Basketball: Starting from the Rodman template

When the Spurs put all their defensive countermeasures in front of Woody, Shaquille O'Neal knew that tonight was his timing.

No matter if he is the boss of the Heat or not!

He has such a big contract. As another player after Jordan who has won three consecutive championships, his pride and self-esteem do not allow his contract to become a "junk contract."

So in this game that tested him, he performed well.

He also used his performance to help the Heat survive until the fourth quarter.

Stan Van Gundy also contributed to this. This game is the game in which Shaquille O'Neal has played the most minutes since entering the Finals. He has played 29 minutes in this game. If nothing else, this game His playing time will be around 40 minutes.

Considering "Shark's" age and his weight, it is still very easy to play at such an intensity. A large part of the reason for this is Stan Van Gundy's use of him.

Plus the sweet playoff “pass speed” from before.

Players like Shaquille O'Neal don't need to "fight to support fighting" now. What he needs more is rest. As long as he is rested, he can play the greatest role he can.

As soon as the fourth quarter started, after a 2-minute break, Shaquille O'Neal continued to play.

Woody really struggled in this game. He still failed to score in the first two mid-range shots in the fourth quarter.

However, the presence of Shaquille O'Neal allows this team's scoring momentum to continue.

The Spurs failed to open up the gap during this period.

Stan Van Gundy deliberately called another timeout after two or three minutes of the game. He said to Woody: "Man, believe in yourself. With me, there is no problem with your performance at all, and you don't have to either." No matter you have any self-doubt, you should still play the game your way. I believe that all your choices and judgments are the best arrangements!"

In fact, Woody's performance in this game can be called his worst performance since the finals, and he has only scored 13 points so far.

Popovich's series of defensive measures against his mid-range shot have had obvious effects.

But this is the only way for every star to become a superstar.

Michael Jordan failed for 8 years and just achieved his invincible 6 years.

Woody is more fortunate than him in that the team he came to had strong teammates from the beginning, which allowed him to improve himself in a growth atmosphere that not only produced results but also had a relaxed environment.

But there is also a problem. Woody will come to a bigger stage faster than other rookies of the same age.

For example, last year, LeBron had been fishing for a long time, but Woody played in the Eastern Conference Finals. On that stage, he exposed a lot of problems; and now, LeBron James went fishing again, but Woody played in the Eastern Conference Finals. A higher stage, came to the finals.

But facing a more experienced team and head coach, his weak shooting ability was targeted, which caused ups and downs in his state.

In fact, so far in the new season, Woody's growth curve has surpassed that of his peers, including LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. However, because the stage is too big, his improvement is still a bit underwhelming.

Of course, when a sophomore is now standing opposite the league's No. [-] power forward, this in itself is a very stressful thing.

No matter how good LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony perform, no one compares them with the current number one small forward in the league.

Even though this is an era of declining small forwards, they are not there yet.

Woody did well enough, but his progress was so fast that his improvement could not keep up, which led to a situation like tonight where he was obviously limited by tactics.

This is a situation that every super giant may encounter, let alone Woody.

Stan Van Gundy feels that this is a kind of witness, witnessing the transformation of a "super giant".

Stepping on Tim Duncan's shoulders...

So he is encouraging Woody not to lose confidence.

In this regard, Stan Van Gundy is overly worried. His "star disease" will not allow him to just bow his head and admit defeat.

However, Woody felt that the more he shot, the more anxious he became, and the more anxious he became, the less likely he was to make a shot. Then he changed his playing style.

Faced with Bruce Bowen's defense, he rushed inside. After pushing Bowen away near the free throw line, he still chose to force his way in facing the inside guarded by Tim Duncan.

Your name is Tim Duncan, right?

"Snapped!"

What greeted Woody was Tim Duncan's big hat covering his face.

but……

In Woody's expected picture, this is the picture for which he has been mentally prepared.

You must know that he is challenging for two consecutive regular season MVPs. If he can dunk on his head casually, unless Tim Duncan is not only 29 years old, he is almost 39 years old.

Because of that age, if you play well, fans will shout, "Wow, is this guy really 39 years old?"When he doesn't play well, or when the team loses but he doesn't lose but is ridiculed, fans immediately say: "He is 93 years old, what else do you want from him", "No matter how well he plays, I feel satisfied. Watching it One less game”…

Oh, no, Tim Duncan doesn't have so many obsessive "diehard fans."

He immediately looked for the blocked ball.

Tim Duncan blocked the ball downwards and landed right in Woody's hands.

The second time I was forced to do something, I only heard a "Bang!"

Woody just completed a two-handed dunk in front of Tim Duncan.

Tim Duncan: ...

I'm rough!

He looked calm on the outside, but his heart exploded.

When Woody rushed towards the basket, he thought the kid was anxious at first, but now it seems that he understood. Woody was not anxious, but he didn't want to reason with him and just played with his physical fitness!
This kind of play that relied on physical fitness to regain the situation, Tim Duncan helped his waist... He really had no choice!
After all, he is not only fighting against Woody, but also against Shaquille O'Neal!

This is already the fourth game in which he has defended these two men alone.

Everyone has to admit that in today's league, except for Tim Duncan, no other insider can do such a thing.

Woody completed the dunk and made everyone on the Heat bench stand up.

Stan Van Gundy took the lead in applauding and nodding: "That's it, Woody, that's it!"

When he saw Woody's eyes gradually becoming brighter, he knew that Woody must have found a way to solve the situation in front of him.

This is something to be happy about!
When Stan Van Gundy saw Woody give up the mid-range shot and forcefully enter the paint again in this situation, he just wanted to say one thing:

Children can be taught!

