Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 122 "Han Sen's Happy Joint Defense"

Since the NBA began allowing zone defense in 2001, zone defense has begun to show its charm.

The Kings relied on their double-team defense to fight the Lakers back and forth, and even almost made it to the finals.

The Spurs are also one of the teams that utilize it best.

The most common zone defenses are 2-3 and 3-2, with one player primarily defending the inside and the other primarily defending the outside.

Hansen had seen these two types of zone defense quite a lot during his time in the NCAA. Not only were they used by opponents, but Barry University itself also used them.

2-2-1联防本质上是2-3联防的一个变种，和2-3联防最大的区别就是中锋站位。

This involves the issue of rules. There is no "defensive three seconds" rule in the NCAA and international competitions, so the center can hide under the basket.

But this is not the case in the NBA, which results in the center standing more outside the three-second zone when in a double team defense, forming a 2-1-2 position.

Therefore, the essence of this zone defense is the same as the 2-3 zone defense, which is more aimed at limiting the opponent's inside offense.

Given Randolph's impressive performance, this defensive adjustment is understandable.

The Grizzlies attacked the frontcourt. Randolph had no good chances under the double-team of Duncan and McDyess and could only pass the ball to the outside. The ball finally came to Gay, and Gay's three-point shot from the outside missed.

Gay's three-point shooting percentage this season is a career high, but he and James are of the same type in this regard, with a high shooting percentage, but more importantly, they have a good grasp of open spaces.

The Spurs have already mastered this zone defense to perfection, and there will never be a completely open situation.

After Duncan grabbed the defensive rebound, the Spurs launched a fast break. The "French sports car" Parker stepped on the accelerator, shook off Conley, and flew for a fast break layup to score.

There were cheers at the scene; the Spurs' defensive adjustment had an immediate effect.

Popovich then sat back on the bench and turned to chat with assistant coach Budenholzer.

In addition to limiting the opponent's inside offense, the 2-1-2 zone defense also has the advantage of a zone defense: it can quickly launch a defensive counterattack.

Especially when the Spurs have Parker and the Grizzlies have a twin-tower lineup, it is very targeted.

Of course, all zone defenses have weaknesses. The biggest weakness of the 2-12 zone is mid-range and long-range shooting, but that is not the Grizzlies' strong point.

In fact, the only thing that could pose an effective threat was Hansen's outside shooting, and he had already arranged for Hill to follow Hansen closely.

So although Randolph was brave, it was not enough to help the Grizzlies win the game.

But just as Popovich turned around, Hansen greeted Conley.

The Grizzlies advanced to the frontcourt, and Conley continued to signal Randolph to ask for the ball in the low post on the strong side, but at the same time, Hansen and Gasol Jr. played off-ball screen on the weak side.

Hill followed Hansen closely and followed Popovich's pre-match arrangement to defend Hansen's three-pointers and breakthroughs. Of course, the main focus at this time was three-pointers.

Because the 2-1-2 zone defense is also very effective in limiting breakthroughs, as long as Han Sen enters the free throw line, he will be double-teamed.

Hill's defense is tough and his execution is strong. After seeing that Hansen did not reach for the ball at the three-point line but moved towards the free throw line, he gave up the pick-and-roll around Gasol and rushed forward to block Hansen's step-back three-pointer.

Hansen moved to the free throw line and Conley's pass arrived.

After he caught the ball, Duncan, who was in the center, subconsciously took a big step back.

212 becomes 23 zone defense at this moment, this is its flexibility.

破2-3联防的最佳阵型1-3-1站位，需要的是一个中距离投篮能力的内线，能把中锋从内线调动起来。

However, Han Sen is not an inside player. His strengths are breakthroughs and lobs. Duncan had no problem with this shot, except...

The moment he retreated, Han Sen jumped up and shot from mid-range.

When Duncan rushed out again, the interference he could provide to Hansen was very limited.

"Shh!"

Han Sen's mid-range shot went in smoothly.

The crisp sound drew Popovich's attention back to the court.

He didn't notice it just now, but then he looked up and saw what happened from the playback on the large LED screen at the scene.

Hansen shot from distance?

Although Han Sen is not incapable of mid-range shooting, it is still surprising that he dares to shoot from that position and hit the target steadily in a confrontation of this level.

In the Spurs' positional battle, Parker continued to pick and roll with Duncan. After seeing Randolph rushing out, he broke through and turned into a little top, rushing to the basket to avoid Gasol's block and score on the board.

Parker was also in excellent form tonight.

12:8.

The two defensive teams played against each other in this period, which also livened up the atmosphere.

"Defend! Defend!"

The fans began to cheer for the home team.

