The Godfather of Basketball

The commentary was unexpected, the fans were unexpected, and even Popovich, who was calm enough, was a little surprised or insufficiently prepared.

Deron's recovery is on the one hand, and the hard work and spirit of the players on the Nets is another.

Nine minutes into the first quarter, the score was 19-23, and the Nets were only four points behind the defending champions.

Such a score is surprising, but it also won enough respect for the Nets.

The most intuitive performance is that the two commentators are analyzing the offensive and defensive system of the Nets and making suggestions for the home team.

The two sides began to replace the substitutes one after another. On the Spurs side, Corey Joseph, Ginobili, Belinelli, and Aaron Baynes replaced one after another.

For the Nets, Livingston, Will Barton, Mike Scott and Jokic also substituted.

Both sides have one main force and four substitutes. The Spurs kept Duncan, and the Nets kept Joe Johnson.

Duncan's frontcourt support, and Belinelli's support was running tactics, but Barton did a good job defending the ball, squeezing through the pick-and-roll continuously without giving Belinelli room to shoot.

After Duncan saw it, he turned and hit Scott, and after the confrontation, he turned and killed the basket.

Jokic made up the defense quickly, but missed Baines behind him. Duncan gave Baines a hit, and the latter dunked easily.

There were whistles at the scene.

At this time, Frank yelled on the sidelines to let Jokic slow down when making up defenses, and pay attention to protecting the basket.

Jokic's defense is not his strong point, and as a rookie, he still has a lot to learn on the defensive end.

The Nets' frontcourt offense and tactics are the same as when they started, with Jokic supporting the ball in a high position.

Joe Johnson's air cut, Jokic's fake pass tricked Belinelli and Baines behind him. He turned around and made a quick layup, and caught Duncan before Duncan helped defend him. The ball goes into the basket.

The realism of the fake moves, the decisiveness of the turn and the stability of the layup, as a 2 meters 08, 250 pounds heavy insider, full of talent visible to the naked eye, you must know that he is only 19 years old.

The ball stunned Popovich on the sidelines.

Duncan is getting old, and he urgently needs an insider successor. Jokic's move just now made him drool.

"Tim, the 4th position strategy." But despite the saliva, he got up and shouted to Duncan.

Duncan understood after hearing it, and after reaching the frontcourt to signal his teammates to pull away, he leaned against Scott in the low post and reached out for the ball.

This is a low-post singles tactic at the fourth position.

Scott is a big man who can shoot three-pointers, but defense and confrontation are his weaknesses. Even facing the old Duncan, he can't stand it.

Duncan turned around and went to the basket.

Jokic jumped a little slower this time, and stretched his long arms when Duncan was about to make a shot.

But the distance of the ball was too close, and the interference of Duncan with his outstretched arms was limited. Duncan wiped the board at close range and steadily sent the ball into the basket.

"Fuck him! Fuck him!" Kidd shouted anxiously this time even watching.

"He still has a lot to learn on the defensive end." Jones couldn't help but said after watching two rounds in a row.

"Yes, but this is the part he has to learn, and he can learn it too." Tang Tian nodded and continued.

The cornerstone players will not have obvious weaknesses after playing. Although Jokic's current defense is weak, but his physical condition is here, it is only a matter of time before he can practice. This is something that Lopez cannot compare.

The game continued on the court. Jokic's frontcourt organization was seen through, and he was finally forced to return the ball to Joe Johnson. As a result, a coordination error occurred and the ball was passed out of bounds.

When he returned to the defensive end, Ginobili misplaced the outside line and singled him out, and then hit the board with a drift.

After the Spurs came up in the second quarter, they beat the Nets 6-2.

"Aren't we asking too much of him?" Jones couldn't help but said again at this time.

A rookie, or a second-round pick, or a second-round pick from Europe, under normal circumstances, the first season is mainly to learn at the end of the bench, but Jokic played the first inside substitute this time, and the second It was still the Spurs who played one game, and it was indeed a bit difficult to start.

"No, he needs this. What I need is the cornerstone of rapid growth, not the flowers in the greenhouse." Tang Tian said calmly.

The original Marc Gasol could do it, and Jokic's talent is not inferior to him, so naturally he can do it, or if he can't do it, he has to do it.

While speaking, Johnson missed a three-pointer, but Jokic pressed Barnes to grab the offensive rebound with his long arm, and flicked his hand back to Livingston on the outside. The Nets got a second chance to attack.

While learning and progress is required, the talent is really visible.

Driven by Ginobili and Diaw, the Spurs took advantage of the transition from the bench.

At halftime, the score was 52-40 on the sidelines, giving the Spurs a 12-point lead.

Jokic's halftime performance was a bit bad. He played all 7 minutes of the connecting stage, but he made 1 of 3 shots and only scored 2 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. He made 2 turnovers and was targeted a bit miserably on the defensive end.

This kind of performance prevented Kidd from sending him to play in the second half, and Lavoy Allen replaced his rotation position. Although the latter did not have any outstanding performance, his performance in the penalty area and protection of rebounds were obviously better.

In the end, the Spurs beat the Nets 98-88 at home, ushering in their first victory in the home opener.

Although they lost, the Nets played respectably enough, and the 10-point difference is enough to explain everything.

Deron performed well. He scored a team-high 22 points on 8 of 16 shots, plus 4 rebounds and 8 assists. Yi Jianlian scored 16 points and 6 rebounds. Lopez scored 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Barton on the bench also got 13 points and 4 boards.

Jokic also ended his NBA debut, with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 turnovers in 7 minutes.

Such data are obviously not satisfactory.

When the game ended and he walked towards the player tunnel, he bowed his head and was a little depressed.

"Let's go to the locker room." Tang Tian stood up from the auditorium at this time.

Jones walked down with him.

Tang Tian arrived in the locker room, first gave Kidd and the team members a very positive affirmation, and then dragged Jokic to the player tunnel alone.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Tang, my performance was terrible and I let you down." Tang Tian's love for Jokic is beyond words. Not only the management knows it, but the coaching staff knows it. In Tang Tian's face, he messed up the matter.

"Is it because I made you nervous at the scene?" To his surprise, Tang Tian acted very relaxed, with a half-joking tone when he spoke.