Chapter 360: Duncan Intends to Leave the Spurs?
After the timeout ended, the Spurs replaced Duncan and reorganized the Twin Towers lineup.
This time, Popovich changed his defensive tactics, asking David Robinson to face Zhao Dong and Duncan to help defend on the weak side.
Needless to say, it actually has some effects.
Robinson's task is not to guard Zhao Dong to death, that is simply impossible. He is responsible for pestering Zhao Dong so that Duncan can provide timely weak-side assistance.
At the same time, he also needs to rely on his defensive height to try to affect Zhao Dong's passing vision and reduce the quality of his passing.
On the weak side, Duncan basically left Willis open, mainly guarding the basket, and was always ready to help defend Zhao Dong.
Zhao Dong made two plays. The first time he scored, he made a 30-degree rebound after turning down, but the second shot after turning up was blocked by Duncan who was assisting in defense.
The defensive area formed by the Spurs' twin towers is very large, and the defensive height is also very high. Zhao Dong's height reflects his disadvantage in the low post.
For the Spurs, Duncan no longer has the main attack, and Robinson plays Willis alone.
The super center is indeed strong enough. David Robinson is still the most powerful offensive player among the four super centers. Although they are all veterans, Willis couldn't guard him and was beaten twice in a row.
Two offensive rounds, 42:29, the Spurs got two points back, and Nelson called a timeout in time.
Zhang Lili analyzed: "Zhao Dong's height is still a bit disadvantaged in the low post. When Duncan emptied Willis, Willis was completely open when he was pulled to the weak side, but Zhao Dong did not see it. He was beaten by David Robinson. It was blocked, and the passing opportunity was very short. Duncan's help defense was there immediately, and if it was missed, it was missed."
Su Qun asked: "Coach Zhang, how should the Knicks break the low double-team of the Twin Towers on the Feilong? With the Twin Towers guarding the paint area and Duncan guarding the basket, it will be difficult for the Feilong to break in."
Zhang Lili said with a smile: "Actually, it's not Zhao Dong's offense that has a problem now. He has too many offensive methods, and he has a first-class turnaround and fadeaway jumper. He doesn't have to go in, he can just play outside, and he can completely avoid Duncan's weak side. Assist in defense.
Even if he rushes in and beats Duncan, it's not like he hasn't beaten him before. He did that in the last finals, and Duncan couldn't guard him. But now that it's the regular season, he definitely won't play hard, because it would consume too much.
What the Knicks need to solve now is the outside problem. Zhao Dong's vision of the weak side has been affected, so the outside should be allowed to respond on the strong side, the ball is distributed, and the strong side perimeter will shoot when there is a chance. If there is no chance, he will make a transition. To the weak side.
"
The timeout ends and the Knicks attack.
Zhao Dong is in the low post on the left wing, Ginobili controls the ball on the three-point line above, Stackhouse is at the top of the arc, and Madman and Willis are on the weak side.
At this time, Ginobili passed the ball into the low post, and then immediately cut to the basket.
At the same time, Stackhouse at the top of the arc moves to the left three-point line, and the madman on the right three-point line moves to the top of the arc.
At the same time, Duncan helped defend Zhao Dong. Willis, who was open, clapped his hands on the right side of the paint area and asked Zhao Dong for the ball.
At this time, Zhao Dong passed the ball to Ginobili who cut in.
Duncan immediately defended Ginobili, but the latter caught the ball and immediately passed it to Willis on the opposite side. When Duncan turned around and wanted to return to defense, Willis had already taken the lead in a layup and easily hit a goal.
"Beautiful, the Knicks played a triangle offense. When the Spurs double-teamed Zhao Dong in the low post, through Ginobili's transition, the ball was given to Willis on the weak side, which completely opened up the defense of the Spurs' twin towers." Zhang Lili explained happily.
In the following time, the Knicks repeatedly played triangle offense.
Phil Jackson is now with the Lakers and is also playing a triangle offense. His tactics are exactly the same as the Knicks' triangle offense.
That is to give the ball to O'Neal first and let him play alone. The passer will either cut inside or sink to the bottom corner, and others will move.
