Healing Basketball

  Chapter 653 653. The smelliest and hardest stone

In the few rounds after returning from the timeout, Liu Xiu broke through and attacked continuously, and the Trail Blazers kept scoring with high efficiency. At 4 minutes and 06 seconds of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers scored 15 points. , they got 8 points.

But the Spurs relied on Bowen's bottom line long two-pointer after receiving Parker's pass, Parker's mid-range shot and Duncan's tip-up, and Ginobili's single-player's step-back three-pointer, also scored 7 point.

  The current score is 15 to 11, the Trail Blazers lead by 4 points and hold the ball!

   At this time, Liu Xiu was not so happy, but a little bit pained.

  Copying Parker was surprised to get a hard bonus, so he temporarily adjusted his play style, combined with the tacit understanding with his teammates, and caught the opponent by surprise at the beginning.

  However, Popovich didn't have enough on-the-spot reaction to play hard!

   Unable to defend, Popovich tried to increase the defensive success rate as much as possible and replaced a better center Muhammad early to partner with Duncan. It doesn't matter if he sacrifices part of the team's offense.

   The sacrificed team offense was handed over to the troika to make up for it with their personal abilities. Anyway, they don't have much team offense to speak of... The 7 points the Spurs just scored can be said to be all due to the personal abilities of the troika.

  This adjustment, to put it mildly-to respond to all changes with the same.

   To put it bluntly—it’s hard work!

  Popovich’s strategy, Liu Xiu guessed it, and Morris Cheeks guessed it too, but there was no choice but to follow the opponent to play strength hedging.

  Popovich insists on the benefits of no change—it's hard to get any worse.

  Liu Xiu worked very hard, and his teammates also responded positively, but the personal abilities of the troika were not given for nothing, and the point difference just couldn't be opened.

  The Spurs rely on the personal abilities of the troika to maintain their stability.

   It was the Trail Blazers attack again. Liu Xiu didn't start to accelerate just after passing the middle circle after advancing halfway.

  The Spurs saw Liu Xiu dribbled all the way to the top arc, and immediately began to adjust their defense.

   Seeing this, Liu Xiu could only suppress his restlessness, and lobbed the ball to Randolph who was leaning on Duncan in the low post, starting the team's offensive play.

The first third of the first quarter has been strong. He has already felt that his breathing has become disordered, and he needs to play slowly. He will have time to replenish his energy when he enters the timeout period. The best time is naturally the official timeout. Waste their own timeout.

   And you have to consider the state of your teammates, they can't become the situation of the Cavaliers or Jazz...

   When it came to the team's offensive stage, Liu Xiu quickly understood why the Spurs had to ensure that the defensive end was not chaotic at the risk that the hard steel might not be enough.

  Liu Xiu just attacked continuously for more than two minutes. He is confident, because he tried three rounds at the beginning, and scored 4 points and 1 assist. His efficiency was extremely high, and he caught the opponent by surprise.

  The teamwork played by the Spurs in the opening stage is not a star-studded star, and they can't guarantee their status.

  But Popovich chose to adjust that way because the Spurs have developed a better defensive strategy against the Trail Blazers' team offense!

  Duncan + Muhammad's twin towers protect the frame. It is not too difficult to defend Randolph's mid-to-short-range face frame or back frame. It is very good to cut Randolph to the left or pass the ball to the basket.

  Under such circumstances, it is difficult for the extrajudicial lunatic to cut in the middle, Liu Xiuliu bottom line or run to the right sideline to get rid of the defense. Even if he successfully receives a pass from Randolph, it is still a one-on-one situation.

  Popovich firmly believes that his defensive strategy will be effective, so he would rather take risks to ensure that the defensive end will not be chaotic!

After several rounds of strong attack by the troika, they needed to take a break. The Spurs' offensive efficiency dropped suddenly, and they only scored 4 points in the next two minutes, but they used their rich low-scoring experience to limit the Trail Blazers to two points. Only 3 points were scored in a few minutes.

   At 6 minutes and 43 seconds into the first quarter, Duncan slapped Duncan's cut-and-catch layup out of the bottom line. Today's share of caps for the Warden of the Syracuse Double Pride has been sent out. The ball is dead and the official timeout is entered!

  …

  18 to 15. After working so hard for so long, the lead was still only 3 points.

   This time, the Spurs were not affected by the confrontation between Liu Xiu and Kobe, which made the Trail Blazers feel what it means to be the most tormenting team in the league!

Since Larry Brown went to the Knicks to toss Marbury, the Spurs have become the stinkiest and hardest rock in the league. Just like this half of the game, no matter how hard Liu Xiu tosses and how amazing he plays, the Spurs are To be able to bear it, and to defeat them, you have to rely on hard power.

  Of course, if they can make it soaring and overwhelm the Spurs, Popovich has no choice but to rely on the untimely magic knife, but none of their Trail Blazers played the posture of crushing the opponent tonight...

   Playing and playing, the Trail Blazers have entered the rhythm of the Spurs, and they found that there is nothing they can do about it.

  In the second half of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers tried to launch an attack. Liu Xiu, Little Flying Squirrel, Raheem, together with Kwame Brown and McDyess, tried to attack.

   It is true that the Blazers' offensive efficiency has rebounded a lot, scoring 14 points in 5 and a half minutes.

  But the Spurs are too experienced in dealing with pure offensive teams. Parker and Ginobili played high and led the team to score 15 points in half a quarter.

  At the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers' lead was not only not expanded, but also reduced by 1 point, leading the Spurs 32 to 30 by two points!

Entering the intermission, Maurice Cheeks looked at the statistics of Liu Xiu who was playing with Randolph. In the first quarter, he had 10 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. He made 4 of 7 shots and 2 of 2. The free throws are quite efficient.

  Faced with the Spurs' offensive and defensive strategies, other coaches think of ways to deal with the Spurs' defense and the Spurs' two stars in the backcourt.

Maurice Cheeks is different. After trying to play offensively, he chose to give up. After the intermission, he replaced Payton, Stevenson, Outlaws, Kwame Brown, Mo Ning's combination.

  Popovich sent a regular rotation lineup of Parker, Finley, Bowen, Oberto, and Duncan. When he saw the Trail Blazers' lineup on the court, he couldn't help spraying two swear words.

  The opponent's lineup seems to be saying—let's hurt each other!

  After the start of the second quarter, the Trail Blazers started a brainless defensive mode.

  With their lineup, they didn't consider how to attack. Payton's high post is the best offensive option, and it doesn't matter if he can't make a shot.

   Nearly half of the quarter, the Trail Blazers were pulling confrontation, pressing the rhythm, and hurting each other with the Spurs, consuming the shooting touch of Parker, Finley, Duncan, and Barry, Udri and others who played in rotation.

  However, although it has affected the Spurs' offense, the Trail Blazers themselves have been even more affected! The weak lead was quickly lost, and the vice president couldn't help complaining in Maurice Cheeks' ear, but the latter was unmoved and insisted on playing.

  (end of this chapter)