Chapter 231 230. The cats’ mentality changes
Even though he knew it was trash talk, Parker still had a lot of emotional fluctuations.

but!

When it comes to playing basketball, the little sports car is a professional. He didn't mess around. He steadily passed the ball to Duncan who was blocking Okafor in the low post, and then prepared himself mentally - Little Fatty, please keep firing at me!
Contrary to Parker's expectations, Felton did not continue to talk trash, but immediately retreated to the free throw line to prevent Finley from going around to the high post to receive the ball and shoot.

Parker praised Felton's defensive learning awareness and defensive movement choices.

Finley is the only outside player on the Spurs who has stable mid-range shooting ability. Using screens to move up to the high post is one of his common positioning methods to respond to low-post singles.

When Parker defends Felton or Rondo and is passed by them, he will immediately retreat to the free throw line after sticking to the opponent to the elbow area to cover Zhang Yang who may appear in the high position.

After four games, Parker could see Felton's progress, and the opponent learned this defensive move from him.

But now Parker is mad: No, Fatty, I passed the ball to the boss after I pushed through half court, shouldn't you continue to criticize me? Like I'm Fisher of the Spurs or something like that?

Drawing the sword and looking around at a loss...

In the interior, Duncan played a one-on-one game in the low post, turned around and pressed forward to shoot high...it missed!
Okafor did a great job of interference this time!

Millsap protected the defensive rebound, the Spurs retreated in an orderly manner, and Zhang Yang received the ball and advanced steadily, continuing to pass the ball to Felton in the frontcourt.

Parker carefully guarded the top arc and focused on defense. He swore that he would not be affected by trash talk anymore... Seeing Felton leaning over to protect the ball and seemed to be observing his position on the court, and seemed to have no intention of continuing to talk trash, Parker felt a little disappointed, but also relieved.

Felton finally remembered what to say at this time, and suddenly looked up and said to Parker: "You are in such a miserable state. Let me help you. I am about to shoot a step-back three-pointer. You stick to me and defend me. Let them see that you can defend."

No, why did this little fat guy suddenly start spraying again?
After Felton finished speaking, he started to dribble with a crossover step and change direction to break through. Parker did not get distracted this time and focused on defending against the breakthrough. He did not believe that the opponent would tell him how to play. He must be lying to him and he would definitely break through.

Felton created an opening and started to advance. Parker quickly stepped back in an attempt to stick closer to Felton and create a chance for his teammates in the interior to make up for the defense, but!

Felton actually took one step into the three-point line and then immediately retreated!
He collected the ball while stepping back, jumped after landing, and shot a three-pointer...and it went in!
Felton shot this ball just like he did in training!
No, this guy really told him how to play? Parker retreated to the baseline in confusion and frustration to receive the serve, and Duncan, who was serving, spoke.

Duncan: "Tony, you can't stop him from breaking through. Leave the rim protection to me and you stick to him and shoot."

Duncan has always been a man of few words, and when he speaks he is very direct and to the point, not only to Parker, but also to his teammates and coaches.

Normally, when Parker heard this, he would think, 'He is really a man of great basic skills and responsible. It's great to have such a boss.' But at this moment, his thought was - Ginobili can't defend against players who are good at singles, and you are only talking about me!

Parker received the serve and headed to the top arc of the opposite side. Looking at Felton who was guarding one step inside the three-point line, he prepared himself mentally - I was scolded by the boss again, come on, please spray me and let me transfer my anger to you.

Felton: It seems like I have already said it to comfort him after he was scolded, so I won’t say it anymore and just focus on defense.

Parker was inexplicably frustrated and threw the ball to the inside. Duncan received the ball and played one-on-one... but failed to get it in again!
Duncan turned around and raised his head to shoot quickly, but Okafor reacted very quickly and interfered, and Duncan's shot missed!

Popovich stood up on the sidelines. The score difference was 5 points, and no one was scoring?
Fortunately, when the Bobcats attacked next, Duncan defended very well. After blocking Felton's breakthrough to the basket area, he stepped back to interfere with Zhang Yang's layup and protected the defensive rebound.

Parker received the ball and advanced to the frontcourt, signaling to attack.

Duncan missed two shots in a row, so he stopped passing the ball and tried to do it himself!
Duncan expressionlessly pulled out to set a screen for Parker, bringing Millsap out from the paint.

