Chapter 1139 [Tortured Once, 14 Games and 50+]

On the 22nd, the Lakers lost to the Spurs at home. Guo Xu had a near triple-double with 51 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

Against a strong team, Guo Xu cannot do anything to gain points. He played very seriously in the second half, and his teammates also defended with all their strength, but the Spurs cooperated perfectly inside. Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge scored consecutively in the last quarter, winning the last laugh with a 5-point advantage.

PJ Tucker's guest appearance at power forward is very effective for most teams. Together with Andre Robertson, he can switch defenses infinitely and is especially good at defending pick-and-rolls. It won't work against the Spurs. Aldridge's inside singles are too short to cover him.

Aldridge is a big man who is addicted to mid-range shots. He basically does not enter the three-second zone. His style is biased towards Nowitzki and Bosh, and he can do all kinds of fancy mid-range shots. Most of his mid-range shots are upside down shots, coupled with Rasheed's straight-arm shots, the release point is extremely high and difficult to block.

The advantage of Bian Tiao is that it is quick to release, saves energy, and has strong maneuverability. It is easy to make false moves when combined with throwing and sudden moves. Adelaide is also good at taking step back. He looks like a big swingman who is woefully ineffective when he's not accurate and a superstar when he's accurate.

The addition of Gasol has also enhanced the Spurs' inside strength. He can pull outside the three-point line to support the offense, play pick-and-rolls with outside teammates, has a longer range, and can catch the ball and shoot three-pointers.

Gasol's three-point shooting percentage this season is as high as 43.8%, averaging 1.2 goals per game. However, the Spurs' three top players shared playing time, and his data dropped to 12 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks.

Veteran Duncan's data dropped the most. He was willing to come off the bench for the team at the end of his career, making the Spurs' rotation stronger offensively and defensively. He averaged 25 minutes per game, 8.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks.

In addition to his personal ability, Duncan's greatness also lies in his spirit of sacrifice. He will definitely retire after this season, but he is as low-key as in previous years. He has no idea of ​​holding a retirement tour, and his ball rights have been greatly reduced.

The Spurs' three major insiders all play less than 30 minutes. No matter how they are paired together, they have a tacit understanding. The key is that both Duncan and Gasol are willing to give up power to the young Ade. This is a kind of inheritance.

The Spurs mainly rely on Kawhi Leonard to score from the outside. He is improving every year and has grown into the Spurs' first core. He averaged only 33 minutes per game, averaging 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 1 block. He shot 50.6% from the field, 44.3% from three-point range, and 87.4% from the free throw line.

At that time, Popovich wanted to train Leonard into a 3D player, but he did not expect that this low-ranked rookie could develop good offensive abilities with the ball.

Only Guo Xu knew clearly at this time,

Leonard still has room for improvement. If he is not seriously injured by Pachulia for a season, he will be one of the top three small forwards in the league starting next season, and this status is expected to be maintained for a while.

The Spurs' weakness is the No. 1 position. The starters and substitutes are just ordinary role players.

There are also many experts who are optimistic about the Spurs winning the championship. Their lineup is very deep and the starting bench can play a role. The key is that they have obviously retained their strength in the regular season. Only Leonard has played more than 30 minutes. If the star plays longer, the Spurs' record will be better.

Under these conditions, the Spurs averaged 104.7 points per game and lost 93.2 points. Among the strong teams, they are the most balanced offensively and defensively.

Guo Xu can still score high points against the Spurs, which makes Guo Xu even more powerful. Leonard is the favorite for the best defensive player and cannot guard him alone. Leonard couldn't keep up with his speed, so "Death Coil" couldn't be used. Regardless of positional battles or counterattacks, defenders had to defend him.

Some media commented on the game: "The Spurs allowed Jason to score only 51 points. They relied on quick rotation defense and double-teaming. It was an overall effort. This strategy was very successful."

On the surface, it seems to be praising the Spurs, but in fact, it is praising Guo Xu. Even scoring 50 points can be described as "only". This is definitely the first time since the emergence of basketball.

