The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 118 Must Hit
In the second half of the Spurs and Grizzlies, everyone followed the most normal rhythm.

The Spurs started with a duo of Parker and Duncan, while the Grizzlies played inside.

But different from the previous game, Duncan rested for a few days and was full of energy. He didn't have any difficulty fighting Randolph, and naturally there was no threat of too many fouls.

The Twin Towers often use Randolph to launch the offensive singles, and he is limited by Duncan, and the Grizzlies will definitely have problems with the inside attack.

So they really want to use the outside line to break the game. With the help of the outside line, they have to make substitutions, and the defense of the outside line will weaken again. This is the trouble of the Grizzlies.

Moreover, even a substitution may not necessarily solve the problem. The Grizzlies' outside touch depends on luck.

Fortunately, the Bears had some troubles offensively, but their defense and rebounds were still good. Thanks to a few offensive rebounds, the Grizzlies got a chance to score points from the outside.

The two sides came and went, and finally after Ginobili and Zhang Xiaotian played, the score was fixed at 64:65 at the end of the third quarter, with a gap of 1 point, and the final quarter was close to life and death.

The two teams played extremely cautiously. When the Grizzlies reached this juncture, Conley, Randolph and Gasol almost never played, and there were only seven players in the normal rotation.

The Spurs are slightly better. They have been in the shooter group a few times, but they are all short-term attempts. Duncan and Parker must at least lead the team. Before the final quarter, only Ginobili and Matt Bonner were the substitutes who played more minutes. Both Dior and Dior stepped forward to push the inside line for a while.

It can be seen from this that the two teams attach great importance to this game, and there is no room for loss. This is an attitude.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Manu Ginobili broke through and scored, Zhang Xiaotian hit a three-pointer, and the Spurs overtook the score.

After taking the lead, the Spurs still chose to shrink in defense, not giving the bears any room for singles.

This Conley stood up. Conley, a guard, usually performs as a qualified starter, but at critical moments, he can often explode at the All-Star level, and he is the contributor to the Grizzlies' promotion.

Seeing that there was no chance inside, he made a decisive shot after receiving the return pass, and made a mid-range shot that caused Parker to foul.

2+1, the score became the Grizzlies lead again.

But then Duncan hit two more points, and the shot was unambiguous.

On the Grizzlies side, there are still only outside shots. The Spurs would rather give them shots than allow them to cause damage inside.

It's just that even if the Grizzlies don't play with the ball inside, their threat is still great, and that is the rebound.

Jerry Bayless missed, Randolph grabbed the offensive rebound and was about to score easily, Ginobili rushed up and fouled directly, the Argentine has very sophisticated experience in this area.

It doesn't matter if he fouls a few times on the outside. It's best not to cause trouble on Duncan's side.

The Spurs made two free throws and made a profit. The Grizzlies' two inside free throws were actually not bad, but the fierce confrontation in the playoffs was targeted by the Spurs in turn, and they were also affected.

Looking back, the Spurs attacked Ginobili with a three-pointer, killing people.

The Spurs' two offensive players, Parker and Ginobili, are offensive types hovering between reasonable and unreasonable. Most of the time they play as a team, but they will come when they are cold, which is unbearable.

And when Zhang Xiaotian holds the ball, most of the offense is to end the attack, and the sudden split is usually near the penalty area. There is still a difference between the organizational ability and the boss.

At this time, the Grizzlies had Conley stand up again and hit a three-pointer to ensure that the score did not open.

For the Spurs, this is bad news and good news. Conley is not Curry's kind of cheating. Pondexter was out of order.

When Zhang Xiaotian hit two points in singles again, the Grizzlies could only choose to make a change and let Tony Allen play.

Tony Allen has a strong defense and a mediocre offense. After the adjustment, the Grizzlies can only play hard with Conley or a pair of bears.

When players are on the court, sometimes they cannot fully read the data. When Zhang Xiaotian plays, it is actually a time when the balance of victory between the two sides is unbalanced.

The Spurs also made adjustments, with Ginobili and Duncan resting, Leonard and Splitter on.

With this lineup, Zhang Xiaotian's chances of holding the ball increased.

Now Popovich doesn't care whether Zhang Xiaotian is singles or what, he can only do something offensively, the old man doesn't care.

After the Grizzlies adjusted, the two rounds were black and white, but Randolph grabbed an offensive rebound and scored 2 points, and he used Gasol to force another foul.

Without Duncan on the court, even if the Spurs shrink, it won't work. After all, the Bears are not that kind of rough guys. They both have a mid-range shot.

Fortunately, Zhang Xiaotian and Parker played a pick-and-roll, but the root of the Spurs' troubles is still inside, so Duncan came up again before his butt was hot on the bench.

When he can rest, Popovich will try his best to let the old stone Buddha rest. This is also to keep his energy on the court when he needs to play. Now is the time to work hard.

After Duncan came on the court, he used his actions to show why he is a historical power forward. Randolph thought it was Matt Bonner, and he immediately got a big hat.

Then the Spurs counterattacked Parker and hit the mid-range shot directly, and the form was different immediately.

The Grizzlies saw that Duncan was not so easy to play on the inside after he came up, and tried to launch an offense from the outside, but this time he was blocked by Leonard. Obviously, shooting in front of Leonard should not be taken lightly.

After going out of bounds, the Grizzlies attacked and shot again, but there was a problem with the rebound. Gasol got the offensive rebound and scored another point.

Popovich yelled again on the court. He was reminding Duncan to protect the rebound. Duncan touched his head and looked calm, as if he didn't hear it at all.

With 4 minutes left in the game, the Grizzlies replaced the final lineup, the unshakeable three, plus Tony Allen and the highest shooting percentage of the backup shooter.

Popovich hesitated for a moment, took Leonard, and let Ginobili and Zhang Xiaotian partner.

At the critical moment of victory or defeat, Popovich was extremely rational. Anyone could sit on the bench. Leonard didn't feel good today, so it could only be a tragedy.

On the Grizzlies side, Mike Conley hit Parker in singles.

He was not soft at critical moments, so some fans joked that in the playoffs, Parker and Conley are eligible to compete for the strongest point guard.

Parker wanted to save face, but after Conley pulled up his shot, he was blocked by Tony Allen, who was defending.

The Grizzlies hit a counterattack, and at 2 minutes and 22 seconds, the two sides tied again.

The Spurs paused and replaced Matt Bonner to open up the offensive space.

After a timeout, Zhang Xiaotian received the ball, but instead of passing it out, he made a gesture of holding the ball and playing.

He's in front of him, first team All-Defensive Tony Allen, and he has to hit.

Popovich will forgive a player who can score, but he will not condone a guy who still hits the iron after stopping the ball.

(End of this chapter)