I’m Really Playing Basketball

Although the Warriors' performance this season is not as strong as in previous seasons, there are not many people who badmouth the Warriors' performance at this time.

In fact, most expert fans have a positive attitude towards the Warriors' performance in the first third.

After all, everyone expected the Warriors' difficulties this season.

Why haven't the Warriors been so strong since the start of the season?

Of course, it's because the Warriors' own team is facing an aging problem. The three leading players on the team, Chen Xiao, Wade and Ron Howard, are all over 36 years old. Chen Xiao and Luo Ge just passed their 36th year in November. birthday, plus Wade, who is about to turn 37.

When no one knows that Chen Xiao has a system to lock down endurance, how much confidence can you have when the backbone of your team is already this age?

On the other side, apart from its own reasons, the strength of the Western Conference is indeed much stronger than before.

Let's talk about the Lakers. After a season of working together and a season of failure, the Big Three of the Lakers have obviously become more in sync with each other this season, and their system has slowly taken shape.

The Jazz are still strong, and the Clippers and Spurs are still very competitive.

To be honest, these four teams in the Western Conference have narrowed the gap with the Warriors this season.

So this season, the Warriors lost two of their first five games to the other top four teams in the Western Conference.

You know, in the past, Western Conference teams didn't even have the possibility to defeat the Warriors.

This season, four teams in the Western Conference have the possibility of defeating the Warriors.

Under this circumstance, the Warriors can still maintain the first record in the Western Conference and rank first in the league. That is really, really rare.

For such achievements, besides praising them, do you really want to criticize them harshly?

The fact that a team led by three veterans over 36 years old can still show such dominance is beyond shocking and amazing.

If LeBron James in history could achieve such results with the Lakers, I'm afraid the media would have been crazily touting him, what a deputy Goat, this is obviously the real Goat!

Back to the Warriors.

Because the condition of Nongmei and Klay was not that good at the beginning of the season, plus Devin Booker was in a slump at the end of the World Cup, plus the further decline of Wade and Luo Ge, this directly led to the In one-third of the schedule, the combat effectiveness of the Warriors' five main players has declined.

Although the media and fans are not harsh, as the head coach of the Warriors, Cole would definitely be unrealistic if he had no idea at all.

This season, Cole encouraged Chen Xiao to assume more of the team's ball rights and shooting rights. As a result, Chen Xiao has averaged more than 30 points per game so far this season. This is extremely rare in the past few seasons. This is also the reason why the Warriors The reason why we can still maintain the first place in the Western Conference even when so many people are down.

Chen Xiao is indeed strong.

So much so that after playing a third of this year, the first and second places in the league's regular season MVP rankings are still firmly controlled by Curry and Chen Xiao.

However, although Cole was a little angry, he also knew that such difficulties were temporary.

After losing two consecutive losses to the Cavaliers and Bucks on this Eastern Conference road trip, the Warriors returned home and defeated the challenging Timberwolves 126-106 on December 10.

In this game, the Warriors played an extremely terrifying offensive state. In the whole game, the Warriors made 29 three-pointers, setting an NBA record.

In this game, Chen Xiao made 10 of 14 three-pointers, Klay made 7 of 10 three-pointers, Devin Booker made 6 of 10 three-pointers, and Curry Jr., who came off the bench, shot 4 of 7 three-pointers. These four people This game really felt like shooting three-pointers like crazy.

Obviously, the two consecutive away games in the Eastern Conference have greatly stimulated the Warriors. After all, they are the defending champions. Although the Cavaliers and Bucks are very strong and this schedule is also very devilish, such a losing streak is not good for the defending champions. It still shouldn't be the case.

After all, after this losing streak, the Warriors were double-killed by the Bucks in the regular season.

In this big victory against the Timberwolves, Cole saw whether the Warriors were going to bottom out, but Cole's hopes were quickly dashed.

On December 12, in the Warriors' home game against the Raptors, Milicic could be said to have beaten the Warriors' starting center Mitchell Robinson.

I have to say that Milicic's offense is really powerful. Such a super traditional center is really unstoppable when playing against a team like the Warriors. Except for Mitchell Robinson, the Warriors No one can top Milicic.

Milicic's offense is more vigorous than Oden's.

After Robinson collapsed and fell into a foul crisis, the Warriors' interior defense collapsed.

