Yang Hansen s first DNP! The Trail Blazers defeated the Nuggets by 1 point. This game made me see three facts clearly.

On November 1, the NBA Cup started as scheduled, with the Denver Nuggets going away to challenge the Portland Trail Blazers. The Nuggets are in Group C of the Western Conference with the Trail Blazers, Rockets, Warriors and Spurs. This is also the group of death in this NBA Cup! At the beginning of the game, the Trail Blazers felt cold, and the Nuggets flourished under Jokic's connection. The Nuggets led by 8 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the five small lineups of the Trail Blazers played with speed and passion, evening the score difference in waves. Murray stepped forward and scored consecutive points to help the Nuggets stabilize the situation. The Trail Blazers fell behind by 4 points at halftime. After changing sides and fighting again, the two teams sent waves of attack to each other, and the Nuggets once took a 10-point lead. In the final quarter, the Trail Blazers finally found their touch and evened the score difference again. At the decisive moment, Grant used a free throw to help the Trail Blazers seize the opportunity, but Jokic missed the tie. In the end, the Trail Blazers narrowly defeated the Nuggets 109-107.

The Nuggets scored 120+ points in 4 consecutive games and shot over 50% from the field, becoming the first team in NBA history to accomplish this feat. Jokic's triple-double in every game invigorated the team. The Nuggets ranked first in the league in offensive efficiency, shooting percentage, true shooting percentage, assists and other statistics. Facing the menacing Nuggets, the Trail Blazers relied on their forward group to press hard, catch mistakes and counterattack. The team made 11 steals, caused 16 Nuggets turnovers, and used the mistakes to score 19-10 to suppress the Nuggets. Not only that, the Trail Blazers' interior group took turns, and they also had the upper hand in offensive rebounds (16-10) and interior scoring (50-44). The Trail Blazers narrowly defeated the Nuggets by 1 point. This game made me see three facts clearly.

First, Hansen Yang DNP for the first time in his career, we must see the gap clearly! As we all know, Jokic is Yang Hansen's idol and template, and the outside world also expects Yang Hansen to compete and learn from Jokic. But what's the result? Klingen started the game for 24 minutes, Lowe came back and played 11 minutes, Reese got 7 minutes of playing time, the Blazers played in a small lineup the rest of the time, Yang Hansen DNP for the first time in his career! In this game, Jokic made 7 of 10, scoring 21 points + 14 rebounds + 9 assists + 1 steal + 2 blocks. The plus-minus value on the field was +9. I believe that Yang Hansen will see the gap clearly after watching such a game. Before he becomes the next Jokic, he must defeat Lowe and Reese in the team competition, otherwise, everything will be impossible.

Second, the Trail Blazers can hit the play-offs, and Split is expected to become a regular. After this game, the Trail Blazers won 3 consecutive games, with a record of 4 wins and 2 losses, ranking 4th in the Western Conference, only 2 games behind the Thunder (6 wins, 0 losses), which is first in the Western Conference. In the process, the Trail Blazers defeated the three giant teams in the Western Conference, the Warriors, Lakers and Nuggets, which is full of gold content. The Trail Blazers are young and fearless, ranking first in the league in steals (12) and scoring by taking advantage of turnovers (24 points), and ranking fourth in the league in fast break points (19.7 points). Especially the small lineup is full of speed and passion! Obviously, even if something happens to Billups, the Trail Blazers' goal of hitting the play-offs will not change. These strong wins are enough for Split to become a regular player.

Thirdly, it is difficult to win the NBA Cup championship. On the first game day of the NBA Cup, upsets continued. In addition to the Nuggets' upset loss, the 76ers, Knicks, and Cavaliers also suffered upset losses. The Clippers also relied on Kawhi's buzzer-beater to escape! I have to say, especially considering factors such as grouping and back-to-back, it is really difficult to win this cup championship that is caught in the gaps of the regular season. It is foreseeable that in the knockout stage, there will be more upsets! This can also illustrate a problem from the side: It is not easy for the Lakers to win their first NBA Cup championship and the Bucks to win their second NBA Cup championship! It is worth mentioning that the bonuses for this NBA Cup have been increased. The championship bonus reaches 531,000 US dollars, the runner-up bonus is 212,000 US dollars, the top four bonuses are 106,000 US dollars, and the top 8 bonuses are 53,000 US dollars. I hope the Blazers will continue their efforts to hit a higher ranking, and I also hope Yang Hansen can get a share of the pie. Fans and friends, what do you think of this? Come and leave me a comment to discuss.