Champions Creed

Chapter 354 353: Get up and tell me a joke (ask for a monthly ticket!)

Targetedness, this is the biggest difference between the regular season and the playoffs.

Some stars may perform well during the regular season, but their true colors will be revealed in the playoffs.

The reason is that they are unable to cope with the targeted defense set up by the opponent.

After all, the regular season is a whirlwind tour, with many games and short intervals between games, so you don’t have that much time to analyze your opponents in overly detailed detail.

But the playoffs are another matter entirely, like the difference between a KTV girl and a formal girlfriend. For a girlfriend you need to spend a long time with, you always have to study her taste, temper, and knowledge she likes, and then prescribe the right medicine.

And because it is a life-and-death series, some extreme tactics that would never be used in the regular season may also appear in the playoffs.

For example, in the last round of Game 7, Roger's strategy of both playing offensive balls and assisting defense was an extreme strategy that would never be used in the regular season.

All of these factors make the playoffs different.

Craig Popovich showed up at the Oakland Arena with his carefully researched and targeted strategy, ready to take the crown off Roger's head again.

The starting lineups of both teams took to the court, which was a continuation of last season's feud and also a change of dominance in this era.

This is no exaggeration, as Roger never dominated Tim Duncan.

All of his victories over Duncan have come in insignificant regular season games.

In the playoffs, Duncan can win the championship in Roger's era, and he can also defeat the guy called God head-on in the series.

This is what makes No. 21 in the Holy City so special.

If there is a blemish on Roger's career so far, it's Duncan.

Therefore, this round of the series can be regarded as a war for dominance.

If Roger still cannot defeat No. 21, his dominance will be shaken.

Unlike most other NBA stars, Duncan's mouth doesn't stink that much.

But this doesn't mean he won't make harsh remarks before the game.

"I think you may need some failure experiences to enrich your monotonous career." Tim Duncan told Roger expressionlessly.

"Tim," Roger's expression was equally cold, "people say you're boring, but they think you're the funniest loser out there. I won't shut you up completely. I'll keep your life and tongue to tell me jokes."

There was no tense shouting and no warm greetings to each other's relatives.

Both Roger and Duncan spoke in very calm tones.

In fact, Roger and Duncan remained emotionally stable throughout the night.

Before the game, reporters asked Roger how he responded to Popovich's statement that "I have never watched the Warriors' game video."

He just shrugged: "Trust me, he'll stay up tonight to watch it."

When reporters asked Duncan what this round of the series meant, Duncan simply replied: "It means I have to endure Tony Parker for another 48 minutes."

The atmosphere of this round of the series is completely different from the last round. In the last round, the Lakers and Warriors were both shouting to kill each other. But this round, the Warriors and Spurs are like two old politicians running for president.

Both sides maintained the most basic decency and smiled on the surface, but in their hearts they were both planning how to kill the other.

The game started and Marcus Camby got the ball for the Warriors.

Duncan is a nuclear-like low-post threat, and according to Hubie Brown's strategy, Mutombo should start against the Spurs.

But after the last series, Eric Spoelstra decided to increase Camby's role. He believed that Camby's energy would cause more trouble for Duncan.

When the Warriors attacked, Roger found that the Spurs did not double-team him the moment he approached the three-point line like other teams did.

They only sent their old acquaintance Bruce Bowen to stand in front of Roger. Except for Duncan who moved forward a few steps eagerly and was ready to assist in defense at any time, everyone else stared at their opponents.

Roger actually welcomes double-teaming, as double-teaming means there will be open spaces and easy scoring opportunities on the court.

In this way, the game can often be resolved easily.

Throughout the regular season, the Warriors' big wins were often not Roger's 40 or 50 points. In those big wins, Roger's stats were usually 30+10.

He scored 30 points himself and gave out 10 assists to help his teammates seize those opportunities, and the game was won as smoothly as soap slipping through his hands.

When Roger needs to score 40 or 50 points, it actually means the game is very tense.

The Warriors' three-pointer is a deadly weapon that is often overlooked by other teams in the league.

