Chapter 457 The alcoholic Oden, the second longest winning streak
The 50-year streak came to an abrupt end, and Chen Yan himself did not feel regretful.
Even if he gets 50 in this game, he will only surpass Kobe. Ahead of him is Chamberlain who has scored 50 in seven consecutive games. This is too difficult in this era.
One day later, the Suns returned to their home court to win their 23rd consecutive victory. Their opponent in this game was the Atlanta Hawks.
In addition to the winning streak, there is another gimmick in this game, which is the first showdown between the No. 1 pick and the No. 2 pick in 2007.
This was the first meeting between Chen Yan and Oden in the NBA. The two met in the NCAA championship finals. Chen Yan won that game, not only leading the team to victory but also breaking the NCAA finals scoring record set by Bill Walton.
Oden spent the whole season recuperating due to injury last year, so this season is the real rookie season for him.
"Greg, compared to you now, I am an NBA veteran." During the warm-up period, Chen Yan took the initiative to chat with Oden for a few words.
The two have known each other for a long time and have the same agent, so it doesn't matter if they are joking.
Oden smiled honestly and said: "Hahaha, Chen, I can see news about you everywhere recently. You are already a star in this league."
Chen Yan said politely: "You also have this potential. How are you recovering from your injuries recently?"
"It's no problem to play."
Oden's answer was a bit perfunctory. In fact, he had too many injuries, from his hands to his feet, from his waist to his back, and it was almost impossible to come back in a 100% healthy state.
"Are you going to have a drink?" Chen Yan asked.
Chen Yan knew that Oden was an alcoholic, and his agent Bill Duffy also had a headache over this matter.
Oden said cheerfully: "If I don't play well, I will drink to vent after the game. If I play well, I will drink to celebrate after the game."
Chen Yan: "..."
What's the difference?
Anyway, it’s all one word drink.
In his previous life, many fans believed that Oden was simply ruined by injuries. In fact, his lack of self-discipline off the court was the final blow that destroyed everything.
Chen Yan doesn't have the power to exercise self-discipline or anything like that, and their relationship isn't that close, and this kind of thing is not something he can change in a few words.
After the game started, Oden played very dull. He had not really adapted to the rhythm of the NBA. Before the game, everyone wanted to see the conversation between Chen Yan and Oden, but in this game, Stoudemire ran out to steal the show.
He scored 13 points, 10 of which were scored on Oden's head.
Oden has good defensive talent, but he is still too green in front of an insider of Stoudemire's level.
"I feel better, pass me more passes later!" Stoudemire shouted to his teammates during the break.
Chen Yan and Nash nodded at the same time. In the second quarter, the Suns started attacking around Stoudemire. Stoudemire used two moves to hit Oden. If Oden defended the basket, he would pull out for a mid-range shot. If Oden caught up, he would hit him.
Strong breakout, Oden's defensive talent is good, his height, wingspan, movement and jumping are top-notch, but there are problems with his defensive skills. He got his third foul of the game less than half the time in the second quarter.
.
After that, Riordan became much more cautious when meeting Stoudemire, sometimes even not daring to reach out, which made Stoudemire even more comfortable on the offensive end.
In this game, Stoudemire scored 38 points to lead the Suns to a 111-99 victory.
Chen Yan and Nash were both green leaves tonight. Chen Yan scored 21 points, 8 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Nash's data was 14 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds.
The best performer for the Hawks was Josh Smith. This jumping man with top athletic talent scored a standard double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Oden scored 7 points, 5 rebounds and 5 fouls. Looking at the whole game, the fans' impression was that this big guy was pushed to the ground and rubbed by Stoudemire.
Hawks fans can only comfort themselves that Oden is still adapting, but sometimes this kind of comfort can't even be deceived by themselves. The season is almost halfway. At this time last year, Chen Yan had already scored 50 and scored more than one buzzer-beater.
Already.
It would be a lie for the Hawks management to say that they have no regrets. They can only hope that Oden will grow up as soon as possible, just like in 1984. Although the Rockets did not select Jordan with the No. 1 pick, they selected Olajuwon, who also helped the team.
The team achieved two consecutive championships.
But can Oden really become Olajuwon?
You must know that Olajuwon has already scored 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in his rookie season, while Oden's statistics so far are only 9.1 points and 7 rebounds.
The higher the outside world's expectations for Oden, the heavier his psychological burden. God gave this big guy a strong body but not a strong mind. After the game, Oden went to the bar to drink again.
This is a way for him to escape reality and escape pressure.
On January 15, after a day of rest, the Suns continued to hit their 24th consecutive victory.
There is good news and bad news before the game starts. The bad news is that the Suns have to go to Denver to play away. The good news is that Anthony will miss the game due to injury.
In this game, the Nuggets' lineup was led by Billups. After Billups and Iverson swapped clubs this season, the Nuggets' combat effectiveness immediately rose to a higher level.
It's not that Iverson is not as good as Billups, it's a matter of suitability. If Billups was allowed to join the 76ers in the 2000-01 season, he probably wouldn't even make it past the first round. That 76ers team was all players.
Defensive players need tireless super scorers like Iverson.
But this Nuggets have no shortage of scorers. What they need is an organizer to sort out the team's offense and help these scorers score more comfortably. Billups is such a player.
In the first quarter, the two sides were inseparable. In the second quarter, the Suns changed their strategy. D'Antoni discovered that the Nuggets could not score from the outside tonight and missed all 5 shots in the first quarter, so he decisively adopted a 1-2-2 zone defense.
To put it simply, the 1-2-2 zone defense is to strictly guard the penalty area, prevent breakthroughs, and let the Nuggets players shoot three-pointers. The Suns only need to pinch Billups's shooting spot. Billups' three-pointer
It is still very stable and has been maintained at around 40% in recent seasons.
The Nuggets players threw a lot of three-pointers in this game. They only made 5 of 25 shots in the game. Jr. made 1 of 8. Today, this crazy knife did not hit the opponent but his teammates.
The final score was 116 to 101, and the Suns won the away game without a fight.
Stoudemire once again broke out and scored 30 points and 8 rebounds on 11 of 18 shots. Chen Yan was not a green leaf tonight. He scored a triple-double of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He shined in a different way.
After winning the Nuggets, the Suns' winning streak reached 24 games!
This is the second longest winning streak in the NBA!
Since the establishment of the NBA, only one team has won 30 consecutive victories in the same season. This record was set by the Lakers and dates back to the 1971-1972 season. In that season, they achieved 33 consecutive victories, which is the longest winning streak in the NBA.
This record has not yet been broken by any team, and the Suns are currently the team closest to them.