Chapter 506 They are coming
After losing two games in a row on the road, the Spurs have no room for error. They need to come back at home. Otherwise, if they lose three games in a row, it will be tantamount to a desperate situation.
This is a dead end that no team in history can reverse.
Therefore, returning to their home court, the Spurs figured out that it was unrealistic to stop the Sonics solely on defense. They must play to their own characteristics.
In terms of the roster, the Spurs are not bad at all.
Dragic, Ginobili, Iguodala, Luol Deng and Duncan.
Although there is a lack of superstars in their prime like Yu Fei, there are still good players in various positions. As long as they get into their own rhythm, they can definitely compete with the Sonics.
Back at home, the Spurs' game became simpler.
They no longer spend so much time designing this and scheming that on the defensive end.
This is proof that Popovich recognizes reality.
Before the series begins, Popovich, who calls himself a famous coach, must want to use his coaching ability to help Tyronn Lue.
Although Director Lu has nothing to offer, it is not easy to catch his flaws. Because he is best at pushing problems to the eldest brother in the team. As long as the eldest brother himself does not cause problems, the problems of Lu's guidance will be covered up by the strong eldest brother.
This is what is called mixed learning with coaches.
Abandoning coaching philosophy and relying on players' personal abilities is an opportunistic way of leading a team, but his advantage is that he does not pick coaches.
During the Yuan Dynasty, the top 15 coaches in history tried every means to use the greatest lineup of the new century to play some passing games full of basketball aesthetics. However, when he was temporarily knocked down by the disease, his temporary replacement Mike Brown took over the game. Kudu used the pick-and-roll until the end, and the Warriors won consecutively.
Is Coach Baker in 2017 better than the coaches of other Western Conference playoff teams?
No, he just activated the mark left by James.
You can't go wrong by giving the ball to the big brother.
When Popovich gave up ordering and focused on adjusting his offense, the difference between him and Lue became apparent.
The Spurs' left and right wing passing and cutting were on full display in the third game.
The Sonics, who intended to sweep their opponents, suffered a defeat.
Mainly because they didn't anticipate enough of Goran Dragic's performance.
Since the Spurs traded Kidd, the No. 1 position has become a constant problem for them.
Except for the No. 1 position, their other positions look pretty good, but their stable regular season performance makes it difficult for them to use the top draft picks to select potential stocks.
For years, they have relied on late first-round picks, and Dragic is the latest result.
The Spurs have a break-it-out mentality with him.
However, fortunately, Dragic did not live up to the team's cultivation. On this night that mattered life and death in the playoffs, he stood up.
The Spurs avoided falling behind 0-3.
Next door in Seattle, the Lakers defeated the Mavericks without any blood, leading the series 3-0.
Some people say that this is a reflection of the Lakers' hard power.
The Sonics, who are also considered to be superior in the league, failed to continue their winning streak.
This shows that compared to the Lakers, their hard power is somewhat insufficient.
However, this is mainly the rhetoric of the Lakers media.
Those who favor the Sonics believe that the Spurs are better than the Mavericks. As the third team in the Western Conference with 59 points, even the Lakers cannot sweep them 100%.
It's just that a night of collective outbursts like this is rare for any team.
It can be said that tonight is the Spurs' lucky night.
But luck can only bring one night of victory.
Unless you are a gambler who wins the lottery, the impact is unlikely to last.
So their luck ran out in Game 4.
As a point guard, Dragic is tall and sharp in pick-and-roll offense, but his passing vision is not good.
Lue took the advice of defensive assistant Tim Grgulic and double-teamed him whenever he called the pick-and-roll.
At this moment, the tragedy of the traditional insider appeared on Tim Duncan.
At that time, Duncan entered the league as the undisputed No. 1 pick, playing the fifth position in the name of the fourth position. His basic skills were excellent. As far as the game at that time was concerned, he had no blind spots, so he let the proud Shaquille O'Neal win Got a nickname: Great Basic Skills.
However, if placed in the small ball era, Duncan is an extremely comprehensive insider but lacks space value.