Parker took advantage of the screen to break into the inside, turned around at close range to the right side near the baseline, and made a layup...and it hit!
The breakthrough was clean and the shot was decisive. Popovich was very surprised to see this scene.

He was worried that Parker would play randomly or passively tonight, but he didn't expect Parker to play more actively and determinedly!
Popovich didn't think about explaining anything to Parker. He didn't want to save face! And that's what he thought...

As long as we can win the championship, all internal conflicts will disappear.

Felton received the serve and pushed forward. It felt like the trash talk had no effect. But it was just a matter of luck. If it worked, that would be the best. If it didn't, it didn't matter.

In his opinion, it is normal that trash talk has no effect, as Parker has been able to grow up healthily and happily to become so strong today in an environment where he is not loved by the head coach, not close to the boss, and not taken seriously by his teammates.

Pushing forward to the frontcourt, Felton remembered something and thought he might as well say it. He praised Parker who was defending in front of him: "Your inside attack is indeed the best among guards. Ginobili is far worse than you. I'll tell you a secret, Jack and I both learned our jump shots from you."

After saying that, Felton completely put aside the matter of provoking Parker, passed the ball to Zhang Yang who was leaning against Finley in the high position, and moved to the left corner.

Like the past few games, Felton was not the main point guard or attacker tonight. He just made some breakthroughs and three-pointers at the beginning. It would be best if the three-pointers could be made, continuing the threat of 6 three-pointers in the previous game and better restraining Parker, the Spurs' fastest player, in the bottom corner.

Although Parker's one-on-one defense is weak, he is the best on the Spurs in terms of helping out with shots and blocking cuts from the wing, because he is fast and aggressive enough. There are only a handful of players in the entire NBA who can match his speed, and he is a very important part of the Spurs' team defense system.

However, only Bickerstaff would make the arrangement of letting Felton play hard at the beginning to create a threat. Another coach would definitely choose to try to create a threat for Felton by creating a catch-and-shoot opportunity. But in Bickerstaff's view, under the Spurs' defense, the possibility of creating an open shooting opportunity for the team's first three-point shooter is very slim, so it is better to take a chance.

Fortunately, I succeeded!

Parker didn't dare to let go of Felton in the left corner, Millsap's threat of cutting back from the left side of the three-second zone increased, and Gerald Wallace pinned Bowen down at the right baseline, creating an extremely open high-post singles space for Zhang Yang!

Zhang Yang turned around and passed Finley to the close range on the right side, stopped, received the ball, jumped and shot... and made it!
As strong as Duncan is, he had to take care of Okafor's dunks from the left side of the three-second zone, Millsap's cutting in, and Zhang Yang's defense. It was too difficult for him.

Popovich was under tremendous pressure on the sidelines. He guessed right again. The opponent became more confident and was not even afraid of Duncan!

Felton is more confident in his breakthroughs and more decisive in his shots.

Millsap was no longer nervous and had a good grasp of the timing of his cut-in and containment, slowing down Duncan's pace in going to help Zhang Yang.

As for Zhang Yang, Okafor, and Gerald Wallace... they are bold, calm, and passionate, and the three of them are not afraid of Duncan.

When the Spurs attacked, Parker continued to run pick-and-rolls with Duncan. The Bobcats' defensive strategy was to first limit the number of shots by the Spurs' wing shooters, and then use physical confrontation to make them feel cold. In the early stage, they were all single-handedly defended, and no one on the wing could cover Parker.

Felton chose to leave Duncan alone, and when he encountered a pick-and-roll, he retreated directly and double-teamed Parker with Millsap.

Parker passed the ball back to Duncan, Duncan moved to the left side at a 45-degree angle to receive the ball and shot from mid-range...hit!
Duncan finally opened the kettle!

4 to 7, the Spurs relied on Parker's sudden points to keep the score close!

Felton saw Duncan make a mid-range shot and cursed. Okafor, who picked up the ball and served it, consoled him: "Raymond, you did a good job of double-teaming. Keep it up next time."

This time, Okafor really wasn't talking trash. He was just encouraging Felton to retreat more in situations like this. Duncan's open mid-range shot with a hit rate of just over 40% is definitely not as threatening as Parker's close-range jump shot, which is second to none in the league.

But this sentence caused real damage to Parker who had not yet walked far before turning around to retreat.

