Buddha's light illuminates NBA

Chapter 139 Too Old to Jump
The smile on Duncan's face flashed away, obviously afraid that although the bald head was not there, what if the other referees also played tricks?
Then he suddenly asked a far-fetched question, "You don't want to block me, do you?"

Lu Ming was stunned for a moment, and then realized, yes, Duncan is playing the center position today.

I don't know if it's because O'Neal is about to retire, or the Spurs don't have a big man who can start. Anyway, Duncan has played more games at the center position.

For a person who doesn't like to talk very much on the court to say such a thing, it is estimated that in the previous few games, Lu Ming's frequency of dunking big centers is really a bit high.

Of course, Lu Ming also knew that this was Duncan's joke.

How can a man who has been on the background board all year round be worried about being detained?
Lu Ming didn't answer Duncan directly, but asked back, "Coach Popovich asked you to play center, didn't he want to see you get dunked?"

Duncan stared blankly at Lu Ming for two seconds, then walked away in silence.

The game was then announced to begin.

The first five players from both sides, the Knicks continued the combination of Rice Garudu.

The Spurs started with Duncan, DeJuan Blair, Richard Jefferson, Keith Bogans and Parker, with Ginobili on the bench.

Duncan didn't even bother to jump the jump ball, and the Knicks got the ball for the first time.

Du Hong controlled the ball, and the Spurs' disciplined defensive system prevented the Knicks from running and bombing, so they handed over the ball to Lu Ming.

Although Lu Ming just scored 62 points in the last Christmas match, Popovich, who always prefers to test and observe in the first match, did not adopt extreme defensive methods as soon as he came up.

Just let Bogans defend Lu Ming alone.

As a starting player, Bogans' most important task in most games is to defend the opponent's arrows, especially the opponent's shooting guard.

Another point is that the Spurs are playing back-to-back games today, and probably the playing time of GDP will not be too high.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the Spurs' home team lineup and average playing time are basically controlled at the baseline of 30 minutes, neither more nor less.

From this point of view, Popovich is definitely an excellent master of time management.

Lu Ming observed the positions of his teammates and saw that the Spurs' defense basically had no obvious loopholes, especially Gallinari was almost followed by Jefferson, but he thought that one of the Spurs' defensive strategies today is to lock the Knicks' third scoring point.

After a brief analysis, Lu Ming decided to play one first and try Bogans' defense.

Bogans dare not be careless, even if the opponent is a rookie who has only played 25 games.

But there is still a big gap between a rookie and a rookie.

What's more, it's a rookie who has only played for a season and has made headlines many times, not to mention the 62 points of the day in advance, he is directly out of the circle.

Although before the game, Popovich was very amiable and humorous, telling him not to defend too hard in the first step and make it difficult for rookies to get off the stage, but Bogans knows too well that if he fails to defend well, after two rounds, he will definitely be called to the sidelines and scolded.

So, in order not to be scolded, No. 8, I'm sorry.

Bogans thought a little too much, and then Lu Ming used two three-threat moves, plus a Jordan-style shot feint of reaching out to grab the ball, and he was so shaken that he couldn't find North.

Taking advantage of this momentary opportunity, Lu Ming rushed in with a big stride.

Then use a mid-range jumper with an emergency stop to try how it feels today.

Duang!

Missed the first shot.

At the basket, although the current Spurs, on the offensive end, Duncan appears more as a role to stabilize the military spirit and check for omissions, but on the defensive end, he is still the Spurs' inside defensive gate.

Using experience to block Milicic, Duncan clicked the rebound, and then was controlled by Blair on the backcourt rebound.

The Spurs counterattacked defensively, and Parker made the main attack.

Not to mention, although the old guy Popovich said that Parker was too slow, on the court, Tony Parker, who was in his prime, was really a little French sports car, and he ran to the frontcourt in no time.

As expected of Tony and Parker, he is not a simple person.

But Duhon was not easy to deal with. Just after halftime, Parker immediately formed an effective defensive position. At the same time, Lu Ming and other Knicks players also quickly retreated to prevent the Spurs' rapid defensive counterattack.

Sure enough, he was motivated by the active defense in the previous game. Although there is no change in the defensive system, the speed of the defense has already increased.

Parker can't make a fast break, so he controls the rhythm and waits for his teammates to get in position.

Then there are the pick-and-rolls and pass cuts that the audience is most familiar with, and finally the ball is passed to Duncan, who scored a goal with an unremarkable wipe.

Milicic has nothing to do with him.

Switching to the Knicks' offense, Lu Ming reached out for the ball before halftime, then brought up his speed, and before the Spurs' defense was in place, he raised his hand and passed to Milicic for an alley-oop.

Duncan didn't take the initiative to be the background board when he saw that it was wrong.

Milicic made a successful alley-oop, eating cake +1.

2:2, the Knicks tied the score.

"Milicic's performance is getting better and better now. It's hard to imagine that last season, he was still sitting at the end of the Knicks' bench." Van Gundy said with emotion.

