Showdown, I'm the God of Basketball

Chapter 331 Let Me Treat You
On June 6, the Cavaliers played against the Spurs in Game 12 of the Finals.

Before the game, Barkley said on his talk show: "Honestly, I have forgotten who the last player who scored 50 points in the Finals was.

More importantly, Zhao Hao was able to score such a high score without a single free throw.

His breakthrough and shooting ability are really outstanding! "

Regarding this, Cole nodded in agreement.

He has been paying attention to Zhao Hao's performance in the playoffs since the beginning of the playoffs, especially in the series against the Pistons.

Zhao Hao's involvement on the outside and the toughness shown are things that most players don't have.

In the finals, facing the more seasoned Spurs, the Cavaliers obviously lacked in adaptability!

They should have lost the first game of the finals as well.

But who would have thought that Zhao Hao would explode suddenly and perform such a jaw-dropping performance on such a high stage in the finals!
This is why the Cavaliers were able to take the lead and win the first game in the end.

After all, that was 50 points, and Zhao Hao accounted for almost half of the Cavaliers' points alone!

"But let's not forget that Popovich is one of the top coaches in the league.

The Spurs are also the most resilient team in the league, and they have a clear advantage in overall strength!

Therefore, it is not easy to say whether the Cavaliers can win the next game. " Cole said pertinently.

Hearing this, Barkley also showed his iconic big mouth, and said with a smile: "Unless Zhao Hao can score 50 points every night, then the Cavaliers can sit back and relax.

But based on my understanding of the Spurs, Zhao Hao's end in this game is probably not good! "

On the court, the game has already started at this time.

Both teams are still regular starters.

In the first quarter of the game, James was still emptied three meters away by Bowen from the outside.

And after experiencing the last game, James has already understood the powerful relationship here.

Therefore, not only does he have to shoot three-pointers from the outside, but he also has to shoot when he has an opportunity!
Because it could be related to his entire career!

Raise your hand and move your wrist.

The basketball hit the back edge of the basket with a very positive range, bounced vertically and then fell straight down.

Swish!
The ball is in!
After the ball was scored, Lao Zhan also greeted his teammates with confidence.

He's taking everyone home tonight!

Popovich smiled from the sidelines, then gave James two thumbs up again.

Old Zhan: .
The Spurs are still playing Duncan's inside singles.

After the last game, Mike Brown also competently explained Duncan's offensive habits and ability characteristics to Marshall and Gooden.

In the years when he was an assistant coach for the Spurs, what Mike Brown did most was to talk about defensive tactics and experience with Duncan.

And Duncan is indeed one of the players who are best at defending the inside.

His defense does not have the combination of strength and speed like Big Ben, and even in terms of jumping, Duncan is only the average inside the league.

However, Mike Brown can say with certainty that this is Duncan, but his defensive ability is at the same level as Big Ben!
It's just that in terms of defensive statistics, great instincts for running and jumping and highly ornamental physical talents are more likely to be favored by the judges.

That's why Big Ben has so many DPOY!

And when Duncan defends inside, he almost never jumps, just jams the opponent's footsteps and prevents the opponent from getting closer to the basket.

Anyone can do this!

It is also the most basic defensive ability.

But the problem is that no one has done as well as Duncan!
Because when Duncan is defending, he almost never loses his position inside. No matter how gorgeous the opponent's footsteps are, he can keep up steadily.

And apart from O'Neal who has the upper hand on Duncan in terms of strength while possessing gorgeous inside skills, there is hardly any player in the NBA who can easily take on Duncan!

Moreover, Duncan can be called the top in the league in assisting defense, especially in defending the breakthrough of outside players.

A breakthrough master like Iverson can come and go inside freely when facing O'Neal, but when facing Duncan.
If Zhao Hao remembers correctly, Iverson met the Spurs in the first year after being traded to the Nuggets.

In that round of the series, Iverson's shooting percentage was only 29%!

Of course, although Mike Brown doesn't know this, it doesn't affect Chen Zan Duncan's ability to understand inside defense at all.

but!

During that period of contact, what surprised Mike Brown the most was not Duncan's excellent defensive ability.

But his offensive ability!

Duncan has almost the same extremely soft shooting touch as Yao Ming, which also allows him to shoot almost anywhere in the penalty area and half-block area.

Even if it is a long-range two-pointer, Duncan will hardly have a big problem.

This means that Duncan has solved the most fatal weakness of most interiors, that is, double-teaming and defense around the front.

Duncan, who has a good shot, doesn't even bother to force his position in the interior every time, and force his opponent.

So double-teaming and defense around the front hardly work for him!

