You should cross the mountains like a brave man

Chapter 509 The Spurs Are Completely Dead (355)

Popovich's worry is correct, the Spurs can't compete with Weixia and Kobe in terms of state and feel.

Counting Duncan together, no one on the Spurs team can compete with Kobe in scoring.Not to mention that Wei Xia has played a painful high-level performance against the Spurs since the start of the conference finals.

In Popovich's eyes, Weixia's performance is more "tricky" than Kobe's.

Because Wei Xia's main threat lies in defense.

In Game 15 of the Western Conference Finals, he could single-handedly hold Tony Parker to 0-of-15 shooting.What a terrible defensive performance this is!Popovich dared to pat his chest to ensure that no one could defend Parker to 0 for [-] again, not even Wei Xia himself.

The most difficult thing is that he is not only good when guarding Parker, but also guarding everyone else.No Spurs player who has played against him has not feared him.

Defense is the most stable output on the court.

While many new rules introduced by the league have fundamentally limited the existence of the Pistons during the 04-06 period, that Pistons team is a commentary on defense at its best.

Scottie Pippen said: Defense never betrays you.

The Pistons of that period proved this sentence.

The more defensive people and groups are, the more they are willing to work hard on the defensive end, especially in the playoffs, defense is the foundation of a strong team's promotion.

Kobe Bryant often shot below 40% in the finals, but his defense has been outstanding year after year.

During the peak period, the Pistons continuously limited the opponent's scoring average to around 80 points per game.

Wei Xia has the same stability in the Western Conference Finals.

In the long run, this is really a terrible thing.

Wei Xia is not only full of presence in defense, but also outstanding in other aspects.

Except for his scoring ability, which is not top-notch, Popovich has no obvious flaws in him.

It's scary to have a 24-year-old all-around player next to Kobe, who is unparalleled on the offensive end.

This young man will continue to evolve, and no one knows what he will eventually become.

At least, he is now strong enough to give Kobe a lot of help.

However, the two of the Lakers did not, because Popovich called a timeout and stopped attacking.

After the timeout ended, Kobe and Wei Xia still maintained a strong offensive firepower.

The rhythm of the offense lasted for a full two-thirds of the second quarter, and the rest of the time, the two sides seemed to sign a ceasefire agreement.

You don't score, I don't score, we are all good friends.

Duncan's performance is the same as his expression and style of play, and he has a good hand.

When everyone was trying to prevent the opponent from scoring, he sternly leaned against the defender in a low position, turned around and threw the ball, and scored with cricket.

In the final period before the end of the first half, Duncan was the most stable offensive weapon on the court.

However, no matter how stable Duncan's offense is, it does not have Kobe's exaggerated short-term scoring explosiveness.

His state continued through the end of the first half, 59 to 51.

The Lakers led the Spurs by 8 points.

"What do you think was the secret to staying ahead at the end of the first half?"

"We played better than our opponents."

At the beginning of the second half, Duncan realized that he did not suppress the Lakers and allowed the opponent's lead to be dragged into the fourth quarter, even at home.

Must build advantage in the third quarter.

Kobe is the most dangerous offensive player, and Wecha is the player who hit the most key goals this season.

Even though he is not the Lakers' first offensive option, the biggest improvement for the Lakers compared to the past is that they have a second trustworthy person at critical moments.

Originally, only Kobe needed to be taken care of, but now there is one more, and the difficulty of defending the Lakers' key balls has doubled.

Duncan's bravery is definitely the reason why the Spurs can support the present.

As soon as the second half came up, he was full of style and wanted to play low singles.

As a result, Gasol guarded him.

Duncan plays a lot of singles with the ball, which is what the Lakers like to see.

Judging from a historical super giant, his touch is not soft enough.He is strong in his all-round influence on the game. If the Spurs need him to attack, it must be the most dangerous moment.

This moment, from the first second of the second half, was it.

Duncan strikes iron, Kobe comes and returns, no matter how hard he is, it's not difficult.

Duncan grumbled, used his elbow to push Gasol away, forced him up, caused a foul and hit the board.

2 + 1
54 is better than 59
Additional penalties are also thrown in.

Everyone thought that Kobe would find a way to fight back, but he actually used himself as a bait to guide the Spurs' defense to approach him, thereby creating scoring opportunities for Wei Xia.

When the opportunity presented itself, he passed the ball.

Wei Xia caught the ball and made a jump shot.

61 is better than 54
Then Kobe started.

