NBA restricted area bulldozer

Chapter 712 Popovich's Counterattack

During the intermission, the Lakers will return to the locker room. Although the lead is only 5 points, the rhythm is controlled by the Lakers, so everyone looks very relaxed.

The entire first half.

Robinson took the initiative to sacrifice himself, Duncan scored 18 points in two quarters, and Duncan also bit the bullet and hit the big book, gave Robinson some back-feeding passes, and scored 8 points with medium and long-range shots from the basket.

In other words, the Spurs brothers teamed up to score 26 points in the first half.

This score is not small, but the score is still behind, and all the crux lies in Li Shengli alone. No matter which line the Lakers play offensively, Li Shengli has made a lot of contributions in it, and no matter how the Lakers defend. The brothers and even the whole team have to try their best to avoid him.

……

How to fight this horse?

Popovich racked his brains and couldn't come up with a miraculous tactic. He could only fight for core state and effective time. The Spurs brothers were in the locker room. When they thought of the inability to chase points in the first half, they really wanted to cry. ah.

Although there is only a 5-point gap at present, what makes them flustered is that the Lakers' control of the field is too strong and too stable. Let alone catching up to these 5 points, it is a good thing if they are not pulled away in the third quarter, because the Spurs' ball transfer error is There are really a lot, at least a lot compared with the Lakers.

"Tim, can you still do it?" David Robinson secretly said to Duncan, not wanting his teammates to see this worry, but just wanting the Spurs to digest it internally.

"It's too difficult to play. At first we thought we were well prepared, but now... we still underestimate the Lakers and Lee!" Duncan usually doesn't have much expression on his face, but he still wants to win in the Western Conference finals, and his brows Locked and continued: "Li... To be honest, his offensive stability is terrifying, and his defense we still have to surround him. I may not be ready to compete with him, even if I encounter only Ben Wallace, if he comes to guard me, the main offense may need you to play."

"This should not be the case. After all, Ben Wallace's defense has passed the test, and Rodman can supplement it later, and you are too underestimating my role. Except for Li Nan, Ben Wallace and Rodman If you play, we can play high and low, unless I'm not there, otherwise he has no reason to go to you to defend."

The Spurs looked at each other and nodded, and Robinson continued: "It's the easiest to play a turnaround jumper with Barkley. I think we may choose to foul Ben Wallace, you know, from this time. This is not a new topic since the second round of the game, but the hacking tactics have not been banned by the league."

"But I don't think it's very useful!"

"Why doesn't it work, just let Ben Wallace make free throws, he's only 50% above normal."

"What I'm talking about is not this, but the Lakers can replace people who are not good at free throws at any time. Maybe my shots are higher, but the combination of Lee + Barkley + three guards will be more difficult for the Lakers. Don't forget After learning the lesson of the Trail Blazers, Li, who is quasi-5X5 in a single quarter, went crazy, and the two of us couldn't stop him."

Duncan said a few words, Robinson is not stunned, he can fully understand Duncan's thoughts, after all these years... Ewing and O'Neal are in the East, Olajuwon still has many helpers, and he is the only one who has been beaten and beaten. The most, so I know Li Shengli better than anyone else.

It's just that he was alone.

But now that a Duncan who doesn't need to grow up is waiting, the Spurs brothers will continue to be beaten together?When is this day?Is it possible that the West does not see the sun, only the Lakers?

The two brothers did not say a few words. The head coach Popovich called a meeting with all the staff and rearranged the tactics for the second half. Festival.

It's just that in this way of thinking... Sean, other than the Spurs brothers, has been upgraded to a higher level on the offensive end, and in the Lakers, Barkley, other than Li Shengli, has also been upgraded to a higher level.

……

Li Shengli can't get rid of it for the time being!

Then get rid of Barkley. After all, Barkley committed three fouls in the untargeted first half without playing two quarters. He rushed to Barkley's defense and made a few fouls. It's best to send it on.

Popovich thought differently than everyone else.

On the surface, everyone thinks that the Spurs are eager for the Lakers to put Barkley at the fourth position, but in fact... If you want to use the "slashing tactics" that the Blazers have expanded, then the Lakers can't have Barkley at the fourth position. It should be Big Ben with 35% of free throws and Rodman with 43% of free throws.

To be honest, hacking tactics only target the core, and can only target the core.

Just like O'Neal, the reason why the exclusive shark-slaying tactic is so powerful is because the Celtics can't come up with a substitute who can replace or partially replace O'Neal on both offensive and defensive ends, so the result is... either O'Neal is chopped, or It is the Celtics replacing the backup center, and both are offensive and defensive blows to the Celtics.

However, the effect of actively fouling non-core players is definitely much worse.

Because the opponent can directly choose to replace, and the replacement of role players does not have that much impact on the whole team. Specifically for the Lakers... the Spurs will start with Big Ben and Rodman, and the Lakers can replace Barkley.

But what if Barkley fouled out?

The Lakers dare not use Big Ben and Rodman. The only substitute they can use is Horry, who has just recovered from a back injury and has been on the bench for a long time. Objectively speaking... In terms of defense, Horry is not as good as Big Ben, Rodman, and Barkley. , Duncan will usher in a scoring explosion; offensively, Horry is not as good as Barkley, and the Lakers' offense has to be cut a little; overall, the Spurs have a greater advantage.

So this is the opportunity for the Spurs.

As long as Barkley is eliminated, the Lakers will either let Big Ben and Rodman come out and be cut, or put Horry and be beaten by Duncan, and the task of the Spurs in the third quarter is to stabilize the point difference. Barkley's foul, looking for opportunities in the final quarter.

……

The second half kicked off.

The Spurs still went first, and what surprised Li Shengli was that David Robinson had a rest, and he was replaced by veteran center forward Will Perdo. What was even more surprising was that the starting point of the tactics was not the Spurs brothers... Sean - Elliott.

When the fight started this round, Sean was still a little weird.

Because Li Shengli, Daben, and Barkley were all present, Barkley defended Sean, and Sean's offense was not in a hurry at all. After a long time, he finally found a chance. He held the ball with both hands and put Barkley's arm inside. , and then made a quick shot. Although there was no 2+1, he still got 2 free throws, 2 of 1.

And so back to the Lakers offense.

It's not that Li Shengli bullied Perdo, a ten-year veteran, but the problem is that Robinson has rested, and he must choose a weak point to break through, so he pushed his back all the way to the basket, but when he was about to turn around, Perdo touched him. , Going to the free throw line is also 2 of 1.

(End of this chapter)