Zhiba NBA

Chapter 35 (34) Rival Spurs

On May 5, the flames of war reignited.In the first game of the second round of the playoffs, the veteran powerhouse Spurs played at home against the league's upstart Rockets.The series was seen as a collision between MVP Duncan and would-be MVP Tracy McGrady.

"This series at least doesn't have to fly as far as Los Angeles by plane, and San Antonio is closer." Reid said happily.

"In fact, flying far is beneficial to us. We are younger than the Spurs and have a better rotation. If the traffic is exhausted, we will take advantage." Billups analyzed.

"Don't think so much if you want to win the championship. Winning depends on strength. We can overcome the small difficulties on the schedule, and the Spurs can also overcome them." Olajuwon said.

"That's right, what Hakeem said is very good. We need to go all out to defeat a strong opponent like the Spurs." Yuan Fei continued: "In terms of points scored and lost in 29 rounds, our opponent the Lakers in the last round ranked fourth among the 4 teams in the league in terms of offense and 19th in defense. They are a strong offensive and defensive team. However, because O'Neal missed a lot in the regular season, the actual strength of the Lakers should be stronger than this ranking. Our team ranks fifth in offense and 5th in defense. Relatively speaking, the Spurs are relatively balanced in offense and defense. 12th in offense (8th in history, squeezed out by the Rockets), 3rd in defense, is a strong defensive team."

"Indeed, I noticed that too. Although the Spurs beat the Jazz 4-2, the gap between us and us is huge. The Jazz never scored more than 6 points in a game." Coach Smith also raised his opinion, "In the 90 games we won against the Lakers, only one game allowed the Lakers to score below 6 points, but our team scored more than 100 points in all 4 games. Four of them exceeded 110 points."

"This is what I want to say, the rhythm gap. In the regular season, we averaged 94.5 rounds per game, the second most in the league. The Spurs only had 90.0 rounds, 20th in the league. Similarly, the Lakers are also a fast team, and the Jazz are also a slow team. So we will always have high scores against the Lakers, and the Spurs will always have low scores against the Jazz. It's not that the Spurs are not good offensively, but that they have fewer rounds."

"So we have to compete with them for rhythm, play fast break, and play our rhythm." Billups has always been very insightful, and immediately continued: "So the work between me and Tony is very critical."

"Understanding is too good, Chauncey! In addition, I want to remind you that the Spurs' starting point guard Clarkston is a fake starter, and he only plays more than 20 minutes per game. The Spurs do not have a good point guard. This is a weakness. But most of the time they let the Argentine shooting guard on the bench-Manu Ginobili to organize the offense." Yuan Fei analyzed: "Although he is a rookie, he is already 25 years old. He played in the Italian League before and was elected as the MVP of the European Basketball League. player."

"Ginobili played well in the regular season. It seems that he is an X factor worthy of our vigilance." Smith nodded, and then he announced the starting lineup-"Hakeem, Mehmet, Richard, Tracy and Chauncey, let's face it, lads!"

***
The Spurs' starting five are David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, Stephen Jackson and Speedy Claxton.In the previous life, the Spurs' starting point guard at this time is Parker. This Clarkston is still young at 24 years old. The Spurs paid rookie Salmons before the season and traded with the 76ers in exchange for him.

"Stephen Jackson, this 24-year-old small forward also has a certain strength and has the ability to play singles with the ball. In addition, Bruce Bowen is very accurate in three-pointers and has a strong defense." Yuan Fei continued: "The depth of this Spurs lineup is stronger than before, and it can be called our strong opponent."

"After all, it was the last championship team before the Lakers, so it should not be underestimated." Smith echoed.

Yuan Fei shook his head, "How should I put it, the same team is the same team, and different teams are really different."

"Oh? How do you say that?" asked Parker on the side.

"The Spurs that won the championship in 99 had a total of 14 players, and only three of them have been retained. Except for the Twin Towers, only backup power forward Rose. Counting the head coach Popovich, there are only four left. Look at the Lakers who won the championship in 3. Now, apart from the core stars of OK, Hawley, Fisher, Fox, Shaw, and George have not replaced many substitutes."

"What Jason said is true. The Spurs are such a strange team. Why do they need to make a big change after winning the championship?" Parker muttered.

"Because the main rotation players who won the championship are very old. Avery Johnson is 37 this year; Mario Alley retired the year before last; Sean Elliott is slightly younger than the two of them, and his state has declined a lot after getting a kidney transplant a few years ago. Robinson, who is still playing now, is also 37 years old, and he may retire this year or next year."

