Coach, I don't want to retire yet

Chapter 319 He collapsed, he fell, and he stood up again!
G3 of the first round of the Western Conference between the Lakers and Spurs ended. Spurs fans throughout the AT&T Arena couldn't believe what happened that night.

It was another defensive battle, another defensive battle that Popovich and the Spurs are good at. In the end, it was still the Spurs who lost!

In this game, the Spurs didn't even score 70 points.

So much so that after the game, the Spurs DJ was silent.

On the big screen, Spurs head coach Popovich was even confused.

When Coach D took the initiative to freeze Wade and Seth Curry in this series to have a defensive battle with the Spurs, who could have imagined that the final result would be like this?
After three defensive battles, the final result was that the Lakers led by a big score of 2-1!
And in two consecutive games, the Spurs have become increasingly difficult.

Even a fool knows that if they continue to play at this pace, the Spurs will definitely continue to lose.

The luck component in a defensive battle is too low. When playing offense, luck may affect the entire battle, but when playing defense, the possibility of luck is too low.

Don't look at the fact that the Spurs didn't lose that much in these two games. In fact, it's not that the Spurs and the Lakers are so close. It's just that Coach D didn't squeeze Garnett and Barkley in many cases. Many times, D The coach chose to trust Pierce and let Pierce lead the team when they were leading and let Garnett and Barkley rest.

Therefore, in these two games, Popovich did not lose to the intact Lakers, but to the incomplete Lakers!
If Garnett and Barkley don't rest, the Lakers will win even more in these two games, and the Spurs will lose even more miserably!

What makes Popovich even more uncomfortable is that Leonard, who he had high hopes for, was actually suppressed by Pierce, a veteran, in such a defensive battle!
Before the start of this series, Popovich felt that his Leonard was Kobe and Jordan.

And now, after three games, he's wrong.

His Leonard is indeed stronger than Pierce, but he still doesn't have the heart of steel like Kobe and Jordan, but Pierce opposite does!

Leonard's shooting percentage in these two games exceeded 45%. With such a shooting percentage in such a defensive battle, Leonard's performance was very good, even outstanding.

As for his opponent Pierce, his shooting percentage in these two games averaged less than 30%.

but!

No one who watched this game in full would think that Leonard performed better than Pierce.

Not to mention G2, Pierce made the kill.

G3, Leonard didn't take a shot in the fourth quarter!

And Pierce, in G3, when Duncan, Garnett and Barkley were not on the court, and when no one from the two teams could score, Pierce made 8 of 2 in the fourth quarter and won the Lakers. The most important 4 points of the ball.

Leonard is a superstar in his playing years. There is no problem with that. In this series, Leonard's one-on-one offensive and defensive level allowed even the blind audience to see how powerful he is.

Pierce is a veteran, a veteran who has reached the stage of retirement. There is no problem with this. In this series, in addition to his amazing physical strength, Pierce's athletic ability is indeed completely incomparable to his peak.

However, such a veteran, under the leadership of Coach D, actually defeated Leonard, led by Popovich!

When Coach D took the initiative to let Garnett and Barkley go, and Popovich did not dare to play Duncan, leaving the game to Leonard and Pierce to decide the outcome, who would have thought that it was Pierce who won in the end!

This is what makes Popovich most uncomfortable.

Coach D is slapping him hard in the face!
Coach D is telling Leonard, telling him, telling the entire Spurs that his training of Leonard was wrong from the beginning.

He taught Leonard how to play singles and how to defend alone, but he never taught Leonard how to face double teams.

It should be said that he never taught Leonard to face double teams like Kobe and Jordan did.

This is because he cannot accept that there are players on his team who can dominate the team, and he does not want his players to play like that.

He hopes that Leonard will not become Kobe and Jordan, but surpass the playing style of these two people.

Now, he knew how wrong he was.

The reasonable basketball in his imagination would not be able to produce players who surpassed Kobe and Jordan.

His Leonard, under his leadership, took this path, at best, he could become a superstar.

You can never become a super giant!

Because being a super giant means that you can do things that others can’t do. That’s what you can do. This is super giant!
Everything you do is done by others, all things that your teammates can do. You are just a large role player at best.

Popovich was remorseful.

He obviously despises James so much. He thinks James is just a big role player at best. He is not a super giant at all. He has no super giant lethality at all. He only needs one-on-one defense. He obviously appreciates Kobe so much and cultivates Lun. Nader was also trained in the same way as Kobe and Jordan, but in the end, he forgot to teach the most important things about Kobe and Jordan. In the end, he only taught someone who looked similar in appearance, but was almost meaningless in core. Leonard.

In the end, Leonard was humiliated by Pierce in these two games!

And he himself was humiliated by Coach D!

In these two games, Coach D taught Leonard just like Nelson taught Nowitzki.

With this NTR feeling, it is difficult for others to understand his pain.

