I was determined to be bad, but I went straight to the Basketball Hall of Fame

Chapter 509

The third game between the Spurs and the Clippers was expected to be very intense.

The Spurs have made very good preparations for this game. The players, both tactically and psychologically, strive to dismount the Clippers in this game and gain an advantage in the series.

Although the Spurs are only seventh in the regular season, their GDP is also one year older than last season.

But the competitive state of the three is actually better than last season.

After establishing the core position of Tony Parker's offense, the Spurs' offense and defense have undergone a transformation as a whole.

Although they are lacking in the third position, they have supplemented Boris Diaw in the fourth position. Dior also has no problem playing the third position in many cases.

Although the French magician's figure is a little out of shape, his basketball skills are not out of shape.

In the third game, Popovich increased Diaw's playing time. When the Clippers used a small lineup of one big and four small led by Gasol Jr., the Spurs would use Duncan, Diaw, Ginobili, Parker and George. -Hill's small lineup to deal with.

This lineup is very flexible and efficient in attacking positional battles.

The Spurs have four players with strong passing ability. It can be said that in terms of passing fluency and offensive flexibility, they are comparable to or even slightly better than the Clippers' big and four small lineups. one chip.

The Clippers players may have stronger talents and more dynamic performances on the field.

But the core players of the Spurs have ten years of tacit understanding, extremely rich experience in the playoffs, and blazing flames of revenge.

The two sides played inextricably in the first quarter. By the beginning of the second quarter, the Spurs used this small lineup to attack the Clippers.

In the first game, the Spurs relied on tough and tough defense to steal a victory in Los Angeles.

In the third game, Popovich did not have a fixed mindset, but decisively attacked, taking advantage of the home court to quickly expand the lead.

The Spurs quickly established a lead with a wave of 15:5 offensive climax.

The Clippers were also fully prepared before the game, but they just didn't expect Popovich to make counter-offensive tricks.

This bad old man does have a lot of tricks, and the Spurs are indeed a strong team that is difficult to understand and recognize with common sense laws.

For ten years, they have been changing and evolving to adapt to the new situation of the league.

As early as 2005, when they were at their strongest, facing the sun storm sweeping the league, the Spurs fought against the Suns in the Western Conference Finals. They beat the Suns 3:0 and almost shaved their heads.

Any idea that the Spurs are simply defined as a defensive team, or transformed into an offensive team, is incorrect.

This is a disciplined and very tacit team.

The Spurs are still in very good condition tonight, and they have firmly suppressed the Clippers from tactics to morale.

In the third quarter of the game, the Spurs gradually expanded the point difference and firmly controlled it at about 10 points.

The Clippers obviously played a little impatiently. The big victory in the last game will give people the illusion that "as long as I am more accurate, I can win easily".

But the actual situation is not the case. A basketball game is a multi-faceted contest from intelligence to technology to physical fitness. Every game in the playoffs has its own situation.

The Clippers have played in the playoffs in the past two years, but in terms of experience and encounters, they are still far behind the Spurs troika. What scenes have they not seen?

Therefore, the performance of the trio was extremely stable. Before the start of the fourth quarter, the difference between the two sides had been widened to 15 points.

In most people's perceptions, the Clippers confessed again in this game, playing seventh in the second game, and being brutally abused by the Spurs in the third game.

The Clippers' second place in the Western Conference seems a bit misleading.

After all, it is a shortened season, with 82 games reduced to 60 games, and the ranking is inherently watery.

In 1999, the last shrinking season, the New York Knicks, the eighth in the Eastern Conference, made it all the way to the Finals.

It is because of the strength of the Knicks, if they play 82 games, they will definitely not be eighth in the Eastern Conference.

And 60 regular-season games is good for an aging team like the Spurs.

Ginobili's performance in this year's playoffs was even better than last year's.

The most important thing is Tim Duncan, who regained his health and changed his style of play to become the team's pinnacle again.

Randolph and Gasol will suffer more or less when facing Duncan.

Seeing the 15-point gap, it seemed very difficult for the Clippers to come back.

Between the third and fourth quarters, Tyronn Lue and Kerr discussed how to close the 15-point gap.

But the state of the players tonight is really mediocre. It's not that everyone doesn't want to play well, but that the Clippers fell into a slight disadvantage in the confrontation with the Spurs?
Obviously, the Clippers were a bit led by the nose, and the rhythm of the game fell into the pace of the Spurs.

The fans at the scene kept making noise to disturb the Clippers players.

Whenever a Clippers player misses a three-pointer, there will always be boos on the scene.

The Clippers' three-pointers weren't good tonight either. The outside touch of Curry and Harden seemed to be consumed in the second game.

The situation has obviously become quite critical and difficult. Once this game is lost, the Clippers will be under great pressure in the next game.

At this moment, Ada, the Clippers' secretary, handed a small note to Kim Hughes on the bench coaching staff from behind the auditorium.

