NBA: I just want to play soy sauce, you let me win the championship

Chapter 307 Popovich’s big gamble

It seemed a bit inappropriate for Cole to dare to joke with the tyrant Popovich at this time, but Cole knew that Popovich had already expected the loss in the first series.

He said that because he wanted to ease the atmosphere. After all, there are still several series to be played. Paying too much attention to the outcome of one game will not help the Spurs win.

On the other hand, Lu Yuanzhi got his fifth advanced free attribute point since the playoffs, bringing his three-point shooting with the ball to 5 points.

After these few games, Lu Yuanzhi clearly felt that both Bowen and Ginobili felt at a loss when facing his three-pointers with the ball.

It's normal, after all, no one has encountered this kind of attack before.

Previously, the only player in the league who used three-pointers with the ball as an offensive weapon was Tracy McGrady.

But McGrady is in the Eastern Conference, and everyone can only meet him twice a year. Moreover, McGrady mostly does pull-ups inside the three-point line. There are not many three-pointers with the ball outside the three-point line, which does not attract everyone's attention at all.

Therefore, Lu Yuanzhi took out a three-pointer with the ball, especially after stepping back and holding the ball for a three-pointer, he clearly felt that his offensive options had become very simple.

First of all, the physical confrontation of the breakthrough can destroy the defender's center of gravity. After he steps back, the defender cannot get back as quickly as normal defense.

In this way, Lu Yuanzhi has a good shooting space.

But it's not over yet, the defender will face another dilemma.

When it comes to shooting, Lu Yuanzhi's three-point shooting rate with the ball is frighteningly high, with a shooting rate of close to 40%. If you dare to shoot, he dares to score.

In terms of suddenness, Lu Yuanzhi's finishing success rate under the basket is even more terrifying. Even with Duncan assisting in defense under the basket, Lu Yuanzhi still has a finishing success rate of close to 7%.

Therefore, in the second game, the Spurs adjusted their defensive strategy. They put more troops on the second line of defense. In other words, even if Lu Yuanzhi broke in, he still could not directly enter the basket.

Relying on this defensive change, Bowen and his teammates restricted Lu Yuanzhi's arbitrary attack methods as soon as the second game started.

The Spurs do have his unique insights on the overall defense.

But this also gave rise to a second problem. Since the Spurs players have to shrink to form the second line of defense, one or two Kings players will naturally be released. Who can be released?
Lu Yuanzhi once again used his step back to shake Bowen and then went straight to the inside. Stephen Jackson quickly blocked his path, forcing Lu Yuanzhi to slow down.

Lu Yuanzhi did not hesitate to send the ball to Stojakovic outside the three-point line at the top of the arc. Parker quickly rotated over in an attempt to interfere with Peja's shooting.

But the height difference between the two was more than 20 centimeters. Stojakovic ignored Parker's interference and directly hit a three-pointer.

"Greg, this won't work. Maybe we have to make a choice!" Cole reminded Popovich.

Popovich also knows he can't continue to defend like this.

Their overall defensive strategy has indeed restricted Lu Yuanzhi's offense, but what's the cost?
The price is that Kings players who get open opportunities can always take it easily.

The Kings are not an ordinary team. All their players have very strong firepower. Whether it is Bibby, Stojakovic, Bobby Jackson, Turkoglu, or Jim Jackson, as long as you dare to give him an open space. Given the opportunity to shoot, they can punish the Spurs defense with accurate shots.

The Spurs successfully limited Lu Yuanzhi's offense in the first half, allowing Lu Yuanzhi to score only 5 points, but at the same time, Lu Yuanzhi sent out 8 assists in the first half.

Now Lu Yuanzhi's passing can only be said to be fairly accurate and has nothing to do with imagination.

The ability to send out so many assists is all due to the cooperation of the Spurs. Without the help of Duncan, Stephen Jackson and Parker, Lu Yuanzhi would not be able to find suitable passing opportunities on the chaotic court.But now, with just a quick glance, Lu Yuanzhi can find his teammates who are unguarded. So what's the difficulty?
Stojakovic, who played with Lu Yuanzhi, scored 12 points, Bibby scored 10 points, Turkoglu, who came on the bench, scored 8 points, and Bobby Jackson scored 6 points.

They all enjoyed the cake!

Playing in the Western Conference semifinals is just like participating in shooting training, running, receiving passes, and shooting, it's that simple.

Therefore, after returning from the second half, Popovich completely gave up chasing and intercepting Lu Yuanzhi, and gave Bowen the instruction to make shots but not sudden shots, and try to interfere with Lu Yuanzhi's shooting as much as possible.

We can no longer let Lu Yuanzhi lead us away!

For a game and a half, the Spurs have been competing with Lu Yuanzhi and have not played any other trump cards of the Kings. This is the most unacceptable for Popovich.

He doesn't mind if the team loses. Who can guarantee not to lose a single game in the series?
What's more, it's still at the opponent's home court.

But what he couldn't accept was that the team was beaten repeatedly by the same trick, and the Kings didn't reveal any new tactics.

This is not good news for the rest of the series.

As last year's championship, the Kings will naturally be observed under a magnifying glass by teams aspiring to win the championship. Most of the tactics have been studied repeatedly, but what's the use?

Let’s just say that the Kings played against the Lakers’ four lineups last year. Playing O’Neal might be a good idea, but if they play against the Spurs, Popovich firmly believes that even if Robinson is too old, the twin towers formed by him and Duncan will still be there. The insider teaches the opponent a lesson.

The restricted area is so big. Four of you can besiege one, but what if there are two of me?
It's impossible for you to have enough space to attack!
Similarly, if the Kings want to use run-and-gun tactics against the Spurs, the Spurs won't be too afraid, because they can completely let Robinson go off the court and push Duncan to the 5th position to run with the Kings.

When it comes to fast breaks, Parker and Ginobili are not afraid of anyone!
Therefore, although the Kings exposed a lot of tactics in last year's playoffs and this year's lineup has not made major changes, Popovich still wants Adelman to come up with something new and keep the bottom of the box.

However, the first step of all these plans failed.

The sudden rise of Lu Yuanzhi used his unreasonable offensive methods to make the Spurs extremely uncomfortable.

If Lu Yuanzhi is not solved, the Kings will not need to change their tactics at all. Lu Yuanzhi will initiate the attack and then radiate to the entire team.

Therefore, Popovich can only gamble at this time.

Betting on Lu Yuanzhi's poor shooting touch put the Kings' tactics in trouble.

Betting on the Kings' regular Princeton system being unable to penetrate the Spurs' defense and having to resort to more tactics could even allow the Spurs to win on the road.

Not only is life a big gamble, but the NBA playoffs are an even bigger gamble.

No one can cover everything.

The competition is not a war game either.

There are always unforeseen sudden events that change the course of the entire series.

Popovich is looking forward to it and betting that the game will go in the direction he wants in the second half.

(End of this chapter)