unfinished glory

Chapter 233 Advance to the Western Conference Finals
Being swept out by the Grizzlies was a big lesson for Popovich.

The Spurs' lineup is not the strongest and certainly not weak, but their style of play does not adapt to the current team situation.The tactics centered on Duncan, with the decline of this great player's competitive ability, are no longer as powerful as before.

With so many teams in the NBA and so many seasons, they have verified their various tactics and systems for many coaches.

However, successful or failed coaches will have their own set of mature coaching concepts.

Some coaches can be flexible, tactics are tactics, used in different teams and lineups, and they can always adapt to local conditions.The most typical is Phil Jackson. During the Bulls period, Jordan was the core. In the first period of the Lakers, O'Neal was the first to be OK, and the second period was Kobe and Yao Ming.The core of the tactics is changed, one is changed to two, the only thing that remains the same is that there must be super giants, so the triangle offense has also been criticized by many experts as a scam.

Some coaches believe that a mature system can bring victory, such as Larry Brown.This coach who believes in "playing in the right way", no matter what team he goes to, he must transform his players into what he wants, even if the opponent is Iverson.

His idea of ​​team basketball finally blossomed in the Pistons and won the championship.The biggest problem with this set of concepts is that it overemphasizes the team and is too unfriendly to super giants who demand privileges.So he was unsuccessful in the Knicks, but he switched to the civilian Bobcats and led the team to the playoffs.

How long this concept can maintain its vitality in this increasingly personalized alliance is also unknown.Popovich is much more flexible, inheriting the basketball philosophy of Larry Brown, and then retaining the role of a superstar.

Of course, there is also Mike Brown who learned to defend and the offensive end is to "give the ball to James" tactics, and there is also old Nelson, who used to be a defensive master and turned everyone into a musketeer.

In most cases, these coaches can adapt to the lineup, but there are also diehards like Jerry Sloan. I use the simplest tactics. If the players can't adapt, I look for players who can play this tactics.

Deron Williams and Boozer were the second pair he found. For this reason, the Jazz even gave up the idea of ​​cultivating an all-round forward like Lilianko to become the core of the team.

The new pick-and-roll combination did allow the Jazz to rise again and return to the ranks of the playoffs, but they are far from the Utah duo, so there is no way to become a strong team in the West.

In the first round of the playoffs, the sixth-ranked Jazz met the third-ranked Nuggets. Two old and tough head coaches led the team to a six-game battle.

Under the leadership of Deron Williams averaging 25 points and 10 assists and Boozer 20 points and 13 rebounds per game, he successfully defeated the Nuggets led by Anthony and Billups.

……

The Grizzlies rested for a week and finally waited for the first game of the second round.

Compared with the Spurs, the Jazz are more difficult to deal with.The Spurs have a strong defense, but they can't stand the attack of an offensive madman like Li Chongxiao; they have neither many nor top-notch players who can attack independently, and the Grizzlies can suppress one-on-one defense.

The Jazz is different. Their lineup is relatively balanced, and there are good offensive players in every position.

A kite-shaped center like Okur is the nightmare of every large-tonnage center. Yao Ming has suffered some losses, and he still hasn't completely taken the orthodox center's path of carrying the inside line.

Power forward Boozer is accurate in mid-range shots, has good footwork, and is also proficient in pick-and-roll tactics.

The backup power forward Millsap is also a titan. The small forward's height and nondescript style of play are very difficult to deal with.

Relying on these three insiders, the Jazz beat Nene and Martin of the Nuggets dizzy and at a loss.

But they are not very good when they meet the Grizzlies. Any combination of the Gasol brothers, Przybilla and Big Ben can change positions at any time.Even if it can't be completely blocked, at least it won't lose the inside line, and it can guarantee rebounds.

Losing the inside advantage, and having a defensive line like Li Chongxiao-Battier-Conley, they completely suppressed the outside line. In the first game, the Jazz lost without temper.

The Jazz's classic pick-and-roll didn't even work much, leaving Coach Sloan scratching his head.

The Jazz strengthened the bond between Boozer and Deron Williams in Game [-], and the duo played well.

But Li Chongxiao's scoring alone was able to withstand the two of them.

The Grizzlies continued to ramp up the pressure on the defensive end, locking out the rest of the Jazz for Game [-].

In the third game, coach Sloan finally made a big change. Okur played as a false starter and used Boozer and Millsap to form the inside line most of the time, and then put Miles and Matthews on the field. and Deron.

This lineup has strong shooting ability and can initiate shots and offenses from any position.And especially for the Grizzlies' defensive strategy, the Jazz strengthened the rotation speed of the ball and at the same time increased the speed of shots.

As long as there is an opportunity, the Jazz players will shoot without hesitation.Such a group of pitchers hit a very high hit rate, and even a defensive champion like Li Chongxiao sometimes couldn't fully react.

Relying on this chaotic battle, the Jazz finally got back a victory and chased the big score to 1:2.

The Jazz, who won the next game, did not change their formation and are ready to make persistent efforts to win the second home game at home.But how could the Grizzlies give this kind of opportunity? They don't need to change their lineup, they just play more reasonable and efficient offense and strengthen rotation in defense.

The Jazz still scored a lot, but it was not as easy as the previous game.And they can't prevent the Grizzlies' offense at all. In comparison, the Grizzlies' goals are more and simpler.

The sheer crushing of strength allowed the Grizzlies to win this game.

Then back home, it was still a victory without any suspense.In the end, the Grizzlies eliminated the Jazz with a big score of 4:1 and entered the Western Conference Finals.

……

The ones who also entered the Western Conference Finals were naturally the Lakers at the top of the list. They played rough games in every round.They both played six games against the Thunder, a newcomer to the playoffs.

The link of the point guard has become their weakness. Fisher defended every round seriously, and then was swayed by Westbrook with a clean step.

Let the Thunder point guard, who had only 16 points in the regular season and shot just over 40%, scored 48 points with a 21% shooting rate.

Fortunately, the joining of Artest helped them limit Durant's performance, limiting the scorer who could score 31 points in the regular season to only 25 points.

When they met the Suns in the second round, power forwards became the focus of their attacks.Stoudemire is a player that even Duncan can't hold down, so it's no problem to beat Odom.

But the lineup of his Suns team is not young, and most of the players are not at their peak. Facing the bombardment of two super giants, they can't stand it. Six games is already their limit.

In the Western Conference finals, the Lakers and Grizzlies reunited, and the Eastern Conference is still the Cavaliers and Celtics.

Garnett's condition is better than Duncan's. He has not suffered any serious injuries and his athletic ability is well preserved.It was not easy for Howard to meet a large-tonnage center like Perkins and a skilled player like Rasheed Wallace.

After seven games, the Celtics outperformed and got tickets to the Eastern Conference Finals.

On the other side, the Cavaliers eliminated the Eagles very easily after sweeping the Bulls.With the state the team maintains, they are heading for the championship.

80% of the media and fans believe that the two sides in the finals will be the Lakers and the Cavaliers.

All of a sudden, the matchup of the OK team in the finals in Lili became the hottest basketball topic at the moment.

(End of this chapter)