Almighty Athlete Chapter 25: The block king debuts
lost the game, the Spurs did not delay time, but rushed back to San Antonio overnight.
The nightlife in Los Angeles is a well-known temptation for any NBA team. Although the average age of the Spurs headed by Duncan is a bit older, the Spurs veterans also led by Duncan are all a group of boredom Male, if you play, it's crazy than young people.
Popovich didn't want the Spurs to become soft-footed shrimp. If the game wins and the Lakers sweep the team 4-0, Popovich doesn’t mind the Spurs staying in Los Angeles for a night and enjoying the nightlife of Los Angeles. But now that the game is lost, the Spurs will return to San Antonio immediately.
On the plane, many players are already drowsy, but the Spurs coach Popovich is very spirited. He is holding the tablet and watching the playback of the game.
"How fast!" Popovich sighed involuntarily as he watched the Zhang Guan breakthrough.
"It's really quick, reminds me of Iverson." Another voice sounded from the side, and Popovich turned around and saw that Duncan had come together.
Popovich officially started teaching the Spurs in 1996, and Duncan entered the Spurs as the No. 1 champion in 1997. The two have worked together for a full 17 years, which is naturally quite tacit. For Popovich, Duncan is both a disciple, a partner, and a friend.
"At first glance, I thought of Iverson, but if you look closely, Zhang Guan and Iverson are still different. Their breakthroughs are all the same fast, which makes people unpredictable. But Iverson's breakthrough The goal is to score directly. He often shakes his opponent away and chooses to open shots. The breakthrough of Zhang Guan is obviously to go to the free throw. This is more like Harden." Popovich said.
Looking back at Iverson’s outstanding highlights, many of them shake their opponents and choose a jumper, either a three-pointer or a middle distance. In fact, Iverson's shooting percentage is not very high. At most, it is only a qualified level. The three-point shooting percentage is still relatively low by current standards.
Of course, in that era, the vast majority of players played in this way. Mid-range shots were the main scoring method, and three-point shots were the patents of specialized three-point shooters. Even the great God of Jordan, his three-point attempts are pitiful, and the three-point shooting rate is often below 30%.
After all, that era was a time when power centers were rampant. Which team didn’t have a seven-footer? The defender is holding the ball and hitting the rim. In that era, it was a deadly act. Not to mention hitting the porcelain. The blockade of the traditional power center can call you a person in minutes. It's just that in the current league, the small ball style is prevalent, and the traditional center has declined, allowing players with more breakthrough styles to have more room for survival.
Just listen to Popovich and ask: "For Zhang Guan, do you have any good defensive strategy?"
Duncan shook his head: "Some players, once they have unlimited right to fire, are simply unstoppable. They can easily get 30, 40 or even 50."
"But a certain star gets a high score, it doesn't mean the team can win, right?" Popovich laughed.
"That's true, and the Lakers have always had this tradition." Duncan said with a smile.
There are many bad teams with average performance in the NBA, but the personal data of the stars in these teams is flying well. Most of the stars in the NBA give them unlimited fire rights, which is really difficult to prevent. It's just that some people have more rights to the ball and more shots, but the team can't win the ball.
"If this is the case, we just need to do a little better, that is, get more points than the Lakers!" Popovich took a deep breath, and then said: "The next game, we return to tradition, Main attack inside!"
Duncan was a little surprised. Popovich's decision was to make Duncan take the core of the team's offensive.
If it is the Spurs five or six years ago, this may be normal. At that time, Duncan was still young, and he was the strongest insider in the league. Sometimes he can play the team alone, but now Duncan Already 38 years old, can a 38-year-old Duncan be able to afford the core offensive role of the team? Moreover, the Spurs play more and more rely on the team, unlike other teams rely more and more on big-name stars.
"Why? I haven't played in such a long time and I have no confidence in myself?" Popovich asked with a smile.
"I just felt a little surprised." Duncan shook his head.
Popovich put down the tablet in his hand, and then said: "It's up to you to play the next game, and win the game in the way we used to be the best! You just clenched your teeth and held on, anyway, now you have a 3-1 lead, If you win this game, you can rest for a day or two!"