The Spurs still adhered to the previous defensive strategy, and Hill was still cutting off Hansen's three-point opportunities.

The difference is that Duncan showed his mobility and rushed out after receiving the ball from Hansen at the free throw line.

Seeing this, Hansen stepped inside and passed Duncan. After seeing McDyess coming to assist, he passed the ball to Randolph who was left open.

The quality of Han Sen's pass during this breakthrough was average and a bit off.

Fortunately, Randolph was flexible enough and his arms were long enough. After grabbing the ball back, he took a step and dunked with both hands to score.

This caused a stir at the scene and also excited the Grizzlies' bench. Hollins even pumped his fist excitedly.

A useless little-known fact: Randolph has the fewest dunks among All-Star power forwards. The number of dunks he has in a season is only half of that of Nowitzki.

After the dunk, Randolph and Hansen high-fived each other vigorously, and they shook their heads like a big black bear.

The Grizzlies' momentum suddenly increased.

"Tim, don't defend!" Popovich stood up and gave instructions to Duncan.

Compared to shooting, Hansen's breakthrough power is more threatening.

After getting into shape, the Grizzlies' defensive quality also improved rapidly.

Parker suddenly passed the ball to Duncan, whose shot was blocked by Gasol Jr. and went wide, and the rebound was saved by Randolph.

Randolph passed the ball to Hansen who was on a fast break, but Hill was quick to foul and disrupted the fast break.

As a perennial powerhouse in the Western Conference, the Spurs have done a very good job in terms of experience and details.

The two sides returned to positional warfare.

Hill tried to prevent Hansen from setting a pick-and-roll with Gasol, but Gasol was too big and he was unable to succeed.

However, Parker moved to the free throw line early and did not give Conley a good passing angle.

Conley was also decisive when he saw this and quickly passed the ball to Randolph in the paint.

Randolph's quick shot from the low post missed, but he grabbed the offensive rebound again. It was not enough for him to eat and drink in the Lakers' interior, so he feasted in the Spurs' penalty area.

However, Duncan came to assist in defense at this time, and Randolph did not have a good second attack opportunity.

Then, he did not force an attack, but passed the ball to Hansen who was still at the free throw line.

Zone defense is more defense than defense in a zone, which can limit the opponent's offensive strengths, but it has a natural lag when it comes to making up for the defense.

Although the Spurs' rotation was fast enough, Hansen still had a moment of open opportunity after receiving the ball.

This kind of opportunity is fleeting, especially when facing an opponent like the Spurs. If you hesitate for a moment, the chance will be gone.

However, Hansen seized the moment and completed the shot before Jefferson pounced on him, just like Kobe did before.

"Shh!"

Hansen's mid-range shot once again penetrated the net, causing a stir at the scene. Even Popovich suddenly stood up from the bench.

The previous round didn't really explain much, after all, it was almost an open space. But in the previous round, the ability Han Sen displayed made another figure subconsciously appear in his mind.

A useful piece of knowledge is that since Popovich coached the Spurs in 1996, there have been very few players who have been able to score 40+ against the Spurs.

Super scorers such as Wade, McGrady, and Durant have never scored 40 points.

Nowitzki only had one.

But Kobe did it 5 times.

It’s not that his scoring ability is much better than other super scorers, but his technical characteristics are too restrained by the Spurs.

The Spurs' defense initially relied on Duncan alone, but later, due to injuries, Duncan began to rely on a zone defense system.

But this zone defense is also called "Kobe's Happy Zone Defense" by some fans.

Especially when the Lakers were strong inside, with the inside and outside lines working together, Popovich had basically no way to deal with Kobe's mid-range and long-range shooting ability.

Whether it is the previous "OK" combination or the current Lakers team.

Because it is difficult to limit Kobe with one-on-one defense, and this is even more obvious after Bowen retired.

There was no Kobe tonight, but there was Han Sen, and he achieved a similar effect.

This makes Popovich very uncomfortable.

In the end, Popovich, the GOAT of the class, failed to find a good response, just like when he faced Kobe before.

Although Hansen's offensive skills are not as comprehensive as Kobe's, he has strong ability to combine breakthroughs and shots and is not so easy to limit.

Nine minutes into the first quarter, the score was 9 to 20, and the Grizzlies had already taken an 12-point lead.

Hansen made 4 of 4 mid-range shots in a single quarter and scored 8 points.

At this time, both sides began to rotate. Hansen went off the court to rest, and Ginobili also took to the field at this time.

Ginobili is one of the most special players in NBA history because he may be the only All-Star player who played as a substitute most of the time.

There are many factors involved, but the biggest one is the Spurs' team configuration.

