Legend of Tomorrow

Popovich was very decisive in calling a timeout. If Guo Xu played a few more rounds, it would be difficult to catch up if the point difference widened to more than 15 points. After all, the Spurs are a team that specializes in two-point offense.

He replaced Van Exel and Nesterovich, who had just played for a while, and replaced Parker and Bowen, also playing small ball tactics.

He also emphasized double-teaming Guo Xu, speeding up rotation defense on the outside, and trying to let Ariza and David Lee take shots.

This is a formation with one big player and four small ones. Finley, who is 201cm tall, is a guest power forward, and Muhammad, who is 208cm tall and weighs 102 kilograms, is responsible for defending the penalty area.

Both Brent Barry and Bowen can catch the ball and shoot three-pointers, which can help their teammates open up space.

The Spurs' weakness is the inside line. When Duncan is not on the court, both ends of the inside line will become weaker, lacking an axis.

In Guo Xu's previous life, if you discussed who was the most low-key player in the NBA, many people would think of Duncan. He has always maintained good offensive ability, and even better is defense. In his 19-year basketball career, he won the All-Defensive Team 15 times, the Second Team seven times and the First Team eight times.

No basketball expert has ever questioned Duncan's defensive ability, even though he doesn't like to jump. Duncan's single defense and assist defense are all top-notch in history. Sometimes he can delay the opponent's opportunity with just one defensive position. He can resist the opponent with his solid bottom plate and interfere with shooting with his long wingspan.

After the Spurs drafted him, it wasn't until the year Duncan retired that they hired inside star Aldridge. For 19 seasons, he mainly relied on him to defend the penalty area and never missed the playoffs.

Duncan has had 5 defensive win shares in 11 seasons, tied for second with David Robinson and Olajuwon. Only Russell has more 12 times in history.

In the real plus-minus data that has only been collected since the 2000-01 season, Duncan's highest defensive real plus-minus was in the 2002-03 season, reaching 5.7. In the NBA's top 100 statistics, Duncan occupies 12 positions, followed by Garnett with 8.

Popovich knows the significance of Duncan's presence, but he can't let Duncan play consecutive games. His physical strength will be problematic in the second half.

Parker can't rest. Don't look at Popovich often scolding Parker on the sidelines. That's because he hates iron but can't make steel. He hopes that his disciple will grow into a superstar as soon as possible and help the team win.

If Parker doesn't focus on guarding Guo Xu, it won't be possible to send others.

Van Exel lost his speed after suffering several injuries, his defense was poor, and his offense was of little use.

After entering the playoffs, he averaged 11 minutes per game, scored 2.2 points and 1.4 assists, and shot only 21.9% from the field.

The Spurs also have a 191CM backup point guard, Benno Udrih, who is injured and forcing him to play will not be much better.

Popovich remembered what Guo Xu said in an interview. He said that he is a better core player than Duncan. Duncan cannot guarantee efficiency if he plays too many games. This is a fact. Guo Xu's strength lies not only in his skills and mentality, but also in his physical fitness.

Duncan plays an average of 40 minutes per game and is affected by plantar fasciitis. People will not be surprised that Guo Xu plays a full 48 minutes. He has the physical strength.

Popovich has already guessed that the Suns' plan for this series is to compete with the Spurs for physical strength and toughness. The Suns have many young players. Although their strength is average, their health is definitely better than that of the Spurs' veterans.

The game continued and the sun still had the upper hand.

Guo Xu guarded Parker, Ariza pestered Barry, and Howard faced off against Finley. They were rarely passed by in front of the frame. Finley has the ability to post up, but he can't take advantage of Howard. In his previous life with the Mavericks, he was squeezed out by Howard.

When the Spurs replaced Duncan, the Suns led by 17 points.

Duncan has a backbone as soon as he joins the Spurs, whether he is playing inside support, baseline cutting, or outside breakthroughs.

Now, Popovich's rotation tactics have become a major tactic in today's league, and many teams are rushing to imitate it.

