Seven Hundred and Fifty-One. Popovich's Fear

Although Sun Ce knew that the Spurs would become a rest team in the future, the year they won the championship, Parker, Ginobili, and Leonard all rested for at least 14 games. In back-to-back games, the opponents were slightly stronger, so they rested these three people. , Duncan was 38 years old that year and had another peak season. He averaged 29 minutes per game and averaged 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. This allowed him to avoid too many rest days, but he also took about 10 games of rest. , and that year was the year the Spurs had the fewest injuries in years and the healthiest year.

But this Spurs system has just been established, and the Spurs have not yet established true dominance. They actually took a rest when facing the second-best team in the league!

This game is likely to affect the Spurs' first place in the league. The Spurs actually took a rest like this!

Sun Ce really doesn’t know what the Spurs coaches are thinking!

However, this has a big impact on them, the Grizzlies.

During the All-Star Weekend, when Coach Hollins and his coaching staff were on vacation in Los Angeles, they studied the Spurs carefully, combined with some of the methods they had thought of before, and formulated the latest and most complete method to deal with the Spurs. I want to try the team's method in tonight's game.

As a result, the opponent suddenly rested all three players. A few days ago, it was reported that Ginobili's conservative treatment was very effective and would not affect the games after the All-Star Weekend. Moreover, because of Ginobili's game before the All-Star Weekend, If there is no fight, he can play.

Coupled with the two nonsense reasons given by Duncan and Parker for not playing... Sun Ce was so angry when he saw Coach Hollins that he almost destroyed the tactical manual.

Sun Ce used to think that the Spurs' rest rotation was very pretentious and a good thing for the players.

Now as an opponent, I am fully prepared to have a good fight with the Spurs. Just when I am getting ready to go, I suddenly know that the opponent is taking a rest——

This feels so unpleasant!

Moreover, they were preparing for the opponent's troika style of play. Now the opponent's troika is not playing, and the core players have become Iverson, Richard Jefferson, Blair, and George Hill. you……

This is a bit uncomfortable. The opponent has adopted a pure team play style, which has a huge impact on the Grizzlies' preparations. Basically, the things in the morning tactical training are not used.

Sun Ce understood one thing, why the Spurs still looked so strong during the rest period.

Because they take a sudden break, their opponents will definitely pay attention to them and prepare very carefully for the battle. However, when the opponent suddenly takes a break after preparing so carefully, their preparations will no longer be used, and it will definitely be affected.

And when the Spurs had occasional off days before, this lineup played well!

Because role players like the Spurs don't worry about losing. If they lose, they lose. Anyway, the record is so good. This mentality makes them very decisive when running tactics and passing and cutting.

The most disgusting thing is that the Spurs may have learned through the eyes of the staff that their training has ended. The Spurs will definitely not be able to see the training process. They are training behind closed doors, but the staff who come and go after the training will definitely We can learn from the side that they have completed preparations for the game. At this time, the Spurs announced a break. It's not even enough to describe it, it's simply despicable.

Not only did Sun Ce not feel that the game was easier because the opponent took a break, but his opponent was just as difficult to beat, and his mood was also affected because the opponent suddenly took a break and put them in a bad situation.

…

The Spurs' rotation made everyone feel incredible, but it was not enough to catch the Grizzlies off guard. Coach Hollins has already figured out some of the Spurs' shortcomings.

After getting angry, Coach Hollins calmed down and did not blindly make changes to deal with it. Instead, he emphasized the defensive strategy planned in the morning, firmly targeted the attack, and let nature take its course...

At 6:10 in the evening, Sun Ce entered the stadium with his teammates and saw Iverson, whom he had not seen for a long time.

The clean and tidy haircut seems to be back to my youth.

But the groove on his face showed that he was no longer the young man chasing the wind.

