Basketball: Starting from the Rodman template

Chapter 169 Playing Spurs

Tim Duncan is a cool guy.

Many people may not know this, but everyone on the Spurs team knows it, especially Popovich. When he heard Duncan make such comments about Woody, he knew that this man had a terrible smile. , going to play a very beautiful game tonight.

From Duncan's perspective, it's understandable that he thinks so. After all, Woody has never performed anything particularly impressive against him.

As a "cool hero" who "reaches the peak of his career" since his debut, Tim Duncan will naturally think that this is another junior newcomer who can increase his reputation points.

Your myth ends here!
hum!

Give me a shot of "Windmill in Place" and "The Future is Yours!"

Shaq teased before the game: "I know very well that this is a changing league. Some very popular voices about this league will gradually become less concerned as time goes by. Well, just like me Every encounter with Tim used to be the biggest focus, but it is no longer the case. Of course, I also understand everyone’s thoughts, because I am also looking forward to the encounter between these two people, which will definitely be very exciting!”

These words can be regarded as getting to the point.

Just like many people who cheat, the reason is nothing more than three words:
Freshness!
In fact, everyone already knows what the duel between Shaq and Tim Duncan will be like after watching so many games.

But people are a little curious about what kind of exciting game the fully evolved Woody will produce against Tim Duncan.

Before Shaq entered the scene at night, he said to Woody: "Man, this is a tough guy, you have to be mentally prepared!"

He gave Woody a special instruction.

Although he knew that this was not the first time Woody had played against Tim Duncan, he knew one thing very well: Woody had definitely never faced "Full Dun" before, and that was a competition on another level.

Judging from his observations of Woody over the past few days, Woody is very likely to force Tim Duncan into that state.

That was a very difficult guy to deal with, and he hoped Woody would cheer up and not confuse Tim Duncan with his past opponents.

Normally, he wouldn't say this to his teammates, but after getting along with him these days, he can feel that Woody has grown beyond that, and he has developed a sense of support from his seniors.

Most seniors are willing to impart their experience, as long as they see the talent you have.

This was the Heat's away game, and the Spurs' home game that night was "overcrowded."

This is not a city with a strong basketball atmosphere.

Of course, this may also be related to the Spurs being too strong all year round.

Just like the most popular sport in the United States is football, basketball ranks third; and in China, the "Kingdom of Table Tennis", table tennis ranks even lower...

However, the more important reason should be that the entire style of the Spurs is too team-oriented. As the absolute core, Tim Duncan is ridiculously strong, but his style of play is too unpretentious and his personality is boring. He is not like the stars in other cities. Publicity.

The old American who likes to live a busy life is not very interested in this style, which leads to the low attendance rate of the Spurs.

They often rely on their opponents to sell tickets.

When they face opponents at home who have superstars on their team, their home attendance is significantly higher.

Normally, the attendance rate is basically the lowest in the league.

Facing the Heat tonight, who have two "super rookies" and "superstars" in Woody and Shaq, it is no different from the Chinese New Year.

Just watching tonight, you would think this is a team with a great basketball atmosphere.

The atmosphere before the start did not feel like a big battle was about to begin. Although the cameras on the sidelines could hardly be moved anymore, both sides hugged and said hello when they should.

Tim Duncan took the initiative to hug Shaquille O'Neal. The two didn't know what they said. Tim Duncan came over and said hello to Woody: "Man, you are so hot now!"

When the hug ended and he let go, he squeezed Woody's bicep. This obscene look made it really hard for people to believe that he was actually the best power forward currently in service in the league and even in the entire history.

That’s probably what the saying “You shouldn’t judge a person by his appearance” means, right?
The photo of him hugging Tim Duncan was also captured by reporters at the scene in time. N years later, it will become an "old photo" that resonates with a generation of fans.

The legend begins now.

The foundation of an alliance is also composed of these "old photos".

