knife point guard

Chapter 254 [Spurs Attack]

The mood for Indiana's title defense is very high.

Local TV stations are discussing this matter every day. Since the Pacers won two home games, they no longer regard Miami as a threat.

The superiority and self-confidence they displayed once made Miami fans furious.

But the final result relieved Miami.

The Heat accepted their defeat in the Eastern Conference finals faster than expected. Both head coach Stan Van Gundy and Dwyane Wade said after the game that this was a successful season. Although they lost to the Pacers, they will not lose in the future. .

As a sophomore, Wade's performance this season is good enough, and his future is promising. Although he cannot compare with the monster Su Xi, everyone can see the brilliance of a superstar in him. In time, he will enter the top 10 or even the top 5 in the league.

Shaquille O'Neal is also in very good shape this season and he continues his dominance. In his first season after joining, he helped the team enter the Eastern Conference Finals, which shows that his strong energy has not disappeared.

And the reason why they lost to the Pacers this season was just because of the insufficient lineup. I believe that in the offseason, players who see the Heat's strong potential will join them one after another.

However, with the Miami Heat eliminated, fans' focus is all on the upcoming Finals.

The media did not discuss the Heat's season performance too much, and they instead devoted themselves to the championship betting game.

The Spurs swept the regular season champion Phoenix Suns [-]-[-].

The Pacers swept the Miami Heat with O'Neal 4:1.

Both teams showed strong dominance in the Eastern and Western Conference finals.

From lineup depth to tactical proficiency, the two teams look equally matched. Everyone agreed that this would be a close final.

Any team can win.

But Magic Johnson said: "If the Pacers defeat the San Antonio Spurs, it means that the league has returned to the outside era. Suhi ended the era of O'Neal and Duncan's inside dominance."

"Since Jordan retired, although many superstars have emerged as outside stars and their market appeal is also great. However, it is still the super giant who determines the championship. But now, if Su Xi and the Pacers beat Duncan again after defeating O'Neal in last year's finals The Spurs, then we can say: The NBA has ushered in a true era of perimeter shooting!"

“Susie the Sheep is the trailblazer.”

The magician gave Su Xi a super big hat.

Magic's voice can be seen in all major media. It is obvious that this is Nike's effort.

Nike now pays Suhi tens of millions of dollars every season. If it doesn't vigorously promote it, Suhi's work will really be in vain.

Sometimes, they really want to give Su Xi some shares and stop sucking away cash so frantically.

Although Nike is a big company, it really can’t afford to be sucked like this.

Su Xi's endorsement fee from Nike this season is already the largest astronomical figure in history. Coupled with the Finals MVP and the consecutive Finals MVP, Nike will collapse.

Therefore, they want to re-sign the contract with Su Xi.

What Su Xi meant to Mike O'Connor and Huang Xiaoman was: exchange them for shares.

Nike also wanted to deeply bind Su Xi, but the shares were only given to Jordan. Moreover, the shares given to Jordan were later exchanged for the dividend rights of the sub-brand Jordan.

Nike needs to convince itself.

Su Xi also needed it, because he couldn't tell which one would gain more, exchanging Nike stocks or investing his own money.

He is now the most respected venture capital firm boss in Silicon Valley.

Many start-up companies want to get angel funds from Su Xi, but Su Xi is not taken advantage of, and he will not invest randomly.

...

The San Antonio Spurs entered busy training after arriving in Indiana.

They were the championship last season. This season their lineup is stronger than ever, and their tactical proficiency has reached its peak in recent years. They have sufficient confidence in their hearts.

But they didn't show it. Popovich even praised Susie the Lamb in the media: "He is... a phenomenal newcomer. I think he already has the energy to become the top five in history. After all, Jordan, Magic, Burr De, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, they were not as successful as him in the first two seasons..."

Popovich's praise reached Su Xi's ears, and Su Xi ignored it.

He knows Popovich likes to play psychological tactics.

But Su Xi is immune to these things.

The first game of the Finals started at Conseco Arena, and excited Indiana fans filled every corner of the arena.

Before the game started, they were shouting the name of MVP in unison.

The buzz reached its climax when Susie was introduced.

