Champion Rules

Chapter 324, page 320: This place is no different from other places (Seeking monthly votes!)

Yes, the Spurs have the best record in the league.

Yes, their start was unrealistically dreamlike.

Yes, no matter what data you use to analyze, the Spurs are the best team.

Such a team is enough to put pressure on any opponent.

But Kyrie Irving is right:

"When the opponents see me and Lynch on the court at the same time, they feel even more pressure."

The entire Spurs team knew that this was no ordinary opponent.

This game is more than just a regular season game; it's a trial – only by truly defeating the New York Knicks can the Spurs be considered strong contenders for the championship.

Such a trial is invaluable for the Spurs, as they only have two opportunities to face the Knicks in the regular season.

Duncan looked at the threat before him, his massive hand covering Tony Parker's head: "Let's fight."

"Sham, I'm scared," the Frenchman whispered.

"What?" Tsim was a little surprised. Was his teammate's damned French bloodline starting to act up?

"I am afraid."

"There's nothing scary about Tony, we're very strong this season too."

Tony Parker waved his hand, interrupting number 21:
"Stop touching me. I'm afraid I'll only be able to have a Mediterranean hairstyle like Manu's from now on. You know, I just got divorced and am single again. You have to lay the foundation for my future sexual happiness!"

Shaver:
The Frenchman's joke eased the tense atmosphere and relieved some of the burden on my mind.

He took a deep breath, turned his gaze to the two guys in dark blue jerseys, and unconsciously clenched his fists.

Just then, a deafening roar erupted from the stands, unified and filled with fervent confidence:
"A place where nightmares cannot spread! A place where nightmares cannot spread! A place where nightmares cannot spread!"

A tremendous roar, accompanied by wildly waved signs bearing the slogan, reverberated through every corner of the arena.

Tony Parker pounded his chest hard, as if trying to shatter even the last shred of hesitation.

Just then, the buzzer sounded, and the referee signaled for both starting lineups to gather in the center circle.

The players from both teams quickly converged on the center, their tension palpable.

The last trace of hesitation in Tony Parker's eyes vanished completely, leaving only burning fighting spirit.

He's going to tear the nightmare apart!

On paper, the Spurs' starting lineup isn't exactly top-tier.

Tony Parker, Danny Green, Gerald Wallace, Tim Duncan, and Boris Diaw.

But this starting lineup is enough to show how determined Gregg Popovich is to transform the team.

Last season, Yao Ming's first backup, DeJuan Blair, was considered a highly promising rookie, and he also won the MVP award in the All-Star Rising Stars Challenge alongside John Wall.

However, in order to completely transform the team, Gregg Popovich directly benched DeJuan Blair, who seemed to have great potential, this season, simply because his technical characteristics were not suitable for the Spurs.

The Knicks' starting lineup was a surprise.

For the first time in his career, Kyrie Irving did not appear in the starting lineup, and Milos Teodosic made his first NBA start.

Clearly, Mike Malone did this to counter Manu Ginobili, who had returned to the bench, and to prevent the Spurs from gaining an advantage during transition periods.

Nightmare duos don't necessarily have to be present at the same time to be terrifying.

The game begins, and the Knicks have possession of the ball.

Although the Spurs have undergone a transformation, their defensive tactics remain similar.

Gerald Wallace was marking Lynch, while Tim Duncan was responsible for help defense in the paint.

Lynch was already quite familiar with this strategy; the Deadly Zone was at mid-range.

Everyone knows that the Spurs' defensive weakness lies in the mid-range, and it has been that way for years.

The best way to make your partner ejaculate quickly is, of course, to find the G-spot and give it a good, powerful thrust.

Therefore, Lynch's offensive choices were quite obvious—

He chose to drive hard to the basket.

This was certainly not because Lynch was blindly confident. As one of the league's best game-reading superstars, Lynch was simply executing tactics.

To counter this season's Spurs, we must employ counterintuitive offensive tactics.

Although it was the regular season, the Spurs' abnormally strong record prompted the Knicks to conduct targeted research on the Spurs well in advance.

On the surface, the Spurs still seem to be struggling defensively against mid-range specialists this season.

In reality, this persistent problem has been quietly resolved.

The only solution for the old Spurs when they were dominated in this crucial area by mid-range specialists was to bring out their ace, Bruce Bowen.

To defend against mid-range scorers, you have to cut down the three lanes!

It's a long clearance, that's how they play in the Champions League, the NBA should learn from that.

But if even this trump card is contained, such as against a team like the Knicks that resolutely implements a "reciprocal retaliation" strategy—if you cripple Lynch, I'll cripple your Sacramento—the Spurs will be helpless.

But this season, the Spurs found a solution: to fill the gap in their mid-range scoring with a more aggressive offense.

