Junior Basketball says

Chapter 377 Super gate
In the first round of the playoffs last season, Xu Hao's outstanding performance left a deep impression on the Spurs. Popovich realized that if he wanted to beat the Timberwolves, he must first limit Xu Hao, Rubio and Love. The core can even be set aside.

Originally, Popovich wanted Danny Green to defend Xu Hao. This guard who was once rejected by many teams is already an indispensable member of the Spurs' defense, and he and Xu Hao just matched up. is the most suitable candidate.

However, after some thought, Popovich gave up Green and chose to let Leonard take on this important task.In the Western Conference semifinals, his defense made Kobe a little bit at a loss. Popovich believes that he can also defend Xu Hao.

In fact, Popovich didn't like Leonard at first, and the latter was not a rookie selected by the Spurs.It's just that Buford strongly recommended this young man at the beginning, and finally persuaded Popovich to send George Hill, a young point guard he had always liked, to the Pacers in exchange for Leonard.But what Popovich didn't expect was that this taciturn young man quickly showed his talent on the defensive end. Both his skills and style fit the Spurs' culture.

Therefore, Popovich planned to ask Leonard to defend Xu Hao, and even called him into the office to give him instructions.Regarding the head coach's request, Leonard didn't say anything, but just nodded blankly, indicating that he knew.

Popovich didn't waste his saliva, this is Leonard's style. He has always been a taciturn person in the team, but as long as it is a task assigned to him, he can complete it very well. For him, Popovich Vicki was relieved.

As for Green, let him defend Korver during the game!Anyway, both of them like to run without the ball, and Korver is just a pure shooter. With Green's defensive ability, isn't it easy to catch?
Needless to say, both sides have made preparations for the first game of the Western Conference Finals. At 5:27 pm local time on May 8, the game officially kicked off.Both McHale and Popovich adopted regular starters. The Timberwolves played Rubio, Xu Hao, Korver, Love and Jordan, while the Spurs sent Parker, Green, Leonard and Diaw. and Duncan.

Originally, the combination of Splitter and Duncan with one defense and one offense was just right, but after acquiring Diaw in the middle of the season, Popovich decisively removed Splitter, put Duncan at the fifth position, and Diaw was the starting power forward. .Although in recent seasons Dior has lost the style of the "French magician" in the Suns era due to his blessings, his coping ability and three-point shooting have made the Spurs' starting lineup more agile, and their offensive efficiency has gradually climbed to the league level. front row.

Although the Timberwolves' two insiders are good at grabbing rebounds, Popovich is determined to let Diaw start, even if he can't make much contribution in the rebounding fight, it doesn't matter, anyway, he can liberate Duncan and let the latter focus on offense.

Soon the game started amidst the noise of the home fans.Xu Hao's premonition was very accurate. The Spurs players switched positions as soon as they came up, letting Leonard defend him, and Green defended Korver.Although the system rated Leonard's potential as A+, it was not his strength after all. Xu Hao was full of fighting spirit, and he also wanted to call this guy's weight.

In the opening jump ball, Jordan pressed Duncan to pass the ball to Rubio, but his position was not good. Although Parker was average defensively, he was entangled tightly, cutting off Rubio's route to the Spurs halfcourt In desperation, Rubio can only hand the ball to Xu Hao, hoping that he can solve the problem.Following Rubio's pass, Leonard also came in front of Xu Hao.

Xu Hao just wanted to take a step forward to the right, but Leonard seemed to be a prophet and waited there in advance. Now Xu Hao can't rush forward, and he might be hit by the opponent with the ball.He subconsciously used the technique of changing the direction of the dribble under the crotch. Unexpectedly, Leonard was completely unmoved, like a stone fixed in place waiting for him to pass.

This guy looks like a rookie who doesn't know how to defend at all, but Xu Hao doesn't think so. The player who can be rated as potential A+ by the system is definitely not an ordinary person. He must have seen through his fake moves and waited for work in place. !

But if the fake moves are useless, Xu Hao feels that he must spend more time.He waved his hand to signal his teammates to take their positions, and he wanted to fight Leonard one-on-one.I have to say that Leonard does have a calmness that doesn't match his age, and even has a expressionless facial paralysis like Duncan. He just lowered his center of gravity and opened his arms to prevent Xu Hao from suddenly starting.

In this way, Xu Hao could only rely on him to dribble sideways, and slowly pressed to the three-point line, ready to take advantage of Leonard's unpreparedness and directly pull up and shoot.However, what Xu Hao didn't expect was that his shot was also seen through by Leonard. When he shot, a palm bigger than ordinary people also appeared in front of him. If it wasn't for Xu Hao's quick reaction If the arc of the shot is increased, then the ball will probably be blocked by Leonard, which is a rare situation.

Fortunately, Xu Hao's shot that temporarily adjusted the arc stumbled and made a hit, helping the Timberwolves open the scoring first.He couldn't help but look back at Leonard, who still had the same poker face, without any expression, as if the person who just failed to defend was not him.His attitude made Xu Hao feel awe-inspiring: This is definitely not easy to deal with!
Then Leonard completely entangled Xu Hao. Even if Xu Hao didn't have the ball in his hand, he would hover around him like a ghost, and as soon as Xu Hao received the ball, he would immediately turn into a hungry wolf, very actively Try to steal.Surprisingly, although Leonard's defense is full of aggressiveness, he has controlled his fouls very well, and his defensive movements are very clean. If it weren't for Xu Hao's outstanding strength, he might have Under the pressure of the opponent, he made mistakes again and again.

Although he made no mistakes, Xu Hao did not play his due role in the Timberwolves' tactical system, which was tantamount to a trade-off with Leonard.This is of course good news for the Spurs. Although Leonard has great potential, the current leader of the team is still the GDP combination. He is simply acting as a defensive vanguard and will not weaken the team's firepower.

The Timberwolves are very tragic. Without Xu Hao's participation, and Korver is also entangled by Green, their outside threat is greatly reduced. They can only let Love continue to play in low singles, but with Duncan sitting under the basket, Are the Spurs afraid of your post-ups?After half a quarter, the Timberwolves have fallen behind by 9 points, and McHale must find a way...

(End of this chapter)