basketball scientist

Ke Yan has always regarded the 05 Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers' 3:4 series against the Spurs, as the masterpiece of his coaching career. When the lineup was at an absolute disadvantage, Ke Yan managed the lineup and He caught every slight pain point in the Spurs' lineup, dragged the game into a tiebreaker, and set multiple NBA records during the game!

Nine years later, Ke Yan faced the Spurs again, but the situation he faced was no better than before.

In nine years, the Spurs' lowest point in the regular season was third in the Western Conference, and they only had the experience of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after being hacked. What's even more frightening is that after experiencing the failure in the finals last season, Leonard has taken over the core responsibility of the team. Although his output in terms of statistics is not very impressive, he often appears in the game with his own confrontational shooting and difficult singles, just like Ke Yan in the season. As I said before we started, Leonard is the most underrated player in the league.

Step by step from a 3D player to an offensive and defensive star and even a superstar, Leonard has completed his "soldier assault" step by step, and the Spurs' lineup is also very conducive to his gradual development.As he diversified his arsenal, the Spurs' roster continued to fit him.Duncan can provide adequate defense, efficient pie-eating and excellent support; Parker is the team's top scorer, his assault and distribution can also lead the team's offense, and he is good at not sticking to the ball; Ginobili every A single appearance as a substitute can bring changes to the situation on the court; Diaw's high post support and elusive passing are what Leonard needs most; Danny Green is the best 3D nowadays, with both shooting, single defense and Assist in defense

In itself, the Kings are not without a fight against the Spurs. The Spurs' twin-tower position has never been good for the restriction of the dual-core backcourt. Let alone now, even during the peak defensive period of 03 to 07, when encountering Mo Bu pass + Michael Reed was often beaten violently; the key problem is that Chandler's injury weakened the Kings' defense ability and destroyed the team's top defense. After all, Gobert is a rookie, and it is very difficult to carry Leonard with pure strength~, Not to mention that Harris, who swings at the third and fourth positions, is unlikely to help the team's interior defense!

On May 5, the first game of the Western Conference Finals started in Sacramento.

From the beginning, the Kings followed the established strategy, adding inside players to provide pick-and-rolls for Curry and Harden, taking shots before the Twin Towers forced them to help defend, and killing the Spurs from the most efficient mid-to-long distance position of 9 to 16 feet. Team!

In the 05 playoffs, Kobe defeated Bowen in this position. This is the foundation that supports the entire Lakers offensive system!

Whether it's Curry, who has a unique shooting touch, or Harden, who has never experienced the "magic ball" baptism, he is definitely capable of beating his opponents to death in this position!Just like Harden's playoff career masterpiece "Five in a row", four of them were fired from mid-range!

However, Popovich seemed to have predicted Key Yan's operation in advance and made special tactical arrangements! "Zhugewei" arranged for Duncan and Danny Green to defend closely from 9 to 16 feet, using Duncan's blocking position and Green's assisting defense to interfere with Harden and Curry's shots!

Even when he was young, Duncan was not like Garnett, who could take care of the defense from the basket to the mid-to-long distance at the same time. This kind of defensive arrangement directly left Split alone in the Spurs penalty area.

However, to deal with Gobert + Harris, Split alone is enough!

Throughout the game, the two got a lot of opportunities to face the frame and attack Split, but the efficiency was low!This put Curry and Harden under increasing defensive pressure, and they ended up losing 90-108.

This game is also the second time in the 10 games of the Kings series that the score has been less than [-]!

. . . . . .

After experiencing the nightmare of the first game, the Kings players swore an oath in front of TV reporters that they would never repeat the mistakes of the first game.

However, the fact is that the Kings' offense is getting worse and worse!After Gobert and Harris lacked impact and were suppressed by a "mere" Split, Harden was also lost!

His "crotch pulling" is not only reflected in the decline in shooting touch, but also his shortcomings of laziness in running without the ball are also exposed!When he is unable to shoulder the task of punishing the Spurs' defense, the ball power will inevitably be further concentrated in Curry's hands!When Curry holds the ball, Harden just stays outside the three-point line and has no corresponding movement to involve the Spurs' defense, which further increases the difficulty of Curry's shots.

