Updated: 2013-04-17

No one likes to play away games, especially from the East to the West. With that damn back-to-back, no one is willing to accept such an arrangement, but the Celtics really have no choice now.

The entire regular season is so long, and many stadiums have to host many other activities, so even if you are difficult for those who arrange the schedule, they can only be arranged like this.

Of course, this is inevitable that these guys who are choreographing the schedule will be cursed constantly behind their backs. At least the head coaches of those teams will do this, fighting back to back, and continuously, which is really not something that ordinary people can withstand.

However, in addition to being able to curse a few words on the plane, Rivers and his players could only hurry up and recover their physical strength. Three hard battles consumed too much of their physical strength.

Even Thibodeau, who likes to analyze other team tactics and personnel on the plane for such continuous running, can't hold on to the workaholics of Tsbodou, who likes to analyze other teams' tactics and personnel on the plane. Although the flight distance is not far, everyone is exhausted.

After they boarded the plane, almost all of them were sleeping in a flash. No one was talking about playing cards or chatting. These guys were even lost in their energy to listen to music and all fell asleep.

No one knows what is waiting for them in New Orleans, but the Hornets are definitely a tough guy.

Although the Celtics were double-killing opponents last season, the Hornets' competitiveness in the West has long been incomparable. They have the energy to reach the Western Conference Finals and are in good shape recently.

Now many people predict that the Hornets will likely create their best regular season record this season.

Of course, this is just speculation. The game has to be played one by one. No one can guarantee that there will be no unexpected situations in the last two months of the game. Perhaps one injury can defeat the confidence of a team.

The New Orleans Hornets attracted a lot of attention last season, but they have obviously been much lower-key this season. Maybe they also know that excessive swagger may bring them some trouble.

Just like at the beginning of last season, I thought the Hornets could really fly wild bees, but as a result, they would lose their troops when they met the Celtics. West's injury was delayed for two months, and everything was delayed.

Last season might have been the best time for the Hornets to rise. As a result, West and Paul's successive injuries completely wiped out the team's enthusiasm, and their results also declined.

Even if Paul makes efforts in the later stages and has this new generation of top point guards as the core of the team, he will be missing a major scoring point in the inside line. The Hornets' offensive ability has been weakened by at least 30%, and their offensive ability has become very fragile. The part that Paul can make up for is limited, and he is powerless.

And without David West carrying it inside, their defensive strength also dropped by an equal order.

Although Chandler is supporting him inside, this guy is sometimes too rough, especially when controlling fouls, he always makes mistakes. He is often seen sitting on the bench and being a spectator in the last quarter.

On both ends of offense and defense, Paul himself was injured for more than a month. After such trouble, the Hornets' performance in the end was completely in stark contrast to their performance in the previous season.

Such a fragile Hornets cannot survive in such a strong competitive environment as the West. Therefore, the higher their expectations last season, the harder they fell, and they couldn't even make it into the playoffs.

You can say it is because of the damage caused by injuries or bad luck, but you can't change the ending.

The Hornets fell last season and ended up winning tenth place in the West, helplessly staying away from the playoffs.

Many people actually think that Paul may not continue to stay in the team, or that West is about to leave.

However, after a summer passed, the rumors of the deal did not come true, but the Hornets became much more low-key.

The Hornets' offensive posture this season is still very strong. In the past month, the Jazz have been overturned by them from the fourth place in the West. Paul and West jointly brought the team into the top four.

Chandler and Stojakovic also played their best in the past two seasons. The Hornets rushed into the top four in the Western Conference. Judging from this momentum, they were far from planning to brake.

"The rebirth of New Orleans, after experiencing the downturn of last season, these wild bees finally started to fly."

This is an accurate evaluation of the Hornets' recent crazy performance. After a season of downturn, these guys started to start at high speed. After a smooth transition, they began to plunder the victory.

When the transfer market is in full swing, New Orleans may be one of the few teams that can stay out of the matter.

Others have been in a turbulent way. Many teams are forced to rebuild because of such big deals, and some teams have gained benefits. However, the process of team running-in has also made them lose the opportunity to steadily increase their rankings in their respective leagues. The Hornets just seized such an opportunity and their winning rate has been maintained very stable.

The main core is not involved in any transaction, and the Hornets themselves don't have many positions to add.

It can be said that their tactics have become a system, and the cooperation between players is also very familiar with them.

Outside, Paul is responsible for the ball control organization, and Stojakovic's mid- and long-range fire ability. It can be said that the Hornets' back line is the fundamental reason why they can soar so quickly in the West.