With Parker and Ginobili as the outside line configuration, no one can defend the opponent's outside offensive spearhead, so in the end Ginobili had to be sacrificed.

This season, the Spurs really didn't have a top perimeter defender, so they let him step up.

Before Ginobili went on the court, Popovich pulled him aside and gave him some instructions.

The Spurs' starting lineup did not have an advantage and could only rely on Ginobili's performance to make up for the disadvantage in the transition period with the substitutes.

Ginobili did live up to expectations. After coming on, he used Split's pick-and-roll to get into the inside, serpentinely broke through Haddadi and scored a layup.

Looking back, the Spurs defended the Grizzlies' wave, and it was Ginobili again. After breaking through the basket, he threw the ball behind his back to Gary Neal in the weak side corner, who made a three-pointer.

There was an instant burst of cheers at the scene.

Duncan is the strongest in the "GDP" combination, but the least entertaining. The best one still belongs to the "Demon Sword".

As an Argentine player, you can be bad, but you can't be bad.

20 to 17, the Spurs quickly narrowed the gap.

"Defend! Defend!"

The fans' cheers were also heard at the scene.

Hansen was thinking about getting up and asking Hollins to let him go on the court to defend Ginobili.

"Oh!"

Suddenly there was a muffled sound on the field.

That was Gay rushing into the Spurs' inside line and performing an explosive one-handed slam dunk!
Han Sen did not stop standing up, but after he stood up, his action had turned into a fist pump in congratulations.

Not only him, but other members of the Grizzlies also jumped up excitedly.

And before they all sat down, Gay performed a stunning block on the defensive end, blocking Neil's three-pointer directly into the audience seats.

Han Sen simply grabbed the towel in his hand and began to swing it.

To be honest, Gay's overall strength is no weaker than Ginobili on the opposite side.

Gay was also very excited after blocking the shot. While retreating, he high-fived Hansen who was waving a towel on the sidelines.

The Spurs' attack ultimately failed. In the last attack of the quarter, Gay hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer against Danny Green's defense.

He was obviously having a lot of fun and was going crazy, everything!
Popovich was so overwhelmed that he put his hand on his head.

The Spurs had a difficult time tonight as they didn't play in the starting lineup or in the transition period with the bench.

At the end of the first half, the Grizzlies led the Spurs 45-38.

Although the score difference was not too big, the momentum of the game was clearly on the Grizzlies' side.

Randolph got a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, and Hansen also scored 14 points. The two played the Memphis version of the "OK combination."

After the halftime break and before the game started, reporters interviewed Popovich.

"Did you make any defensive adjustments against Han in the midfield?" Han Sen was the focus tonight and he played well in the first half, so it was hard not to be asked.

"No." Popovich's answer was just one word.

The game continued after halftime, with the Grizzlies attacking first.

The Spurs directly set up a 2-1-2 zone defense.

It is unknown whether Popovich adjusted the defense for Hansen, but he was not going to give Randolph another chance to wreak havoc in the interior.

Seeing this, Conley called the tactics again.

Hansen received the ball on the weak side with the help of Gasol's pick-and-roll. At this time, Hill's defense changed. He chose to pick-and-roll and then block Hansen's mid-range route.

He also said that the defense has not been adjusted. It turns out that not a single word said by this old fox Popovich can be trusted.

Hansen had an opportunity to run from the three-point line, but Conley's pass was a little slow. By the time Hansen got the ball, Hill had already bypassed the pick-and-roll and rushed out.

Han Sen raised his hand and prepared to shoot, and Hill pounced on him.

Han Sen's three-pointer is the one that the Grizzlies have the best chance of making, and it is the kind of three-pointer that requires strong shooting ability. If he is slow to block it, Han Sen will definitely be able to make it.

But when he was about to pounce, Han Sen collected the ball, then passed it from the right side, and suddenly accelerated to break through.

This time, Hill could only watch Han Sen pass by him.

Duncan in the interior rushed out quickly upon seeing this, but because he was afraid of Han Sen's ability to break through, he did not dare to rush too far outside.

When Han Sen broke through to the free throw line, he directly chose to pull up and shoot.

[Giant Killer] gave him excellent emergency stopping ability, while [Classical Master] also gave him excellent waist and abdominal strength and body coordination.

After this sudden stop, he jumped up from the ground in a very smooth rhythm.

For a moment, No. 77 in Popovich's eyes turned into No. 24.

Han Sen attacked from mid-air with a posture as beautiful as a painting.

"Shh!"

The basketball hollow falls into the pocket.

At this moment, "Kobe's Happy Zone Defense" has become "Han Sen's Happy Zone Defense".

(End of this chapter)