Super Role Player

(It will be released on September 1st. Yi Wen has said it many times, but someone still asks, so let me say it again, it will be released on September 1st! I hope you will subscribe and support it!)

In the second quarter of the game, Popovich replaced Manu Ginobili on the field, and then replaced Kawhi Leonard. Anxi mentioned the third position and faced Rudy Gay.

In this way, the three veterans of GDP plus Boris Diaw, Popovich's idea is very simple, no matter what, first play the offense, the current Spurs are an offensive team, and offense is their foundation.

After switching to Rudy Gay, Anxi became a lot easier. In fact, after upgrading the single defense attribute, Anxi's defense developed to the outside. His inside defense is not top-notch because he has no help defense. It is easy to be defeated by the opponent's pick-and-roll attack.

In the second quarter, the Spurs, who switched to an offensive lineup, started chasing points, but the effect of chasing points was mediocre. After chasing for a whole quarter, the Spurs tied the score.

At the end of the first half, the Spurs and the Grizzlies were tied at 47:47.

The scores of the two teams in the first half were not high, and the Grizzlies' defense was still reflected. It was very strong, and Popovich was a little skeptical about his life.

But Popovich is Popovich. During the intermission, he had an urgent discussion with several assistant coaches, and then before the start of the second half, Popovich made adjustments again.

"Matt, you go on the field and replace Boris, Anxi, you come down to rest first, next, we play high pick-and-roll, Matt, Kawhi and Tim, you all have to participate in the offense of high pick-and-roll, remember Hold on, don't hesitate to catch the ball, shoot directly!"

Anxi was replaced. On the one hand, he played the entire first half and needed to rest. On the other hand, Anxi obviously couldn't participate in the offense in the second half.

Playing high pick-and-rolls is the result of discussion between Popovich and several coaches. Popovich decided to find another way to use Zach Randolph's perimeter defensive disadvantages to play high pick-and-rolls. The focus is on mid-range shots, so Anxi Not meeting the requirements, Popovich decided to let Kawhi Leonard, who has a better CIC, play.

In the second half, the Spurs who switched to high-post pick-and-rolls did get a lot of opportunities, but the Grizzlies' offense came alive because of the release of the second quarter, and because of Anxi's end, Rudy Gay started to run away, scoring consecutively, Continued to take the lead.

With more than seven minutes left in the third quarter, the Grizzlies took a 6-point lead. Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph together provided a double insurance for the Grizzlies' offense.

The game is difficult to play. Popovich knows that in order to crack the Grizzlies' defense, the Spurs have actually changed their original offensive play, which caused the Spurs to lose their original strong offense, but there is no way, who let the Grizzlies now Bear's defense is to restrain the Spurs' offense? The defense that expands inside and outside makes the Spurs' pick-and-cut tactics very difficult. The high pick-and-roll tactic is obviously Popovich's choice of last resort.

The third quarter ended quickly. Under the pressure of the Spurs to change their tactics, the Grizzlies maintained an 8-point advantage at the end of the three quarters. Under the current suffocating offense and defense, the 8-point advantage is already quite large. With an advantage of 15 points.

Sure enough, in the fourth quarter, no matter how the Spurs changed their tactics, they could not break through the 8-point deficit. In the end, the Spurs actually lost the game at their home court.

At the end of the game, the Spurs lost the first game of the Western Conference semifinals against the Grizzlies 78:88, 10 points behind, causing an uproar in the United States. Although the major media predicted before the game, the Spurs will be a close opponent for the Grizzlies. But no one thought that the Spurs would lose the first game between the two sides, and the Spurs basically never took the lead in the whole game. It can be said that although the point difference is only 10 points, it is a terrible loss.

The Spurs lost. From the perspective of the outside world, the Spurs' sky fell. They lost to the Grizzlies in the first game. What advantage does the Spurs have to be called a strong contender for the championship?

then,

The media’s predictions are overwhelming. Losing the first game is obviously wrong. ESPN expert Mark Stein originally thought that the Spurs would at least win their first game at home. It was so ugly, and now, the Spurs lost so ugly, Mark Stein began to wonder if the Spurs were the opponent of the Grizzlies.

After Lionel Hollins took charge of the Grizzlies, the Grizzlies have improved year by year. This season, the regular season is ranked fourth in the Western Conference. The defense is strong, and more importantly, there are many offensive points. Rudy Gay In addition to Zach Randolph, there is O.J. Mayo on the bench, and McConley on the outside is also getting better. From this point of view, the Grizzlies are not necessarily worse than the Spurs.

So, starting with Mark Stein, journalists began to shift the wind.

"Judging from the results of the first game between the Spurs and the Grizzlies, the Grizzlies are likely to be the winner of this round of the series. From the perspective of the game process, the Spurs are not the opponents of the Grizzlies at all. Therefore, in my opinion, the Grizzlies and the Spurs The matchup will end in six games, and the winner will be the Grizzlies."

USA TODAY's Sam Amick echoed the sentiment, as did Sports Illustrated's Ben Griff, who felt the same way.

All of a sudden, the Spurs went from favorites to elimination favorites.

In San Antonio, though, a heated discussion took place in Popovich's office.

"I think sticking to the high pick-and-roll will definitely pay off in the next few games."

"No, Brett, I don't agree with you. The last game proved that if we just stick to the high pick and roll, the result will not be much better. Trust me, the high pick and roll will only bring us losses. Or a tough win, that's certainly not what we want."

Popovich interrupted an argument between several coaches with a cough.

"I think we should watch the video of the last game again." Popovich turned on the TV, and everyone stopped talking.

"Look carefully and try to find the flaws in the Grizzlies' defensive tactics. I don't believe that their defensive methods of expanding inside and outside are okay."

Everyone was speechless, and only heard the commentary on the TV. In this way, the Spurs assistant coaching team watched the video of the day in the office.

After losing the first game against the Grizzlies, Anxi also felt a little powerless. Now he is just a role player, and he thinks too much about saving the team by himself. For the team's current plight , Anxi has nothing to do, but he still decides to practice more when he returns home.

When Anxi left the arena, Popovich's office let out an exclamation.

"Greg, I think I have a problem." It was Sean Marks, the team's administrator and coach, who found the problem.

"What?" Popovich immediately looked at Sean Max.

Sean Max didn't talk nonsense, stepped forward, adjusted the video to a Spurs offense, and then started talking according to the offense.

"Greg, look, the Grizzlies' defense is like this. When we go in, they expand to delay our cut. But pay attention, at this moment, their outside and mid-range gaps appear..."

"There is only one second in the gap, but it is enough for us to take advantage of it."

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