Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

The Spurs basically blew themselves up in the third quarter.

Perdo contributes fouls and delays time, but for Li Shengli's efficiency, as long as he takes enough free throws, he can return to about 70% of his hits, which is enough.

In addition, Sean's poor performance sometimes messes up the performance and directly loses the ball.

The Spurs' 5-point deficit in the first half quickly expanded to 10 points. If Duncan hadn't been pressing hard, 15 points would have been normal. But after 5 minutes of playing... the Lakers, as the dominant side, took the initiative to call a timeout. Li Shengli The young and old people looked at each other, especially Harris, who chuckled loudly.

…

Are you looking for Barkley to make him guilty?

Did he foul Li Shengli to delay time?

The ultimate goal is to prepare for Big Ben and Rodman in the fourth quarter?

Harris thought for a while, this place of intrigue is really tough on people's minds, because Popovich is setting a trap for him. If he really sees that the situation is good and allows Barkley to continue to fight on the court, then it will be a trap. , and 4th foul, 5th foul and 6th foul are not the same concept... the 4th fouler will not be affected, the 5th fouler is helpless defensively, and the 6th fouler directly clocks out and gets off work.

Although this is just a guess, every guess represents a possibility.

Maybe Popovich and the Spurs brothers think so? Of course, speculation also needs to be based on evidence. The most important thing that makes them doubt is Sean Elliott.

Damn, are you acting so exaggerated?

The purpose is so clear, do you really think we are stupid?

So Harris directly replaced Barkley, who committed four fouls, and prepared for the final period. He was replaced by Fox, who played outside the game. Rodman, who was full of physical strength, also replaced Ben and harassed Duncan. Li Shengli still did not move, and Pei Erduo saves energy on his position.

…

Time out and return to the court.

Popovich's heart was broken when he saw Barkley gone.

You guys are just running away after taking advantage?

He jumped from being 5 points behind at the beginning to 10 points. Not to mention that he gained 5 points from the Lakers in vain, but the problem is that his rhythm was disrupted again. Barkley committed only 4 fouls and ran away, which means... ...At the last moment, the Lakers can use Barkley to break the foul tactics.

…

At this time, the game on the court continues.

When Robinson was there, Li Shengli's shots accounted for a large proportion. Without Robinson, this proportion climbed again. The impact of Barkley's presence or absence on the Lakers' offense was not that big. Replacing Rodman with Ben would have no effect. Influence.

Just one minute.

The Spurs' defense against Li Shengli was purely a foul, and Li Shengli made two free throws. When the Spurs attacked, Rodman used all his hands, feet and mouth. Duncan missed a jumper, but Li Shengli stepped to the free throw line again, this time making 1 of 2.

At this time, the Lakers' lead broke through to 13 points.

Popovich couldn't wait any longer, and only let Robinson rest for 6 minutes before playing again. With a cruel heart... he was ready to attack Rodman, use fouls to change the Lakers' rhythm, and start chasing points.

However, Popovich almost vomited blood on the spot.

…

Damn it!

Fight for more than 1 minute and then withdraw?

Under Popovich's desperate eyes, Rodman only played for more than a minute and made 0 of 2 free throws before Harris called him back. The person who replaced Rodman... wasn't Ben or Barkley. Instead, Fox was temporarily transferred to the fourth position, and Nick, who was energetic and fast, played three guards with Kobe and Eddie.

The three defenders in the first half are not the same concept as the three defenders in the second half.

Because the Spurs brothers were still able to run in the first half, but what to do in the second half... they struggled to switch offense and defense quickly, and physical exertion affected the final quarter. If they didn't strive for speed, they would be dragged to death by the Lakers.

Even if Duncan played Fox in the positional battle to ensure output, the problem was that the point difference was still 11 points after Rodman missed both free throws, let alone the three guards rushing... They couldn't catch up even if they wanted to.

They couldn't catch up, and Li Shengli didn't bother to catch up, but on the Lakers' side... Fox, who was more physically fit, could catch up.

As a result, Li Shengli and the Spurs brothers sat down and talked about life, even if it wasn't a game.

