Vol 6 Chapter 25: Block King debut

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After losing the game, the Spurs did not delay time, but rushed back to San Antonio overnight.
The nightlife in Los Angeles is a well-known temptation for any NBA team. Although the average age of the Spurs led by Duncan is a bit older, the Spurs veterans also led by Duncan are all a group of dull men, really If you play it, it's crazy than young people.
Popovich didn't want the Spurs to become soft-foot shrimp. If the game wins and the Lakers sweep the team 4-0, Popovich doesn’t mind the Spurs staying in Los Angeles overnight and enjoying the nightlife of Los Angeles. But now that the game is lost, the Spurs will return to San Antonio immediately.
On the plane, many players are already drowsy, but Spurs coach Popovich is very spirited. He is holding the tablet and watching the playback of the game.
"It's so fast!" Popovich sighed involuntarily, looking at Zhang Guan's breakthrough.
"It's really quick, it reminds me of Iverson." Another voice sounded from the side, and Popovich turned around and saw that Duncan had come together.
Popovich officially started teaching the Spurs in 1996, and Duncan entered the Spurs in 1997 as the champion. The two have worked together for a full 17 years, which is naturally quite tacit. For Popovich, Duncan is both a disciple, a partner, and a friend.
"At first glance, I thought of Iverson, but if you look closely, Zhang Guan and Iverson are still different. Their breakthroughs are all the same fast and unpredictable. But the goal of Iverson's breakthrough He scored directly. He often shook his opponents and chose open shots, and Zhang Guan’s breakthrough was obviously directed at the free throw. This is more like Harden.
Popovich said.
Looking back at Iverson’s outstanding highlights, many of them are after throwing their opponents and then choosing a jumper, either a three-pointer or a middle distance. In fact, Iverson's shooting percentage is not very high. At most, it is only a qualified level. The three-point shooting percentage is still relatively low by current standards.
Of course, in that era, the vast majority of players played this way. Mid-range shooting was the main scoring method, and three-point shooting was the patent of those specialized three-point shooting. Even the great God of Jordan, his three-point attempts are pitiful, and the three-point shooting rate is often below 30%.
After all, that era was a time when power centers were rampant. Which team doesn’t have a seven-footer? The defender is holding the ball and hitting the basket. In that era, it was a deadly act, let alone a touch of porcelain. The block shot of a traditional power center can call you a person in minutes. It's just that in the current league, small ball styles are prevailing, and the traditional center has declined, allowing players with breakthrough styles to have more room for survival.
Just listening to Popovich then asked: "Do you have a good defensive strategy for Zhang Guan?"
Duncan shook his head: "Some players, once they have unlimited right to fire, are simply unstoppable. They can easily get 30, 40 or even 50."
"But a certain star gets a high score, it doesn't mean the team can win, right?" Popovich laughed.
"It's true, and the Lakers have always had this tradition." Duncan said with a smile.
There are many bad teams with average performance in the NBA, but the personal data of the stars in these teams is flying well. The vast majority of stars in the NBA, giving them unlimited fire rights, is really difficult to prevent. It's just that some people have more rights to the ball and more shots, but the team can't win the ball.
"If that's the case, we just need to do a little bit better, that is, get more points than the Lakers!" Popovich took a deep breath, and then said: "In the next game, we return to tradition, focusing on the inside! "
Duncan was a little surprised. Popovich's decision was to make Duncan take the core of the team's offensive.
If it was the Spurs five or six years ago, this may be normal. At that time, Duncan was still young and the strongest insider in the league. Sometimes he can play the team alone, but now Duncan is 38 years old. By the way, can a 38-year-old Duncan be able to afford the core offensive role of the team? Moreover, the Spurs play more and more rely on the team, unlike other teams rely more and more on big-name stars.
"Why? I haven't played in such a long time and I have no confidence in myself?" Popovich asked with a smile.
"Just surprised." Duncan shook his head.
Popovich put down the tablet in his hand, and then said: "It's up to you to play the next game, and win the game in the way we used to be the best! You just clenched your teeth and held on. Anyway, now you have a 3-1 lead and won this. In one game, you can rest for a day or two!"
