Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 442 Speed ​​Up

The pivotal Game 5 between the Suns and the Spurs, played at the Spurs' home court.

Joe Johnson takes a jump shot.

"Rebound!" someone shouted a reminder.

Howard, who had been pulled out, immediately retreated to the basket, but Duncan had already seized the advantageous position, spreading his arms and firmly blocking Howard behind him.

Howard didn't care. He pushed his way through some space, leaped up, stretched out his arm, and tapped the bouncing basketball.

The basketball bounced up again.

The two landed at the same time, but the moment they landed, Howard jumped up like a spring.

Duncan also jumped, but he was already too slow.

In terms of ball speed, he is far behind Howard.

Howard successfully grabbed the rebound on his second jump and was able to jump again after landing.

With a thud, he slammed the ball into the basket on a second attack, over Duncan.

Popovich on the sidelines was frozen in place, his face extremely grave.

This goal was actually a microcosm of the entire match.

Duncan is very strong, but he doesn't have a significant advantage against Howard.

In terms of pure physical strength, Duncan is slightly at a disadvantage.

Only through extensive experience can one gain an advantage.

The problem is there's no time.

With that dunk, the Suns extended their lead to 6 points.

With 44 seconds left, if this shot doesn't go in, then there's probably no chance left.

Parker faked a shot and then drove past Nash in a flash, without actually driving inside.

Howard alone can guard the entire paint area.

Parker opted to pass the ball back.

On the other side, Ray Allen reacted quickly, decisively abandoning Ginobili who was entangled with him, and rushed towards Duncan.

He noticed Duncan heading straight for the high post, ready to shoot a three-pointer.

The gamble paid off.

After a slight hesitation, Duncan chose to pass the ball to Ginobili.

His hesitation cost him the opportunity, and Marion quickly filled in.

Ginobili started again, changing direction and squeezing past Marion into the penalty area, but unfortunately, his shot was still interfered with by Howard.

Popovich felt a wave of despair wash over him; there was no hope left.

In the end, the Suns won the pivotal Game 5 101-94.

After winning the decisive victory, the Suns were riding high.

Back at home, facing tough defense, Howard still managed to score 29 points and grab 17 rebounds.

Ray Allen then exploded for 41 points.

He truly heeded Tang Sen's criticism and became more decisive in his throws; when the opportunity was almost there, he threw directly.

The Suns defeated the Spurs 4-2, surprising everyone and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

On the other side, the Mavericks are down 1-3 and on the brink of elimination.

Nowitzki stepped up once again, shooting 21-for-32 and scoring 52 points, single-handedly keeping the Mavericks alive.

After the game, even the unruly Kobe was somewhat impressed and used the phrase "unstoppable" to describe Nowitzki.

On the court, when he saw the ball in Nowitzki's hands, he knew it was likely to go in.

Although he lost a game, Jackson remained composed.

The Mavericks' offense is unstoppable; they're like madmen, capable of driving their opponents to despair with their shooting.

However, the Mavericks' defense is a huge problem.

Jackson has seen it all and knows that there's no time to panic. The Lakers need to play at their own pace. He doesn't believe Nowitzki can perform at this level every game.

He made the right bet; in the sixth game, he came to the Mavericks' home court.

Nowitzki is still in hot form, but he's not as unstoppable as he was in the last game.

Jackson considered this to be quite normal.

Players aren't indestructible robots; they get tired.

The Mavericks have come a long way thanks to Nowitzki.

He gets tired too. He had such a great performance in the last game, it's no wonder he's tired this time.

He's a shooting player, so his shooting touch will naturally suffer when he's tired.

As a result, Nowitzki still scored a team-high 34 points, but it wasn't enough to help the Mavericks win.

With a score of 4-2, the Lakers successfully eliminated the Mavericks and will face the Suns in the Western Conference Finals.

In the Eastern Conference, the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and the Magic have already begun.

As expected, the Knicks dominated their first game, leading throughout and defeating the Magic 115-104, an 11-point margin.

The first game between the Suns and the Lakers also started quickly.

Experience is something that is gradually accumulated.

During the first round of the series, D'Antoni was so anxious that he had to consult others.

But after the 0-3 comeback, he gained confidence.

I've gained experience and feel like I've seen it all, so I don't panic when things go wrong.

During the series against the Spurs, he became more rational, learned how to analyze his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and then leverage his own strengths.

Now facing the Lakers, D'Antoni did a careful analysis before the game.

The Lakers' advantage lies in their center, Shaquille O'Neal.

Based on the Magic's experience playing the Lakers back then, we can try to let Howard and O'Neal go head-to-head, without expecting to completely stop O'Neal like the Knicks did.

But not enough.

In the series against the Spurs, D'Antoni learned how to target the opponent's weaknesses, or rather, to magnify those weaknesses.

He believes that O'Neal can't run fast enough and can't defend effectively. If the Suns go back to the method they used in the first round against the Kings, speeding up the game and employing extreme transition offense, they can maximize the wear and tear on O'Neal.

Therefore, Howard's primary responsibility is defense.

As for scoring, just like playing against the Kings, you can look for opportunities to score while moving around.

The key to winning against the Kings is their inside game.

To beat the Spurs, you need to be good at both inside and outside play.

Now, when playing against the Lakers, the offensive focus should be completely shifted to the perimeter.

Then use speed to crush the Lakers.

Even if things don't go smoothly at the beginning, the longer it drags on, the worse it will be for the Lakers.

At the start of the game, the Suns used their extreme speed to give the Lakers a rude awakening.

Howard easily grabbed the defensive rebound and immediately passed it to Ray Allen.

Ray Allen passed the ball directly to Nash without stopping it.

Nash dribbled twice before making a long pass to Marion, who was on a fast break.

At that moment, O'Neal had only just crossed half-court, and the Lakers had no time to get into position.

Marion faked a shot, shook off Devin George, and then immediately drove to the basket for a layup.

Throughout the entire process, Nash dribbled the ball twice at an extremely fast pace.

With each attack, the Suns tried to increase their speed.

The result was that O'Neal was constantly forced to follow the Suns' lead.

If it were just running, that would be one thing.

Facing the exceptionally strong Howard, O'Neal wasn't unable to score; it was just that getting in wasn't so easy.

Under such circumstances, O'Neal, who scored 21 points in the first half, clearly struggled to keep up with the pace in the second half.

In the third quarter, O'Neal only scored 7 points.

In the fourth quarter, he almost only stood under the basket and looked around.

Howard constantly went out to set screens for his teammates, giving the Suns consistent opportunities to score from the perimeter.

The Lakers, who led for the first three quarters, were finally overtaken by the Suns in the fourth quarter.

Fortunately, Kobe took over the game in the final moments, scoring repeatedly in one-on-one situations, which helped the Lakers win the game.

104:100.

The Lakers won by only 4 points.

It was a narrow victory.

D'Antoni felt there was nothing unacceptable about this result.

As the series continues and fatigue builds, the younger Suns will surely have the last laugh.

(End of this chapter)