Champions Creed

Chapter 234 233: You are very strong, but I want to go down and drink water (ask for monthly ticket!)

The San Antonio Spurs' roster this season hasn't changed much from four months ago.

They only signed the experienced but late-career Terry Porter in the offseason, a two-time All-Star and one of the best shooters in the early 90s.

This signing can be seen as the Spurs' supplement for the loss of Sean Elliott. Elliott's kidney disease has greatly reduced his attendance stability. The Spurs must find someone who can replace him at any time.

Apart from this, the only signing worth mentioning by the Spurs was the selection of an Argentine guy playing in Italy in the second round.

Of course, he hasn't signed up for the NBA yet.

The championship does not change the lineup, this is the consensus of most championship teams.

Unless absolutely necessary, few championship teams will make drastic changes to their roster, and the Spurs are no exception.

Their average age this season is 31 years old, and except for Duncan, most of the main players are old guys. But it doesn't matter, Popovich likes this kind of mature, stable and experienced team.

As long as an old car is properly maintained, it is often easier to drive than a new car.

For the Hawks, the starting lineup has changed from the previous two seasons.

The starting five in the opening game were Roger, Pippen, Pierce, Marion and Ben Wallace. Compared to the championship season, this lineup has three changes in the starting lineup!
That's right, the Hawks are the championship team that had to make drastic changes to its roster.

The Hawks were very bold in using rookie Marion as a starter. Few championship teams would use rookie players as starters.

However, considering Marion's outstanding performance in the summer league and preseason, Lenny Wilkens still gave him a chance.

Big Ben squeezed out Kurt Thomas and became the starting center of the Hawks this season.

Although Big Ben's offense has remained stable over the years, his defensive performance has far surpassed Kurt Thomas.

Of course Kurt Thomas is also good, but Ben's interior defense has reached a level that makes Lenny Wilkens trust him unconditionally.

Compared with the Spurs' twin towers, this lineup is really at two extremes.

Even Steve Jones thinks the Hawks' lineup is a bit too short.

"In the championship season, the Hawks had a very bold lineup height. Kurt Thomas and Alan Henderson were both only 206 cm tall. This season, the Hawks' lineup height has even dropped further. Shawn Marion is only 201 cm tall, and Big Ben is probably about the same height. Hey, no one really believes he is 206 cm tall, right?"

Can you believe that the tallest person in the starting lineup of a championship team is Pippen?

Two years ago, Lenny Wilkens would not have believed that such a short lineup could win the NBA championship.

But the championship in 1998 made Lenny Wilkens develop a fetish for dwarfs.

He became more and more convinced of Pat Riley's theory of the future of basketball.

The gap between short people and tall people is not as scary as people imagine.

At the start of the game, Duncan won the first attack ball for the Spurs.

Young General Johnson pushed steadily across half court, Duncan fought for position in the low post, and the Admiral was running in and out like a small forward.

Big Ben spared no effort to use front defense in the first round. This move made the Sharks very uncomfortable and also troubled Duncan.

The young general then changed the pass target and pushed the ball towards David Robinson with both hands.

Marion reached out to steal the pass, but the basketball narrowly missed his fingertips and flew into the hands of David Robinson.

The Admiral made a hook shot near the basket, but Marion quickly jumped after failing to steal the ball.

It is almost impossible for a 201 cm forward to defend against a 216 cm center.

But in the air, David Robinson watched Marion shoot his hook shot with half his forearm above the basket!

Marion's biggest problem on the defensive end now is that he likes to jump too much and is easily picked off.

But if he happens to jump on your idea, then I'm sorry, all you will be greeted with is a hot pot!
The Hawks got the ball, and seeing that the Spurs retreated quickly, Pippen slowly pushed the ball across half court.

Roger shook off Mario Elie, who once gave the Rockets the kiss of death, and received the ball on the right side outside the three-point line.

At the moment of catching the ball, Roger did not encounter any fierce double-teaming.

The Spurs' defense is still the same old way of blocking the middle and letting the sides go.

In Popovich's basketball philosophy, the more double-teams there are, the more rotations there are in help defense. The more rotations there are in help defense, the easier it is to make mistakes.

Mario Eli blocked Roger's right hand and forced him to go to the left corner.

Roger took advantage of the situation, moving to the left corner and making a drifting shot before Tim Duncan could double-team him.

This is the difficult shot that Popovich wants to see. In last season's finals, Madman and Alan Houston suffered terribly under such defense.

But for Roger, this difficult shot did not pose any pressure at all.

The basketball went into the net, and Roger easily cracked the Spurs' strategy of blocking the center and releasing the sides.