Although Zhao Dong is not a low-post overlord like O'Neal, his offense in the low post is definitely not weaker than O'Neal, and he is equally comfortable playing this kind of triangle offense.
The Spurs had no choice but to double-team Zhao Dong, so the weak side was exposed. Zhao Dong could either play by himself, pass back to the outside, pass the ball to Willis on the weak side through transition, or pass the ball to Willis from the weak side. There are so many options for cutting the outside line.
Later, the Spurs also tried not to double-team Zhao Dong, but that was over. Zhao Dong opened up first and pulled out the opponent Duncan or Robinson, then broke through, went in and then blew up another tower, causing continuous damage and making the Spurs sore. Very cool.
At the end of the second quarter, 58:43, the Knicks led by 15 points.
In this era of slow offense, the 15-point difference at halftime is completely the performance of two levels of teams.
But no one found it strange, because the Knicks' offensive rhythm was very fast, they played non-stop fast breaks, showing super offensive firepower and scoring ability, and almost scored 60 points in the half.
Bill Walton conducted an analysis during the halftime break and said: "The Spurs must double-team Feilong. So far, no player can defend Feilong alone. I mean any position, whether inside or outside.
Just now the Spurs tried to defend alone, Feilong immediately pulled out, and then rushed in to fight, so that his impact came out at once. The impact must bring strong lethality. The Spurs continued to foul inside, and the situation was far worse than the double towers double-teaming him. when. "
Matt nodded and said: "At halftime, Duncan committed three fouls, and David Robinson also committed three fouls. Feilong committed three fouls in a row in the second half of the second quarter. He caused the Spurs six fouls in a single quarter and scored 6 free throws in a single quarter. Opportunities, his lethality must be curbed, otherwise the Spurs will lose."
"Don't think that the Knicks can't survive without Barkley. He's just a substitute and has no importance." Bill Walton complained.
"Damn Bill, I will join TNT. I must take his position. I want to become TNT's number one."
Barkley, who was watching the game in the hospital, shouted dissatisfied.
His wife Maureen, who was accompanying him, smiled and said, "Charles, do you really want to listen to Feilong's suggestion and become a commentator?"
"Of course, I think it's good. It has a lot of potential for making money. What do you think? By the way, dear, did you hit the person who gave Feilong money?" Buckley said.
"Don't worry, I've got it done right away." Maureen smiled.
Buckley was relieved and joked: "I bet that in a few years, these five million will turn into $50 million, or even more."
"I hope." Maureen shrugged.
Buckley suddenly said in annoyance: "That guy Larry Johnson actually made tens of millions of dollars with Feilong. With his big contract of 100 million yuan and even paying off taxes, he is also a billionaire. I will also become a billionaire in the future, Feilong." I’m holding on to your thighs.”
He has a very good relationship with his aunt. Knowing about Larry Johnson's situation, he feels envious and jealous in his heart!
Even Larry Johnson's big contract is much more than he has made in his entire career, not to mention the huge profits he made from investing with Zhao Dong.
Spurs at home, the second half begins.
The Spurs used a low-post two-tower tactic. The two towers strengthened the low-post cooperation and used their absolute height to defeat the Knicks' inside combination.
Zhao Dong and Fordson defended tightly but could not stop the offensive firepower of the Twin Towers. Robinson hit a ball on Fordson's head.
"Compared with the defense of Feilong and Fordson, the former is stronger and about the same height, so the Spurs' twin towers' offense now avoids the stronger Feilong. Robinson specializes in playing Fordson, and the first goal has a good effect." Bill Waugh He paused.
"The Twin Towers are better in the low post because of their height. Their passing vision is not affected at all. The wingspan of the Twin Towers is very good. This affects the Knicks' defensive quality inside and cannot prevent the Twin Towers from playing in the low post." Matt said.
In the third quarter, under the full attack of the Twin Towers, the Spurs played well offensively. After three quarters, the score difference was still 15 points, 83:68.
