Chapter 224 223. Huge progress!

When the Spurs attacked and Duncan went into the low post, he noticed that the opponent's two athletic forwards were positioned towards him.

Bickerstaff: One-on-one is definitely impossible to defend, two-on-one is not good either, then let’s do three-on-one!

If you are afraid of the opponent's expressionless face, don't pass the ball!
At the beginning of the game, Duncan really didn't dare to let his teammates try, unless Ginobili was on the court. Even if it was Parker, he would only let Parker try when they had at least a one-ball advantage.

Duncan received the ball in the low post and shot directly!
Okafor currently weighs 116-117 kg, and Duncan currently weighs 118 kg, which is almost the same.

But Duncan got ruthless and with his first step he pushed Okafor into the legal collision zone, and with his second step he almost pushed Okafor into the basket!
Duncan didn't continue to dig. He grabbed the ball, lifted it up before Millsap and Gerald Wallace could get in position, and pushed the ball out high... and it fell into the frame!
The fans at the scene cheered and screamed wildly. This has not been seen for a long time!

The low-post singles of Sharapova, Yao Ming and Foden were discussed side by side by the media and fans. It was definitely not Duncan's current post-up play on the floor, nor was it Yao Ming's post-up play with footwork before he gained weight, but this kind of pure physical fitness!
When the Bobcats attacked, Zhang Yang took a step against Finley, turned around and stepped back, but missed the shot.

In the transition between offense and defense, Duncan can finally take a break and go out to screen for Parker.

The purpose of the pick-and-roll is not to help Parker get past Felton. It is not easy for Parker to get past Felton.

Duncan's goal was to bring out an inside player to create better conditions for Parker to attack the basket.

Parker broke through with the help of a screen... and was surrounded by Okafor, Millsap, and Gerald Wallace!
When Gerald Wallace retreated, he paid great attention to cutting off the passing line. Parker's height and vision were far inferior to Duncan, and he could not see the moving Finley. Oberto could not get Parker's trust, so he passed the ball to Duncan.

Felton bravely went around to defend Duncan and received the ball. Parker noticed this and passed the ball with a lob. Felton lowered his center of gravity and fought with Duncan, and was unable to jump up and grab the ball in the confrontation with Duncan.

But! A man rushed out from the left corner, jumped high, and took the ball away in front of Duncan and Felton!
Duncan wanted to reach out and commit a foul, but Finley retreated immediately. He was now closer to the opposite basket than Zhang Yang. He could foul to stop Zhang Yang's counterattack, but Felton blocked his way and failed. He could only watch the back of No. 3 on the opposite side rushing towards their basket.

Finley tried to intercept, but was easily avoided by Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang shook off Finley and rushed into the three-point line. He grabbed the ball at the free throw line, took two steps, jumped high and gently dunked the ball into the frame!

4 is better than 4!

When it was the Spurs' turn to attack, Duncan had to do it on his own again.

This time, Okafor gave up on interfering in the air and blocking the turn. He lowered his center of gravity and just carried on.

Millsap and Gerald Wallace retreated faster, and the three of them surrounded Duncan.

Duncan didn't pass the ball. He felt that even if he was shooting against three people, he would be more accurate than his teammates in open positions. He just didn't say it, but his confidence was definitely no less than that of the Snark.

Duncan took a step forward to create some distance, turned around and threw the ball high... He successfully avoided Okafor and Millsap, but Gerald Wallace's defense was too fast! Duncan was seriously disturbed and missed!
Millsap protects the defensive rebound!

Parker immediately stuck to Zhang Yang to limit his quick start. Duncan showed no emotion after missing the shot, and he worked hard to retreat and lead his teammates to get into a good defensive position.

The Bobcats fell into a positional battle, Felton advanced to the frontcourt and passed to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang received the ball, turned around to face Finley, and made another surprise shot!

Finley's reaction was still a beat slow. After all, he was 34 years old and he was not the kind of person who took good care of his body.

But Zhang Yang had a good touch this time and made a pull-up shot!

