Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 192 Pressure
Since David Robinson entered the league, the San Antonio Spurs have been an inescapable hurdle for the Western powers, but the soft general is often played by others, and it is difficult for the Spurs to go further. In 1996, the admiral was reimbursed for the season. Spurs general manager Gregg Popovich angrily fired Bob Hill, who was the head coach at the time. The champion signed one and selected Tim Duncan. With the Twin Towers as the core, the Spurs quickly won the championship in the 17-47 season.

But with the rise of the Lakers, Duncan brought the young Parker Ginobili and the old general alone. He was unable to touch the floor of the finals again. The performance of Olowokandi introduced at the beginning of the season It is also not satisfactory. Whether it is the traditional strong teams such as the Lakers, Mavericks, and Kings in the West, or the rising new army such as the Timberwolves, they are very competitive. Sid Wallace is known for his stabs, but his ability is worth the Spurs' gamble.

In the first game after the transaction was completed, the Spurs allowed the New York Knicks to re-experience the horror of the twin towers.The liberated Stone Buddha blasted 30 points and 19 rebounds, and Rasheed Wallace was a small tester, contributing 14 points and 7 rebounds.Considering that the Spurs' total score is 82 points, the proportion of the Twin Towers' points is already considerable.

The offense is just an addition, and the suffocating defense is the foundation of the Spurs. Newly joined New York's Stephen Marbury and Alan Houston, who just returned from injury, were unlucky to be sacrificed by the Spurs. The two combined for 34 Made 10 shots and scored 26 points together. The inside combination of Mutombo and Van Horn was ravaged by the Spurs. Uncle Mu scored 4 points and picked 3 rebounds. Van Horn was slightly better and got 5 points and 4 boards.The Knicks scored only 67 points.

"In addition to Tim and Rashid, the Spurs also have Malik Rose who can be used, including Hedo Turkoglu can also play the fourth position. It is not an exaggeration to say that their inside line is the strongest in the league. , Parker, Ginobili and Prince, who started the game, are all rookies in recent years, but they already have good combat power. Phil, what do you think?" Now the Spurs have surpassed the Mavericks, Timberwolves and Pacers, Becoming the biggest potential opponent of the Lakers, Jim hoped that Zen master had better prepare early and think about the countermeasures in advance.

"Are you so unconfident about the lineup you formed?"

"Of course I am confident, but it is still half a month before the trade deadline, we have to see what problems we can address. If I had known that the old alcoholic would do this, I might not have traded. Sean come here."

"Sean is a good player, I like your deal. Honestly, I think there are enough players now, as you hope, we have enough people in every position, which is what the Spurs want. No, they seem to have traded Mike James, we all know what level of player he is, and judging from the current roster, he seems to be the only reliable backcourt for the Spurs." Obviously Zen Master is not like So calm on the surface, he has already paid attention to the composition of the Spurs' lineup.

Jim can only serve as a reminder, and leave the rest to professionals.

Halfway through the season, the goals of each team have become clearer.

The first is the East. After the Magic introduced Juwan Howard at the beginning of the season, they planned to make a breakthrough in the record, but they did not take into account Uncle Huo’s thermos cup attributes. Howard contributed his 18 points and 8 rebounds per game. , At the same time, the Magic's inside line was completely undefended. A 10-game losing streak at the beginning directly led to the dismissal of the head coach Doc Rivers, and the firefighting coach Johnny Davis was unable to turn the tide, breaking the losing streak record. Continued to 19 games.Surpassed the Bulls, who were in constant turmoil, and the Eagles, who were aiming to lose, and came to the bottom of the league.

Then there is the Philadelphia 76ers who formed the top three picks. Iverson, Robinson and Coleman were all regarded as unruly geniuses, but the three of them together have no chemical reaction at all, and they all want to attack , No one wants to defend, and the 76ers' defense is leaking everywhere, but Haitian center Samuel Dalembert averaged 2.6 blocks per game.

On the contrary, the Bucks and Heat, which everyone thought were about to be rebuilt, gradually found their status after the downturn at the beginning of the season and gradually returned to the top eight.

Many teams in the West still have the hope of advancing to the playoffs. Even the Trail Blazers who sent away Rasheed Wallace, and the Rockets, Supersonics, Jazz and other strong opponents in the playoffs of the year, now The hard-pressed brothers and sisters compete for a favorable ranking.At present, the Suns and the Clippers are relatively behind. The Clippers have always been like this. The players are all cash tools of Donald Sterling. Inheriting the bad luck of the Magic, with Marbury being traded away, the Suns went from a fringe team in the playoffs to a contender for the No. 19 pick in a wave of 4 wins and 16 losses.

"Sometimes, facing a losing streak is more terrifying than facing a winning streak, because you know they can't keep losing." Before the Lakers' home game against the Sonics, Jim began to The team has accumulated character.

The Sonics are not doing well recently. Although Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis' original version of the Splash Brothers played very lively, the team's point guard and power forward positions are too vacant. Although Radmanovich The offense has a brush, but the defense can be called a colander, or the kind with a particularly large aperture. Ray Allen simply took on the role of a combo guard, averaging nearly 6 assists per game, but this is not what he is good at after all. work.The recent 5-game losing streak has caused their ranking to drop all the way, tied for seventh in the Western Conference with the Rockets and Jazz.

The Sonics, who learned from the pain, made a bold change in the game against the Lakers, activated the Ukrainian giant Vitaly Potapanko, and sent Radmanovic to the bench.

This change had a miraculous effect in the early stage of the game. Although the combination of Potapanko and Kelvin Booth did not have any offensive ability at all, they were tall and strong, relying solely on their bodies to stir up the interior, giving Ray A Len and Lewis used various screens to create space. Ray Allen contributed 10 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in the first quarter.

However, the Lakers made targeted adjustments very quickly. Aiming at Potapanko’s slow movement, they took advantage of the range and flexibility of the inside line to strike with precision. Garnett and Malone made frequent mid-range shots, and Potapanko couldn’t defend at all. go out.

Seeing that losing points is much faster than increasing points, the Supersonics dare not use Potapanko anymore. In the following games, the Supersonics tried Radmanovic and rebounding idiot Reggie Evans, but The effect is not very good, Nate McMillan can't cook without rice, Ray Allen scored a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Lakers beat the Sonics 101 to 94.

(End of this chapter)