Ada said: "This is a note from Mr. Smart, let Lu and Coach Cole see it."

Lao Jin immediately handed the note to the two who were standing on the sidelines discussing tactics, and said, "The note from Mr. Smart."

It seems that Min Congda can't stand it anymore, he wants to leapfrog the command and give the coaching staff some tricks!
Tyronn Lue opened the note and saw two sentences written on it: "Increase Leonard's playing time. Replace Randolph with Bonner."

Director Lu and Cole looked at each other, thinking that Mr. Smart had already spoken, so listen to him?
Anyway, if this game is lost, it will be Smart's?
A clever plan at a critical moment gave Director Lu and Cole a chance to throw the blame.

The two of them don't really believe that a rookie at the third position can change the situation by letting him play?

Leonard is not good at scoring and has good defensive potential, but it's just so-so.

But Cole was smarter, and he seemed to understand Min Congda's intentions.

He said to Leonard: "Leonard, you come on the court later, play more. Remember, both defense and offense must be fully covered to create more opportunities for teammates."

Leonard didn't get much playing time in this game.

Now Tyronn Lue's more favorite forward is Paul George.

But George played very mediocre tonight, and his offense and defense were not very stable.

After all, he is a sophomore rookie.

But Leonard is in the first grade, can he really do it?

In the fourth quarter, Leonard went into battle, and the Clippers were useless to use a lineup of one big and four small.

Bonner replaced Randolph on the stage. This step, Director Lu and Cole, could think of, is to use Bonner's three-pointer to open up space to chase points.

As soon as the fourth quarter came up, the Clippers were in a hurry to get angry again, trying to make a three-pointer from the outside.

Curry missed the three-pointer after the pick-and-roll, and the shot was a bit anxious.

The Spurs got a backcourt rebound and counterattacked. Parker went straight to the Clippers' three-second zone like a small sports car!

As for Parker's direct and quick counterattack after getting a backcourt rebound, he hit the Clippers several times.

Parker is fast, has strong finishing ability at the basket, and can also play the ball.

His counterattack can always stir up the Clippers' defense and put the Clippers into a very passive situation.

But this time he counterattacked and turned for a layup, but Leonard caught up with the interference and missed!
Leonard took the backcourt rebound and passed the ball to Harden, and the Clippers reorganized their offense.

Harden suddenly made a risky long pass to the frontcourt, Gasol Jr. received the ball and made an easy layup under the basket.

This is a beautiful strike, easy-ball, this kind of goal is very important for the point-chasing Clippers.

At 90:77, the Clippers got a slightly closer score.

Subsequently, the Spurs missed the offensive position.

The Clippers' counterattack, Harden's mid-range throw after the breakthrough, still missed...

Their offense did not feel good tonight, wasting an opportunity to chase points.

The Spurs continued to fight back, and it was Ginobili's serpentine breakthrough!
Going to the basket, after Gasol was passed, Leonard came to defend, interfered, Ginobili missed a layup!
Gasol turned to get the backcourt rebound and made another long pass. Bonner responded and immediately passed the ball to Curry in the frontcourt.

Curry caught the ball with a feint and sent Parker flying, and then made a 45-degree three-pointer from the right and made a hit!

The Clippers chased for 5 points in a row, and the point difference came to 10 points. The Spurs immediately called a timeout.

In just 3 minutes, the Clippers came back to life.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is due to Leonard's defense of the basket.

A chasing counterattack, a supplementary defense in the three-second zone, Leonard did quite well.

At least better than Paul George tonight.

In the confrontation between the two sides, George put more energy on the offense, especially the fast break and counter run.

But that is the weapon of the regular season. In the playoffs, a seasoned team like the Spurs will not give opponents the opportunity to easily fast break and run back.

Under the Spurs' well-organized defense without too many loopholes, George lost his offense and did not do enough defense.

There are two biggest problems on the Clippers' defensive end. One is the speed of the inside line. Randolph and Gasol are both inside lines with average lateral speed.

Therefore, Manu and Parker, who faced the assault style of play, were made to look forward and backward, and after a few assaults, the defense became chaotic.

Another problem is that the defensive strength of Curry and Harden in the backcourt is average.

Therefore, Parker and Ginobili can seize this point and go crazy to the basket to cause damage.

The reason why the Spurs were hammered by the Clippers last season was that although the Clippers were average against Parker and Ginobili, Duncan couldn't defend Curry and Harden in the paint, especially when Randolph dug through them. .

Once Duncan hardens up again this year, and the offensive and defensive ends, especially the defensive end, are well supported again, the scene will be completely different.

This is the importance of Duncan to the Spurs. The effective defense every time and the accurate replacement every time are beyond the data.

To solve this problem, the Clippers have to make a fuss about the third position defensively.

In fact, this problem has been faced by the Clippers since Min Congda first came to the Clippers in the 2009-2010 season.

