In the three games that Meng Xu took off, Sean Etellio played an average of 20 minutes per game, and could score 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game, with a shooting rate of 45% and a 33-point shooting rate. But the more this happens, the more entangled Popovich becomes, Meng Xu and Sean Etellio are destined to start with only one person, and Sean is not good at playing as a substitute, and it is a pity to trade a high-quality rotation player.

"Greg, are you still having a headache about Sean?" In Popovich's office, looking at Popovich, who was absent-mindedly watching the video, Mike Budenholzer, who had just pushed the door in, asked.

"yes, who will start the game the day after tomorrow?" Popovich pressed the remote control and turned off the VCR.

"I think we can let Meng go to the No. 2 position and Mario go to play the sixth man." Mike Budenholzer pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Well, you can try it too." Mike Budenholzer's statement also made Popovich's eyes shine, Meng Xu's long-range shooting is excellent, Sean Ettlio is very accurate in the middle distance, and he also has a certain back-to-back ability, letting Meng Xu go to the No. 2 position may also be a solution, the only uncertainty is whether Mario Eli can adapt to the role of the sixth man.

On March 9, after a round of road trips, the Spurs will play at home against the Seattle SuperSonics, who are currently sixth in the West, and according to the current standings, the two teams are very likely to meet in the playoffs, so Popovich is also quite serious about this game.

With Gary Payton, Schramf and Sean Kemp's supersonic has always been a strong force in the West, the starting 5-man group, with 3 strongmen who can average 20+10 per game, and the supersonic style of play is especially restrained by those teams with big insiders, whether it is the Rockets, Spurs or Jazz in the West, as long as they encounter the supersonic speed, they will be stunned, and there have even happened that the Rockets have released water at the end of the season in order to avoid the supersonic in the playoffs, but in the past two years, this team has changed in style, After being defeated by Jordan in the Finals, first coach George Karl was sacked, Sean Kemp was traded to the Cavaliers, Schramf was traded to the Trail Blazers, and then in last year's shrinking season, the team spent a lot of money in exchange for Wenbaker's state due to alcoholism, and now the SuperSonics have been reduced to hovering on the edge of the playoffs, and they almost couldn't even make the playoffs last season.

Gary Payton, the star of the SuperSonics this season, also played the best statistics of his career, averaging 25 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2.5 steals per game so far. The current supersonic team is no longer the supersonic team of two years ago, in the case of Sean Kemp, Schramf leaving, and the traded Weinbeck is unusable, Payton can only take on more responsibilities, and the current supersonic team is completely dependent on Payton alone.

In the training session before the start of this game, Meng Xu received a notice from assistant coach Mike Budenholzer that Meng Xu's position would change in this game, but after seeing Popovich's tactical arrangement, Meng Xu also breathed a sigh of relief, after experiencing the rookie challenge, Meng Xu was most afraid that one day, Popovich would let himself go to the No. 4 position and fight against those muscle sticks.

Different from playing the No. 3 position, Meng Xu's task in the No. 2 position is a little easier, protecting the rebound is no longer what Meng Xu has to do, after replacing Mario Elie to play the No. 2 position, Meng Xu's task in the offensive section is basically the same, that is, to run out of the empty space outside the 3-point line, and then wait for the pass from his teammates. On the defensive end, Meng Xu not only has to defend SuperSonics point guard Brent Barry, but also helps Sean Etello to help SuperSonics small forward Lewis.

As a guard who was almost a contemporary of Jordan, Gary Payton was well-versed in almost every offense that belongs to a guard except for 3-pointers. With a height of 1.93 meters and a weight of nearly 95 kilograms, Gary Payton is also typical of that type, those who are stronger than me are not as fast as me, and those who are faster than me are not as strong as me, whether it is offensive or defensive, when facing almost all the No. 1 positions in the league, Gary Payton is misplaced. And the Spurs' starting point guard, Avery Johnson, is the kind of player who is average in offense and average in defense.

Not surprisingly, Avery Johnson was blown up by Gary Payton after the game began, not only made a series of mistakes on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end before the end of the first quarter, Gary Payton had already shot 6 of 8, 2 free throws and 2 free throws, and scored 14 points, in addition to 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and even the Spurs trailed the SuperSonics by as many as 7 points at 23-31.

"Greg, do you want Meng to defend Payton." Seeing the decline on the field, assistant coach Mike Budenholzer reminded from the sidelines. Basically, the current Spurs, in the face of any team, Meng Xu will take on the task of defending the opponent's main scorer on the outside, and seeing Gary Payton, who has exploded in this game, Mike Budenholzer's first thought is to let Meng Xu defend him.

"Not for the time being, haven't we been mentally prepared for this kind of scene." Popovich shook his head very calmly, what Popovich is not afraid of is the kind of team that relies on a star to rush and play, basketball is a game of five people, it is impossible for one person to beat a team, even Jordan, it is only after Pippen and the triangle offense can win the championship.

In the first quarter of the game, not only Gary Payton performed well, but the interior line composed of Wenbeck and Holance Grant did not fall behind in the face of David Robinson and Tim Duncan, and the only sad thing was the supersonic scoring guard, who shot 0 of 3 in the entire first quarter and did not score 1 point.

What is more surprising is the supersonic small forward Rashad Lewis, who was originally a big forward on the court, and the supersonic with Holance Grant and Wenbeck, two All-Star insiders, appeared more often in the small forward position, as a big man with a height of nearly 2.10 meters, Lewis is also the same as Anthony Walker, he likes to float on the outside very much, but his shooting feel is much better than that of Anthony Walker, only in the first half of the first quarter 3-pointers shot 2 of 4. It's just that this guy is obviously a little afraid of physical confrontation, and in the second half of the first quarter, after Meng Xu deliberately increased physical contact when assisting in defense, Lewis didn't even make a shot.