The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 243

At this point in the game, there is no doubt about the help Zhang Xiaotian brought to the Heat. The actions of the Spurs last year were also considered extremely stupid.

This is not the first time this topic has been mentioned, but before it was the extent to which the Heat had made a good deal.

Now on the battlefield of the finals, the problem of reaction is to update emotions.

The Spurs fans are also very depressed. After all, the price for the Heat to win Zhang Xiaotian is not very high.

Popovich, who knows everything, just shook his head. Such things will not affect the Spurs.

At that time, no one would have expected the current situation, and Zhang Xiaotian may not grow up to what he is today in the Spurs.

This is what Popovich doesn't understand, and Zhang Xiaotian will continue to grow if he stays in the Spurs.

But now the old man is thinking about whether he can come back after falling behind 1:3.

The Spurs are not afraid of fighting, but Popovich also understands that the possibility of a comeback is already very low.

Zhang Xiaotian made the Heat more stable, and the Spurs must be a little lucky to win.

Of course, if you want to win three games in a row, you must be lucky.

On June 6th, the fifth game of the finals kicked off.

This time Zhang Xiaotian no longer has the key game skills, but with the previous performance, the Spurs will definitely be allocated some defensive energy by him.

The main lineups of both sides have not changed. In fact, there are no mistakes in the tactics of the two teams, but the Heat players are slightly stronger and do better at critical moments.

At the start of the game, the Spurs let Diaw defend James first.

This is a test. After knowing James' outside shooting touch, they will make targeted arrangements.

It's just that although the Spurs have no intention of admitting defeat, their morale is not as good as that of the Heat.

James started like a rainbow, with two points and three points to help defend and block shots.

However, the Spurs are not only in trouble on the defensive end, but also on the offensive end. Duncan has not been able to continue to wreak havoc on the inside.

The Heat quickly expanded their advantage to more than 10 points, and it seemed that they were going to destroy the Spurs in one go.

But the Spurs are the Spurs, and they're not that easy to beat.

Defensive adjustments, Leonard's main defense against James, and offensive adjustments, Leonard got more opportunities.

Regardless of what Popovich had in mind, the adjustment worked.

Although Leonard's performance was not as dazzling as James, he played steadily, scoring and offensive rebounds, helping the Spurs quickly stabilize and slowly chase the score back.

Only then did everyone discover that Leonard is fully capable of becoming the new core of the Spurs.

Compared with the previous three games, Zhang Xiaotian, who had not activated his skills, had a harder time defending Leonard.

Fortunately, James relieved some of the pressure. Apart from defending, he quietly became a spot-up shooter, and the coaches on both sides couldn't understand it.

But it's strange to let go of this point. His performance is still good, and his defense is hardworking and desperate.

However, trouble still came during the rotation period. Ginobili hit consecutively to help the Spurs chase points.

Ray Allen was completely crushed by the opponent, and Spoelstra was unambiguous, and he was the main force ahead of schedule.

As long as you win another game, you will be the championship. Even Spoelstra on Wade's side said hello early, and they are ready to play for more than 10 minutes.

This is the difference between the playoffs and the regular season. It is impossible to fight with the main force in the regular season, so when it comes to the battlefield of life and death, the ending may be different in many cases.

If the bench lineup is weak, just use the main force to carry it over.

The Heat also disrupted their own rhythm, and the second quarter felt a little bad.

Fortunately, Parker and Duncan also had some problems. Their offense relied on Leonard and Ginobili.

Both championship-level teams have more players and more ways to play.

The Heat's bad hand feeling also strengthened the need for fouls on breakthroughs, and they also have this ability.

Each team has its own method, and at the time of the intermission, the two sides actually stood on the same starting line again.

The Spurs are really tenacious, and other teams would have been crushed long ago.

The Heat can't be careless. If they lose, the situation will be different. They started playing the main force two games earlier, and the longer they play, the greater the change will be.

The Spurs start at an older age, but they also take more rest time per game.

"Victory is ahead, we must grit our teeth and persevere, and we must be more cautious than them."

There is nothing to say about the tactics, Spoelstra just encourages the players.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the two sides played extremely fiercely.

Although everyone knows it well, they have all increased their intensity by coincidence, even if they are all-star players, they don't want to score easily.

It's still a confrontation, and it's like this for about half a quarter.

When the rotation time comes, the two sides are still testing, after all, the third quarter is not the last moment.

But at this time, the Spurs' three guards showed their strength and hit consecutive three-pointers.

The Heat's shooters have problems, Ray Allen doesn't feel good, and so do everyone else.

The Heat's shooters lost to the Spurs' shooters. Spoelstra sighed, but did not respond.

This situation was originally one of the possibilities, and they would not have expected it.

Since it's not enough to fight offense, but to strengthen the defense, after all, the Spurs still haven't played inside.

At Duncan's age, if his state is affected at the beginning, it will be difficult to adjust back later.

Zhang Xiaotian only rested for 2 minutes in the first half and continued to play. In addition to allowing Wade to rest for a while, James and Bosh did not rest at all.

There is nothing embarrassing about this, the game is for victory, and if the shooters lose, they lose.

Taking advantage of a wave of three-pointers in just a few minutes, the Spurs led by nearly 10 points.

Seeing the hope of victory, Popovich thought about it again.

Whether to continue the outside three-point attack or return to the normal lineup, the old man thinks that there is no problem in the second half of the third quarter. It would be great if the score advantage can be extended to double digits.

The only trouble was that Leonard fouled four more times.

It is really not easy to limit James' performance.

Just a few minutes later, Popovich regretted it a little. At the end of the third quarter, Zhang Xiaotian suddenly broke out and scored 5 points in a row, and the score gap between the two sides narrowed to 6 points.

For the sake of caution, only Ginobili was left on the bench at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Such a stable style of play is rare in Popovich's hands, and he really wants to win.

But things backfired. The so-called man makes things happen. One minute into the last quarter, Leonard fouled five times because of assisting defense.

Leonard is so important for the Spurs to resist the Heat's offense.

Popovich had the urge to pull out a gun and kill the referee, replace it, or not?
In the first two games, Leonard must be replaced, but at this time Popovich has already given up.

Let Leonard stay on the court, just like this.

(End of this chapter)