The Pope of Basketball Community

In the second quarter, Ellis, Diaw, and Odom formed a trident to continue to show off their power. After only playing three minutes, Popovich was forced to replace high center Nesterovich.

This season, Nesterovich has made the Spurs miserable, with an annual salary of nearly 7 million, averaging 19 minutes per game, only 4.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Defensively, his slow speed makes him easy to target.

When the Spurs signed him, 2003 was a rare year for free agents. The Spurs' first goal was to find a replacement for "Admiral" Robinson. The choices at the time were very limited, including J. Brown, Brad Miller, Jr. O'Neal, Brand, etc., Popovich was blinded for a while.

In the contract year, Nesterovich scored 11.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks. It was the only time in his career that he scored in double figures. He showed a certain ability to block shots and score inside. Popovich mistakenly thought that he had Potential to be a top-10 center in the league.

Facts have proved that Popovich’s teachings are not useful to every player.

The Spurs sent Muhammad to defend the pick-and-roll better, but he couldn't open up space on the offensive end. He relied on picking up leaks under the basket to score, which was not enough against the Lakers, who had excellent single defense.

The Lakers led by 30 points in the first half and were full of momentum in the second half, continuing to crush their opponents.

Kobe started the pick-and-roll, and when he was out of position against the Spurs inside, he attacked by himself. If Bowen was attracted to pursue him or double-teamed, he gave it to Yao Ming. Yao Ming organizes in the middle, passing Iguodala to cut or passing Mo Williams to catch the ball.

Rasheed and Yao Ming evacuated the Spurs inside without cutting. They did not dare to defend in a zone. Facing the defender, the Lakers big man dared to take action from the outside.

Iguodala continued to show off his power, trying to hit the basket every time. Ginobili couldn't handle it and had no choice but to flop. Unfortunately, this was the Lakers' home court and the referee didn't call it, so he had no choice but to commit a foul. Iguodala's free throw shooting is not as bad as it was later in his career. He has a 72% shooting rate in the playoffs and cannot be dealt with using the "shark-killing tactic".

After three quarters, Iguodala scored 32 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Kobe and Yao Ming also scored 20+. In addition, role players made multiple three-pointers. The Lakers led 104 to 65, sealing the victory.

Popovich was so depressed that he was beaten. This head coach, who has a bad temper and likes to yell at players and referees and yells at every injustice, sat in his seat and watched the game. He was particularly quiet in the second half and gave up the game early.

The Spurs have lost many games before, but Popovich has never been beaten to the point of despair. This time, he can't think of a way to defeat the Lakers.

In garbage time, Yang Rui was not polite, and sent a combination of Jones, Ellis, Ariza, Diaw, and Odom to beat the Spurs' substitutes, provide support inside, and can play pick-and-rolls.

Popovich replaced the "GDP combination", and the five of Van Exel, Barry, Finley, Muhammad, and Nesterovich were no match at all.

Even if he couldn't withstand the Lakers' offense, Popovich did not replace the main team. He believed that it would be more shameful to send the starter to beat the opponent's substitute, especially since he is a coach recognized as good at rotation.

In the end, the Lakers won 138-80, killing the Spurs by 58 points.

Fortunately, with the Clippers in front, the Spurs did not set a record for the largest point difference in NBA playoff history. However, this was the worst loss in the history of the Spurs in the playoffs. It was not like a competition between two teams of equal strength. .

After the game, Popovich sighed: "Jerry Young arranged for Iguodala to play the main offense in this game, which caught us off guard. I didn't expect that in addition to the Big Three, the Lakers would have a fourth All-Star. We have already divided We don’t have anyone to deal with Iguodala, he has the body of a superstar and it’s hard to stop him when he rushes forward.”

Popovich revealed the key to the Lakers' victory in one sentence. Iguodala is like an enhanced version of Wells, so powerful.