Although he has a long-range shot, it is unstable. The Spurs generally do not regard this move as Duncan's regular offensive method. As for three-pointers, Duncan is one of the insiders of his generation who is not so in tune with the times.
In this era where Yao Huang is forced by the situation and has been stamped with the ideological stamp of "pulling outside to shoot is for weaklings" and is a conservative insider who averages 3 three-pointers per game and shoots as high as 40%, Duncan still I hate the trend of pulling out the inside to shoot three-pointers.
Although he never said anything, his refusal to shoot three-pointers was his silent rebellion against contemporary basketball.
Life is a circle.
No matter where you start, you will eventually come back to where you started.
The difference is, when you return to the starting point, is it different from when you started?
In response to Dragic's poor ball play and heavy reliance on pick-and-rolls, the SuperSonics implemented a double-team package that Stephen Curry from another time and space was very familiar with. Suddenly, this seemed to be about to end in the Western Conference semifinals. The blockbuster Slovenian monster was sealed.
The Spurs, who lacked new breakthroughs on the outside, began to look to Ginobili for help.
15 minutes of Jordan is not enough. He needs at least 35 minutes of Jordan to make the SuperSonics scared.
But Ginobili was neither Jordan for 15 minutes tonight, nor the loser that Popovich called him who wanted to trade him at the end of the game. He just switched back and forth between god and beast.
Sometimes, he can play Yu Fei in isolation from the outside.
Use a change of pace to create space for a three-point shot and then hit it.
Seeing Ginobili like this makes every 300-pound San Antonian puff out his belly with pride.
"Oh my god Manu! Our Manu, do you have such a Manu?"
However, very soon, for some reason, he would inexplicably throw a cannonball pass across the defense, which would be a great goal or a terrible failure.
Tonight he failed even more.
The problem is that he doesn't have to take such risks. He just needs to pass the ball to his teammates safely and slowly.
But Ginobili seems to live in a world where if you don't show off, you will die. He spontaneously makes risky choices, and whenever he does so, he looks determined.
"He really believes he can do it!"
Statistics don't lie.
Ginobili showed 15 minutes of Jordan's level on the offensive end tonight. With a lot of opposition, he made 8 of 15 shots in a single game and scored the second-highest 24 points on the team. However, his nine turnovers in the game were enough to offset any offensive contribution he made.
When the Argentinian is a perfect match, the Spurs need to rely on the other three.
But Luol Deng and Iguodala both have a bit of civil servant basketball. As starters, they are indispensable in their respective positions, but Iguodala needs to allocate his strength to the defensive end, and the British Jordan Like a replica of Antoine Jamieson.
You can expect him to contribute 15-20 points in every game, but exceeding this number is delusional, especially in the playoffs. He is like a contented worker. After getting the corresponding points, he feels that he has reached his limit. He disappears on the court, and you can't feel his presence on offense or defense, but at the end of the game, 18 points and 6 rebounds? He played really well, right?
Ultimately, the Spurs will need luck to get by.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, they trailed by 14 points, so the biggest luck in their team history came forward.
Thirteen years ago, they won the No. 1 pick in the lottery night, leaving a generation of Boston basketball fans with endless regrets.
The No. 1 pick became Tim Duncan. In the dreams of die-hard Cammies like Bill Simmons, Duncan dressed as Celtics players and led them to a heyday.
More than ten years have passed. Although Duncan was defeated by Yu Fei twice in the finals, he still led the team to win the championship in 1999 and 2005. He established the GOAT consensus at power forward, the most barren position in the NBA. Now he is 34 At 20 years old, he still has All-Star level fighting ability, but the continued impact of injuries and weight loss bothers him.
He's been playing like Luol Deng for more than two and a half games.
Can averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds per game allow Duncan to play with his car in peace after being sent home by Yu Fei again?
The answer is of course no.
Duncan stood up and beat Kwame Brown, making people realize that the rumor that he was beaten by the opponent was just a ridiculous story.
Chris Bosh couldn't stop him either.
In the fourth quarter, Duncan's low post singles success rate was 100%.