Although the Spurs' offense was strong, the Knicks' offense was also unstoppable by the Spurs. Not only could they not stop Zhao Dong's low offense, but they could not stop Zhao Dong's fast breaks as well. The Knicks still played fast-paced offense and defense, which made the Spurs very uncomfortable.
The Spurs Twin Towers each received one foul in the first half of the quarter. After four fouls, their defensive quality was obviously affected.
The game entered the fourth quarter, and the Spurs' twin towers were exhausted. Robinson's condition declined, he made two consecutive mistakes, and received another shot from Zhao Dong. He was replaced in the third minute. Duncan was left alone and the Spurs went smoothly. Got a loss.
Zhao Dong was substituted in the eighth minute of the final quarter. In 44 minutes, he made 13 of 20 shots, a terrifying 65% shooting rate. In addition, he made 12 of 13 free throws and scored 38 points. At the same time, he scored 38 points. He grabbed 19 rebounds and dished out 14 assists, recording a luxurious triple-double.
Duncan made 12 of 26 shots in 43 minutes, with a shooting percentage of 46%, which was slightly lower than his normal performance. In addition, he made 5 of 9 free throws and scored 29 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls.
David Robinson defeated Willis and scored 22 points and 11 rebounds in this game. His performance was not inferior to the young and strong Duncan.
The Knicks' three guards played an average of 36 minutes and did not exceed their rotation time. The remaining 36 minutes were shared by fringe players like John Wallace.
In the TNT live broadcast booth, after the game, Bill Walton praised Zhao Dong's performance. He said: "Feilong's efficient and all-round performance is the biggest guarantee for this victory. The Spurs twin towers teamed up to score 51 points and 20 rebounds. There is no way to stop Feilong from taking away a victory from here.”
Matt added: "Fordson performed exceptionally in this game. He grabbed 17 rebounds, sent two blocks, and his ability to protect the basket was also good. At the same time, he only committed four fouls. He has begun to show his style as a rebounding leader. He partnered with Feilong. Inside, one offense and one defense, very balanced.”
Bill Walton continued: "Although one of the main rotation players is missing, the Knicks' strength has not suffered much loss. As long as they are properly reinforced, the Knicks will still be the strongest defending team in the championship. ESPN The changes made to the championship ranking list look just like what Feilong said, and they are indeed unprofessional.”
Matt nodded and said: "So, Barkley is not important to the Knicks, and ESPN also needs to behave more professionally."
"These two TNT bastards, they just mocked ESPN, why did they bring me along?" Barkley kept complaining on the hospital bed.
As the best player in the game, Zhao Dong was interviewed on the spot.
"Feilong, you didn't attack much in this game, but you still defeated the powerful Spurs. This is different from your past. In the past, when you had more assists, the game would be more difficult, but today you sent 14 assists. , but beat the Spurs, why?"
a New York Sports reporter asked.
Zhao Dong smiled and said: "Because the lineup is different, the tactics are different. Last season, our outside line was not so strong, there were not so many outside fast breaks, the offensive and defensive rhythm was not so fast, and we focused on positional warfare.
Then in positional battles, I will be more efficient, so it shows that when I have more assists, the game will be more difficult.
But this season is different. We play faster, have stronger perimeter offensive capabilities, are faster, and have a lot of fast breaks, which makes us more efficient, so what you see, my There were more assists, but the team also won because most of my assists were passes in the fast break. "
"Feilong, will the team always play this kind of high-tempo, fast-attack, and defense small-ball tactics?" Thomas, the reporter accompanying the team, asked.
"It depends on the situation, mainly on our lineup. I can't answer you more, because this is coach Nelson's question. He is responsible for formulating tactics and I am responsible for executing tactics." Zhao Dong said with a smile.
"Feilong, what do you think of the Spurs?" a local reporter asked.
Zhao Dong smiled and said: "The Spurs must strengthen the outside line. The third position is very important. The small forward can connect the inside and outside, and can quickly help defend the inside line. The Spurs are short of this position. Of course, now we are the Knicks as well."
An hour later, the Knicks and Spurs press conferences were held one after another.
At the Spurs press conference, even at home, there were only about 10 or 20 reporters, including half of the cameramen and assistants. It was very deserted.
