The rest is just noise

Gregg Popovich is treating this opener like it's the Finals.

Although he has never coached the Finals, although this is the first game of his coaching career, and although the Spurs are still an emerging team, considering the opponent, he has no reason not to take it seriously.

Because Leader is the contemporary Reed Auerbach.

Oh no, maybe it won't be long before the world won't call him Leader anymore.

This nickname has a strong New York flavor, and people in Los Angeles prefer to call him Legend Lu.

The only problem is that he has yet to accomplish anything that can be called "Legend" in Los Angeles. Once his career is successful, Legend will replace Leader faster than imagined.

In the first quarter and a half, the Spurs led by 7 points.

Popovich feels that the Lakers are still adjusting.

As a result, after a timeout, Louis changed the lineup, replacing Kobe, who was active but disorganized, and replaced him with a three-post lineup that seemed uncoordinated but achieved miraculous results.

Popovich can't figure out how a lineup with a second position and four frontcourt players can be effective?

Iverson lost his previous glory and began to fall into the Lakers' whirlpool.

It was as if his IQ had been wiped clean and he turned a blind eye to the Lakers' trap.

Popovich's roar had no effect, and Iverson still went his own way.

If he can ensure the stability of his passing, then forget about taking risks like this. The problem is, his passing is not stable.

Wilson maintained an ultra-high-intensity defense. Even though Iverson's speed could easily break through his defense, he could never get rid of him.

This is a convenience provided by the era of allowing HAND CHECK defense.

But this is just a small problem.

The key is the trouble Iverson encountered after his breakthrough.

Ben Wallace, a Lakers player who was not included in the Spurs' pre-game plans and scouting reports, used superb defensive skills to completely limit Iverson's lack of change in breakthroughs.

Time and time again, he transformed into a warrior blocking the muzzle, blocking Iverson's path unpredictably. Even if the latter speeded up, his moving speed far beyond the normal inside line could still ensure that the defense would not lose its position.

Iverson, who was unable to do anything about it, fell into a strange circle where it was difficult to find his direction. The defensive pressure brought by Ben made his passing lose stability.

This was the Spurs' most chaotic few minutes since the start of the game.

Iverson didn't achieve anything, he just kept breaking through and hitting the wall, missing layups, making bad passes or passing the ball of poor quality. Even if his teammates received it, it was difficult to start an offense.

Unable to bear this scene, Popovich replaced Iverson after the score was overtaken.

Subsequently, Popovich replaced Steve Kerr, who joined the team this summer.

Although Cole does not have the offensive ability of Iverson to single out an entire defensive line, as a veteran, he has the overall view and reliable shooting skills that made the coach calm, and he is willing to play a supporting role.

Popovich focused his offense on Jamal Mashburn and David Robinson.

Mashburn's status is higher because he is facing the Lakers' worst defensive player on the court.

It stands to reason that as long as Mashburn keeps giving the ball to him, he can tear the Tragedy Division's defense into pieces.

But the Tragedy Master only did one thing on the defensive end, and that was to interfere with Mashburn's shooting.

If Mashburn wanted to break through, the tragedy master would appear unconcerned.

Because both Garnett and Big Ben are among the best help defenders.

Especially Daben, although he has not yet evolved into the next four DPOYs, he has already shown full potential.

Just looking at the pressure on attackers when assisting and switching defenses, even Garnett is not as good as him.

The defensive network formed by Garnett and Ben made the Spurs have no choice but to hand the ball to David Robinson and let him attack with the ball.

This is just the dilemma the Spurs are encountering on the offensive end.

When it comes to the defensive end, the Spurs have no idea how to deal with the Lakers' "shooting star" tactics.

This is the second year that the "Meteor" tactic has been put into practice. Wilson, Garnett, Tragedy Master and Liu Yuqing all performed more calmly.

The tacit understanding between them is very good.

Although Da Ben looks like an outsider, he also achieves the effect of a tool man who can hit wherever he wants.

The first three "Meteor" tactics were successful twice, and they were all attacks that the Spurs had no way to do - one was to pass the ball to empty the Spurs inside, and Liu Yuqing received the ball for a layup, the other was to involve teammates to create space.

