The significance of the ga between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Indiana Pacers has far surpassed that of an ordinary regular season ga.
The ga is scheduled for January 25th, and on the sa day, the league only has two gas, the other one being last season’s finals matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz.
The reason for this scheduling by the league is the hope that both gas can serve as heavyweight duels and compete for viewership against the NFL’s Super Bowl.
On that day, the NFL season had already entered its final stages, with the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers competing for the Super Bowl.
Nowadays, the Super Bowl is the most influential single sports event in Arica, humorously referred to as "Arica’s Spring Festival Gala," with no other event able to compete with it.
Even if the NBA schedules gas on this day, they have to push the ga tis to the afternoon instead of evening, otherwise, the viewership would be severely affected.
When drafting the schedule at the beginning of the season, the league office’s idea was to arrange two heavyweight matchups. In the Western Conference, the Jazz and Trail Blazers, and in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls and Pacers are all top-tier teams.
The Bulls and Trail Blazers have viewership appeal, while the Jazz and Pacers, being strong teams, can cash in on their popularity.
By starting these two matchups on Super Bowl day, NBA gas’ viewership wouldn’t be too dismal, saving so face.
The NBA never considered that the influence of two regular season gas could be comparable to the Super Bowl; even the NBA Finals have to avoid that lilight.
But no one expected the Portland Trail Blazers to steamroll through all opponents nationwide, not losing a single ga along the way.
By exactly the halfway point of the season, at ga 41 on January 25th, they faced the Pacers, and everyone is eager to see if the Trail Blazers can achieve a 41-ga win streak, creating a half-season undefeated legend.
It’s reported that even the two NFL Super Bowl teams were watching the Pacers versus Trail Blazers ga before the Super Bowl officially started in the evening, to see if the Trail Blazers could continue their magic— as for the Jazz versus the Bulls? Whoever wants to watch can go ahead.
Before this ga, the Trail Blazers had a 3-day rest period, giving the entire team ample ti for adjustnt.
No team playing an away ga has such a generous amount of ti for adjustnt and rest, one could say that this season’s schedule-making group has been quite kind to them.
Bird went back to his hotown in Frenchlick, visited his old friends, laid a wreath at his mother’s grave, and spoke a few words to her.
"Mom, I’m on an incredible journey. I know it sounds exaggerated, but if you were here, you’d understand it’s not at all. I haven’t lost a ga for nearly three months. It’s not sumr; the season is ongoing. You were right, I would beco a head coach, and shortly after you passed, I did. Back then, I argued with you, but... mothers always know their sons best, don’t they?"
Bird didn’t stay long in Frenchlick and soon returned to Indianapolis to prepare for the ga on the afternoon of the 25th.
In fact, there’s not much to prepare for; the Trail Blazers are in a state where big adjustnts aren’t necessary.
It’s always other teams trying to target and adapt to them, never them trying to study and target other teams.
The Pacers are an opponent to be taken seriously, and they certainly won’t "surrender upon hearing the wind."
On the contrary, with an unprecedented super prize for a 40-ga win streak at stake, the Pacers are eager to end the Trail Blazers’ streak on their ho court.
At 1:30 p.m. on the 25th, the entire Trail Blazers team arrived at the Indianapolis Market Square Arena.
This comprehensive sports venue, completed in 1974, can accommodate over 16,000 fans. Two hours before the ga started, it was already packed to capacity.
Ticket prices for the ga were hiked to five tis their usual price—Pacers’ ga tickets have never sold for so much, and this match significantly increased their revenue.
An ordinary regular season ga beca highly anticipated due to the Trail Blazers’ incredible win streak and the possibility of achieving a 41-ga win streak.
The number of caras and reporters on the sidelines has reached finals-level intensity, with the dense array of equipnt adding to the tense atmosphere.
This season, the Pacers rank at the top in the Eastern Conference and can contend with the Chicago Bulls, proving their strength is not to be underestimated.
Under Rick Adelman and the forr Trail Blazers coaching staff, the Pacers have achieved a balanced offense and defense, truly capturing the essence of the forr Trail Blazers.
The biggest difference is that the Pacers don’t have a player like Gan Guoyang, but Reggie Miller is an indomitable leader and a relentless opponent.
Hoping to defeat Miller with a few words and making the Pacers succumb before the ga even starts is impossible; they are fully prepared for resistance.
Last season, in Gan Guoyang’s coback season, the Trail Blazers suffered a significant loss against the Pacers, so for this rematch, the entire team is on high alert.
At 3:30 p.m., the ga will officially begin, and both teams are already on edge.
The ho fans began cheering wildly, causing the Market Square Arena to instantly reach a fever pitch.
Before the tip-off, Gan Guoyang told his teammates, "Tonight’s ga is the Super Bowl of the NBA, so don’t say you don’t care about winning or the win streak. Today we have to win; the opponent definitely wants us to lose. Forget about taking a break; soone has to win, so why not us!"
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