Alan Houston, Tayshaun Prince, Stephen Jackson, Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, Cuttino Mobley. The Warriors may be the team with the best three-point resources in the league.

As Roger's overall view improves year by year, once you choose to double-team Roger, he will always be able to find the open response point in the first place.

This is why most teams that simply and roughly choose to double-team Roger are ultimately unable to defend against either Roger's personal scoring or the Warriors' overall offense, leading to a direct defeat.

This is how the Spurs defended Roger during the regular season. Popovich would use Bruce Bowen as the main defender and then use Payton to assist.

But because Bowen and Payton are not fast enough and cannot fill in the position in time, the Warriors are always able to seize those open three-point opportunities.

But the Warriors' lineup is not perfect. In fact, Popovich believes that the Warriors' lineup is very distorted.

Because as a championship-contending team, the Warriors only have Roger and Cuttino Mobley who can really handle the ball.

The Warriors have no third player with this ability except Roger and Cat. Stoudemire? He can attack with the ball, but his handling of passing is very bad. When he holds the ball, he only has singles value, no supporting value.

That is to say, the offense of others relies heavily on off-ball and on Roger to attract defense.

If the ball falls into Stoudemire's hands, the Warriors' offensive integrity will be destroyed and it will automatically turn into Stoudemire's singles.

Craig Popovich racked his brains to find the weak spot of this deformed lineup.

In the end, he decided to stifle Roger's passes, force him to play one-on-one, and not give other Warriors players a chance to score.

Of course, it's not like Roger is really one-on-one. When Roger breaks through, Duncan will actively rush to the free throw line to interfere with Roger.

The Spurs' defense did just that in this possession.

Facing Bowen's one-on-one defense with just the right distance, Roger chose to accelerate and break through.

Payton didn't provide help defense, nor did Parker, so Roger had no chance to pass the ball.

Duncan stood near the free throw line with his arms outstretched, covering Roger like a big net.

Feed the ball directly to Camby? The Admiral was standing between the basket and Stoudemire. No matter if Roger passed the ball to Stoudemire or Camby, the Admiral would be able to interfere immediately.

In other words, the Spurs blocked all of the Warriors' chances!

They forced Roger to use difficult singles to attack from the bottom!

Roger did just that. Seeing that there was no chance to pass the ball, Roger made a quick stop and jump shot.

But Duncan stretched out his arms and interfered with Roger's shot. Because of Duncan's containment, Roger was unable to speed up when he broke through, so Bowen was able to interfere with Roger's shot in the first place.

Under double interference, Roger missed the mid-range shot.

To put it bluntly, Popovich's strategy remains the same, which is to force the opponent to play one-on-one and take those difficult mid-range shots.

But this year, with more detailed targeting, it has become more difficult for Roger to attack from mid-range.

The Spurs' defense was very successful in the first round, and in the next round, Duncan was the axis in the low post, attracting the defense to assist Parker who cut in and scored.

This is the greatness of Tim Duncan. It is hard to imagine what would happen to O'Neal if he had to work so hard on high-post defense on the defensive end and then just serve as a foil to his teammates on the offensive end.

Duncan did what the team needed him to do. If the Spurs needed him to score 35+15 in a game, he would do it. If the team needed him to score 18 points in the fourth quarter, he would do it. If the team needed him to do the dirty work, protect the rebounds, attract double teams for his teammates, and give everyone a chance, he would do it.

What he does depends on what the team needs, not what the data requires.

He can play any role and help the team at any time.

This makes him not just good, but outstanding.

2-0, San Antonio Spurs took the lead. Popovich sat on the bench and grumbled proudly: "I don't need to watch your game tape, no need!"

"But you obviously saw a lot," assistant coach Mike Budenholzer said.

"Shut up Mike, I said I didn't see it!"

The game continues, and the playoffs are all about targeting, which Spoelstra naturally knows.

So in the second round, Roger started to play pick-and-roll with Stoudemire.

