Chapter 100: Popovich's Concern

When it comes to winning or losing on the basketball court, sometimes it depends not only on physical fitness and ball skills, but also on the excellent ball quotient.

Players who rely on physical fitness can become famous overnight in the NBA league, and even become popular, but most of them will become role players in the league, although occasionally break out into one or two wonderful performances, but they are extremely easy to target, their weaknesses are obvious, once the remaining 29 teams in the league find a way to restrain him, then such a physical talent player will instantly fall to the bottom, and it will be difficult to get up again.

Players with good skills are better, players who can easily stand out from three or four hundred players, who know how to help the team better, who are very easy for them to play good statistics, who would be a great addition to any team, who would be a great bench bandit or one of the starting five. They also have a relatively long shelf life in their playing careers, generally maintaining an improved or peak level of strength for about ten years.

The most rare is the last type of player, this kind of player is the indispensable cornerstone of a team's rise and even championship, they can often be ranked as legendary players after retirement, they have all taken their own path, watch their game videos, you can find their own legend from those classic games, very strong.

Such players are better at playing with superior ball quotients, and understand that no matter what difficulties and dangers they encounter on the court, they can make the most correct response strategy at any time!

Popovich has been coaching the Spurs for nearly two decades, and what he is most proud of is not the brilliant tactics he has in his stomach, nor the experience of developing his players, but his ability to find the shining points in those mediocre players.

For ordinary people, especially an ordinary person who has received a complete education, the shining point only means merit, and even some excellent morality, ethics, etc., which some people attach great importance to, and some people disdain and abandon them as if they were shoehorny.

But Popovich doesn't see it that way!

A graduate of the Air Force Academy, Popovich has the blood of a soldier in his veins, and because of his Eastern European identity, he worked as a civilian in a corner of Iran for a period of time, an experience that may have long been buried in the depths of his memory.

When someone asked, the stubborn old man would only sneer and say disappreciatively: "People always imagine me holding a gun, like a spy in their hearts, but unfortunately I am not the James Bond on the screen!" ”

It was not as relaxed as words, and Popovich saw the hearts of people during that time in a way that he had never seen in the United States.

The warmth and coldness of people, the kindness and sinisterness, the truth and the falsehood, are all shown in those years, and they have become the most unforgettable years for Popovich.

Unlike the nickname of the Heat's president Pat Riley "God Operator", Popovich has a very ordinary temperament, even a little stubborn, but because of the accumulation of those years, he has a deeper view of people, which is why he can see the potential of a player at a glance.

Duncan is one of the very few players who has potential, but this seemingly ordinary interior player has hidden a tenacity potential that can change the pattern of the league for more than a decade.

Popovich understands that he and Duncan are the type of people who make each other happen, and maybe he could have made it without Duncan, but will he be able to earn four championship rings like he is now?

When he selected the Virgin Islands big man in 1997 with a first-round pick, he didn't think about the glory days now, but he knew that the Wake Forest senior he selected could bring him hope for the rise of the Spurs, and let the small town of San Antonio, which had not won a championship for many years, taste the joy of the championship!

It was with this in mind that he did not hesitate to draft Tim Duncan from Wake Forest University with the top pick.

There aren't many players in this league who have these special potentials, Kobe Bryant has them, and this crazy black mamba has paranoia.

LeBron James, who is being popular in the league, also has a potential, but now he doesn't seem to realize this valuable potential hidden in his heart, and he is still immersed in the dream of becoming the throne in Cleveland.

In the 2001 finals, he also saw a small man play a lonely hero, but unfortunately his opponent was O'Neal, a big shark who was unrivaled in the league at the time, and this guy's sea area was not so easy to break into.

The lightning-fast No. 3 on Miami Beach also has an extraordinary potential, but his potential is always looming, Popovich once saw this young man's shocking performance in the '06 finals, and at that moment, this Inazuma No. 3 unleashed the beast deep inside him, unstoppable.

Now, Popovich sees similar potential to Duncan in the Chinese kid Li Shihao, the same ordinary, the same clues.

However, the veteran Popovich could see in the young man's bland eyes the power that shook people's hearts, a strong will to shake the tree even if it was a mayfly.

It's hard to imagine how this young man could have such a strong mental willpower, if he finds a suitable way to open it, maybe he will set off a huge storm that will sweep through the entire alliance!

Popovich suppressed the shock in his heart and carefully observed the young man's performance on the field, Don Nelson is highly respected in this league, he had studied under him at the beginning, and he still believed in the vision of this old man!

The small-ball storm, it's not just talking, maybe the league will really be swept away by the small-ball storm one day!

There was not much time left in the first quarter, but the Timberwolves set off a strong counterattack trend, constantly using defensive rebounds or fleeting offensive opportunities to close the score, and in just 3 minutes and 11 seconds, they actually scored 14 points of offensive firepower.

The Spurs, who have Tony Parker in control of the rhythm, still maintain a steady rhythm, still maintain the original tactical strategy, and maintain a stable score.

At this moment, the score has reached 27:20, and the original double-digit score gap has been narrowed to just 7 points, and the Timberwolves are gradually playing their due state under the leadership of the Chinese kid opposite.

When the whistle blew and the first quarter ended, the Timberwolves temporarily trailed by 7 points, and the gap was recovered a little, and the disadvantage was not too obvious.

After Li Shihao got off the court, he took the sports drink from his teammate Gomez, took a sip lightly, and looked in the direction of the Spurs, which was extremely awe-inspiring.

Suddenly, the opposite head coach Popovich and Tim Duncan seemed to notice their gaze, turned their heads to look, Li Shihao smiled slightly, raised the drink in his hand, and poured a large mouthful of liquid into his mouth.

Now, the people of San Antonio should be left with trouble with how to restrain me!

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