Chapter 526: Clippers vs. Spurs

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AT&T Center Arena, the new arena for which the communications giant AT&T pays tens of millions of dollars a year for naming fees, is now the home of today's NBA powerhouse Spurs.

As a key Western Conference semifinals, and also a tiebreaker between the Clippers and Spurs, it is only natural that ABC, which owns the rights to broadcast the game, will broadcast live to the whole United States.

And the people in charge of commenting on the game are still NBA celebrities Kevin Harlan and Mike Green.

"Hello audience friends, I'm Kevin Harlan, and I'm Mike Green. The 2002~2003 NBA playoffs Western Conference semifinals Clippers and Spurs semifinals tie-break battle will be explained by us. ”

"Mike, why is it always you that my partner is?"

"Kevin, I don't mind having Harry Berry or Charlize Theron replace you. ”

"As much as I'd love to grant you, I don't think the company would be willing to pay that salary. ”

"So, in the end, we had to be two partners. That's a terrible truth. ”

After teasing each other for a few words, "No kidding." Mike, who do you think will win tonight?"

"I'm betting on Spurs. ”

"Spurs? Why not the Clippers. You must know that in the regular season, the Clippers won 3 of the 4 encounters between the two sides. ”

"Because in the eight-in-four game, the Clippers have played seven games against the Lakers, which consumes too much of their physical strength. And the main power forward Pau Gasol also missed the crucial semi-final due to a foot injury. ”

"The Clippers, who are declining in strength and lack of physical strength, have a better chance of winning than the Spurs, who are fully staffed. ”

"But I still think the Clippers have a better chance of winning. First, despite the absence of Gasol, Memet Oku has averaged 7.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in his last 24 playoff games. Yao, who is partnered with him, averaged 13.5 points in 24 playoff games, along with 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Their partner's Clippers interior line, although not as strong as the Spurs' Duncan and Robinson, is not too bad. Judging by the previous six games, Yao's height and his soft touch can still be a good barrier and attack point on the inside. ”

"Secondly, although on the inside, the Clippers are lagging behind. But in the backcourt, Chauncey Rupus, who averaged 16.2 points, 3.69 rebounds, and 3.88 assists per game, and Kidd, who averaged 20.1 points, 8.2 assists, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game, far surpassed the strength and experience of the Spurs paired by Ginobili and Tony Parker. ”

In the end, although they fought the Lakers for seven games and were physically weak, they did not fall in the matchup against the Spurs, but have been playing until now. They are more resilient than the Spurs. ”

"So, I think the Clippers have a better chance of winning!"

"Are you going to bet with me again?"

"Bet on it, even if you lose anyway, you won't lose anything...!"

"No, no, you lost and invited me to a big meal...... Wait, Oh my god, who did I find? Is that Bruce Kwok?"

With Mike Green screaming in shock, almost everyone's attention was drawn to the TV and the scene.

Soon, as the camera lens adjusted, sitting in the first row behind the clipper's rest area, a figure wearing a light blue shirt, black casual pants and white tourist shoes appeared on the big screen of the scene, as well as on the TV.

"Wow, it's Bruce Guo?"

"Bruce Guo, that Silicon Valley super-rich?"

"He's coming to see the game?" ......

"Boss!"

Without Matthew's reminder, Guo Shouyun also noticed the movement at the scene, as well as his figure on the big screen in the middle.

Now that it has been discovered, there is no need to pretend to be cold. He smiled and raised his right hand and waved it briefly, which was regarded as a greeting. If he had a choice, he would rather sit in the box and watch the game than make a big fuss here. But the private boxes in the AT&T Center Arena are all rented for a long time, and they have long been rented to local businesses and individuals who are not bad for money. So, he can only buy the position in front.

But with this experience, Guo Shouyun will never buy this kind of position next time. Because once exposed, he becomes a monkey in the audience, and everyone, including the camera, is chasing him. He didn't like it.

Fortunately, time did not make him uncomfortable for long. As the game approached, both teams finally got on the pitch. Slowly, the attention of the audience and the media also shifted to the game. But apart from the competition, he is still the one who has attracted the most attention.

Of course, with such a big movement, everyone on the Clippers team also noticed the boss sitting behind them.

“boss！”

"Boss!"

Looking at these players who greeted him one by one, Guo Shouyun nodded, "Come on, I think tonight's victory must belong to us." ”

"Yes!"

"Boss, why don't you come and sit here!"

Larry Brown gestured to the team lounge next to him.

"No, I don't. I'll do it here. ”

Seeing that he refused, Larry Brown didn't insist. After nodding, start beckoning the players to warm up.

