msmithbooks Chapter 321 Entering the playoffs for the first time in his career
Chapter 321 Entering the playoffs for the first time in his career
Chapter 321 Entering the playoffs for the first time in his career
When the time came to March, the end of the regular season was getting closer and closer.
On March 3, the Grizzlies played at home against the No. 2 San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference.The two teams played against each other in the Holy City on February 2, and the home team won that game.
In this game, Xie Kai scored a game-high 32 points, leading the team to easily defeat the opponent and succeed in revenge.
Three days later, on March 3, the Grizzlies continued to play at home against the New Orleans Hornets, the direct competitor of the playoff tickets.
In this game, the Grizzlies' offense was restricted by the opponent, and they lost to the opponent in the end.
After the game, some experts specifically commented on this Grizzlies team, saying: "This team is the most contingency team among the contenders for the Western Conference playoffs. They have the strength to beat strong teams in a series, but they also have Maybe because of a sudden power outage in the offense, he was eliminated by a weaker team!"
For such a team, no strong team is willing to meet in the first round of the playoffs, which is terrible.
On March 3, the Grizzlies narrowly beat the Dallas Mavericks in an away game, refusing a two-game losing streak.
On the second day, the Grizzlies returned to their home court to face the Thunder back to back.In this game, they played steadily at home, defeated each other and ushered in two consecutive victories.
But the good times didn't last long. On March 3, they were beaten by the Knicks led by Anthony at home and missed their 10-game winning streak.
On March 3, the Grizzlies lost to the Miami Heat in an away game, ushering in a two-game losing streak.
But even so, their record is still 37 wins and 32 losses, ranking eighth in the Western Conference.The 8th Rockets are two games behind them, and it is not easy to overtake them.
Two days later, the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers at home, refusing a three-game losing streak, and secured their eighth place in the Western Conference.
But on March 3, the Grizzlies lost to the Knicks again and were double-killed by their opponents this season.But then, they won the next 18 games, ushered in 3 consecutive victories, and raised their ranking to 3th in the Western Conference.
In this 3-game winning streak, the Grizzlies also got a bad news. On March 3, according to the local Memphis media "Memphis Business Journal", the team's main small forward Rudy Gay will miss the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery and announced that he will be reimbursed for the season. No specific date has been set for the operation.
"I haven't encountered a major injury in my career before, and I haven't been reimbursed by any injury for the season." Gay said a little regretfully in an interview, "Now I can't get through wearing protective gear and the like. To improve the injury, I can only go for surgery."
Gay was injured in the game against the Philadelphia 2ers on February 16. In the past five weeks, he has been on the sidelines, but conservative treatment did not make his injury better.
Obviously, the Grizzlies need to protect Gay's future more. Last summer, Gay just signed a five-year, 8400 million contract with the team.
For the Grizzlies and Gay, this season is obviously not about trying to compete for a ranking.The team's championship window has not yet arrived. If they can make it to the playoffs this season, they have already completed their season mission. They can go wherever they want, so there is no regret.
The goal of the team is in the future, and Gay, who is not yet 25 years old, is also one of the future of the team.
It's just that the Grizzlies still failed to usher in a 4-game winning streak, because they lost to the Bulls in the game on March 3.
However, the Grizzlies are still in excellent condition. In the next 4 games, they won all of them, ushered in 4 consecutive victories, and improved their record to 44 wins and 33 losses, ranking 7th in the Western Conference.
如今西部的开拓者、灰熊以及黄蜂在竞争6/7/8这3个位置，而后面的火箭和太阳胜率也都超过了50%，在常规赛还有5场比赛的情况下，他们也还存有理论的拿到季后赛门票的希望。
On April 4, the Grizzlies were defeated by the Clippers and missed their 6-game winning streak.
But three days later, on April 3, the Grizzlies slaughtered the Kings at home and refused to lose two games in a row.
In a focus game on April 4, they beat the Hornets.With the victory of this game, the Grizzlies officially got the tickets for the playoffs.
灰熊队上一次进季后赛，还是在2005-06赛季的时候，那个赛季他们以49胜33负的战绩最终排名西部第5。
But in the following 4 seasons, they have not entered the playoffs, the most recent one was 10th last season.
The official website of the Grizzlies immediately announced the good news, and for a while, the fans were beyond happy.Fans waited too long and finally waited again for the team to advance to the playoffs.Although the team is likely to stop in the first round, but can enter the playoffs, let everyone see hope.This team is very young, and the future is promising, as long as the core players can not be knocked down by injuries.
This is Xie Kai's first trip to the NBA playoffs.He spent the first two seasons of his career with the Kings. In those two seasons, he grew up, but the team also performed badly for two consecutive seasons.In the offseason of last year, he was traded by the Grizzlies with No. [-] pick Mayo and lottery pick Henry. He finally achieved a breakthrough and is going to play with the team in the playoffs.
Playoffs, what a lovely word, Xie Kai is finally getting his wish in the third season of his career.Nothing excites him right now than the playoffs.No matter whether he enters the playoffs as No. 3 or No. 7, no matter what the final result is, he will definitely go all out to prove himself and help the team fight.
As soon as the news that the Grizzlies entered the playoffs came out, there were many voices of blessing and encouragement.But there are also some people who just love to say annoying things. TNT’s special commentator Charles Barkley said in a guest TV show: "The Memphis Grizzlies have been lucky this season and entered the playoffs. It’s just that I am not optimistic about the prospects of this team in the playoffs. Their bench depth is not enough. After Rudy Gay is reimbursed for the season, no one can replace him. Kane Xie is just a regular season player. The playoffs must be as soft as freshly molted king crabs. I predict they will be swept by San Antonio or the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round!"
As soon as this remark came out, the Grizzlies players and fans were very angry.Although everyone knows that Barkley is a big mouth, but when everyone is immersed in the joy of reaching the playoffs, it is really annoying for someone to pour cold water without any scruples.
Barkley doesn't think it's a big deal at all, he likes to quarrel and swear with people.This is his work style, although many people don't like him for this.
Xie Kai didn't go for Barkley at all, he knew there was no point in arguing with the other party.The game is played, not what you say.If you say sweeping is sweeping, then shall we still fight?
(End of this chapter)