A week later, the Wajovia Center Arena, home team dressing room.

"Alas......"

Iguodala, who has always been full of physical strength, sat next to Chen Mu after changing his game jersey, but let out a long sigh.

"Unwilling, ......!"

After being silent for a long time, it was Iguodala who took the lead in speaking, and after wiping the towel in his hand, he fell the floor in front of him, shaking his head and sighing.

After a hard-fought win against the Nuggets, the Philadelphia 76ers have experienced a three-game losing streak.

In these three games, the team played against strong and weak opponents, and it was not all without opportunities. But for some reason, it seems that there is too much fighting spirit burned on the road trip and against the Nuggets, the players are a little tired, and the performance on the court has declined.

In three consecutive games, the players' attention began to be sluggish and unfocused, and they missed many good opportunities at critical moments, only to be beaten by the old and spicy opponents, and the result was a loss without suspense.

Three consecutive defeats are not unacceptable for a Young Guard, and the current 7-6 record is much better than the predictions of the critics after the Iverson trade, and even temporarily occupies the second position in the weak Atlantic region, only behind the international column Raptors.

But the continuous hot performances after the start of the season have already improved the morale of these young people a lot, especially the recruits led by Carney, who are like fish in water by Chen Mu's side, and feel that NBA games are nothing more than that, as long as they do what they should do, it is not difficult to get played.

But now as the season continues, the 76ers' biggest problem is still exposed.

That's battery life.

The battery life mentioned here is not only the endurance of physical strength, health and other hardware, but also includes fighting spirit and spirit.

As for Carney, after entering the professional league. first endured a few games on the bench, and then experienced the farce of the team's owner being traded, and the future master will also break out a small "scandal", I thought it would be like most rookies in history, the first season was quite bleak, everyone played their own game, and the data was over.

Unexpectedly, under the leadership of Chen Mu, Iguodala, and Korwall, the team made a beautiful start and once occupied the top position in the division. The limelight is unbeatable for a while. Coupled with Miller's strategy, many new players do not talk about it on the surface, but they already have plans and expectations in their hearts:

This season, we might be able to make a difference!

It's just that this expectation is actually just an illusion.

That's right, the 76ers' lineup is indeed not weak, but it is just "not weak".

In every position, the 76ers have the strength to wrestle with opponents, even the worst center position. After Durham Porter's return, the 48-minute no-fly zone with Hunter is also worth looking forward to.

But the problem is that the team's follow-up strength is insufficient, and the strength of the starters is not strong enough to sweep the league. The decline in performance has long been expected by everyone.

This wave of losing streak. The players are quite depressed, and the "rotten faction" led by Gersner will naturally not miss the great opportunity to rub salt on the wound, and continue to make a lot of noise in various media. On the surface, it seems to be regretting the fighting spirit of the players, but in fact, it is a statement in the words. Their initial judgment is the right choice.

Philadelphia's fighting spirit has experienced a brief exhaustion.

Philadelphia fans are loyal, but that's also based on a lot of the team's impressive record. A great start to the season. It has already raised the morale of the fans. Now in the face of consecutive defeats, many fans are also a little impulsive, and when the players attack with the ball, there is a lot of boos at home, which further increases the psychological burden of the young players, and under the vicious circle, the record continues to decline.

The breakfast club of Chen Mu and the others continued, but except for Carney, there were no other newcomers to join. If the previous strong results gave everyone a false expectation, then today's losing streak is equivalent to pouring a basin of cold water on everyone's heads, making everyone a little trance.

Chen Mu's personal performance also began to recur, and the lack of stability in his rookie season was once again exposed. Without the skills of individual ball-holding frame attack, many opponents have offered targeted local wrapping strategies when facing the 76ers. No matter how good Chen Mu is, it is impossible to grasp the fleeting opportunity of victory every time, and the ups and downs of his state are also expected.

To add insult to injury, the 76ers' wonderful performance after the start of the season has made all the teams against them more worried and made more sophisticated arrangements. Not only Chen Mu, but Iguodala, Korver, and even the old and spicy Miller have been targeted, and everyone's state is up and down, not very stable.

After a long period of overload, Chen Mu and Iguodala can still grit their teeth and persevere, but Miller, who has entered the eighth season of his career, is 30 years old, and theoretically speaking, he has entered the golden period of his point guard career, but that is also a "theory" based on personal strength and team strength.

