Bishop of the Devil

Because Big Ben has played under Richard for a long time, and Richard has been urging Big Ben to train free throws.

Therefore, Ben's free throws are slightly better than normal, but not much better. After the first two seasons, Ben's average free throw shooting rate per game was about 47%.

Even though his free throw ability has improved a bit, Ben has never made four consecutive free throws...

Now that Richard has used celebrity points to improve his free throw shooting ability, Ben's free throw shooting percentage has increased to about 65%, which is about a 20% increase in free throw shooting percentage, which is quite scary.

It’s enough to make Big Ben a presence with no shortcomings on the field!

Just imagine if this star spot could improve O'Neal's free throws, how terrifying O'Neal would become!

Then O'Neal will become a truly unsolvable presence on the court...

Of course, unless Richard had concentrated sulfuric acid in his brain, how could he help O'Neal?

Non-my family, its heart must be different……

…

Popovich definitely doesn't give up. It's impossible to cancel the use of the shark-cutting tactic just because Ben scored four consecutive free throws.

Ben's next two free throws were 1 of 2, and the situation was acceptable to Popovich.

Next, it’s 1 out of 2 again…

Then Ben suddenly gave Popovich a surprise, and another serve went 2-for-2!

From the beginning to now, Ben has made 14 free throws, and the result is 9 of 14. This shooting rate is basically considered a normal level for Ben, a free throw shooting rate of 64%.

The game has not even passed halftime, and Ben has already scored nine points by relying on free throws...

1 out of 2!

0 for 2!

2 out of 2!

1 out of 2!

2 out of 2!

Ben's next free throw left Popovich completely confused. Is this still the same Ben who made poor free throws? !

Right now, Ben's free throw shooting percentage is exactly Duncan's level of free throw shooting.

"A sudden burst of luck?"

"This is the only possibility. It is unlikely that in just a few minutes, his free throw shooting ability will suddenly increase so much!"

"Unless that kid Richard knows magic!"

Popovich thought to himself...

What he doesn't know is that, in a sense, Richard really belongs to the category of magic...

Popovich is quite confused now!

Should this shark-killing tactic be used or not?

If you use it, the gain outweighs the loss. If Ben continues to reduce his free throw shooting rate, it will definitely be a loss-making deal. After all, although the Blazers are strong, their true shooting rate in normal offensive rounds will not reach the 65% level.

If Big Ben continues to maintain such a shooting percentage, the Spurs are definitely doing a losing business.

But if you don’t use it, firstly, Popovich is unwilling to do so...

What if this was just a few unexpected free throws? ! This situation is not impossible for players with poor free throw shooting.

For example, O'Neal is terrible at free throws, but he also had accurate free throws at certain times in the game.

It's not uncommon for O'Neal to make more than 80% of his free throws in games, and it has happened many times.

Now Popovich is just not willing to let Ben go. He feels that Ben must have exploded unexpectedly...

And without cutting big budget, Popovich really can't think of any way to win.

If they rely on the lineup to fight hard, the Spurs will definitely not be able to compete at the moment, unless they can now find an All-Star level free agent in the backcourt in the free market...

But this is completely impossible.

One is that there is no such thing, and the other is that the rules do not allow it.

…

In desperation, Popovich could only continue to cut down on the big man, but he reduced the frequency, hoping to wait until the big man feels bad, and then take good care of the big man.

…

In the blink of an eye, the game has entered the second half of the fourth quarter.

The Trail Blazers led by 11 points, and Popovich was a little anxious...

The 11-point difference may not seem like much, but with luck, it can be recovered within half a quarter of the game.

But the problem now is that the Trail Blazers are too stable. In fact, their touch in this game is not very good. Even so, they can still keep the point difference above double digits.

You have to take risks. If you don't take risks, the team has too many chances of losing.

Keep cutting!

Right now, Ben has made 15 of 23 free throws, which is exactly 65%.

Popovich is currently riding a tiger with a hard time getting off it. If he cuts, he must cut. If he doesn’t cut, he won’t be able to play...

He can only hope that Ben's free throw shooting skills will cool down!

…

"Uh-huh!"

"Uh-huh!"

Ben's free throws were hit one after another, gradually widening the original 11-point point difference.

The fans at the scene burst into crazy cheers, win, this game must be won...

At first, they watched Popovich use the shark-cutting tactic against Ben, and they were actually quite worried. They knew what it would mean for the Trail Blazers if Ben couldn't play.

This means that Tim Duncan can do whatever he wants in the Blazers' restricted area!

But now Ben can resist the pressure and Popovich's shark-cutting tactics.

Although the free throw shooting is not as high as the 90% free throw shooting rate of top guards, even if the free throw shooting rate is only more than 60%, it is enough to make Popovich's shark-cutting tactic fail!

…

"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle to end the game.

The Trail Blazers beat the Spurs by 17 points at home!

The most frightening one is Ben. In tonight's opening game of the Western Conference Finals, Ben broke the historical record of his career!

23 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists and 2 steals!

A score as high as 23 points may not be a big deal when it comes to Kobe and others, but when it comes to Big Ben, it is truly miraculous!

Prior to this, Ben had played for almost three years, but his highest score in a single game was only 12 points!

This time is amazing, his single-game scoring record has been doubled to 23 points!

And this is the data produced in the Western Conference Finals, which is full of gold!

The total score of both sides in this game was not very high, 96:85, and neither side's score exceeded 100, which further shows how powerful Ben was in this game.

You must know that Duncan, who faced off against Big Ben, only had 21 points and 14 rebounds in this game!

Of course, just because Big Ben scored more points does not mean that Big Ben's offense is better than Deng Daidai's. It just took advantage of the shark-cutting tactics in this game and made crazy free throws, and finally scored so many points.

The Trail Blazers actually felt quite bad in this game. Neither Rasheed nor Robinson scored in double figures...

Because they didn't feel very good at the beginning, both of them reduced their chances of taking shots and focused more on the defensive end.

As for Kobe, his performance in this game was not particularly outstanding. Because the opponent had twin towers under the basket, he was unlikely to attack the inside like crazy. In addition, his touch was not good, and he only scored 19 points in the end.

On the contrary, Ou played very well tonight, scoring 19 points and 9 rebounds, while his opponent David Robinson only had 16 points and 7 rebounds!

…

At the post-game press conference, Popovich was quite helpless and praised the Blazers' strength with a wry smile.

And he also joked about Daben's free throws...

The reporters in the audience rolled their eyes. If Popovich really thought Ben was good at free throws, he would have used the shark-cutting tactic against Ben unless he was crazy!

Popovich likes to praise people, and everyone knows this.

However, he only likes to praise players from other teams, but rarely praises his own players...

…

Naturally, Richard also wanted to be polite, and led Duncan to praise him fiercely, praising him for being the most dominant power forward in history.

Although there is nothing wrong with saying this, when it comes from Richard's mouth, the meaning is different.

Some people have praised Duncan as the number one power forward in history before, but there are many fans who are unconvinced. After all, there are many powerful power forwards in NBA history.

Now that Duncan has only played two seasons, it is too early to say that he is the number one power forward.

But Richard opened his mouth, and even if some fans were unconvinced, they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut.