Six Hundred and Eighty-Seven: Onion Attack

The San Antonio Spurs have been chasing after the Grizzlies this season. Whether it is the upstart Clippers in the first echelon of the West or the young and dynamic Thunder, their record this season is not as good as the Spurs.

So far in the regular season, the Thunder's record is 25 wins and 9 losses, slightly inferior to the Spurs. The Clippers are even worse, having lost 13 games this season.

Therefore, this year, only the Spurs can really bite the Grizzlies.

As a team with an older core member, a team that has hardly introduced big-name stars in the free agency and transfer markets. Spurs, like ivy, never die.

It's just that the Grizzlies' record this season is so good, Popovich found that no matter how hard he chased, he just couldn't catch up.

31 wins and 2 losses, this is an exaggerated score beyond Popovich's expectations. But considering the Grizzlies won 70 games once last season and are only two games away from that greatness, it makes sense.

However, even as the Grizzlies went 31-2 and the entire league was in a state of panic, Popovich remained unafraid. On the contrary, he is more eager to fight the Grizzlies than everyone else in the league!

Popovich's pride has been trampled on by the Grizzlies in recent years. He was eliminated by the Grizzlies for two consecutive years. Although he was not eliminated by the Grizzlies in the third year, Popovich could only watch. The team he looked down on held the O'Brien Cup in the palm of his hand.

In the season opener, the Spurs became the biggest backdrop, allowing Link to score a beautiful triple-double in the first game of the new season.

Popovich has all this hatred in his mind. If you thought he was just a kind and humorous old man, you were wrong.

This guy is very vengeful, and as a former soldier, his character is tougher than he looks.

So, in today's game, Popovich maximized his ability to control the team. Just as they slaughtered the Clippers at Staples two days ago, the Spurs were extremely efficient today.

The Spurs' physical talent, if not the worst in the league, is definitely at the bottom of the league. If the game can only be played one-on-one, the Spurs are estimated to be unable to beat more than half of the teams in the league.

But the magic of the Spurs is that they can rely on seamless teamwork to cover up other deficiencies. The Spurs' offense is like an onion. It's not that their ball looks hot, but the Spurs' offense is like an onion.

You peel off one layer, and there is another layer behind. Layers and layers keep you out of order, and that's what characterizes their offense.

For a long time, the Spurs have relied on such an "onion-style" offense to run amok in the league. This style of play may make people drowsy because they can't enjoy the best performances of the stars.

Watching the Spurs cut, conduct, and look for opportunities time and time again... These are not unremarkable, but they require a certain threshold of appreciation. For many fans who are just watching the fun, the Spurs' ball is a little too boring.

But the Spurs are relying on this "boring" system, and they have remained among the top teams in the Western Conference for more than ten years in the league. When the Spurs can gather a bunch of players who can play on this basis, then they will instantly become a strong contender for the championship!

And Link knew that in the original history, the Spurs this season was precisely a championship-level team!

So when this game was going on, Hubie Brown's sentence fully reflected the horror of the Spurs, "The San Antonio Spurs played the ultimate team basketball at the Federal Express Arena!"

The ultimate team basketball is not a word that can be used casually. Are the Heat playing team basketball? Of course it is, but their offense is still based on the individuals of James and Wade.

Do the Grizzlies play team basketball? No doubt it is. But the Grizzlies' team basketball is not the ultimate, and there are still many moments that rely on Link's individual ability.

Only a team like the Spurs deserves the title of ultimate team basketball.

There are too many Spurs routines. Except for alleys, almost all the tactics you can use on the basketball court can be seen in their games. Their positional offense pays attention to the word "movement", less confrontation with long and short cuts, emphasises opportunities, reduces strong attacks, and pays great attention to the smoothness of the ball. Moreover, there are not many tasks for each person. The key lies in the cooperation of each link and the grasp of the timing.

And today, with the blessing of this ultimate team basketball, the Spurs pushed the Grizzlies into a corner!

Throughout the game, the Spurs couldn't find their defensive focus. The Grizzlies' defense has actually done a good job, but no matter how good the defense is, it can't be perfect every time.

But for the Spurs, an imperfect defense is an opportunity!

The Spurs were always able to find scoring opportunities through fluid conduct and aggressive movement.

Block Duncan? Then find Ginobili! Block Parker? Then look for Danny Green from beyond the arc!

Everyone needs to know when and where their teammates should be, and everyone knows where they should go when entering the next layer after finishing this layer of tactics. Such tacit understanding and clear thinking cannot be achieved in a day or two.

The more complex the tactics, the lower the success rate of execution. The Spurs have achieved a high success rate of complex tactics!

Fortunately, the Grizzlies' offense is also playing well. Conley's state is very hot today, scoring more than Link. Link is mainly "specially taken care" of Leonard and Duncan, and there are not many scoring opportunities. Conley carried the scoring flag and led the Grizzlies and Spurs to the end.

At the beginning, Link was full of confidence in the game. He thought that he could win the victory today, as usual, with a near miss.

But the game has been played until the last 10 seconds, and there is no winner yet.

In the final 10 seconds, Conley's key goal allowed the Grizzlies to tie the game. Today, the offensive efficiency of both sides is too high, and no one can defend against the other.

But in the final 10 seconds, the Grizzlies had to defend successfully to not lose the game.

Popovich called a timeout in the final 10 seconds, and no one knew what the sly old man was planning. On Jogel's side, he is emphasizing infinite switching.

"No matter how they run or pick-and-roll, I want you to complete the switch as soon as possible! Don't give the Spurs any easy shot, we won't fail here!"

Jorge roared and pointed to the FedEx Arena floor.

The timeout ended quickly, and in the last 10 seconds, the fans cheered, hoping to put pressure on the Spurs.

However, the old-fashioned Spurs have been through countless moments like this. Any team in the league might be afraid of this situation, except the Spurs.

In 10 seconds, the Spurs still executed a not-so-simple tactic.

Manu Ginobili roamed in a complicated off-ball screen, Parker broke through the ball, and finally gave the "Demon Knife" a chance to play big.

Randolph faced Ginobili, sweating profusely. The rest of the Grizzlies are also inconvenient to switch defenses, and it can only be seen if Randolph can hold it.

However, the angry Manu Ginobili will not be bluffed by Randolph of course. He got into the paint with a nice break, then threw it before Gasol came back!

The moment the basketball entered the net, Link's heart seemed to be slammed!

In the past, it was the Grizzlies that killed others. Today, the Grizzlies suffered a fatal blow at a critical moment!

"Manu Ginobili's breakthrough was beautiful, and his variation left Randolph at a loss! The ball went in, the San Antonio Spurs scored this crucial goal, and they almost won the game! Now, there is only one left until the end of the game. With 4 seconds left, the Grizzlies are 2 points behind and they still have a chance to make the final blow! However, they may not be as lucky as the Spurs!"

Jogel immediately used the last timeout he left, and the last 4 seconds will determine whether the Grizzlies' rampage will be stopped.

The pressure is now all on the defending champion's side.

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