Chapter 53 53. ‘History’ changes, lock first
On the 27th, the Spurs flew back to San Antonio, and their brutal four-game road trip finally came to an end.

The intensity of each game was getting higher and higher, especially the game against the Grizzlies, which made Zhang Yang scared.

If they hadn't taken turns to rest, Baldy and Daidai would still be exhausted; if they hadn't made targeted tactical preparations and used conventional playing styles like they did against the Nuggets, Rockets and Trail Blazers... they might have been beaten by the Grizzlies in this game.

Randolph, who is entering his peak season, is really fierce. Even though he was targeted like that, he still scored 28 points in a single game, held the bottom line, and helped Conley create a chance for a comeback.

Conley makes shots under pressure, has the ability and courage to do so, and is a deadly but easily overlooked opponent.

Of course, the most important thing is the Grizzlies' defense. The starters are Conley, Tony Allen, and Gasol Jr. Sam Young is also on defense. Battier, Leon Powe, Darrell Arthur, Vazquez... on the bench are all very good at defense. Head coach Hollins was also a top defensive coach before the small ball era arrived.

If the Grizzlies' defense hadn't been in disarray in the third quarter, the Spurs' team offense would have been difficult to develop.

After personally playing against the Grizzlies, Zhang Yang finally understood why the Spurs in the original time and space started the playoffs behind 1-3 and ended up being eliminated in the first round.

After returning to San Antonio, Zhang Yang took the team car back to the ATT Arena and continued to practice mid-range shots and attacking the basket after pick-and-rolls.

The Grizzlies' defensive strengths lie in the basket and outside the three-point line, and their mid-range shooting defense is average. As long as he can make his mid-range shooting rhythm faster and more stable after the pick-and-roll, he can seize more scoring opportunities.

Attacking the rim with the ball is their weakness this season. Parker has a very high hit rate when attacking the rim, but he cannot break through the defense of the two Bears + Conley in positional warfare. Once the Grizzlies gain momentum, Parker disappears directly.

Duncan's ability to attack is gone, and Ginobili is the only inside attack point left. Jack Zhang counts as 0.5...

There are still about 3 weeks until the playoffs, keep working hard!

...

There are only 8 games left in the regular season. Although the Spurs' opponents are all difficult to deal with, the schedule has become more relaxed. From March 3th to April 27th, there will be 4 games in 17 days.

This is not Stern being "merciful" to the Spurs, but because of the widespread injuries at the end of the 04-05 regular season when NHC (high-post defense) was activated, the league moved the start time of the regular season forward and increased the break time at the end of the regular season to reduce the risk of widespread injuries affecting the enjoyment of the playoffs due to the competition for playoff spots and rankings.

From the 27th to the 29th, the Spurs rested for three days, and on the 3th, they faced the challenge of the Kings at home.

Today, Popovich rested Duncan and Richard Jefferson and sent out the starting lineup of Parker, Zhang Yang, Danny Green, McDyess and Split.

Ginobili continues to play as the sixth man, which can be regarded as an adjustment made by Popovich to allow Ginobili to rest more and play more easily, and it is not entirely for the purpose of increasing the training efforts for Zhang Yang.

The opponent's strongest player must be in the starting lineup, so let Zhang Yang consume the opponent's wave and Ginobili can play more easily.

From a training perspective, Zhang Yang is definitely the most valued player on the Spurs right now, but from a game perspective, Popovich undoubtedly values ​​Ginobili's performance more.

This game went relatively smoothly, which made Popovich even more heartbroken about the tens of millions of dollars in annual salary he gave to Richard Jefferson last summer.

Danny Green, who earns $46, is not as experienced as Richard Jefferson, can't pass the ball, and can't shrink the rim because he is not as heavy as Richard Jefferson, but this difference is not worth more than $900 million! Danny Green's one-on-one defense is better than Richard Jefferson's current one, his shooting is better than Richard Jefferson's and his shooting range is wider, and he covers all three-point points...

When the game went smoothly, Parker was a superstar, scoring 26 points and 12 assists in a single game, leading the Spurs to a 111-92 win over the Kings.

吉诺比利替补上场拿到19分5板2助攻、丹尼-格林10分2板2抢断1盖帽、张杨14分7板2助攻2抢断、麦克戴斯18分、乔治-希尔12分4助攻1抢断，进攻端整体表现出色。两天后，4月2号，马刺队迎来了冠军热门之一的凯尔特人队。

凯尔特人队仅排在东部第三，但没人敢轻视他们，他们上赛季只拿到50胜32负，但在季后赛先锤罗斯、然后4比2干翻联盟第一的詹姆斯、东决4比2干掉霍华德、总决赛和科加奥战至抢七。

Many people think that this year’s finals will be another battle between yellow and green.

The Spurs played against the Celtics with all their main players, who had rested for 3 days. Popovich also let Duncan and Richard Jefferson rest just to play against the Celtics.

But I couldn't beat...

尽管邓肯遇到加内特，奋发了一波，单场拿到20分10板，张杨的18分5板1助攻2抢断、帕克的13分5助攻、吉诺比利的14分4助攻也都还不错，
但还是不敌12分15板11助攻的隆多、13分11板3助攻2抢断2盖帽的加内特、18分的皮尔斯、16分3助攻的雷-阿伦、18分的杰夫-格林。

91 to 97, the Spurs lost at home, ending their 6-game winning streak.

During the game, Zhang Yang fought hard for victory and dared to fight, but after the game, he had to admit that although the team was ranked first in the league, its strength was indeed not as good as those real championship-level teams.

Their strength lies in their unique stability in the league, which has not changed in more than a decade since the arrival of Duncan. They rarely lose to opponents weaker than them, but they are too stable and lack the ability to overturn the weak.

As for how to solve this problem, based on Zhang Yang's understanding of the villain Bobo, it should be - as long as we are stronger than the entire league, then there is no need to consider the problem of the underdog overcoming the strong...

If you can't solve the problem, don't let it arise.

On April 4, the Spurs lost 5-102 to the Trail Blazers at home. Ginobili, Duncan, and Richard Jefferson did not play in this game. After losing to the Celtics, they could no longer surpass the Mavericks' best record in Texas, and Popovich completely let himself go.

On April 4, the Spurs defeated the Hawks 7-107 on the road. Although they won the game, Zhang Yang, who was facing the true contemporary Jordan Joe Johnson, was taught a lesson.

The head coach is a jerk! He was left alone to defend Joe Johnson in the high post!
He knew it was "training", but it was a little too much. He saw what it meant to be a top mid-range singles fanatic from the outside.

Joe Johnson has taken more shots from outside the free throw line and inside the three-point line than from outside the three-point line and inside the free throw line combined.

However, Joe Johnson's height of 201 cm and weight of 107 kg do not allow him to have much lethality in the interior, which is the gap between him and a true mid-range superstar.

But...even though Joe Johnson's playing style has various shortcomings, Zhang Yang still wants to learn from him. This guy has so many ways to score from mid-range!
On April 4th, the Spurs faced the challenge of the Jazz at home.

这场比赛，马刺队打得很卖力，11人上场8人得分上双，张杨19分、丹尼-格林12分、理查德-杰弗森10分、帕克13分7助攻、邓肯10分10板4助攻、吉诺比利12分6助攻、布莱尔12分7板、邦纳17分……

111 to 90, the Spurs, playing as a team with full firepower, slaughtered the Jazz and improved their record to 63 wins and 16 losses!
As for the Bulls, their current record is 58 wins and 20 losses, while the Spurs have secured the regular season championship 3 games in advance!

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(End of this chapter)