Duncan knew that his advantage was not in offensive efficiency, but in his influence on the inside, and he played back again, causing Radmanovich to foul.

The Lakers no longer let Gasol guard him.

Duncan made one of two free throws.

55 is better than 61
The biggest injustice is that the outside line wants to attack anytime and anywhere, while the inside line needs to block, ask for the ball, wait for teammates to pass the ball, and then start the offensive step.

Have you found it?The few steps leading up to the attack can be more exhausting than the attack itself.

Therefore, unless it is Chamberlain during the regular season, high scores are really out of reach for the insiders.

Kobe first made a one-step jumper inside the top of the arc and hit Duncan back.

63 is better than 55
Bryant's face was stern, as if unmoved by Duncan's response.

Seeing his expression, Wei Xia knew that the next thing to do was to deliver the ball to Kobe's hands in time, and he didn't care about other things.

Ginobili sent charcoal in a timely manner, and the coquettish back pass went out of bounds.

The Lakers served a sideline ball, and Wei Xia also made a not-so-coquettish pass in front of Ginobili, but it was indeed a back pass.

Kobe received the ball, dribbled a step to adjust, pulled up, 65 to 55.

Duncan held the ball to attract double-team points to Bowen.

Bowen's corner three-pointer solved the Spurs' dilemma that no one except Duncan could score.

Is Kobe going to give up?

No, maybe in his opinion, it is more challenging for one person to beat Duncan + Bowen.

Bowen's defense against Bryant couldn't be defined by success, as Bryant's offense steadily broke down his defense every time.

It's also the first round of defense of the year, Bowen can't be as dazzling to Kobe as Wecha locks Parker.

In a completely different position, Kobe pulled up again.

"Shh!"

67 is better than 58
"Kobe's offense has shown an unstoppable trend!"

Duncan missed the board at a 45-degree angle from the right wing and the ball fell into Gasol's hands.

Popovich's face was ashen, Kobe felt too hot, gave him the ball, and the 2 points were stable.

It's not so much that the Spurs can't stand the Lakers, it's better to say that Duncan's offense is a notch worse than Kobe's.

Will this confrontation between superstars end with Kobe's completely unreasonable shooting touch?

Before the Spurs despaired, Bowen came to play. As a member of the first defense, even if he can't lock up the opponent like Wei Xia, it is not a big problem to make a mistake.

Bryant's receiving position was too exposed, Bowen made a shot, cut the ball, and Parker counterattacked.

60 is better than 67
All teammates, coaching staff and Spurs fans, should thank Bowen.

The significance of him cutting Kobe's ball is not only to give the Spurs an easy counterattack, but also to cut off Kobe's smooth rhythm.

If Kobe was allowed to play at the same pace just now, the result would be predictable.

However, it is also not good to be happy too early.

Wouldn't it be cruel to despair first, then gain hope, and then discover that hope was a mirage?
Kobe, who lost his rhythm, gave the ball to Weixia.

Who is guarding against him?Ginobili!
Wei Xia's strong first step has already reached the top of the league. Ginobili stepped back a bit, and unexpectedly met Wei Xia who slammed on the brakes.

His center of gravity suddenly lost control.

He retreated farther and farther, and Wei Xia made a jumper on the spot.

Brought even more unfavorable news to the Spurs.

Wish is open too!
69 is better than 60
One Kobe is already difficult to handle, another Wish?
Popovich felt that his eyes were dark, and he was so desperate.

Before the start of the series, their plan was that Parker and Wescia would explode each other, Ginobili would try not to be suppressed, Duncan would rule the penalty area, and then the big guys would kill the Lakers, and they would join up with the Eastern Conference finals.

The current situation is that Ginobili is defended by Kobe, Parker has a shadow over Wecha after the tragedy of 15 for 0, and Duncan has the advantage inside, but it is difficult to call it dominance.

All the expectations of the Spurs have all come to nothing.

On the contrary, the things they tried their best to avoid are becoming reality one after another.

Being defended until the last second, Parker made a three-pointer from the outside, and the ball bounced far away. Kobe guarded the long rebound and passed Weixia directly.

The latter was ahead of everyone else, going as fast as he could, sprinting, and then soaring into the sky, bang!
"The strength and dominance of the Lakers is just as we have seen, and the Spurs may not be able to stop them from moving forward!"

Sean Elliott's sigh came after the Spurs called a timeout.

Wei Xia's counterattack brought the gap between the two sides to 11 points.

From that point on, the Spurs were completely dead.

They never got close to the Lakers again.

(End of this chapter)