Chapter 359 Popovich Wants Ginobili

In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili said: "The Spurs' lineup, like the Knicks, also has flaws. Although they are super strong inside, their outside strength is average. On the front, the Spurs, like the Knicks, do not have a fixed main small forward. A few role players are rotating. Although the back line is a fixed main force, it is considered weak among championship-level teams, worse than the Knicks, Lakers, and Philadelphia Digital Team."

Su Qun nodded and said: "Of the Knicks' three guards, Ginobili is a little weaker. He is currently averaging 9.5 points, 2.1 assists and 1.5 turnovers per game. It is understandable. After all, he is a rookie and is still trying to adapt to the toughness of NBA games. The other two The performance is quite good, this should be the Knicks’ strongest perimeter combination in the past few seasons.”

Zhang Lili said: "Ginobili is okay. As soon as he entered the league, the Knicks made him the main force. I think it would be better if he started from the bench. He will be the main force. Too much pressure will affect his performance." His play.”

At 7:50, the starting lineup begins.

"Shh!"

The Spurs' home fans were not very friendly to the Knicks, especially Zhao Dong. As soon as he came on the court, the boos reached their peak.

Bill Walton laughed and said: "In the last Finals, the Knicks beat their home fans here until they left early. It was only the first quarter. The scene was very embarrassing for the Spurs. So in this game, whether it was the Spurs players or Fans all want to take revenge."

"A battle of revenge? That's just right. Barkley has retired and the Knicks bench is getting weaker. Now is the best opportunity for revenge. However, if the Spurs want to succeed in revenge, it depends on whether Feilong agrees. I bet that this game In the game, Feilong will go into the low post and face the Spurs' twin towers."

Matt said with a smile.

Bill Walton analyzed: "In the finals, the Knicks used the Spurs' twin-tower strategy, but China lost to the Mavericks. The Knicks no longer have the strength to use the twin-tower strategy. I don't know what tactics Nelson will use in this game. ,I'm curious."

At eight o'clock, the game starts.

Fordson and Duncan jumped the ball and the Knicks attacked.

Stackhouse controlled the ball, Ginobili and Madman opened up the perimeter.

Fordson didn't pull out. He had a little mid-range shot, but generally, if he pulled out, David Robinson would definitely not follow him completely. The Knicks' offense wouldn't be able to take his turn, so he might as well stay in the paint area and provide offensive cover. Rebounding and second-chance offense are his job.

Zhao Dong entered the left wing, two steps away from the left sideline of the paint area.

About three meters away, below the dotted line of the free throw line, Duncan was guarding him.

This is just like O'Neal's defense against Yao. It is extremely difficult to defend. Even if Zhao Dong is pulled to the three-point line, Duncan must keep up. Otherwise, if he switches to defense, anyone except Robinson will be beaten against Zhao Dong. , This has been proven in the finals.

Today, Popovich played man-to-man because the Knicks have a strong outside line and he did not dare to double-team any one of them, as that would only give others a chance.

But in the paint area, he still formulated a double-teaming tactic. As long as Zhao Dong enters the paint area, whether with or without the ball, he will immediately double-team.

At this time, Zhao Dong suddenly started, running without the ball, cutting outside first, attracting Duncan to follow, and then suddenly reversed, leaving Duncan behind, and immediately cut inward.

"Hurry up! Don't let him pass it in easily." Popovich yelled.

On the outside, young general Johnson desperately defended Stackhouse who was holding the ball, preventing him from passing the ball in.

In the paint area, Robinson stood on the front left side of the basket and stared at Zhao Dong.

Duncan, who was left behind, also chased Zhao Dong desperately.

Zhao Dong rushed to the left line of the paint area. Before Stackhouse could pass the ball in, he missed the best passing opportunity. He rushed behind Robinson, turned and got stuck, and once again hit Stackhouse at the top of the arc. Kerhouse wants the ball.

The chance only lasts half a second, or even less than half a second. If the pass cannot come in during this period, Duncan, who is two steps away, will return to defense and form a double-team on Zhao Dong under the basket. This season, double-teaming without the ball is possible. of.

