Pick Westbrook

Chapter 414

Chapter 414

5 month 13 day.

The second round of the playoffs is over.

The Spurs and the Kings had a tie-breaker, and the old Spurs were almost overturned by the Kings' youth army.

Fortunately, Ginobili blocked James Harden's lore three-pointer at the last moment, and the Spurs struggled to reach the Western Conference Finals.

这轮系列赛詹姆斯哈登和保罗乔治的表现让全世界为之瞩目，两人一人场均28分4篮板8助攻，一人26分6篮板4助攻2抢断1盖帽。

If it wasn't for the Kings being too slow in the reserve of inside players, making Duncan dream back to the series data of 20+10, the Kings would not have fallen short at the critical moment.

This also means that the Pelicans' next opponent in the Western Conference Finals will be the San Antonio Spurs.

Du Feng said fortunately: "The GDP of the Spurs is already old. In the first round, they also had a hand-to-hand battle with the Grizzlies with strong interior defense for a total of 6 games."

"Now there is a tiebreaker with the Kings, how much stamina does the Spurs have to fight us?"

Stevens frowned and said: "Although the fast Spurs are indeed at a disadvantage in terms of physical strength, they have been playing and fighting like a tight string, and their potential has been brought to the extreme."

"If we slack off a little bit, it is very likely that we will capsize in the gutter. After all, the Spurs and Popovich are the most slippery teams in the league."

Li Lai nodded and agreed, "Popovich is not an easy opponent to deal with, and GDP is also a headache."

"We should go all out against the Spurs and think ahead of time to be able to suppress their tactical play."

"By the way, what's the situation in the east?"

Hearing Li Lai's inquiry, Du Feng talked about interesting stories about the Eastern Conference playoffs.

In this much-anticipated game between the Knicks and the Bucks, and the contest between former teammates Westbrook and Jeremy Lin, everyone originally thought that the two teams would play extremely anxiously, after all, their strengths are very equal.

But in the end, the Knicks defeated the Bucks very easily 4:1.

After losing Yi Jianlian and Danny Green one after another, the strength and defense of the Bucks on the front line have dropped significantly. In this round of the series, they successfully locked Jeremy Lin and allowed him to average only 9 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists per game. , the insider Tyson Chandler also played mediocre, and was completely blown away by Cousins.

Cousins ​​scored an average of 23 points and 11 rebounds per game in this round of the series, fully proving that he is really worthy of the title of the future league's No. [-] center.

但锋线上的安东尼和沉寂已久的斯塔德迈尔双双爆发，前者场均29分6篮板3助攻，后者20分10篮板。

Westbrook had a triple-double in the series, averaging 26 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists per game, but his shooting percentage was only 42% from the field and 30% from three-pointers.

A reporter reminded that since coach Li Lai left the Bucks, Westbrook's shooting percentage has been declining year by year. Some fans even named his shooting a zombie jumper and nicknamed him Westbrook. Brutie.

After the game, Westbrook was bombarded by countless fans and media reporters, bluntly saying that he is completely unworthy to be the leader of a team, and Cousins ​​is even more qualified than him.

But in fact, who doesn't know Cousins' violent temper, he was never suitable to be the leader of a team.

Fortunately, the local fans in Milwaukee still regard Westbrook as their hero and idol. After all, among the players when the Bucks won the championship, only Westbrook has been steadfast in staying with the team.

Another set of contests was even less suspenseful. The Heat once again easily swept the Bulls 4:0.

The Heat have also become the only team in the league that has never lost a game.

5 month 16 day.

"finally come!"

"Western Finals!"

"The first matchup is the Pelicans vs. the San Antonio Spurs."

"Director Su, what do you think of this round of the series?"

Hearing Yu Jia's curious question, Su Qun thought for a while and said, "Of course the Pelicans are stronger. After all, their lineup reserve is very perfect, and they can have a variety of lineups."

"Playing against a team like the Pelicans, you can feel that each of their players has the ability to turn the tide."

"Because they showed their characteristics and abilities."

"Of course, don't underestimate the Spurs. After getting Danny Green this season, their lineup has become more and more complete."

"The Spurs are also a very solid team. You never know what surprises they can bring you."

on the field.

Li Lai and Popovich embraced each other tightly.

Popovich smiled and looked at the boy in front of him and said, "Boy, let's meet again, don't try to pass me this time."