6 to 4, the Bobcats took the lead!

Popovich calls a timeout!
Popovich is about to break apart, how dare the old man on the opposite side?
In the last game, the opponent used Zhang Yang and Duncan to compete at the beginning, which made Popovich feel bold.

Is it possible for a normal coach to have a second-year player who just turned 19 compete against Duncan, who is entering his third peak period?

It was even more outrageous tonight. They even eliminated the step of creating a mismatch for Zhang Yang, leaving Zhang Yang to play solo against Finley's high-post defense, Bowen's wing defense, and Duncan's backup defense under the basket.

Zhang Yang's efficiency in singles was as low as Popovich expected, and he made 5 of 2 singles shots in positional battles.

But on their side, Duncan only made 4 of 2 shots and made a mistake, and was counterattacked by Zhang Yang!
The opponent actually used a three-man frontcourt combination to surround Duncan alone. Aren’t they afraid of Duncan passing the ball?

Well, maybe he really isn't afraid, he arranged for Duncan and Parker to start the game with their personal abilities to gain an advantage...

However, although Popovich is irritable, he also envies Bickerstaff's unrestrained coaching style and he wants to be like that.

After seeing the old coach beat the Mavericks, who were ranked first in the regular season, in the first round, he came up with this idea.

Putting away his anger, Popovich looked at Zhang Yang, who drank some water, rinsed his mouth, and spit on the towel.

Why didn't they trade Parker for a lottery pick? They should have taken a chance when Tellem refused to accept their tryout invitation.

He is most optimistic about one aspect of Zhang Yang, a characteristic that he believes will make Zhang Yang a superstar in the future. Zhang Yang demonstrated this in these two games - he can shoot the ball no matter what!

Ginobili also has this ability, and at present, Ginobili is even stronger. However, there is one thing that Ginobili is not as good as Zhang Yang in - physical strength!
Even though Zhang Yang is only 19 years old, his ability to concentrate physical energy in a short period of time is better than Ginobili's, and his recovery ability is unmatched!

...

Both teams made lineup adjustments.

Bobcats: Rondo, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, Muhammad; Spurs: Jacqui Vaughn, Ginobili, Bowen, Duncan, Francisco Elson.

After Duncan's main attacking phase at the beginning, it didn't matter who defended Duncan, Okafor or Muhammad. The effect of their restriction on whatever Duncan did was almost the same. Let Muhammad play center, and Okafor would be freed from the basket and squat at close range, which would consume less physical energy.

Gerald Wallace doesn't get any rest time. When Parker is on the court, he has to help defend Parker. When Ginobili is on the court, he has to defend Ginobili. Fortunately, he doesn't consume much energy on offense when facing the basket protected by Duncan. Apart from cutting in and threatening to counterattack, he can't do much else, so he can concentrate his strength and energy on the defensive end.

There is another benefit to having Gerald Wallace on the court - it can contain Bowen.

It is also difficult for Popovich to be a coach. Over the years, he and RC Buford have discovered many high-quality role players, but either they cannot keep them, or they have to send them away when their salary increases to a certain level after two years, and most of the time they are sent away for free!
For example, Malik Rose, who contributed to the 03 championship, defended well against both Finley and Nowitzki in the Western Conference Finals that year, and also scored 10 points and 6 rebounds. Popovich used 6 million US dollars for 4200 years to keep him, but in the second year of the new contract, Malik Rose's salary increased to more than 500 million US dollars, and Popovich had to send him away in the middle of the 04-05 season to avoid paying luxury tax.

Malik Rose, who is 33 years old this year, played an important role in the Knicks' comeback in those few months.

Muhammad on the opposite side was also given away for free by the Spurs. If Popovich wants to be serious, Millsap was also given away for free by him.

These two are now the main players in the Bobcats' interior!

The player who was brought back was originally going to play against the Mavericks, but the Mavericks lost in the first round, so he was replaced with a lonely player. Fortunately, when playing against the Jazz, Brezek played well against Okur, so the loss was not that serious.

After the timeout, the game continued and the Spurs attacked.