"This is D'Antoni's tactical system. There is an excellent point guard, which can improve the data of the center. Under this system, as long as the speed of the center is not too slow, you can eat cakes." Mike Breen said the key.

Little Van Gundy smiled and said nothing.

In the following time, the two sides played back and forth, and their defensive enthusiasm was also online, so the pace was not too fast. After 8 minutes of play, the score on the court was only 15:15.

A game that doesn't look like a high-scoring game.

In these 8 minutes, Lu Ming only took 4 shots. He didn't feel good and hit 1 goal. Finally, he focused on organization and defense and sent 3 assists.

Eight minutes later, the Spurs made a substitution request and Ginobili came off the bench.

The Argentine Vulture found Lu Ming as soon as he came on stage, and said, "I heard that you are the No. 8 rookie who used me as a template?"

"Yes, that's what the draft report says."

Lu Ming nodded, and then said, "Do you think that the No. 8 pick is a bit too high? After all, you were only the 2th pick in the second round."

"Is No. 8 tall? How do I remember that there was a rookie with the No. 3 pick in Goose City, and he also used me as a template?" Ginobili's backhand was a snake-like attack.

"Speaking of which, the template for me now is a magician. How about it, does it feel like being abandoned by the entire alliance?" Lu Ming said with a smile.

"It's no wonder that you don't know anything about our snake-shaped breakthrough." Ginobili nodded approvingly.

"Snake-shaped breakthrough, shouldn't that be Kobe's stunt? As for you, shouldn't it be the Argentine vulture hovering?" Lu Mo said.

"It's the Pampas Eagle!" Ginobili corrected angrily, and subconsciously touched the blank space above his head.

"Manu, what are you doing? Watching the game?" Popovich yelled from the sidelines.

The two actually chatted on the court, and, just like standing on the court chatting and watching the game, Popovich almost wanted to trade this worry-free guy immediately.

Ginobili just changed from touching the top of his head to getting a haircut, and then started to move and participate in the offense.

After that, Lu Ming saw how a person used a weird way of moving to break through to the inside, and then used even weirder shots to throw the basketball into the basket.

When Popovich saw it, he wanted to make breakfast for this guy himself.

What a fickle man.

"How is it? Why didn't I see your defense?" Ginobili was retreating and spat trash talk with Lu Ming proudly.

Lu Ming was speechless.

You are almost a two-legged snake gliding on the ground, how to defend?

I can't go up and step on you seven inches, can I?

Speechless, on the offensive end, Lu Ming didn't think about calling back immediately. After all, in the previous 8 minutes, David Lee's touch was really hot, and he had already made 4 of 4 shots.

Getting the ball into the hands of the guy with the hottest touch is the best option for offense.

However, the Spurs also set up a close defense against David Lee. For a while, Lu Ming couldn't find an angle to pass the ball, and Gallinari was still the one who was running or stopping, with defenders around him.

Seeing this, Lu Ming had no choice but to come by himself.

Three threats, Ginobili is unmoved, three threats and two, still unmoved, three threats and three, Ginobili is as if growing on the floor.

Then, Lu Ming suddenly took a step back, and with a slightly backward angle, he shot the first three-pointer in the game.

quiet!
actually entered.

Seeing that Lu Ming scored a three-pointer on his first attempt, the audience was very excited.

There were even spectators holding signs with 82 points.

What's more, the number 8 can be seen at a glance that it was changed from 6.

It seems that when I was in school, I was used to modifying scores.

"How? Why didn't I see your defense?" Lu Ming returned Ginobili's trash talk without changing any punctuation marks.

Ginobili didn't respond, Popovich was already dissatisfied, and shouted, "Manu, what about your defense? Don't tell me, you are too old to jump!"

Lu Ming shrugged his shoulders, raised his eyebrows and smiled, completing a Kobe-style silent trash talk.

"Haha, Lu's performance on the court is getting more and more comfortable." Mike Breen said with a smile.

"The small fadeaway jumper in this attack, and the provocative move after that, I now believe what Kobe said. Lu did learn something from him." Little Van Gundy also shook his head and laughed.

Although provoked, Ginobili is not an easy guy.

So the next game was almost a replica of the previous half of the quarter. If you hit me, I will pay you back. If you hit an iron, I also missed a shot.

The Spurs' offense was simple and practical but not monotonous, while the Knicks were a little more gorgeous, so the game also made the audience enjoy watching it with gusto.

After the first quarter, the score between the two sides was 20:21, and the Knicks only led by one point.

After finishing the first quarter, Lu Ming recovered a little bit under the defense of Ginobili in the second half of the quarter. He took 8 shots and hit 3 goals, one of which was a three-pointer. In addition to two free throws, he got 1 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steal.

The Knicks had the highest efficiency in the first quarter was David Lee, who made all 7 shots and 2 free throws, scoring 16 points.

In the second quarter, the two sides played off the bench, and the score was staggered again.

So it wasn't until more than 7 minutes into the second quarter that Lu Ming made his debut again.

(End of this chapter)