Healing Basketball

  Chapter 657 657. Destroy Bowen!

  During the timeout, Popovich replaced Parker, Finley, Bowen, Duncan, and Nesterovich.

  He felt the tremendous pressure, and the style of play focused on stability. Only when the strength is dominant and the score is ahead, can it be called stability. No matter how bad it is, at least it must grasp the initiative of the game.

   But he still doesn't have any score until now.

  Although the demon knife he had placed high hopes on did not stab him, it also failed to make a deep enough cut for the opponent. The opponent quickly recovered, and the score was overtaken by the opponent again.

However, in the past half quarter, at least he played back and forth with the Trail Blazers. The real problem was in the rotation stage of the first half. For a player with Sim's singles ability, the lead has already been established.

  However, Crazy Fan, a player with a basic salary, is too old to ask for too much, and often has brain twitches.

  Finley is also an age problem. Now Finley is similar to Barry, Horry and others. He can do a little bit of everything, but he has no offensive ability.

   At this time, Popovich saw Ginobili sitting next to him, and suddenly his eyes lit up...

  In terms of Ginobili's overall performance tonight, Finley or Barry will start the game, so the effect will not be bad, right?

   Moreover, although Parker is not as good as the warden, he has made great progress this year, enough to take on important tasks...

   Such thoughts were immediately suppressed by Popovich. He shut up and let out a muffled sigh. Now is not the time to think about these things.

  Tonight he has to try to win the game, otherwise he will fall behind 0 to 3. He still wants to tie the match to avoid the psychological disadvantage of playing in the playoffs, and he also wants to be number one in the Western Conference.

In the past two years, he didn't make a conscious effort to become No. 1 in the Western Conference. Bobo felt that he suffered a great loss because of this. He made a decision after being eliminated in the Western Conference Finals last season. In the future, if he has the opportunity to compete for the No. He really doesn't want to play another round of the series and play the Rose Bay Devils away 4 times.

  The replaced players walked onto the court, Popovich looked at the opposite side, and the opposite side sent a combination of Payton, Liu Xiu, Stevenson, Randolph, and Kwame Brown.

   The timeout ends and the game continues. The Spurs attack and serve in the frontcourt.

  Parker encountered Liu Xiu's single defense and continued to choose to attack with Duncan in a pick-and-roll.

Liu Xiu and Kwame Brown skillfully launched the pick-and-roll defense. Compared with the first half, Parker was obviously much calmer. He found the gap, grabbed the ball and sent it straight, and Nesterovic stepped forward. After receiving the ball on the sideline of the three-second zone, he turned around and made a hook!

   A certain ability to attack with the ball is an important reason why Nesterovic is firmly seated at the Spurs' starting center position. It is recognized as an advantage that the better center Mohamed does not have.

  67 to 68, the point difference narrowed to 1 point!

In the transition between offense and defense, Liu Xiu continued to accelerate from the middle circle. Bowen did not move ahead and tried to keep up with Liu Xiu's footsteps, but Liu Xiu passed the top arc cleanly. Liu Xiu easily entered the three-point line from the right side of the top arc , when Bowen turned around to follow, Liu Xiu made an emergency stop in the middle of the three-point line and the free throw line, took off, and took a long two-point shot...

   Bowen, who turned around and rushed forward, and Duncan, who jumped from the three-second zone, both failed to interfere with Liu Xiu's shooting. Liu Xiu made a quick stop and hit a two-pointer, and the point difference was stretched to 3 points again!

  Popovich on the sidelines started to grab his hair, and suddenly he grabbed a curly hair. Wen couldn't guard against Liu Xiu!

  Popovich may pay more attention to Liu Xiu than other people and the head coach of the team!

  He clearly remembered that Liu Xiu, who had just entered the NBA, was easily manipulated by Bo Wen. He defended one-on-one and single-handedly.

   When Liu Xiu died routinely in the second grade, Bo Wen had to rely on the team, but it was still possible, so it was not a big problem.

   But in the playoffs, Bowen has enough defense against Liu Xiu, but gathering a team to defend and execute certain defensive purposes can still limit Liu Xiu. After all, the Spurs rank first in the league in defense.

   But now, it is difficult for Bowen to create defensive opportunities for his teammates one-on-one!

  The reason is simple—Liu Xiu's speed has increased!

  Although Bowen is the first defense leader, he obviously can't defend against Parker and Iverson, and Popovich can't use him to defend against Little Flying Squirrel. Liu Xiu looks like them tonight.

   It was the Spurs' turn to attack. Parker continued to break through the pick-and-roll and pass back to Duncan. Duncan dribbled a lob and Nesterovic dunked and scored two points.

  At the transition of offense and defense, Liu Xiu made an emergency stop jump shot at a high position again. The touch came, and he scored two points and entered the frame again. The Spurs' defense had nothing to do with him!

   Liu Xiu has already activated the power of the West Coast. As long as he can get rid of Bowen's interference and make a mid-range shot outside the free throw line, Duncan's supplementary defense is completely out of reach!

  Once Duncan really expands in advance, the basket will be Randolph's world.

  Parker, who is about to enter the golden period of his career, has made great progress. He has torn holes in the Blazers' defensive system one after another, causing huge troubles for the Trail Blazers.

  But Liu Xiu, who has improved even more, blasted through the Spurs' defense with one goal after another like a rocket launcher!

  The most difficult stage ahead, the Trail Blazers survived by relying on the depth of the lineup and Maurice Cheeks' on-the-spot command. Now, Liu Xiu stepped forward to reap the game!

After making two consecutive mid-range shots, Liu Xiu sent an assist, and then made another mid-range shot and a breakthrough, resulting in a foul and two free throws. With his own efforts, he led the team to a 10-6 spurt and tied the score. The score was 78 to 71, and the lead was extended to 7 points!

  After this wave of climax, the momentum of the Trail Blazers slowed down.

  Popovich has entered a state where there is really no way out. In the first two and a half quarters of the game, Maurice Cheeks racked his brains to find ways to respond, so why not Popovich?

   There is really no way, Popovich will always make the same choice-strengthen the defense.

  The Spurs rank first in the league in defense, which is why the Trail Blazers' momentum to widen the point difference has slowed down. In the following time, the Trail Blazers have been unable to widen the point difference to double digits.

   At 11 minutes and 48 seconds into the third quarter, Duncan hit a mid-range turnaround jumper from a 45-degree angle on the left side. The Spurs chased the score to 77-84, narrowing the point difference to 7 points.

   When it came time for the Trail Blazers to attack, with only 12 seconds left, Liu Xiu received the serve and quickly pushed forward. After reaching the frontcourt, he started a pick-and-roll attack with McDyess, who was playing in rotation.

  Liu Xiu, who has already scored 34 points, chooses to go for it. After the pick-and-roll, he shoots a three-pointer directly... But Duncan, who expanded to defend the pick-and-roll, judged his choice and rushed forward, forcing him to add a fallback.

  The angle is quite positive, but when the back is added, the ball is pushed out too hard, and the ball hits the neck of the basket and bounces back.

   If the three-pointer is not scored, the point difference will not be widened to double digits! The Spurs players breathed a sigh of relief, and then the whistle sounded, accompanied by the sound of the ball brushing past the net...

  (end of this chapter)