Junior Basketball says

Chapter 380
Under normal circumstances, the defense of a player is basically man-to-man, and double-teaming is considered to be very respectable for him, but Popovich feels that treating Xu Hao like this is not enough.In the second half of the second quarter, most of the Timberwolves' offenses were started by Xu Hao's pick-and-roll, creating a large number of shooting opportunities for the outside pitchers, which narrowly beat the Spurs.

It can be predicted that they will still use this method to tear apart the Spurs' defense in the second half. After all, the pick-and-roll can be said to be the simplest and most effective offensive routine. Back then, Malone and Stockton took this tactic to the extreme.

Popovich doesn't plan to defend the basket, that's simply letting the opponent do whatever he wants, his idea is to start switching defenses.

However, the old man's defense switch strategy is more aggressive than the conventional defense switch. When facing the ball holder and teammates pick and roll, the player who originally defended the ball holder does not need to chase the ball holder too much, but the opposing pick and roll personnel. More players to defend the ball holder, in simple terms, always keep a defender in front of the ball holder.Moreover, what Popovich requires is that all five people participate in the defense change. Whether it is a small defense or a large defense, they must be able to slow down the opponent's pace.

This kind of requirement is undoubtedly very high, that is to say, the Spurs have a large number of defensive champions, so that they can stick to the switch to the end, and switch to other teams with mediocre defense. wear.

The Spurs players have practiced such defensive routines during training, and now that Popovich has made a request, they are not surprised. After all, they are just moving what they do on the training ground to the official game.However, Popovich still adjusted the lineup. He replaced Parker with Jackson. "Wu Sheng" can still be trusted on the defensive end.

In the second half of the Timberwolves, Xu Hao still initiated the pick-and-roll, and the inside players pulled to the high cover.In fact, Rubio can also be used as the initiator of the pick-and-roll, but his breakthrough ability is obviously not as good as Xu Hao, so it is better to do a good job of supporting.

However, Xu Hao ran into a wall the first time he launched a pick-and-roll. It was Love who came up to cover him, and Dior on the opposite side also followed.When Xu Hao bypassed the screen, Leonard, who was in charge of defending him, did not squeeze past him, but defended Love on the spot who might catch the ball and shoot a three-pointer. Xu Hao's forward route was blocked by the legendary flexible and dead fat man Dio was completely blocked.

Although Diaw has put on weight, his movements are still relatively agile and he has rich court experience.He did not try to steal Xu Hao, but raised his hands to cover Xu Hao, preventing him from taking off and shooting, and also slowing down his advancement speed.In desperation, Xu Hao could only choose to pass the ball to Rubio, who was also guarded by Jackson.When he summoned Jordan to pick and roll, he had to face Duncan's defense again. The Timberwolves were very embarrassed and were called a 24-second violation.

Popovich squinted his eyes and raised his legs on the seat, looking very proud. It seemed that the Minnesota's pick-and-roll was almost restricted. If they wanted to score, they could only use singles with the ball or other relatively complicated tactics.The Spurs players have never been afraid to compete with their opponents in tactical execution. Anyway, looking at the entire league, they are the top group.

The Spurs' crazy switching of defenses directly choked the Timberwolves by the throat, but they created many scoring opportunities by virtue of their fast running and conduction.Not to mention that the Timberwolves haven't practiced switching defenses, even if they want to learn from the Spurs, they are powerless. At least Love and Korver are big loopholes on the defensive end. Encountering a misplaced attack is basically watching the opponent score.

In the first 4 minutes of the third quarter, the Timberwolves did not score any sports goals, only relying on Xu Hao's sudden foul to score 4 points. Under such circumstances, the Spurs naturally and easily completed the overtake.McHale scratched his head anxiously, but he couldn't think of a good solution for a while. The Spurs rely on the hard power of the players themselves, and you have to be convinced.

In fact, switching defenses like the Spurs consumes a lot of energy. Even if their entire team has become younger, they cannot withstand the long-term physical exertion.After finally waiting for Popovich to replace the substitute, McHale found that the Spurs' substitutes were also a group of fearless guys who completely ignored the number of fouls on their bodies, and would only step forward and bite madly.

Under their suicidal defense, the Timberwolves' offense still did not improve very well. In the third quarter, they were beaten 30 to 17 by the opponent. The point difference between the two sides instantly reached double digits, but the leader was replaced by the Spurs. .This made the Timberwolves players feel very embarrassed. The third quarter was their usual strong period, but unexpectedly they were beaten into pieces.

In order to restore the situation, the Timberwolves players launched a counterattack under the leadership of Xu Hao in the last quarter, but their shooting percentage was not flattering.Xu Hao was the only player on the team who was capable of defending and making strong shots. The others did not have this ability, which made Jordan suffer. He could only fight Duncan for rebounds inside. Unfortunately, his experience was not enough to help him win.

The Spurs' ability to control the field is very strong, and they have always maintained a lead of about 10 points. The Timberwolves have not been able to play a wave of scoring climax to complete the reversal.Amidst the cheers of the home fans, the Spurs defeated the Timberwolves at home without any risk and won the first victory in the Western Conference Finals. This also surprised many people who have confidence in the Timberwolves.

The most important significance of this game is that the Spurs proved that the Timberwolves, which easily won two championships in a row, can be defended, provided that you have a large number of defensive heroes.Many experts wrote that it is conceivable that the price of defensive players in the free agent market this offseason will increase to varying degrees, and the trend of the entire league will not continue to develop towards offense.

Xu Hao naturally also saw these commentary articles, he could only laugh at himself, he didn't expect to be used as a background board one day.But Xu Hao doesn't think that the Spurs' defense is impeccable. In his opinion, it is the offensive team's personal singles ability that changes the defense.What the opponent creates by switching defenses is a misplaced defense. As long as the ball holder has a strong singles ability, he can break the game.

What is embarrassing is that he is the only real singles player of the Timberwolves, Love is half, and Rubio is not even half. With this set of defense, whether the Timberwolves can win depends entirely on his performance.Xu Hao does not deny that the Spurs' defensive players are excellent, but he is more confident in his offense. As long as he can break the hard shell of the Spurs through his personal ability, winning is basically as stable as a dog.

(End of this chapter)