NBA: I am a master dealer

Popovich on the sidelines began to frown when he saw this scene.

The encirclement interference has been formed, but Xue Liancheng seemed not to be affected at all, and he easily assisted Randall to score.

This was quite unexpected.

You know, no matter how good the player's vision is, he still has blind spots.

Coupled with real-time interference, your passing lane will be blocked.

In this case, you still pass the ball to the designated position as if you have installed positioning. This is already magical.

But he didn't say anything. After all, the game had just begun. This was the first game. It could be said that both sides were completely in the testing stage.

He won't negate the defensive plan they made before the game just because of one or two rounds.

Spurs attack.

Mills rushed over quickly. As a replacement for Tony Parker, Mills' advantage is very obvious, that is, he is fast.

Xue Liancheng is really not easy to defend, so this task is given to Courtney Lee.

But the reality is that Courtney Lee is not particularly fast.

In this round, Courtney Lee retreated and could barely keep up.

After a screen, Courtney Lee was thrown away, and Randall had to move sideways to make up the position.

Mills was not afraid, he just changed direction and rushed over.

When everyone thought Mills was going to hit the penalty area, he passed the ball.

Passed to Aldridge on the side.

Courtney Lee came to make up, but the position difference was too big. Aldridge simply ignored Courtney Lee's interference and directly shot with a straight arm.

A solid hit.

The Lakers serve quickly.

It was also a fast advance. Xue Liancheng did not encounter crazy attacks like he did in the Warriors series, so it was up to him to advance with the ball.

Returning to his own rhythm again, that long-lost feeling made him very comfortable.

But soon, he felt uncomfortable.

Because Mills came to defend.

This deployment was so unexpected that it shocked the commentary team.

Host: "What's going on? Put Leonard and Green aside and let Mills guard Xue Liancheng? What is Popovich trying to do?"

Narrator: "Is this a new attempt?"

Commentator: "I don't understand what Popovich is doing."

It’s probably hard to understand who it is.

After all, the Spurs have famous defensive players like Danny Green and the best defensive players like Leonard. As a result, Mills, who is 183cm tall and weighs 84kg, is asked to guard Xue Liancheng, who is built like a steel gun. .

Isn't this looking for abuse?
At first, Xue Liancheng thought so too.

But when he pushed past half-court, he discovered that was not the case.

Mills' small body really can't stop him from advancing, but Mills is so flexible!

A dig here, a poke there, even if he passed Mills, Mills would soon be able to catch up and continue to struggle.

It was like a piece of cowhide plaster that couldn't be shaken off, making him unable to shake it off during the advancement process.

So much so that he had to be distracted to deal with Mills, which resulted in a feeling of delay in advancing the fast break rhythm.

When he pushed over completely, the Spurs were basically in position.

If he failed to find an opportunity, he would naturally have to play position and pick-and-roll.

finally.

The Spurs still surrounded and suppressed him.

In this round, although his vision was not greatly affected, the passing route was indeed blocked.

In the end, he could only throw it to Glenn Robinson on the outside.

The latter three-point attempt, no.

The most important thing is that the Spurs' filling speed is really the best in the league, very positive.

After Glenn Robinson received the ball, he did have a certain amount of space, but when he adjusted, people came to cover, which still caused some interference to Glenn Robinson.

of course.

There's also the reason why Glenn Robinson doesn't shoot fast enough.

Look back.

The Spurs still pushed for a fast break, but this time Courtney Lee was prepared and left some space. Mills failed to take advantage of his speed advantage.

Another pick-and-roll breakthrough, and then the ball.

Then Gasol continued to score.

Then came the dazzling pull-and-run of the Spurs, which started spinning like a rotating gear.

This caused the Lakers to switch defenses endlessly, and in the end they were confused by the changes, and Green was leaked.

In the end, Green rushed in and after receiving the ball, he also had an underhand layup.

The opening seemed calm, but Xue Liancheng already felt vaguely uneasy.

why?
Because on the offensive end, the Spurs' encirclement defense method can indeed effectively affect his passing routes, preventing him from being as unscrupulous in passing and cutting as before.