"Whoosh!"

Stackhouse finally passed the ball in, and in order to avoid Avery Johnson's hands, the line was a little high and passed directly to the basket.

David Robinson is very experienced. When he saw the ball passed high, he immediately raised his elbow from behind and pushed Zhao Dong hard. The defensive intention was to push Zhao Dong's center of gravity and prevent him from jumping to catch the ball smoothly.

But Zhao Dong's core strength was too strong, his lower body strength was also level 95, and his lower body was very stable. Robinson didn't even move at this moment, and the next moment, Zhao Dong jumped up.

At this time, Duncan returned to Zhao Dong's right front, looked at the ball coming, and jumped up first, trying to steal the pass.

But the ball was really a bit high. The ball flew past the tip of Duncan's hand and hit the backboard.

"Snapped!"

After Duncan, relying on the 95-level bounce and the super performance of the Silver Devil, Zhao Dong emerged from the former and caught the ball with one hand.

"boom!"

The moment he fell, Zhao Dong turned around and hit the basket.

"Beep!"

The referee's whistle sounded.

"Shet!"

David Robinson just hit Zhao Dong under the basket, but before he could take off, he was dunked. Then the whistle sounded, calling him a blocking foul, which made his nose smoke.

"Beautiful! Feilong made an alley-oop dunk when the Spurs were double-teamed by the Twin Towers. It was so exciting!" Su Qun roared excitedly.

"The jump is really high, it should be one meter, right?" Zhang Li said with a smile.

In the TNT live broadcast, Bill Walton analyzed: "The three Knicks defenders are all focused on offense and there is no pure point guard. I think the point guard more suitable for the Dragons is Steve Nash of the Suns, who is good at organizing passes. Mainly, offensively as a secondary, and he shoots well.”

"No, the Spurs focus on defense, and Nash's defense is too bad. The truly suitable point guard should be a point guard with first-class defense like Kidd and Payton, but his offense is just a little bit worse. To say that the most suitable one, I think it is the Heat's small guard He is an all-rounder in organizing and passing the ball," Matt said with a smile.

Zhao Dongjia made a free throw, stood on the free throw line, took the ball thrown by the referee, glanced at Duncan sideways, and said: "Boy, do you want to have a free throw shooting percentage like mine?"

His free throw percentage now reaches 90%, which is among the highest in the league, making O'Neal drool with envy.

"Is there a special training method?"

Duncan's eyes lit up and he said honestly: "I think so."

"Then let's practice carrying the urinal."

After Zhao Dong finished speaking, he threw the ball in his hand towards the basket. Whoosh, a wonderful sound of the basket was heard immediately, and a free throw was scored.

"Tim, ignore him, he's teasing you." David Robinson glared at Zhao Dong and said to Duncan.

The Spurs attacked. In order to contain Fordson and reduce the Knicks' rebounding ability, Popovich decided to use a high-low twin tower tactic.

In the last Finals, the Knicks used this tactic to make the Spurs suffer.

Although the media said that the Knicks are not high enough on the outside, Zhao Dong and Fordson are both top rebounders, and the quality of the Knicks' rebounds is actually very guaranteed.

David Robinson settled in the high post, took the ball from the young general Johnson, passed it to Duncan in the low post on the left wing, and then cut to the basket himself.

The Knicks also used man-to-man marking. Zhao Dong defended Duncan alone, without double-teaming, and did not give the Spurs an opportunity to open on the outside.

Duncan caught the ball with one hand without any pause, swaying up and down, and the continuous shaking made Zhao Dong's center of gravity move. Then he caught the ball again, took off at 45 degrees, hit the board, and hit a goal.

"hurry up!"

At this time, Nelson shouted loudly from the sidelines and pointed to the frontcourt with his hand, indicating that the team should play a fast break.

All three outsiders rushed to the frontcourt, followed by Fordson, while Zhao Dong in the low post quickly picked up the ball and prepared to serve quickly.

