The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 193 Great Victory over the Old Club

In the second half, the Lakers showed their offensive power, especially Nick Young, who scored in various singles, and sometimes made it difficult for himself.

If you don't look at shots and hits, this buddy can also be an All-Star.

Bosh played with high efficiency on the Heat's side. Basically, Zhang Xiaotian's game was stable before he showed his power.

Although the rebounds are still not in double figures, Bosh scored 31 points, which also showed his ferocity on the offensive end.

The Lakers without Kobe have always lost a lot of topics. Next, the Heat will accept the challenge of the two strong teams in the West at home, which is what attracts the attention of fans.

Especially when the Heat played against the Spurs, their opponents met again in the finals, and Zhang Xiaotian fought against his old club, no matter what the topic was, the discussions were in full swing.

It's a pity that the Spurs' three generals, Leonard, Danny Green, and Splitter, are absent. Although it is a strong duel, it is not a pinnacle battle.

The characteristics of the Spurs, they don't care much about the strong matchups in the regular season, they might as well save some energy and win all the games that are easy to win.

The Heat are still different, Chalmers and Wade are planning to come back at this time.

They want to win the championship against the opponent who shattered their dreams to strengthen their determination.

Both have suffered injuries, but they are still No. [-] in the East and West. This is the difference between a strong team and a weak team.

During the regular season, as long as the really strong teams show [-]% of their strength, they can sweep the entire field.

So although the Spurs lineup is incomplete, there are still a lot of fans who pay attention.

Zhang Xiaotian's fans are also looking forward to it, this is the first time Zhang Xiaotian has encountered his old club.

Needless to say, when he came to his territory, Zhang Xiaotian contacted his former teammates early on, and asked them to have a rubbing meal before the game.

Although he left the Spurs, Zhang Xiaotian did not break contact with his former teammates.

Now he has the best relationship with a few players in the Spurs.

It's just a collision in the regular season, and meeting the big shots of the Spurs is still easy and enjoyable.

Zhang Xiaotian also joked with Popovich, asking the old man to put some water in the game to make him feel refreshed.

Popovich wasn't angry either. Regardless of his usual serious look, he often joked, "It's okay to let the water go. As long as you come back to play for me in the future, I will decide the salary."

Not being under the old man's hands, Zhang Xiaotian also relaxed a lot, and immediately smiled: "Okay, as long as the old man says a word, no, don't need a word, two words are enough, top... Hahaha..."

On January 1, the Heat collided with the No. 26 Spurs in the Western Conference at home.

Wade will return in this game, but did not start.

In order to limit James, the Spurs specially let Diaw start at the fourth position.

There is no way, without Leonard and Danny Green, even if Wade doesn't play hard for some days, who will they use to limit James and Zhang Xiaotian.

In fact, the Spurs are one of the few teams that have more than one defensive champion and can fight the Heat, but such a scene is estimated to be in the future.

Corey Joseph, who replaced the starting lineup, was okay defensively, but Marco Belinelli, who was at the third position, was not good.

Belinelli is still suitable for the Spurs as a new aid, but he can only be a substitute, and the starting defense is not qualified.

The Spurs signed him to save money. It is rare for a strong team to save as much as the Spurs. This season they saved millions of dollars, and they are the number one in the Western Conference.

But Duncan is one year older, and the Spurs have to prepare early.

Although Zhang Xiaotian also expressed his indignation at Duncan's failure to be selected as an All-Star, it is a fact that Old Shifo's ability has declined.

James also murmured a few words with Zhang Xiaotian before the game, saying that he would support him to show his face in front of his old club.

This can be regarded as an unspoken rule of the league. Players will form a tacit understanding, and the coach will pretend not to know.

Of course, in terms of playing time and tactical arrangements, coaches generally understand the taste.

The Spurs started with the familiar duo of Parker and Duncan. The key is that this set really works.

The two of them happened to be facing the two weak positions of the Heat, and the efficiency was not bad.

But their defense must be more difficult, James' performance can only be said to be average.

Although Duncan is old, he still has a deterrent effect in the interior defense. Compared with Garnett, Duncan's state is much better.

Besides, James is a little uncomfortable facing the old opponent of the Spurs, and the Spurs have studied him thoroughly.

Just to let Zhang Xiaotian perform, James can be regarded as focusing on the organization, playing for Bosh and Zhang Xiaotian.

Belinelli runs aggressively without the ball and has a threatening outside shot, but his strength, speed and height are not as good as Zhang Xiaotian.

It was also because the Spurs lacked the third position that Belinelli stepped up. He is actually a defender.

Faced with this situation, Zhang Xiaotian has nothing to say, he will do it when he catches the ball.

If he hits hard, it will be really difficult for Belinelli to stop him.

Bosh also has a good touch. He pulled out and shot several times. He always couldn't take advantage of Duncan, but this time at least it was a tie on the offensive end.

Duncan's movement is slower now, and it is difficult to prevent it.

Of course, if it is against the inside, Bosh is not as good as the old man.

Both sides have played their own characteristics, but after all, the Heat's players are more talented.

Coupled with Ginobili's habit of hitting iron during the rotation period, the Heat firmly established an advantage in the first half.

If it weren't for Duncan who saw the situation was not good and worked hard inside a few times, scoring 17 points in the first half, the Spurs' current situation would be even worse.

Playing against the Heat, it is impossible for them to make waves without having three main players.

At the beginning of the second half, Duncan made consecutive hits, and the Heat finally couldn't bear it and chose to shrink the defense.

At this time, I can only lament the lack of strength of other Spurs players, not only role players, Parker and Ginobili also failed to stand up.

The Spurs also like to play outside, but they have a shortcoming, that is, the most critical players are not very stable outside shooting, this outside refers to the three-point line.

Therefore, when the Spurs win a big victory, the backup shooter must perform well.

Because the team is strong enough, it is difficult for ordinary teams to cause their problems, unless it is at the level of the Heat.

In the third quarter, James, Bosh and Zhang Xiaotian showed their power together, leading the team to play a wave, directly leading the Spurs by 20 points.

The Spurs did not have the habit of struggling and went straight to the bench.

The Heat also withdrew the main force, and only let Wade, who served as a substitute in this game, find a feeling with the real substitute.

In the end, the Heat beat the Spurs by 22 points, which greatly refreshed the home fans.

Zhang Xiaotian scored 16 points and 5 rebounds, all of which were obtained in the first three quarters. This feeling is very good.

Unknowingly, he has grown a lot since he entered the league, and Popovich sighed as he watched from the sidelines.

(End of this chapter)