......
In the 1987 NBA Draft, David Robinson, the Spurs' top pick, has since turned into a team with an inside tradition. Ten years later, the Spurs held the No. 1 pick again. They selected Duncan and began the glorious era of the Spurs for more than ten years. In the future, the Spurs signed Aldridge to continue their internal tradition.
Compared, the Lakers and the Rockets have traditionally hung center on their mouths all day, but in the end they haven't even played the ball.
On April 30, the Spurs ushered in the Lakers at home. This is the fourth or fifth game in the two-team series.
Back at home, the Spurs are full of confidence. They only need to win this ball again to advance to the next round.
And the Lakers obviously still have to continue their desperation. There is no difference between 0 to 3 and 1 to 3. From the history of the playoffs, it is still a losing situation.
After the game started, the Spurs’ tactics changed a bit. The inside line became their main offensive point. The ball frequently passed to Duncan. The striker and defender players also increased the frequency of breakthroughs and continued to the Lakers. Pressure from inside the team. The Lakers inside immediately carried huge pressure.
Kaman’s defense is indeed a big problem. Kaman was also played by various Yao during the peak period, and he and Gasol organized the inside two towers, the offense is indeed very good, but the defensive end, the face For the really top insiders, it is going to be deflated, which even Kaman himself admitted in an interview. When he was in the Clippers, Brand's first-class water-repellent level could make up for Kaman's shortcomings, and in the Los Angeles Lakers, Gasol couldn't help Brandman like Brand did. It is for this reason that this season's Kaman seems to be bullying and hard, his opponent's inside is weak, Kaman easily doubles 20+10, his opponent's inside is strong, and Kaman also easily got four or five turnovers and four or five fouls.
At this time, Kaman’s defense frequently leaked, and the Spurs also deliberately aimed at Kaman to attack. Duncan’s strong hits always used Kaman as a breakthrough point. Outside Parker, Ginobili and Lei Leonard's breakthrough is always directed at Kaman. Kaman had two fouls in the first quarter.
At the same time, Zhang Guan's offensive was also blocked, and his rapid breakthrough was far from being as smooth as the last game.
Unlike the last game, this is San Antonio after all, it is the home of the Spurs. In the playoffs, the home and away are two completely different experiences, not to mention the Spurs were last year's championship.
In San Antonio, the morale of Spurs players is higher, the defense is more effective, and the referee’s penalty is also more inclined to the Spurs under the rules. Although the breakthrough of Zhang Guan can still achieve results, it also requires more effort and greater risk.
The Spurs' defense has also subconsciously contracted inwards. They used a move against the Thunder two to block Zhang Guan's attack and caused him as much trouble as possible.
In the first quarter, the Lakers temporarily trailed the Spurs by 1 point 26 to 27, but who can see that the Spurs' offense played very smoothly, and the Lakers are more like Zhang Guan alone.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Nick Young suddenly jumped out of the nerve knife and scored 9 points in a short period of time, which is not to make the Lakers behind the Spurs, but the Lakers know that this is not a long-term strategy. Nick Yang's nerve knife is like Duan Yu's six-veined Excalibur, and sometimes he is not effective. Sometimes he can be used as an adventure, and it is really a main force.
"Coach, it's not a way to play like this. It's getting more and more difficult to score points. It's still necessary to rely on three-pointers." Zhang Guan said.
"If you make three-pointers, you must have a certain ability to protect the rebound. Moreover, Kaman's movements may not keep up with the rhythm." D'Antoni said.
"If you want to protect the rebound, would you like Hassan to try it?" Zhang Guan said.
"Hassan?" D'Antoni glanced at Whiteside.
Danthony really likes players like Whiteside. The "white edge" is much more athletic than Kaman. Although his offensive ability is indeed lacking, he is flexible and can run and jump. The point is very suitable for shelling. The shelling tactics don't require five people to be good at attacking and scoring, but it must require five people to be able to run. From this point on, Whiteside should be able to take a rotation from the bench.
