unfinished glory

Chapter 104 Tactical Adjustment
Duncan's injury is very bad news for the Spurs.

The Spurs aren't worried about Duncan missing some time in the regular season, which will lead to a decline in the record.But this injury is an uncertain factor, and I worry that it may break out at a critical time.

After losing to the Mavericks and losing the inside core, the Spurs stumbled in the following games.

Throughout November, the league arranged 14 games for the Spurs. After the start with 3 wins and 1 loss, in the remaining 11 games, the Spurs achieved a record of 7 wins and 4 losses.

With a record of 9 wins and 5 losses, the Spurs ranked fourth in the Western Conference.

In terms of winning percentage, this record should be No. 2 in the West, but according to league regulations, No. [-] in the division must be in the top three.

The top of the league is the Mavericks, who achieved a record of 10 wins and 4 losses in the November game.

Following closely behind, the Suns and Nuggets rank second and third in the Western Conference, and the Supersonics, which shined last season, will not even be able to squeeze into the top eight.

And Yao Ming's Rockets team is also cloudy and rainy.McGrady had a truce after the opening game against the Spurs. He only played 5 games in succession this month, and his condition is still very poor.

But relying on the hard support of Yao Ming and the help of the newly joined Finley, they barely ranked No.7 in the West.

In November, Yao Ming averaged 28 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. With this excellent performance, he overwhelmed the Los Angeles duo. The title of the best player.

……

Due to the recurrence of Duncan's foot injury, the Spurs lost their offensive core and defensive gate inside. Popovich rotated Horry, Muhammad and Oberto, and the effect was mediocre.

Regardless of whether these players are on offense or defense, they can't even play half of Duncan's role.

Since Horry entered the NBA in the draft, he has spent most of his time playing next to a powerful insider. Now it is not his specialty to let him do this thigh.

And Muhammad, after winning the championship last season, seemed to relax all of a sudden. He hadn't trained during the entire offseason, and almost failed the physical test when the Spurs were training.

From the preseason to the present, his state is very average. Popovich only allows him to play for more than ten minutes in a game, which is completely lacking in the style of last season's playoffs.

As for Ginobili's compatriot Oberto, his experience in the NBA is still somewhat lacking.

In desperation, the Spurs' coaching staff can only transform the entire defensive and offensive system, and adjust the order of appearance of the players on the field.

After changing players several times and experimenting with various formations, the coaching staff found that it was most appropriate to put Li Chongxiao on the bench as the sixth man to lead the team.

Appearing on the bench, the defensive pressure on Li Chongxiao will be reduced, which is conducive to his offensive performance and can hone his immature attacking skills.

In fact, the Spurs have only two options for the sixth man position, either Manu Ginobili or Li Chongxiao.

Most of the team's sixth man choices are outside players, which are convenient for launching offenses and must have the ability to attack independently.

There are Parker and Barry on the outside of the Spurs that meet this point, but Popovich believes that players still need to be aggressive, and the Spurs only have Ginobili and Li Chongxiao.

The important reason for choosing Li Chongxiao is that he has excellent single defense ability.When facing the opponent's arrow character in the substitute time, he can use his strong defensive ability to lock the opponent and disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm.

After several games of running-in, this tactic helped the Spurs gradually recover.

In the first game in December, facing the Mavericks again, the Spurs were united as one, and suppressed the Mavericks on both offensive and defensive ends. While scoring 103 points, they limited the Mavericks' shooting percentage to 40. % below, with a difference of 10 points, the away game took revenge.

Li Chongxiao played 34 minutes, scored 25 points and 13 rebounds, and let out a bad breath.

After winning the Mavericks, the Spurs went all out and won their first five-game winning streak in the new season to welcome Duncan's return.

Duncan, who returned from injury, greatly improved the strength of the Spurs. His super high basketball IQ seamlessly cut into the new tactics of the Spurs, helping the team extend the winning streak to 10 games,

If it weren't for the equally good performance of the Mavericks, the Spurs would have risen to No. [-] in the Western Conference.

However, the coaching staff is very cautious about the use of Duncan, and has set strict restrictions on his playing time. Usually, he is allowed to play up to 30 minutes in a game.

After this time, even if the situation on the Spurs field is not good, Popovich will not hesitate to replace him.

Even with very limited playing time, Duncan was still able to hand over the data of 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds.

After Li Chongxiao returned to the bench, his scoring has also increased significantly compared to last season, averaging 17.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

This season, the Spurs scored the most points. The players became Parker and Ginobili. Both players were able to average more than 18 points per game.

No other player can score in double figures, but every player on the roster has playing time.

The Spurs are used to everyone playing in the regular season, and they trust veterans more after playing in the playoffs.

After Duncan was injured this year, Popovich began to think about the rotation. In some games, he would put players who were slightly unwell on the injured list.

And for a player with poor physical strength like Ginobili, Popovich didn't even take him in back-to-back away games.

Of course, this approach has also been criticized, but Popovich thinks very clearly that the box office and so on, for his small ball market, there are not many, and only the championship is the actual benefit.

Of course, this kind of rest does not fall on Li Chongxiao's head. Popovich still wants to know where his physical strength comes from. In the overtime game against the Bulls, Li Chongxiao, who played 51 minutes in the At the end of the game, there was a big windmill dunk.

The season has just begun, and it is also a good time for Li Chongxiao to verify what he has learned throughout the summer, and he does not need to rest.

For the Spurs, the game throughout December was relatively easy. Except for a three-game streak, there were many home games at other times, which also helped them further run-in.

The Christmas game is coming soon. This season, Stern has used Li Chongxiao and Yao Ming to the extreme. At the Toyota Center, the Rockets and the Spurs met again.

The "China Derby" has become another magic weapon for the league to increase the ratings just like the "OK War".

However, before the game against Yao Ming, the Spurs still have another bill to collect, that is the game against the Bucks. Before the start of the season, Li Chongxiao said that he would give this "Australian big mouth" a good look.

(End of this chapter)