This can be said to have hit the Lakers seven inches, or more accurately, pinched his veins.

How does the Lakers' offense unfold?

It was started by him, using his vision and passing to build the Lakers' sharp offensive system.

The first is fast break and defensive transition. This is the advantage of playing a small lineup, which can completely defeat your big man.

The second is breakthrough distribution and assault coordination. The Spurs have now cut off his passing route, which means that if he falls into a positional battle, his most basic tactical power will be reduced by most.

Finally, he comes to move to create space and connect with the ball. Just like he did against the Warriors in the last round of the series, he does not have a lot of time to hold the ball and attack, but he can use his three-point deterrence to move and create space. , and at the same time can also be used as a connecting ball when cutting.

This is actually not the regular tactic of the Lakers, it was forced by the Warriors.

The reason why the Lakers became the final winners was actually not because of this tactic.

But it comes from Xue Liancheng's superb performance.

and so.

Now the Spurs are cutting into his veins as soon as they come up, which will make it difficult for the Lakers' offense to move forward.

And this is just one of them.

Another point is their unlimited defense strategy. Facing the Spurs' unlimited ball-passing offensive firepower, they can't find a way to stifle them.

In other words, in human terms, half of the attack is useless, and half of the defense is useless.

The commentator of this field quickly noticed this: "If I remember correctly, the Spurs' encirclement and suppression method was used when they dealt with James, and the effect was quite good, especially against James. When James was young, James' outside shooting ability was quite limited, which made James struggle to combine with sudden points. Now it is used on Xue Liancheng, and it works just as well. Xue Liancheng's passing is no longer so arbitrary. "

The commentator chimed in: "So, as a disciple of Popovich, Cole is still far behind his master after all. He has never been able to solve the problem of Xue Liancheng's passing and control, which led to the collapse of the series at 1:3. In the end, Forced to death by Xue Liancheng." Host: "I wonder if Cole will beat his chest and cry after watching this game..."

Commentator: "If I remember correctly, Mike Brown should be considered a Spurs member. He joined the Spurs coaching staff in 00 and served as the Spurs assistant coach for three years. This series can be regarded as a master-disciple duel. It seems now , Mike Brown also has a huge gap with Popovich.”

Host: "This is indeed an interesting place. I wonder if they had any communication before the series started?"

The commentator was quite professional: "Probably not, because the Lakers not only encountered this problem, they switched defenses endlessly and finally missed someone. This is the most fatal thing. They have no way to contain the Spurs' quick transition and passing the ball. . If they had communication, the Lakers shouldn't be in this predicament."

Commentator: "Haha...it's true. If the Lakers don't make adjustments next, it will be very difficult for them in this game."

Host: "On the defensive end, it depends on whether Mike Brown has a backup plan. On the offensive end, I think as long as Xue Liancheng is here, there shouldn't be a big problem. I believe he can find a solution to the problem."

In the next few rounds, as expected, the Lakers were in big trouble.

On the offensive end, Xue Liancheng's passing route was blocked, and the best passing point was destroyed, causing him to have to pass to the outside or to teammates who did not have such a good opportunity.

The Spurs' supplementary defense is really passionate at all times. The interference to their teammates can be imagined, and their efficiency naturally cannot be improved.

But at least they still have Xue Liancheng as their mastermind.

Randall is also in good shape and can continue to bomb the basket in confrontation with Aldridge.

But despite this, they still fell behind by 26 points 31:5 in the first quarter.

In this first quarter, Leonard took 4 shots, only hit 1 goal, and scored only 2 points.

If Leonard plays well, it's hard to imagine what the first quarter will be like.

Rest gap in between.

Mike Brown finally discovered the problem and began to use zone defense tactics.

But the Spurs are also a three-point team. Although the Spurs offense and defense appear to be very traditional, in fact, their offensive and defensive rhythm is also very fast, and their ability to hit three-pointers is not weak.

Leonard, Danny Green, Mills, Ginobili, Jonathan Simmons, and even Aldridge can all shoot threes.

