Anthony the Reborn

Chapter 211 Don't Underestimate the Heart of a Champion

Brand blocked Rose's two-handed dunk head-on, and directly hit back the dunked Rose.

The referee on the sidelines didn't mean to call a foul, this time the frontal block is effective!

The fans at the scene were silent.

Brand seemed very excited after blocking the block. He opened his throat and let out a roar of excitement, which was particularly clear in this silent environment.

Rose, who was blocked, even forgot to complain to the referee at this moment, glanced at Brand who was on the verge of going berserk, and then retreated to the backcourt angrily.

Anthony also rushed forward at this moment, and then gave Brand a big chest bump, and both of them showed a burst of excitement.

"I really didn't expect Brand to be able to show such great competitiveness in a battle with injuries." Robinson couldn't help but said after seeing Brand's strong performance.

The game continued on the field, and Robinson's surprise did not stop there. In the next few rounds, Brand showed strong competitiveness. The difference between his style of play and the previous one is that he did not use his body to strengthen Instead of eating inside, he reduced the number of attacks with the ball. Using his experience and sense of smell, he repeatedly snatched the ball from the heads of the two substitute insiders of the Spurs, and then made up for the basket. A wonderful ground pass, Brand staged a scene of flying and vigorously dunking, and Willis, who was supplementing the defense, unfortunately became the background king of this scene.

The addition of Brand made the Nuggets' bench full of vitality in an instant. In less than half a quarter, the Nuggets recovered the score strongly, even in the second quarter. In the first few minutes of the game, the opponents dominated and overtook the score in one fell swoop.

Popovich's substitutions seemed to be half a beat slow. When the team began to fall behind and the momentum began to move towards the Nuggets, he replaced Duncan and Ginobili. At this time, D'Antoni Protecting Brand has replaced him.

Perhaps Brand's strong performance brought a great boost to the morale of the Nuggets. In the next round, the Nuggets' shooters broke out again. In just half a quarter, the Nuggets Just hit 5 three-pointers in a row, and it seems that the rhythm is about to explode again.

Thanks to the strong performance from the outside, the Nuggets completely reversed their decline at this moment. By the end of the half, they were leading the Spurs by nearly ten points. The game seemed to be developing in a favorable direction for the Nuggets.

The moment the halftime whistle blew, the Spurs players all had gloomy faces, and it was clear from their appearance that they were very dissatisfied with their performance.

The fans at the scene saw the score on the court, and they also showed worried expressions on their faces. They guessed the ending at the beginning, but they didn't expect the Nuggets to gain momentum in the second quarter. This time, they became passive instead. that side.

"What the hell are you trying to write in your mind?! Reincarnation! How can you do such a simple thing like reincarnation?!"

In the Spurs locker room, Popovich roared uncontrollably. In his coaching philosophy, the execution ability of players on the field is very important, but the enthusiasm of defense and the rotation at the right time are what he cares most about. In his coaching philosophy, defense is a team sport, and now, his team obviously failed to do this well.

"The tactic they play is so simple. It's a three-pointer from the outside. It's so simple. What a simple tactic. Can't you expand a little bit when defending? What are you doing on the court? Shopping? Come on. Stroll? If you guys are here to do this, get back on the bench and sit on the bench, I don't need players like that!"

Popovich obviously couldn't control his temper. The Spurs players, including Duncan, are all bowing their heads and being scolded at the moment. They have absolute trust in Popovich's coaching ability, so in Popovich When Vicky scolded them, they also remained absolutely silent.

After Popovich scolded for a while and seemed to have vented his anger inside, he took a deep breath and continued: "Guys, I know that Brand's sudden comeback was beyond our expectations, and even It's my responsibility to apologize to you, our coaching staff didn't even notice that Brand was on the roster, and I apologize to you for that."

Popovich bowed deeply to the sitting players as he spoke.

Seeing Popovich's sudden action, the Spurs players were taken aback. Duncan's eyes widened on his usual blank expression, then he stood up and walked over to Popovich. Before, he helped him up and said, "Coach, it's because we didn't do well. We will work hard."