They might even deliberately lure opposing stars into getting caught up in one-on-one situations in this "vacuum zone," thereby severing their connection with their teammates.

Most mid-range shooters are not as efficient offensively as the Spurs' fluid passing and cutting this season.

No matter how efficient a mid-range isolation play is, it is still the least efficient offensive option in today's popular "Moreyball" theory.

You can use a mid-range jump shot to break through and secure a win in tense moments; it remains an indispensable weapon.

However, if a team still relies primarily on mid-range shots as its main offensive weapon in 2011, defeat is almost inevitable.

The Spurs have proven the effectiveness of this defensive strategy against the Lakers and Thunder this season.

A week ago against the Thunder, the Spurs let KD have a good time playing one-on-one, scoring 38 points.

But the Spurs won with a superior offense.

Against their old rival Kobe, the Spurs again forced Kobe to take on mid-range isolation plays, and Kobe scored a season-high 42 points, but the Lakers ultimately suffered a crushing 23-point defeat.

In the Spurs' basketball philosophy, the most efficient offense is one where the entire team is activated; the era of mid-range specialists solving problems through one-on-one battles is over.

Therefore, forcing star players to take mid-range isolation plays and cutting off their connection with teammates have become their two major weapons on the defensive end.

If Lynch continues to initiate one-on-one plays from mid-range as he used to, it will only make it easier for the Spurs to play.

Therefore, Lynch must break through.

Only by breaking through can the formation be disrupted, open spaces created, and the entire team activated.

Lin Qi lowered his shoulder and exerted force, slamming hard against Gerald Wallace and grinding him deep into the penalty area!
Year after year of weight loss has honed my agility, but it has also made such violent collisions particularly strenuous.

But Lynch still moved closer to the basket, and the next moment, shadow fell—Duncan's massive figure arrived as expected, providing help defense.

Over the years, his physical condition has declined, and his offense has deteriorated.

However, his defensive impact and ability to get blocked have never diminished.

Just as he was about to crash into the impenetrable wall, Lin Qi abruptly stopped, twisted his body, and with great force, pulled up from a dangerous distance close to the basket, flipped over, and threw the ball out.

The basketball hits the net!

The entire Spurs team knew that Lynch's resolute drive to the basket wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment decision.

After scoring, Lynch glanced at a somewhat surprised Tony Parker, and with an almost mocking composure, shrugged and spread his palms: "Has the Magic been exposed, Tony?"

"Damn it!" Tony Parker cursed under his breath; the seed of a nightmare had been planted.

On the sidelines, Gregg Popovich waved his arms frantically and shouted, "It's okay, attack, attack!"

The Spurs' offense swept across the court like a hurricane.

Tony Parker crossed half-court and passed the ball to Tim Duncan in the low post.

Instead of executing a low-post isolation play, TD acted as a pivot, quickly passing the ball back to Boris Diaw in the mid-range.

Boris Diaw and Tony Parker made a handoff, and the ball returned to the Frenchman's hands.

But he is still not the end.

In the instant the ball changed hands, the weak side baseline was already a scene of intense activity—Danny Green, using Gerald Wallace's solid screen as thick as a wall, made a nimble cut to shake off the defender and create that deadly vacuum!
The Frenchman pushed the ball out with one hand, and the basketball flew to the weak side corner. Danny Green then shot the ball with an extremely standard form.

"Shh!"

The ATT Center erupted in cheers!

This beautiful arc not only traces the trajectory of a basketball, but also sings a flowing victory anthem for the team!

This is the current Spurs offense. They never care about individual honors or statistics. If they don't have a good opportunity to shoot, they will continue to look for and pass the ball to an open teammate.

The Spurs' tactics aren't anything special. You could say the Kings played like this when they implemented the Princeton offense at the beginning of the century, and the pass-and-cut offense that the Spurs follow already existed in the 30s.

The key is that Gregg Popovich has assembled a group of selfless guys with exceptionally high basketball IQ.

The key is that Gregg Popovich transformed from a rigid, one-dimensional, and inflexible old-school coach into one who allows the team to play freely.

Such an attack is a nightmare for their opponents because you simply don't know how to counter it.

Pincer attack on Shaver? Limit Tony?
None of them worked.

Danny Green excitedly pumped his fist, giving the Spurs a 3-2 lead.

It must be said that Danny Green, before he became known as the "funeral parlor shooter" during this period, was indeed very accurate.

Before leaving the Spurs, Danny Green had vision correction surgery, and afterwards he found it difficult to aim properly.

Why did he only get his vision corrected after leaving the Spurs? Because on the battlefield, Gregg Popovich didn't want the enemy to find his gun and use it immediately.

The Spurs' exceptional offensive efficiency is the key to their ability to allow their mid-range scorers to dominate.

Even for the Knicks, it's impossible to completely shut down an offense that can't find a target.

