Chapter 1703 Entering the Playoff Mode Early
A slightly unexpected victory over the Pistons brought the Lakers' winning streak to 35 games. They won 35 consecutive games in 82 regular season games. This is definitely an incredible number, and it is enough to make latecomers feel desperate.
Therefore, after this winning streak, ESPN called the Lakers' 35-game winning streak a record that can last for 50 years, ranking second among the most difficult records to break, followed only by the Lakers' 77 wins and 5 losses.
Many fans even greedily thought about how great it would be if the Lakers could continue to win like this, and whether they would create an unprecedented victory season.
There are not many YYs like this. After all, the Lakers feel really strong. Their unprecedented strength and stable performance in each game have resulted in 35 consecutive victories. Just like this showdown with the Pistons, even if several Although the main players are absent, they can still perform well.
However, this speculation only fermented on the Internet for 2 days, and then was ended.
The one who ended the Lakers was none other than themselves.
After unexpectedly winning the Pistons, the Lakers were satisfied. It would not make much sense to continue the winning streak now, and it would not be conducive to preparing for the playoffs. Therefore, Jackson held a meeting overnight and everyone reached a consensus that they would enter the playoff mode early. In the following seasons, the main goal is to keep the league's top spot, and they are not prepared to continue to attack the other records.
This is a very rational decision. Winning streaks are great, but maintaining a winning streak for a long time requires too much effort. For so long, the Lakers have been under double psychological and physical pressure. If things go on like this, it will be easy. Collapsed.
After all, the Lakers' goal is still a championship, not just a winning streak. So what if they win 82 consecutive games, they will still say nothing if they can't win the championship, and they will become a laughing stock of the league and the world.
Moreover, in competitive sports, there is no team that can win every battle.
So in the back-to-back away games against the Suns on the 6th, the Lakers simply rested Ji Feng and Kobe. Not only did these two not make the roster, they didn't even come to Phoenix with the team. The reason was naturally due to unknown minor injuries.
The Suns are overjoyed. Although their record and strength have been far inferior to before with Stoudemire leaving this season, it has long been difficult to maintain their past glory. After 35 games, they are getting closer and closer to the playoffs. Far.
Entering January, the Suns have yet to win. After all, the Western Conference is too devilish, and no team is good at it. The Suns are heading towards the worst record in history, but if they can become the first to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers this season, Team, this season has been worth it!
So when he saw the Lakers' roster, the Suns general manager almost knelt down and gave the Lakers a pennant!
Timely rain!
From today on, the Lakers are my brothers!
Therefore, the entire Suns team mobilized to keep the victory in Phoenix.
The Lakers also sent a lineup of Gasol and four substitutes to face the Suns. Master Zen's idea for this game was very simple. It was just training anyway. If you win, you win, and if you lose, you won't feel uncomfortable.
Even so, the Suns battled with the Lakers for 48 minutes before finally winning 94-92, with a difference of 2 points. If Farmar's three-pointer at the last moment hadn't prevented the Lakers from winning, the outcome would have been uncertain.
After losing to the Suns, the Lakers' 35-game winning streak ended, and the Lakers finally suffered their first loss of the season.
However, although the Lakers lost, there was almost no criticism from the outside world. Instead, people began to officially praise the Lakers. Various reviews and documentaries were released. It felt as if the 35-game winning streak had just begun. You even You can imagine the media and reporters wiping away their cold sweat: "Fortunately, it has finally stopped. We now have big news to write about."
The Lakers also breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure finally broke through, and they felt more relaxed than ever before.
Two days later, the lightly-packed Lakers immediately won at Staples. Although they still did not welcome JK back, Gasol and Bynum scored 50 points together, leading the Lakers to a 107-97 victory over the visiting Hornets. , continuing his record of never losing in a row in a season. This record has been close to 4 seasons.
Then on January 10, Kobe Bryant returned to the starting lineup after taking three games off. They easily defeated the Knicks 109-87 at Staples and won two consecutive games, reaching an abnormal record of 37 wins and 1 loss.
It can be said that the Knicks are one of the teams that made the biggest moves in the offseason. The introduction of Stoudemire was a big move. At the same time, they brought in newcomers such as Felton, Fields, Sean Williams, and traded David Lee. After coming out, the entire lineup was completely transformed.
However, the Knicks continued their magic. Stoudemire left Nash and began to stretch his hips. The shooting percentage dropped from 58% last season to 47% this season. 12 percentage points proved who the Suns are. C, just like this one, 24 shots were exchanged for only 22 points. This shooting rate was touching, at least the Staples frame was moved.
After losing this game, the Knicks have 14 wins and 21 losses. According to this trend, they will have to spend money in the summer and look forward to signing stars.
However, the Knicks soon lost their sadness. Two days later, the Lakers faced the Cavaliers at home. As the favorites in last season's finals, the Cavaliers, who lost James, instantly fell to last place in the Eastern Conference. So far, they have only 4 wins, becoming the most popular team this season. There is no such thing as a miserable team, and he also proved that James is really strong and can bring a group of fringe players into the Eastern Conference Finals.
Facing such a team, Ji Feng came back, so the worst defeat of the season came!
122-57…
This kind of score hasn't happened in I don't know how many years. The Cavaliers only scored 57 points in the game, and even only 7 points in the first quarter. Only 5 people in the team scored, and 2 people scored in double figures. Former All-Stars Mo Mo and Jamison Scored 6 points and 2 points respectively, and scored 8 points in total, which will be recorded in history...
"I wonder how James would feel when he saw this scene." Yu Jia said with emotion after the game. The 65-point victory was already the second largest victory in NBA history.
Ji Feng had a triple-double of 18 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds in 23 minutes. Kobe had 35 points, Gasol had 30 points, Bynum had 15 points and 17 rebounds, Artest had 14 points and 4 steals, and Fisher had 11 points. The Lakers had not welcomed him for a long time. Here comes the night of data explosion.
However, such a big explosion still has sequelae. On the 13th, they faced the Warriors back-to-back away from home, and the Lakers lost by 10 points. They suffered their second defeat of the season. Curry performed well and scored 34 points against Kobe Bryant's 35 points. Ji Feng was in poor condition and only scored 19 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds.
The Lakers' record has also reached 38 wins and 2 losses, still tying the best 40 games in history created last season.