NBA does not allow match-fixing, but it never said that it is not allowed to train fringe players and young players of the team...

Under such circumstances, facing the quasi-playoff strong teams competing for the playoff rankings, if they can still win, it would be hell...

Bargnani and Jan Veselli jumped the ball near the middle circle, and the game was about to start.

Raptors coach Devin Casey has been in this league for many years. Of course, he knows some of the unspoken rules. You want to lose to fight for the No. [-] pick, but I want to win to stop the losing streak and fight for the playoffs. It's an undeclared matter, so you don't have to be polite, just accept it.

Calderon dribbles across half court.The players of the Raptors are simmering with anger. As the biggest dark horse in the league, they have lost 4 games in a row. If they lose in this game at home against the Wizards who are determined to do nothing, it will really save face. Can't stop.

As soon as it came up, the Raptors began to attack fiercely. Although Ying Xiong didn't take many shots, he played very aggressively.However, the Wizards' wonderful lineup is weak in both offense and defense. Where they can withstand the opponents who are determined to win, they will soon fall behind.

Ying Xiong has already been in the league for the fourth season, so he naturally knows the situation of his opponents, so when his teammates' touch began to decline in the first quarter, he began to take over the offensive task and take the initiative to attack.

Ying Xiong received the ball at the top of the arc, faced Chris Singleton, did not pick and roll, directly crossovered by a large margin, passed his opponent, and went straight to the inside.

Facing the slow Seraphim, Ying Xiong easily swayed the opponent with a European step and scored a layup.Looking back, he switched to Wall, forced the opponent to pass the ball, and cut off the pass.In the next few offensive rounds, he singled out Chris Singleton in succession, forcing the new Wizards coach Randy Whitman to call a timeout.

Of course, for the Wizards, losing is not a bad thing, but in the NBA, even if everyone is tacitly aware, they have to behave as they should.If Coach Whitman watched the team fall behind for a whole game without any reaction, then the scene would be a bit fake.

For Xiong, what he wants to do most in this kind of game is to make a quick decision.He doesn't want to expend too much energy in this kind of game, and he doesn't want to risk injury to himself and his teammates.

The Wizards lost 15 points in the first quarter and 25 points at halftime.It seemed that the suspense of the game was over in the first half.It's not that they don't have time to chase points, but anyone watching the game knows that it's impossible for them to chase points desperately.In the NBA, apart from fringe players, rookies, and contract-year players, who have long-term contracts, who would fight against each other in this situation?Those who can play seriously cannot form a joint force because of limited strength or no possession of the ball, nor can they help the team really beat the quasi-playoff teams.

The second half of the game was almost a replica of the first half. The point difference quickly moved towards 30 points, and the game quickly entered garbage time.It's garbage time. I don't know if the Wizards players feel a little embarrassed, or because the players in the third team have the courage to perform, the point difference has recovered a bit.

Of course, even so, there is not much suspense left in the game.In the end, the Raptors ushered in a big victory at home, interrupted their 4-game losing streak, and their record became 34 wins and 19 losses.

Two days later, the Raptors continued to sit at home to face the bobcats in the East.As a result, they beat their opponents without bloodshed, and ushered in two consecutive victories after a 4-game losing streak.

在随后的两场比赛中，猛龙队分别在4月5日背靠背客场击败76人队，以及在4月7日主场轻取联盟鱼腩骑士队，迎来4连胜。

But the winning streak did not continue.In the away game against the Thunder on April 4, the Raptors lost to the opponent, stopped 9 consecutive victories, and the record also came to 4 wins and 37 losses.

4月10日，猛龙队迎来了一个特殊的对手——印第安纳步行者队。步行者队目前战绩是34胜22负，与猛龙队非常接近，两队分别位于东部的第3和第4位。

In this game, the two teams faced each other directly. In the case of not many remaining games in the regular season, the relationship between the two sides is particularly important.It can be said that in this game, one game is worth two games.If the Pacers at home can win, their record will come to 35 wins and 22 losses, which will become closer to the Raptors with 37 wins and 21 losses. With 9 games left in the regular season, the final The ranking may not necessarily change.

Of course, if the Raptors win in an away game, the direct record gap between the two sides will be further widened, and the possibility of the Pacers' goal of overtaking their opponents at the end of the regular season will be further reduced.

Therefore, this game is very critical for both sides, and it can be regarded as a card battle in the playoffs.

(End of this chapter)