The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 522 Home and Away

By the second half of the third quarter, the Spurs had begun to suppress the Pelicans.

Zhang Xiaotian is becoming more and more active on the offensive end. Both Rondo and Holiday have switched defenses against him, but the physique of the guard is different from that of the forward, and he cannot withstand Zhang Xiaotian's impact at all.

However, after entering the rotation, the situation changed again. The Pelicans' substitutes actually rose up at this time. The performance was not amazing, but it was enough for them to bite the score.

In the fourth quarter, Anthony Davis originally wanted to take a short break. As a strong point that can play a role, Davis is really tired.

But Zhang Xiaotian came up with one three-pointer and one assist, and Davis replaced it before resting for a minute.

He came up to help defend Zhang Xiaotian, but the key was that the Pelicans could attack only with him on the offensive end.

In fact, at this point, the Pelicans couldn't guard against Zhang Xiaotian at all.

After Davis came up, it still helped their offensive end.

However, it is very possible for them to keep up with the Spurs' rhythm, and it is impossible for them to overtake the score.

The Spurs' lead soon reached double digits, and then the team defended solidly, maintaining the lead to the end.

Although the Pelicans have not given up, it is meaningless. They have no chance from beginning to end.

The Pelicans' changes have worked, and the gap between the two sides can actually be seen better.

They've reached their limit, and it turns out they're no match for the Spurs, which is very demoralizing.

Next, when they return to the home court, they will fight hard. If they still can't win the game, they will definitely lose their morale.

And they won't have much confidence in the third game. The Spurs are too strong, and they can only hope for luck and miracles when they return to home court.

This is the reality, the first team is much stronger than the other strong teams.

In the second game between the Celtics and the 76ers, the Celtics defended their home court again.

In fact, the performance of the 76ers was much better than that of the game. They were still in the lead in the first half, but they fell into a scoring shortage in the third quarter and were overtaken by the Celtics.

At the end of the quarter, the 76ers still had hope, and they even overtook the score, but the 76ers missed the outside line in the last few minutes, and the Celtics continued to attack to seal the victory.

Defensively and offensively, the Celtics once again played at a high level.

The extent of the team's strength will actually become clearer in the second round of the playoffs.

Celtics players are better in the playoffs, you never know who they will stand up.

For the 76ers, the shortcomings of the players are infinitely magnified under the truly strong defense.

Ben Simmons, who performed poorly after the game, also reflected on himself, but whether he can fight back can only be seen in the following game.

In the game between the Raptors and the Cavaliers, it is the Cavaliers who have become better.

The Cavaliers got rid of the problem of declining combat power in the second half, established an advantage in the third quarter, harvested the game in the fourth quarter, and defeated the Raptors.

In this game, James has scored in double figures every quarter since the second quarter, with amazing efficiency.

Love also became stronger and scored a big double-double.

Under such circumstances, the Raptors did not perform at all.

The Raptors' defense was good, but when they met the Cavaliers, their weak defense ability was completely exposed.

Of course, they were not fully developed on the offensive end.

They now feel that the mentality of the entire team has changed.

The changes in the Cavaliers are also shocking. Is this the team that fought hard against the Pacers in the first round?

The third game between the Rockets and the Warriors felt a little disappointing.

The Warriors who returned to the home court were too fierce. They completely suppressed the Rockets in the first quarter. In the second half, the two teams did not look like teams of the same level at all.

Curry and Durant went crazy at the same time, it was really impossible to fight.

The key is that their defense kept up, and the Rockets played extremely aggrieved.

The 41-point massacre, this kind of explosive scoring, makes the Warriors even more dangerous this season.

The Warriors are starting with a small lineup, and Iguodala is starting, which is really troublesome. This is also because there are too few powerful insiders in the league. An insider with weak singles ability like Capela cannot threaten the Warriors.

Zhang Xiaotian substituted for the Spurs. Aldridge is not a particularly tough insider, but he has singles ability inside and still has tactical options.

The key is that the Spurs have a strong forward line and can fight the Warriors hard, but the Rockets are really difficult to deal with.

The Rockets' advantage lies in their role players, but the difficulty of mobilizing role players is definitely much more difficult than directly using all-star players, so even if they have home court advantage, the probability of entering the next round is lower.

The third game between the Spurs and Pelicans will be played on May 5.

The lineups of both sides have not changed, the Pelicans can't help it, and the Spurs are unnecessary.

Back at home, the Pelicans were really taken care of by some luck.

Still rely on Davis to attack, including attracting defensive attention.

Unlike the previous two games, this time they shot a good three-pointer.

It was unexpected for the Spurs that Solomon Hill, a player who had a terrible three-point shot this season, hit three consecutive shots after playing.

Of course, the Pelicans' defense of the Spurs' front line is still unresolved.

This is no longer something that can be decided with a better hand feeling. Both Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard have rich means on the offensive end. The key is to be very stable and have excellent golf intelligence.

In the first half, the two teams mainly competed on the offensive end. Relying on their excellent three-point shooting percentage, the Pelicans also took the lead at the end of the first half, of course only single digits.

The Pelicans' three-point touch today is the whole team's, including Davis who hit a three-pointer.

The Spurs changed some of their defensive strategies in response to this point. They no longer stared at Davis' inside line, but had to divide their energy to block the opponent's outside line.

The focus is on the main players, especially Holiday and Mirotic.

The continuity of the touch of role players is generally not good. The Spurs only need to do a good job of defensive rotation and prevent the opponent from easily appearing open.

As for whether Davis will take the opportunity to fight inside, this aspect can give him a certain degree of freedom.

To a certain extent, give Davis more opportunities to play singles with the ball, consume him and reduce his efficiency.

Pay attention to the scores of the two sides. The key point is to let the Pelicans score less, not to let Davis score more. While increasing his inside scoring, he must reduce the overall scoring efficiency of the Pelicans and separate the core players from the role players.

This requires excellent defensive guidance, and only a few teams can do this, and the Spurs are one of them.

The other is offense. No matter how the defensive tactics come about, the efficiency of the offensive end must be guaranteed.

It's best to call Davis out, if not, can you be counseled on the offensive end, and boldly cause damage.

Zhang Xiaotian made an OK gesture to his teammates, he will score points, he will attract the defense to pass the ball to open positions, and lead the team to victory.

(End of this chapter)