"Coach Popovich, we lost to the Knicks again. What do you want to say about your team's lineup? Do we have any hope of winning the championship this season?"
asked a local sports reporter.
"It's just a regular season game. There's no need to take it too seriously. We still have a very eager pursuit of the championship." Popovich said.
"In this game, we double-teamed Feilong in the low post, but Feilong scored 30+ points in the third quarter. Are we really sure to beat the Knicks?"
The reporter was a little suspicious.
Popovich said seriously: "I said, this is just a regular season game. I can't say more. Once we face the Knicks again in the finals, I will let you see what you want to see."
"Is it a double-teaming tactic without the ball? You did not use this defensive tactic in this game. Do you have reservations?"
the reporter asked.
Popovich said forcefully: "I have no comment on that."
"Tim, what do you want to say about tonight's loss?" another reporter asked.
"We still need to work harder, including the management." Duncan said.
"You mean the team needs reinforcements?" the reporter asked.
Popovich looked at Duncan, feeling a little worried. How could he have the money to strengthen his team? The boss will only take money from the team and cannot give any money.
Duncan said at this time: "The Lakers, the Knicks, and the digital team are all very strong. With our current lineup, I think it will indeed be a bit difficult. Our lineup has obvious weaknesses.
In this game, the Knicks' offensive and defensive rhythm was too fast, and our perimeter couldn't keep up. This was the key reason for the loss. I hope the management can see this. "
Over the past two years, he and his agent team have discussed related issues countless times. His agent team has very strong opinions on the Spurs' stingy team construction, which naturally affects him.
At the same time, he has almost no commercial value in this small city, and even though the Spurs reached the Finals last season, they received little attention. His agent team has been persuading him to leave and go to a larger city.
To be honest, he was indeed a little disappointed with the team.
He came in through the draft, and apart from him, the team has not traded any significant star in the past two seasons. They are all role players. Such construction and investment are simply too stingy.
Moreover, his shots in the team have been restricted. Although he doesn't have much objection, he is somewhat unhappy.
He took a lot of shots today, but that was a special situation. The Knicks did not double-team him and there were no good opportunities on the outside. They had to let him play more. It was not that he had so many shots.
Duncan's words at the press conference aroused speculation in the media.
“Tim Duncan blasts management!”
"Duncan intends to leave the Spurs!"
The next morning, various media speculations about the Spurs and Duncan came out and caused a stir.
Duncan was a little helpless. He usually didn't want to pay attention to him, but now there were a lot of media wanting to interview him.
After winning against the Spurs, the Knicks rushed to Houston overnight, and they were going to play Mosaic back-to-back the next day.
At noon that day, Alan Houston and Dameng invited Zhao Dong to lunch.
Alan Houston is Houston's unbeatable main shooting guard. Originally, he had a chance to become Houston's star after Big Dream, but this year the team picked up Francis, so it's hard to say. Maybe after Big Dream retires, he I have to continue to be the second child.
Zhao Dong talked about the investment issue. Dameng's 8 million US dollars has been handed over to him. Alan Houston's original investment funds in the Storm have all been redeemed. Now he also hopes to invest with him again. He wants to talk about the situation.
The investment plan he prepared was to invest all the funds of NBA stars in stocks with potential in the US stock market, such as Apple.
After talking about investment issues, he and Dameng talked about Dayao's performance.
The first month of play is almost over. Dayao's performance is very stable, averaging 22+9.5 per game. This is an All-Star performance. Some media have already given him the title of peaking after his debut, and some media think it is still needed. Sustained performance.
Dameng smiled proudly and said: "Yao's pace has helped him a lot. He is so tall but very flexible. This allows him to not have to fight against those muscular sticks in the low post. Coupled with his height, he is very flexible in the low post." He is a big killer on the offensive end. As long as he is given one or two more seasons, he will definitely reach higher heights."
Zhao Dong laughed. Is this Dameng’s credit for reminding him?
In his last life, Dayao had the skills of Shanghai dance steps. He had very good coordination, flexibility and balance. In this life, he has been trained by Da Meng, and his low-position moves are indeed much better than in his previous life.