Tim Duncan, the only guy in the '00s who could wrestle his wrist a little bit on the inside against Peak Shaq O'Neal, is recognized by everyone but one of the commentators with the surname Ma.

Aside from some problems with the free throws, this man is very stable in every way, and it's the kind of stability that doesn't suck the blood of his teammates!

And in this game, Tim Duncan showed everyone that he was at the peak of his physical fitness.

After everyone set up a showdown in the first quarter, Stan Van Gundy, who knew that it was impossible to directly pull the Spurs apart, began to boil the "Stone Buddha" tactic.

Woody and Shaq O'Neal became the focus of the Heat's offense in the coming period.

Because when Tim Duncan faces these two people, he has to go on his own and even have to do his best to defend himself.

Popovich was really ruthless, and the second quarter really allowed Tim Duncan to play the whole quarter.

In the third quarter, Stan Van Gundy replaced Shaq O'Neal and Woody, and then replaced Tim Duncan.

Neither Woody nor Shaq O'Neal is given any chance to face the Spurs' other interior players alone.

If halftime gave Tim Duncan a sigh of relief, then it was Stan Van Gundy's kindness in the third quarter that gave Tim Duncan a chance to breathe.

Otherwise, if Popovich uses Tim Duncan's attitude, it is estimated that the few timeouts he has been clutching in his hands will be Tim Duncan's rest.

So don't say anything about Popovich's use of soldiers, the team's crisis is actually the same for every head coach:

the main force!

This is actually no problem, as the person with the highest annual salary in the team, he does not solve the problem at a critical moment, and always expects those players with lower annual salaries to stand up and help break the game, which is not obvious that he wants to rub his teammates to win another championship!

And it is certain that if it is really rubbed, his fans will shamelessly say, "If you have the ability, you will let whoever you want!" ”

It's a pity that he is fully armed to the teeth, and he still let others do a huge difference of 44 points.

So if you can't do that job, then quickly change people, don't put aside the pit that accounts for more than 40 million, brush up some data, and boast that you are "invincible in the world at the age of 93".

In that regard, Tim Duncan is definitely the kind of supergiant that every GM wants.

Most of Popovich's prestige was built on him.

He later bet on Wembanyama's for the remainder.

The game entered the fourth quarter, the score was 76-70, and Tim Duncan was grazing and milking here, and he was able to withstand Woody's and Shaq O'Neal's rounds of attacking the frame. Let the suspense of the game continue until this time.

And as the game enters the fourth quarter, this is the rhythm that the Spurs are familiar with and good at.

Especially after the main force came back, they fought for more than 30 minutes, and their cooperation was still very smooth.

Here I have to praise Popovich's ability to "govern the army", indeed, the ability to glue everyone into a set of tactics is also the top existence among all the head coaches in this league.

The reason why the old spurs are old and spicy is also because of this.

Ginobili and Tony Parker hit key shots to give the Spurs a four-point deficit in the final five minutes.

Stan Van Gundy was about to call a timeout, but his hand was about to be raised and put down.

He'd always remembered that Popovich had one timeout left to no avail, and he was supposed to use it when it was time to give Tim Duncan a breath of relief at a critical moment. If he calls a timeout at this time, he will just boil some chicken soup for the Heat team to drink, and the substantive tactics will be almost the same tonight, and he will not be able to suddenly change the formation at this time and play other rhythms, and a smart head coach can't do this.

For example, in the fourth quarter, the player who scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting was stunned to leave a "four-crown meritorious service" to pose on the court.

He eventually decided to trust Woody and Shakzi's ability to judge in moments like this.

He didn't need to say anything more!

The fans at the scene were also holding their breath one by one, carefully watching the offense and defense of these rounds on the field.

There is still some time before the end of the match, but the moment that will decide the outcome of this match may be in these few rounds.

Even they didn't dare to cheer at will, for fear of disturbing the judgment of the Heat players on the court.

Woody was more proactive in receiving the ball, and the Spurs' side, at Tim Duncan's cue, had a lot of delays in receiving the ball. Seeing this, Woody received the ball more decisively, but when he got closer, he turned and rushed towards the basket, and Alston understood and threw the ball up.

"Phew!"

Successfully blow up the basket!

"It's almost a momentary opportunity, this ball Woody's thinking changed quickly, he knew that the entire Spurs defense would move up, deliberately made a resolute gesture to receive the ball, and then suddenly reversed direction and rushed towards the basket!"

In the domestic studio, Yu Jia looked at the ball's return defense and analyzed Woody's brain circuit at that moment.

Su Qun nodded beside him: "It's amazing, look at this ball, the height of the jump, this hand that immediately presses down after taking the ball, it's amazing, Woody, what kind of physical fitness is this!" He subconsciously began to be embarrassed.

Yu Jia next to him didn't hear it, and continued to say his lines, and the picture at this moment was given to Duncan, who was panting: "Even if Shi Buddha faces such an inside combination, it is difficult to resist!" ”

After Woody rushed inside, Tim Duncan didn't follow.

The reason is also very simple, there is really no strength.

He could see his entanglement when he followed Woody out, he didn't know what Woody was going to do next, but he really let him hold the ball, or he was alone.

What the Spurs are doing right now is trying to get the rest of this team to shoot, but Woody's counterrun did a good job of defusing the Spurs' siege.

Taking the empty receiver as a hard solution ability, in the entire NBA, there are not many interior players who can do it.