The tragedy maker made an open three-pointer.

The failure to score in that round was not due to tactical reasons, but because Garnett failed to seize the open shot.

In the fourth round, the Lakers finally made a mistake.

Wilson made a mistake in his movement, and Garnett suddenly suffered from an old illness. When he got the ball, he didn't look at his teammates, changed direction, and shook Robinson away. He went in with the ball and was interfered with.

"Jasmine, even if I run by mistake, you can't hit me like this!" Wilson said angrily.

Wilson was the backbone of the system, and he was instilled with a perfectionist philosophy by Louis.

Only when everything is done perfectly can the "Meteor" tactic exert its greatest power.

Therefore, he is angry about his mistakes, but he will not allow his teammates to make stupid mistakes.

"I'm just saying that none of these high school students have any brains!"

Louis complained.

At this time, another high school student off the court cast a dissatisfied look at Coach Lu.

"No matter what you look at, your brain is the worst!"

"Coach, you are discriminating!"

"What's wrong with me discriminating against you high school students?"

You know, this is just an ordinary mistake. Louis and Wilson acted like someone made a stupid decision to grab an offensive rebound at the decisive moment and not directly attack again, but dribbled the ball out of the three-point line and waited for time to run out.

Same.

After being scolded, Garnett stayed honest for a few minutes.

The Lakers' "Meteor" tactics gradually showed their true power.

This is something we didn't see last season.

Wilson is versatile both offensively and defensively, and although he still makes movement mistakes, he is the player who has explored the "beautiful basketball" system most deeply.

He has jumped from the pit of "Meteor" tactics to the point of "Whale Fall".

In total, Louis set up the "whale drop" positions for players in each position according to the five positions on the court in the tactical drawings.

When players first came into contact with the "Meteor" tactic, they didn't have a deep understanding of the beauty of "Whale Fall".

But now, Wilson discovered that the "Meteor" tactic itself was a supporting tool for the "Whale Fall".

Those who can launch tactics at will when "whale lands" have truly integrated these two tactics.

It was Wilson who groped deeper than anyone else and made his mistakes.

Because players participating in the "Meteor" tactic need to use movement to stop, while players entering the "Whale Landing" need to combine movement and stillness. This requires the cooperation of teammates and a very good chemical reaction. If one person does not communicate well, something will go wrong every minute.

After Louis changed their strategy, the Lakers limited the Spurs' offense through excellent defensive details, and then launched the "Beautiful Basketball" system, beating the Spurs 18-7 in half a quarter.

Then, at halftime, the Lakers took the lead. Popovich had no good answer to the Lakers' "shooting star" tactics and targeted defense.

During halftime, Popovich asked Robinson about the "Beautiful Basketball" system.

He wanted to find some breakthrough from Robinson.

As a result, Robinson's answer disappointed him.

Because Robinson was reimbursed last season and was not able to participate in the initial construction of "Beautiful Basketball," he doesn't know much about this system.

The only thing Robinson could tell Popovich was: "This may be the most complex offensive system ever built, and as far as I know, they're less than 50 percent complete."

Less than 50%...

Can it have this power?

When the Lakers played "beautiful basketball" in the second quarter, Popovich felt that he might have seen the most gorgeous and smooth offense ever.

But Robinson told him that the mercury-like offense was not even a half-finished product?

Popovich was doubtful and made more detailed arrangements in the locker room, mainly focusing on a series of issues surrounding Iverson.

As for the Lakers, Louis was basically satisfied with the team's performance in the first half.

At the same time, this game also allowed him to see the Lakers' biggest problem at the moment.

Their conventional tactics are not enough to maximize the power of their existing personnel.

If "Beautiful Basketball" can't produce the same effect as tonight every time, there will be no backup plan.

But "Beautiful Basketball" is still in the experimental stage, and it would be too unsafe to treat it as a backup.

What kind of system should be used as the Lakers' regular tactics and maximize the effectiveness of the team is one of the difficult problems facing Louis and his coaching staff.