Although Curry continued his firepower output in G1, making 31 of 14 shots, 12 of 5 three-pointers, and 7 of 7 free throws. He scored a crazy 40 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, but his bravery alone is difficult to achieve. Saving the entire team, the Kings lost another game 98:106, losing two consecutive games at home.

After this battle, even the most optimistic Kings fans were not optimistic that the team could counterattack.

Not only that, Ke Yan's title of "the number one active coach" has also been questioned.At this stage, Ke Yan and Popovich are both Triple Crown coaches, but if Popovich wins this round of duel, the direct conversation between the two will be that Popovich leads 2:0, and Ke Yan is proud of it. His regular season record is not advantageous against Popovich's 50 wins for N consecutive years. Ke Yan is good at Taobao, but Popovich is not bad either.

. . . . . .

The G3 game came to the home court of the Spurs. Ke Yan adjusted the starting lineup and arranged for Stephenson to enter the starting lineup to enhance the impact of the starting lineup. A Stephenson who is more active, more athletic, and better at impact may be able to play the role of the Thunder back then. Harden's role when the three young masters overwhelmed the Spurs!

In this game, on the Kings side, the players' mentality had a kind of "put yourself to death and survive". After calming down, they showed more energy and openness!The score between the two teams was also very close.

Curry, who has been closely protected by Ke Yan all season, finally "let go" once. Except for the beginning of the second quarter and the end of the third quarter, he did not rest at any time and directly fought the Spurs to the end.

The young and energetic Curry can fight like this, but the Spurs' GDP does not have such confidence.It was also by taking advantage of this period of "upper team vs. middle team" that the Kings opened the point difference to double digits and finally held on to the victory.

In the entire game, Curry played 43 minutes and scored 35 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, helping the Kings win the battle of dignity and avoid the possibility of being "swept".

. . . . . .

Just when the outside world was lamenting that Ke Yan was really good at winning games at the Spurs' home court, in the G4 game, the Spurs showed their home court advantage and their defense was extremely fierce.

前三场比赛场均攻下33分的库里本场比赛的发挥并不是很出色，30投10中“仅仅”仅仅拿下30分；哈登在马刺队的重点看防下只得到20分，命中率也低到只有22投8中的表现，最终马刺队众志成城，以109:99击败国王队，赢下了关键的G4。

The big score came to 1:3, and the suspense of the series was basically ended. Spurs fans rejoiced and celebrated wildly, celebrating the team's second consecutive season in the finals.

In fact, this is also true. Historically, the probability of being able to complete a Jedi counterattack after falling behind by a big score of 1:3 is very slim. Otherwise, Tracy McGrady would not have pretended to say, "I am already thinking about my opponent in the next round."What's more, the only game the Kings won was when Curry played 43 minutes. They can't afford to miss Curry every game, right?

Spurs fans were ecstatic, but on the other side, many Kings fans who came from the Bay Area were very disappointed.

This season, the Kings have given them too many miracles. They are the first in team history with 64 wins in the regular season, the second MVP in team history, and the first MVP in Sacramento. They have returned to the second round of the playoffs after 10 years and the first in 12 years. Returning to the Western Conference Finals this year, these achievements did not come out of thin air, but were created by Ke Yan's hard work.

Therefore, although they are disappointed, the fans do not have too many complaints about the team.

They've done well enough.

As Curry reaches the top step by step, and as Gobert and Middleton mature bit by bit, the future of the Kings is still bright and broad!

. . . . . .

The G5 game returned to Sacramento, and Curry reappeared the madness of "Jordan on the three-point line"!

Playing step by step, the Kings really couldn't beat the Spurs. Ke Yan simply arranged unlimited shooting rights for Curry, covering tactics, and encouraged him to stand up and lead the team.

In this "all-or-nothing" state, Curry repaid Ke Yan's trust with his performance. He hit 7 three-pointers in the first half, setting a new NBA half-time record and scoring 32 points in the half. , leading the Kings to a 67-point lead over the Spurs 52:15!