"Allen Iverson, No. 0, 36 years old, 180 cm tall, weight 77 kg, ability evaluation B-, offense A-, defense D-, three-pointer B+, mid-range shot A-, layup B+, speed A+ ... He played 21 times this season, averaging 15.1 minutes per game, 8.3 points and 2.6 assists per game... The shooting percentage was 45%, and the three-point shooting percentage was 34%..."

When Iverson arrived at the Spurs, he no longer had the chance to average 14+6 per game last season. The Spurs would not give him the 30+ minutes per game like last season, but Popovich did not stifle Iverson. Iverson's characteristics, on the contrary, used the team to help Iverson improve his efficiency, allowing Iverson to display his characteristics during Iverson's limited time at a high competitive level.

According to scouting reports and the news Sun Ce himself sees, he knows that the timing for Iverson to officially join the Spurs is perfect. When he joined, the Spurs already maintained a large lead in the league's first position. , allowing Iverson to completely put aside his pride and take the initiative to integrate into the team.

Because he knows that this may be his best chance to win.

Sun Ce put aside his dissatisfaction with the Spurs and devoted himself to pre-match preparations.

After the last match against the 76ers last season, Sun Ce thought he would never have the chance to compete with Iverson, but he didn't expect the Spurs to sign Iverson.

Iverson was not there in the first two encounters, but this time was different. Sun Ce had an extra motivation!

…

At 6:30 in the evening, the Grizzlies' away game against the Spurs began.

The Grizzlies sent out a full starting lineup of Sun Ce, Conley, Battier, Randolph, and Gasol.

On the Spurs side, George Hill, Iverson, Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, and Blair started.

After the game started, the Spurs began to play with George Hill, Richard Jefferson, and Blair as the core.

It must be said that the Spurs' tactics are really powerful. The fragmented lineup actually ran the offense tightly and in an orderly manner.

However, Coach Hollins responded calmly and did not panic. He insisted on the previously planned defense, which worked very well!

The Grizzlies first used the inside offense to slow down the game rhythm, create confrontation, and create a confrontational atmosphere. After a few minutes, the Grizzlies were 3 points behind 6 to 9. The Spurs' offense was really difficult to deal with.

This is what Coach Hollins expected. He had seen the Spurs play the Nuggets on par with pure substitutes before. It was because the conventional defense could not stop the Spurs' team offense. Coach Hollins replaced Gasol, Battier, and Conley with Tony Allen, Paul George, and Jordan, and began to further strengthen the confrontation, while offering high-speed rotation defense.

If Parker and Ginobili were there, it would not be so easy for the Grizzlies to suppress the Spurs. The defect of the Grizzlies' high-speed rotation defense - it could not stop the empty cut, and it would most likely be used by the old sports car and the old bald man, but the current Spurs lineup lacks this ability. Richard Jefferson and Iverson are no longer as brave as they used to be. Sun Ce + Jordan guarding the inside line are enough to prevent the aging Iverson and Richard Jefferson from cutting in, and began to limit the Spurs' offense in the middle of the first quarter!

Even if the Spurs don't have the three real core players, their strength should not be underestimated, because they are very confident and their running position is too strong. It is difficult for the Grizzlies to kill the Spurs' offense, but...

Coach Hollins doesn't want to kill the Spurs at all. That's impossible, and it's even more impossible in the playoffs. The main reason is that the Grizzlies' offense is too poor, with an average of 96.8 points per game, ranking ninth from the bottom in the league.

Therefore, Coach Hollins's defensive goal is to pull the opponent into the scoring rhythm of the Grizzlies!

The Spurs are very special this season, with average defense and top three offense in the league. When all other teams deal with the Spurs, they want to curb the Spurs' offense while also trying to use the Spurs' only average defense to score. This is too difficult to implement. So far, except for the Knicks and the Lakers, no other team can achieve this goal when the Spurs play with a full lineup.

Therefore, Coach Hollins doesn't want to do both at the same time, just focus on curbing the Spurs' offense.