He sent Parker away for Leonard!
Leonard is his favorite, but now, Coach D is getting involved.

Moreover, when faced with Coach D using Pierce to teach Leonard, he still had no choice.

Watching the game video on TV in front of him, Popovich was in pain.

Especially when I saw that at the end of the game, Coach D took the initiative to comfort the confused Leonard, which made his pain rise even more.

Finally, he drank the red wine glass in his hand once again.

There was also an unnatural flush on Popovich's face.

At this moment, Budenholzer, the Spurs assistant coach, opened the door softly and came in.

Erin said Popovich didn't come home, and Budenholzer came to Popovich's office.

If it was an away game, he would definitely have to go to the famous local pub to find Bobo.

Looking at the pained and unwilling look on Bobo's face, and looking at the two empty bottles of red wine next to Bobo, Budenholzer sighed.

He understands the damage caused to Bobo in this series.

It can be said that in the first three games of this series, Coach D wiped away all the pride that Pop had in his life.

Bobo's greatest pride in his coaching life is defense and training players.

In this series, Coach D used a worse lineup, worse player quality, and worse situation to tear Pop and the Spurs apart.

Not even a reason was given to Bobo.

Most people will always look for reasons when they lose. As long as they can find a reasonable reason, they can get over any obstacle.

Popo can find reasons for the previous two disastrous defeats against Coach D.

But this time, I really can’t find any reason!

Before the series started, Coach D took the initiative to let Wade and Seth Curry go.

After the game started, at the critical moment that decided the outcome, Coach D sent Garnett and Barkley, two players with great decision-making energy.

Then, Pop and the Spurs still lost two games in a row.

In the end, even Kawhi had doubts about life and relied on Coach D for comfort.

Budenholzer certainly knows that for the stronger Spurs, 1-2 is not the end of the world, nor is there any possibility of change for them.

The Spurs have a chance, and the chance is great, but Pop, he...

Bobo never had a chance to prove himself.

In this defensive battle with Coach D, he indeed lost.

Coach D took the initiative to fight a defensive battle with him. The final result was not that Coach D gave up, but that he gave up himself.

What a travesty.

What makes Bobo even more unacceptable is...

"Mike, tell me, do my achievements in the NBA really depend entirely on Tim? Don't Tim and I really achieve each other? If Tim is in the hands of Coach D, he will definitely be able to become an established player. A super player in the dynasty, right? It was me who hindered Tim’s achievements..."

The Spurs' current problem is that they can no longer defeat the Lakers defensively and can only rely on offense.

And relying on offense, you have to rely on Tim's advantage in the paint to suppress the Lakers.

Finally, to simplify it becomes, at the critical moment, what works best for the Spurs is not Pop's tactics or the Spurs' system, but Tim's strength.

This is always the case.

In the past three years, every time I met Coach D, every time at a critical moment, it was Tim, Tim, Tim, and there was nothing Bob could do!

Even for the first time, Bobo replaced Duncan and gave the Lakers offensive rebounds, which was the key to the Spurs' loss.

The second time last year, Pop underestimated Yao Ming at a critical moment, allowing Yao Ming to hit the series-killing shot in front of Tim, causing the Spurs to lose 3-4. It was also a scam. In fact, before this tactical round, Bobo was screwed by Coach D. Coach D was suspended. He only made gestures to give instructions at critical moments. He defeated the Spurs twice and brought two key victories to the Lakers.

If it weren't for these two victories, there would never have been the scene of Yao Ming winning in front of Tim.

In the first two years, Pop and Tim were undoubtedly the two most important people on the Spurs, but it was Pop who cheated Tim.

and so……

"Coach D, you are really heart-wrenching!" Recalling the end of the G3 game, Coach D smiled and said to Bobo: "Many people say you have made many players successful, but I think you have also destroyed many players. , you think these people are already strong, but, in fact, they are stronger than you think, Tim is the same, Kawhi is the same."

Budenholzer quickly shook his head and threw all these images out of his mind.

Can't be influenced by Coach D!

Bobo has been ruined by Coach D. I can never be fooled by Coach D again!

Coach D did it on purpose!

"Mike, hehe, you should have a couple of drinks too. This wine is very good, haha, very good..."

Watching Bobo once again drink the glass in one gulp, Budenholzer snatched the glass over expressionlessly.

Bobo is addicted to alcohol.

Within the Spurs, everyone calls him the artistic old man. Drinking red wine and watching movies are his hobbies.

For these two hobbies, he has done many ridiculous things.

It is Spurs team rule not to drink alcohol during games.

Especially during the playoffs, no one is allowed to drink.

However, Pop would often drink after losing a game, and he would get very drunk, even in away games. If it weren't for the team's public relations, there would definitely be a lot of news about Pop becoming addicted to alcohol after losing games. .

People with a personality like Bobo's will never get rid of their anger after losing a game. They will get extremely drunk without drinking, and often cannot sleep well.