The big screen at the scene showed the starting lineups of both sides. There were no changes on the Heat's side, and it was still the usual lineup since the new season:

Alston at No. [-], Wade at No. [-], Gerald Wallace at No. [-], Woody at No. [-], and Shaquille O'Neal at No. [-].

For the Spurs, the starting lineup is: No. [-] Tony Parker, No. [-] Manu Ginobili, No. [-] Bruce Bowen, No. [-] Tim Duncan, No. [-] Rasu- Nesterovich;

The Spurs did not make any moves this summer. Not only did they not make any moves, they also lost Hedo Turkoglu, a very useful bench player. Of course, this is considered normal for the Spurs.

Because the Spurs owner "Old Tractor Prince" has only a few assets, Popovich lives a tight life every year, and every penny must be spent wisely.This has also made the Spurs a "dream training camp for minimum-salary players", and many players who have already established themselves in the league have come out of here.

For example, Jackson, the current starting wing of the Pacers; and Turkoglu, who was just snatched away by the Magic this summer for 6 million in 3800 years.

The best thing about Popovich is that he can always find some "treasure boys" with the late first or second round picks and minimum salary contracts.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with the Spurs' "gold rush" thinking.

When the United States was not paying much attention to overseas markets, the Spurs used the late first-round pick and the second-round pick to acquire Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.Both men have now become a force in the middle for the Spurs.

As other teams gradually discovered overseas markets, Popovich began to pay attention to other teams' "water cooler players" and some fringe players in the league that no one dared to use due to off-court problems.

This is how Jackson and Turkoglu became successful.

But not every year Popovich can be so "sighted". For example, this year, after losing Turkoglu, Popovich did not get any high-quality "treasure boy".

However, with Tim Duncan and the grown-up Manu and Tony Parker, this team is at the forefront of the league. In the rankings of major media, the Spurs in the new season are still among the best. The "favorite" in the eyes of the big media!
The "troika" already has the capital to impact the "historic trio".

Before the game started, Stan Van Gundy specifically called everyone in front of him, clapped his thick palms vigorously, and reminded him in a harsh voice: "Everyone, from now on, cheer up..."

Popovich is an agent, so this guy especially likes to play off-the-table tricks.

In Stan's opinion, the relaxed atmosphere before the game was his strategy. He was sure that as soon as the game started, the Spurs would immediately increase their intensity.

He must remind the Heat not to be fooled by the opponent's appearance.

Otherwise, they are all working for a living in this alliance. No one is working for a living, they are all human beings.

Stan Van Gundy's reminder is very important. As soon as the Spurs came up and did not get the first offensive right, they immediately launched a close press. However, the current Heat are also a team that has experienced the baptism of the Eastern Conference finals. They have seen big players. The scene was not messed up with such a "strange move".

Alston immediately passed the ball to Wade, who came to respond. Wade continued to pass the ball to Gerald Wallace.

As soon as the Spurs saw the ball passing halftime, they gave up and continued to press.The ball was back in Alston's hands again.

In the Heat's first round, look for Shaquille O'Neal first!
The Spurs are the favorites to win the championship this season. Facing such a team, Shaq, as the person with the highest annual salary in the team, should bear more responsibilities than usual.

But what people didn't expect was that as soon as Shaq got the ball, Rasu, who was opposite him, immediately fouled him. The referee on the sidelines blew the whistle, and Shaquille O'Neal had a confused look on his face.

This……

Are you going to "cut the shark" as soon as you come up?

He looked at Popovich. The old man was sitting there and showed a wicked smile to Shaquille O'Neal on the court.

This is not the first time he has done something like this. The last time he wished Shaq a happy birthday, he also fouled him at the beginning.

It once became a famous scene in the NBA.

This time is obviously not to celebrate Shaq's birthday, but to disrupt Shaquille O'Neal's mentality from the beginning.

This is a risk. If Shaq holds on, Rasu will be fouled from the beginning.But Popovich's coaching is like this. People who dare to directly "five up and five down" have a different attitude towards this kind of regular season.