Ginobili attacked with the ball, broke into the inside and used the Euro step, tearing through the Bobcats' inside defense and then passed the ball to Elson who received the ball and made a violent dunk to score two points.

Breakthrough rhythm, European step change of direction selection, timing of passing... Zhang Yang was certain that the tip of the demon sword would still be pointed at the Bobcats tonight, and his expectations were dashed.

But it doesn't matter. After playing for less than 3 minutes, Popovich was forced to replace Ginobili early, which is a huge improvement compared to G1!

In the offense-defense transition, Rondo advanced to the frontcourt, facing Jacqui Vaughn's defense, he suddenly started, shook off Jacqui Vaughn and went straight to the basket!

Duncan's predictive ability is extraordinary. He moved into position in time and blocked Rondo's shooting space.

Elson cooperated tacitly and blocked Rondo's pass to Okafor and Muhammad on the left side for mid-range shots. Fortunately, Zhang Yang was active and moved actively to create opportunities for receiving the ball. Rondo sent the ball out in time to avoid being double-teamed by Duncan and Jacqui Vaughn and making mistakes.

Zhang Yang took the blame. Facing Ginobili who was chasing him and Bowen who was double-teaming him from the wing, he stepped back and took a quick two-point shot... and missed... Elson blocked him, and Duncan used his height advantage to secure the defensive rebound over Rondo's head.

When the Spurs attacked, Ginobili faced Gerald Wallace's defense and made a sudden shot. He took a step back and shot a long-range three-pointer, but it didn't go in! Muhammad held up Duncan and protected the defensive rebound.

Popovich replaced the defensive center Elson, and Bickerstaff replaced Muhammad. There was another signal - the iron-blooded battle began!

It was the Bobcats' turn to attack again. Rondo and Okafor started the attack with a pick-and-roll. The thin center forward Elson came out to defend the pick-and-roll. Elson was okay in protecting the rim, but he was not as good as Duncan and Oberto in defending the pick-and-roll. Rondo rushed into the inside without any hindrance.

Duncan moved into position, Rondo passed the ball to the left, Zhang Yang used Gerald Wallace's screen to shake off Bowen's switch defense, rushed to close range, received the ball and made a layup... Duncan moved into position in time and interfered with Zhang Yang's layup!

Zhang Yang missed the shot! Duncan defended the rim with one player defending two players! His dominance in the defense under the basket was fully demonstrated! But!
Muhammad rushed into the paint to tip in the ball, but Duncan moved quickly and continuously, pressing on him but he couldn't jump up. He hit the arm of Muhammad who jumped up and touched the ball. Although he prevented Muhammad from tipping in the ball directly, he still sent Muhammad to the free throw line.

Taking advantage of a dead ball, Bickerstaff replaced Felton with Zhang Yang, who had two missed shots and improved his shooting rate from 6 out of 3 to 8 out of 3, paying tribute to Los Angeles.

Obviously, the six consecutive rounds at the beginning had a great impact on Zhang Yang, otherwise he could have directly played against Ginobili, and there was no need to let Rondo break into the basket guarded by Duncan.

Ginobili's defense is not much different for him than Finley's. Finley has better height, weight and strength, while Ginobili has faster jumping and reaction, but neither of them can lock him down in a one-on-one situation.

But he was not completely useless in these two rounds. If he was not there, Rondo and Muhammad might not be able to beat Duncan in a two-on-one situation, and there would be no third-point tip-in.

Muhammad made one of two free throws, and the Bobcats led 7-6.

In the next few minutes, the two teams played similarly to the previous game after entering the bloody battle stage.

Duncan of the Spurs played one and Ginobili played one alone. They usually didn't pass the ball when they were double-teamed, and only passed it when their teammates had a wide open space.

Several players of the Bobcats also took turns playing one-on-one. It was not that they did not want to cooperate, but they were unable to play against the Spurs' defense!
Even when Zhang Yang used screens to move and cooperate with his teammates, the Spurs' help defense could keep up, not to mention others, who might make mistakes when coordinating tactics.

