Legendary star

Chapter 731 Really Cool
"Darco, great job!"

At the end of the first quarter, Darko Milicic also unfortunately got the second foul of the game. Like NN-Hilario, he had to leave the field early, but in Darko- When Milicic left the field, he was not greeted with complaints and blame, but the comfort of coach Rick Carlisle and the encouragement of his teammates on the sidelines.

Although Darko Milicic only made 7 of 2 shots and only scored 1 points in 2 minutes of playing time, but Darko Milicic’s contribution on the defensive end is obvious to all. Before, Tim Duncan made 3 of 2 shots, 4 of 3 free throws, and scored 3 points in less than 7 minutes. In the 7 minutes after Darko Milicic came on the court, Tim Duncan was He made 5 of 2 shots and 3 of 2 free throws. The offensive efficiency was greatly reduced.

Darko Milicic's performance and contribution on the field were undoubtedly recognized by his teammates and the audience. Therefore, when Darko Milicic was replaced by Jeff Foster, the audience also Applause and cheers for Darko Milicic.

"It's such a reckless waste!" Looking at the Pacers who replaced Jeff Foster after Darko Milicic made two fouls, Popovich on the sidelines was both envious and helpless. After NN-Hilario Darko Milicic, followed by Darko Milicic and Jeff Foster, with Mutombo still sitting on the bench, the luxury of the Pacers inside makes Popovich drool.

Since David Robinson retired and Liv LaFrentz was poached by the Mavericks, Popovich has been looking for a suitable starting center, but he has been looking for it. So far, Popovich has not found a suitable candidate , but looking at the Pacers, Darko Milicic, the most improved player this season, is even talented enough to become the cornerstone of a rebuilding team. As for another substitute, Jeff Foster, although not famous Obviously, but this is also a fierce man who can grab 20 rebounds after playing 7 minutes. If he changes to another team and averages about 35 minutes per game, he can definitely compete for the rebounding champion, but such a player is in It is really distressing to watch the Pacers play as a substitute.

26 to 27, after the end of the first quarter, the Pacers overtook the Spurs by one point. This result is undoubtedly an acceptable result for both the Pacers and the Spurs.

Although Tim Duncan dominates the basket, the Pacers' inside strength is not weak. Four outstanding insiders take turns to play, constantly consuming Tim Duncan's physical strength, which directly leads to the continuous decline of Tim Duncan's scoring efficiency , coupled with the Spurs' outside line, was suppressed by the Pacers from the beginning to the end, so Popovich was still satisfied with the score at the end of the first quarter. In Popovich's view, the Spurs' five The starters have all performed at their highest level, even at a super level, so in this case, Popovich can't ask them too much.

Generally speaking, at the beginning of the second quarter, the main lineup that has played the entire game must take a break, but when the rotation lineups of both sides came on the field, Popovich found that Meng Xu unexpectedly Appeared again!After the start of today's game, in order to make up for the shortcomings of the Pacers as a substitute, Popovich put Manu Ginobili on the bench and arranged for him to play the sixth man. Fan Tianji's trick of horse racing, but he didn't expect that the Pacers would not give him a chance at all. Meng Xu, who has played the entire first quarter, is now playing with a rotation lineup.

Mutombo, NN Hilario, James Posey, Meng Xu, Chris Duhon, the Pacers' rotation, even if they compete with the Spurs' main lineup, they will not be too weak Yes, not to mention a group of veterans and rookies led by Ginobili, so after only 2 minutes in the second quarter, Popovich called a timeout and replaced all the main players in advance.

"The depth of the Pacers' lineup is too strong!" The Spurs replaced all the main players, but Rick Carlisle was unmoved by the Pacers and let Meng Xu continue the game with a rotation lineup, so watching Under Meng Xu's leadership, the Pacers' rotation lineup was on par with the Spurs' main lineup. Barkley on the sidelines commentary seat shook his head while sighing. The comparison of the two lineups, the Pacers' The advantage is simply too great.

"Do you think that Indiana's annual luxury tax of nearly 2000 million is for nothing?" After hearing Barkley's exclamation, Reggie Miller muttered very quietly. The total salary of the Pacers this season is 2000 higher than that of the Spurs. More than ten million dollars, second only to the Knicks and Mavericks, ranking third in the league, if the owner of the Pacers, Simon Brothers, is willing to spend a lot of money and pay the luxury tax every year, the Pacers would not be able to maintain such a strong lineup depth.

