"Young people still like to show themselves too much, and they want to show off when they have mastered good things...... Obviously, they all told this kid to be a little bit more preseason. Popovich smacked his lips in the dugout, his right hand holding his chin with a gray beard, and muttered, "Let him continue to rest in the next game, Ettore, you can think of a more reliable excuse." It's good to have a bad stomach, but next time you don't use sushi and use a sandwich. ”

Assistant coach Ettore. Messina couldn't help but sneer and twitched the corners of his mouth, he had never performed such a job in Europe, and since becoming an assistant coach for the Spurs, he felt that his three views had been seriously turned upside down. Look at Kyle sitting next to him smiling hard. Anderson and Patrick. Mills and others, Messina felt that this team would turn into a full-time comedy performance group at such times...... Isn't there a saying - at Spurs, you can even play basketball!

Addison was stunned after Leonard's goal, and then glanced at Wade, who was not far away, and both could see the other's surprise and understanding. Perhaps what is manifested in an attack does not say anything, but it is enough to arouse their alarm; If Leonard continues to show such aggression and offensive skill in the next two or three rounds, then they will have to apply the same defensive intensity to this player in the league during the regular season.

After taking the basketball sent by Bosh and advancing to the front court, Addison still played with the 'Dragon King' to block and dismantle, and this time he still walked Danny. On the left where Green is located. Also has Danny. Green and Leonard's Spurs are pretty good at blocking the three-point line, especially with their emphasis on wing defense, but Addison is no longer in a hurry to defend with all kinds of intensity after last season's playoff bayonet fight, and he doesn't believe that the opponent will give 100% ability and sincerity to defend himself in the preseason. Therefore, this time he did not immediately distribute the ball to Wade after encountering the help defense, but changed the ball from the crotch to the right side with his left hand and changed to a half-turn, and the direction of the breakthrough changed to the top of the arc again. Danny. Green's change area didn't dare to open too much because of Wade, and his purpose of switching was only for Tony. Parker waited a bit longer and returned to position as soon as 'French Sports Car' got out of cover. Given his nimble footwork and long legs and long arms, he was more than capable of stopping Wade before he could start in place.

A pick-and-roll failed to tear apart the Spurs' perimeter defense, and Addison reconnected with Tony at 45° on the left side. Parker, he simply stopped looking for cover, but gestured to Bosh and Wade to pull away as much as possible, giving him the space to clear the defense so that he could play the opponent alone. Since the use of blocking and pick-and-roll will provoke the Spurs' two major wings to help defense, then he would like to see if his single play with enough space will also attract blocking outside defense. Parker is the weakest link in the Spurs' defensive system.

The Chinese point guard of the home fans tore apart Parker's defensive position with two consecutive shifts in front of the body, and went to the left side to wipe into the three-point line, as a left-hander, he deliberately did not approach the right side of Leonard, and he was still quite jealous of the Spurs' new defensive ability. Danny. Green was pinned down by Wade, who was running and pulling, and Aldridge moved out from under the basket to make up for the defense when Addison advanced all the way to the corner position, but the Heat point guard had already controlled his rhythm and made an easy jumper before the opponent's interior defense was in place, and hit the basketball into the net.

The cheers at the American Airlines Arena immediately went up a notch, and after seeing Leonard hit the first goal, the home fans were eager for Addison, who is also a young core, to score the next goal to respond strongly, and Addison did not disappoint them. Although it was only a tactical decision that he made in the singles, Addison was looking to the home fans to be responding to their expectations.

"Eddie's mid-range shooting hasn't cooled down at all because of a summer holiday, and I think I'm more proficient than last season." David. Fitzdale nodded in satisfaction and whispered to Spoelstra for Addison's performance, "It may not be long before another 'Smiling Assassin' is born in the Alliance." ”

Spoelstra just smiled implicitly, Addison's impressive form was something he had expected for a long time, and now he was more concerned about the Spurs' defensive reaction under Addison's attack. The defensive set-up of the Black and White Army in the opening two offensive rounds always seemed a little strange to Spoelstra, and he couldn't name the specific oddities, but it was definitely different from the Spurs' defense last season.

"David, our opponent seems to be ......"

- They seem to be deliberately loosening up their mid-range defenses...... Addison on the court also sensed that something was wrong, he was the core of the Heat's offensive playmaking, so he felt it more really. From the first round of Wade's empty cut, to this round he singled Tony. Parker succeeds for the first time Tim. Duncan simply stayed under the basket and didn't bring it up, and the second time Aldridge didn't make up the defense in time...... More often than not, the two big men try to stay in the box under the basket as much as possible, not allowing the three-second zone defense to show a little bit of space.