However, Popovich was uncomfortable watching the Bobcats' strategy of taking turns to play one-on-one. This style of play was like the Mavericks' team with weakened offense and strengthened defense, which reduced the effectiveness of the Spurs' team defense.

At 10 minutes and 55 seconds into the first quarter, the score was 16 to 15, and the Spurs overtook the Bobcats by 1 point. After almost half a quarter, the Spurs scored 10 to 8 and won by one goal.

Bickerstaff called a 20-second timeout and replaced Felton, Gerald Wallace and Okafor. Rondo and Muhammad continued to stay on the court, while Zhang Yang, Alan Anderson and Perkins came on the court.

Popovich also rotated the lineup, replacing Jacqui Vaughn, Bowen and Elson, while Ginobili and Duncan continued to stay on the court and Parker, Finley and Horry came on.

After the timeout, the Bobcats attacked.

After resting for half a quarter, Zhang Yang broke through Ginobili and made a quick stop and shot from the right side of the free throw line!

The offense and defense changed, the Spurs attacked, Duncan left the low post, and almost played the entire quarter. At this time, he went to the basket to fight with Muhammad and Perkins. Even he, a stone Buddha, could not withstand it.

Duncan took the initiative to set a screen for Ginobili, but after the screen, he did not continue to move towards the basket, but stayed in the high position.

Ginobili was double-teamed when he broke into the inside and passed the ball back to Duncan on the left side of the free throw line. As soon as Duncan received the ball, he was blocked by Zhang Yang.

Duncan did not force the shot. With a flick of his wrist, the ball flew to the left baseline. Parker cut in, received the ball and made a layup!

18 to 17, the Spurs once again took a 1-point lead!
The sports car is really fast! Rondo couldn't keep up with it even without the ball!

However, the most important thing about this ball is that Duncan can move to the right position on the outside, has a long-range threat, and has a good enough vision and timing to pass the ball.

It was time for the Bobcats to attack.

Zhang Yang continued to hold the ball and played one-on-one. This time, he passed Ginobili and entered the mid-range without stopping. Finley on the wing blocked him in advance, and he did not pass the ball to Alan Anderson, but went straight to the basket! Take the Euro step!

Duncan is very familiar with the Eurostep and blocked the defense in place, creating an opportunity for Horry to make up for the defense. However, Horry failed to block it and even patted Zhang Yang's shoulder!

Zhang Yang threw the ball during the confrontation, and with the referee's whistle, the ball fell into the frame.

2+1!

Seeing Zhang Yang shaking his head and high-fiving Muhammad and Perkins to celebrate, Duncan, who had been expressionless all the time, also showed a moment of depression on his face.

Horry is old too. He is no longer the team's No. 10 player who averaged 5 points, 48 rebounds and 4% three-point shooting percentage in the finals against the Pistons two years ago.

Horry now has no other function except to intimidate opponents with key shots and rough and fierce fouls.

When the opponent was the young guys of the Bobcats, Horry lost all his deterrent power.

Look, the bad boy Jack is not afraid of Horry at all, he just attacks him in the face!
张杨走上罚球线，加罚也进，个人得分提升到11分！将8中3致敬洛杉矶的命中率重新打成10投5中的出色表现！

With Ginobili missing a two-point shot with a step back under the double-team of Rondo and Alan Anderson, the first quarter ended with the two teams presenting the fans in front of the TV with another thrilling battle.

Except for the singles played by the stars at the beginning and end of the game, it would take several rounds for both teams to score a goal.

The Bobcats only scored 20 points in a single quarter again, and Zhang Yang scored more points than in the previous game... But! The situation is completely different!
The Spurs scored less tonight!
At the crucial moment at the end of the quarter, Duncan, who played the whole quarter, could only assist. Ginobili came on the court after playing for less than 3 minutes, and he was unable to get the C position at the end of the quarter. It was still thanks to Parker that he got two points.

20 to 18, the Bobcats lead the Spurs by two points into the intermission!
(End of this chapter)