So Min Congda watched the three quarters, and immediately knew that inserting a guy like Pippen in the third position could contain the Spurs' counterattack.

Back then, the Chicago Bulls were the only team in history that could win a championship without a super insider. On the defensive end, they often relied on Pippen's help and defense.

His supplementary defense blocks and three-second zone protection are top-notch among small forwards.

Leonard is very similar to Pippen in terms of height and wingspan.

Don't look at Leonard as a rookie at a young age, he is very talented on the defensive end.

Moreover, offensive skills need a long time to hone. For defense, youth is an advantage.

For example, McGrady sent the most blocks in his rookie period.

Later, he grew into a top ball-handling attacker, but his defense lost a lot.

Leonard's versatility at the three gave others a chance to breathe.

Curry and Harden can be less nervous on the defensive end and can devote more time to offense.

At the same time, the presence of Bonner posed a problem for the Spurs' defense.

Popovich's timeout didn't have any effect.

On the contrary, after the timeout ended, the Clippers played another 7:2 offensive climax, narrowing the difference between the two sides to 5 points!
During this wave of climax, Leonard made an offensive layup, made another successful steal at the basket, and assisted Harden to hit a three-pointer.

It can be said that Leonard's calm judgment on the court and sophisticated defense helped the Clippers turn the situation around.

His versatility at the third position gives Harden and Curry enough ammunition to attack without any worries.

This made Popovich, who was directing the game from the sidelines, very painful. This is the player he likes!

How was it intercepted by the Clippers?
If the Spurs' current lineup has Leonard...

The more Popovich thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more he thought about it, the sadder he became.

And as Curry hit another three-pointer from the outside, the difference between the two sides has narrowed to 2 points!
Then Parker broke through and made a foul, went to the free throw line, made two free throws, and was 3 points away.

Matt Bonner received the ball after Harden's breakthrough, made a three-pointer, and hit it!

This ball gave Popovich another stab in the heart.

This is my man!It was originally mine!

Although Bonner is ordinary, he has great value in tactics.

In some games he will play a very key role.

It was also snatched by the Clippers!

Popovich's heart was bleeding.

The 15-point difference was evened out with 3 minutes left in the game.

The two sides returned to the same starting line and entered the decisive moment.

The situation on the court has been completely reversed, and the Clippers' morale has been greatly boosted.

However, the Spurs were not discouraged by this. They have encountered many such situations.

Chasing points, being chased, they can always stabilize at critical moments.

Sure enough, Ginobili caught the ball from the outside and hit a super long three-pointer!
The Demon Knife deserves to be a Demon Knife, a three-pointer with a super high arc, and the Spurs took the lead again.

The Clippers immediately paused, and Tyronn Lue replaced Randolph again.

At the critical moment, Fatty Lan is still the captain of the Clippers, anchoring the ship.

He caught the ball in the low post, turned around and forced Duncan, and succeeded in licking the basket with his left hand!
At 97:98, the Clippers trailed by 1 point.

Duncan responded immediately, turned around and hit the board in the low post.

At 97:100, the Spurs regained a 3-point lead.

The Clippers used a double-screen tactic on the outside, Curry came out to catch a pass from Harden, made a three-pointer from the top of the arc, and hit it again!

In the fourth quarter, Curry was simply a three-point machine, the biggest weapon for chasing points, and the San Antonio fans who made the shots were scalp numb!

The two sides tied 100:100!

The last 1 minute.

Ginobili once again played the lore of the Spurs savior.

Snake-shaped breakthrough reached the basket, against Gasol Jr.'s difficult left-handed throw, the man flew out directly.

The goal was scored, and it also caused a foul by Gasol Jr., went to the free throw line, and made an extra penalty!

At 100:103, the Spurs led by 3 points, and both sides had an offensive opportunity each.

Tyronn Lue called a timeout and arranged a two-pointer tactic.

Gasol Jr. assisted Leonard, who made an air cut, and scored two points for a layup.

At 102:103, the Clippers trailed by 1 point and had to defend against an attack from the Spurs.

With 11 seconds left before the end of the game, the Spurs had 6 seconds left on the clock.

Tony Parker was in charge of the Spurs' offense with the ball. After a pick-and-roll switch, Leonard suddenly stabbed Parker's ball-handler like a snake spit out a letter!
Parker didn't expect Leonard to make such a bold defense at such a critical moment. The ball was cut off and the Clippers succeeded in stealing it!

Tyronn Lue did not call a timeout, but let the players solve the problem by themselves. Leonard gave the ball to Curry. Curry broke through the middle and was surrounded, and the ball was given to Harden on the wing.

Harden catches the ball a little, shakes Ginobili flying over, and then moves laterally for a difficult three-pointer!
Before the light came on, the ball flew to the basket, bounced back and forth twice in the basket, and the ball went in!

James Harden, in the third game, away, beat the Spurs!

[email protected]There was silence in the center, and the victory at hand just slipped away.

(End of this chapter)