Chapter 980 979. Popovich's Despair
“Steve Nash 2004-2005 version, ability rating 96, offense 98, defense 70, three-pointer 92, mid-range shot 91, layup 90, speed 93, strength 77, endurance 99, passing 100… Talent skill: Son of the Wind. 100% matching, duration: 10 minutes of game time.”
“After the host uses the Steve Nash star card, the temporary ability rating is 97, three-pointer 92, mid-range shot 91, layup 93, speed 94, strength 87… Temporary talent skill: Son of the Wind, talent skill: fighting left and right…”
Nash is not just about passing the ball, but can infect his teammates on what to do and how to run. Nash’s side is the tacit understanding between himself and his teammates under D’Antoni’s running and gunning system that allows him to do this. After the system turns Nash’s ability into a star card, it comes to Liu Mang, who arranges tactical commands, improves the execution of his teammates, and increases the tacit understanding. Infecting teammates from this aspect, it has achieved the same effect as Nash, which is to improve the ability of his teammates.
After the second quarter, the Hawks started a defensive counterattack under the command of Liu Mang.
A point guard who is good at shooting and passing, a physical inside player who is good at catching dribbles, an inside player with excellent physical fitness for three-pointers, and two three-point shooters on both sides to open up space.
Liu Mang, Josh Smith, and Rasheed Wallace started a positional battle from the high position with three people cooperating, a simple and rough style of play. After Liu Mang used Nash's star card and played a three-person coordinated offense like the Suns with his teammates, although the Hawks' scoring points were concentrated, their efficiency suddenly increased! .
The offensive efficiency of the Spurs can only play the performance of more than 110 points per game in the series against the Suns when they encounter the Suns and other teams without defense. Starting from the second game against the Hawks, Ginobili did not play as hard as in the first game. After the Hawks dealt with Duncan and Bonzi Wells more double-teaming, their offensive efficiency dropped, which was similar to the regular season, more than 90 points per game.
In the first quarter, the Spurs were not as efficient as usual. After the second quarter, the Hawks could not lock down the Spurs' offense as well as in the first quarter because Parker was not there, but with the single defense of Liu Mang and McGrady and the help of Korver and Josh Smith, the Spurs recovered their normal offensive efficiency.
And the Hawks also played their due offensive efficiency!
It was the Hawks' turn to attack again. The Spurs retreated very actively and did not give the Hawks a chance to start a fast break.
Liu Mang held the ball at the top arc and continued to look for Rasheed Wallace to pick and roll.
Liu Mang got rid of Ginobili with the pick and roll of Rasheed Wallace, and then took advantage of the second pick and roll of Josh Smith to go around to the left at a 45-degree angle. Josh Smith and Rasheed Wallace rushed to the basket together. When Bonzi Wells rushed over, Liu Mang shot a three-pointer directly!
It was so decisive and so wild. Liu Mang shot quite resolutely. The ball bounced on the basket and fell into the frame!
Liu Mang made his second three-pointer in a single quarter. He played for more than 8 minutes. In the second quarter, Liu Mang had made 3 of 6 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and two free throws for 10 points! He also had 5 assists!
23 points and 8 assists, with more than 3 minutes left in the half, Liu Mang had already played the full-time data of the previous three games!
Under the leadership of Liu Mang, Rasheed Wallace and Josh Smith not only cut to eat cakes, but the Spurs' outside line faced Liu Mang's accurate delivery of the ball to the two inside players after the pick-and-roll. In this situation, Popovich had to arrange a double-teaming tactic against the inside during the timeout. Josh Smith and Rasheed Wallace could pass the ball to the two bottom corners. There were more than 3 minutes left in the second quarter. The Hawks scored 25 points in eight minutes, and the efficiency was the same as in the first quarter!
That is, the Spurs' defense completely failed in the second quarter!
On the Hawks side, they insisted on defense as the main focus, and the offensive end relied on Liu Mang's style of play, which successfully limited the Spurs' offensive efficiency to normal performance. The Spurs scored 17 points in more than 8 minutes.
With Liu Mang's three-pointer, the Hawks were already 16 points ahead, 54 to 38!
The score difference was pulled to more than 15 points, the largest score difference in the entire finals so far, and Popovich called a timeout again!
...
Popovich is now in a headache. If Liu Mang is double-teamed, the Spurs' inside defense will not be able to maintain. Josh Smith and Rasheed Wallace will play two against one against Duncan... The picture of Duncan as the background is really beautiful.