As the player with the best combination of experience and strength in the team, Miller's burden is getting heavier and heavier, Chen Mu and Iguodala have seen their ceiling this season, Miller can only continue to urge his fighting spirit to support it, but naturally his body began to be a little unable to keep up, and small problems emerged one after another.

Miller also missed one of the three games due to a back injury. The team doctors were very nervous about the examination, but the conclusion was a little helpless.

"Old cars need regular maintenance."

This is the solution that the team doctor said to Miller.

So Cheeks reluctantly chose to reduce Miller's playing time, and by the way, he also predictably reduced the playing time of Chen Mu and others. It is said that it is reduced, but everyone still has an average of about 36 minutes per game, which is definitely not a small amount for the main team of the team.

Without Miller's thread, the 76ers, who already lacked a face-frame attacker, were even more struggling, and they were very depressed in several games, making it difficult to go further.

The playing time of Carney and others has increased, but the recruits who have been growing up under Chen Mu's wings before, without the pull of Big Brother, their efficiency on the field has decreased sharply. Under the trade-off, those teams with mature lineups and stable rotations began to gradually grasp the initiative, and the confrontation with Philadelphia became comfortable and targeted.

If the 76ers put out the main lineup, the opponent will find a way to suppress the rhythm, play positional battles, wear down the fighting spirit of the young people, and reduce the fast-break connection between Chen Mu and Iguodala, which has achieved remarkable results.

And when the 76ers send a substitute, the opponent will start to bomb indiscriminately, chase after it with the advantage of technology and experience, and when the main team returns to the court, the score gap is often difficult to catch up.

"It's exactly what that guy said......"

Looking at his statistics that were not amazing, Chen Mu also shook his head slightly, recalling the meeting with Liu Kui, that is, Fei Bruising a week ago, and the feeling in his heart was deeper.

"To compromise is not to give up all hope of making the playoffs, but to be a little more patient in the first half of the season and not to burst all your energy at once. In the second half of the season, after the All-Star Star, you will start to exert your strength, and you will still have a chance to enter the playoffs! ”

Thinking back to the advice given by Liu Kui, Chen Mu also smiled helplessly. How can you not understand these truths? I just don't want the problem to be exposed so early, and I hope everyone will continue to have the willingness to fight.

People's heart is a very mysterious thing, how to find that "degree" between victory and defeat and trade-offs, even Chen Mu, who claims to be a senior fan, is difficult to say clearly. Everyone has different temperaments and personalities, and for a fighter like Carney, losing three or five games will not kill his fighting spirit at all, but will make him want to win even more.

But the other recruits are not so strong.

Chen Mu also knows that it can't go on like this, the ball still has to be won, and the game still has to be fought. But Liu Wei is right, now that he is the real core of the team for the first time, he has no endurance under such a burden, so how can he understand what others think?

To win, or not to win, this is not only a suspense, but also a question.

With such a mentality, the 76ers, who were extremely amazing at the beginning of the season, began a phased decline.

After this game, the 76ers broke out into two consecutive wins, then three consecutive losses, and after one more victory, they lost to the Spurs in back-to-back games.

Under the ups and downs of the record, everyone's morale is not as good as the start of the season, the playoffs? Naturally, this one will not be missing from the slogan before the game, but whether it can be done or not, everyone is unsure.

Time flies, in the ups and downs, the 76ers have gone through half a season, and the time has quietly come to the end of January 2007, and the 76ers' winning rate finally fell below 50 percent, temporarily ranking eighth in the East.

Just when Chen Mu and other team cores were thinking hard about how to regain the team's confidence, regain their sense in the second half of the season, and enter the playoffs, the best opportunity was placed in front of everyone.

"Announced."

Back in the locker room after a hard-fought home win over underdogs New York, Cheeks walked briskly with a few materials for the assistant coaches to distribute to the players.

"The 2007 All-Star Weekend roster has been announced!"

Taking over the freshly baked list, Chen Mu carefully browsed it, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"We've had a great harvest this time." Cheeks, who hadn't shown a smile for a long time because of the ups and downs of his record, was obviously in a good mood today and said, "From the rookie game to the All-Star game, except for the skill challenge, all of us have been selected!" (To be continued......)