unfinished glory

Chapter 205 Second Round

On the stage of the playoffs, the losers leave in frustration, while the winners stay and continue to strive towards the championship.

The players who are more happy than the fans are naturally the Grizzlies players. Except for Li Chongxiao and Milicic, let alone a few rookies, even the most veteran players of the team, Battier and Gasol, have never entered the game. Experience in the second round of the playoffs.

The locker room was also bouncing around, and everyone was as happy as if they had won the championship.Li Chongxiao looked at his teammates laughing and laughing, and some even twisted their bodies and danced, all of which were very lively and interesting.

This is an experience that has never been experienced in the Spurs.Popovich is sometimes too rigid, always looking like a life mentor, doing things that destroy the atmosphere.If he were to be the head coach, he would definitely scold everyone with a straight face, but he just entered the second round, and there are strong opponents behind, so it is not worth celebrating.

Naturally, Li Chongxiao and Carlisle would not do such an unsightly thing, and joined in, shaking their heads happily together.

Carlisle won the championship ring with Bird when he was a player, and he also led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals in the coaching era; Li Chongxiao won three Western Conference Finals in the first four seasons, two championships, and the worst season was also the second round.

Both of these people have seen big winds and waves, and they don't feel that this phased victory is not worth celebrating.Everyone is in a different position and has a different goal.

After everyone finished the celebration and left the locker room one after another, the coaching staff took a short rest before starting to prepare the opponent information for the second round.

The Trail Blazers and the Spurs are now playing 2:3. Judging from the information collected so far, no matter which team advances, it is not easy to deal with.

However, the coaching staff of the Grizzlies hope that the Blazers can come back.Although the Grizzlies lost to the Trail Blazers in the regular season and swept the Spurs 4:0, in the playoffs, they are still willing to deal with the young Trail Blazers rather than the old Spurs.

For most players, the regular season and the playoffs are not the same kind of game.

……

On April 4, the Spurs still had the last laugh. In the sixth game against the Trail Blazers, they relied on GDP's brave performance, and finally won the victory and advanced to the second round.

Li Chongxiao met his old club again in the playoffs, and this round of the series instantly became the focus of the same period.

Not only is the Grizzlies unwilling to meet the Spurs, but the Spurs are also unwilling to meet the Grizzlies.If the Hornets and Jazz hadn't "coincidentally" lost in the end, Popovich really wanted to rank No.6, but fortunately he met the Nuggets in the playoffs.

However, after the first round, the Spurs discovered that only No.5 was the best player in the lower half of the West.The Nuggets, who originally thought it was a soft persimmon in the upper half, directly beat the Hornets, who were not considered a weak team, 101:63, creating a "58 tragedy".

With the old arms and legs of the Spurs, they may not be able to beat the Nuggets.And no matter from that position to the second round, they can't escape the Grizzlies and Lakers.

What the Spurs are most afraid of this season are guards like Li Chongxiao and Kobe, because their backcourt defense is already rotten.

After Li Chongxiao left the team and Bowen declined to the bench, Salmons and Mason, who looked good in the regular season, were bullied in the playoffs.

Brandon Roy came in and out at will and scored 27 points alone.Coupled with Popovich's coveted Aldridge's 22-point average, he almost overturned the Spurs.

If Duncan, Ginobili and Parker hadn't exploded in turn, the Spurs would have been eliminated in five games.

Now that he met Li Chongxiao who was stronger than Roy, Popovich looked at his back line with a severe headache.

In the five games of the first round of the playoffs, Li Chongxiao scored 54 points, 56 points, 43 points, 40 points and 47 points respectively. He scored 40 points in each game and averaged 48 points per game. Faint.

Popovich doesn't think the team is capable of defending against Li Chongxiao. He can only change his thinking, defend and attack as a whole, and see if he can bully an opponent who doesn't have much experience in the playoffs.

……

The first match started, and the two sides could be regarded as old rivals. They were both in the southwest region, and they had various grievances. They were very familiar with each other, and there was nothing to hide.

Both sides' step-by-step start, unchanging personnel arrangements, and uninnovative tactical arrangements all showed the stability of the coaching team and their fear of each other.

With Duncan getting old, the Spurs' focus has completely shifted to the perimeter.In the case of Ginobili's constant injuries and unable to keep up with his physical strength, the burden of offense fell to Parker.

The most low-key star in the GDP, after Li Chongxiao left, under the expectation of other teammates, he gradually exuded brilliance.

In the first round of the playoffs, Parker was the core of the team's offense. Relying on his proficient breakthrough small throw and mid-range shooting skills, he was also able to come and go inside the Blazers with ease. He averaged 26 points per game. The biggest hero of the second round.

This point is a problem for the Grizzlies.Carlisle can't count on the immature Conley to guard the All-Star guard.His only requirement is to slow down Parker's speed and prevent the opponent from easily breaking through to the inside.

Different from the Blazers' hollow interior, the Grizzlies have height and tonnage in the interior. As long as the Spurs' guards are not allowed to speed up, they can organize the interior defense well.

This tactic really effectively contained the Spurs' offense.Ginobili was personally taken care of by Li Chongxiao, his physical fitness was not as good as the other's, and he was familiar with the other party, so he wasted more than half of his skills.

Conley almost gave up attacking, and regarded himself as a blue-collar, entangled Parker tightly, making the opponent's play very awkward, and his offensive efficiency plummeted.

And Duncan is really old. After suffering a serious injury, his physical fitness continued to decline. Fortunately, he transformed in time to save his career.But the disease of plantar fasciitis forced him to lose weight, completely destroying his last trace of physical advantage.

In the past, he was not afraid to play with Gasol together, but now it is a bit difficult to play a big Gasol or a small Gasol alone, and there are no other teammates inside who can help.

The three strongest points of the Spurs have been watched. Others such as Mason and Salmons, defended by Battier and Barnes, have also lost their vitality in the regular season.

……

In terms of offense, Carlisle played the biggest advantage of the Grizzlies, which is to let Li Chongxiao play singles.

Compared with last season, the Spurs have changed a lot, but the only thing that hasn't changed much is their defensive routines.

Li Chongxiao has been in this system for four years at least, and he is more familiar with the defensive weakness of the Spurs system than many coaches in the league, that is, he is afraid of players with strong individual singles ability, especially those who are accurate in mid-range shooting.

In the series that the Spurs have lost in the past two seasons, one is the Mavericks, with Nowitzki, a tall pitcher with a good mid-range shot, and a bunch of mid-range pitchers.As for another Lakers team, Kobe Bryant is well-known in the mid-range shot.

On the contrary, they are not very afraid of three-pointers. The Suns have been educated year after year.

No one in the Spurs can defend against Li Chongxiao. Bowen has long been unable to keep up with his footsteps. It is not as good as Ginobili to count on Salmons or Mason.

In the first game, Li Chongxiao only made 4 of 2 three-pointers, but made 17 of 14 two-pointers and scored 41 points. He won the game calmly.

　Sorry for the lateness!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)