Li Lai said with a smile: "Grandpa, you don't even have a player who can match up with James. It's a wave of success to reach the finals. Go home and watch our game with peace of mind."

Popovich shook his head and jokingly said: "Don't say it so early, the Heat haven't reached the finals yet, and the Knicks are not a soft persimmon."

"We may not meet them in the Finals. If it is against the Knicks, I have many ways to deal with Anthony."

After finishing speaking, Popovich couldn't help but take another look at Leonard who was warming up for the Pelicans.

"This hand is really long, and the big slap is really big."

Immediately afterwards, Popovich took another look at the really fragrant Danny Green in the team, thinking about when to get Leonard over again, then the work of the Spurs' new and old replacements will be completed.

"This Li Lai, the players under his hands are really fragrant."

The game starts soon.

Pelicans starting lineup: Chris Paul, Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis and DeAndre Jordan.

Spurs starting lineup: point guard Tony Parker, shooting guard Gary Neal, small forward Danny Green, power forward Tim Duncan and center Thiago Splitter.

Halftime jump ball, Thiago Splitter jumped off the first wave of possession for the Spurs.

Tony Parker advanced with the ball. Facing the experienced Spurs, the Pelicans did not show a very high defensive intensity as soon as they came up.

Tony Parker landed at the top of the arc and passed the ball to Duncan at the free throw line, and then immediately accelerated to run and cut into the basket.

Duncan passed the ball behind the head, and Tony Parker got rid of Paul's one-step defense and faced the empty basket.

boom!

"So fast!"

Anthony Davis behind him came from behind and directly pressed Tony Parker from the air for a one-handed layup, and the Pelicans made a fast break.

Anthony Davis picked up the rebound without hesitation and quickly passed the ball to Paul.

Paul immediately accelerated and shouted towards the frontcourt: "Counterattack fast break!"

Leonard and Jimmy Butler accelerated their push and counterattacked and fell to the frontcourt. Paul jumped high and passed the ball with one hand and directly found Jimmy Butler who was about to come down.

The Spurs' Gary Neal and Danny Green both kept up.

After Jimmy Butler caught the ball and threw it behind him, Leonard caught the ball and landed and jumped again.

boom!

Score with one hand.

"The Pelicans' counterattack is too fast. The Spurs should pay attention. It is difficult for their aging lineup to keep up with the Pelicans' counterattack."

"The most important thing is that both Leonard and Jimmy Butler have very strong finishing ability, even if Gary Neal and Danny Green keep up with the defense, it won't help much."

"If you want to completely limit the Pelicans' double quick play, at least three defenders must participate."

Barkley reminded.

As soon as the Spurs came up, they were caught for a conversion, which made Popovich a little angry.

In just the first round of offense, he has already discovered the main tactical strategy and style of play of the Pelicans when they played against them.

Just one word, fast!

The Spurs' main defense is on the inside and on Duncan. Regardless of Duncan's 37 years old, his defense is still rock solid.

In terms of perimeter defense, the Spurs mainly rely on Gary Neal and Danny Green.

It's just that the defense of the two is good in terms of defensive awareness, and how can they limit Leonard and Jimmy Butler in terms of defensive talent.

This means that the Spurs have to use more people to defend the Pelicans' perimeter players.

Who is going?

Duncan is old, Thiago Splitter is a clumsy center, and after going out, he can't come back at all.

Not every team has flexible interior defensive players like Bosh, Stoudemire, Yi Jianlian, and Anthony Davis.

Popovich looked embarrassed at the moment.

"The defensive area of ​​​​the guy Anthony Davis is really too scary."

on the field.

Duncan once again sent the basketball to the basket with three slow steps.

Anthony Davis looked at the old fritter Duncan angrily, he still had nothing to do with the opponent.

During the regular season, Duncan taught Anthony Davis a good lesson. That time, it was Anthony Davis who failed to defend the opponent and caused the Pelicans to lose the game.

This time it's the same.

"If you defend Duncan, if you take off, then he will use his feet to rely on you to play. Most talented inside players are bullied by Duncan in this way."

"If the defensive player can't jump, then he will hit you with a 10-centimeter jumper and a low single. A defensive player who doesn't have a jumping player, no matter how good your talent is, you won't be able to display it at all."

"This is the magic weapon that Duncan relies on to survive on the court now, and it is also the experience he has gained in more than ten years of career."

"Thick eyebrows that can't jump are no different from Duncan, which is why he was blown up."

