Zhang Feng and McCollum, who are eager to prove themselves, will go to Texas with the team next, where the Trail Blazers will challenge the top three Texas Spurs, Mavericks and Rockets for three consecutive games.

In the 21st century NBA game, being a guest to challenge the top three Texas teams is definitely a nightmare for any team that wants to achieve a good record.

The Spurs have always been the most stable giants, along with the Mavericks and Rockets. Although their strength occasionally declines in seasons, they are definitely not teams that will fail easily.

In the away game against the Spurs, due to the Spurs' recent 6-game winning streak, they have quietly edged out the Thunder and climbed to first place in the Western Conference. This is another direct showdown between the top two in the Western Conference.

Although Stotts has many disagreements with the media regarding the growth of McCollum and Zhang Feng, there is one thing that these professionals are right about, which is that in this key issue involving the team's record

During the game, Stotts was indeed cautious in using McCollum and Zhang Feng.

As for the Spurs, they are fully prepared for this battle for the top spot in the Western Conference. With the combination of GDP and Leonard, all the main players are playing. Now is not the time for Zhugevich to rotate his players and rest. The Spurs must be in their best condition.

, to face the Blazers who are also very competitive in the Western Conference today.

The performance of both sides in the first quarter was very anxious, and the score difference between the two teams could not be widened at all. If you score one, I will score another, and if I miss one, I will struggle to defend the next one in the subsequent defense.

Unlike the Trail Blazers, where Lillard and Aldridge took turns attacking, the Spurs' starters blossomed at various points. Although they didn't score much, everyone contributed on the offensive end.

The score was tense heading into the rotation time of the first quarter. Aldridge, who was consuming a lot of energy on both offense and defense when facing off against Duncan, was replaced first to rest. Zhang Feng and Freeland came on the court at the same time to increase the vitality inside.

As for the Spurs, the core of the rotation is of course the new "Demon Sword" Ginobili.

Ginobi used his signature breakthroughs and today's extremely accurate outside long shots to continuously score points for the Spurs.

As for the pick-and-roll cooperation between Zhang Feng and Lillard, when Zhang Feng missed his first shot, he began to enter Lillard's main attack mode.

The score was tied at 27 at halftime, and the two teams played evenly.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Stotts tentatively replaced McCollum. We look forward to seeing how the trio performs in a short period of time.

However, the offensive end has not yet opened up, but on the defensive end, the Trail Blazers have been completely blown away by the Spurs.

At the beginning of the second quarter, with Zhang Feng on the court, Zhugewei directly replaced Diaw, who had been resting for a while. Although Diaw and Zhang Feng were more than 10 centimeters apart, Diaw had the strength and butt to counter Zhang Feng's weakness.

, make a fuss.

Diaw, who has a clear butt, used his excellent experience as a veteran, how to exert force and how to make deceptive attacks through fake movements when playing in post-up situations. This kind of old guy who has been in the NBA for many years bullies a rookie like Zhang Feng.

Still doing it with ease.

Although Zhang Feng was not completely defeated in the paint, it was true that Diaw continued to create offensive threats at this point.

Zhang Feng's inside defense was careless. On the outside, the Spurs' veteran Manu Ginobili was also staring at the rookie McCollum on this side and beating him to death.

The defensive weaknesses of Zhang Feng and McCollum were directly seized by the experienced Spurs, and they were beaten to death without giving them any time to breathe.

The score that had been entangled for a long time naturally began to tilt towards the Spurs as the Spurs had a higher success rate on the offensive end. The Spurs gradually gained a larger lead at home.

Seeing that the team suffered too much on the defensive end, Stotts thought twice and chose to focus on the outcome of this game.

This kind of strong matchup is very likely to affect the Blazers' final record and the competition for home court advantage in the Western Conference, so Stotts still wants to win and establish a psychological advantage over the Spurs.

Four up and down, after a timeout was called, Zhang Feng, McCollum, Lillard and Freeland were all replaced. Lillard had been on the court and needed some rest. The other three

Stotts believed that the rotation lineup was not performing well and the main players needed to come back early to keep the game in a suspenseful stage.

Today the Trail Blazers faced the Spurs with a lineup with Aldridge as the core of the offense, which achieved miraculous results in the middle half of the second quarter.

The aging Duncan is indeed still capable of fighting, but facing Aldridge's extremely accurate turnaround jumper today, Duncan's defensive contribution is extremely limited.

The points difference that was behind before was getting closer little by little under Aldridge's pursuit.

Serving the three armed forces is the norm for today's Blazers.

In the business world of the NBA, a highly professional league, for players to earn a better next contract, they naturally need to have stable playing time and outstanding performance in the team.

"Third Blazers", if this title really becomes a reality, it will be a good thing for newcomers like Zhang Feng and McCollum, a good thing for Stotts, and a good thing for the entire Trail Blazers team, but

For some players whose positions are in conflict, this is not necessarily a good thing.

If McCollum and Zhang Feng grow up, then of course the first to suffer direct losses will be current starting guard Wesley Matthews and starting center Robin Lopez.

Since Lopez is only good at defense, the amount of playing time does not affect his functionality, but a starting spot will also have a certain bearing on his future career development.

And Wesley Matthews is completely fighting for himself. He needs to use his performance to convince head coach Stotts that he is the most suitable partner for Lillard at this stage.

A stronger complement to the overall strength of the Trail Blazers team.

Next to Aldridge, Wesley Matthews successfully displayed the excellent shooting ability of a defender.

In the second quarter, 4 of 4 three-pointers were made. During Lillard's rest time, using Aldridge's containment, Wesley Matthews played luxurious data, scoring 14 points in a single quarter and scoring 8 in a single quarter.

Aldridge scored, helping the Blazers sound the clarion call for counterattack.

When Zhang Feng and McCollum came on the court, the Trail Blazers were once behind by 7 points. However, after the two players came off the court, the Trail Blazers changed their lineups and immediately surged to a lead in the score.

At the end of the half, the Trail Blazers were 57 to 52, leading by 5 points.

All of this is due to the performance of Aldridge and Matthews.

The second half of the game was more like a replica of the first half. Although Zhang Feng and McCollum did well on the offensive end when they came off the bench, their defensive weaknesses could not be solved.

In this game, Stotts did not give the two of them more time to perform. Although he did so, it seemed that Stotts slapped himself in the face. The performance of "Three Young Masters" to the end was actually

Lillard is the only one with outstanding statistics.

But the Trail Blazers won. 112 to 107. The Trail Blazers won on the road, handing the Spurs their ninth loss of the season.

Aldridge's 28 points, Matthews' 25 points, and Lillard's mediocre 23 points became the new troika leading the Trail Blazers forward.

In comparison, Zhang Feng's 6 points and McCollum's 4 points seemed a bit useless.

These two rookie players had huge problems on both offense and defense when facing the experienced Spurs.
Chapter completed!