Reggie Miller stood behind as a substitute player, and the assistant coach beside him teased him: "You should never have dreamed that the number one player in team history would be snatched away by Jack."

"I wish his jersey would only be retired at Conseco Arena." Reggie Miller muttered under his breath.

He talked with Larry Bird about a contract extension two days ago. Bird was of course very happy that Reggie Miller was still willing to continue playing for the team, but when he heard that Reggie Miller wanted to win four consecutive championships and five consecutive championships, At that time, he told Reggie Miller honestly that we hadn't finalized the contract with Jack yet.

Moreover, Suhi is now an unrestricted free agent.

Not renewing the contract at this time can only mean one thing: Jack may not want to stay in Indiana anymore.

Reggie Miller did not mention this matter to anyone, including now, and only he could hear his voice clearly.

beep!

The whistle sounded and the game began.

The Pacers' lineup has not changed: Suhi, Artest, Jackson, O'Neal Jr., and Foster.

Among them, Stephen Jackson was a member of San Antonio's 2003 championship team.

The Spurs' starting lineup is: Tony Parker, Ginobili, Robert Horry, Tim Duncan, and Mohammed.

What is surprising is that the Spurs did not replace Bruce Bowen, but let Horry start.

Robert Horry's current competitive level is still very good. He is the key man in the NBA and also the lucky man. Since he entered the NBA, he has made the playoffs every season and passed the first round...no matter which team he was on.

Moreover, he has entered the finals five times before and won the championship all five times, with a [-]% winning rate.

Exactly like Jordan.

Now, he's in the starting lineup.

Does Popovich want Indiana to try Horry's causal weapon?

Foster beat Muhammad with a jump ball.

Su Xi holds the ball and advances forward, and French sports car Tony Barty defends Su Xi. His Su Xi is very fast, very good at breaking through, and has a very high success rate at the basket.

This is a typical little quick point guard.

Under Popovich's "verbal torture", his defensive awareness is getting better and better, and he is very good at teamwork in defense.

Su Xi arrived in the frontcourt, and after observing his teammates' positions, he quickly charged inside. Duncan can flexibly adjust his position. Although he is inconspicuous, he has strong control on the defensive end.

Su Xi forced a jump, Duncan quickly came over to help defend, Su Xi passed the ball to O'Neal.

It was almost intercepted by Ginobili who shot out from a diagonal.

O'Neal paused for a moment, and then Duncan made up for it. O'Neal passed to the outside, and Artest made a jumper... Whoa! Hit.

This offense is dangerous.

The Pacers' two established tactics failed to work out, and both were sabotaged by Duncan.

Duncan is worthy of being the player with the most defense in one team currently.

Moreover, the Spurs' overall defense is very oppressive. Even if Bruce Bowen does not play, they still maintain extremely high defensive stickiness.

Easy to fight again.

The Spurs' offensive power is handed over to Duncan.

Duncan played O'Neal in singles. His moves were very simple, and every move was solid.

O'Neal couldn't handle it, and Artest quickly went over to attack him, but the move he used against O'Neal was a bit awkward on Duncan. Duncan has great flexibility and coordination. He is a swimmer, and he quickly dodged the attack and turned sideways. Hit the board and the basketball bounces into the basket.

Very relaxed, nothing fancy.

Just a clean 2 points.

Little O'Neal pursed his lips, feeling the pressure.

Now is Xiao Ou's peak period. He can almost be regarded as the third power forward in the NBA. Except for Duncan Garnett and his exchange of blows with Nowitzki, no power forward can beat him.

But his shortcomings are obvious. He bullies the weak and fears the strong.

He is like a spring, if you are weak he will be strong, if you are strong he will be weak. Although he can suppress 2% of the power forwards in the league, the Duncan in front of him is the remaining [-]%. He is also the most powerful power forward in active service and the most powerful forward in history.

If you can't bear it, you just can't bear it.

The game was very difficult, with both sides going back and forth.

Although the Spurs are on the road, they have a certain initiative in tactics.

Duncan's advantage in the interior can quickly be converted into offense on the outside.

As Robert Horry hit his second three-pointer from the three-point line, Carlisle could only give up the tactical arrangement of letting Stephen Jackson enter the penalty area to help defend.