The troops are taking risks and let's see the effect. If the effect is good, this move may become a "killer" in the future, and it can also leave a little shadow on Shaq.

If it doesn't work out and it's a mess, it's just a regular season game, no big deal.

Shaq walked onto the court in resignation.

For him, the hardest thing about playing basketball is standing in front of the free throw line and shooting the damn basketball into the damn basket.

"Dangdang!"

Not surprisingly, he missed his first free throw.

Popovich showed a satisfied smile. Even if he made 2 of 1 free throws, it would be considered effective.

Shaquille O'Neal made a slight adjustment in the face of the boos that became more enthusiastic. This time the basketball bounced on the basket three times and fell in. However, when he retreated from O'Neal, he looked like he was mumbling something. It can be seen that he was a little bit upset about not making the first free throw.

How can anyone "cut the shark" as soon as they come up?
Isn't this just perverted?

You also have to come to the NBA and become a head coach. Otherwise, you really don’t necessarily have to get in.

With this kind of personality, he can’t do anything beneficial to society!
Just wait, "Shark Officer" will arrest you sooner or later!

It was the Spurs' turn to attack.

The success of the "shark-cutting tactic" is equivalent to giving the Spurs an offensive opportunity in vain.

Tony Parker held the ball past half-court. Amid Popovich's scolding, he began to observe the positions of his teammates and opponents.

The "little French sports car" has been able to grow to the current level:
Last season's 14.7 points and 5.5 assists, and the 17.4 points and 6 assists in the games just finished this season are inseparable from Popovich's continuous scolding on the sidelines.

Some players are easily confused after taking the field, and a voice must be constantly reminding them in their ears before they can perform well.

Tim Duncan actively stepped forward to do pick-and-rolls.

Alston was easily blocked.

It's just that Woody here also successfully changed defense, blocking Tony Parker like a hill.

As a representative of speed point guards, Parker actually does not rely on "slamming on the accelerator" to suddenly accelerate and complete breakthroughs. Compared with ordinary speed point guards, he has a lot more rhythm.

This is a breakthrough player with details.

Especially the turn with one hand took advantage of the "time difference" to the extreme.

Let's put it this way, Tony Parker held up Woody's long arm all the way to the inside, and then used a sudden turn to gain space to throw the ball.

You must know that Woody's height and wingspan are the sky above his head, but Woody was stunned when he took action and could not completely envelope him.

Something!

But it's really difficult to challenge Woody.

It was true that the ball flew from Woody's head toward the basket, but when Parker took the shot, he couldn't see the position of the basket at all, and he just took the shot based on his own feeling.

"Dangdang!"

There were no surprises with this ball, and the sound of the iron was very crisp.

The ball flew out of the rim, and Shaquille O'Neal got on top of Rasu and stuck it, but that was about it.

As the league's famous "human shield", Rasu is not afraid of players as big as Shaquille O'Neal. Even if he can't stand up to him, he can still block him and prevent him from playing more.

He is truly a "master of exchange"!
Of course, just him and Shaquille O'Neal are making money no matter how you look at it.

In this way, the responsibility of grabbing boards on both sides is placed in the hands of teammates in the fourth position.

Woody went up against Tim Duncan.

One was the "rebound king" as soon as he debuted, and the other, although he has not won the rebound title since his debut, still averages more than 10 rebounds per game all year round.

The collision between them...

"beep!"

It ended with the referee blowing the whistle.

Tim Duncan's ability to judge the bounce of the rebound was beyond Woody's expectation. When the ball flew out, Woody was successfully blocked by Tim Duncan. Woody could only force a rebound attempt from behind him, but was fouled on the rebound. .

In the first round of the competition, Tim Duncan performed "experience teaching".

The ball belongs to the Spurs.

The team here probably knew that Tim Duncan got the ball back, so they began to observe his position and gave the ball to Tim Duncan.

When he got the ball, Woody behind him exerted force...

On the bar!
(End of this chapter)