The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 523 No way

In the third quarter, the Spurs and the Pelicans played fiercely, and the effect of changing the defensive strategy was immediate.

The Pelicans' outside firepower was blocked, and Davis also took the opportunity to play highly efficient inside.

In fact, compared to Curry's explosive points from the outside, Davis' strong play on the edge of the penalty area with the ball is acceptable to the Spurs.

The Pelicans put pressure on them today, not the explosion of their main players, but the three-pointers of the role players.

Without the outside three-point support, Davis' consumption is doubled.

Now as long as Davis's efficiency drops, the Pelicans will soon be cold.

Even if Davis has a small probability of being so brave at the end of the quarter, the Spurs are confident in fighting firepower on the offensive end.

Besides, it would be good to limit the flanking of inside players. It's hard to say whether their outside firepower can be continued.

In short, the Spurs have several plans, and the Pelicans really can only rely on luck except for the strength of Davis, and the balance of victory and defeat will be tilted because of these factors.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Spurs trailed by 5 points, and this time the Pelicans were closest to victory since the second round.

Davis didn't rest this time, and they also wanted to seize this opportunity desperately.

Zhang Xiaotian held the ball, and the inside line came up to cover, Zhang Xiaotian moved sideways and pulled it up to hit the ball directly.

The Pelicans immediately felt the danger, they were very unwilling, couldn't they win a game.

On the defensive end, the Spurs have retracted slightly at this time, and it is not so convenient for Davis to play.

On the defensive end, just like the offensive end, a routine cannot be used out of date. If there is a change, the opponent will not be able to adapt.

Of course, this is only for the overall.

In terms of powerful stars, it is also a way to use the same method to make defensive players lose their temper.

When Zhang Xiaotian held the ball again, he was double-teamed.

The Spurs are very proficient in this situation. Zhang Xiaotian scored the ball and then ran back to catch the ball. One of the players in the other three positions ran to the far end and two slipped to the baseline.

The Pelicans' defense will have some problems after such a fuss. Zhang Xiaotian directly hits the inside to score.

If the Pelicans retreat defensively, Zhang Xiaotian can also pass the ball out, and there will be an open space immediately.

The Spurs' shooting percentage outside the three-point line is normally higher than that of the Pelicans. With Zhang Xiaotian's plug-in bonus, the Pelicans at least have more than one Spurs player who dare not open up.

Of course, the key point of this tactic is that Zhang Xiaotian's shooting rate is too high. The Pelicans' defensive attention must always be on him. It is normal for the defensive rotation to not keep up.

As is normal for the Pelicans, their overall defense is inherently bad.

To defend against the Spurs at this time, there must be a strong player who can withstand Zhang Xiaotian alone and prevent him from easily shooting. Only if there is a help defense inside, no player in the Pelicans can be the main defense, they will only focus on one thing and lose the other.

After 3 minutes, the Spurs tied and all the main players of both sides played.

The Pelicans now have no shooting percentage in the first half outside the three-point line. Their offense has become more mid-range, and their offensive methods have also changed.

Rondo added ball handling, and Davis and Holiday put their hearts and minds into finishing.

But the two main players hadn't confronted each other for 2 minutes. Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard's duo made steals and scored 7 points in a row to help the Spurs take the lead.

Now the Pelicans panicked, and the time has come to the second half.

And the main lineup they are proud of is also a bit embarrassing now. Rondo has no outside line. Although Mirotic is very fierce, he can't keep up with Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard. S attacked.

But the Spurs are no ordinary team, and the Pelicans are in trouble now.

What to do if you are suppressed at the critical moment, it can only be cold salad.

It is really difficult to find a temporary solution. Generally, it can only be solved by the explosion of core players.

Taking the lead, we can only hope that the offensive end can send miracles.

It's just that things like miracles are hard to repeat.

The Pelicans' lineup has problems facing the Spurs, but they have no one to change, or coach Gentry doesn't have the Warriors to change at this time.

Anyway, the Spurs are defending Rondo on the outside, Davis on the inside, and have star players on the offensive end.

The score gap hovered around 5 points for a while, and there was an upward trend again.

The Pelicans began to try three-pointers, very deliberate ones, all relying on personal ability.

As a result, Holiday only hit once, and it was exchanged after several strikes.

And the time has come to 2 minutes and 46 seconds. Zhang Xiaotian just made a steal and successfully counterattacked. The Spurs led by 10 points for the first time in the game.

The Pelicans immediately requested a timeout, but they were already tired by this time.

Not only physically, but also mentally tired. They played well all the time, but they were completely suppressed in the fourth quarter. They couldn't figure out why.

In the last bit of time, the two sides lacked anything to report, the Pelicans were a little suffocated, and the actions became more and more serious, and the two sides almost had a conflict, but they finally restrained it.

The Spurs finally won the match point with a 9-point advantage. Zhang Xiaotian scored 37 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists, scoring another triple-double in the playoffs.

At this point in the playoffs, it was still a little unexpected.

The main thing is the East. The first round was very fierce, but in the second round, the strengths and weaknesses became clear.

The Cavaliers beat the Raptors and got the match point. The Cavaliers returned to the home court very smoothly in the first half and easily gained a double-digit lead.

The Raptors have completely become unable to play, and DeRozan is playing the whole game.

But this time they are not without chance. In the final quarter, DeRozan sat on the bench and Lowry led the team to play an efficient game. They tied the score at the last moment, but James still stabilized the victory with his super personal ability. Whistle lore.

Very helpless, this is how the Raptors feel.

They have undoubtedly taken the No. [-] throne in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, but they are still not James' opponents, so what's the use of being No. [-].

The important thing is that the Pacers defeated the Cavaliers three times in the first round. In contrast, the Raptors are now being questioned.

And the Celtics also won the match point. The 76ers, who gave fans an amazing feeling in the first round, played very hard in front of the Celtics.

They took the lead again in the first half, which shows that they are still capable, but in the second half, it is difficult for them to have the last laugh in the high-intensity confrontation of the Celtics.

This time they dragged the score into overtime, but still failed to overthrow their opponents.

In the critical overtime game, Embiid was taught by Horford to be a man.

Talented people also have to pay tuition fees. Now the 76ers and several powerful young people finally feel what the playoffs are.

76ers coach Brown was also very helpless after the game, "Our young players sometimes look too young. We have to learn from this loss."

So, three 3:0 in the second round of the playoffs.

(End of this chapter)