As the name suggests, the rotation tactic is to constantly switch the ball and seek the best shot opportunities. Details include pick-and-roll, breakthrough points, double screens, double receptions, east attacks and fast breaks. The Spurs can't win the championship without Popovich's militarized system order and flexible play style.

Once the Spurs use a double screen to help Parker get rid of Guo Xu, it will be difficult for the Suns to defend inside. No matter how fast Guo Xu is, he cannot always catch up and defend. Seeing that there were frequent openings inside, D'Antoni replaced David Lee early and asked Varejao to come on to strengthen defense.

After Varejao came on the field, the Suns' interior offense was a bit worse, and their ability to withdraw from the air and attack the penalty area became worse.

Duncan knows that Varejao has good defensive ability in the penalty area, and he pulls out more frequently to cover his teammates. After withdrawing from the inside, he does not rush to shoot when there is no good opportunity to support the attack.

Popovich asked the players to use up the 24 seconds of attack time as much as possible, and quickly return to defense after taking the shot to limit the Suns' fast break. Once they fell into a positional battle, they would double-team Guo Xu and let others shoot.

The Spurs' defense worked, and the Suns led by 11 points at halftime.

In the second half, D'Antoni made lineup adjustments, and the roles of veterans and three-point shooters began to play.

The Spurs want to drag the Suns into a defensive rhythm, while D'Antoni wants to attack. He sent Kukoc as the power forward and Haslem as the center to defend Duncan, with Howard, Blake, and Guo Xu on the outside.

All five players can shoot, and the formation is wider. Guo Xu no longer looks for cover and directly plays singles with the ball, attracting double teams and passing the ball.

In the first half, James Jones performed generally when he came on as a guest at the 4th position, shooting 0-for-2 from the field. Now Kukoc can shoot three-pointers and mid-range shots. When the Spurs are strictly guarding the outside, it is easier for gaps to appear in the mid-range.

Qi Ge now plays less time and is almost a marginal player in the regular season, but his shooting ability has not been neglected. He can show it in the playoffs. His mid-range shooting rate is as high as 50%, his three-point shooting rate is 58.5%, and his overall shooting rate is 57.1. %, absolutely terrifying.

Veteran perimeter player Payton was directly discarded. He had no three-pointers when playing the No. 2 position, and was too slow to play as a point guard, making him unsuitable. Blake has been reused. His style of play is similar to Payton, and he is better at catching and shooting.

When the Suns have a stable second scoring point on the court, it becomes more difficult for the Spurs to double-team Guo Xu, and the Suns' triangle offense begins to show its power. Guo Xu was double-teamed and then distributed the ball. Even if he could not directly assist his teammates, Kukoc and Blake could quickly transfer the ball to Howard.

Howard made 3 of 5 shots in a single quarter and scored 10 points on 4 of 4 free throws. He can shoot suddenly.

Guo Xu played the entire quarter and scored 7 points and 4 assists. Most of his energy was focused on the defensive end, following Parker closely. When Haslem plays small-ball tactics as a guest center, Duncan can use his height advantage to attack hard, but it is more difficult for Parker to break through.

After Kukoc came off the court, Ariza played as a power forward. His job is simple. On the offensive end, he opens up opportunities outside the three-point line. On defense, he deals with veteran Horry and actively switches to pick-and-rolls.

Ariza and James Jones are both 203cm tall and have amazing wingspans. They should play small forwards on other teams. D'Antoni is an anomaly. He uses the two as power forwards to enhance mobility, guard against outside breakthroughs, and run faster during counterattacks.

In De's run-and-gun system, it's normal to play power forward at around 2 meters, and these two are a little taller than Marion.

D'Antoni is a master in offense. He knows how to arrange tactics to target the opponent's weaknesses, but he only needs to sacrifice a little defense for the sake of offense.

Except for Duncan, the Spurs' interior players lack offensive power. It is not a black hole to defend with smaller players. Horry is a space-based inside line, and it is ineffective to hit hard in the low post. Nesterovich has a physical advantage, but he and Duncan cannot play together, otherwise it will be slow to return to defense.

The Suns used running and gunning to gain the upper hand in this quarter, leading by 18 points entering the final quarter... m.