With that in mind, think of Danny again. Green and Leonard's tight lockdown on the three-point line, Addison seems to understand something. He gestured to his teammates as he stepped back, and said in a short and small voice: "Mid-range!" Concentrated firepower, medium range! ”

He wanted to confirm that his guess was correct - Popovich is a coach who is extremely good at making changes with the times, and now that Duncan and Aldridge are not very mobile interior players in his main lineup, which means that this lineup will inevitably have flaws in defensive pick-and-roll; And the best way to compensate for this situation is to use the wings with excellent defense, such as Danny. Green and Coy. Leonard. But in today's increasingly rapid league trend, it's difficult to defend all three areas of the three-point line, mid-range and basket, and it's unlikely that the Spurs will be able to do that with their current roster. With Popovich's open-mindedness, he is likely to ask his players to focus on two of the areas and relax on the remaining one...... Just like in the 2014 Finals, he deliberately arranged to focus on the mid-range and the basket, and relatively relaxed the defense of the three-point line. James & Dwyan. Wade's two cores played extremely uncomfortable.

According to Addison's speculation, in order to cope with the slow movement of the main interior this season and the opponent's increasingly paranoid three-point shooting, Popovich is likely to ask the team to focus on defending the three-point line and the basket, and relatively relax the mid-range defense. It's the right tactical workaround, especially against a team like the Rockets that follow the 'magic ball' theory...... But this method will not be so effective against the Heat, who are all super-notch masters of mid-range kills in the main lineup of the Heat, and their real three-point shooting firepower is basically in the rotation lineup, which is a rare team in the league today that focuses on attacking the middle range.

If the Spurs did follow this defensive strategy, then Addison would dare to make them suffer on the defensive end, even if it was preseason.

***

Turning around, the Spurs twin towers played a wonderful combination in the low post, and Tim. Duncan received a drop pass from the left and tried to beat Whiteside, but deftly sent the basketball out of his side when he turned around after a series of squeezes. Aldridge relied on his weight advantage to lean on Bosh from the middle to cut to the basket, received the pass, shook Bosh's center of gravity, and then turned around and hooked the basketball into the basket with a close hook hand with his right arm extended.

Spoelstra pursed his lips unconsciously when he saw this scene, although the opponent's interior combination is 39-year-old Duncan and 30-year-old Aldridge, but once these two people run into a tacit understanding, they can even play seventy or eighty percent of the power of the 'Stone Buddha' Duncan + 'Admiral' Robinson's interior combination, which must not be underestimated. Duncan and Aldridge are both powerful interior players with well-established offensive skills, and their high-low and high post combinations may really turn the tide in the penalty areas of teams in the age of small ball.

Switching offense and defense, Addison came to the top of the arc to direct his teammates to run, and he motioned for Wade to move to the bottom corner as much as possible to pull Danny. Green's defensive attention, then called on Whiteside to cover himself. There's already Tony ready for it. Parker wasn't completely blocked this time, retreating early and bypassing cover in time; At the same time because of Danny. Green was pinned down by Wade, and Duncan under the basket had to go up a certain distance to block Addison.

But Addison didn't plan to end the offense himself, and his goal was not to cover Whiteside who went down to the restricted area, only to see the Chinese point guard take two steps inside the three-point line and suddenly throw the basketball left hand to the right high post, following his Tony. Parker couldn't intercept the high-level pass at all. At the same time, Bosh, who had just been tangling with Aldridge in the cut, suddenly turned and ran backwards, and came to the right high post in time to catch Addison's pass. He couldn't have made it simpler, jumping up and shooting straight after a half-turn, but Aldridge hadn't been able to get out of the low post at this point.

"!!Shh The basketball sinked into the hoop to cause the audience to cheer, and Bosh himself waved his fist happily. It's so important for him to feel his shooting touch regaining clear momentum, as shooting and cutting are two of Bosh's most effective scoring tools right now.

As Bosh hit the ball, Popovich withdrew his chin palm with a little dissatisfaction off the court, his brow furrowed slightly. A head coach of his level only needs to observe one or two rounds to see the clues, and from just now he felt that the Heat team, led by that Chinese point guard, was a little specific to the Spurs' mid-range, which was not what he wanted to see, even in the preseason.

At the same time, Popovich realized that his strategy of relatively relaxed mid-range defense might not be a good way to deal with the Miamins, and he had previously overlooked several of the team's experts who were very good at creating mid-range kills. The defensive strategy that was supposed to protect the team's two interior lines is likely to become the main reason for the team's defensive holes, which Popovich will not tolerate even in the preseason.

"Watch for two more rounds and ask for a timeout if the Heat continue to target our mid-range...... We've got to make some changes defensively. He instructed assistant coach Messina.