The only thing Lynch could do was try to improve the Knicks' offensive efficiency to the same level as the Spurs.

The game continued, and Lynch, as usual, drove to the basket.

The Spurs still didn't collapse their defense, only using Tim Duncan's help defense to deal with Lynch.

It must be said that Gerald Wallace and TD really created a double-team effect, leaving Lynch with absolutely no space after he broke into the penalty area.

Then we'll force our way out!
Lynch shoved Gerald Wallace aside with his elbow and turned to hook the towering TD.

The basketball sailed over the tip of a thumb and bounced off the backboard into the net!
Lynch executed his tactics very resolutely, never compromising even when he had plenty of opportunities in the mid-range.

The two sides remained deadlocked for a while, with the Knicks unable to find a way to stop the Spurs' team offense. Even with Lynch, arguably the most terrifying help defense monster in history, it was difficult for him to shut down the Spurs' opportunities every possession.

The Spurs also had a tough time dealing with Lynch's drives to the basket. In theory, the combined efforts of Gerald Wallace and TD should have made the paint as solid as a rock.

But Lynch's solid low-post skills still allow him to score difficult baskets under the rim.

Throughout the entire league, there are only a handful of players who can truly challenge the Spurs in the paint. Unfortunately, one such player is standing right in front of the Spurs today.

Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer, who made significant contributions to the team's reforms, suggested: "Should we go for an even tighter, more compact approach?"

Gregg Popovich waved his hand: "Does he really think he's a nightmare? We can't be afraid of his drives to the basket!"

Thus, the fierce clashes continued. Lynch's lone-wolf heroic charge and the Spurs' fluid, team-oriented offense and defense were a stark contrast, like ice and fire.

But the New York Kings' incisive and direct attacks to the basket are gradually demonstrating an even more destructive efficiency.

Tonight, his scoring efficiency was even higher than the Spurs'!
Seven minutes into the first quarter, the Spurs were already down by six points.

With Boris Diaw missing a three-pointer, the Knicks had another chance to widen the gap.

Lynch received the ball in the low post, used all his strength to bump Gerald Wallace, and then suddenly turned around.

Gerald Wallace and Tim Duncan both thought Lynch was going to turn around and shoot a jump shot, and TD even unusually jumped up to contest the shot.

He knew that with Lynch's turnaround jump shot, if he didn't jump to contest it, the defense would be practically nonexistent.

Even if Lynch was faking it, it doesn't matter, Gerald Wallace is still in front of Lynch.

They have a clear division of labor; in this situation, Duncan will jump, while Gerald Wallace will remain still.

TD jumped low with all his might, and Lin Qi saw this and pulled the basketball back. It was indeed a feint!
Tim Duncan flew past Lynch, but as TD had expected, Gerald Wallace remained firmly rooted to the floor.

Even after Lynch had shaken the shackles, he still had no chance.

But then, Lynch showed what a superstar truly is.

After shaking off TD, he forcefully bumped into Gerald Wallace, stepped to the basket, and then, without shaking off the defender at all, jumped up and dunked over him with one hand!

"boom!--"

The rim made a loud bang, and every Spurs fan gaped in disbelief.

The Spurs haven't seen this kind of talent in far too long.

Lynch has lost weight, but he's not Joel Embiid, the floor-sweeping center. His strength is still top-notch for his size, and he can still put up a lot of tough plays!

At this point, the New York Knicks have extended their lead to 8 points!
Commentator Marvin Albert exclaimed in surprise: "For the first time this season, a team has been able to dominate the San Antonio Spurs on offense!"

The ball went in, and the Spurs called a timeout. Lynch turned his attention back to Tony Parker and clapped enthusiastically.
"Hey Tony, look at the faces of your fans. They're panicking, they're scared, they're thinking, 'Damn, are we going to lose tonight?'"

"Ha, San Antonio is no different from any other city shrouded in nightmares!"

Yes, that suffocating nightmare eventually flooded over the high walls of San Antonio, the place where nightmares could not spread.

During the timeout, Gregg Popovich ultimately had to compromise:
"We need even tighter tightening!"

Compared to the Knicks' team offense, the Spurs are now more wary of Lynch's drives to the basket.

His honed low-post skills combined with incredible explosiveness make his offensive options around the basket endless.

At the same time, Gregg Popovich played another card:

"Manu, let's add some unpredictability to the game."

The timeout ends and the game resumes.

When Manu Ginobili entered the game, cheers finally erupted at the ATT Center.

But this is far from the thunderous praise of the past.

Because at this moment, on the other side of the bench, Lynch and Kyrie Irving had already stood up side by side.

They looked at the field in front of them, reached out, and bumped fists.

Marvin Albert sighed for the Spurs fans when he saw Kyrie Irving finally take the court.

"Alright, warm-up over."

now--

Prepare to face the complete nightmare duo.

(End of this chapter)