Especially Paul, who is becoming more experienced on the court, has just entered the league for a few seasons, but his ball control skills on both offense and defense, and if he adds more experience, he can be comparable to Kidd and Nash.

Many people say that Paul and Rondo, plus Deron Williams who play for the Jazz, are both the best in the new generation of point guards. Their ball control is very stable and can also connect the team's firepower network.

Just looking at the data, Rondo and Paul's assist data may be even more crazier. These two guys can rank in the top ten in the assist list, and they are also offensive boosters for their respective teams.

The only difference may be the scoring ability. Paul won completely in this regard. His small throws and three-point shooting have good shooting percentages. Compared with Rondo's negligible shooting ability, he will definitely win.

But in terms of assists, Rondo, who has no desire to score, is obviously more focused. This guy is now addicted to helping quickly, and only Nash can stabilize Rondo on the assist list.

One is in the East and the other is in the West, this competition may last for a long time, but in this season's All-Star Game, these two guys have the chance to compete for a skill match, who can be the king.

But before that, the New Orleans Hornets were the first to play against the dusty Celtics at home.

It was really dusty. The Celtics were like nightclub girls who were rushing to the venue. From the day they set foot in the West, the biological clocks of these guys were almost turned upside down, and they were almost crossing half of the earth.

The journey of the battle may not be that exaggerated, but it is definitely not easy to count the battle on the basketball court.

Even the Celtics' strong animals felt a little tired in such a rush.

Starting from San Antonio, they are running all the way and fighting all the way, not counting the Heat's game. They have consumed a lot of physical fitness just for the Spurs, Nuggets and Rockets.

Especially in the first and third games, they almost fought for the winner and the outcome that was decided until the last moment, and the Nuggets' impact also made them have to fight desperately in the opening stage. Most people can't withstand this kind of consumption.

You can imagine how much energy this game will be. Even if the Celtics' team doctors try to help each player relax, physical fatigue will not be so easy to recover.

The season has been nearly fifty games, and the Celtics' injuries have not yet reached a scale, but the high-intensity competition in recent times has given the Celtics a lot of non-combat reductions.

Even Rivers and Thibodeau began to pay attention to controlling the intensity of training, for fear of the injury waves of these guys.

But with such adjustments, it is impossible to withstand the intensive schedule of the NBA and the high-intensity confrontation. Now the Celtics' injury list has expanded to five people, which is a bit beyond Rivers' expectations.

Kassel and Webber, these two old guys will have to rest for at least two weeks, and Ray Allen's wrist also relapses due to an old injury and needs a temporary rest, but fortunately, it may take about three or five days.

But Perkins' ankle also sprained in the game against the Rockets. He and Hayes fought too fiercely at the basket. As a result, both of these two guys ended up with injuries because of a rebound.

"Erpin" needs to be on standby for two to three weeks, and Hayes is similar, and Nowak's battle-free card will have to be hung for about a week. This wave of battles in the West has caused the Celtics torture.

"Is that true, I've really lost a lot this time." Seeing the injury list continue to expand, Rivers really felt that it was not worth it. This trip to the West had a good result, but the price was not small.

Fortunately, these old patients are not the kind of fatal injuries that will be reimbursed for the season. After a few weeks of rest, they can recover, and it should not affect the preparations for the playoffs.

But no matter who you are, you will feel annoyed, and this damn away journey is not over yet. In the last game, you have to fight the Hornets back-to-back.

Twenty hours are impossible to restore physical fitness to a full state. Don’t forget that the Celtics will have to go through a long flight process during this period.

Even if you get off the plane, you have to go from the airport to the hotel. When everything is done, how much time will be left for these guys to recover their physical fitness? Even Rivers had two dark circles when he reached the stadium.

A madman like Thibodeau who stayed silent for several hours after watching the game video, and this time he couldn't stand it.

So, when this Celtics' ticket arrived at the New Orleans Arena, there might be no other feeling except fatigue. It was just that this was the last game, and these beasts wanted to grit their teeth and fight.

Three wins and three wins, you can't fall before leaving the West in the end. Although Rivers did not give the order that he had to win, the Celtics did make a very fierce start after the opening, and they seemed to have to eat their opponents in one bite.

It's hard to see that these guys have experienced three away games, and they just fought a fierce battle twenty hours ago.

If you haven't watched the previous game, you will feel that these guys came to New Orleans after raising their strength.