Therefore, it is precisely because of this, coupled with Bobo's status in the team, that everyone turns a blind eye.

You can’t make Bobo angry to death, right?
Red wine won't kill you, but anger can make a magnanimous person like Bobo mad to death.

"Pop, if drinking can defeat Coach D and the Lakers, I'm willing to drink all this bottle of wine."

Budenholzer snatched Popovich's glass, picked up the bottle next to him, and prepared to blow directly on the bottle.

The look on Budenholzer's face was serious and serious.

He is Popovich's apprentice, but not an ordinary apprentice.

They are more like friends and partners.

"Bobo, I have always felt that you understand Coach D better than me. Do you really think that Coach D will not know about your self-abasement?"

Budenholzer looked at Popovich who had come back to his senses and looked at him blankly, and continued talking.

"Do you really think that Coach D won't be able to guess your next change of formation? Do you really think that if you give up on yourself and leave the game to Tim, Tim can defeat Coach D and win the game? ?”

Budenholzer shook his head.

"Bobo, you are a naive person, and you have always been naive many times, but I never think you are a fool. I don't know if everything you have is brought to you by Tim, but I know that facing Coach D , neither you nor Tim can win on your own. If you really want to prove your weight in Tim's career, now is a good opportunity."

"Take Tim and beat Coach D in this series!"

Popovich looked at Budenholzer in front of him in shock. This was the first time he saw Budenholzer scold him so angrily.

Although his voice was not that angry and the content of his words was not harsh at all, every word he spoke spoke to his heart.

Without decades of friendship, one would not know him so well.

but……

"Mike, maybe, as Coach D said, it would be better for Tim without me. Maybe, without me, Tim had already ascended to the throne of the NBA last year, the year before that..."

Hearing Popovich's bitter sigh, the expression on Budenholzer's face was also unusually bitter.

What if Coach D is really murderous?

Bobo is not a sore loser.

Bobo is a very strong person.

But even someone like Bobo can be crushed by Coach D, which shows how terrifying Coach D is.

Finally, Budenholzer thought about it and gritted his teeth.

In fact, Pop is also a person who makes smart decisions. Budenholzer doesn't believe that Pop really has no idea of ​​Coach D's true intention.

It's not that Bobo doesn't understand, but it's too painful. He needs a reason, a reason to stand up again and stand next to Tim again.

"Pop, maybe Coach D is right. Tim may be better without you, Kawhi may be better, but, Pop, are you really giving up now? I said, no matter you or Tim or Kawhi, none of you can defeat Coach D alone, isn't now the best time for you to prove yourself?"

"Coach D said they would be better off without you, but you can tell Coach D that with you, they can defeat the invincible and greatest Coach D. Isn't this the most important thing?"

Looking at Popovich, who was silent at this time, Budenholzer once again looked seriously into Popovich's eyes.

"Bobo, defeating Coach D is a more important thing than being angry with Coach D, right?"

Silence is spreading.

Silence spread in the Spurs head coach's office.

Outside the door, Spurs general manager Buford leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

After half a sound.

The office finally made a sound again.

very short.

But, it's very powerful.

"Correct!"

Hearing this voice, Budenholzer finally smiled on his face.

Outside the door, Buford's closed eyes finally opened, and then left silently.

He still has many, many things to do.

For example, the AT&T Arena was decorated like a hell!
A place like hell for the Spurs veterans!

The hotel where the Lakers dropped off.

After defeating the Spurs in an away game the night before, people all over the United States praised the Lakers.

Especially for Coach D, the head coach of the Lakers, I have already praised him to the extreme.

Do you know what an achievement it is to defeat Popovich in a defensive battle?

According to O'Neill, that's it!

"This is one of the most incredible achievements in NBA history!"

Do you know what kind of achievement it is to defeat Popovich, knock Popovich into autism, and beat Popovich so much that he fell to the ground unconscious when he left the game?

According to Kenny Smith!

"This is one of the most incredible achievements in NBA history!"

The news outside now is simply that the Lakers have one foot in the second round.

Coach D will escape death and completely nail Popovich to the pillar of shame, making Popovich want to steal the chicken and lose the rice in the end. With what he calls the strongest Spurs in history, he will eventually lose to the Spurs. I met a group of CBA led by Coach D.

And Coach D successfully slapped the whole world in the face!
It turns out that Coach D is really not dreaming!

It turns out that the whole world is dreaming!
In short, the world is now very optimistic about him and the Lakers.

Even the Lakers players themselves are optimistic.

These two games were incredible!
The Lakers players were shocked!

Even Du Kang himself is optimistic.

Because Bobo was indeed destroyed by him!

Thinking of Bobo falling flat on the ground, Du Kang had a smile on his face.

This old scoundrel was finally fucked by him!

Moreover, as evidenced by the system simulation game, the Spurs did collapse!

Before the game, the last simulation!
Making sure.

then!

Du Kang's eyes widened!
(End of this chapter)