Guo Xu's consecutive record of 60+ points was ended, but he still set a record of 9 consecutive games with 50+ points, leaving Chamberlain behind. Moreover, he sent out 8 assists after reducing his shots this time. He can always attract double-teams and help his teammates get open shooting opportunities.

Chamberlain can only compete with Guo Xu in rebounding. The rebounding record is impossible for modern players to break.

At that time, many players were amateurs. They played basketball games after get off work and their shooting skills were not formal. They were a group of blacksmiths.

The amount of iron produced at that time was astonishing. Take the 1960-61 season when Chamberlain averaged 27.2 rebounds per game as an example. His teammates Paul Arrikin averaged 8.6 rebounds per game, Tom Guerra averaged 9.4 rebounds per game, and Guy Rogers averaged 6.4 rebounds per game. . Together, these four grabbed 51.6 rebounds. All members of the modern team only average about 45 rebounds per game.

On the 24th, the Lakers defeated the Suns by 7 points. Guo Xu scored 63 points and 4 assists. He was not polite against his old club.

When Jeremy Lin faced Guo Xu, he was just a messenger, and Klay Thompson couldn't guard him. There was a big gap in movement speed.

Thompson didn't feel as hot as last time this time. He only scored 22 points and made 3 of 10 shots from the outside.

On the 25th, the Lakers lost back-to-back games to the Nuggets 101-103, causing a huge upset.

The Nuggets young players performed well. At the last moment, forward "Antetokounmpo" Antetokounmpo broke through and made a layup and scored the winning goal.

Guo Xu's touch is not good, but he continues to maintain a record of consecutive 50+ games, reaching his 11th game. He played the entire game, making 18 of 44 shots, 5 of 16 three-pointers, 12 of 14 free throws, and scored 53 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Guo Xu, who hit 26 irons like crazy, no longer cares about his shooting percentage. It is difficult for his opponents to limit his score to less than 50 points. As long as he takes more shots, he can get high scores.

On the 27th, the Lakers lost to the Warriors 105-117 at home and suffered a losing streak. Guo Xu ignored the victory again for data and scored 55 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, his 12th consecutive game with 50+ points.

The Warriors have 65 wins and 8 losses, surpassing the Lakers who lost 9 games, ranking first in the league.

The Spurs and Warriors are both direct competitors in the Western Conference. Guo Xu doesn't care so much in order to improve his statistics. He is not afraid of facing the Spurs in the second round and will have a home court advantage.

The Spurs' current record is 61 wins and 12 losses, and they just lost to the Thunder on the road. They have nine games left, and it's almost impossible to catch the Lakers in April.

The headache now is for Popovich and the Spurs players. Although they defeated the Lakers twice in the regular season, Guo Xu changed to a normal style of play combining sudden point shooting and shooting in the playoffs. The Spurs can withstand it.

The Spurs' No. 1 position has declined a lot. Tony Parker averaged only 11.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game this season. He has become worse on both offense and defense and is not considered a star. Substitute Patrick Mills was strong offensively and weak defensively, and his opponent Guo Xu was completely at a disadvantage.

What's even scarier about Guo Xu than when he was in the Suns is his playing time. He averages more than 40 minutes per game and has unlimited physical strength when running all over the court. Even if the Lakers don't have a good substitute at the No. 1 position, it's not a weakness. All teams' defenses have to withstand his test.

Next, Guo Xu scored 64 points against the Grizzlies and 60 points against the Heat, achieving 50+ points in 14 consecutive games.

Neither Conley nor Dragic could guard Guo Xu one-on-one. Conley also exposed his shortcomings of weak offensive desire without a defensive strategy.

Point guards across the league have been tortured by Guo Xu, and players in the Western Conference have been tortured by him repeatedly. He can score high points and lead the team to win at the same time. This is essentially different from those pure data brushes whose shooting percentage is lower than the team average.

Every next Lakers game will be broadcast live in North America, and some temporary broadcast agreements have been signed. All fans are paying attention to Guo Xu, waiting for him to create a miracle...