For Popovich, the most troublesome thing is still one thing - unexpected!
Although the Hawks scored 29 points in the first quarter today, the overall play was still within Popovich's expectations. It was just that Liu Mang ran away for 4 minutes and scored 8 points, which widened the score difference. But overall, the Hawks' play in the first quarter did not change much, but Liu Mang's breakthrough efficiency surged, which brought the Hawks up.
But after the start of the second quarter, the Hawks played a completely different style of play, and the Spurs were suddenly pulled away by such a large score difference.
The Spurs' defense has been very stable in this round of the finals, and the Hawks' defense is also stable. It is almost impossible to catch up with such a big score difference!
When playing against the Suns, the Spurs were able to play so well on offense. In addition to the Suns' poor defense, Popovich had made plans to play against the Suns before the start of the playoffs, and after the second round, the Spurs conducted a lot of training against the Suns.
This time, it was completely unexpected!
The Spurs have won two games in a row and are very used to the rhythm of this series. The Hawks suddenly played a completely different style of play from the previous four games and the first quarter of this game. In addition, the Hawks can still defend, Popovich Qi couldn't find an immediate solution.
…
Now Popovich has no choice but to continue to strengthen his defense and replace the lineup with Parker, Ginobili, Horry, Duncan, and Nesterovich. In addition to flanking Liu Mang and guarding the inside, he is looking forward to The opponent's two pitchers have a slightly different feel, so there's nothing we can do!
For the Hawks, Korver was replaced and the combination of Liu Mang, Jason Terry, McGrady, Muhammad, and Mourning was replaced.
After the timeout, the Spurs attack.
After Parker advanced to the frontcourt, he faced Liu Mang's defensive suddenness, but he still couldn't get rid of Liu Mang's defense and was pushed to the baseline. Parker worked hard for a long time, and the 24-second attack time was almost up, but there was still no breakthrough point. Opportunity, a pass passed to Horry.
Fortunately, Horry's three-pointers in this round of the finals were as good as ever. He received a pass from Parker and made a strong three-pointer from Jason Terry.
When the Eagles attacked, Liu Mang advanced to the frontcourt and continued to find teammates for pick-and-rolls. Muhammad came out to help Liu Mang block Ginobili. Ginobili and Duncan came directly to flank Liu Mang!
With Nesterovic under the basket, it was difficult for Liu Mang to pass even though Muhammad cut in through the air. The Spurs' strongest defensive lineup immediately became effective in defense.
Liu Mang was double-teamed, and Jason Terry led Parker out to catch the ball, took a step forward, and forced a shot to meet Parker's blocked three-pointer...
Hit it too!
That's what Jason Terry is like, no matter how long he stays on the bench, if he comes up and needs him to play, he can play to the sky!
Popovich is expecting the Eagles pitcher to feel bad and Liu Mang not give him a chance. The strongest singles combination of Liu Mang, Tracy McGrady, and Jason Terry will come on the court and just take the ball and do it!
Keep hitting the opponent unexpectedly!
With this Spurs lineup, the defense is up, but the offense is paralyzed! It's back to the state of the first quarter where they could only score 20 points in a single quarter.
He can only care about the beginning but not the end. This is the situation Popovich is in right now.
As for the Hawks, Liu Mang judged that Popovich would definitely strengthen his defense and arranged singles tactics. He, Tracy McGrady, and Jason Terry would shoot whoever felt it was coming, and just defend well.
More than three minutes before halftime, the Hawks were defended by the Spurs and only scored 7 points for three minutes. Their efficiency dropped suddenly, just like the last three or four minutes of the first quarter. The efficiency dropped, but the Spurs The offense was even worse, scoring only 4 points in the last 3 minutes or so!
64 to 45, after halftime, the Eagles led by 19 points!
…
After leading by 19 points at halftime, Liu Mang stopped playing in the second half and handed over the tactical board to Coach Kruger, who asked Coach Kruger to lay out a solid tactical strategy to defend the point difference.
To be able to play like this, in addition to the core idea of seeking change, Liu Mang also took advantage of the stability that the Spurs had played in the previous two games. If the Spurs did not win these two games, the Spurs players would not have so much faith in their own ball. The team's tactics were not that stable, and Liu Mang could not take advantage of this.
Success is stable, failure is also stable. The Spurs' 20-year history in the Duncan era has always explained this. If the opponent's strength is equal to theirs and can change, it will be difficult for them to win. When they win, it is almost always the whole process. Strength has a huge advantage.