Duncan waved his hands in front of Zhao Dong, trying to stop Zhao Dong from shooting quickly, but Zhao Dong used a very fast lateral movement to get out of the way of the former, smashed the ball with one hand, and passed the ball to Ji on the left side of the front court. Nobili.

Ginobili caught the ball and headed toward the paint.

At this time, Johnson, the young general who returned to defense from the center, blocked Ginobili's path, but Ginobili made a very quick change of direction, used his European step to get past Johnson, and then made a layup. This fast break.

"Beautiful, this rookie's breakthrough is really unique. This is a breakthrough move he learned in the European League, also called the European step." Zhang Li said with a smile.

"Now Iverson's breakthrough is similar to the European step, and it also changes direction continuously." Su Qun said with a smile.

"It's still different. Iverson slowed down before changing direction. His speed was too fast and he changed direction without slowing down. His ankles and knees couldn't bear it, and he was too easily injured. And Ginobili's change of direction, It's very sudden, there's no obvious slowdown, and his body is often twisted into twists, and he's not afraid of hurting himself." Zhang Li said with a smile.

On the sidelines, Popovich stared at Ginobili, the scene of the breakthrough flashed through his mind, and sighed, why doesn't such a guard belong to the Spurs?

"Damn Knicks, damn Feilong!"

In this year's draft, he originally planned to use the second-round pick to select Ginobili, but the Knicks intercepted it. Afterwards, he learned that this was Zhao Dong's suggestion, so he has been unhappy.

However, Kirilenko, who was selected by the Spurs with the 28th pick in the first round, refused to come, which made him even more annoyed. He was given a first-round pick in vain. This year's draft was extremely unlucky and actually got nothing.

"Try to trade. I heard that after Barkley was injured, the Knicks wanted to strengthen their lineup. They don't have much leverage. Maybe they can trade for Ginobili?"

He began to think about how to get Ginobili from the Knicks.

But in fact, he is delusional. What the Knicks really want is a good small forward, followed by the inside, and this is also the position that the Spurs currently lack.

5:2, Spurs attack.

This time, Duncan came up with another 45-degree swing.

His shooting percentage at the basket reached 70%. The shooting range under the basket refers to within one meter, which is the reasonable collision area under the basket.

And his near-basket shot, which is nearly two points, refers to the range of the paint area within three meters. With his stable rebounding skills, the hit rate is barely 50%, which is a few percentage points higher than in the previous life. , this is because he learned Zhao Dong's playing skills.

This ball was missed due to Zhao Dong's defense.

The ball rebounded, and Zhao Dong, who turned around, and Robinson, who cut into the basket, jumped to grab the rebound at the same time.

Although Robinson is 216 centimeters tall, he is no longer very good at jumping. The ball was grabbed by Zhao Dong.

The three Knicks defenders once again played a defensive counterattack on the fast break, but the Spurs failed to keep up. Small forward Jerome Corsi was dropped by the opposing madman, and Zhao Dongchang passed the ball to the madman.

The other two defenders spread out, and the madman took the ball into the unoccupied paint area, facing the basket with a one-arm dunk, and scored a goal.

Next, the Spurs attack.

Because the Knicks always focus on single defense, even in the low post, it is easy not to double-team the twin towers. The Spurs did not get a good open opportunity on the outside, and the offense was pressed on the twin towers, especially Duncan.

The Knicks' three defenders frequently played fast breaks, and the offensive and defensive rhythm was very fast.

In the 9th minute of the first quarter, at 24:16, the Knicks led by 8 points, and the Spurs called a timeout for the second time.

Bill Walton analyzed: "Comparing the offensive quality of the two teams, the Knicks, whether it is the fast break of the three guards or the low-post attack of the Dragons, are more efficient than the Spurs. They played a high-quality offense. The team sent 7 goals in 9 minutes." Feilong has sent out 4 assists. The assist rate is very high and the tactics are very successful. This is also the reason why the Knicks are ahead.

The Spurs mainly used Duncan's low-post offense. They took 6 shots in 9 minutes and made 3 of them. They made 2 of 4 free throws and scored 8 points. Their performance was normal, with a 50% shooting rate.

