"What a dominant player." In this game between the Spurs and the Lakers, the main lineups of both sides basically played the full 24 minutes of the first half, and when the half was over, the Spurs still led the Lakers by 10 points at 47-37, and Michaels, who got the technical statistics in the first half of the game, also exclaimed, 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 8 steals, 5 blocks, this is Meng Xu's statistics in the first half, and the data of 5*5 was completed in the first half of the game, for any player, It's all a miracle, and it can be said that in this game, Meng Xu played a dominant performance at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends.

"It's truly a miracle." Looking at Meng Xu, who had already walked into the player's tunnel in the distance, Magic Johnson also showed an elusive smile, and then whispered: "Larry, maybe we both lose." ”

When the players on both sides walked into the locker room, the fans on the scene did not want to watch the wonderful performance of the cheerleaders on the field, but were discussing what happened in this game, originally in the pre-game expectations, has achieved a 2-1 lead, in addition to the fact that this is the home of the Lakers, so this game, the Lakers will be able to win easily, but the current situation is a little not optimistic, Meng Xu alone blocked the entire outside line of the Lakers, and now the problem faced by the Lakers is that Kobe Bryant is not in good shape, O'Neal struggled alone, and the Lakers were never able to break free from the Spurs' defense.

"Tim, how are you feeling?" In the locker room of the Spurs, Popovich walked to Duncan, who was still taking advantage of the break to read the psychology materials as usual, this summer Duncan will go back to Wake Forest to take a master's degree in psychology, for Duncan, this is a matter as important as the championship, so as long as there is a little bit of free, Duncan has to take out the materials he carries with him and take a look. And since the Spurs team came to Los Angeles, Duncan's body has not been in shape, which is also an important factor affecting the Spurs at present. Although in the first half of the game, the Spurs seemed to completely suppress the Lakers, but it can be expected that in the second half the Lakers will definitely fight back, so Popovich now also wants to know whether Duncan's condition can withstand O'Neal, and this is the key to winning this game.

"Coach, don't worry, I'll do my best." Duncan closed the book, put it in the locker room behind him, and began to listen to Steve Cole's tactics, although Duncan had already memorized them, and was even more proficient than Steve Cole.

After asking about Duncan's situation, Popovich walked to Meng Xu's side again, and Popovich's eyes now looking at Meng Xu were complicated, both surprised and worried. That year, Popovich only watched Meng Xu's game for less than 10 minutes, and decided that Meng Xu was the player he needed, and used the team's first-round pick to select this rookie who was called "Mr. 0" at the time, at that time Popovich's expectations for Meng Xu were a defensive striker, but as Meng Xu continued to improve, Popovich's expectations for Meng Xu became higher and higher, until this season, Meng Xu was already as important a player as Duncan in Popovich's heart. Therefore, this season, Popovich continued to look for and try ways to make Meng Xu and Duncan perfectly integrate, and there were many detours for this, but in the end they all failed. Slowly Popovich gave up this idea, and instead adopted a system to suppress Meng Xu, so that Meng Xu could integrate into Duncan's system, because in Popovich's view, Meng Xu's upper and lower limits were not as good as Duncan's, so only by integrating Meng Xu into Duncan's system could Duncan's maximum value be brought into play. Originally, Popovich was afraid that Meng Xu would not make such a sacrifice, but to Popovich's surprise, Meng Xu and Duncan took the initiative to sacrifice themselves to fulfill each other in order to achieve a seamless connection between the two, so that the Spurs had an excellent record in the second half of the season.

But judging from today's game, Popovich feels that he is wrong, Meng Xu's lower limit may not be as good as Duncan's, but his ceiling will definitely be higher than Duncan, which is also what makes Popovich both surprised and worried, judging from today's game, Meng Xu is very close to becoming a dominant player, and the last dominant player in this league is Jordan. Although the big fat man on the opposite side is also known as the most dominant player under the basket, but his dominance must be preceded by the word basket, and Jordan is the dominant force that can control the entire court, whether it is on the offensive end, or on the defensive end, whether it is under the basket, or below the 3-point line, he has the ability to dominate the opponent.