After scoring the goal, Roger waved his hands and said, "Tim, is this how you control the future?"

The Spurs' defense is just right for dealing with the Chosen One, but is at a disadvantage against powerful mid-range shooters.

Popovich waved his hands on the sidelines, and he could only send out one more person to double-team Roger.

We must not continue to gamble on Roger's difficult one-on-one touch.

The Spurs attack, their tempo is very slow. Although the Spurs will remain competitive for the next decade, they are not static.

Popovich during this period rejected fast-paced basketball because it would lead to turnovers, which would increase the unpredictability of the game.

The coach's job is to make the game controllable, so he resolutely slowed down the game and only played a steady half-court offense and defense.

Looking at Popovich's current coaching style, it is hard to imagine that the Spurs will become a team that relies on fast-paced counterattacks and three-pointers in the future.

The most commendable thing about Duncan is that he can adapt to almost all styles.

He can beat James in boring slowdown and physical combat, and he can also beat James in a fast-paced era.

Duncan sat under the basket, and this time he blocked Big Ben in advance and received the ball steadily.

But the moment he got the ball, Marion doubled up. Ben and Marion's four long arms waved in front of the stone Buddha, leaving Duncan no room to shoot.

He could only pass the ball to David Robinson in the mid-range.

But as soon as the basketball was passed, Duncan saw Pierce rushing out and intercepting the basketball!
"Paul Pierce is now a dangerous defensive player!" said Steve Jones, who has been watching Pierce's games since the preseason.

He dared to assert that Paul Pierce's defense had completed its transformation.

After completing the steal, Pierce immediately threw the ball to Roger.

Roger counterattacked and dunked, scoring amid the shouts of Spurs fans.

Pierce suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment. He successfully made up for the position and stole the ball in this defense, which supported the team!
I am no longer a child who needs others to support me!
I am a man myself!

At 4-0, the Eagles are toying with the defending champions.

In fact, even a basketball fan knows that the best way for the Spurs to play against the Hawks is to get the ball to the inside.

The Spurs have a size advantage, and the size advantage becomes more obvious the deeper they go.

But the problem is that with the Hawks' extreme mobility, it is difficult for the Spurs to feed the ball to Duncan in the low post.

As soon as Duncan crossed half court, Ben, who was always enthusiastic on the defensive end, would use physical contact to limit Duncan's catching the ball.

Many couples vow to be together forever, but few can put it into action like Daben did.

He has really been with Duncan from the beginning of the game to now.

But Duncan still dropped to the low post and got stuck in position, ready to make a request.

But just as Avery Johnson lobbed the ball in, Marion quickly moved away from David Robinson and ran into the paint to compete with Duncan. Duncan jumped up and poked the ball with his fingertips, preventing Marion from stealing it directly.

But the basketball was directly poked out of the baseline, Duncan failed to catch the ball, and the Hawks regained the ball!

"Tim, Tim, the future does not belong to you. You just stole two cookies while I was asleep." As soon as Duncan made a mistake, he heard the ridicule from the opponent.

"Yeah, but there's no guarantee you'll wake up this season," Duncan responded.

The game continued, and the Spurs had to use double-teaming on defense this time.

Terry Porter came up to double-team Roger, but Roger passed the ball quickly to Pierce.

Terry Porter rushed back immediately, but Pierce chose to go straight inside, which made it difficult for Terry Porter, who was rushing outside with all his strength, to adjust his center to chase.

Pierce successfully broke into the penalty area. Facing David Robinson's blockade, he withstood the confrontation in the air and steadily scored the ball!

Every cut on his body protested with tearing pain, including the two cuts on his sphincter.

But he remained calm.

In his opinion, compared with being stabbed 13 times and almost dying, the physical fights on the court and the pain when using the toilet were nothing.

The stabbing of Pierce was a major event that determined the direction of his career.

Because it was this incident that changed Pierce's entire gaming temperament.

An incomparably tougher and more mature Paul Pierce was born a year earlier in this history.

6-0, the defending champions had an extremely ugly start.

In the next offense, Terry Porter received the ball on the left side outside the three-point line and immediately raised the ball above his head, trying to try a three-pointer.

But Porter actually just made a fake shot. He knew that Pierce liked to take risks on the defensive end, so he wanted to trick Pierce and wait for an opportunity to break through.

But Pierce just stood in front of Porter with his arms open steadily, unmoved.

Terry Porter was embarrassed for a moment, as he didn't have any singles ability at the moment. If Pierce didn't fall for it, he wouldn't have any way to handle the ball.