"What's more, Duncan also has tactics such as supporting the ball, low-post singles, and high-post pick-and-rolls. Defensive players will be led by the nose even more."

Stevens looked at the screen on the court and said.

Li Lai nodded and said: "So defending Duncan must pay attention to timing and a clear analysis of the situation on the court. This is about basketball IQ."

"Nongmei is still too young, and his ability to read the game is not that strong yet."

Hearing this, Du Feng immediately defended his shortcomings and said: "But he has worked very hard with his thick eyebrows, and he has been thinking about how to limit Duncan."

"Because of the loss in the regular season, Nong Mei blamed himself very much."

"He knows that the team is built on defense, with Paul, Leonard and Jimmy Butler on the outside, and him and Jordan on the inside."

"But at the critical moment, we will win Jordan, so he is the key to our inside line and the core of our five dead players."

This is Li Lai's long-term plan for the Pelicans, the death five with thick eyebrows as the core, and four players with strong defensive capabilities on the outside.

Paul can switch, he's smart against tall guys, he has a lot of tricks, and most importantly, he has strength.

Not to mention Leonard and Jimmy Butler, the core of the Pelicans' perimeter defense.

Then through the opponent to decide JR Smith or Vince Carter, Dior to play, this is the five small lineup of the Pelicans.

A mature lineup of five small teams, but not yet perfect.

If there can be a striker as strong as Leonard and Jimmy Butler, then the Pelicans' defensive system is truly perfect.

But all of this is based on the thick eyebrows of the inside line. He is the most important part and core of the tactical system.

"So, we need to help the thick eyebrows read the game."

"Because this is a rookie season with thick eyebrows, his career has just begun, and it is a bit too difficult for him to read everything that happens on the court."

"We have to tell him exactly what he needs to do on the pitch and that's it."

Li Lai folded his arms and looked at the court and said.

In the following dead ball session, Popovich, who was dizzy by the Pelicans' quick whirlwind, took the big center Tiago Splitter and pushed Duncan to the center position.

At the same time, the Spurs won the team's best sixth shemale knife, Manu Ginobili.

Compared with the previous two rounds of the series, Ginobili played earlier.

With this lineup, the Spurs are extremely flexible, and they are trying their best to keep up with the speed of the Pelicans.

Li Lai also changed players, took Jordan Jr., took Vince Carter, and told Anthony Davis to say.

"Thick eyebrows, defend Duncan and keep him away from the inside as much as possible. As he gets older, his breakthrough pace has slowed down. As long as he is not given a safe distance to get close to the basket with the first step, even if he has footsteps, it is useless."

"Of course you also need to guard against his 45-degree angle hitting the board. He is very accurate in that position."

Having been reminded by Li Lai, the thick eyebrows nodded again and again, and there was a very pleasant surprise in his eyes.

Why didn't he think of it!

As long as Duncan is kept away from the penalty area, his power will be greatly reduced, and the entire offensive system of the Spurs will also collapse.

In the subsequent game, Nongmei and Duncan fought hand-to-hand on the court, and the two pushed inside again and again.

Duncan also knows that he is no longer the flying devil of the past, so if he wants to continue to dominate the court now, he must be close to the basket.

In the fight with Anthony Davis, Duncan has been fighting against each other, wanting more inside kills.

Don't look at Duncan's name as Shifo, it's not much different from being red-eyed when fighting inside.

In the second half of the first quarter, thick eyebrows restricted Duncan from scoring a point, but he also committed two fouls at the same time.

The second game.

The Pelicans' luxurious bench lineup is on the field, Beverly, JR Smith, Vince Carter, Diaw and Oden.

The Spurs' bench lineup is Patrick Mills, Corey Joseph, Ginobili, DeJuan Blair and Matt Bonner.

This lineup is led by Ginobili alone.

Without Duncan and Danny Green, the Spurs' defensive strength has declined significantly.

JR Smith exploded in the face of Corey Joseph, making 7 of 4 shots in a single quarter and 3 of 2 three-pointers, directly stopping the Spurs.

Popovich had to take Tony Parker ahead of time to improve the Spurs' scoring ability.

Originally, Popovich wanted Tony Parker, Duncan and Ginobili to get some rest time in the first game, and not to play so tightly.

After all, the contest with the Grizzlies and the Kings has already consumed a lot of vitality of the Spurs.

but.

"Pelicans, it's hard!"

Halftime is over.

The Pelicans lead the Spurs 52:44.

(End of this chapter)