The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 433

The long-lost away game is back-to-back, but this time Popovich did not rest players.

Not only were the outsiders surprised, but the insiders of the Spurs were also surprised.

The Pacers were not idle last summer. They traded Teague and Thaddeus Young and signed Al Jefferson.

Their current lineup is not bad, but for some reason, their defense is not as tough as before.

So although they have made some progress on the offensive end this season, their results are not ideal, and they are still some distance from the top four in the Eastern Conference.

When the team is closest to success, if it does not make a more suitable choice, it will consume the team's passion.

Paul George is still a very powerful striker, but it feels like he has lost his original vigor.

But as soon as the game started, Paul George expressed his desire to win.

In addition to Paul George, the Pacers have another troublesome point. It is not Teague at the No. [-] position, but their second-year student Myles Turner.

Driven by two points, the Pacers took the lead in controlling the situation at home.

The Spurs are in a Wang Zang mode. Zhang Xiaotian doesn't know if he and Leonard played too much so that others can't show their strength. It stands to reason that his skills can help his teammates improve their shooting percentage.

But now the Spurs, apart from the two of them, are often a bit unreliable.

Of course, this is compared to a strong team. In the eyes of ordinary teams, the Spurs are all difficult masters.

During the rotation period, the Pacers are also relatively strong, Rodney Stuckey, Monta Ellis, CJ Myers, Al Jefferson.

The Pacers actually have people. At most, they can only be a little short of three-pointers, and they can't even make it to the top four in the Eastern Conference. There must be something wrong with the team.

The Pacers' attack inspired the Spurs to score [-] points. In the second quarter, the Spurs spontaneously increased their defensive strength and tied the score with their defense.

Among them, Leonard's defense against Paul George is really good. Although the two usually communicate, at this moment Zhang Xiaotian once again raised the idea of ​​holding Leonard to train alone to discuss defensive experience.

With this brother, no matter what striker he encounters in the playoffs, Zhang Xiaotian will be able to relax a lot.

But reservation-George is also a player who has reached this level. After adjusting during the halftime break, his mental outlook was completely different in the third quarter.

More decisive, more efficient, and he does not occupy the ball. The Pacers did not match him with a strong enough companion, which is really a mistake of the management.

Reservation-When George showed off his power, the Spurs also replaced the first and fourth juniors early to attack with all their strength.

The Spurs are not rigid. When defense can't solve the problem, offense is the best defense.

Paul George's defense is good, and they still have a big help defense inside, but it is still not enough for the Spurs.

The number of players in the league that can restrict two top strikers at the same time is definitely less than one hand, and there is no Pacers among them.

And after the Pacers changed coaches, the defense did drop.

In the offensive battle, the Pacers also performed in the other two points, Teague and Myles Turner, but there is still a gap compared to the Spurs.

The same three strong points, the Spurs' strong points are higher quality.

In the basketball arena, the difference in fixed points can determine the outcome. The point difference between the two sides was close to 10 points at one point, and the Pacers caught up to the worst 4 points after Zhang Xiaotian went on the field.

But 4 points are enough, Zhang Xiaotian's team will not lose in the last quarter.

The single-core team is in trouble. When Paul George is off the court, it is difficult for them to remain efficient.

Fortunately, Paul George is not the team's organizer, and the Pacers will not be as obvious as the Cavaliers, but under Zhang Xiaotian's open attack, their defense is still vulnerable.

Of course, the effect of Paul George's return at this time will not be so good. The Spurs are not just Zhang Xiaotian's attack point.

Strictly speaking, Leonard is a finisher and doesn't need so many possessions.

This is due to the Spurs' system, which did not allow Leonard to get used to holding the ball to score. This is also an important reason why the team's run-in was so successful after Zhang Xiaotian returned to the Spurs.

With just over two minutes into the final quarter, Paul George had to come back, regardless of whether he could limit the Spurs.

Monta Ellis and Al Jefferson's outdated cooperation can't be played on the offensive end at all, the defense can't keep up, and if the offense can't do it, the team will be cold.

Paul George's offensive efficiency is still good after playing, but Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard will not give him a chance to shoot casually.

And Paul George's ability to play with the ball is actually not as good as the two.

This caused the Pacers to attack intermittently. By the last 5 minutes, the Spurs' lead had been stable.

The Pacers are now one big and four small, integrating several powerful offensive substitutes.

Paul George played too reasonable at this time, while Monta Ellis and others played continuously.

And Paul George received his fifth foul in order to defend Zhang Xiaotian.

Pacers head coach Nate McMillan explained the replacement of the love general. After playing again, Paul George became murderous.

He hit two points as soon as he came up, and then stared at Zhang Xiaotian closely.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaotian passed the ball to the inside in seconds, and Aldridge scored 2+1.

At the last moment, Aldridge's experience still played a role. Myles Turner seemed a little immature and received consecutive fouls.

Paul George made a mistake when he played again, and was double-teamed by Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard and dropped the ball.

He seemed a bit stiff when playing with the ball, and Zhang Xiaotian hit a three-pointer during the counterattack, and the score gap between the two sides suddenly reached double digits.

Although Paul George hit a three-pointer next, it doesn't matter anymore, because the game time is not enough, the Pacers can only accept the defeat helplessly.

After winning the game, Popovich was also in a good mood, and praised the opposing player in an interview.

"I think they've done a pretty good job of running the pick-and-roll for George, they've got George open, and he's definitely building up his offensive game, but when you have guys doing pick-and-rolls and screens for you Defenders are always going to come after you, and he's done a great job dealing with guys coming from behind, which makes him very aggressive on offense and leaves defenders helpless. You have to give him credit for that, He's just building on his game and he's a player I respect in the game because he's contributing on both ends of the floor."

Of course, for the two favorites Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard, Popovich was full of praise, and summed up two points, "excellent defense, aggressive offense."

(End of this chapter)