...
In the 1987 NBA draft, David Robinson, the Spurs' first pick, has since turned into a team with an inside tradition. Ten years later, the Spurs held the No. 1 pick again. They selected Duncan and began the glorious era of the Spurs for more than a decade. In the future, the Spurs signed Aldridge to continue their internal tradition.
By comparison, the Lakers and the Rockets have traditionally hung center forwards all day long, but in the end they haven't even played small balls.
On April 30, the Spurs ushered in the Lakers at home, this is the fourth or fifth battle in the two teams series.
Back at home, the Spurs are full of confidence. They only need to win this game again to advance to the next round.
The Lakers obviously still have to continue their desperate efforts. There is no difference between 0 and 3 and 1 to 3. From the history of the playoffs, it is still a losing situation.
After the game started, the Spurs' tactics changed a little bit. The inside line became their main offensive point. The ball frequently passed to Duncan, while the striker and defender players also increased the frequency of breakthroughs. They constantly applied the Lakers' inside line. Pressure. The Lakers inside immediately carried huge pressure.
Kaman's defense is indeed a big problem. Kaman was also played by various Yaos at the peak, and he and Gasol organized the inside two towers. The offense is indeed very good, but on the defensive end, facing the real top The inside line is going to be deflated, which even Kaman himself admitted in an interview. When he was in the Clippers, Brand's first-class water-repellent level could make up for Kaman's shortcomings, and in the Los Angeles Lakers, Gasol couldn't help Brandman to defend Kaman like Brand did. It is for this reason that this season's Kaman appears to be bullying and frightened, his opponent's inside is weak, Kaman easily doubles 20+10, his opponent's inside is strong, and Kaman also easily got four or five turnovers and four or five fouls.
At this time, Kaman's defense frequently showed loopholes, and the Spurs also deliberately aimed at Kaman to attack. Duncan's strong hits always used Kaman as a breakthrough point. Outside Parker, Ginobili and Leonard The breakthrough is always directed at Kaman. Kaman had two fouls in the first quarter.
At the same time, Zhang Guan's attack was also hindered, and his rapid breakthrough was far from being as smooth as the last game.
Unlike the last game, here is San Antonio, after all, the Spurs' home. In the playoffs, the home and away are two completely different experiences, not to mention the Spurs last year's championship.
In San Antonio, the morale of Spurs players is higher, the defense is more effective, and the referee's penalty is also more inclined to the Spurs under the rules. Although Zhang Guan's breakthrough can still yield results, he has to work harder and take greater risks.
The Spurs' defense has also subconsciously contracted inwards. They used a move against the Thunder two less to obstruct Zhang Guan's attack and make him as troublesome as possible.
In the first quarter, the Lakers temporarily trailed the Spurs by 1 point 26 to 27, but who can see that the Spurs' offense played very smoothly, and the Lakers are more like Zhang Guan alone.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Nick Young suddenly jumped out of the nerve knife and scored 9 points in a short period of time, which was considered to make the Lakers not behind the Spurs, but the Lakers know that this is not a long-term strategy. Nick Yang's nerve knife is like Duan Yu's six-veined Excalibur, and sometimes he does not work. Sometimes he can be used as an adventure, and it is really a main force.
"Coach, it's not a way to play like this. It's getting more and more difficult to break through and get points. You still have to rely on three-pointers." Zhang Guan said.
"For a three-pointer, you must have a certain ability to protect the rebound. Moreover, Kaman's movements may not keep up with the rhythm." D'Antoni said.
"Do you want Hassan to try to protect the rebound?" Zhang Guan suggested.
"Hassan?" D'Antoni glanced at Whiteside.
D'Antoni really likes players like Whiteside. The "white edge" is much more athletic than Kaman. Although the offensive ability is indeed lacking, but the movement is flexible and can run and jump, these two points are very Suitable for shelling. The shelling tactics don't require five people to be good at attacking and scoring, but it must need five people to be able to run. From this point, Whiteside should be able to take a rotation from the bench.