In the original time and space, except for the 2005 Finals when Popovich met a head coach who was less willing to change than him, Larry Brown, Ginobili would have almost beaten the Pistons if it weren't for Ginobili's peak performance in the Finals. Lost the tiebreaker.
The Spurs' original four championships in 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2014 were all crushed in the finals.
Relying on the memory of the Sky Eye, the changes brought about by the use of star cards, and the deep team lineup, he can play any tactics. Although Liu Mang used a top star and a superstar star card, but in three quarters, When it was over, the Hawks were 88-67, leading the Spurs by 21 points!
If you can win Tianwang Mountain and get closer to winning the championship, use these two star cards!
In the end, the Eagles defeated the Spurs 114-93, with a score difference of 21 points, and won the battle at Tianwang Mountain!
Liu Mang made 10 of 22 shots, 4 of 10 three-pointers, and 12 of 13 free throws. He scored 36 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists, helping the Eagles beat the Spurs with 21 points!
McGrady scored 18 points and Jason Terry scored 12 points, both of which were normal performances.
The key is that Rasheed Wallace and Josh Smith scored 15 points together in the second quarter, suddenly widening the point difference.
Although Duncan scored 21 points and 15 rebounds steadily as always, Ginobili scored 15 points, Parker scored 13 points, and Horry also scored 12 points, they were no match for Liu Mang's willfulness!
3 to 2, the Eagles regained a big lead!
Moreover, the next two games will be back at home, and both games will be played at home. The situation suddenly turned from a moment of crisis to an absolute advantage!
As long as we win one of the two home games, we will win this year's championship!
…
…
"Ace, do you think I have a chance to win the MVP? I think I can! You see, I stand up to help at critical moments every time... Hey, hey, Ace, don't leave, listen to me..."
Jason Terry saw Liu Mang and Iguodala walking quickly to his car. He felt so good that his former little brother ignored him!
After Iguodala helped him put the suitcase in the car, Liu Mang left Iguodala and drove away quickly.
Why ask Liu Mang about MVP? Jason Terry doesn't care about his face at all.
After winning the fifth crucial game, the Hawks players regained their confidence. It was not the kind of morale that Liu Mang forced before the start of the fifth game, but the confidence was really restored by the game.
Early in the morning of June 10, the Hawks returned to Atlanta. The Southeast Division and the Southwest Division are very close, that is, separated by a mountain range. The home court of the Southwest Division team is closest to Atlanta in New Orleans, and San Antonio is not far away. They arrived at the Atlanta airport at 10 o'clock in the morning.
From the plane, Jason Terry was looking forward to whether he could get the MVP. After four games, he averaged 18.9 points, second only to Liu Mang's 30.4 points and Duncan's 20.4 points. He and Ginobili's average score was the same, 18.9 points. Jason Terry's performance ranking given by the media in this finals was higher than McGrady.
If the Spurs won the finals, the MVP would basically be a competition between Duncan and Ginobili. If the Hawks won, Liu Mang would have the greatest chance. Jason Terry might have a chance. He ranked fourth, which was also a chance.
Liu Mang was not afraid that Jason Terry would snatch his MVP. As long as the Hawks won, he averaged 30.4 points, which was basically a sure MVP. He was mainly afraid that he could not help but hit Jason Terry's confidence.
Liu Mang was very happy that the team regained confidence. Only with confidence can great things be done.
Compared with his own confidence, Liu Mang's biggest gain was in the second half of the fifth game, Ginobili scored 3 points in the first half, and his mentality was completely exploded.
Liu Mang clearly felt that Ginobili was about to collapse, and he and Parker were about to give up treatment.
The distance to suppress Ginobili and suppress the 02 generation of stars is getting closer and closer!
In this way, after winning the championship and suppressing Ginobili, only James and Wade of the 03 generation are left to complete the task of suppressing the stars of the same generation, and the second talent skill can be expected!
After Liu Mang felt the dual talent skills of Nash's Son of the Wind and his own left-right fighting talent skills, he was more looking forward to the dual talent skills that truly belonged to him.
One strengthens himself, and the other drives the team. When teammates are talented enough to play various tactics, it is not difficult to beat the Spurs! Liu Mang is least worried about the lack of talent in the team.
Moreover, when the Spurs were full of confidence to win the home court, they gave the Spurs a head-on blow! Liu Mang could feel the helplessness of the Spurs in the second half, which will be of great help to the team in the next two games!
Next chapter before 12 o'clock