On 5 May, fighting resumed. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 In the first game of the second round of the playoffs, the veteran powerhouse Spurs sat at home to face the league's upstart Rockets. This series is seen as a collision between MVP Duncan and prospective MVP Maddie.

"At least this series doesn't have to fly as far as Los Angeles, it's still a little closer to San Antonio." Reid said happily.

"Actually, it's good for us to fly farther, we're younger than the Spurs and we rotate better. If the traffic is tiring, we take advantage. Billups analyzed.

"If you want to win the championship, don't think about it so much, winning depends on strength, we can overcome the small difficulties in the schedule, and the Spurs can also overcome them." Olajuwon Road.

"That's right, Hakim said it well. We have to give it our all to win against a strong opponent like Spurs. Yuan Fei continued: "In terms of points scored and conceded in 100 rounds, our opponent in the last round, the Lakers, ranked 4th in offense and 19th in defense, and it is a team with strong offense and weak defense. However, because O'Neal missed a lot of games in the regular season, the actual strength of the Lakers should be a little stronger than this ranking. Our team is 5th in attack and 12th in defense, so the offense and defense are relatively balanced. The Spurs, on the other hand, are 8th in offense (7th in history, squeezed out by the Rockets) and 3rd in defense, making them a strong defensive team. ”

"Indeed, I noticed it too. Although the Spurs' win over the Jazz was also 4-2, the gap between the small score and us was huge. The Jazz simply didn't score more than 100 points in a game. Coach Smith also made a point, "Only one of our six games against the Lakers has allowed the Lakers to score under 90, but our team has scored more than 100 points in all six games." Four of them went over 110 points. ”

"That's what I'm trying to say, the tempo gap. We averaged 94.5 rounds per game during the regular season, the second-most in the league. The Spurs, on the other hand, have only 90.0 rounds, which is 20th in the league. Similarly, the Lakers are also a team on the fast side, while the Jazz are also a team on the slow side. So when we play the Lakers, we will always have a high score, and the Spurs will play the Jazz with a low score. It's not that Spurs don't attack well, it's that they have fewer rounds. Yuan Fei said: "Because the Spurs mainly play a two-tower lineup, slowly pushing forward the positional battle." ”

"So we're going to have to fight with them for the tempo, play the fast break, play our rhythm." Billups, who has always been very perceptive, immediately continued: "So my work with Tony is critical. ”

"Well understood, Chauncey! In addition, I want to remind you that Claxton, the Spurs' starting point guard, is a pseudo-starter, playing an average of more than 20 minutes a game. The Spurs' lack of a good point guard is a weakness. But most of the time they will put Argentine point guard on the bench - Manu. Ginobili to organize the attack. Yuanfei analyzed: "Although he is a rookie, he is already 25 years old. He played in the Italian league and was elected MVP of the European Basketball League, so he is a very strong player. ”

"Ginobili played well in the regular season, and it seems that he is the X-factor that we should be wary of." Smith nodded, and then he announced the starting line-up - "Hakim, Memet, Richard, Tracy and Chauncey, go face the boys!" ”

***

The Spurs' starting five is David. Robinson, Tim. Duncan, Bruce. Bowen, Stephen. Jackson and Speedy Claxton. In his previous life, the Spurs' starting point guard at this time was Parker, this Claxton is still young at 24 years old, and the Spurs paid rookie Salmons to trade with the 76ers in exchange for him before the season.

"Stephen. Jackson, the 24-year-old small forward, also has a certain amount of quality and the ability to hold the ball alone. Also Bruce. Bowen is accurate with three-pointers and tough defensively. Yuan Fei continued: "This Spurs squad depth is a little stronger than before, and it can be called our fierce rival. ”

"After all, it was the last championship team before the Lakers, so you can't underestimate it." Smith chimed in.

Yuan Fei shook his head, "How to say it, the same team is also the same team, and it is really different to say that it is different." ”

"Oh? How does this mean? Parker asked.

"The Spurs that won the championship in '99 had a total of 14 players, and only 3 people have been retained until now, except for the twin towers, there is only substitute power forward Rose. Including head coach Popovich, there are only four people left. You look at the Lakers who won the championship in 00, in addition to the two core ok stars, Hawley, Fisher, Fox, Shaw, and George have not changed a few substitutes. ”

Jason said that, the Spurs are such a strange team. Why do you have to change blood after winning the championship? Parker grunted.