Slowly grinding, slowly consuming, the Spurs system is not completely perfect, and there is a fatal flaw - offensive ability!

In the original time and space, the Spurs began to have the strength to crush everything in the 12-13 season. At that time, when the Spurs needed offensive ability, even if Leonard had not yet reached his peak and his offensive ability was still very average, the Spurs at that time could already rely on the team to solve the problem. Now, the Spurs are basically the same as in the future in regular time, but there is always a little difference. This is the key to the Spurs' difficulty in defeating the Grizzlies, who are now fully prepared.

The Grizzlies worked hard to ensure the stability of the offensive end and went all out on the defensive end, and the effect was very good!

The game developed in the direction that Coach Hollins expected, and the score was always anxious. Randolph and Sun Ce went down to rest in the eighth minute of the first quarter, but the Grizzlies never fell behind. Conley and Tony Allen, Paul George, and the double emperor combination continued to grind...

The new method of dealing with the Spurs has begun to show results! Coach Hollins on the sidelines had a sense of déjà vu of a new version of a charlatan. He looked at the performance of the players on the court with a calm face, but in fact he was ecstatic in his heart: I, Old Hollins, am really both wise and brave!

The tense game lasted until the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies relied on the rotation of 10 players and constantly adjusted the defensive rhythm according to the changes of the Spurs. When the game reached the fourth quarter, they still kept the score difference within 5 points, and occasionally overtook. Although they were overtaken by the Spurs after a while, the score difference did not widen.

After the first three quarters, Sun Ce played for 21 minutes, got 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, and performed very well. The Grizzlies were only 3 points behind the Spurs with a score of 65 to 68.

The score in the first three quarters was less than 70, which is rare for the Spurs this season!

Two blocks, one for Iverson and one for Danny Green, who came off the bench for the Spurs.

"Danny Green, 24 years old, ability rating C, offense D+, defense B-, three-point B+... played 26 times this season, played 4 times for the Spurs, played 10 minutes per game for the Spurs, averaged 5 points and 1.2 assists per game."

For Danny Green, Sun Ce actually wanted to suggest that the team bring him back, but the team did not have a good shooting coach and defensive coach to teach Danny Green. With Coach Hollins' bad temper, a player like Danny Green who needs time to train will be kicked to death.

And then the management chose Paul George...what's the point of Danny Green? So even if the team brought Tony Allen back, Sun Ce didn't ask for Danny Green. Paul George and Morrow were already there, so there was no need for Danny Green. Both of them are better than Danny Green now. The former is extremely talented and the latter is strong in combat. The Grizzlies are already full of role players.

But I didn't expect Popovich to have such a good vision. Because of the Grizzlies, Danny Green was sent to the Clippers. He played half a season before being cut by the Clippers. In the end, Popovich still signed him back.

But even if there is no Danny Green, Popovich will train Mills and tap Belinelli's talent in the future, so Sun Ce doesn't feel sorry. After all, putting Danny Green in their Grizzlies is just guarding the water dispenser.

With Paul George, who would train Danny Green? Popovich wouldn't be that stupid.

On the Spurs side, Iverson played 25 minutes in the first three quarters, which was his limit. Iverson played well in these 25 minutes, making 4 of 10 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 4 of 5 free throws, scoring 13 points and 3 assists. Especially after the Grizzlies overtook the score, Iverson scored 5 points in a row to help the Spurs regain the lead, and his performance was brilliant. But then Iverson's mid-range shot was blown away by Sun Ce. Iverson played for a long time and couldn't jump.

The best performance of the Spurs tonight so far is rookie James Anderson, who came off the bench. This player who has no impression on the Grizzlies has scored 15 points in three quarters.

This is an unexpected situation, but the Grizzlies defended others very well, so it's not a big problem!

...

Coach Hollins' tactics were very effective in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, it was time for the Grizzlies to finish!

The starting lineup of Sun Ce, Conley, Battier, Randolph, and Gasol appeared!

