Chapter 180: Let Every Day Be Full of Hope

Although Wade Dong grabbed the rebound and scored, Thompson still looked a bit downcast. Wade Dong walked up to him and said, "It's okay if you miss! As long as you have the chance to shoot, be decisive!"

The Suns had exposed too many problems, and Wade Dong alone couldn't save the team.

Curry and Thompson missed consecutive shots, and Wade Dong kept chasing rebounds.

But he was facing the Lakers' twin towers, who were much taller than him, and Howard was the leading rebounder of the season. It was extremely difficult to grab rebounds from Gasol and Howard.

The game became exceptionally tough.

Coach Kidd sat on the bench, silent, with an expression like he had eaten something disgusting.

The Suns were barely holding on, thanks to Wade Dong's efforts, preventing the game from entering garbage time too early.

The third quarter ended.

86:74!!!

Down by 13 points at halftime, the Suns were down by 12 points at the end of the third quarter.

The Suns managed to cut the deficit by one point in the third quarter, but this was not a good sign.

In the past, being down by 12 points wouldn't have bothered the Suns, but in this game, the tactics were a mess, and even Nash had lost confidence.

Coach Kidd laid out tactics with a stern face.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Coach Kidd made a decision that shocked everyone.

He benched Wade Dong, the team's pillar and the only player who had played the entire three quarters, and put out a lineup of Nash, Curry, Thompson, Tucker, and Frye.

This lineup had even worse coordination, and there was no one who could step up and carry the team.

After just five minutes, the game entered garbage time.

Wade Dong didn't return to the court for the rest of the game, and the Suns suffered their fifth loss of the season.

Game stats:

Wade Dong: 31 points, 19 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 5 blocks.

Curry: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.

Kobe: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.

Howard: 36 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.

The Suns allowed Howard to score his season-high points, and besides Wade Dong and Curry, Thompson scored 7 points, Nash scored 9 points, and the team's third-highest scorer was McGrady with 11 points.

...

After the game, some fans started criticizing Coach Kidd.

"Coach Kidd is an idiot!"

"I don't understand his tactic of putting Curry and Nash on the court at the same time!"

"Coach Kidd should leave the Suns!"

"Wasting Curry's talent."

"Even a dog could coach better than Coach Kidd."

...

Fans were very irrational and couldn't accept this kind of defeat.

But it also proved what Wade Dong said in the post-game interview with the Suns and the Pelicans: how the lineup is adjusted on the court is the coach's business.

...

After the game, the Suns boarded the team bus back to the hotel.

Everyone was silent, and the atmosphere was very gloomy.

Coach Kidd kept drawing on the tactics board, occasionally blowing his hair.

"Coach..."

Wade Dong counted and found that in about ten minutes, Coach Kidd blew his hair six times. He couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "Can you stop blowing your hair?"

"Huh???"

Coach Kidd scratched his head, "Did I blow my hair?"

"Damn..."

Wade Dong had a black line on his face.

This hair had only grown for a few days, but blowing it had become Coach Kidd's unconscious habit. He didn't even know if he had blown his hair or not.

Wade Dong emphasized, "You blew your hair six times in ten minutes!"

"Ha, ha..."

The others heard Wade Dong and Coach Kidd's conversation and laughed dryly.

Losing the game, everyone's mood was very low, and even the laughter sounded forced.

"It's just one loss, everyone cheer up."

Wade Dong stood up and looked around at his teammates, then pointed at Green and said, "Green, stand up and sing a song to liven up the atmosphere."

"Me???"

Green reluctantly stood up, "I can't sing."

Wade Dong said, "I know you can't sing, that's why I'm asking you to sing."

"Huh???"

Green was confused again, what kind of twisted logic was this?

But since the captain had spoken, Green could only sing, "La la la la la..."

Actually, Green was being modest. He wasn't bad at singing, he was very bad at it, and after singing a few lines, Gortat covered his ears, "Please stop singing, if you keep singing, I'll have nightmares tonight."

Hearing Gortat say this, Green sang even more enthusiastically.

"Ha ha ha..."

The atmosphere finally became lively.

Coach Kidd also put down the tactics board, "It's normal for the team to need time to gel. When the Heat's Big Three first formed, they also lost several games. As long as everyone adjusts, we will be unbeatable in the future."

"Let me share a quote with everyone."

Coach Kidd paused and said:

"Life is a contest between oneself and oneself,

Let positivity defeat negativity, let joy defeat sorrow, let diligence defeat laziness, let strength defeat weakness,

In every moment full of hope, tell yourself: effort will always lead to a better self!"

"Clap!"

"Clap!"

"Clap!"

Even the coach was giving a pep talk, and the players clapped along, feeling inspired.

...

March 1st.

The Suns welcomed the Spurs at the American West Arena.

This was the fourth meeting between the Suns and the Spurs this season. Although the Spurs were ranked third in the West, the Suns had won all three previous games.

The Spurs were humiliated by the Suns last season, being swept 8-0.

However, this season, the Spurs' roster hadn't changed much from last season. The slowly growing Leonard, the declining GDP, and now Parker had become the team's leader.

This season, the Spurs were no match for the Suns.

...

"Go Suns!"

"Go Suns!"

"Go Suns!"

Before the game started, the home fans' cheers were deafening.

This was Curry and Thompson's home debut.

...

Ten minutes before the game started, the home screen displayed the starting lineups for both teams.

Suns: Wade Dong, Curry, Thompson, Nash, Gortat.

Spurs: Parker, Leonard, Duncan, Green, Splitter.

Seeing this starting lineup, the fans in front of the TV started praying in their hearts, hoping that this game would not be like the last one and would bring them joy.