Legendary star

Chapter 15 Suffocating Spurs (3)

As the main point guard of a team, Eric Snow threw the basketball to the team's small forward Billy Owens like a hot potato just after he dribbled the ball over the center line, and he started to Moved.As the main point guard of the 76ers, it has always been Eric Snow's dream to control the team's possession. - Snow is also nicknamed a dribbling guard. Although there are many such dribbling guards in the league, this title is by no means a compliment.In the second half, when Iverson gave up the ball and played off the ball, Eric Snow was also unwilling to control the ball for the first time. In fact, in the few rounds of offense just now, he almost lost confidence when he was defended by Meng Xu. For Meng Xu, I can't break Iverson, can't I break you?After two consecutive steals, Meng Xu also became more and more excited. He even started to press Eric Snow in the backcourt. Eric Snow nearly violated the halftime rule.

Billy Owens held the ball beyond the 3-point line and was stunned for 5 seconds. Seeing that Eric Snow had just run out of the point guard, he immediately passed the basketball in his hand, but Eric Snow After Ke Snow received the basketball, he was stunned for a moment, and then quickly passed the basketball back to Billy Owens.

Seeing Eric Snow who had lost confidence on the field, Larry Brown cursed angrily, and had to call a timeout to replace Eric Snow. Eric Snow was also very knowledgeable, seeing Larry Brown called a timeout, and his beating heart calmed down. After he got off the court, he wrapped his head in a towel. This meant that he couldn't understand it. I didn't want to play in this game.

After the timeout, Larry Brown replaced Eric Snow with the team's sixth man, Larry Hughes, as a shooting guard, while Iverson served as a point guard, attacking with the ball. If we don't open up the situation, I am afraid that the game will be lost in three quarters, and it will become garbage time.At the same time, Popovich also replaced the main force of the Spurs, preparing to suppress the 76ers' counterattack. The Spurs have already led by 3 points. As long as they withstand this wave of 76ers' counterattack, victory is within easy reach.

After Iverson came on the court, Meng Xu, whose confidence was high because he successfully defended Eric Snow just a few minutes ago, was instantly poured cold water. Compared with Eric Snow, Iverson's ball control The technology is more proficient, and the protection of the basketball is also more and more concealed. Although I clearly know Iverson's dribbling route and trajectory, there is no way to break the ball. The basketball is like a part of Iverson's body. If Meng Xu dared to reach out to break Iverson's ball, Iverson must have turned around to meet Meng Xu, and then Meng Xu would lose his position and be wiped behind by Iverson. Fortunately, the Spurs' defense The core is not Meng Xu, but Tim Duncan. For a player like Tim Duncan with his own defensive system, as long as he stands under the basket, he has a very strong deterrent effect on the entire paint area, not to mention With the assistance of David Robinson, the Spurs' inside line composed of Tim Duncan and David Robin has always been a well-known no-fly zone in the league. Now Meng Xu's appearance is equivalent to being on the periphery of Tim Duncan's defensive system. An insurance was added. Although Meng Xu's defense was broken through, Iverson passed the ball helplessly in the face of Tim Duncan's supplementary defense.

Seeing the situation on the court, Larry Brown's face became more and more ugly. Facing the Spurs, the 76ers' biggest reliance is Iverson, so once Iverson can't tear the Spurs' defense, then this game basically There is no hope of winning.Perimeter defense has always been one of the Spurs' weaknesses. This is the only place where the 76ers can cause trouble for the Spurs. Now this biggest weakness has disappeared. For the ambitious 76ers and Larry Brown, this is undoubtedly was a huge hit.

"The 76ers' offense is in trouble. Even Iverson is restricted now. Larry Brown needs to find a way. If he can't find a way to deal with the Spurs, then there may be no suspense in this game. .” Looking at Iverson who was in trouble on the field, Michaels was also a little helpless.

"The third quarter has been going on for 5 minutes. If you count the second half of the first half, the 76ers have not scored for 8 minutes. The Spurs' defense is really horrible." Since Larry Brown coached the 76ers , transforming the team into a team based on defense and playing slow-paced positional warfare. Although the average points per game has dropped significantly compared with previous seasons, it was also a team with an average of more than 93 points per game last season. And like today's game, the team only scored 3 points after playing nearly half of the 35 quarters, which has never been encountered before.

"After an 8-minute scoring drought, the 76ers finally made a 3-pointer from Larry Hughes."

After watching Iverson break through the ball and Larry Hughes hit a point guard for a 3-pointer, Larry Brown's frown was also slightly relaxed. In this 76ers, apart from Iverson, Larry Brown is the most The one to watch is Larry Hughes, last year's rookie and the sixth man that Larry Brown focused on training. Due to the conflict with Iverson's position on the court, Larry Hughes can only play as a substitute in the 76ers role.Originally, in Larry Brown's plan, it was planned to change Iverson from a point guard to a shooting guard, because Iverson's desire to attack the basket is too strong. What Sen is good at, this is why as a point guard, Iverson's assists have always been low. Only his rookie season exceeded 7 times, and the last two seasons were even less than 5 times. Larry Brown has been in some assists since last season. In the game, Iverson was allowed to play shooting guard, and the effect was very good. Iverson even won last year's scoring champion, but saw that Eric Snow, who was supported by Larry Brown in this game, was so bad. Performance, Larry Brown also retreated, constantly muttering in his heart, whether to let Iverson play back to his original position, straighten Larry Hughes, and play shooting guard.

"This game is over." Looking at the bloody score on the scoreboard, Michaels sentenced 76 to death in advance.When the two teams hit the official timeout in the third quarter, the Spurs had already led the 3ers by 59 points 41 to 76. If Iverson and Larry Hughes each hit a 18-pointer before the timeout, I am afraid that the point difference would still be close. To continue to expand, it is important that the 3ers have attacked the 76ers for several times in a row. They all ended with mid-range and long-range shots. A team is defended by another team to the point where it is difficult to get close to the basket. This also shows that this team has lost control of the field, then failure is inevitable.

"Meng, you did a good job." Although the statistics are not outstanding, Meng Xu's excellent defensive ability has brought a qualitative leap to the team's overall defensive ability. He easily defeated the 76ers just relying on defense. 76 is not a big team, and last season's scoring champion Iverson is also in the team.When Meng Xu returned to the bench, Popovich also praised Meng Xu very much, and even handed Meng Xu a towel himself. I've seen Popovich pass the towel to Duncan and David Robinson. Other players don't get that kind of treatment at all.

"Well, thank you, coach." After taking the towel, Meng Xu sat directly on the bench, glanced at the players around him, and wondered whether he would have a chance to play in the next game. Xu has played more than ten minutes in total, with 4 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Although this kind of data is very good for a substitute player, he must not have much experience and points after the game.Just after the start of this season, Popovich and Meng Xu had a separate conversation. The content of the conversation included Meng Xu's future training content, playing time, and positioning in the team, etc. Popovich promised, With Meng Xu's current physical condition, Meng Xu will be given about 10 minutes of playing time in each game at the beginning of the season, and as Meng Xu's physical fitness continues to improve, the playing time will continue to increase.

(End of this chapter)