Chapter 127: I'll Defend It
After most of the Heat's losses, James stepped up and said he would step up his offense and go all out to win for the Heat.
Losing again is a desperate situation, which is something that a player of James' level does not want to see.
On June 13th, the fourth game of the finals continued in San Antonio.
The Heat adjusted their starting lineup, and since Haslem was just going up to play soy sauce, they simply let Mike Miller start the longest-serving big four in their game.
Popovich was also not ambiguous, and chose to make a substitution after only a few dozen seconds of the opening game.
If they have twin towers and can still play the inside, only the athleticism will decline, and Split is a blue-collar type, Popovich will not bet.
It was Gary Neal who came on the court, and the Spurs won several big games because of three points, and Popovich still had something to look forward to.
Only the Spurs did hit a few three-pointers to take the lead, Parker also felt good, and the direction of the script seemed to be in the hands of the Spurs.
But then James made good on his pre-game promise and turned on scoring mode at the same time as Wade.
In front of James, who was attacking with all his might, Leonard's defense was finally tested.
Leonard's physical fitness is very good, but there is still a bit of a gap compared to James, in the first few games, Leonard used the advantage of the long arm to stick to the interference, and James broke into the bag, which once made James very uncomfortable.
However, after James's offense became more resolute, Leonard's defense seemed a little gentle, which was no way to do it, in the face of a player of James' level, the limit was originally between the first line.
James was a little hesitant before, on the one hand, because of the Spurs' defense, and on the other hand, he was still in his heart.
Now that it's released, the accuracy has risen, and if the mid-range shooting rate increases, it will be difficult for anyone to defend, and if you want to hit on the outside, the risk is too great, and the Heat's shooter group is very efficient.
And for the Spurs, the most troublesome thing is not the opponent, and Duncan is the most troublesome because he can't keep up with the rhythm.
This is the result of fighting for the outside line, the team can't stop and wait for Lao Shifo many times, and the opponent is also desperately speeding up.
With James and Wade both double-doubles in the first quarter, the Heat overtook the score at the end of the first quarter.
The Spurs actually played as well, but the Heat were more talented.
If we continue to fight like this, it will definitely be the Spurs who lose.
Popovich was also a little struggling, and Ginobili missed another shot during the rotation.
"Coach, why don't you try my main defense, Kehuai will help defend inside...... I'm feeling good today. ”
Zhang Xiaotian refers to defending James, obviously the previous strategy was not so good, Duncan is moving slowly now, and Leonard is actually a very good choice to help defend.
However, no one else on the team can stop James, and the Spurs have no choice.
Zhang Xiaotian is not impulsive, he still has a card that he got from doing a mission that has been useless, or can be used to defend James.
[Bronze Wall Iron Wall Card: Increases strength by 10 points in defense, and doubles the physical confrontation ability. 】
Because it feels relatively chicken, this card has not been used.
Popovich clearly didn't like a rookie telling him what to do, and his expression was serious and he didn't respond.
The Spurs once trailed by 10 points, but fortunately, Duncan played inside and pulled the score back, but it was not necessarily a good thing for Lao Shifo to exert his strength in advance.
At halftime, Popovich emphasized the issue of tempo, and they certainly won't be able to compete with the Heat in the second half.
Slow down the tempo, settle down and play inside, and temporarily Duncan on the outside.
The Spurs' thinking was certainly fine, but at the start of the third quarter, the Heat showed their talent.
The key was James, who scored frontcourt rebounds, steals, assists, and blocked Duncan's shots again.
Seeing that the margin was 10 points away, Popovich called a timeout.
The Heat are not Grizzlies who don't have a lot of offense, and if they give them a double-digit lead, the Spurs will likely have to kneel in the final quarter.
In fact, Popovich has been thinking about Zhang Xiaotian's proposal, to be precise, he was thinking about a better way to limit James before that, but he didn't want to change easily, and Zhang Xiaotian's defense obviously did not reach Leonard's level.
But now Leonard is a little overwhelmed, and Popovich can only be a dead horse as a horse doctor.
If something goes wrong with the change, you have to bet on the offense.
Fortunately, it was the fourth game, the team was still ahead by a big score, even if he lost, he still had a chance, if he lost and it was over, even he didn't dare to disrupt the tactics that had been formulated before and had been repeatedly scrutinized.
Seeing that the player standing in front of him after the Spurs timeout became Zhang Xiaotian, James was expressionless, but he already decided in his heart that the Spurs were making a stupid move.
As a key gentleman for the Spurs, the Heat have also studied Zhang Xiaotian.
When Leonard was injured at that time, James directly faced the league newcomer.
Zhang Xiaotian's defense is not bad, but it is not up to the level of defending All-Star players, especially the best of them, James.
Even if Zhang Xiaotian is a little stronger than he was at the beginning, he will be limited in the same season.
James is confident that Leonard can still cause him a little bit of trouble, and he can definitely crush him with substitutions.
Before receiving the ball, Zhang Xiaotian posted it to seek confrontation, which is his habit of defense.
Compared with strength, James is very disdainful, he hasn't suffered enough losses in the regular season, and no one in this position can fight him.
James made a protective movement with his arm, and his body was secretly about to squeeze Zhang Xiaotian away.
As soon as he exerted his strength, he found that something was wrong, what's going on, it's only been a few months, why does this kid's strength seem to be much stronger.
Because Zhang Xiaotian has a record-breaking feat, James himself is also quite concerned about the league's outstanding young people, and he is sure that Zhang Xiaotian did not have such a strong force before.
Could it be that this kid is talented and has practiced it in a few months, because the two didn't calculate in the first few games, and James didn't get too entangled.
After receiving the ball, he made a feint, and his body shook and accelerated violently to rush inside.
In that posture, Zhang Xiaotian felt that it was not a person rushing over, but a truck.
Speed plus strength is more difficult to prevent than complex techniques, Zhang Xiaotian has also bullied many people with this method before, and now he is also in a complicated mood when he is bullied by James like this.
Fortunately, he is now using the Copper Wall Block, and it is impossible for James to crush him easily.
Not completely knocked out, useful.
Zhang Xiaotian's confidence came up, but James was in shock, he didn't squeeze Zhang Xiaotian away, there are only a handful of players in the league who can withstand his impact, and Leonard is not as good as Zhang Xiaotian.
When, the confrontation consumed too much power, James' shot hit the iron.