"It seems that the Spurs are also forced to help. But they have changed their blood in the past few years, and they have remained at the forefront of the league. It's amazing." Wallace also interjected.

"That's right! The reconstruction of other teams will take a few years, and they may not even make it to the playoffs. You see, in the past four years since the Spurs won the championship, they have ranked fourth, first, second, and first in the Western Conference. It's amazing!" Assistant coach Dell Curry also participated in the discussion.

"The only way to rebuild decently is to rebuild around a superstar who was playing in his prime. The Spurs kept Duncan in 00 is the biggest success. We must admit that Duncan is really good, and Popovich is also really good." Yuan Fei said: "It's about to start, let's watch the game!"

(The above paragraph is purely a tribute to the great Spurs. Sorry by the way, we took Parker, I will make it up to you)

***
The Spurs played an epic defense from the beginning, completely curbing the Rockets' rhythm.Although Claxton is mediocre, he can at least run and jump, and it is not a problem to keep up with Billups on the defensive end.The admiral suppressed Dameng. Although Shi Shuai quickly replaced Yao Ming, the tall admiral didn't suffer much against the young giant.The fierce defensive Bowen also curbed McGrady's play.

After the first quarter, the Spurs were far ahead at 18:30.

The two sides have been anxious in the following games. Every time the Rockets score, the Spurs will give back. The point difference has not widened much, and it is difficult to narrow it.In the third quarter, the Rockets switched to a high-fort lineup, but both the general and Duncan belonged to the inside line who moved faster and were good at filling positions. Compared with the Lakers, the Spurs were not afraid of the Rockets' tactics. On the contrary, Wang Zhizhi was blown away by Duncan on the defensive end.And as long as the Twin Towers are on the court, the Rockets dare not play Wallace in the small lineup, because the height gap between Wallace and Duncan is too large, and they will be abused casually.

第四节麦迪终于找到了感觉连连取分，但为时已晚，马刺最终靠着铜墙铁壁般的防守赢到了最后，93:97。邓肯出战44分钟拿下了28+9+7+3（3个盖帽），老当益壮的罗宾逊也拿下了14+11的两双，替补出场的吉诺比利砍下了22+6+4。火箭队麦迪29+8+8也有巨星级发挥，姚明14+9奥库12+7这俩内线也算打得不错，大梦打了13分钟完全被上将压制，仅有4个篮板1个盖帽进账，得了0分。

The Rockets failed to score more than [-] points in the playoffs for the first time this season and also lost.

(By the way, a tribute to the famous commentator Zhang Weiping's classic line - when the Rockets score more than [-] points and prevent the opponent from scoring less than [-] points, the Rockets have not lost yet)
The second game on May 5 was exactly the same as the first game.

The Rockets started with Yao Ming, but it still couldn't prevent the Spurs from building a lead in the opening game.Bowen broke out unexpectedly. In the first half, he made 6 of 5 three-pointers and scored 17 points.The Spurs took the lead at 49:65 in the first half.

The Rockets have always been known for their three-point accuracy, but this time they suffered a big loss from the Spurs on the three-pointer.Yao Ming dunked, and the Spurs got a three-pointer from Steve Kerr.McGrady broke through for a layup, and the Spurs returned a three-pointer from Ginobili.Jefferson steals a fast-break score, and substitute Danny Ferry returns a three-pointer.

105:116，火箭再负一场。鲍文三分球8投7中砍下了并列全场最高的27分，邓肯12+13+7，吉诺比利27+4+6。麦迪也贡献了27+5+3，姚明得到了20+10。

Two-game losing streak away, the Rockets were forced to the edge of a cliff.

　The Spurs have just been eliminated by the Thunder this year.Duncan is old and has dragged down the team on the offensive end, and he lost backcourt rebounds when he was not on the team.The twin-tower combination of Adams and Kanter destroyed the Spurs' seemingly strong inside line on rebounds.Lao Dai sighed, and the fans burst into tears.How I wish you could stay for a while, maybe you will never do a retirement tour like Kobe, maybe you will quietly announce your departure tomorrow, but we old fans still want to see you one more time, even if you clumsily pick up a rebound on the court, tiptoe cap a young man who is 20 years younger than you, and stare blankly at the front.Your existence has always been simple, ordinary and great.We love you, Tim Duncan.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)