Then the Raptors, led by Milicic, a combination of Nowitzki and Garnett-Duncan, all 11 Raptors players who played in this game scored.

The starting five all scored in double figures, and the Raptors defeated the Warriors 123-113 on the road.

In this game, several players from the Warriors who performed well in the previous game seemed to be returning to their old ways.

For example, Klay made 7 of 17 shots in this game and 0 of 5 three-pointers. This is actually very rare.

Klay may have a low shooting percentage in a game, but like this game, it is extremely rare to not make a three-pointer in a game.

Generally speaking, Clay rarely encounters a few games like this in a season.

But Clay still encountered it in this game.

It can only be said that in the first third of Clay's schedule this season, his performance and data fully reflected his discomfort. His three-point shooting rate was not even 35%. This really surprised many people.

In addition, Devin Booker made 3 of 12 shots and 2 of 8 three-pointers in this game. His performance was not as good as Clay.

Plus Mitchell Robinson, who had 1 of 5 and six fouls.

As far as this game is concerned, Chen Xiao and Nongmei made 13 of 22 and 9 of 15 respectively, unable to carry the entire team.

Fortunately, after losing to the Raptors, the Warriors narrowly defeated the Kings led by Ibaka 130 to 126 in the next game.

In this game, Chen Xiao shot 14 of 23 and scored 38 points, while Luo Ge and Wade combined to score 11 of 22 and scored 33 points.

Except for the three, Clay made 10 of 27 and 4 of 12 three-pointers, scoring the team's second-highest 27 points.

Klay's statistics and performance in this game are particularly interesting, just like Xiang's ice cream.

If you want to say that Klay played like shit in this game, there is no problem. The Warriors playing so anxiously with the Kings has a lot to do with Klay.

In the first three quarters of the game, he shot a crazy 4 of 20, knocking all the baskets off.

Without Klay, the best sixth man, it is absolutely impossible for the Kings to not only be anxious but also lead the Warriors in the first three quarters.

But if you want to say that Klay is amazing, there is no problem, because in the fourth quarter, Klay made 6 of 7 in a single quarter and scored a crazy 20 points in a single quarter, defeating the Kings in one fell swoop.

And Clay in this game is actually a true portrayal of Clay this season.

Most of the time, he is a ghost, but sometimes he can also be a ghost, giving him an unpredictable feeling.

His fat body and somewhat bloated body gave Clay incredible power.

In short, it is so unpredictable and the ups and downs are really huge.

However, not many people in the Warriors criticized Clay or the ups and downs of thick-eyebrow Devin Booker in this game.

In fact, everyone can understand it.

After all, you can't ask a man with money and leisure like Clay to live an ascetic life in the off-season.

What's more, after the start of the season, Clay was actually working hard to find his form.

This can be seen from his very high number of shots per game.

Clay's average number of shots per game this season is the highest in his career, and his average number of shots per game is only one less than Chen Xiao.

He takes many shots but has a low hit rate. This is why Clay is trying to get his feel and form back.

But obviously, if the weight does not drop, his efforts may be more harmful to the Warriors.

Not high, Klay's contribution to the Warriors over the years can actually allow the Warriors to withstand these injuries.

And everyone knows that Clay, the Buddha who saved the Warriors in G6, will come back sooner or later, even if he is undercover now.

It was amid such ups and downs that the Warriors ended the December game with a record of 4 wins and 1 loss in the next game. The only loss in this game was to the Jazz.

Well, in this game Klay made 3 of 12 shots, 0 of 4 three-pointers, and no three-pointers.

In this game, Chen Xiao shot 12 of 21 and scored a team and game-high 32 points. Luo Ge and Wade once again scored 30 points together, but the team ultimately lost 113-119.

So far, after the entire 2018 NBA game, the Warriors' record has reached 31 wins and 7 losses. This record still ranks first in the Western Conference.

Of course, the Bucks' current record as the league's best seems to be getting further and further away.

Of course, this season, the Warriors have no plans to compete with the Bucks for the first place in the league.

Let's put it this way, the two teams have completely different desires for the regular season.

The Warriors are a team that has won four consecutive championships. They seem to be tired of the regular season. This team led by veterans is just waiting for the playoffs to start.