On the other side, the Lakers' frontcourt often gets a few seconds of 4-on-3 opportunities, which is much more efficient than Duncan's single-handed approach. In less than 6 minutes of the third quarter... the three guards are running all the way, and they are replaced when they are tired. , Crotty and Fisher were still lining up behind.

It’s just a running race after all!

Harris doesn't have to consider the player's feel at all, he only considers physical fitness and whether he can run fast.

Popovich felt a tightness in his chest, and blood rushed to his forehead, because he never got the initiative from beginning to end, not even the last chance, and the point difference was always fixed at two. Number of digits, not to mention... Barkley still has 2 fouls left. If the Lakers can't run anymore, they can still choose to fight a positional battle.

…

End of the third quarter.

The Lakers ran for half a quarter, and the 11-point gap widened to 14 points before the three guards came on the court.

Playing again in the fourth quarter, Popovich was almost at the end of his rope, as all tactics are based on player hardware. In this regard, the Spurs were a big step behind the Lakers. In the last quarter, the Spurs brothers were in decline. , the whole team collapsed directly.

Halfway through the final quarter, the score difference was 17.

There were three minutes left in the final quarter and the score difference was 19.

Seeing that the three defenders were exhausted, Harris spent the last three minutes to put Barkley on the court with four fouls. The entire offensive and defensive transition speed immediately slowed down, but the positional battle intensified, and there was not even the slightest chance. To the Spurs.

There is really no way to go.

Without a comeback point or an obvious breaking point, Popovich could only let the Spurs brothers rest. When Li Shengli saw that the Spurs brothers were all down, he also took the initiative to signal the rotation, and let Ben play with Barkley in the remaining time. As for Li Shengli, The foul tactics that I was afraid of before were gone, because... it was difficult to overturn the nearly 20-point point difference. The situation was not right, and Li Shengli just returned to the team.

…

There are no miracles in Los Angeles tonight.

The Lakers finally replaced all substitutes, and the Spurs chased by 6 points in the last 3 minutes.

As a result, the first game of the Western Conference Finals was won by the Lakers without any danger, and Popovich and the Spurs brothers looked at each other. They could still hold on on the court, but when they returned to the visiting team's locker room, they felt like they had survived. The next morning after an all-nighter, I was clearly awake but completely powerless. After a beating, I had no temper at all.

The Spurs brothers were powerless on the court, and the team did not play any shortcomings, but they lost.

Popovich was powerless off the court, and the whole game was restricted at every turn. The decision-making errors in the third quarter accelerated the collapse process, and confidence was not worth mentioning in front of this Lakers that had reached a new historical height.

"We can't lose the next game!" Popovich said to the Spurs brothers.

"But it's difficult to play, very difficult to play. Tim and I can't keep up with their efficiency, unless it's an explosive state, but we can't guarantee that every game will explode, and we can't guarantee Li's explosive time. If he explodes... there's no need. What tactics are we talking about, because it’s useless to talk about anything.” David Robinson said in a deep voice, turning his head to the youngest Duncan, and Duncan couldn’t joke anymore and looked serious.

"This is just the beginning, and it's not just this season. As long as he is still in the Western Conference, we have to find a way to get past him, because behind him, that is our championship!"

"It's not as serious as you think!" Popovich patted his two confidants and comforted: "The Lakers' peak time is almost over, because they can no longer be strong, and then they will become weak. This is the law of rise and fall. , as for this round of competition..."

"What can we do this round?"

"The next game will be played in the third quarter of this game from the beginning, and we will find a way to let Lee or Barkley go. This is difficult, but we must do it, because this is our only chance when both sides are in normal conditions."

"Maybe you may not win if you fight hard, but you will definitely lose if you don't fight, and even if we lose... we have to take them apart and show them to the Heat or Celtics, and find a way and an opportunity for them, because To a certain extent, our opponents are all Lakers. Don't look at me, this is not a narrow-minded idea that hurts others but does not benefit oneself. The Lakers have to pay a price if they want to win against us. I don't really care what form the price is. .”