The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 403 Team Basketball
In the second half of the Heat, West's nerve knife suddenly trembled.

A player with the nature of a knife is extremely unstable in his performance. If he feels bad, he is a salty fish. If he feels good, he can face the All-Stars.

When the Heat were frustrated on the offensive end, West took a lot of shots and made him feel so good.

Consecutive, strong three-pointers and two-pointers are all hits.

Seeing that the score was getting closer and closer, the fans were all terrified, feeling like they would capsize.

The Spurs changed two defenses, and finally decided to let Zhang Xiaotian play.

In the beginning, it was actually Zhang Xiaotian's defense, and it was only after the formation changed to one big and four small that the defenders were changed.

As a result, when West went crazy, no one could hold it back, and the Spurs simply returned to a double inside lineup.

Changing Zhang Xiaotian's defense didn't fix it right away, even if the nerve knife was soaring, it was useless even if it was sealed to the face.

But the opponent can't be so accurate all the time, and besides, at the end of the quarter, let alone a nerve knife, he will break even a magic knife.

By the end of the quarter, the score had reached single digits, and it seemed that with a little more effort, the game could be turned around.

However, at this time, Zhang Xiaotian let the Heat realize what Wangshan ran to death. After West scored unreasonably, Zhang Xiaotian came back and singled West.

Not only is the defensive end getting better and better, but the offensive end has been consuming opponents.

The most important thing is that Zhang Xiaotian can still score.

No matter how crazy West goes on the offensive end, he's unlikely to do it again on the defensive end.

Only in the half quarter, Whiteside played, hoping to control the inside line.

However, although the Spurs' inside line is not as good as Whiteside's, Leonard and Zhang Xiaotian can make up for it.

At 3 minutes, Gasol grabbed an offensive rebound, Zhang Xiaotian blocked his throat with a sword, and the score gap between the two teams came to double digits again.

At 2 minutes and 22 seconds, Zhang Xiaotian blocked West's shot, and there was no suspense about the outcome of the game.

Popovich praised the Heat's performance after the game. He said: "They are tough kids. They work very hard. They are well trained. They won't give in. They caught up with us."

It's just that the Spurs are victorious, so they will be in the mood to say something on the scene.

The Heat are now in a difficult time. If the record continues to be poor, they have to consider a more thorough reconstruction.

Two days later, the Spurs went to the Kings on the road, and this time the game was easier to win.

Gasol gradually integrated into the team and played a bigger role on the offensive end.

But there is one more person who can fight, and it will not be so easy for Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard to score 30+.

Zhang Xiaotian is also thinking about when he will have a chance to score 50 points in the current Spurs.

After winning the Kings, the Spurs won another five consecutive victories.

Although it was a little depressing to only score 20 points, Zhang Xiaotian also admitted that Popovich still has means. The more people on the team who can exert their strength, the fewer weaknesses the team will have.

He only needs to get the ball at critical moments, so that his pressure will be reduced.

But just in case, in terms of strength, the stronger he is, the better.

After all, he is now the head of the team, and at the critical moment, he must help the team win with strict defense.

As for which aspect to improve, it needs to be carefully considered.

However, scoring, organization and making up for weaknesses are the three main directions, which also fit the needs of the team.

The Spurs' schedule during this period is not very tight, and it is easier to run in than some teams.

Of course, the next one is away.

On January 11, the Spurs played away against the Lakers.

Kobe retired, and the Lakers wanted to wave the banknotes in the summer, but unfortunately things backfired and no one wanted to come.

They can only renew the contract of three-year-old Jordan Clarkson with a price of tens of millions, and then use it as a substitute. They also have this kind of scoring expert on the bench, who may be stronger than the main offensive force.

In addition, they won Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov at a premium. It is also a pain in the league if they can't spend money. This is one of the ways that garbage contracts are born.

However, the new coach Luke Walton has created a team alliance, and the team's start record is not bad.

In the past few years, the league has had new coaches take over and succeed, and Lakers fans also hope that they are part of the luck.

But the team's strong offensive players are all singles players, and the defense is a mess, which is also difficult for Luke Walton.

The Spurs are different from those third-rate teams. Although the young Lakers are fearless, they have used their offensive and defensive performances to tell the Lakers what a top team in the league looks like from the very beginning.

Although the main force was pressed to the ground and rubbed, the Lakers did not give up.

As expected, the Spurs ran into trouble during the rotation.

Second place Ingram is still relatively immature, but Louis Williams, who won the best sixth man, is a ruthless character, and he scored on his own.

In contrast, the Spurs' bench is too tepid.

They also led by double digits in the first quarter, but they were tied by the opponent during the intermission.

The Lakers played small lineups most of the time, and the Spurs fought against each other with one big and four small. It's just that the rebounds of the two insiders were not outstanding, and they suffered a bit.

None of the main players played head-to-head. In the first half, there were ten rotations on both sides, but the Lakers' rotation players took advantage of their scoring ability.

Looking at it this way, the Lakers have a lot of outstanding young people. If there is a good organizer, they should play better, but they don't.

During the intermission, Popovich was a little angry. In the first half, the two sides were actually fighting with the coaches, and there was no tactic of crushing stars. Popovich didn't want to lose face in front of the juniors who were short of major generals.

Strengthening the defense, the Spurs can't defend against a small lineup, and they must play more efficiently on offense.

The old man is really troublesome, Zhang Xiaotian wants to speak up a little bit, let him directly kill the old guy like Luol Deng with the ball or beat the rookie like Ingram, it's simple and straightforward.

The Spurs still want to give Popovich some face. In the second half, Zhang Xiaotian took the lead in improving his defensive enthusiasm.

If he, Danny Green, and Leonard stop there, half of the small lineup will be lost.

In half a quarter, the Spurs regained a double-digit lead.

The Lakers' small lineup is too tactile, and they don't have an All-Star-level ruthless role in the lineup. They really don't know what to do when they encounter an upgraded defense.

In the fourth quarter, Zhang Xiaotian scored consecutive points to help the team expand the score.

Soon, the game turned into garbage time.

Although the following rookies pecked each other's time, Louis Williams and Clarkson both showed their prowess, but that did not affect the outcome.

Five of the Lakers scored in double figures, including two substitutes with 20+ points, but eight of the Spurs scored in double figures, including five main players and three substitutes.

"Luke's performance this season not only made the Lakers players believe in his ability, but also won the trust of the Lakers management. I have to say that he has done a good job in this regard, and I am also impressed by them." Popovich The tone of a senior.

(End of this chapter)