Because Jeff Hornacek is the Warriors' offensive coach, the Warriors' offense this season is full of pick-and-rolls. The ghost of the Stockton-Malone pick-and-roll has been revived in Oakland.

In the last round, Malone himself had already felt how disgusting this pick-and-roll was.

In the playoffs, the most effective offensive means must of course be used frequently and in a targeted manner.

The Admiral, like Duncan, played defense and immediately switched to Roger the moment the pick-and-roll was formed.

At the same time, Duncan guarded the basket to prevent Stoudemire from attacking the basket and to prevent Roger from breaking through and attacking the basket continuously.

Facing the Warriors' all-powerful pick-and-roll, among the four options of "Roger's mid-range shot", "Roger attacks the basket", "Amar'e Stoudemire attacks the basket", and "Amar'e Stoudemire mid-range shot", Popovich chose to focus on curbing the first three.

When it comes to defensive strategies, you can only seek the lesser of many evils and you can never cover everything.

Popovich didn't believe that Stoudemire's mid-range shot could kill the game. He thought that was something the Spurs could afford, and he was betting on that.

Roger took advantage of the situation and faced Duncan retreating to the basket and the Admiral coming up, and he hit the ball to Stoudemire.

After receiving the ball, Stoudemire shot directly, but Duncan rushed out and interfered with him to some extent.

From a strategic point of view, the Spurs' defense was successful again, because Stoudemire's shots were exactly what Popovich wanted to see most.

But as the Nets tumbled, the Spurs’ defense ended up failing.

Stoudemire still made the shot despite slight interference from Duncan!

After the ball went in, Stoudemire pounded his chest and raised his head to roar.

This passionate jump shot has a Kevin Garnett-like aesthetic.

However, there is nothing wrong with the iron-blooded jump shot. The reason why Garnett's iron-blooded jump shot is criticized is that as a star player, it is difficult for him to rely on mid-range shots to attack at critical moments.

But as a deputy, Stoudemire's iron-blooded jump shot is no longer a disadvantage.

Stoudemire has been waiting for this game for a year. He will never let Roger down again. He will never let that bastard Tim Duncan leave with a smile again!

2 to 2, Popovich's expression immediately changed from sunny to cloudy.

His defensive strategy failed to hit a wall for the Warriors, on the contrary, the Spurs' subsequent offense hit a wall.

When Tim Duncan singled out Camby in the low post and pushed him away for a hook shot, Amar'e Stoudemire double-teamed him in time, forcing Duncan to give up the attack and pass the ball to the Admiral in the mid-range.

The general took a jump shot without hesitation, but what greeted him was a flying block by Marcus Camby!
The mobility of Stoudemire and Camby on the defensive end is enough for them to hold down the general while double-teaming Duncan!
Camby's fingertips successfully knocked the basketball away, and finally Stoudemire grabbed the basketball and the Warriors got the ball back.

After Roger attacked, he did not just rush forward, but continued waving his hands and setting a screen with Stoudemire.

The Spurs' targeted strategy is still the same as before. One of the inside players moves forward to prevent Roger from making mid-range shots, and the other player moves back to prevent Stoudemire from making chances to attack the basket.

However, Stoudemire's mid-range shot hit the target again!
4 is better than 2!

Amar'e Stoudemire was like a needle that pierced Popovich's chest. It wasn't fatal, but it made him extremely uncomfortable.

In subsequent games, the Spurs continued to firmly implement Popovich's strategy.

They cut off Roger's connection with others, they forced Roger to make difficult mid-range shots, and they curbed Stoudemire's attack on the basket.

But Stoudemire used his mid-range shots to score 12 points in the first quarter!
The Warriors also led 24-19 after the first quarter!

"Amare, he can now raise his head and accept the cheers of Oakland fans! He has seized the loopholes in the Spurs' defensive system, or in other words, he is no longer a loophole in the Warriors' offense! Amare now is definitely a reliable god's hand!" Jeff Van Gundy praised Stoudemire. A power forward who can shoot mid-range shots, attack the basket and defend is what all teams desire.