Yang Rui said in an interview: "I knew that the Lakers would defeat one opponent after another and successfully defend their title. After a season of hard work, the Lakers are stronger than last season. We have the strongest starters and the strongest substitutes in the league. I have played for the other 29 teams." The team feels sorry. Now let me coach other teams,

I can't figure out how to beat the Lakers. The Lakers are so strong that even I am scared. "

The next day, Yang Rui's remarks that he was "so strong that he is scared" made the news and were sought after by fans. Yang Rui often made arrogant declarations of winning the championship and had the last laugh, which became his label.

In the second game, the Lakers still coordinated the tactics inside. Yao Ming and Rashidla went out to pick and roll, waiting for opportunities to shoot three-pointers. Kobe and Iguodala attacked the basket from both sides.

Whoever Bowen is guarding, the other one is strong, attracting double-teams and then passing the ball.

In the first two rounds of the series, Ginobili, who was still very impressive and made experts and fans shout all kinds of underrated remarks, was severely abused. The two major swingmen of the Lakers are stronger than him and can go to the penalty area with their backs. chisel.

Popovich replaced veteran Finley, and the Lakers switched to pick-and-rolls and face-to-face breakthroughs from the outside.

Kobe relies on technical changes to break through, and Finley is difficult to guard; Iguodala relies on speed to break through, and he can get ahead by cutting the ball in the air. Even Finley, who participated in the slam dunk contest during his peak period, was slightly inferior to Iguodala in physical fitness. Now the gap between the two is too big.

122 to 91, the Lakers won again, leading 2-0.

The Spurs returned to their home court and were still beaten in the third game.

Yang Rui has found the Spurs' weakness and won't let it go. The guards are responsible for attacking the basket and attacking in the low post, while the big men are responsible for screens and outside shooting.

In this game, the Spurs switched to a zone defense to protect the penalty area. Rasheed shot 10 of 16 from the field, 4 of 7 three-pointers, and scored 24 points and 6 rebounds. In the second half, the Spurs switched back to man-to-man marking, with the big man catching the ball and shooting from the outside. Every small guard was an angel with broken wings. They couldn't afford to hurt them.

Kobe's touch was equally hot, making 13 of 20 shots, 5 of 9 three-pointers, and 6 of 6 free throws. He scored 37 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists in only 34 minutes.

For three consecutive games, the Spurs failed to survive the first three quarters, and the Lakers won 117-87.

In order to strengthen the defense, the Spurs' offense was also affected, and Ginobili became a blacksmith.

In the fourth game, the Spurs and Lakers worked hard, and the players' defensive actions became more intense, which intensified the confrontation. Duncan took more shots, and the players opened up for him to hit hard.

The year when O'Neal won the MVP, a reporter asked him and Duncan who was better in a one-on-one match. The fat man said that neither of them could guard the other, and he did not dare to say that he was better than Duncan.

Duncan burst out with all his energy and his scoring ability was terrifying. In the 2001 game against the Mavericks, he scored 53 points in a single game.

In this game, he defeated Yao Ming, making 12 of 24 shots and 17 of 23 free throws. He scored 41 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks.

Parker made 9 of 18 shots, 24 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists; Ginobili made 6 of 11 shots, 2 of 3 three-pointers, 9 of 9 free throws, 23 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals; substitute Finley also had 12 Points into account.

But even if the "GDP combination" scored 88 points together, even if Yao Ming left the game with six fouls, he only scored 18 points and 6 rebounds. The Spurs still lost the game 111 to 119.

Kobe made 11 of 20 shots, 0 of 3 three-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws, and scored 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists; Iguodala made 8 of 13 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, 3 of 4 free throws, and scored 20 points and 6 assists. Rebounds and 3 assists; Williams made 9 of 16 shots, 3 of 6 three-pointers, and 6 of 6 free throws, scoring 27 points and 1 assist; Odom, a substitute, also had 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists.

The Lakers have too many scoring points and are hard to guard against.

In order to strengthen the defense, Popovich completely froze Nesterovich and Mohammed and did not let them play for a minute. The results proved effective and the Spurs lost less. Unfortunately, he woke up a little late.

The Lakers swept 4-0 and advanced to the finals first.

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