The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 34 The coach's entanglement

"Yes, I've heard of him, but I don't know the specifics, he's just a substitute."

"The team is still running in. No matter how many games we lose, our goal is to have a championship. Whether it is the Spurs or other teams, we will beat them hard."

Reporters like to interview Kobe because he gives them a chance to play on the topic.

The media probably wanted to talk about Kobe and Jeremy Lin last season, and Kobe was a little bored.

This year's Lakers formed the Big Four lineup of Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Paul Gasol and Steve Nash, as well as Artest. The starting five tigers are all famous guys.

There is also Antawn Jamison on the bench who is still capable of veterans. They have been attracting everyone's attention since the summer, but they did not meet expectations at the start of the season.

Of course, Nash's truce due to injury in the second game is also an important reason, but they also lost the first game.

In addition to Kobe, the reporter also asked Artest about Zhang Xiaotian.

Artest showed his white teeth, "I watched the video on the Internet, he is an interesting guy, so if he can play against me, I will tell him that the NBA is a crazier place than he imagined, I've always loved taking care of new people."

In contrast, Zhang Xiaotian was very boring in the interview before the game, "I hope to help the team win the game."

It's not that he doesn't want to pretend, he's afraid that Popovich will get angry and won't let him play.

He scored 11 points in the last game, and he is a very qualified substitute, but compared with the 44 points that day, it seems a bit ordinary.

In fact, he still has the ability to score more points, but it is difficult for the ball to reach him at critical moments.

It was the three-pointer that shocked everyone that day. Under normal circumstances, he couldn't even attack the third point on the court.

It was also the defensive attitude that made Popovich satisfied, and the game against the Trail Blazers stayed on the court at a critical moment.

If you want to pretend, let's wait until he gets an annual salary of tens of millions in the future.

The grievances between the Spurs and the Lakers also have a long history. During the warm-up, Ginobili patted Zhang Xiaotian on the shoulder and said: "Boy, be decisive later, and throw a few shots on their heads."

Both are substitutes, and there are still many opportunities to partner on the court.

Duncan looked at the two of them thinking, "Both of you are good players on the court."

"Nonsense, I can teach you a lesson during training, but Zhang can't let go during training, which is really strange."

There is no way to explain this kind of thing, Zhang Xiaotian can only show a simple and honest smile.

To face the Lakers' twin towers, the Spurs' starting center became Splitter again. After Zhang Xiaotian joined, the Spurs' weakest link became the inside line. It's really hard to choose who to partner with Duncan.

At the same home court, the atmosphere of the Lakers game is obviously more enthusiastic than that of the Clippers.

Especially Kobe, it is too popular.

At the beginning of the game, the situation of no one in the first position did not seem to affect the Lakers. Kobe directly attacked and succeeded, showing a very tough performance.

But then the Spurs bloomed more and hit a small climax.

After the Lakers timeout, Artest stepped up on the offensive end and scored 5 points in a row to disrupt the Spurs' defense.

Kobe's personal attack is very strong, but his offensive power can affect the trend of the game only after his teammates show a threat. Otherwise, as long as he focuses on defending him, one person can't score as much as a team.

So after Artest scored, the Lakers played a wave of counterattacks and took the lead again.

The Spurs to the second half of the first quarter, only Parker scored.

This is a hidden danger for the Spurs now. Leonard has not yet fully grown up. If he encounters the third position who can play hard on both offense and defense, he will be restricted. Duncan can't maintain high intensity at any time, so Parker's singles increase. Yes, and the outside singles are based on the feel.

This situation will continue until the rotation time. The Spurs' backup guards, including Ginobili, also need touch very much. With Zhang Xiaotian, they feel a little more balanced.

It's just that Zhang Xiaotian's inconspicuous performance in training made Popovich always worried.

In addition, the Spurs want to train Leonard, and the positions of the two overlap somewhat. The team can't make a decision to vigorously train Zhang Xiaotian.

He didn't appear until the second quarter. At this time, the Lakers were Antawn Jamison at the third position.

As a former All-Star player, Jamison still has two talents. Don't be too slow when you are old. Playing at the third position is also a cameo, and he will rotate back to the fourth position after a while.

Zhang Xiaotian knew exactly what he wanted to do, which was to prevent death, the main backup for the Lakers.

This is his advantage, most of the time he is sober, he can play with his brain, not like some black and hard, so some people can become All-Stars in the summer league but can't integrate into the NBA.

Zhang Xiaotian has been entangled with Jamison all the time, not giving the opponent a chance to catch the ball at all. Popovich nodded secretly in his eyes. Zhang Xiaotian's defense among the substitute players is really reassuring, and there will be no such low-level mistakes as omissions.

The defensive method not given to him is relatively simple. If you encounter a real ruthless character, you will definitely have to kneel.

The attitude is very good but the skills are slightly poor. Popovich has already come to a conclusion.

The Spurs' goal must also be the championship, so Popovich has been observing which players are more suitable to accomplish the team's goal. Zhang Xiaotian was an accident. He really recruited him to train Leonard.

It was a surprise, but some players dissatisfied him.

Not just one, Popovich is already thinking about who to give up, even if it is him, there will be times when some players are not suitable for the team, some players are too lazy and have no progress, and some players It is disobeying orders.

In the second quarter, both teams had trouble offensively.

The Lakers are weak off the bench, and the Spurs can't score. Although Howard's offense is mediocre, he has already blocked three defensively. The Spurs' rebounds can't beat Howard and Gasol.

The way for the Lakers to solve the weak offensive is very simple. Kobe turned on the personal mode.

Parker also took advantage of the opponent's No. [-] Darius Morris, who was a second-year rookie, to score continuously, but he was still a bit worse than Kobe.

The Spurs only scored 38 points in this game, but fortunately, the opponent only scored 43 points.

In the third quarter, the situation suddenly changed, because Howard continued to foul twice in a row, and Duncan took the opportunity to play a wave inside and catch up with the score.

Zhang Xiaotian was replaced in the second half of the third quarter, and suddenly scored 5 points in a row in the fourth quarter. The Spurs also led by 5 points, but after the Lakers timeout, Kobe hit two three-pointers. Zhang Xiaotian did not defend Artest. Get a suitable offensive opportunity, and was quickly replaced.

Then the two teams took the lead alternately until the last 3 minutes, Popovich was a little tangled, whether to use Zhang Xiaotian at this time, and how to use it.

(End of this chapter)