This is also the first time in the series so far that the Kings have completed over 60 at halftime, which shows how well the Spurs defended in the first five games!

Although losing in the playoffs is a high probability event, no one will question Curry's current superstar quality!In just the playoffs this season, he has already demonstrated his perfect performance under the high intensity of the playoffs!

Of course, compared to Durant, Curry has already won a championship trophy during his time with the Knicks. In this regard, he is slightly better than Durant.

In the second half of the game, except for Curry, everyone else on the Kings also played separately.In the entire game, the Kings team made 23 three-pointers, setting a historical record!

The Kings also beat the Spurs 123:104, chasing the score to 2:3!There is still a glimmer of hope for a counterattack.

Curry played 38 minutes, making 30 of 17 shots, 18 of 10 three-pointers, 8 of 7 free throws, and scored 51 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.At the end of the game, Ke Yan asked Curry to reach 50+ before leaving the game, helping his beloved disciple unlock new achievements.

Ke Yan would be satisfied with such casual achievements and even encourage his disciples to do whatever they needed to do.

The big score became 2:3, and the situation suddenly changed.

If the Spurs make a mistake in the G6 game, the two sides will return to the Ark Center in the G7 game and the Kings will play at home, which will turn passivity into initiative!

If the Kings make a comeback and create history under such circumstances, the Spurs will always be on the pillar of shame. Whenever they think of a big comeback in the future, they will be mentioned again and again, just like AC Milan in 05!

As a result, in the sixth game between the two sides, from the beginning of the game, the Spurs started a desperate style of play, constantly strengthening the confrontation to increase the strength of the Kings, and did not hesitate to use the number of fouls committed by the main players to test the referee's call scale. In other words, "the referee dare not call a foul if it is a foul."

Parker, Splitter, Duncan, and Mills all received three fouls in the first half, and Danny Green even fouled four times.However, the "sacrifice" of these players was not in vain. Amid the boos from the home fans, the referee's standards were obviously relaxed in the third quarter. The Spurs were allowed to commit several obvious fouls. Instead, the Kings were punished because of the standard of the penalty. Adjustment caused a state of mental imbalance and fell into passivity.

After three quarters, the Kings trailed the Spurs by 68 points, 81:13, and the point difference had been widened.

In the last quarter, the Spurs team played steadily. Duncan, who said after last year's finals that "the Spurs will not end here," fulfilled his promise. With 4 minutes left in the game, he beat Gobert in two consecutive rounds to score, helping the Spurs. The team kept the point difference at around 15 points, almost extinguishing the Kings' chance of winning.

In the end, the Spurs won G6 without any danger, won the Western Conference for two consecutive seasons, and reached the finals.

After being eliminated in the away game, Ke Yan expressed calmly after the game: "We have made great progress this season, but luck is not on the side of the Kings. We are missing key players. I am very satisfied with the performance of the players, that's it."

"Do you regret the team losing without Chandler?"

"It's no use talking nonsense. It will be a shame for the Spurs next season!"

The reporter asked: "Which team do you think will win the championship?"

"Subjectively, I hope the Spurs win the championship. In my concept, the champion must be the champion, and the runner-up is not necessarily the runner-up. I want to deceive myself even more, we are the second strongest team."

After the press conference, the Kings returned to Sacramento. Some were frustrated, while others were satisfied.

Curry was depressed. He didn't play well in the last game and failed to lead the team to the championship. After winning the MVP, his ambition became even greater and he wanted to achieve greater achievements in the NBA!

Unfortunately for veteran Mike Miller, it has been a few years since he entered the league. He has not yet touched the edge of a championship. This year is his best chance, but he is still a bit unlucky;

Gobert is relatively happy. He got a lot of opportunities this season, entered the Rookie of the Year team, and learned a lot from his confrontation with Duncan. In the summer, he will polish himself;

Middleton is also very happy. The Kings have promised to give up player options and sign a four-year, 4 million contract with him in advance. His good days are coming!

After a day off, everyone had a dinner together, then they packed up and went their separate ways.

Except for Curry, Harden and Gobert, no one is sure they will return to Sacramento for the next media day!