unfinished glory

Chapter 75

Li Chongxiao started the fourth game of the playoffs. Maybe it was his performance in the last game that impressed Popovich, or maybe the coaching staff wanted to catch the Grizzlies by surprise.

The Grizzlies were a bit stunned. Mike Fratello frowned when he learned of the Spurs' starting lineup, but he quickly reacted and said passionately to the players:
"The Spurs changed their lineup first, which shows that they are afraid of our performance in the last game. The last game was a good opportunity for us, but unfortunately we couldn't withstand it, but this game will not happen." He clapped his hands and continued to give Players encouraged:
"Don't care about the opponent's situation. We have no way out. This is our home game. Even if we can't win the series, we have to give an explanation to the fans who are cheering at home. Come on, boys!"

The Grizzlies' players are indeed full of energy on the court, playing with passion, actively defending, and actively fighting.

But the Spurs obviously came prepared. They didn't start well in the last game, and they fell behind until the fourth quarter before turning over.This time they strengthened their defensive strategy. At the beginning, they used a defensive lineup. Li Chongxiao replaced Manu Ginobili at the point to mark the opponent's pitcher Mike Miller.

Li Chongxiao seems to have a lot of experience in dealing with a player like Mike Miller who only has shooting ability and lacks independent offensive ability.Anyway, he has good physical strength, so he just needs to cling to him at all costs.

Gasol couldn't do anything to face the serious Duncan. The Grizzlies' other players on the court were also overwhelmed by the Spurs' defense in terms of offense.Lorenzen White was watched by Muhammad, Shane Battier faced Bowen's entanglement, Jason Williams passed the ball very well, but the offense was not even a nerve knife.

On the contrary, the Spurs played in an orderly manner. Halfway through the first quarter, the Spurs scored 12 points and only allowed the Grizzlies to score 6 points.

Parker and Bowen went off, replaced by Ginobili and Barry, the Spurs' focus began to shift to offense, and the Grizzlies were caught off guard.

For three consecutive rounds, Li Chongxiao, Ginobili and Barry hit a three-pointer each, which made the Grizzlies players on the court exhausted.

Mike Fratello quickly called a timeout. He realized that the Spurs could not be defeated by defense. It could only stimulate the offensive ability of the players and may have a chance.

Lorenzen White was replaced by James Posey, so they had four players on the court who could shoot threes, and the offensive space was greatly stretched.

In the first half of the game, the Grizzlies didn't have an inside attack, they all shot outside.Gasol floated and made two mid-range shots from the outside, and other players made three-pointers when they had the opportunity.

They only took 9 shots in the first half of the quarter, and took 13 shots in the second half. They made 7 three-pointers and hit 4 of them, scoring 16 points.

A wave of offensive battles, the audience watched with relish, hooked.But the coaches on both sides still frowned.

Popovich is because the team failed to defend against the offense of the Grizzlies. If the opponent is crazy at home, it will be difficult to defend in the next three quarters.

The Grizzlies are here because despite their lively play, the score is still 10 points behind. The Grizzlies' offense was smooth just now, but the Spurs did not stagnate, and they also scored 13 points.

At the end of the first quarter, the Spurs led 32:22.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Duncan and Li Chongxiao, who had played the full quarter, sat on the sidelines. On the court were Nesterovic, Horry, Barry, Ginobili and Udri.

The Grizzlies are Lorenzen White with Brian Cardinal, James Posey, Bunch Wells and Earl Watson, still a big, four small, crazy shooting lineup .

This lineup really won the bet by the Grizzlies. They continued their firepower in the first quarter, and under crazy shooting, they chased the score to only 4 points in the half quarter.

Popovich replaced Bowen and Parker in the middle, but failed to stop the decline.After half a quarter, Li Chongxiao made his debut again. After scoring only 2 points in the first quarter, he hit a three-pointer as soon as he came up to help the team stabilize the situation, and then slowly began to exert his power on the defensive end.