It's just that Whiteside's time to the Lakers is relatively short. He has been adapting to D'Antoni's tactical system and has not yet entered the rotation. Moreover, the game has been more important recently, with less garbage time and no chance for Whiteside to play. So Whiteside has only been given two appearances since joining the Lakers, and he has only played four or five minutes each time. He has been on the bench the rest of the time. He has not really shown his talent.
I saw D'Antoni meditating for a few seconds, and then called Whiteside to his side.
"Hassan, do a warm-up and get ready to play!" D'Antoni said.
"Play!" Whiteside was amazed. He was originally a water dispenser administrator sitting at the end of the bench. His main job was to wield towels. I never expected that the coach would let him "live and die" in this playoff game. Midfielder.
"Do you know your mission?" D'Antoni asked suddenly.
Whiteside froze for a moment, and immediately said, "Know, protect the rebound!"
"Very well, come on next game!" D'Antoni patted Whiteside's shoulder.
...
"The Lakers replaced. They replaced Wesley Johnson. They replaced it, um..." The ESPN commentator paused. Obviously he didn't know White Edge. He looked down at the information in his hand before proceeding. Said: "The Lakers replaced Hassan Whiteside."
"Who is this person, IMHO, this is a new face, I heard this name for the first time." The commentary guest beside said.
However, ESPN is a professional sports media after all, only two or three seconds, the narrator found Whiteside's information on the tablet.
"Whiteside was drafted by the Kings with 33 overall picks in 2010. He played for the Kings for two years, attacked 19 times, averaged 1.5 points and 2.1 rebounds. He was cut by the Kings last season and went to NBL to play "The commentator said immediately.
"NBL? You are playing in Canada's NBL league! The level of that league is quite different from that of the development league." The commentator said.
"No, no, it's not Canada's NBL, it's China's NBL, it seems that it is China's development alliance, which is one level lower than China's CBA league." The commentator said immediately.
"I can only play in the Development League in China? Hahaha, how could the Lakers sign this type of player. I estimate that this year's loss to the rookie will not go to the level of the Chinese Development League. D'Antoni can be regarded as an emergency." The commentary guest said with a smile.
On the other side, the Spurs also noticed Whiteside who had just played.
"This guy is a seven-foot-long man with long arms and looks a little thin. Maybe he will not be able to compete well. He averages 1.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He must be a dirty blue-collar worker. This player is one of the best in the league. Grab a lot, don't pay special attention." Popovich didn't care about Whiteside's playing at all.
On the court, the Spurs led by Ginobili, led by Dior, Mills, Belinelli and Bonner, this is a normal system of rotation of the Spurs. The Lakers mainly rely on Nick Young to score, in addition to Batesmore, Jordan Hill, Farmar and Whiteside who just played. Zhang Guan, Gasol and Nash were not present.
Ginobili walked through the half, while carefully watching the players opposite the Lakers.
"Who is the black man who has just come on the field? By the way, I think of it. It seems that it was a second-round show in previous years. I can't get mixed in the NBA and played abroad. A passerby player, this is just a breakthrough!" Ji Nobili thought of this and signaled Mills to pass the ball to himself.
Bonner stepped forward with a pick-and-roll match. Ginobili took advantage of the situation and went in the direction of Whiteside. Ginobili is also an old fritter, discovering that Whiteside is a new face, and feels that the newcomer is so bully, so he came directly to Whiteside. And Ginobili is bad enough, deliberately looking for physical contact, wanting to cheat a foul, good luck to engage in a two plus one.
Whiteside's footsteps were very flexible. He stepped back slightly and flicked away, leaving Ginobili not in physical contact.
"This big man's movements are quite sensitive, but giving me such a large space, I'm going to make a layup!" Ginobili jumped up without hesitation.
"This ball is there!" Ginobili was delighted when the basketball shot.
At this time, a big hand suddenly appeared from the air.
"Slap!" Whiteside rewarded Ginobili with a big hot pot!
"What? Is that passerby player!" Ginobili was taken aback.
At this point, Nick Young had controlled the ball and then made a layup to score two points for the Lakers.
...
"The effect looks very good." D'Antoni nodded with satisfaction. He turned his head and said to Zhang Guan and Nash: "You should be on the court, let the Spurs try what a real run!"