Because he prefers to catch the ball at the waist or the free throw line, and with his good coping ability, he can almost become the team's starting point and tactical executor at the same time when he is the team's offensive end point.

This is why Duncan can be rated as the core of the team that has been rarely seen in ten years!

Because he is so comprehensive that he can perfectly adapt to any tactics.

So defending Duncan, Mike Brown can be sure that he must not double-team!
And he knows better than anyone that the Spurs have always used Duncan as the core of their tactics.

Popovich seems to be a master of offense and plays team basketball. In fact, every tactic of his is based on Duncan's offensive axis!
Therefore, after Mike Browns thought about it, a better defensive strategy for Marshall and Gooden is to consume desperately!
That's right, that's what Mike Brown got.

Because Duncan is so perfect that he can't guard against it at all!

Except when the Pistons won the championship, the inside double Wallace combination wasted in turns, I am afraid that no team in the league can have any other way to defend Duncan!

Therefore, at this time on the court, Marshall, who was in charge of defending Duncan, began to frequently push and rub Duncan inside, and used all kinds of hands to consume Duncan's physical strength.

On the offensive end, Marshall and Gooden also began to change their tactics of standing in the bottom corner and waiting for three-pointers in the previous game.

With James having difficulty passing the ball, they are now starting to run back and forth on the court.

After Duncan saw such a change, he was also stunned on the field for a moment, and then instinctively kept up, but after running for two or three rounds, he found something was wrong!
Why is this shit running the whole round, do you think you are Hamilton!You are an insider!It's okay to run around!
Duncan Blue has lost weight!
After seeing this scene, Popovich snorted in displeasure.

In terms of defensive recognition for Mike Brown, he should be the only one in the league now.

Therefore, Mike Brown's defensive arrangement will indeed have some impact on Duncan.

However, Popovich has some ways to deal with this on the court.

The first quarter is over.

James made 17 of 6 shots from beyond the three-point line and scored 23 points in a single quarter.

At the same time, Duncan of the Spurs was exhausted due to running back and forth in this game. Compared with the previous game, he only scored 13 of 8 shots and also scored 23 points.

The Cavaliers also coincidentally drew a 30:30 tie with the Spurs at this time!
"You couldn't even open the score in the first quarter, old man, let's see how you deal with my Xiao Wang in the second quarter!"

Mike Brown is thinking like this, the second quarter of the game has begun!
Zhao Hao attacked with the ball.

And in this game, after learning the lessons from the previous game, the Spurs did not dare to allow Bo Wen to continue playing to restrict Zhao Hao.

So, let Ginobili be the main defense!
Zhao Hao did not hesitate, and decisively tried to single Ginobili on the outside.

There was no accident this time. With just two simple butterfly crossing steps, Ginobili was swayed away.

Zhao Hao hit the basket!
"Hey, what kind of defense is this!"

Zhao Hao, who was about to go to the basket, saw that the half-block in front of him was empty!
And Muhammad on the inside just took a step forward, and then stood outside the paint to guard the basket, and then made a gesture of please to Zhao Hao, who was in the half-block position!
"The Spurs are going to release my mid-range shot!"

Zhao Hao also knows his mid-range shooting level too well.

Although relying on his current understanding of shooting and the control of his touch, Zhao Hao can shoot mid-range shots at a super level with his current shooting ability.

But it's not a long-term thing to be let go like this all the time!

At this time, Zhao Hao could only pull the ball out again, preparing to end this wave of offense with a three-pointer.

But at the same time, Ginobili also returned to the defensive formation!
This wave of defensive arrangements is really clear!

Zhao Hao also took a special look at Popovich on the sidelines, and the old man smiled at him very badly.

Zhao Hao also wants to say that you, Popovich, are really a booster for league stars.

Not to mention helping James in his previous life improve his outside shooting ability, is it possible to help him improve his mid-range shooting now?
But it's too late now!
In the end, Zhao Hao could only force a three-pointer from the outside.

Duang!

An unsurprising strike ended the round.

At the same time, Mike Brown, who is also a defensive master on the sidelines, also clearly saw the Spurs' defensive changes on the field.

"Zhao Hao's offense in this game may suffer!"

It's just that after discovering this, the dull Mike Brown didn't immediately call a timeout to deal with the change.

Maybe he didn't think about how to deal with such a change at all.

In short, Zhao Hao can only continue to play singles on the court.

But in the end, the Spurs' defensive strategy was the same no matter whether Zhao Hao asked the big Z inside to come out for a pick-and-roll, or let Snow come over to make a substitution.

Just let Zhao Hao's mid-range shot go!