After the All-Star break, Popovich began to build a defensive triangle of Duncan + Bowen + Li Chongxiao. One of Li Chongxiao and Bowen was dedicated to dealing with the opponent's core offensive players on the perimeter, and the other was responsible for mopping up and assisting defense.Duncan acts as a pinnacle on the inside, on the one hand leading the defense of the opponent's inside core, and on the other hand helping the outside line to make up defense.

It's a pity that Duncan's injury caused this defensive formation to be immature. The three of them are okay, and their defensive awareness is very good, but the other teammates have not been able to integrate into it. If only two people are present, there will be some positioning mistakes and out of touch.

Moreover, after playing three playoff games, Popovich found that the firepower of the bench was often unable to continue.It's not that their offensive players are bad, but that the second team doesn't have a player who can control the field and an offensive knife.In this game, he put Ginobili on the bench and replaced Li Chongxiao, so the offensive firepower was slightly weaker at the beginning, but the defense was greatly strengthened.

After Ginobili comes off the bench, he faces the opponent's substitute players most of the time, which can not only form an ability suppression, but also maximize his physical strength and improve offensive efficiency.

Judging from this game, the offense has indeed maintained continuity, but the defense is somewhat overwhelmed, and Popovich began to calculate in his mind.

At this time, Duncan + Bowen + Li Chongxiao are bullying the Grizzlies' semi-main lineup.Mike Fratello felt that even if he replaced the main lineup, it would be difficult to break through this defensive net, so he asked the substitutes to play more.Pau Gasol and Stromile Swift were replaced, and Mike Miller and Battier both sat on the sidelines.

So at the end of the half, the Spurs regained their lead of more than 10 points, with a score of 58:45.

……

At the beginning of the second half, Li Chongxiao went crazy and made five shots in a row. Popovich was in a daze. He obviously didn't explain it like this during the intermission.But he didn't blame Li Chongxiao either, it was a great opportunity.

The head coach of the Grizzlies, Mike Fratello, did not know what cramps caused him to let Bunch Wells, who performed well in the second quarter, defend Li Chongxiao.

Wells' defense is good, but it is based on his tonnage, and Li Chongxiao is not a player who relies on his body to attack.

With a height difference of five centimeters plus arm span, and a pair of long legs, he slipped around a few times.None of the air cuts, pick-and-roll mid-range shots, and corner three-pointers are strong hits, but each ball has plenty of room to shoot.

Li Chongxiao scored 9 points on 18 of [-] shots, and the point difference came to [-] points, which immediately extinguished the enthusiasm of the home fans.

Mike Fratello called a timeout a beat late, and the situation on the court almost slipped into the abyss.After returning to the court, he could only let Mike Miller defend Li Chongxiao, and Battier, the best defender, went with Ginobili. He thought that the Grizzlies would really be over after Ginobili started.

Sure enough, Ginobili was suppressed, and Li Chongxiao was silent for a few rounds, but don't forget Duncan.When everyone couldn't play anymore, he took over the offensive banner, one ball after another, widening the point difference to 23 points.

With 4 minutes left in the third quarter, the Grizzlies were forced to make a last-ditch effort. The main lineup was all on the court, and they dared not replace them. When Duncan left the court, he finally bit the score and did not rush for 30 points.

But Li Chongxiao's three-hit attack at the beginning of the fourth quarter ended the game. Three-pointers made 4 of 3 shots, making the game no longer suspenseful.

……

The Spurs won this round of the series is not a surprise to experts and fans.It's just that it was too easy to win, and only suffered some obstacles in the third game. In the other games, they firmly grasped the rhythm and won by a big score.

Calculated on average, the Spurs averaged 23 points per game, which is not at all like the regular season, where they were inextricably tied to the Grizzlies.

In these games, Li Chongxiao scored an average of 18 points, ranking third in the team, and severely slapped the experts and sunspots who looked down on him.

(End of this chapter)