When playing with the main lineup, Meng Xu thinks more about it. Give the ball to the teammate who feels good, and give the ball to the teammate who is open. But when playing with a rotation lineup, Meng Xu has no idea There are so many worries, especially when Meng Xu and James Posey are on the court at the same time, James Posey will give up all attacks, surround Meng Xu with peace of mind, and act as a full-time thug for Meng Xu.

Therefore, the current situation on the court, although the Pacers' rotation lineup is against the Spurs' main lineup, but facing Meng Xu who is fully fired, the Spurs' main force cannot suppress the Pacers' rotation lineup at all, even though Tim Duncan still Duncan has an absolute advantage in the interior, but Duncan, who fought with the Pacers' three interiors for a whole quarter in the first quarter and was forced to play early in the second quarter without much rest, did not have enough physical strength to continue fighting with Meng Xu. answer-ball.

"This feeling is really cool!" After facing Robert Holly again and hitting a jumper, Meng Xu retreated and waved his arms fiercely. Meng Xu would not celebrate a goal that would make people feel excited, but today, after scoring consecutive goals and completely suppressing the Spurs on the field, Meng Xu felt a surge of excitement in his heart. An indescribable joy.

"Is this kid going to embarrass the Spurs?" Magic Johnson felt a little weird about Meng Xu's performance today. Probably since last season, Meng Xu has gradually developed the ability to preserve his strength in the regular season, and he can't wait until the critical moment. It is normal not to work hard, even in the finals of last season, Meng Xu did not try his best in few games, but this season's finals against the Spurs, Meng Xu showed his hard work as soon as he came up. The posture, the second quarter is only halfway through, Meng Xu has already scored 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. This has to make Magic Johnson doubt whether Meng Xu is right for his old man. The owner has an opinion.

Because both parties involved are tight-lipped, the disintegration of the Wake Forest duo is still an unsolved case until now. No one knows why Meng Xu and Duncan, who are known as the most promising duo in NBA history, are inexplicable Some said that Meng Xu and Duncan were at odds, some said that Meng Xu was dissatisfied with his position in the Spurs, and some said that the Spurs management was skeptical about the career of a yellow man. Those who are skeptical, they have everything they say anyway, but in the end most of them are gone, but now it seems that these media's speculations are not unreasonable, otherwise how can Meng Xu go all out when he sees the Spurs?
If Meng Xu knew what Magic Johnson was thinking at the moment, he would definitely shout for injustice. Kobe is not willing to lose to O'Neal, O'Neal loses to anyone and can't lose to Kobe. To put it bluntly, it is just a matter of self-esteem. In addition, now it is the finals, Meng Xu does not want to lose to Tim Duncan. up.

After the official timeout of the second quarter came, Rick Carlisle took advantage of the situation and replaced the main lineup. Originally, Rick Carlisle planned to let Meng Xu off the court to rest for a few minutes, but Meng Xu refused to live or die. - Carlisle had to let Meng Xu stay on the front court, and at the same time instructed Jermaine O'Neal to let him share more of the offensive end for Meng Xu, so that Meng Xu could save a little energy.

When the Pacers' main lineup came on the field, Tim Duncan also began to exert his strength. NN-Hilario, who did not receive a foul in the first half of the second quarter, was very active after the Pacers' main lineup came on the field. Sadly, he received the third foul in more than two days of the game, and he could only be dismissed by Darko Milicic in tears, and sat on the sidelines to rest.

Tim Duncan beat NN Hilario, Jermaine O'Neal also beat Robert Hawley, and after Robert Hawley was overwhelmed by Jermaine O'Neal again and again, Tim Duncan Had to allocate part of his energy to wipe his ass for Robert Hawley, and this undoubtedly accelerated Tim Duncan's physical exertion.

After Jermaine O'Neal started to score continuously, Meng Xu felt a lot more relaxed. He took a shot when he had a chance, and gave the ball to Jermaine O'Neal if he had no chance, and asked him to single Robert Hawley. Being able to consume Tim Duncan's physical strength is definitely the best of both worlds for Meng Xu and the Pacers.

By the end of the first half, the Pacers' lead had expanded to 4 points, but the difference of 4 points was nothing to the game with 24 minutes left.

(End of this chapter)