After the warm-up, it was time for the game to officially start. The noisy stands also gradually quieted down as the players from both sides began to stand in circles.

Not surprisingly, the center of the respective team is responsible for grabbing the rebound, Yao Ming on the Clippers' side, and the 'Admiral' David Robinson on the Spurs.

As a result, there was no need to ask, and the ball was easily won by Yao Ming. Even admirals at their peak may not be able to compare with Yao Ming, who is outstanding in jumping, let alone the old guy who is almost 38 years old now.

But David Robinson can't do it, but that doesn't mean the rest of the Spurs are lagging behind. Duncan defended his own half as soon as Yao Ming got the ball, and Tony Parker was inexperienced but quick. Kidd's premeditated fast break didn't work. However, in the face of Tony Parker's defense, he did not stop, and dribbled towards the Spurs penalty area.

Chauncey Rose shook off Spurs point guard Stephen Jackson and followed into the box. As he stepped into the three-second zone, Kidd's pass arrived. For example, Puss shoots the ball, and the basketball hits the board and goes to the basket, and the two points are in hand.

Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups, both of whom are the kind of calm defenders. He is well-balanced in attack and defence, and has excellent organisational skills. Their backcourt is the most solid guarantee for the Clippers to achieve 62 wins in the regular season.

In the playoffs, they were able to defeat the powerful Lakers, and in the case of poor internal strength, they fought with the Spurs to the seventh game, and the two contributed greatly.

Therefore, the final tie-break, the backcourt of Chauncey Russ and Jason Kidd, is a guarantee of victory for the Clippers.

The Spurs, who switched offense and defense and pursued the 'twin towers tactic', are now playing the same positional battle as the Clippers. Parker dribbled across the halfway line and faced the seasoned, defensively strong Kidd, who was just coming to the NBA, but he wasn't restless. After observing the situation on the court, he took the initiative to cut inside, pulling Kidd to turn to the left, and then threw his right hand from behind, and the basketball flew lightning to Duncan, who was located on the right side near the baseline.

This expressionless guy with the nickname of 'Stone Buddha' carried Yao Ming to the inside line the moment he received the ball.

Duncan, who is now in his prime, is a guy who can fight the big shark O'Neal. The two have played each other 32 times in the regular season, with Ao Pang winning 18 of them, and 30 playoff games in which the two are evenly matched. It can be seen that in addition to technique, Duncan's body is also the top in the interior line.

Of course, without a good body, you can't support a good interior player.

Duncan's sudden attack caused Yao Ming to take half a step back, causing the defense to be out of position. Duncan, who seized the opportunity, took a big step and came to the basket, exerting his outstanding ability of 'big fundamentals', hitting the board and scoring two points easily.

Seeing this scene, Guo Shouyun sighed in his heart. Although Yao Ming's strength and endurance have improved by more than one grade after nearly a year of training, it is still a little worse than the blacks and whites who are born with strong physiques.

"He needs to continue to grow before he can truly become a top center in the NBA!"

Next, the two sides went back and forth, and the Clippers relied on the backcourt to score points. The Spurs relied on a strong interior line and clung to it. At halftime, the Clippers led by five points at 48:44, but in the third quarter, Ginobili led the Spurs' bench to pull the difference back to three points, and in the fourth quarter, Duncan equalized the score as soon as he came on the court.

"Bang...!"

Jason Kidd missed his mid-range shot and the rebound was picked up by Duncan.

Just as he was about to launch a fast attack, the whistle blew from the sidelines asking for a timeout. Duncan frowned, if he wasn't interrupted, he was sure to take the attack.

The timeout was called by Larry Brown, his brow furrowed as he looked at the panting player. In fact, it wasn't just him, even Guo Shouyun next to him frowned very tightly.

He'd played basketball too, he could tell. Compared to when they first came on the court, the footsteps of the Clippers players have obviously become heavier. Even Kidd and Pus, who had good physical strength, began to gasp.

"It's not good for the Clippers!"

"That's right. They played two consecutive tie-break games with the Lakers and Spurs, and their physical reserves were far inferior to the Spurs. Now this physical disadvantage has been exposed. If I were Popovich, I would have chosen to play fast break right now. ”

The sound of the live commentary made the audience in front of the TV understand the situation at the scene.

"Jason, slow down the tempo and make the most of every attacking time. ”

Jason Kidd nodded. As the best point guard in the league, it's not hard for him to control the team's tempo.

"Yao, can you still hold on?"

"Yes, Coach!"

With a towel on his head, Yao Ming, who was already out of breath, gritted his teeth and nodded vigorously. Since coming to the NBA, he has represented not only himself, but also the 1.3 billion Chinese people behind him. So, he can lose, but he must not back down.