One Thousand Four Hundred and Eighty-Nine. A Unique Mamba Player

Paul George didn't want to work hard to show himself just because he was more valued.

Everyone is unique. Paul George has a strong heart like Mamba, talent like McGrady, and a unique personality.

He is not the kind of player who will fight for his own opportunity regardless of the consequences when he has the opportunity. He has the desire of Mamba players to keep getting stronger, as well as self-knowledge and a sacrificial mentality.

What he wants is respect, the respect of his teammates and the team.

Just like him in the original time and space, because the Lakers were unwilling to pay young players to trade him, wanted to get him for free, and signed him naked, he chose to reject the team he loved since childhood; instead, because the Thunder were willing to trade him with chips, he chose to reduce the chance of holding the ball and become a pitcher when partnering with Westbrook; because of Leonard's respect and the Clippers' willingness to trade him with a large number of chips, he was willing to reduce his playing time and sacrifice data...

Here, when the Grizzlies were preparing to trade him, they gave him enough respect and gave him full choice to choose the next home within a reasonable range; when they chose to keep him, they didn't care whether the trading value would drop at all, because they believed in his strength.

Of course, more importantly, Sun Ce is willing to give him the ball.

Feeling respected and trusted, Paul George became calmer. He gave the ball to Sun Ce. At this stage, Paul George knew who was the strongest in the team.

On the other hand, for Sun Ce and the coaching staff, Paul George's choice was something they did not expect but were very excited about.

Paul George's ball control and passing improved a lot this season. When dealing with certain opponents, he was willing to break into the inside line, but he was not sticky to the ball and was happy to share the ball. This is undoubtedly a huge benefit for the team.

However, Sun Ce and Coach Hollins both felt that it remains to be seen. People's hearts are the most difficult to figure out, and they cannot be easily tested.

...

The Grizzlies replaced Sun Ce, Beverley, Klay Thompson, Yi Jianlian, and Randolph.

Paul George sat down and prepared to start the next rotation lineup in the second quarter.

When everyone makes a choice, there must be multiple reasons. For example, Paul George knows that he is the core of certain rotation lineups, and when Sun Ce needs to slow down on the offensive end, he is the first candidate for the main attack point on the outside line. Therefore, when he plays with Sun Ce, he is more willing to assist Sun Ce with all his strength.

On the Spurs side,

Parker, Ginobili, Danny Green, Dio, and Split are on the court.

Gay and Duncan are both off?

Sun Ce looked at the opposite lineup and learned that the Spurs have a stricter distribution of playing time for Duncan in the new season.

After the timeout, the Grizzlies started in the frontcourt. After receiving the serve from Klay Thompson, Sun Ce broke through with the pick-and-roll of Yi Jianlian. He was double-teamed by Dio and Danny Green and immediately passed the ball back to Yi Jianlian on the left side of the top arc.

Yi Jianlian has long developed the habit of throwing when he has a chance. He decisively took a three-pointer after receiving the ball... In the first official game of the new season, Yi Jianlian made a three-pointer!

17 to 18, the Grizzlies relied on offense to hold the score tight.

However, looking back, Ginobili still attracted Randolph's defensive attention under the basket even though he failed to pass Sun Ce in a change of direction breakthrough. Ginobili passed the ball to Split with Sun Ce's low hand, and the latter scored two points by eating the cake and putting it in the basket.

Too difficult!

It's impossible to defend under the basket!

Gasol couldn't retract when facing the Spurs' flexible lineup. When defending the basket, the opponent could rush into the inside or make a mid-range jump shot after the outside pick-and-roll.

Randolph is fast enough to play center, but his awareness is not good. If Larry Sanders is there, he can make up for this, but Larry Sanders was suspended for 5 games!

As for Gobert, he has defensive talent. The Grizzlies regard him as the next Hibbert, but even Hibbert, who was selected in the middle of the first round in the 2008 draft year, was just a soy sauce in his rookie season. Everything about Gobert is too rough, especially his offensive means are completely absent. He didn't even learn to eat cakes. It can be seen in the preseason that Gobert's side effects when facing a team with better inside lines.

Whether it was Randolph with Gasol or Yi Jianlian with Randolph, they were all in a sniper mode.

Fortunately, the old teammates from last season cooperated well on the offensive end. The key point was that Yi Jianlian and Beverley scored a three-pointer in succession, forcing the Spurs to expand their defense.

Although the Spurs are one of the best teams in the league in switching and chasing defense on the outside, without Duncan and Gay, their mid-range and close-range defense is average. Even if Split can rely on Randolph's body to attack rebounds and low-post singles, he can't limit Sun Ce and Yi Jianlian's close-range shots.

The score difference has been kept within 5 points by the Grizzlies. After the first quarter, the Grizzlies fell behind 28 to 32 by 4 points and entered the intermission.

…

Scoring 32 points in a single quarter, but the lead was only 4 points. If it was last season, Popovich would find it hard to accept, and it would be even harder to accept when facing the Grizzlies.

However, this season Popovich has been much calmer. He no longer yells on the sidelines when things don’t go his way like before. He also didn’t replace Gay and Duncan in advance. He just plays like that.

Because Popovich can tell from the lineup that the opponent can’t defend inside!

For a team's defense, the interior is particularly important. Even the Heat, who had a hollow interior before getting Nene, did not give up interior defense, but let James gain weight to be heavier than most centers to compete with Duncan, Gasol, Howard and others under the basket.

The Spurs players also gave Popovich positive feedback. Dio scored 3 points and 2 assists in more than 5 minutes in the first quarter, which was amazing!

In addition to Parker's cut-in threat, Danny Green's three-pointer containment, Ginobili's attack, and Split's dunks, although the offensive firepower was not as fierce as when Gay and Duncan were there, it still tied with the Grizzlies' offensive style.

On the other hand, the situation on Coach Hollins' side was not so good.

If it was last year, when the Spurs scored 32 points in the first quarter, if the Grizzlies scored 28 points, it would definitely be good news.

But that was based on the team's ability to change the rhythm by defense.

But from the play in the first quarter, facing the Spurs' team offense, it was not enough for them to have only perimeter defense!

It's not that they can defend the Spurs' perimeter defense, defense is a whole!

Another point is that the Spurs did not play the first quarter with their strongest lineup or led the first quarter with their strongest core lineup, but they were able to maintain such high efficiency when Gay and Duncan only played half a quarter!