The reason why "super giants" are "super giants" is that they have a set of killing moves that others cannot prevent. Although Woody is not at the level of a super giant, he also has his own killing moves.

That's his strong physical fitness!
This kind of "second jump" dunk under the basket, even Tim Duncan in this situation can't stop him.

This is purely based on the remaining physical fitness compared to the physical fitness of both parties.

Tim Duncan is also quite unlucky. Rasu was retired at the end of the season. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to support two people by himself. He has never missed his partner so much, and he even wants to sing a few lines. :
Come back quickly, I can't bear it alone!

It’s really unbearable!
Shaquille O'Neal also discovered Woody's thoughts at this time. He took it into consideration at that time, his eyes rolled around, and the sexy thoughts popped up in his mind:

How boring is it to play alone?

Let Tim Duncan also have a taste of what it means to be "a man of left and right"!
"Stone Buddha" right?
Unmoving as a mountain, right?

Let me see if you can still remain motionless!

Shaquille O'Neal added a single to Tim Duncan.

Then the next scene of the Heat becomes Woody playing, Woody playing, Shaq playing; Shaq playing, Shaq playing, Woody playing!
The whole thing was a "wheel war", and Tim Duncan, who played more than 44 minutes in each game, finally collapsed.

He missed two consecutive offensive shots, and also missed consecutive free throws at critical moments.

Although he has problems with free throws, it has never been to this extent.

There is only one situation that can explain this problem:
He is tired!
I can't stand it anymore.

The point difference also widened at this time, 96 to 90. In their second home game, the Spurs lost this deadlock by 6 points.

The Heat lead 3-1. For the Spurs, there is one thing worse than this score:
When the buzzer sounded, Tim Duncan's first reaction was to put his hands on his knees. He was so tired that he didn't even have the strength to walk to the bench.

Being this tired is definitely not caused by a game.

The biggest question now is:
"How much physical strength can Tim Duncan regain before the next game of the series begins!"

He is the absolute lifeblood of the Spurs. It is no exaggeration to say that how much physical fitness he can recover will determine how far the Spurs can go on the next road!

In Barkley's view, the Spurs should be gone: "The Heat's play at the last moment of the game shows that they have completely mastered how to easily win the Spurs! They will continue to use this method in the next games. To attack the Spurs, Tim Duncan is definitely the cornerstone and support of the Spurs, but unfortunately, as the game progresses, he has become the key for the Heat to break through this team!"

It’s not that Tim Duncan’s performance will hold back the Spurs. In fact, he is still the “ceiling” of this team. It’s just that from the Heat’s perspective, instead of attacking other points, he has enough Instead of using his physical strength to help cover defense or make other contributions, it is better to catch him at this point and hit him hard, and completely crush the Spurs from this point on.

It has to be said that as a former regular season MVP, Barkley's judgment of the game situation and all aspects is very accurate.

Although sometimes he will say some eye-catching things to attract attention, but at such times, if you listen to his words in reverse, you will find that there is nothing wrong with what this kid said!

Don't doubt a regular season MVP's judgment of the situation.

Facts have also proved this. In the fifth game of the series, the Heat caught Tim Duncan from the beginning and continued to play singles to consume Tim Duncan's physical energy.

But Popovich once again showed his ability as a top head coach and quickly adjusted the team's defensive strategy.

Tim Duncan still covers defense for others, but when the opponent singles him out, he will arrange double-teams to help Tim Duncan force the opponent to play the ball quickly, thus ensuring that Tim Duncan will not be too early in terms of physical fitness. problem appear.

This does bother the Heat's offense to a certain extent.

Shaquille O'Neal is not very good at shooting the ball, and in order to open up space, Stan Van Gundy had to put Alston and Jones on the court who are better at shooting three-pointers.This resulted in the team's poor perimeter defense.

Tony Parker and Ginobili broke out at the same time. The two scored 30 points in the first half. Coupled with Tim Duncan's steady output and driving, they actually led by 5 points at the end of the first half.

The Spurs, who originally looked shaky, actually recovered in the fifth game of the series, which exceeded the expectations of most commentators.

You know, David Stern appeared at the scene yesterday with the trophy. Although he really had to be present at the match point to avoid the embarrassing situation of actually winning the championship and no one presenting the championship trophy, but this It will undoubtedly intensify the eagerness of the lagging teams.

But the Spurs once again proved that they are experienced and that their mentality will not be affected by the outside world.

"Guys, don't be anxious, play slowly, we can win this game. In the second half, we run more, make more cuts, and mobilize the entire opponent's defense first. I believe we will win this game." Victory and win the championship trophy tonight!”

When Stan Van Gundy answered reporters' questions before the game, he said: "We have never thought about winning the championship trophy at home or away. For us, it is to play every game well and then win the championship when it is time." When you pick up the trophy, hold it up instead of thinking about whether it should be done away from home or at home!"

The Spurs are a team that has won two championships, while the Heat have never had a championship in team history. To deal with such a team, Stan Van Gundy has only one idea: to solve it quickly and win the championship as soon as possible is the most correct idea. , those other ideas are redundant.

So from the beginning of this game, they were rushing for the championship, but they have to admit that this Spurs team is really sophisticated!

Under such circumstances, there is still such chattering resilience. The cooperation between Popovich and Tim Duncan is really difficult.

Popovich has an idea, and Tim Duncan is willing to become the shape Popovich wants. The key is that he can really become that shape. This is really...

Of course, he had anticipated this situation. If the two-time championship team is so easy to beat, why do they pay so much attention to this team? (End of chapter)