The Basketball Court Swordsman

Manu Ginobili and Burris Dior, this is Popovich’s attempt to prevent the Pacers from continuing to expand their advantage. Both of these guys are very "demon". Ginobili has the most creative passing in the league and the most unpredictable offense.

And Burris Dior's basketball IQ is also very "Spurs", as a fourth position, he can often use magical passes to help the team open the situation. Of course, Dior's excellent shooting level also allows him to hit every position on the basketball court.

Popovich replaced these two men just to keep the Spurs up to the pace of the Pacers. At the same time, he also wanted to play the kind of quick three-point attack at the beginning of the first quarter.

But Popovich didn't know, Henson had already dealt with it.

For the first time after the dead ball, Ginobili successfully layup with an angry "snake breakthrough", allowing the Spurs to regain a 2-point lead.

Henson curled his lips. Ginobili is indeed a powerful player. He may be one of the most underrated players in the league. In his prime, Manu can definitely play against the league's top two positions, but limited by factors such as playing time, number of shots and team roles, his data is not so "exploded."

Imagine that a top second position in the league can still squeeze a lot of power even at the age of 37.

The breakthrough just now is the best proof.

Ginobili is indeed an amazing player, maybe one or two rounds, maybe one or two games. But if the time scale is changed to one season, Ginobili's state is undoubtedly fluctuating.

Therefore, Henson is not worried that he will be killed by Ginobili. This 37-year-old veteran guard is the catalyst for the Spurs to kill the game, but there is no way to kill the game on their own.

Moreover, Henson's tactics are mainly to block the Spurs' three-point shots in rapid advancement. As long as that point is sealed, the tactic is successful.

Sure enough, Ginobili's goal did not stop the Pacers' momentum. After the offensive and defensive transition, Leonard once again used his athletic ability to hit Bellinelli.

Due to the small lineup, the "Greek monster" Antetokounmpo is facing Duncan at this time. But as everyone knows, Antetokounmpo has no long-range shooting ability, so Duncan still sticks to the basket, ready to make up for any Pacers who dare to break into the penalty area.

Leonard used his speed and strong body to crush Belinelli into the three-second zone, and Duncan naturally moved his own pace.

Seeing Duncan's replacement, Leonard did not intend to challenge the same expressionless number 21 as himself. He looked at the basket grimly, but with a flick of his wrist, he passed the ball from the gap between Duncan and Belinelli to Antetokounmpo, who was walking from the three-point line to the middle distance.

Antetokounmpo took the ball and shot without hesitation. And his near-invincible height made it unnecessary for Parker and Ginobili to defend. Because even if it is sealed, it will not interfere with his shooting.

Antetokounmpo does not use shooting as the main offensive weapon, but to survive in the NBA and as an outside player, the basic shooting level is still necessary.

The Pacers themselves have Frazier, a well-known shooting coach who controls Antetokounmpo’s shots throughout the entire process, coupled with Henson’s badge that allows all players to progress faster, and Antetokounmpo’s diligent triple role. , So that his shooting has long been very different from entering the league.

Being completely emptied at the mid-range position, Antetokounmpo will not miss such a good opportunity. A beautiful mid-range shot made the Nets whitewash, and the Pacers tied the score again.

Popovich was unable to sit down, and the Pacers' big and four juniors made him have no good way to deal with it. On the defensive end, the Pacers are too fast. On the offensive end, Duncan couldn't have much advantage at this point. After all, the Pacers' defensive system allowed them to double-team Duncan very timely. The timely double-teaming will make Duncan's scoring trouble.

That being the case, Popovich naturally hopes that the team will seek opportunities beyond the three-point line. And Parker, who has followed Popovich for many years, obviously thought of going with him.

In this offense, Parker deliberately speeded up, trying to catch the Pacers by surprise when the opponent's defense has not yet fully formed, just like at the beginning of the first quarter.

However, the French found that it was not easy to play the offense at the beginning of the first quarter at this time. Because no matter how Ginobili, Belinelli and Dior move, the Pacers' defense will not be messy!

They would rather empty the restricted area and strictly enforce man-to-man defense. Parker found himself once again in the awkward situation just now, that is, he couldn't find a passer.

When Parker watched his teammates for a while, but found that none of them had a chance to catch the ball, he himself had jumped to the free throw line.

Stopping the ball in this position is undoubtedly a big taboo for point guards. But what if you make a hasty shot? Parker was afraid of wasting the opportunity.

As a result, the "French Sports Car" simply went around and ran back to the three-point line, slowly. But in this way, the Spurs' offense has become a positional offense! Both Popovich and Parker can feel that the Spurs have become increasingly difficult to score goals.

This time, the Spurs were not so lucky. Parker's mid-range jumper shot out of the box. After all, Ginobili's spirituality just now isn't something everyone has.

"In the first half of the game, the Spurs played extremely high offensive efficiency. I said at the time that they couldn't maintain this state in all four quarters! And the Pacers can easily perform as before. Now, when the Spurs started not scoring goals. Sure enough, the defending champions began to exert their strength. The Spurs once again missed an offense and Antetokounmpo got a rebound. He was very active today, and this quick push is also very fast! "

Fortunately, the cunning and experienced Burris Dior didn't let Antetokounmpo rush to speed this time. But Antetokounmpo stopped, but the ball did not stop. He quickly found Paul, which has become a reflex of every Pacers player. When you don’t know what to do with the ball, go to Paul.

Paul teased Parker with a fake fax and plunged into the penalty area. Duncan finally caught up this time, and if he was four or five years younger, he would definitely be able to stage a shock. But Duncan in 2014 could only use one foul to stop Paul.

"Duncan has tried his best, but as we said before, the Pacers' offensive speed is too fast."

Popovich became more anxious, his face flushed from the sidelines. On the surface, the Spurs are not far behind. But the father himself knew very well that the situation had become more and more dangerous.

The third quarter match seemed to be a replica of the second quarter match. It's just that the suppressed and suppressed teams swapped wins and losses.

The Pacers played vigorously with their juniors and seniors, but the Spurs' quick three-pointers didn't work.

At the end of the third quarter, Popovich had lost the composure he had before, instead yelling from the bench. The Pacers, who was 8 points behind, are now 7 points ahead.

Before the start of the fourth quarter, Henson made a bold decision. Becky Harmon and Vogel didn't approve of this decision at first, but after a careful thought, how could Henson fight an unprepared battle?

Sure enough, in the fourth quarter, the Spurs gradually adapted to the rhythm of one big and four small, and the difference between the two sides was also testing back and forth on the edge of double digits.

I have to say that the Spurs are really old and determined. In exchange, the Heat was hit by such a fast-paced offense, and it is estimated that they would have been washed away long ago. But the Spurs, who looked more "weak" in the lineup, survived to the end.

In the last 2 minutes of the game, Ginobili's goal narrowed the difference to 8 points. With 8 points, single digits, the Spurs still have hope.

But when Popovich had just ignited hope, Henson paused. After a short pause, the field changed again.

Henson replaced Al Horford with Jimmy Butler, which means that in the last 2 minutes of the game, Henson sent his death five team!

Seeing Butler on the court, Popovich's heart "cocked" and fell to the bottom. The pace of the Pacers has been upgraded from a major and a fourth minor to a fifth minor.

What about the Spurs players? They are already out of breath...

Popovich stopped roaring suddenly, and rubbed his forehead angrily. This guy Henson Joe is determined to leave his name in the history of the league.