So Mike Brown's backup defensive tactics didn't work.

The Spurs played as they should, as if the changes in the Lakers' defensive front didn't affect them at all.

In the second quarter, the Spurs stepped up their attack on Randall. The immature Lanbao's continuous mistakes and strikes made him completely lost.

In this section, Xue Liancheng really relied on him to resist. He hit the skill three times with 100% accuracy, and after using it twice, he could barely keep up with the Spurs' offensive and defensive rhythm.

Halftime ended.

The Lakers are already 53 points behind the Spurs 62:9.

Looking at the scoreboard, Xue Liancheng lamented in his heart. He knew that this game was over for the Lakers.

Of the 53 points in the half, he scored 21 points alone, almost half of the team's scores. If you want to win in this situation, you have to be like in the tiebreaker with the Warriors. There is no chance of winning.

But the problem is that his condition today is very reluctant.

He made 14 of 7 overall shots, 8 of 3 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws. It still looks very good, but the problem is that he used the % hit skill twice!

In other words, excluding two 12% goals, his true shooting percentage should be 5 of 6 and 1 of three-pointers. It can be said to be quite average and there is no sign of being super at all.

What's more...

Can super gods come just by wanting to?

That's not the case at all. The reason why Super God is called Super God is because of its specialness and rare super performance.

If 60+ is included in the standard of being a super god, then he has played for three seasons and has only a handful of times to be a super god.

But having said that, it is commendable to be able to perform like this under the encirclement and suppression of the Spurs.

In addition to 21 points, he also sent 4 assists and got 3 rebounds.

After the passing route was cut off, teammates became at a loss and spent many rounds running around in confusion. Sometimes they ran out of position and the ball could not arrive in time. This made them very frustrated for a time and especially dampened their enthusiasm.

But Xue Liancheng can't help it!

He was forced to use his 100% hit skills, and this was only the second quarter!
One can imagine how anxious and helpless he was.

The main reason is that he wants to use three-pointers to attack the Spurs, trying to force the Spurs to change their defensive strategy.

But the Spurs were not moved at all. They insisted on their own offensive and defensive strategies and maintained their own offensive and defensive rhythm.

Let you rush in and people will surround you. You can use your personal impact and footsteps to get to the basket and finish, but you can't easily and freely pass the kind of amazing ball that makes people scream.

At this point, I have to admire Popovich, he is indeed courageous.

Because once the strategy fails, the coach will often be stigmatized as a stubborn person who will be sprayed to death by the fans, who has poor on-the-spot reaction and doesn't know how to adapt.

Popovich has no such worries.

Lost, Spurs fans admit it.

If you win, you will be regarded as a god.

This is the authority and supreme honor of a meritorious coach. Popovich has won the respect and trust of players and fans.

And where do respect and trust come from?

Naturally, it was built with championship rings.

and so.

Popovich has proven himself countless times, and no one will doubt this old man.

Only in this way can the Spurs' tactics be implemented in place and the offensive and defensive rhythm be perfected.

Section 3.

The Lakers were struggling in the end, and Mike Brown asked Xue Liancheng to continue to move without the ball to create space and connect the ball.

But the problem remains the same, and the Spurs are unmoved at all.

There were no changes on the defensive end because Xue Liancheng was playing without the ball and making moves.

Not to mention sending two people to guard Xue Liancheng's connecting ball.

It’s still the same strategy, as long as you hit the reasonable area, encircle and suppress them.

of course.

If you connect the ball and hit the basket to score, then you have to.

It doesn't matter...

The Spurs had such a desperate attitude, but it made Xue Liancheng feel very uncomfortable.

Because his personal state is limited after all, physical exertion and physical energy consumption are particularly large, which further affects his state.

This game has been played for three quarters, and he only rested for two minutes.

His efficiency cannot be guaranteed due to his overloaded offensive state.

Attacking the basket is better, he can finally use his feet and strength to finish.

In terms of three-pointers, it's a bit confusing, and the efficiency is quite average.

From this point of view, the Spurs' defense is undoubtedly successful.

(End of this chapter)