Chapter 562: Breaking Unity
The Spurs have always been known for their "unity and friendship" and are known as the big family in the NBA.
While other teams' news is often "trades, training, drinking, internal conflicts", the Spurs news often has some heartwarming and interesting content in addition to the normal part, which seems less normal.
After all, their core architecture has been working together for more than a decade.
The relationship between the players, coaches, and management is stable and harmonious.
But there is no such thing as a perfect collective.
It was once said that there are no factions in the party, and there are all kinds of strange things.
Where there are people, there is struggle, and there are rivers and lakes.
Among other things, at the beginning of the '13 season, Stephen Jackson was still with the Spurs.
As a result, he was cut by the Spurs after not staying long, not because he played badly, but because he was "unsociable".
To put it bluntly, I can't listen to Popovich very well, and it's not easy to be controlled.
So in Spurs, it's not that there are no contradictions between players, it's just suppressed and downplayed.
Popovich is like a scissor-wielding patriarch, cutting out possible as early as possible.
Unity is undoubtedly very important for a team, especially a team like Spurs.
Li Liang has prepared a stinking agent in the system, ready to inflict fatal internal damage on the Spurs at a critical moment.
Once the game started, the Spurs took possession of the offensive ball in the scrum.
Leonard received Parker's breakaway ball on the wing, and after holding the ball to the basket, he hit a right-handed throw to score the first point of the opening game.
When it was the Clippers' turn to attack, the Spurs defended a 1-4 combo on the defensive end.
Leonard stared at Li Liang one-on-one on the outside, and the others guarded a four-man defense.
The Spurs were changing their moves, and the ball failed to reach Li Liang.
But Paul, after getting rid of it with successive dribbles, found an opportunity on the left wing and hit a mid-range jumper.
Immediately afterwards, the Spurs passed a series of tacit passes on the offensive end, and finally relied on Duncan's easy layup under the basket.
Parker broke through the ball from the middle, Green received the ball in the bottom corner and then passed inside, and then Split received the ball and feint and then cleverly passed inside, and the Spurs' offense flowed.
It feels like they've pulled out of the quagmire of the last Clippers.
In fact, the more important reason is that Li Liang changed runes this time.
It's still too tiring to rely on defense to fight the game, and the moves are old, which may not be effective.
The Clippers are all about offense.
After losing the point, the Clippers served quickly in the backcourt, Paul made a long pass across the halfcourt, and Griffin received the ball and went straight to the basket, causing a foul on the retreating Split.
Griffin made both free throws.
But then Barnes fouled Green on defense, and Green also went to the free throw line and hit the free throw.
Subsequently, both sides wasted an attacking opportunity.
Li Liang received Paul's pass at the top of the arc at 9 minutes and 50 seconds into the game, and hit a three-point shot!
The first shot at the beginning of the game was thrown, which showed that Li Liang was in good shape.
Parker immediately returned the favor with mid-range, and then the Clippers missed the attack, and on the counterattack, Danny Green caught the ball in the bottom left corner and hit a three-point shot!
At 11:7, Spurs had a good start.
Griffin was blocked and hit the basket and was defended by Split.
The ball went out of bounds, and then Barnes missed a jumper from the outside.
The Spurs countered, and Tony Parker scored two points on a mid-range jumper after using the pick-and-roll cover again.
At 13:7, the Clippers called a timeout.
The Clippers are now facing a very important problem, how to give the ball to Li Liang more comfortably.
The Spurs' defense of Li Liang now can be said to be meticulous, like a spring breeze and rain, and it is all-encompassing.
Leonard is about to become a conjoined baby with Li Liang.
Popovich is sure that as long as Li Liang can't fully mobilize the whole team and separate him from the others, the Clippers will not be an opponent for the Spurs.
In the last game, Popovich really didn't expect that the Clippers would operate in the opposite direction and strangled the Spurs with defense.
This opening game has shown that the Clippers' defense has no continuity.