"Coach, we will definitely work hard." After Duncan had spoken, the others also stood up from the stool one after another, and then stepped forward to help Popovich.

In just a split second, Popovich was overwhelmed by the players.

But what surprised the players was that when everyone was about to help Popovich up, he suddenly stood up by himself, and then said with a serious face: "Sit back! Who told you to get up?! "

With this yelling, the players immediately yelled back to the bench, they all retracted their hands in embarrassment, and then sat back.

After the players sat down, Popovich continued: "The failure of the coaching staff is the responsibility of the coaching staff, but you are all players, especially Tim, Manu, Parker, you are the core of the team , how can you allow other people's teams to do whatever they want on top of you, don't you feel shy?"

Hearing what Popovich said, the faces of the three members of the GDP suddenly showed a look of embarrassment. Although they have become accustomed to Popovich's outspokenness, such undisguised criticism still makes them feel Some faces are hot.

"I don't care what you are thinking. What I want to remind you is that you were the champions of last season and the defending champions of this season. During the regular season, I can tolerate your losses, but such a crucial game , can you all tolerate your own game attitude?"

"Could it be that after winning a championship, your game attitude has become what it is now? You don't have that much desire for a championship anymore?"

Popovich's tone was aggressive, and he didn't give the Spurs players a corner to hide from.

"Coach, we will work hard." It was still Duncan who spoke. As the core of the team at this time, he must stand up and express his position, "Really, if we are still like the first half, after the game, whatever you want Punish us, we all accept."

As soon as Duncan finished speaking, Popovich showed a look of relief on his face, and then said: "This is what a player should do! You all have to learn from Tim, and your attitude will determine what you can achieve." Height, this is the last word I will give you, well, the time is almost up, let's explain what needs to be emphasized in defense..."

As Popovich said, he pulled out the tactical board and began to explain the details of the defense.

After a half-time break, players from both sides returned to the field.

The starting lineups of the two sides have not changed from before, but after the second half started, the Nuggets felt that the Spurs were different. Whether it was offense or defense, the Spurs players showed a similarity to the first half. Different vibes.

On the offensive end, the number of pick-and-rolls and frontcourt rushes has increased significantly. Ginobili seems to have regained his sense of offense. In the first few minutes of the second half, he made two serpentine breakthroughs, With the addition of a 2+1 in the mid-range position, the individual scored a wave of scoring climax again. On the defensive end, the Spurs should have used a 3-2 zone defense, and the outward oppression of the defense was significantly enhanced. On the inside, Duncan was alone Just covered all the breakthroughs from the Nuggets, this "Stone Buddha", whose face has never changed, showed extraordinary firmness at this moment. He didn't say anything, but he carried the entire defensive burden down.

In contrast, the Nuggets struggled a bit. Because of the pressure of defense, they obviously shot less three-pointers, and without the support of three-pointers, their offense returned to the previous one. The bumpy situation.

Seeing that the situation was not right, D'Antoni had to replace Brand in advance. After Brand played, he made up for the team's offense and defense inside, but facing the Spurs who were about to go berserk, it still seemed a bit of a drop in the bucket.

The Spurs gradually narrowed the gap with the Nuggets. When the third quarter was more than halfway through, they not only turned around, but also felt like they were going to crush the Nuggets.

Looking at the changes on the court, Robinson, who had been tense, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "I'm just saying, these guys must have received a lot of training in the locker room, but this training is really timely. "

Smith watched the performance of the Spurs completely opposite to the first half, and when he heard Robinson talk about the inside story of the Spurs, he immediately became interested, and then said: "David, what did Coach Popo do to make the Spurs Completely changed?"

Robinson turned to look at Smith, smiled, and continued: "I can probably guess what Bobo did. In fact, what he did is not complicated. He must have told other people to let them not forget his identity." .”

"Identity?" Smith asked curiously.

There was a hint of pride in Robinson's eyes, and then he said, "They are the defending champions. I don't think anyone should underestimate the heart of a champion."

Robinson hadn't finished speaking, perhaps after hearing what he said, Popovich looked up at him from the sidelines, and then showed a gratified expression.

(End of this chapter)