The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 438 Another Hot Discussion
The Spurs have designed several defensive plans, and they are most worried about the Pelicans holding the ball inside.

But Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry obviously doesn't think so. He still lets Jrue Holiday play, although the defensive players have changed.

Jrue Holiday still has strength, but this decision is not so appropriate.

At the critical moment, Danny Green lived up to Popovich's trust and allowed Jrue Holiday to make a shot.

You know, the Spurs tested Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard's offense and defense against each other in training. Although Danny Green couldn't match them completely, it is no problem to only study defense, and he has more experience in defensive guards.

Leonard protected the defensive rebound and called for a timeout with 1.5 seconds left in the game.

In the Spurs' final attack, the Pelicans will definitely guard against Zhang Xiaotian.

Popovich picked up the tactical board and drew out the tactics directly. After entering the court, Zhang Xiaotian made a gesture to catch the ball, and suddenly ran back to the bottom line after seemingly picking up speed.

When the players following him reacted, they were already blocked by Aldridge. Zhang Xiaotian caught the ball and turned around and fell back. Dante Cunningham, who was chasing him, only had time to reach out.

Under the standard shooting posture, two points were hit steadily.

96:94, the long-lost lore, Zhang Xiaotian once again showed his invincible key ball.

The next day the team flew to Minnesota to challenge the Timberwolves back to back.

The Timberwolves are also a team that is basically hopeless in the playoffs, but they have a few talented players in their team, and they will use the remaining games to hone the abilities of young players.

When playing against this kind of team, you must not let them go smoothly.

In fact, the Timberwolves don't feel so weak, but they can't get up.

At the beginning of the game, the rhythm was mastered by Rubio, and he activated his teammates while completely restricting Parker.

This is Rubio's ability, he is not the type to score directly, but it is more difficult to limit
After the Spurs' starting center was changed, they basically lost their offensive power at that point.

Coupled with the fatigue of the Spurs, the first quarter really didn't play well.

Another trouble is Towns. He can't completely limit Aldridge on the defensive end, but he feels much more active than Aldridge on the offensive end.

The Spurs had just played some good shots under the leadership of Gasol during the rotation period. As soon as the main force came up, Aldridge was blown out by Towns.

As a result, a rare scene appeared on the field.

The Spurs with the league's best record trailed the Timberwolves by double digits at halftime, and Towns, who scored 20 points in two quarters, contributed a lot.

Even if the Spurs don't pay that much attention to regular-season wins and losses, the situation irritates Popovich.

Offensive is fine, the Spurs are not allowed to have defensive loopholes that allow opposing players to score points at will.

In fact, the team's defense in the first half was not too bad. The opponent's second point, Wiggins, was eaten to death by Zhang Xiaotian.

In the third quarter, the Spurs shrunk defensively, preferring to let the Timberwolves take shots from the outside.

Although Towns is flexible enough and has a certain weight and strength, he is not the kind of overlord inside, and the Spurs' forward line can also switch defenses.

Of course, it's best not to give him a chance to make a move.

Once the defensive line shrinks, there is less room for movement inside, and Rubio's shooting ability is not good. At this time, the Timberwolves must rely on Wiggins to play.

It's a pity that Wiggins hasn't made much progress in the past few seasons, and he can't open at all under Zhang Xiaotian's defense.

In this case, the Timberwolves want to strengthen their defense, which still has a certain effect, but they do not have the ability of top defensive teams.

Their head coach this season, Tom Thibodeau, is a coach who understands defense, but unfortunately he didn't train the team to the ideal state.

The Spurs chased points steadily, but did not break out. At the end of the third quarter, they narrowed the score gap to single digits.

As for the Timberwolves, a team dominated by young players, their ability in the final quarter has been criticized.

This is an area that the Spurs are good at, not only Zhang Xiaotian, but others are also very confident.

The Timberwolves really wanted to win, so Towns didn't rest.

This is also the characteristic of the opposing coach Thibodeau, he is very used to playing the main force.

It's just that at this time, it's really difficult for Towns to get a chance. Gasol's defense against him is very good. Coupled with the Spurs' shrinking defensive strategy, Towns has no room to move inside.

It's all because the Timberwolves' outside line is too weak, and they can't give resources at all.

They also seemed to have nothing to do at this time, they just tried their best to slow down the pace of the game in order to hold a small lead.

Facts have proved that it is more difficult to play defensively than offensively in basketball.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Zhang Xiaotian made a successful steal and hit a three-pointer in the counterattack.

Then he made a foul by the opponent and made two free throws to help the team narrow the gap to only 1 point.

Before the Timberwolves made adjustments, the Spurs took the lead in replacing the main lineup.

After Leonard came up, he cooperated fully with Zhang Xiaotian twice, and when the Timberwolves only got two free throws, Towns simply overtook the score.

After the Spurs overtook, the Timberwolves felt even more incapable of playing.

They played all kinds of iron outside, and by the halfway point of the final quarter, the Spurs had already overtaken by 5 points.

Only now did the Timberwolves feel like they had just woken up from a dream, and they began to desperately go to the basket to kill.

Because the Spurs' defense is shrinking, this is actually head-to-head and the efficiency will not be very high, but they have lost confidence in COSCO shots due to consecutive misses from the outside, so they can only gamble.

Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard didn't give each other a chance. After the Timberwolves scored, they would definitely save face.

When the Timberwolves didn't score, the Spurs' offense was more threatening.

At 1 minute and 31 seconds, Zhang Xiaotian made another three-pointer, and the Spurs' lead immediately expanded to 10 points.

Immediately after Towns went outside the three-point line and failed to make a shot, the Timberwolves suddenly lost the Warriors who continued.

Relying on their outstanding performance in the final quarter, the Spurs won back to back.

At this time they have reached 61 regular season games, and the team has only lost three games.

The domineering demeanor, the perfect combination of offensive and defensive ends, a report resonated with the outside world, and the Spurs once again became a hot spot in the league.

There is no slant of swords, it has a classic taste, and new era tactics have been added. Many experts said that the Spurs are playing the real basketball that leads to victory.

For a while, the team received rave reviews. Of course, there were also those who sang the naysayers, saying that the Spurs were so strenuous in making fishes. Basically will be submerged.

In this case, Popovich is also a headache, how to prepare for the playoffs in a targeted manner.

To be honest, due to the good results, the previous plan seemed a bit inappropriate, and the management actually liked the popularity of the team.

(End of this chapter)