However, Yu Fei's breakthrough 2+1, Durant's three-pointer, and Moreau's three-pointer made Duncan's desperate counterattack seem ineffective.
Under the Sonics' stable outside firepower and Yu Fei's devastating penalty area threat, Duncan's rebound only gave the Spurs six more minutes of life.
The 34-year-old Duncan cannot attack until the last minute like he did when he was young.
When his physical strength is exhausted, he cannot kill monsters like Ultraman. From the time he missed the tip-in to the difficulty of getting into position, the Spurs' struggle ended here.
The SuperSonics were like a python, finally suffocating their opponents after 42 minutes.
The last six minutes were garbage time, and both sides replaced their main players in turn.
Popovich is unwilling, but what can he do?
Duncan is old, Ginobili's duality is no secret, Dragic is too young, and Iguodala and Luol Deng are somewhat inadequate in this level of confrontation.
Iguodala can also understand that the Spurs cannot expect him to score 30 points per game, but Jordan. Since his second season, he has steadily contributed 15 points per game. Now, he can still contribute 15 points, but if To get over the SuperSonics mountain, the Spurs need a player who can break through.
3 to 1
Although there were some twists and turns in the process, the Spurs could not prevent the SuperSonics from advancing.
In the subsequent fifth game, the two sides will return to the center of the Key Arena.
For the Sonics, this just gives them an extra game to sell tickets to.
Kwame Brown spoke loudly after the game, believing that Duncan's performance in the last quarter could not prove anything.
Also, he has no respect for the Spurs.
"We all know that only one series is important." Brown said with a smile. "You'll see about it soon."
Brown's outrageous behavior attracted criticism from many media outlets.
This made him continue to tweet: "Hate me, I don't care what losers say!"
Angry Spurs fans left a message under his Twitter: "You are just Frye's dog, no one cares what you say!"
"You're right, but I once beat Tim Duncan." Brown replied, "I stepped on his head and won the championship!"
Ring culture is an abstract culture.
This culture started when Charles Barkley became a media personality. As a former superstar, he was famous for his lack of titles because he had a big mouth and always spoke his mind. When the truth hurts like a sharp knife, the other party will talk about the champion.
You are so eloquent, why didn't you win the championship?
Brown completely abstracted this culture, because he won the championship when the Bucks defeated the Spurs, so even if his data was completely blown by Duncan, he still won the championship by stepping on Duncan's head, not to mention that he still had a game to win. He scored 20 points. Is it too much to say that he defeated Duncan?
This theory is just like the LOL S game championship is equivalent to the five world firsts. He is only based on the results. What he negates is not the process, but creates a process. Although I was beaten, I won the championship, so in the final analysis, I beat you.
For a time, Brown's hatred in San Antonio exceeded that of Yu Fei and Barkley.
The latter two were both blacklisted for making size-discriminatory remarks about the Holy City.
In addition to Brown, Sonics sharpshooter Anthony Morrow also behaved in a high-profile manner.
He thinks the Spurs are just rubbish and can't wait to beat the Lakers.
Durant did a high-profile post-game interview with ESPN.
During the press conference, Durant was very friendly to local reporters in the Holy City and was named "the only Sonics player who is not annoying."
Yu Fei, who has attracted much attention, is very low-key.
After the game, Yu Fei briefly accepted an on-site interview and then met Duncan in the aisle. He saw the thick knee pads on his opponent’s knees and thought that if one day he had to wear such thick knee pads to play, he might as well retire. .
“We will be back.”
Duncan said to Fei.
He said there was a sixth game.
"Of course." Yu Fei smiled, "See you next season."
Afterwards, the two parties said goodbye, and 28-year-old Yu Fei and 34-year-old Duncan passed by each other.
Two days later
Western Conference Semifinals Game 5
Experts determined that this was the Spurs' last game of the season.
The league is already building momentum for the upcoming annual drama.
The One Empire VS The Evil Empire.
44 versus 23 and 24
Reebok vs. Nike
This is not only a decisive battle in the basketball world, but also a decisive battle in the sports world. Nike chose to bring the two kings together in Los Angeles to break Yu Fei's ruling order.
