Legendary star

Chapter 18 Spurs and Rockets

"David, what are you doing?" When the game between the two teams officially started, Popovich yelled loudly at David Robinson on the court.

The game between the Spurs and the Rockets has always been the focus of the league. Without him, the duel between the four major centers is enough to attract attention no matter when and where, although now three of the four major centers are already very old.It’s just that what has always made the Spurs more embarrassing is that since entering the league, David Robinson has basically been hanged and beaten whenever he met Olajuwon. The other two of the four major centers, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson Similar, but David Robinson is better than Patrick in all aspects, and O'Neill has stronger physical talent and is younger, but David Robinson can also rely on game experience and diversity of offensive methods. O'Neal is inextricably linked, but only when he met Olajuwon, David Robinson was restrained to death. His physical talent is not as good as Olajuwon's, and his skills are not as good as Olajuwon. He has played against Olajuwon for more than 3 consecutive years David Robinson was even overshadowed by Olajuwon, and even according to Rodman, before the Spurs-Rockets series in the 10 playoffs, David Robinson trembled in the locker room before the game, and that round of the series Not surprisingly, David Robinson was blown away by Olajuwon.

After the start of the game, Olajuwon appeared to be in good condition. He beat Tim Duncan to win the ball for the Rockets when he jumped the ball. Under Tim Duncan's joint defense, he only succeeded once, but the dunk against David Robinson also made David Robinson lingering.Although the Spurs have gradually reversed their previous momentum against the Rockets since Tim Duncan joined the team, this dunk is like a key, unlocking the lock in David Robinson's heart again, and David Robinson seems to recall Recalling the fear of being dominated by Olajuwon in the past, the past of being beaten and crying by Olajuwon in the series is vivid.After Olajuwon received the ball again in the interior, David Robinson hesitated and posted it to defend Olajuwon without the first time. Seeing this situation on the field, Popovich also made a very rare rush. Watching David Robinson go crazy.

"Hey, big man, they said your defense is great, so let me test your quality in this game." Just above the free throw line, Meng Xu was close to the Rockets' small When forward Walter Williams, Francis took the initiative to find Meng Xu.

According to the unspoken rules of the NBA, the first few offenses in the opening game have to be completed by the boss or the boss of the team. In today's Rockets, Francis obviously cannot be called the boss. In the three opening offenses, Francis After dribbling the ball for half court, hand the basketball to Olajuwon or Barkley, and then run without the ball, tearing the Spurs' defense.In contrast, Meng Xu was much colder. He didn't even touch the basketball after playing for 3 minutes, and Walter Williams, who was defending himself, was also a master who couldn't touch the basketball. The two spent most of the time. Sitting and running back and forth with no effort, although Popovich's tactical arrangement before the game required Meng Xu to help defend Francis, but Francis did not have a basketball in his hand, and Meng Xu could not leave his defensive object to defend Francis. But now it's different, Francis actually took the initiative to switch positions with Walter Williams and faced Meng Xu.

"The last person who told me this is still lying in the hospital." Meng Xu laughed just after he finished speaking. If Sean Elliott heard it, he wondered if he would beat himself up. a meal.

"Boy, I'll find out later, you'll have to suffer." Hearing Meng Xu's ridicule, Francis rolled his eyes angrily.

But looking at Francis, who is half a head lower than himself, Meng Xu still admires his courage or self-confidence. After gaining weight, Meng Xu's weight is obviously a little bigger than Francis. Dare to take the initiative to find himself, whether it is courage or arrogance, anyway, Meng Xu believes that he does not have the guts to go against Olajuwon, although Olajuwon is very old and is no longer at the peak .

"This game was really fierce. The tactics of the two teams are very clear, that is, to play inside. Olajuwon looked very excited in this game. He personally completed the first few offenses. Tim of the Spurs It's the same with Duncan, as long as Olajuwon scores a goal, Tim Duncan will find a way to fight back, and the scores of the two teams are completely tied."

Although the tactics of the two teams are to play positional battles and play inside, the success rate is indeed appallingly low. In the opening 4 minutes, the two teams played 7 rounds, but the score was 4:4. Most of the offensive results were The defense of these two teams is simply too good, or the two teams are too familiar with each other. The opponent's tactics and offensive and defensive characteristics are completely nothing new for their own side.

However, Popovich is quite satisfied with the current situation on the court. Except for David Robinson, who will become timid whenever he meets Olajuwon as always, everything else is very in line with his inner requirements. The rhythm of the game, the suffocating defense, including the endless sound of iron strikes on the court, for Popovich, all of these are like a wonderful concert, which is very pleasing.This kind of slow-paced game where both sides fight to defend belongs to the Spurs' own game rhythm. No matter which team it is, as long as they give up their own tactics and the game rhythm they are familiar with, they will be dragged into their own game rhythm by the Spurs. , then the final result is certainly self-evident.

Perhaps because of the decline in physical strength, Olajuwon stopped playing hard inside and began to cooperate with Barkley and others. David Robinson was also relieved to see that Olajuwon no longer beat himself hard.

This offense is finally Francis' turn to control the ball. The tactics arranged by the head coach before the game are to let Olajuwon and Barkley play inside first, killing David Robinson and Tim Duncan. If Olajuwon can't start the situation , and Francis is attacking with the ball on the outside.

After more than 4 points in the game, Meng Xu finally ushered in the first matchup with Francis. After Francis appeared outside the 3-point line with the ball, Meng Xu appeared half a step ahead of Francis. , arms outstretched, staring at the basketball under Francis, ready to block his dribbling route.Since Meng Xu defended Iverson in the first game, Meng Xu, who has two A-level defensive skills, even if he can predict Iverson's breakthrough and dribbling route in advance, still has no way to steal Iverson, or even give After being teased by Iverson, Meng Xu found little Loriana and asked the reason carefully. Anna told Meng Xu that although the sixth sense is powerful, this skill is not invincible, because The league's top defenders are all gifted with ball control. The sixth sense can predict their dribbling routes and trajectories. They can also detect some actions of defensive players. Coupled with Meng Xu's stealing attributes The attributes of judgment and judgment are not too high, and it will also bring some problems such as the slow speed of stealing. This is why Meng Xu did not even have a successful steal in the face of stealing Iverson. Forward players, or guards without ball-handling talents, are more likely to steal.Whether Francis has this kind of talent, Meng Xu doesn't know, maybe he was a little embarrassed by Iverson, maybe it's the pressure of the system task, facing Francis this time, Meng Xu seemed very cautious, and didn't rush forward to try Steal the ball.

Seeing Francis being entangled by Meng Xu, when the team's small forward Walter Williams wanted to cover for him, Francis waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need his help, and he wanted to fight Meng Xu one-on-one. .

(End of this chapter)