A 11:2 start really shocked the more than 15,000 Hornet fans in the New Orleans Arena. They all knew that the Celtics were the top spot in the league, but they really didn't expect that these guys would be so fierce.

Even though Paul's possession was very steady and his mind was calm, in such a confrontation, he was also entangled with Rondo and made two mistakes, not to mention Chandler. Garnett stared at him, and there was no chance to fight back? In the first five minutes, this guy only got a rebound in the backcourt and got nothing else.

Comprehensive suppression, full attack, scoring points bloom everywhere. Judging from the Celtics' posture, the Hornets' collapse seemed to come in the next second. Boston's rapid attack did indeed give the home team a warning.

And this is still so fierce after a back-to-back game? At the end of the first quarter, the score of 31:27 seemed to be telling the Hornets supporters that the opponent was very strong!

"Those kids are too tired. Don't think they scored 31 points, but their shooting percentage is even half as good as usual. If their physical fitness continues to decline in the second half, the Hornets will definitely seize the opportunity to counterattack."

Although the New Orleans fans were shocked by the fierce attack of the Celtics, Murphy, who came with the team, said this with a worried look with Xie Miaomiao beside him. He, an old man, understood very well.

"The three away games, and they all encountered the top eight teams in the Western Conference, have experienced this intensity of confrontation, even a group of iron men will have metal fatigue, let alone these guys, they are not machines."

Xie Miaomiao also saw why the Celtics hit their opponents in the first quarter, because those guys knew very well that their state could not support four quarters of games when they played a protracted battle.

This does not mean that the Celtics have problems with their physical reserves. In this high-intensity schedule, even if you are well prepared, this situation must occur. After all, it is a continuous battle, and no one can stand this kind of consumption.

All four opponents are in the top eight in the West, and they are all at home, waiting for you to come to the door. The Celtics are the right time, the right place, and the people and the other three aspects. They all know that you are the first in the league. Who doesn’t want to be a ruthless character who can kill the king? The opponents are fighting with you with the idea of ​​overturning the Celtics. This game is quite difficult to play.

If you are not afraid of thieves stealing, you are afraid of thieves thinking about you. There are twenty-nine teams in the entire league thinking about you. How much pressure is this?

Even if these Celtic guys are strong and fierce enough, they are really not omnipotent robots.

This would be perfect if it were a bunch of Terminators like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but unfortunately, they wouldn't transform.

So it is God's blessing to be able to win three games. Rivers has no hope of winning four consecutive games, but if he can win, no one will give up, but as Murphy said, he can only take the risk of his troops.

He went up to attack his opponent, which was obviously different from the previous steadily playing attitude. Rivers considered that the team's physical energy was too high, and if he really dragged on, he would definitely be dragged down.

If that's the case, it's better to do the opposite. Don't look at the opponent's territory, then come up and fight them! If you can confuse your opponent and lead the score, this game may be easier.

Moreover, the team's offense in the first two quarters can ensure that it is sharp enough to put pressure on the opponent and give the opponent a blow. If the score can be widened, the game will be easier, but reality does not give Rivers so much preferential treatment.

Rivers still ignored the erosion of fatigue on the team. Under the impact of this storm, their chances were all out, but the team's overall shooting rate dropped too much.

Pierce's two chase counterattacks were no longer guarded, but the shot was still hit on the basket.

Garnett also had a tip-in that was so simple that it could not be simple. He was so close that he couldn't press it in!

If this kind of mistake was in normal times, it would not be possible. Not to mention that it could not be pressed in, Rivers might even curse if it was not exciting, but when this scene appeared, Rivers could only shake his head gently.

This is the trouble caused by physical fitness problems, and less than 40% of the hit rate made Rivers' dangerous move fail. Although the score is ahead, the Hornets' pursuit is actually very tight and there is no slack at all.

This is not that the Celtics are playing against teams like New York or the Sixers, the Hornets are fourth in the West! Their toughness is quite fierce, not that you can kill them with a wild charge.

They will use their shooting, running, interspers and covers to slowly waste your time with you. This is the Hornets' nest. As long as these guys can stay calm, the chance of turning around can always be found.

Three minutes before the end of the first quarter, the Celtics led by 11 points. As a result, in the last three minutes, Paul chased for 7 points in a row, a 7-0 attack wave, which caught the score back just a little bit.

If this were normal, the Hornets might have been dragged down by the Celtics by just controlling the rhythm.

But now, the Hornets are the ones who control the rhythm. When the second quarter ended, these New Orleans masters had already overtaken the score. Although they only led by three points, this was enough.
To be continued...