Let's put it this way, most of the dynasty teams in the league will lose interest in the regular season after completing the dynasty, and they can't wait for the NBA to start the playoffs directly.

Naturally, the Warriors are not immune, not to mention that the Warriors are still a super dynasty that has won four consecutive championships.

It was actually very good that we only had this kind of laxity of thinking after winning four consecutive championships.

However, it is precisely for this reason that Chen Xiao's scoring average this season remains above 30 points per game.

Chen Xiao did not rack up points like crazy this season. Although Klay played badly, looking at Klay's shot numbers, we can see that Chen Xiao still strongly supports him in using the game to regain his form.

Although Chen Xiao has been improving the regular season record of the Kerry Warriors this season, Chen Xiao actually did not work hard in the regular season.

Although he has a system, he is indeed a 36-year-old player. Although his endurance can still support him to play 48 minutes of games, the continued decline in athletic abilities such as speed and explosive power is irreversible.

As his athletic ability declines, if Chen Xiao wants to complete the same KIP on both offense and defense in the game, the consumption required will also increase.

Therefore, even if there is a system, Chen Xiao will inevitably stay in the regular season.

And it's not just his own fault that he didn't try his best in the regular season, but his intention to clock in to work this season is also related to his teammates.

As the god of the Warriors, if he fights hard, he will compete with the Bucks.

Tell me about the other Warriors players, can they not fight?

With thick eyebrows and Clay in such fleshy situations, if they really fight for Chen Xiao, Chen Xiao will not only not be happy, but will also be worried.

Worrying that they will most likely encounter an injury crisis.

In fact, Clay has been crazy about taking shots to change his condition and feel this season, which makes Chen Xiao very worried.

If possible, he wanted to give Thick Eyebrow and Clay a month and a half off when they failed to lose weight, as he did last season.

But this season, the Warriors don't have the capital to give Nong Mei and Klay a holiday.

Luo Ge and Wade were not going to play back-to-back.

If Klay and Big Eyebrow don't play again, and Devin Booker is affected by the World Cup, the Lakers, Jazz and other teams will rise.

Then the Warriors may not even be able to hold on to first place in the Western Conference this season.

Being unable to hold on to first place in the Western Conference and failing to break out of the Western Conference's home court advantage still has an impact on the Warriors.

Therefore, even if he knew that Nongmei and Clay were not in good form at the beginning of the season, Cole had to grit his teeth and let them find improvement in the game.

However, look at Klay's shot count. His condition is so bad, he takes so many shots, and he plays so fiercely. Is it possible that this consumption is not huge?

Chen Xiao and Clay were really worried that Chen Xiao or his thick eyebrows would be injured.

In fact, in the first game between the Warriors and Houston in January, in the overtime game, although the Warriors defeated Houston 140-135 at home, Big Eyebrow strained his hamstring during the game and withdrew from the game.

The injury to Nongmei also made the victory of this game less meaningful.

Of course, the injury caused by thick eyebrows is not serious, it is a typical physical injury.

And although the thick eyebrow was injured, the Warriors' record in January was still good. The Warriors lost only one of the 13 games in January, losing to the 76ers 114-123 at home on January 31.

In this game, Embiid played like crazy, got 20 rebounds, and also made 20 free throws. In the fourth quarter, he led the 76ers to a penalty defeat of the Warriors, beating the Warriors 42 points in a single quarter. 26.

Throughout the game, the Warriors committed 31 fouls. Almost every inside player, including Chen Xiao, committed 5 fouls.

However, despite the controversial loss to the 76ers, without thick eyebrows, the Warriors achieved a record of 12 wins and 1 loss in January, and their dominance has returned. It seems that not having thick eyebrows is still a good thing for the Warriors.

Therefore, many experts, including Barkley, said: "It shows how much the previous games will drag down the Warriors!"

I can only say that it is not embarrassing to win, but it is embarrassing to miss someone.

The thick eyebrow himself never imagined that he could be held in a meeting by Barkley like this.

After the games in January, the league also announced the All-Star starters for the East and West.

Eastern frontcourt, Gao Bo, Durant, James, backcourt, Rose, Curry.

Western Conference frontcourt, Chen Xiao, Arab League, Jokic, backcourt, Paul George, Chris Paul

Among the All-Star starters, only one member of the Warriors was selected...