"Because the main rotation players at the time of the championship were very old. Afri. Johnson is 37 years old; Mario. Avery had retired the year before; Sean. Elliott is slightly younger than the two of them, and her condition has declined greatly after a diseased kidney transplant in the past few years. Even Robinson, who is still playing, is 37 years old, and maybe he will retire this year or next year. ”

"So it seems that the Spurs are also forced to be helpless. However, they have changed blood in the past few years, and they have always been at the forefront of the league, which is really amazing. Wallace also chimed in.

"Not really! Other teams will be rotten for a few years to rebuild, and they may not be able to make the playoffs. You see that in the past four years since the Spurs won the championship, they have ranked fourth, first, second, and first in the West, which is amazing! "TA Dale. Curry was also part of the discussion.

"The only way to rebuild and maintain decency is to rebuild around a superstar of his playing age, and the Spurs' retention of Duncan in '00 was the biggest success. We must admit that Duncan is really good, and Popovich is really good. Yuan Fei said: "It's going to start, let's watch the game!" ”

(The above paragraph is purely a tribute to the great Spurs.) By the way, sorry, we took Parker, I'll make it up to you)

***

The Spurs opened the game with an epic defensive run that completely curbed the Rockets' rhythm. Claxton, despite his mediocre ability, can at least run and jump, and it is not a problem at all to keep up with Billups on the defensive end. And the general suppressed the big dream, although Shi Shuai was quickly replaced by Yao Ming, but the tall general did not suffer anything in the face of the young little giant. And Bowen, who defended fiercely, also stifled Maddie's play.

At the end of the first quarter, the Spurs took the lead at 18:30.

The two sides have been anxious in the following games, and the Spurs will fight back every time the Rockets score, and the point difference has not widened much, and it is difficult to narrow. The Rockets switched to a high-bay lineup in the third quarter, but the Admiral and Duncan both belong to the interior line that moves faster and is good at filling the position, and the Spurs and Lakers are not afraid of the Rockets' tactics, but Wang Zhizhi was blown up by Duncan on the defensive end. And as long as the Twin Towers are present, the Rockets will not dare to play Wallace's small lineup, because the height gap between Wallace and Duncan is too big, and they will be abused casually.

In the fourth quarter, Maddie finally found his groove and scored back-to-back points, but it was too late, and the Spurs finally won the game with an impregnable defense, 93-97. Duncan played 44 minutes and scored 28+9+7+3 (3 blocks), the old Robinson also scored a double-double of 14+11, and Ginobili came off the bench to score 22+6+4. Rockets Maddie 29 + 8 + 8 also has a superstar play, Yao Ming 14 + 9 Oku 12 + 7 These two inside lines also played well, Da Meng played 13 minutes and was completely suppressed by the general, only 4 rebounds and 1 block scored, scoring 0 points.

The Rockets failed to break 100 points for the first time in the playoffs this season and also lost.

(By the way, pay tribute to the classic line of the famous commentator Zhang Weiping - when the Rockets score more than 100 points and prevent the opponent from scoring more than 100, the Rockets have not lost)

The second race on May 7 was the same as the first.

The Rockets switched to Yao Ming as the starter, but still couldn't stop the Spurs from building another lead in the opening game. Bowen unexpectedly exploded, scoring 17 points on 5-of-6 three-pointers in the first half. The Spurs were far ahead at 49-65 in the first half.

The Rockets have always been known for their three-point accuracy, but this time they suffered a big loss from the Spurs on three-point shooting. Yao Ming dunked, Spurs by Steve. Kerr also scored with three points. Maddy drove to a layup and the Spurs were backed by Ginobili with three points. Jefferson steals and scores on a fast break, and comes off the bench for Danny. Ferrie returned another three points.

At 105:116, the Rockets lost another game. Bowen scored a game-high 27 points on 7-of-8 three-pointers, Duncan 12+13+7 and Ginobili 27+4+6. Maddie also contributed 27+5+3, and Yao Ming got 20+10.

With two consecutive defeats on the road, the Rockets were pushed to the edge of a cliff.