Just as Terry Porter was thinking about what to do next, Pierce pressed forward, actively engaged in physical confrontation, and did not forget to humiliate his opponent with words.

"Old man, you can't even hold the ball!"

Although Pierce pressed hard, he never tried to steal the ball. He was not greedy for defensive data, he just wanted to make his opponent uncomfortable.

Maybe Pierce will never be a top defender like Pippen who is both aggressive and stable, but at least now he will no longer make low-level mistakes on the defensive end.

Terry Porter passed the ball hastily to the young general under pressure, and then Pippen made his first steal of the season!
"God, you better be careful every time you pass the ball against this Atlanta Hawks team, because they are too good at disrupting the opponent's passes!"

As soon as Steve Jones finished speaking, Pippen counterattacked and scored a dunk.

8-0, the joy brought by the championship ring awarding ceremony is gradually dissipating.

Spurs fans gritted their teeth and waited for the Spurs to score the first goal.

Then their attack failed again.

This time David Robinson deliberately moved to a higher position, and Marion did not dare to assist in defense easily.

But the moment Duncan got the ball, he encountered Roger's help defense from the baseline!
Duncan turned over and shot a jump shot under the defense of two people, but the basketball bounced out of the basket.

Marion protected the rebounds. This season, rebounds will never be the Hawks' Achilles' heel.

Once again, the Spurs' offense was helpless against the Hawks' defense.

This result is normal. Many people think that the Hawks' short lineup is afraid of tall inside players, and the Spurs happen to have the strongest twin towers in the league, so the Spurs will definitely be able to easily deal with the Hawks.

actually not.

The inside players, who need to be in a deep position with their backs to the basket to launch attacks, are simply unable to cope with the Hawks' all-out double-teaming lineup.

The outside players had to pass the ball to the inside players through the arms of Roger, Pippen and others. The inside players did not dare to shoot easily after receiving the ball because it was easy for them to be stolen.

Either you shoot high and make the final decision when you are double-teamed, or pass the ball again.

But neither option is the best solution.

The Spurs' offense became fragmented after repeated double-teaming.

The Heat were also good at double-teaming last season, so they actually caused trouble for the Spurs on the defensive end.

It was their offense that ultimately cost them the game.

The Heat's best scorer is Madman, and he and Roger are not at the same level of players at all.

They can't possibly beat the Spurs with defense alone.

But the Hawks not only have the same level of double-teaming as the Heat, they also have an offense that the Heat simply don't have.

In the next round, the Eagles fully demonstrated their offensive advantage.

Because Pierce had just scored a goal, the Spurs didn't dare to double-team Roger again.

They decided to block the middle and let the sides go, forcing Roger to make a difficult mid-range shot.

If Roger shoots the game to death again, Popovich will accept it.

Because he really had no choice.

But Roger did not play one-on-one directly, but waved his hand and called for Big Ben to come out for a screen and roll.

Roger quickly bypassed the screen and Duncan had to switch defense in front of Roger.

At this time, Roger looked at Ben who was quickly following, inducing Mario Eli to block the passing route.

But in fact Roger didn't intend to pass the ball, he wanted to play with the Stone Buddha!
The NBA's most stable defensive player and the NBA's best offensive guard meet head-on!

Tim Duncan kept one hand in front of Roger's eyes, lowered his center of gravity, and tried his best to block Roger's sudden shots.

Roger stopped suddenly and raised the basketball. Duncan reacted immediately and jumped up to block it.

But Roger didn't shoot, but instead reached the ball towards Duncan's waist.

Duncan thought Roger was going to pass the ball, so he turned around quickly, but saw that Marion and Big Ben didn't have the ball in their hands at all.

Duncan realized that he was being fooled and turned around. At this time, Roger had already raised the ball, so Duncan jumped again.

To be honest, if Roger really chose to shoot at this time, Duncan would successfully block the ball.

Considering Duncan's size, his performance in this mismatch defense was good enough.

But it was still a fake move, which tricked Roger, who had his feet off the ground, into taking a step forward, passing under the armpit of No. 21, and easily making a layup to score.

Roger made fun of this guy who was known for his solid defense at the Spurs' home court!

10-0, Popovich had to suspend the game, and the Spurs fans who had been extremely excited just now put down their arms in humiliation.

Steve Jones shouted excitedly: "The real champion is back!"

The ball went in. Roger looked at Duncan and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice try, you're strong, but I want to go down and drink some water, so I can only let you guys pause."

"Fuck!" Duncan cursed as he walked off the court.

The Admiral swore that this was the first time he had seen anyone drive Duncan to swear.

(End of this chapter)