Junior Basketball says

Chapter 376 Old Rival

On the second day after the Timberwolves eliminated the Thunder, another group of semifinals in the Western Conference was also divided.Also with a big score of 4 to 1, the top Spurs in the West easily defeated the Zijin Army at their home court and reached the Western Conference Finals again.

Now the media is excited again. Last season, the Spurs were slapped in the face by the Timberwolves for the miracle of black eight. Now the two sides meet again in the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs are still No. [-] in the Western Conference, but the Timberwolves have risen to No. Two, it can be said to be a close series.It is foreseeable that both parties will contribute [-]% of their efforts.

In fact, for the Timberwolves, no matter which team is promoted, they have a deep connection with them.Needless to say, the Spurs, if it was the Lakers who made it to the Western Conference finals, they also played against each other in the playoffs of the 2009-10 season. The ball was lost, but it can be said that it was a glorious defeat.

In Xu Hao's view, the Lakers are still easier to deal with than the Spurs.Although Kobe is still at his peak, Bynum, Gasol and Artest still have different degrees of decline compared to before, not to mention other role players.In contrast, the Spurs' lineup is more stable, GDP is still not old, and more importantly, they have basically completed the rejuvenation.Before the Timberwolves completed the black eight to a large extent, they bullied the Spurs players for being too old, but now it will not be effective.

More importantly, the Lakers are fourth in the Western Conference and the Spurs are first in the Western Conference. If they face the Lakers, the Timberwolves still have a home court advantage. Against the Spurs, they have to start in San Antonio. The physical advantage is obviously not that great.

But now that everything is settled, they can't change anything. They can only pack their bags and board a flight to San Antonio to prepare for the first Western Conference Finals.Sitting in the spacious seat, the rest of the Timberwolves had already lost their time and fell asleep. Only Xu Hao seemed to be fast asleep, but in fact his brain was thinking rapidly.

He doesn't have the information support from other departments of the team like the coaching staff, but he has a system for inquiries.Xu Hao has always believed that before facing any opponent, it is necessary to have a deep understanding of them, even if it is an old opponent.

What Xu Hao is doing is checking the information of the Spurs players.Compared with last season, the Spurs' roster has undergone a lot of changes. In the rotation, Jefferson, George Hill and McDyess left the team and were replaced by Joseph, Mills, Stephen Jackson and 2011 players from 15. No. [-] pick Leonard has improved a lot in the backcourt.

I have to admit that Buford and Popovich can always find some little-known small roles or veterans who have passed, and then let them rejuvenate in the Spurs' tactical system.In the previous games, these players performed very well. Although the data seemed mediocre, their performance on the court fully met the requirements of the Spurs.

When he saw Leonard's information, Xu Hao couldn't help frowning.The system's evaluation of players is still very detailed, so detailed that it can even evaluate their potential, and Leonard's potential score in the system is actually A+, which is second only to Duncan in the whole team.Of course he doesn't have such strength yet, but the talent is there.

In the regular season against the Spurs, Xu Hao basically never played against Leonard, and Popovich didn't put him in the starting lineup.But since entering the playoffs, he has been the unshakable starting small forward for the Spurs, and he was mainly responsible for defending Kobe against the Lakers, making the opponent's shooting percentage in the entire series only 36.8%.

There is no doubt that this guy, who is still in his rookie season, has gradually revealed himself. If there is no accident, he will become another top perimeter defender in the league. Xu Hao, who is the core of the Timberwolves' perimeter, will naturally become his target. .

Although Xu Hao is not afraid of this silent guy on the field, he will not ignore the system's scoring either.He has a hunch that in the Western Conference Finals, Leonard will become his archenemy, and he will never die.

During the rest of the journey, Xu Hao has been relying on simulated games against the Spurs to pass the time. He must be familiar with the Spurs' style and tactics as much as possible before the Western Conference Finals, and then command his teammates to attack the city and overthrow the stronghold in the game.

Minneapolis and San Antonio looked far away, but the plane began to descend after being in the air for more than three hours.Xu Hao is no stranger to this city. They played three playoff games here last year. Although they failed to eliminate the Spurs at the AT&T Center, they also won away games.

After taking the bus to the hotel, McHale did not arrange training immediately, but let the team members take the time to rest. Although they only flew for more than three hours, many people already felt a little tired. What they need most now is to get a good sleep Sleep.As for training or something, it won't be too late to wait until everyone recovers. He is full of confidence in his team.

The Spurs also seemed very low-key. Most of the players declined interviews. Popovich was as low-key as ever. He may be the head coach that all media reporters least want to interview. He can bring others to the scene with just a few words. Go to the ditch.

Despite this, the media are still hyping this matchup crazily, but this time their breakthrough point is not the grudge between the two sides last season, but the city where the team itself is located.Both San Antonio and Minnesota are small ball markets that have little attraction for big-name free agents, but they managed to reach the conference finals together.

It can be said that the finals between the East and the West are in stark contrast. Although the Celtics and the 76ers are still fighting fiercely in the East, no matter who advances, it is a well-known big market, and it is also the NBA with the longest history. one of the teams.The other Heat, which was the first to advance, does not have such a long history, but it is not considered a small ball market. The Big Three proved that they are not short of money.They were able to make it to the conference finals, largely because they grabbed enough benefits from the ball market.

But what about the Timberwolves and Spurs?They basically rose up through several successful drafts, but it was just sooner or later.In fact, the Thunder are also a small-market team, and they only emerged through the draft. To a certain extent, this year's Western Conference semi-finals are the victories of small-market teams. The Lakers, the only one sitting in a large market, have been eliminated. Killed.

However, Xu Hao felt that this had nothing to do with him. He completely blocked the interference from the outside world. In his opinion, it was enough to play well. The size of the ball market was completely out of his consideration. He only wanted a total Championship ring.

(End of this chapter)