On the Spurs side, George Hill, who played for 19 minutes in the first three quarters to save his energy for the final quarter, and Gary Neal, the Spurs' best pitcher, played together. In the frontcourt, Richard Jefferson, Matt Bonner, and Blair appeared.

As soon as the Grizzlies' lineup came on, they raised the confrontation to the strongest!

In the first three quarters, they constantly raised the confrontation, suppressed the rhythm, and consumed the opponent's outside touch, waiting for this moment!

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies played a wave of 7 to 1 in the first four minutes. Except for Blair grabbing the offensive rebound and causing Sun Ce to foul and make one of two free throws, the Spurs did not score any other points in four minutes!

Popovich is shrewd, but this time he lost to Coach Hollins, and... there is no way to respond!

The biggest problem of the Spurs, a problem that cannot be solved since Popovich coached, until now, and in the future, is that they are only good at winning when they have an advantage, and are very bad at turning the tables, and they are often turned over.

After the Grizzlies came up with a 7-1 wave to overtake the score to 72-69, Popovich called a timeout, but it didn't play a big role.

On the contrary, Sun Ce increased mid-range singles after the timeout. Sun Ce, who felt that he was coming, used the pick-and-roll expert and the lateral step jumper to continuously shoot three goals from the right mid-range or the right baseline mid-range.

Among them, there was a hook 2+1 hit!

During this period, the Spurs also scored two goals. Popovich specially helped Bonner arrange a catch-and-shoot three-pointer tactic, and Bonner also made a shot. George Hill also made a pick-and-roll breakthrough layup, but the Spurs were scored 7 points by the Grizzlies again.

The Grizzlies used a wave of 7-5 to widen the gap to 5 points!

The 5-point lead is very stable for the Grizzlies. They began to defend steadily. If the Spurs didn't score, the Grizzlies would focus on Sun Ce. If they scored, they would score, and if they didn't, they would forget it.

Once the Spurs scored, they handed the ball over to Randolph, who had been resting for a long time.

Randolph was so angry tonight that the team that was once a close dance partner actually played tricks on them. In the middle of the fourth quarter, the furious Randolph scored 8 points in 5 minutes, raising his personal score to 22 points.

Popovich had no tricks at this time. It was really too difficult for him to find a way to turn the tables. Even if there was Ginobili, he could still bet on whether the magic sword would kill himself or his opponent today. Now there was really no way.

In the fourth quarter, Sun Ce and Randolph scored 15 points together, leading the team to a single-quarter score of 25 to 16, reversing the Spurs with 90 to 84 and winning four consecutive games!

After this game, Popovich was overwhelmed!

He used to be afraid of the depth of the Grizzlies' lineup, especially the Grizzlies' four big inside players, and almost all rhythms could be adapted through inside rotation.

But Popovich didn't think the Grizzlies could find a way to deal with them so quickly, but who knew that the Grizzlies really found it!

Although the Spurs rested three main players, it seemed normal to lose, and they only lost to the Grizzlies by 6 points.

But Popovich could see that the Grizzlies still needed to improve their control of the rhythm, which was terrible. There was a kind of punishment in ancient China that was to be tortured to death by slicing. Popovich now had that feeling. He would see the Grizzlies improve their control of the rhythm little by little, because the Grizzlies already had this awareness and had begun to develop in this direction.

But Popovich was powerless to deal with it!

Compared to the Grizzlies, they have Randolph as a stable attack point. Even if he is not very useful in the inside, he is better than the Spurs. The Spurs do not have such a player. Iverson can help, but it is not a long-term solution.

The scary thing is that the opponent's Sun Ce, who exploded in the regular season and exploded even more exaggeratedly in the playoffs, has not yet played!

What makes Popovich a little desperate is... avoiding the Grizzlies, there are still the Lakers and Mavericks!

Please remember the domain name of the first release of this book:. Tang San Chinese website mobile version reading website: