Popovich has actually studied the 76ers' regular starting lineup in depth, although Iverson rarely partnered with Snow after Reed grew up, but in previous seasons they were the 76ers' untouchable backcourt starters, and the Spurs under Popovich have not played against them, knowing what they have always done.

However, now the starting lineup has one more Lewis who likes to shoot on the outside than before, and Bell's three-point shooting rate in the bottom corners of both sides is not low, so in Popovich's opinion, the 76ers should continue to play the strategy of breaking through the point and make some improvements on this basis, Popovich believes that the habits developed in the two seasons will not change easily.

But soon he found out that he was very wrong, the meaning of Lewis and Bale's existence is to contain the Spurs' defense, while Snow is responsible for organizing the offense, and Iverson has only one task, that is, to force Parker, and then directly blow him up!

Parker also noticed this, and because Popovich instructed the players to solve problems on the court on their own, he would switch defenses with Bowen every time he faced Iverson, leaving the team's number one outside gate to defend the nimble little man. But Iverson has already recognized him, and after the change of defense, he will give the ball to Snow and let the latter direct the offense, and he will wait until he is in the opposite position with Parker again before asking the ball carrier for the ball, anyway, he must trouble Parker.

Infinite switching is not difficult for the Spurs, but they only have one outside defender, and strictly speaking, the 76ers have four outside players, Bowen can't keep an eye on Iverson all the time, and no matter how fast his legs and feet are, he can't be faster than passing, so Iverson can always get one-on-one opportunities with Parker.

Iverson didn't play much in the first two games, which made Parker, who was not afraid of tigers, think that he was not enough. However, in the first real confrontation between the two sides, Iverson showed a breakthrough ability that was far above average.

Iverson had also played against Parker before, and knew that the Frenchman in front of him was also very fast, so he didn't step on the gas pedal when he was in position, but patiently disrupted Parker's defense with a constantly changing rhythm. Although Parker was selected for the French youth national team as early as 1998, Iverson's dribbling rhythm can be said to be the top in this era.

The rest of the game was a nightmare for Parker, who was quick to get the ball out of his teammates every time he was in front of Iverson, and then it was a disastrous one-on-one breakaway. Originally, Smith was going to go up to the pack to relieve Parker of the pressure, but Snow also had a three-point shot, and after he went to pack Iverson, Snow shot 2-of-3 in the open position. In order not to betray the blame, Smith can only continue to let Parker accept Iverson's ravage, which can be said to be more than enough but not enough.

By the time the two players were off the court, Iverson had 11 points and two assists, nine of which came on Parker's head, and he had two personal fouls. Under his leadership, the 76ers also took a 28-24 lead, and although the four-point lead was not large, it was considered to have completed the task assigned by Brown before the game.

Seeing Iverson go down, Popovich secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked Parker to come down to rest, while veteran point guard Terry Porter came on the court. But how could Brown easily let go of this weakness of the Spurs? If the combination of Iverson and Snow has some sanity and artistry, then the bench backcourt composed of Arenas and Reed is synonymous with simplicity and brutality, no way, young people, young people should be young, and their style of play is very unreasonable.

To some extent, the 76ers have absolutely no respect for the old and love the young, they first used Iverson to blow up Parker, a rookie who only entered the league last year, and now they want to use Arenas's momentum to force the veteran Porter. Porter is not an unknown man, he is a two-time All-Star, and although he is only a substitute, it is enough to prove that he is worth it. Popovich recruited him in the hope that Porter could use his experience to help the team, but he didn't expect it to become a hole for the Spurs.

Unlike Iverson, Arenas is taller and more explosive, and although he doesn't have the sheer speed of Iverson, Arenas can often use his body to push defenders past and then send the ball to the basket with all sorts of unbelievable moves. Of course, as a rookie defender, his grasp of the so-called rhythm is still not as good as that of a player like Iverson who relies on breakthroughs to eat, but the unyielding energy and innate talent still allow him to step out of his breakthrough style.

How could an old arm and leg like Potter withstand Arenas' violent breakthrough? Originally, he was a little enthusiastic when he watched Iverson continue to force Parker off the court, how could he not break through when he encountered a soft persimmon? Besides, this is what the head coach specially told before the game, and he is completely acting on orders, and there is nothing happier than this.

Arenas' breakaway put pressure on the Spurs, who had to shrink their defense to protect the basket, giving the two pitchers, Reed and Oku, plenty of opportunities to shoot. That's right, because of his personal form, Mutombo has been squeezed into the position of third center, averaging less than 10 minutes per game, but he did not complain about this, but accepted Brown's arrangement very readily, for him, as long as he can help the team win another championship, it doesn't matter if he can play third center.

So now Oku is already the 76ers' number one backup center as a rookie second-round pick, and his role in this lineup is not inferior to Reed, although the shooting percentage is inferior because he has not undergone Chang Wei's special training, but it is enough at the tactical level, and if he shoots on the outside, there are no Spurs players who can threaten him. With the combined efforts of these three men, the 76ers took a double-digit lead at 42-32 at the end of the first quarter.

Popovich was stunned from the sidelines, originally he thought that Iverson's forced position against Parker was just his personal idea, but looking at what Arenas did, it was clearly Brown's targeted arrangement. At this time, Popovich even began to hate why he liked to use veterans so much, otherwise he would not have been beaten so embarrassed by the 76ers.