On the plane from San Donio to Auckland, Li Yang, like other teammates, held the newspaper given by Popovich in his hand, and looked at the contents of the newspaper, feeling very unhappy. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"The Spurs had a very good regular season and played quite well against the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, but in the second round of the playoffs, they were disappointed against this rising Warriors. ”

"In the first two games, the Spurs only led by six minutes in the 96 minutes, and the rest of the time, they were suppressed by the Warriors, who had nothing to do with the Warriors' offense, and the offense played very badly. Yes, in the first game they completed the comeback, but this is because the Warriors are inexperienced, and most of the players on their team are playing in the playoffs for the first time. But in the second game, the Spurs paid for their poor performance ahead of them, and they ended up losing the game. ”

"No one expected the Spurs to be so passive in this series, but that's the truth, the biggest rivals, the Thunder, have lost their competitiveness due to Russell Westbrook's injury, but does that mean the Spurs have locked up a Finals spot? ”

ESPN's report was pretty good, at least, it only suggested that Spurs were now on the back foot and that it wouldn't be easy to qualify, while the Oakland Tribune report wasn't so polite.

"This Warriors team shows us that the same team that used to be Black Eight, the same sharp offense, good at playing fast offense, and this Warriors have better defense and more consistent shooting. The Spurs are a great team, however, the Warriors are not without opportunities. ”

"It's clear that the Spurs don't have much to do with the Warriors' offense, the Warriors' shooting is so good, as long as they continue to maintain this kind of firepower on the offensive end, the Warriors have the potential to create another miracle, and we have reason to expect the performance of this group of young players. ”

In addition to these two newspapers, Li Yang also held some other media reports in his hand, without exception, all of which were commenting on the Spurs' passivity, or praising the Warriors' offense, and the expressions on the faces of the Spurs players were no longer calm.

Of course, not all the media in the United States are making such noises, and some media believe that the Spurs just did not adapt to the style of the Warriors for a while, and the Spurs will adjust in the next game.

However, such a report has been automatically ignored by Popovich, and it is naturally impossible to get it for the Spurs players to watch.

Li Yang knows very well that the reason why Popovich used these media reports to show himself and others is that he wants the Spurs players to pay attention to it from the bottom of their hearts, and show a better attitude towards the game, without the slightest carelessness.

However, Li Yang believes that this situation cannot happen, and with the situation of falling behind for a long time in the first two games, Li Yang believes that no one in the Spurs team will take it lightly.

Indeed, after eliminating the Lakers relatively easily, the Spurs may not have been too nervous when they first faced the Warriors, but the first two games were like this, which was enough to make the Spurs players vigilant in their hearts.

"What do you think of these reports?"

After seeing that most of the players had seen more or less the same, Popovich, who was sitting in the front, asked.

There was silence in the cabin, and no one answered for a while, which made the atmosphere suddenly seem a little dull.

Just as Popovich seemed to be about to speak again, Ginobili suddenly spoke: "Pop, you've spent a lot of time looking for these reports, haven't you? ”

“......”

There was still not much sound in the cabin, but all the Spurs players, including Li Yang, were actually holding back a smile at this time.

Li Yang couldn't see what Popovich's expression was at this time, but he believed that it was similar.

"When did pop care about what the reporter said?" At this time, Duncan also suddenly burst out with a sentence.

At the moment of "!!", the Spurs players really couldn't hold back, and a burst of laughter broke out directly in the cabin.

"Are you two answering my question?" Popovich asked again, amused and angry.

"Okay, pop, let's make a joke first. After making the atmosphere less dreary, Duncan spoke again.

Speaking of this, Duncan paused, knowing that Duncan was really going to speak at this time, and the Spurs players also quieted down and did not laugh again.

"Guys, fight the third battle!"

Duncan didn't go into a tirade, he only said one sentence, and after he said that, Popovich didn't ask again, and the other Spurs players didn't say anything more.

Li Yang didn't speak, because he knew that Duncan said that if he fought the third game, he would really fight the third game, and everyone in the Spurs would fight the third game well!

After the plane landed in Oakland, Li Yang also knew why the local media in Oakland made such a report, and the local support for the Warriors after the Warriors entered the second round of the Western Conference and played well against the Spurs in the first two games, the local support for the Warriors in Oakland can be said to be unsparing.

On the streets of Oakland, you can see slogans supporting the Warriors everywhere, and the whole city is dotted with yellow and blue, although it is only the Western Conference semifinals, but in Oakland, there is a Finals atmosphere.

Such a scene also made the Spurs players tighten the strings again, and the atmosphere of a city may affect the momentum of a team.

Popovich can feel the atmosphere in the team, and he is undoubtedly very satisfied with this, of course, the Spurs are actually tight inside and loose outside, and no one knows the current state of the Spurs team in the outside world.

For example, after the team training in Oakland, when the reporter asked Popovich what the Spurs would do in the face of Curry and Thompson's hot hands.

"I can only pray that they don't hit, there is no other way. Popovich replied to reporters with a helpless expression, and turned to the Spurs player, he shouted:

"From the first quarter, these two guys were guarded and every shot they made was awkward, and I don't believe they could keep their hands hot. ”

"Tony, blow up Klay Thompson's defense, give him enough pressure on the offensive end, let his attention be all focused on the defensive end, and if you can't do it, you get off me!"

"You have to be quick when you rotate defensively, that's the best way to reduce their shooting percentage. ”

"Attack! In this game we need to have a sharp attack from the start, to disrupt their rhythm and let them follow our rhythm instead of being passive!"

It was in this situation that the Spurs' third game against the Warriors officially started at the Oakland Arena.