He is like a Kevin Garnett with weakened defense but stronger offense. He is the best knight next to the Kings!

Craig Popovich was still unwilling to give up. He didn't believe that Stoudemire's mid-range shooting touch could last until the second quarter.

So he waved his hand and said, "Let's continue with our current defensive strategy!"

In the first half of the second quarter, Roger and Stoudemire went off the court at the same time, which gave the Spurs the opportunity to overtake by 1 point.

But when Roger and Stoudemire came on the court again, the Spurs' defense became useless again.

Stoudemire raised his personal score to 18 points with three consecutive mid-range shots!
In the fourth round, Payton, who had been fed up, went to help defend Stoudemire. Stoudemire passed the ball back to Roger, who immediately found Alan Houston, who had been lost by Payton. The latter made the Warriors' first three-pointer of the night, extending the lead to 8 points!
Although this was only the Warriors' first three-pointer of the day, Popovich immediately yelled, "Don't give the three-pointer a chance, damn bastard, what are you doing!? I've never seen such a stupid DPOY!"

Payton was treated like a bargaining chip without dignity. He looked up and saw Roger smiling at him: "Gary, don't humiliate yourself. You and old losers like Carl should have fucking left long ago."

Payton thought of Karl Malone's tragic fate again, and he felt that such a fate was approaching himself.

He could only trust Tim Duncan, the No. 21 who had saved the Admiral.

However, Duncan's attack failed again.

"Marcus fouled Tim in advance, and Tim made one of two free throws. This was a very smart tactical foul, which turned Tim's stable 2 points into 1 point. Last season's MVP struggled tonight, and his offense was stumbling. Let's see if the Warriors can continue this offensive!"

Amid Jeff Van Gundy's calls, Roger and Stoudemire's pick-and-roll machine continued to operate.

To be honest, Roger never thought he would love pick-and-roll so much.

During his time with the Magic, the lazy Shaq rarely came out to play pick-and-roll.

During the Hawks period, the weak offensive threats from players like Ben Wallace and Kurt Thomas made their pick-and-rolls ineffective.

This was the first time Roger worked with an excellent offensive center.

In this case, a simple pick-and-roll can accomplish a lot.

This time, Duncan did not retreat resolutely. He stepped forward a little and rushed out the moment Stoudemire received the ball.

However, Duncan overestimated his mobility. When Stoudemire found that Duncan rushed too far forward and accelerated to break through, No. 21 was unable to stop Stoudemire in the first place.

His athletic ability hasn't completely deteriorated, but it's not as terrible as it was in college.

Stoudemire leaned on Duncan from the side and behind him to force a layup, and when the basketball hit the ground, Duncan was knocked to the ground.

Jeff Van Gundy smiled gloatingly and said, "I think Craig should just go back and watch the game video tonight."

Duncan sat on the ground and slapped the floor angrily: "Damn it!"

His emotions were no longer stable because he couldn't believe that he and the admiral had allowed a sophomore rookie to score 20 points in the first half!
At this time, Roger walked up and reached out to pull up the fallen Duncan.

"Wake up, Tim. Tell me a bad joke. Hey, why are you silent?"

Duncan stared at Roger fiercely. Although he finally pulled Roger's hand and stood up, he immediately turned and ran away.

Roger felt extremely happy as he watched Duncan leave in a rage.

Why does he trust Stoudemire so much today? Because the Spurs used this strategy in the original timeline.

In the 05 game against the Suns, the Spurs gave Stoudemire many mid-range opportunities in order to contain Nash and prevent the Suns from shooting three-pointers.

The results of it?
Stoudemire had the best career performance of averaging 37 points per game!
Of course, the result of that series was that the Suns were swept 4-1 by the Warriors.

But the Warriors' defensive level is different from that of the Suns.

Roger's ability to support the team in singles is not comparable to Steve Nash.

When these conditions change, it may not be certain who will be swept away by the gentlemen.

Tim Duncan is the only player not dominated by Roger?
No no no, no one can escape the rule.

No one can escape.

(End of this chapter)