It's just that Whiteside's time to the Lakers is relatively short. He has been adapting to D'Antoni's tactical system and has not yet entered the rotation. And the game is more important recently. There is less garbage time and there is no chance for Whiteside to play. So Whiteside has only been given two appearances since joining the Lakers, and he has only played four or five minutes each time. He has been on the bench the rest of the time. He has not really shown his talent.
I saw D'Antoni meditating for a few seconds, and then called Whiteside to him.
"Hassan, do a warm-up and get ready to play!" D'Antoni said.
"Playing!" Whiteside was amazed. He was originally a water dispenser administrator sitting at the very end of the bench. His main job was to wield towels. I never expected that the coach would let him play in this playoff." Played in the Battle of Life and Death.
"Do you know your mission?" D'Antoni asked suddenly.
Whiteside froze for a moment, and immediately said, "I know, protect the rebound!"
"Very well, the next dead ball, come on!" D'Antoni patted Whiteside's shoulder.
......
"The Lakers replaced. They replaced Wesley Johnson. They replaced it, um..." The ESPN commentator paused, apparently not knowing White Edge, and he looked down at the information in his hands. , And then continued: "The Lakers replaced Hassan Whiteside."
"Who is this person, IMHO, this is a new face, I heard this name for the first time." The commentary guest beside said.
But ESPN is a professional sports media after all, only two or three seconds, the narrator found Whiteside's information on the tablet.
"Whiteside was drafted by the Kings with a 33rd pick in 2010. He played for the Kings for two years, attacked 19 times, averaged 1.5 points and 2.1 rebounds. He was cut by the Kings last season and then went NBL is playing." The commentator said immediately.
"NBL? You are playing in the Canadian NBL league! The level of that league is quite different from that of the development league." The commentator said.
"No, no, it's not Canada's NBL, it's China's NBL, it seems to be China's development alliance, which is one level lower than China's CBA league." The commentator said immediately.
"I can only play in the Development League in China? Hahaha, how could the Lakers sign this type of player? I estimate that this year’s draft rookie will not be able to compete in the Chinese Development League. Right." The commentary guest said with a smile.
On the other side, the Spurs also noticed Whiteside.
"This guy is a seven-foot-long man with long arms and looks a little thin. Maybe he will not be able to compete well. He averages 1.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He is definitely a dirty blue-collar worker. A big deal in the league, don't pay special attention." Popovich didn't care about Whiteside's appearance at all.
On the court, the Spurs led by Ginobili, led by Dior, Mills, Belinelli and Bonner, this is a normal system for the Spurs rotation. The Lakers mainly rely on Nick Young to score, in addition to Batesmore, Jordan Hill, Farmar and Whiteside who just played. Zhang Guan, Gasol and Nash were not present.
Ginobili walked through the half, while carefully watching the position of the players opposite the Lakers.
"Who is the black man who has just come on the field, right, remembered, it seems that it was a second-round show in previous years. It can’t be mixed in the NBA and played abroad. A passerby player is just a breakthrough. "Ginobili thought of this and signaled Mills to pass the ball to himself~IndoMTL.com~Bonner stepped forward to play a pick-and-roll match, Ginobili took advantage of the breakthrough, and it was in the direction of Whiteside of. Ginobili is also an old fritter, discovering that Whiteside is a new face, and feels that the newcomer is bullying, so he comes directly to Whiteside. And Ginobili is bad enough, deliberately looking for physical contact, wanting to cheat a foul, good luck to engage in a two plus one.
Whiteside’s footsteps were very flexible. He stepped back slightly and flicked away, leaving Ginobili not in physical contact.
"This big man's movement is quite sensitive, but given me such a large space, I'm going to make a layup!" Ginobili jumped up without hesitation.
"This ball is there!" basketball shot, Ginobili was delighted.
At this time, a large hand suddenly appeared from the air.
"Pap!" Whiteside rewarded Ginobili with a big hot pot!
"What? Is that passerby player!" Ginobili was taken aback.
At this point, Nick Young has controlled the ball and then made a layup to score two points for the Lakers.
......
"The effect looks very good." D'Antoni nodded with satisfaction. He turned his head and said to Zhang Guan and Nash: "You should be on the field, let the Spurs try what a real run! "
Please remember the first domain name of this book:. Reading URL for mobile version: