Chapter 49 49. Increase the intensity
The next day was a rest day. After playing three games in four days, the Spurs got three days of rest.

Zhang Yang arrived at the ATT Arena at around 9 o'clock in the morning and asked Popovich for the scouting reports of the opponents in the remaining 12 games to study.

More than a month has passed, and he has worked hard to learn tactics, techniques, and training. Although his shooting and passing abilities have not changed significantly, the techniques he has used to bring out his shooting and passing abilities have become much richer than before.

And it is precisely because of the basic skills laid before that many things can be learned so quickly and used immediately after learning.

Arranging rest for the players in advance, although a little late and after suffering a 4-game losing streak, the effect has begun to show.

And it's not too late to start now. Instead of letting Duncan and Ginobili keep losing and playing until they are exhausted in the last 12 games, it's better to rest one game and play one game. At least the probability of winning the game after the rest is higher.

These things, including studying the scouting reports now, are all preparations for the final 12 regular season games.

Just by looking at the team names of the remaining games, Zhang Yang discovered another reason for the Spurs' "end-of-season collapse."

12 games, 10 different opponents, almost no repetition. Not only that, except for the Kings, the other 10 opponents have a guaranteed 40 wins level, are all playoff-level teams, and most of them are in the sprint for the playoffs.

An absolutely devilish schedule! Zhang Yang felt the deep malice of the Jewish old thief. He could guess without looking at the schedules of other teams that no other team predicted to win 50 games would have a more difficult end-of-season schedule than theirs.

When Zhang Yang saw the Grizzlies' scout report, he glanced at the current standings.

He remembered a saying that the Grizzlies saw the Spurs losing consecutive games at the end of the regular season and took the initiative to drop to eighth in the Western Conference and pick the Spurs to play. Now he also thinks this is the case.

But the Grizzlies are probably forced to do so, because they have no chance of getting into the top six. If they can get to fifth place and play against the Thunder, and sixth place and play against the Mavericks, Zhang Yang doesn't believe that the Grizzlies will choose not to get there.

The second place is the two-time defending champion Lakers, who are in full swing. If the Grizzlies have a choice, they definitely don't want to face the Lakers. Their strongest black and white bears have no advantage at all against the Gabio Triple Tower.

In other words, regardless of whether the Grizzlies have the confidence to beat the Spurs, they can only choose to drop to eighth place to play against the Spurs.

After taking a quick look at the scout report, Zhang Yang put it in his bag and studied it slowly before going to bed. He continued to train on the basic skills of pick-and-roll breakthroughs, mid-range shots after pick-and-rolls, and the European step... Let's go!
...

On March 3, the Spurs came to the Pepsi Center in Denver to challenge the Nuggets.

During the All-Star Weekend, the Nuggets sent Anthony and Billups to the Knicks. The soap opera of "Where is Melo going?" has been going on for more than a year. The Nuggets' record before the All-Star Weekend was also quite bad, and they fell out of the top eight in the Western Conference. With the two cores sent away, everyone thought the Nuggets were going to be a slump. Duke's Irving was still very tempting...

However, the group of role players with outstanding physical fitness obtained from the Knicks was exactly what the Nuggets head coach George Karl wanted. His bombardment heart, which had been dormant for many years, beat again, and he used a refreshing track and field run-and-gun style of play.

The Nuggets' record has improved instead of declined, surpassing the Rockets, Grizzlies, and Hornets, and is now competing with the Trail Blazers for fifth place in the Western Conference!

At 8 o'clock in the evening, the Spurs' away game against the Nuggets started. The Spurs had a difficult time - the opponent was too fast at running, and Popovich did not let Duncan play.

首节马刺队29比26取得3分领先优势，第二节掘金队一通狂奔，轰了马刺队一个单节40比35，掘金队以66比64反超马刺队两分进入下半场。

In the third quarter, the Nuggets continued to run wild, with a score of 33 to 31 in a single quarter, widening the gap to 4 points and leading the Spurs 99 to 95.

But in the fourth quarter, when the Nuggets could no longer charge, the Spurs took advantage. The Nuggets fell into a positional battle, with almost no tactics. In the past, Billups initiated the offense and Anthony played one-on-one, but now it has become Felton initiating the offense and JR Smith playing one-on-one...

In the final quarter, Ginobili, who had only played for 15 minutes in the first three quarters, made his effort, making 5 of 3 shots, including 4 of 2 three-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 10 points.

张杨4投2中，加上2中2的罚球，拿到6分。

Parker scored 5 points on 3 of 6 shots.

三人携手率队轰出29比19的单节比分，以124比118逆转掘金队拿下胜利，战绩提升至57胜14负！
张杨出场32分钟，16投9中，其中三分球2中1，加上4中3的罚球，拿到22分5板2助攻3抢断，来到马刺队之后的第3次单场20+！

Zhang Yang was very excited about defeating the Nuggets.

As far as he remembers, the Spurs started a miserable losing streak starting from the 12th game before the end.

Looking at the fierce momentum of the Nuggets tonight, if Duncan and Ginobili had not rested, even if Duncan played in this game, the Spurs would most likely not be able to outrun the Nuggets, and would be consumed again because of running wildly with the Nuggets, and the next game would be worse than the last...

But Ginobili here was extremely charming in the final quarter. He pressed down JR Smith and told people with his actions not to compare him with any crazy sixth man.

The reason why Ginobili was so active in the last quarter was not only because of the rest, but also because Zhang Yang made 12 of 7 shots in the first three quarters and scored 16 points, which held the situation and allowed Ginobili to rest for a long time.

Defeating the Nuggets is Zhang Yang's first step towards "changing history"!
...

Playing against the Nuggets marks the beginning of a four-game road trip for the Spurs, who will then challenge the Trail Blazers and Rockets on the 4nd and 22th respectively.

Both games were fiercely fought, but fortunately we won both games without any major problems.

Playing against the Trail Blazers, who are currently ranked fifth in the Western Conference, the Spurs fielded all their main players, but with one minute left, they only led the Trail Blazers by 1 points, 96 to 92.

However, no one on the Trail Blazers could step up to shoot the key shot at this time. Aldridge was weak at the critical moment and was swatted by Duncan.

Roy... has been ruined by the Trail Blazers. He is only 26 years old, and his statistics this season have plummeted to an average of 12+2+2 per game, with a hit rate of 39.7%. Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan did not even send him to the court at critical moments.

In the end, the Spurs defeated the Trail Blazers 99-92.

Duncan did not play against the Rockets, who were ranked ninth in the Western Conference. Popovich thought it would be an easy win, and it looked that way in the first quarter, with a 32-point lead of 20 to 12. However, the Rockets were resilient and managed to catch up.

Fortunately, the Spurs widened the gap again in the third quarter, relying on their leading advantage to withstand the Rockets' counterattack, and finally defeated their opponents 109-105, winning five consecutive games and improving their record to 5 wins and 59 losses.

The Nuggets, Trail Blazers, and Rockets, these three teams gave the Spurs a wave of intensity. Although the Spurs won all of them, they personally felt how strong the playoff contenders and ranking contenders were in the final sprint of the season. If they did any worse in any link, they might lose!

However, in Zhang Yang's opinion, these three games are just warm-up games, and the last game of the four-game road trip will be the real intensity - the Memphis Grizzlies!
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(End of this chapter)