"This kid is a bit smart."

Popovich on the sidelines couldn't help boasting after seeing Zhao Hao's handling of the ball and his adaptability.

Although Zhao Hao is still working hard on the court to use the best method to solve the Spurs' defensive changes, no matter what, his explosive offense was finally blocked in this game!

In the second quarter of the game, the Spurs also relied on the team offense and the offensive expertise of Ginobili and Parker to firmly overwhelm the Cavaliers!
52: 58!

The Cavaliers are 6 points behind!
James also tried to take over the game in the third quarter after discovering that Zhao Hao's game was restricted by the seasoned Spurs.

He began to frequently attack Bowen to the inside!

Even if Bowen's defense is very good, James can resist and kill to the basket.

It's just that this style of play is really exhausting to the body, and it's impossible for James to play like this from the third quarter to the end of the fourth quarter!

So after James played two or three rounds, Zhao Hao also took the ball and continued his singles.

It's just that his mid-range shooting percentage is really not high. By this time in the third quarter, he only shot 10 of 3.

Such a shooting percentage can't kill the Spurs!
So by the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers had fallen behind the Spurs by as much as 12 points!
In the fourth quarter of the game.

The Spurs, the most stable team in the league, will naturally not give the Cavaliers any chance to comeback.

And Zhuge Weiwei also cleverly let the players on the field play with a subdued rhythm at this time, completely restraining Zhao Hao and James' possible counterattack and fast break.

So in this way, the Cavaliers have no final hope of a comeback.

Finally, 99:112!

The Cavaliers lost the second game with a big score of 1:1!

"As I said, the Spurs are the most consistent team in the league, and they were the defending champions last season.

And from what I know of Popovich, the first game was just a test for him.

In other words, it will be difficult for the Cavaliers to win a game from now on, and they will also be eliminated 4:1. "

As a star of the Suns without a championship, Barkley really knows Popovich too well.

In the 97-98 season, he met Popovich, who had just become the head coach of the NBA, in the playoffs.

In that round of the playoffs, with the big dream Olajuwon, the Jets Drexler and his flying pigs in the air, the Mosaic team was eliminated by Popovich 3-1.

And the reason why he was eliminated so easily is that Popovich didn't play his cards according to the routine at all!
In that round of the series, the style of play he arranged for the Spurs turned out to be a fast break with speed, and try to use the Admiral and Duncan's various backs in the paint to consume the physical energy of the three.

Popovich also insisted on exhausting the 35-year-old Olajuwon, 35-year-old Barkley and 36-year-old Drexler in that round of the series.

And this first-generation version of the Big Three, just before entering the finals to meet the Bulls, was exhausted and swept home by Popovich ahead of schedule.

Barkley also failed to avenge his shame in front of his lifelong enemy Jordan.

So early defeat!

And that year, Jordan won the championship again.

Barkley hates it, this is his fate too!

"I agree with you. It is really difficult for the Cavaliers to win a game later, unless there is a miracle."

In the end, Cole couldn't help but take a look at Zhao Hao's stats in this game.

22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Compared with the explosive performance in the previous game, Zhao Hao's performance this time was so flat, and his hit rate returned to the level of ordinary people.

Although James still steadily contributed 32 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in this game, in fact, no matter how the Spurs target James, he can basically win such a performance.

But this performance is not enough!
Far from enough!

With the overall strength of the Spurs clearly superior, if the Cavaliers want to win, Zhao Hao and James must at least stand up alone!
This is what Cole called a miracle.

At the same time, Kobe, who was already on vacation with Vanessa in Hawaii, also turned off the TV, and then he couldn't help but sighed.

"If the Spurs dare to put my mid-range like this in a game, I guarantee they can't even recognize them!
Although Zhao Hao has developed a good breakthrough ability during the off-season, the middle distance is too fucking rubbish!
You fake your shoulders first, then make a beautiful change of footsteps, then walk to the free throw line, and then directly make a graceful fadeaway jumper, isn't it delicious? "

Thinking of this, Kobe's small eyes flashed strangely.

"During the off-season, let him train with me!

When the time comes I teach him the middle distance and he teaches me.
He can teach me a knitting, breakthrough, three-pointer, which I have already mastered!

But that guy's understanding of three-pointers and breakthroughs is at the same level as mine, and he has his own unique things. We can discuss with each other.

And since the kid was traded, I haven't met a player who dares to talk trash to me in practice.

Head-to-head is a disease that needs to be cured! "

At this time, the door of the bathroom opened suddenly, and Vanessa came out.

"Let me treat you."

(End of this chapter)