Rivers asked for the ball to be "in Bruce's hands during the timeout, to open up enough space and to give Bruce enough support." The speed of our attack still has to get up, don't stagnate, don't hesitate! ”
Rivers' thinking is still correct, the speed that the Clippers rely on to survive has really not played well against the Spurs.
From the first game to the present, no attack has been able to play heartily.
There was a small explosion in the final period of the first game, and many other times it was dragged with the Spurs.
After returning from the timeout, Li Liang found a chance to catch the ball through two screens, but was caught by Leonard and Split!
Li Liang was almost forced to walk, and at the moment when he was about to be pressed out of the sideline, Li Liang gave the ball to the bottom corner of Barnes.
Barnes catches the ball in the bottom corner on the right side, makes a three-point shot, and hits!
Crucial three-pointer, 13:10.
The assistant coach of the Spurs made a walking gesture and signaled to the referee that Li Liang was walking.
Li Liang thought to himself, Lao Tzu's basic skills are so solid, will I walk?
But less than 30 seconds later, Leonard hit a mid-range jumper in the attack, and Li Liang received the ball and tried to break through, but was blown by the referee......
"Why am I just walking? My dribble and foot are started together! ”
It's a pity that tonight's referee is the bald Crawford, and Li Liang's hair dryer is of little use to him.
Otherwise, Li Liang really wanted to blow it and let Crawford punish Duncan.
Li Liang is angry, just my basic skills, to walk?
Duncan forced Griffin one-on-one in the low post and missed.
Li Liang got the backcourt rebound, quickly passed the half-court, and then suddenly accelerated after a pause outside the three-point line!
Li Liang launched the skill - [Ten Thousand Buddhas Dynasty Sect]!
This is a new skill that Li Liang got after completing the task yesterday.
Li Liang never expected that such a domineering skill name was actually a dribbling skill.
It is the so-called "worship Buddha" dribbling feints.
Li Liang originally wanted to rely on this skill to compete with Duncan, and it was best to cripple Duncan with one palm.
As a result, there was just one more dribbling spear, which could be used once in five minutes, which was somewhat useful, making up for Li Liang's monotony in dribbling skills.
Li Liang used this unexpected worship to pass Leonard in one step, and then scored two points on a pull-up jump shot from the edge of the three-second zone.
After the goal, the audience was in an uproar, this skill Li Liang had not shown in the past!
Awesome, really awesome.
Seeing this, Leonard wondered when this guy would do this?
I'm going to learn it too, and it looks like I'm going to have to practice it quickly.
As for the Clippers' bench, Mike Brown pushed his glasses and thought to himself that I had him practice it.
Anyway, when Mike Brown saw what new skills Li Liang had learned, he thought that he had let him practice them.
is worthy of Li Liang's Bole, the best nanny-type coach in the NBA.
However, the Clippers still lagged behind and were also suppressed by the Spurs on the court.
Duncan caught the ball in the low post and hit Griffin, and after going midway, he threw backwards with his body out of balance, and the ball stumbled twice on the basket before falling into the net.
Duncan's close to the basket is really speechless.
But Li Liang immediately returned the color outside the three-point line.
As soon as Duncan scored, he was almost in the bottom corner.
The Clippers quickly served to Paul, who made a long pass to Li Liang.
Li Liang received the ball and made a three-point shot, hit!
The Spurs coaching staff all chrysanthemum tightened, and it didn't feel good.
Li Liang has already hit three shots, which is not a good sign.
Although he was still ahead, Popovich immediately called a timeout and adjusted the defensive arrangement for Li Liang.
And when the two sides were off the court, Li Liang did not go to the Clippers bench, but followed Duncan to the Spurs bench to eavesdrop!
Theoretically, it wasn't a foul because the game was interrupted during the timeout.
As long as you don't run to the opposite bench and hit someone, the referee won't say anything.
The whole Spurs looked at this uninvited guest, and Popovich said: "Mr. Bruce, do you have any advice?" ”
"Nothing, I'm just here to visit and get to know the Spurs family."
After speaking, Li Liang waved his hand and left.
Both Popovich and Leonard frowned because they smelled a foul smell.
"Damn, this kid is farting?"