At this time, Popovich unhurriedly threw out his second move, allowing Bruce Bowen to come forward.

Bowen is an important part of the Spurs' overall defense.

He's not just doing bad things.

His defensive ability is also extremely strong, which is different from the physical defensive styles of Artest and Stephen Jackson. He is the player with the best overall defensive view in the league. He is the best in the world in judging fake moves. He is also extremely capable of interfering with shooters. He is also one of the best in predicting the opponent's running route. When defending without the ball, his pace is very fast. Precise, he is like a piece of stinking and extremely sticky brown candy.

These are just his personal defense aspects. His greatest significance to the Spurs is... he is a perfect team defender. He is good at blocking the center line, letting go of the sidelines to allow opponents to cut in from the bottom line, and working with Duncan to press opponents.

In addition to his cooperation with Duncan, his defensive cooperation with other teammates is also very exquisite.

If Duncan is the cornerstone and overall framework of the Spurs' defensive system. Then Bowen is a killer who sweeps around, and he is also a killer who is extremely good at cooperation.

Moreover, this guy has a strong obsession with defense and does all kinds of evil.

As long as he can guard his opponent, he can harm others without benefiting himself.

When he arrived at the arena, he took the initiative to walk towards Su Xi.

He and Su Xi are old rivals.

When he was asked in an interview in March who was the hardest to guard, the name he mentioned was not Tracy McGrady, not Kobe Bryant, not Ray Allen... but Susie.

"He is strong, he is fast, he has superb ball-handling skills, and his ability to play in isolation with the ball is also improving. He can run long like Ray Allen and then catch the ball and hit. He can also do like Iverson. Quick attack, if he wants, he can also play Tracy McGrady-style talent ball. Now, his isolation in the key area can also see the shadow of Kobe Bryant."

Bruce Bowen gave Suzy high praise.

However, his defense against Su Xi was more intensive during the game, and he kept making small moves.

As soon as Su Xi's breakthrough with the ball was formed, he gave Su Xi an elbow.

Although this made Su Xi's breakthrough more fierce, he went directly to the basket, knocked away Mohammed and completed the layup.

But Bruce Bowen will do it again if he gets a chance next time.

Dirtyness is his nature.

That's the salary he got at the Spurs.

As the initiator of the team's offense, Suhi will be bruised by various elbows on any game night. This is the norm in the NBA. Even when facing Wade, Wade will sometimes give him an elbow. , or give him a fist directly.

But the unpredictable thing about Bruce Bowen is... he's more than that.

Even if he jumps up and is deceived into defending, he will still hook up his legs and give you a kick.

"You're so fucking dirty."

Susie said to Bruce Bowen as he returned to defense.

"Thank you for the compliment."

Bowen was not ashamed but proud.

At this time, Jackson rushed up and said to Bowen: "You have to come and face off against me and have a taste of my fists."

"Let's wait until you hit three-pointers in a row." Bowen said sharply.

In the next round, Stephen Jackson gave him a little color.

Bowen made a jump shot when he received the ball from Ginobili, but Stephen Jackson rushed over from one side and slapped him hard out of bounds.

Jackson's fierceness is not inferior to that of Bowen, which is why the two teams played so fiercely.

The first quarter ended quickly.

The Spurs led by 27 point at 26:1.

According to this trend, both sides have a chance to break [-].

In the Spurs' past playoff records, once their opponents score more than [-] points, their winning rate is only [-]%.

"We have to change the way we play."

Su Xi suggested on the bench: "It will become more and more difficult for us to play positional offense. The Spurs are good at this. We can't be more experienced in this area than them."

"But we only have this tactic that is the most lethal." Carlisle said frankly: "If the tactic is changed, should we play a fast offense? The Suns just lost to them."

"Yes, that's right, fast break, run and gun!"

Su Xi said seriously.

"But they just defeated the Suns. Are we better at this than the Suns? Jack, calm down. If we play steadily like this, we have a good chance of winning. But if we play run-and-gun, it will play into the Spurs' hands."

"No, we are different from the Suns. We have defense!" Su Xi said firmly: "Give it a try, Rick!"

(End of this chapter)