The Lakers have made reinforcements one after another, while the SuperSonics have been continuously affected by injuries and have an uneven lineup. In terms of strength, they are already at a disadvantage even before the game starts.
But it's hard to accept that Yu Fei might lose.
Because he's dominated the league in six of the last seven years.
The Spurs are now like a small character on the stage to add drama to themselves.
Everyone was tired of watching it and wanted him to leave immediately.
Even the off-court activities arranged by the league are more attractive than the Spurs.
Jerry "LOGO" West is here tonight.
ABC arranged a face-to-face talk show for him and Durant.
West looked at the high-spirited Durant and asked: "You have won two championships at a young age. This is a rare honor. How do you feel about this?"
"I must thank my teammates." Durant said, "Without them, there would be no championship. What I am most grateful for is that they are willing to let young people like me be themselves on the court."
Thank your teammates first, then mention your own contributions, which is what anyone who wants to please the media does.
"From 1 to 100, how difficult do you think it is to win the championship?"
"Maybe there were only 50 in the past two years." Durant laughed, "but this year there will definitely be more than 90."
Durant seemed talkative and upbeat, and although all the questions had been rehearsed beforehand, he showed a sense of familiarity that reminded West of Elgin Baylor.
However, he was not satisfied with Durant's answer about the difficulty of winning the championship.
"Actually, the difficulty of every championship is 100." West said, "You are still young, but you will realize this sooner or later."
Half an hour later, the game started.
West was sitting in the front row, watching Yu Fei perform an operation on the Spurs like a surgeon.
Yu Fei's outside three-point shooting percentage has skyrocketed from 39% to 46% in this year's playoffs. Considering that most of his three-point shots are sudden stops with the ball, sudden shots after calling pick-and-rolls, and fast and urgent pursuits. Three-point shooting, this shooting rate is terrifying.
His breakthrough became famous in the league during his rookie season, so a few years ago, West told him that if he wanted to become a flawless player, he must improve his low-post skills.
Then, after Yu Fei completed the surgery on the outside, he showed off his low-post offense as delicate as suturing a wound, single-handedly breaking the Spurs' defensive system.
After the first half, the Sonics' advantage was large enough, and the second half was considered an exhibition game.
This made West realize that Yu Fei had really become an offensive core with no technical blind spots.
Considering his age, combined with acquired development and training, as well as mental tempering, most athletes enter their prime period between the ages of 28 and 30.
Now, Yu Fei has officially entered his peak period.
The Spurs, who have stars but lack the super giant, will naturally be defeated.
4 to 1
The Spurs fell in the Western Conference semifinals.
"Humans have some bad habits, and one of them is to remember the ugliness of people you hate." Yu Fei said when talking about the upcoming Western Conference Finals, "In this regard, I am the ultimate human being."
The Lakers have swept the Mavericks out of the game one step ahead of schedule.
The blood and tears of Texas fell in the semifinals, but no outsider will feel sorry for them, because the upcoming battle is the change of generations since Jordan and Magic staged a generational change in the Finals in 1991. After the Bulls established the throne of the century in 1998, for The most important series for the NBA.
It is not the finals, but its significance has exceeded 99% of the finals in history.
The outside consensus is that whoever reaches the finals will win.
The Celtics and Magic in the East hate this argument, but unfortunately, unless the New York Knicks dream back to the 1970s, the narrative theme of professional basketball will always be monopolized by the West Coast.
In the future, there will be a hundred writers writing books about the battle of the century between the Only Empire and the Evil Empire, but no one will pay attention to who the Celtics and Magic broke out from the east at the same time.
This is not contempt, this is reality.
Because everyone loves the ultimate human showdown.
Los Angeles
The moment the SuperSonics defeated the Spurs to advance to the Western Conference Finals, all Lakers players received a text message.
The content of the text message is very brief, but just one sentence can create a sense of oppression that the big BOSS is coming.
LeBron James put down his weightlifting tablets, pulled off his headphones, picked up his phone and looked at it. The text message from the coaching staff said: "They are here."
(End of chapter)