"Meng, you played very well in the first half, very good, but in the second half, the Lakers' big fat man and explosive head are likely to fight back, so I hope you can continue to maintain this form, as long as you can continue to suppress the explosive head kid on the other side, then we are one step closer to victory." Popovich looked at Meng Xu for a full 10 seconds before he said the requirements and arrangements for Meng Xu in the second half, although Popovich now also wants to say something more to Meng Xu, but Popovich also knows that it is not appropriate to say that in this kind of place and time period now.

"Coach, I understand." After Meng Xu nodded affirmatively, he closed his eyes, and at the same time wrapped the training clothes on his body a little tighter, wanting to seize this time and rest for a while, although Meng Xu's endurance has now reached 110 points, but he played the entire first half, and the unreserved style of play at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends is also very physically demanding.

"Erwin, the second half is about to start, do you think there will be any changes between the two teams in the second half?" When he saw the players of both teams walking out of the tunnel again, Michaels asked Magic Johnson next to him with an expectant expression. The performance of the Spurs and the Lakers in the first half is not a wonderful matchup, under the suffocating defense of the Spurs, the Lakers' offense is completely unable to play, the dull defense, and the sound of playing iron one after another, makes people look drowsy, Michaels is now also looking forward to the two teams in the second half can be improved.

"There will definitely be, but this change should come from the Lakers, and as for whether it can have an effect, it's hard to say now." Looking at O'Neill and Meng Xu, who had already walked into the court, Magic Johnson also smiled slightly. The Lakers only scored 37 points in the half, and the Spurs' defense can only be described as frenzied, so Magic Johnson, like Michaels, is expecting Phil Jackson to make changes in the second half.

Sure enough, as expected by Michaels and Magic Johnson, the Lakers made a change after the opening of the third quarter, and in the case that the triangle offense could not break the Spurs' defense, Phil Jackson also sent a large and four small lineup for the first time, and after halftime, Phil Jackson removed Horace Grant and Rick Fox and replaced them with Robert Horry and Isiah Ryder, hoping to use O'Neal's huge containment on the inside to create scoring space for the Lakers' outside, At the same time, Isaiah Ryder was used to replace Rick Fox who was abused by Meng Xu's assistant defense for half the court, although Isaiah Ryder is a bastard, but his ability is still much stronger than Rick Fox, after all, this guy was still an all-round swingman who averaged 19.3+4.3+3.7 per game last season, and Phil Jackson also hopes that Isaiah Ryder's play can liberate Kobe, or let Meng Xu have no time to distract Isaiah Ryder while defending Kobe.

After the Lakers made changes, Popovich also changed the Spurs' defensive strategy on the court in a short period of time through gestures and sideline commands, after Hores Grant went off, the Spurs were more determined to pinch O'Neal, and at the same time, after Isaiah Ryder came on the court, Popovich asked Meng Xu to turn to defend Isaiah Rydell, and for Kobe Bryant, who only shot 3 of 9 in the first half, the Spurs also relaxed their defense against him, although Kobe is now also a superstar, But the core of the Lakers is still O'Neal, and the key to defeating the Lakers is also whether they can limit O'Neal, at this point, the Mavericks' old Nelson has set a good example for the entire league, as long as the Mavericks play the Lakers' game, the old Nelson will always be crazy to wrap O'Neal, two people can't do three, for Kobe, the old Nelson always lets him go alone, the result of this is that even though Kobe Bryant is in the 4 regular season games with the Mavericks, He averaged 38.5 points per game, but in those four games, the Lakers lost three of them.

Meng Xu once again showed his brutal dominance to the fans on the court after switching to Isaiah Ryder, if Meng Xu could only limit Kobe when defending Kobe, then when facing Isaiah Ryder, it was completely crushed, Meng Xu was taller than him and faster than him, even the strength that Isaiah Ryder was proud of was in a slight position in front of Meng Xu, so in the entire 3rd quarter, it was Meng Xu who unilaterally beat Isaiah Ryder, Not only on the defensive end, but also on the offensive end, Meng Xu also relied on his height and bounce, all kinds of **Isaiah Ryder.

In the end, when the third quarter of the game ended, although Kobe Bryant had gradually regained his touch and scored 15 points in a single quarter, the Lakers were still 60-75, 15 points behind the Spurs.