After two rounds of attack and 2 points and 1 assist, he was quite pleased with himself and felt much better. But when he heard what Okafor said, all his happiness disappeared.

They all have facial paralysis. Look at other people’s facial paralysis, and then look at your own facial paralysis. Comparing yourself with others will make you feel depressed!

After the offense and defense switched, Zhang Yang received the ball and continued to play one-on-one.

On his side, after handing the task of provoking Parker to the fat boss, he didn't care about it at all. He didn't care whether it succeeded or not. He had only one goal when he stepped onto the court - to score!
Shooting and breaking through, Zhang Yang played one-on-one in the high post as he pleased. If the ball went in, he would shoot. If it missed, he would change his posture and continue shooting in the next round. This extraordinary style of play made Popovich miss Malik Rose again.

03年总决赛，马里克-罗斯把前三轮以51%命中率场均拿到16分的理查德-杰弗森防得只有41%命中率和13分，在马刺队4比2击败篮网队夺冠的过程中起到了重要作用，算是废了基德一臂。

With Malik Rose to replace Gerald Wallace, Bowen can return to the shooting guard position to defend Zhang Yang...but there is no money! They can only afford the first year of the lowest salary for the role players with a 6-year, 4200 million contract.

After Zhang Yang swung the ball for a few rounds and needed a rest, he would pass the ball to Gerald Wallace or Okafor to drive to the basket.

On the other side, Parker took over the main attack and led the team to compete with the Bobcats, keeping the score close.

Both teams made the same defensive choices at the start, blocking long-range shots, preventing the opponent from combining inside and outside plays, and choosing one-on-one defense against the ball handler.

Both teams had good scoring efficiency. Halfway through the first quarter, the score was 16 to 13. The Bobcats held on to the slight lead they had at the start!

张杨开局表现依旧稳健，4投2中，加上2中1的罚球拿到5分。

Felton only scored 3 points, but his distraction role was fully utilized tonight.

Gerald Wallace made a breakthrough layup and two free throws after being fouled on a breakthrough. Okafor scored an alley-oop at the beginning and another one on a single play later.

马刺队那边，帕克开局4投2中加上2中2的罚球拿到6分2助攻，以一己之力撑起了全队进攻。

Entering the official timeout, the two teams began to make personnel and tactical adjustments.

Popovich replaced Jacqui Vaughn, Elson and Ginobili for Parker, Finley and Oberto.

After the substitution, Popovich wanted to praise Parker, but he didn't say it out loud.

Parker showed no expression. He took a towel from the staff and sat down to wipe his sweat.

On the other side, Zhang Yang was replaced by Rondo, Felton, Gerald Wallace, Okafor and Muhammad.

Zhang Yang sat on the sidelines, resting patiently and recovering his strength.

The timeout ended and the game continued. Zhang Yang stared at Ginobili who received the ball and played one-on-one.

The worried situation occurred. After missing two games, Yao Dao came on stage tonight and made a three-pointer with the help of a screen!
However, Zhang Yang felt that his teammates were not affected... No, they were, and they fought even harder when it came to attacking!

Okafor missed a layup from Duncan in the low post, but Rondo grabbed the offensive rebound and made a second-chance layup!

Popovich felt the Bobcats' overflowing confidence, and Zhang Yang also noticed the change in his teammates' mentality.

If Ginobili had performed well in the last game, the Bobcats would have probably collapsed by now.

In G3, Ginobili played very badly, making 16 of 6 shots, with a hit rate of less than 40%. The Spurs suppressed them for the entire game and eventually won. In the previous game, even if Ginobili had just played an average performance, the Bobcats would not have won.

But it’s different now!

Duncan had a poor performance in singles at the beginning, but his performance on the defensive end was still outstanding. After he found that his singles performance was not good, he took the initiative to adjust his playing style, receiving the ball and shooting, cutting in to respond, and rushing for rebounds. He still played very well and was very dominant. The Bobcats players were just not afraid of Duncan anymore, but Duncan still weighed the most in the hearts of the Bobcats players.

Parker also played well tonight with the help of Finley and Bowen.

In this situation, Ginobili went into high gear. Zhang Yang saw that his teammates were not afraid at all and fought back bravely!
It's just that... a group of big guys around 2.1 meters tall couldn't grab the rebounds against the 1.80-meter-tall Coach Long...

……

……

Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation!

(End of this chapter)