But Duncan only had one attack at the basket. The remaining five attacks were all on the sidelines of the paint area. He hit two of them. His shooting rate was 40%, which was lower than his normal level. Under Feilong's single defense, he scored nearly two points. The hit rate dropped by nearly 10%, and Feilong was hit hard. "

Matt nodded and said: "So the Spurs twin towers should enter the basket to play, so the offensive quality and efficiency will be higher."

After returning from the timeout, the Knicks replaced Fordson and played Willis. Zhao Dong was still on the court, still playing center.

On the outside, John Wallace is at No. 3, and the guard combination is Ginobili and Madman. Stackhouse rests and makes two starts.

As for the Spurs, Robinson went to rest, Duncan was on the court, Avery Johnson was on the court, and the small forward was last season's main forward Sean Elliott, paired with two role players.

"The Spurs' bench is still very good and they can all play. Popovich is very good at mobilizing the abilities of the bench players and is good at training role players." Bill Walton said with a smile.

"When the super giant is in his hands, he has to play like a role player. Therefore, even if the Spurs reached the finals last season, there were very few national live broadcasts this season, ranking 23rd in the league, because no one wanted to Watching a group of role players play, everyone wants to see the stars perform," Matt complained.

"Ha ha……"

Before Matt could finish his words, Bill Walton burst into laughter and burst into tears.

In the next three minutes, the Knicks still used their original tactics, with Zhao Dong playing in the low post and fast breaks from the outside. The rhythm was very fast.

That is to say, Duncan is not seriously injured yet. He can fly and run. He can barely keep up with the rhythm, but it is also very difficult to keep up.

After the first quarter, 30:21, the Knicks led by 9 points.

This score surprised the media because they originally predicted that the Spurs would dominate.

During the break, Zhang Lili analyzed: "The Knicks played very well today, and their tactics were well formulated. They did not double-team the twin towers and did not give the Spurs any outside opportunities.

The Spurs play a traditional inside game. The offense starts from the inside. The ball goes inside. If the inside can be hit, it will be hit. If it cannot be hit, it will be separated.

But the Knicks don't give outside opportunities, and the Spurs twin towers, it should be said that Duncan, can only keep attacking because his teammates have no good opportunities.

Duncan scored 12 points in the first quarter, making 5 of 10 shots and 2 of 4 free throws. The efficiency was still good.

But the Knicks were more efficient. Zhao Dong still played an efficient offense. He made 5 of 6 shots in a single quarter, 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block. So it is not surprising that the Spurs are so far behind. .

What the Knicks have to consider now is whether there will be problems with Zhao Dong's physical fitness when one of the main rotation players is reduced. What about the three guards? "

At the beginning of the second time, for the Knicks, Zhao Dong, Willis, and John Wallace continued to play, and Stackhouse and Madman joined the back line.

For the Spurs, Robinson replaced Duncan, point guard Johnson was not available, and veteran backup guard Terry Porter was used.

In the first quarter, Zhao Dong faced off against Duncan and did not attack with all his strength because he was ready to play the whole game and his physical distribution must be balanced.

Against David Robinson in the second quarter, he took over the team's main offense from the beginning.

If you don't enter the paint area, first pull the admiral out, then use your movement speed to beat the opponent, and then enter the paint area. Try it every time and it won't work.

Bang bang bang, the constant sound of hitting the basket made Spurs fans dizzy.

When the Spurs substitute insider was assisting in weak-side defense, he was dunked and knocked over by Zhao Dong continuously. He was in a state of embarrassment. Zhao Dong scored two two plus one twice in a row, which was very lethal.

In the fourth minute, under the leadership of Zhao Dong, the Knicks launched a ten-to-four attack wave. At 40:25, the Knicks had a 15-point lead, and Popovich called a timeout.

Bill Walton laughed and said: "David Robinson is still old. Although he can still play, his steps seem too old when facing Feilong who has an inside movement speed bug."

"They can't keep up with Feilong's rhythm at all. The Spurs must replace Duncan and the Twin Towers join forces to have a chance to wrestle with Feilong." Matt shook his head.