In fact, Woody's original plan was to let Alston drop the ball to the inside, and he could finish the offense well by putting Tim Duncan behind him and playing the ball.

But I didn't expect Alstom's pass to be so penetrating, and it was sent directly to the basket.

He was able to dunk straight away, and Alston's passing also contributed a lot.

"Stone Buddha" once again showed his composure, in the face of Woody's basket "empty dunk", his emotions did not waver, turned to face Woody, in the case of squeezing Woody, he directly turned over and jumped, completing the mid-distance board.

The difference is back to 4 points!

This goal stunned everyone, and after such a gladiatorial fight with Woody and Shaq O'Neal, there was still such physical fitness......

This "Stone Buddha", even the opponents of the Heat team have a temper, but this is also the last time he stands up to save the team in this game.

In the face of Woody and Shaq O'Neal's continued onslaught, he also had a situation where he was too busy to take care of himself.

The Heat stretched the four-point deficit back to eight points, and finally the game ended with the Heat outscoring the Spurs by a 101-92, 9-point margin.

Tim Duncan played 42.13 minutes and had 27 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks, filling the entire stat column to the brim, but still did not bring a victory to the Spurs.

On the Heat's side, Woody's statistics are slightly inferior to Duncan's, with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

However, he got this stat against Tim Duncan, who was distracted and helped defend Shaq O'Neal.

Duncan, on the other hand, faced him with Shaq's encirclement and got the data......

This "stone Buddha" is still the top!

Shaq O'Neal started the game well, but as it continued, the Spurs' "slashing shark" tactics affected his mentality to a certain extent, causing his efficiency to slip a bit.

Although he still got 20 points and 9 rebounds, he was already this statistic 3 minutes before the end of the game. That is, in the last three-point shot, he did not score at all.

Fortunately, at that time, he really didn't need to score, as long as he stood there, Tim Duncan couldn't ignore his existence!

This achieves the strategic objective.

Wade's statistics in the first Finals of his career are a bit bleak compared to Woody: 18 points and 6 assists.

The Spurs' wing limited him well, Woody blocked him, he was able to score under the basket in front of him, and after Tim Duncan blocked his head, his scoring efficiency dropped a lot.

Of course, his data as the team's "three leaders" must be enough.

On the contrary, on the Spurs' side, Barkley said in his post-game summary: "The Spurs have to have someone step up and share the pressure for Tim Duncan, in my opinion, the key to the Spurs' win is not on the inside, but on the outside Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili!" ”

Tim Duncan did a good enough job in this game.

Tim Duncan wasn't a particularly explosive scorer in his own right, scoring a career-high 53 points in a single game, and only once, followed by 47 and 46 points......

What's terrible about him is his versatility and consistency, and he's able to contribute almost exaggerated stats almost every night.

And tonight he's almost reaching his limit.

He couldn't have been better against Woody and Shaq O'Neal, or else this season's MVP would still be his ......

On the contrary, there is a risk that his performance will slip, which is why Barkley suggested that the outside line is key.

Tony Parker had 19 points and 5 assists in this game, and Ginobili had 18 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds, which was already very good, but it was not yet at their limit.

Ginobili, in particular, can contribute more to the Spurs if he brings out the form he was in in the Western Conference Finals, that's for sure.

Buckley's point of view is also the view of many media outlets.

And in the second game of the finals, Ginobili was really as explosive as everyone expected!

The greatest thing about Ginobili is his scoring explosiveness.

He is also a well-known "nerve knife" player in the league.

Such players often need to be proficient in various scoring methods, and in terms of Ginobili's performance after "convulsions", it is better than Wade at this stage.

Wade's biggest problem is his inconsistent shooting.

Especially at the three-point line......

There is no three-point scorer, unless you can continue to attack the rim like someone and take advantage of almost every team's quick opportunity, otherwise it is really difficult to score more than 30 points in a single game.

Especially when the current defensive strength is still greater than in the future.

With the outburst of Ginobili in this game, Wade's problem was also exposed.

He made 13 of the 25 wild shots in the game, including four three-pointers and six free throws, all of which added up to 36 points in this game!

Wade, on the other hand, scored only 19 points in this game, almost half as much as Ginobili.

Tim Duncan also continued to play his role in this game, which was more "Dinghaishen Needle" than "Dinghaishen Needle", with 25 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal.

The big score was pulled back to a 1-1 draw.

What's more, the Spurs have home-court advantage.

What's more, the Finals format at this time is 2-3-2, that is, the Heat play two games at home, then play three games at the Spurs' home court, and then return to the Heat to play the remaining two games.

At first, this format was naturally to save road costs, but it also made it less comfortable for teams with home field advantage in the finals. On the contrary, there will be a big burden, and as long as you lose one, you have to consider whether you will be played three games in a row away from home......

Even if you find an away game, when you return to the home stadium, you are still 2-3 behind the opponent.

Standing on the edge of a cliff, the burden is not to be said at all.

So now a lot of media outlets have changed their attitude after Game 1 and started supporting the Heat, and after this game, they started supporting the Spurs again.

This year, the Spurs still have a respectable win rate at their home court, almost 80% of the time.

The Heat will have to nibble at least two games on the Spurs' home court before they can return to their home court with a big advantage, which can be imagined difficult.

Stan Van Gundy became serious after the game: "We wasted good chances, it's our own reasons, we have to pay for it, we have to be mentally prepared to play every game like the last game of the Finals!" ”

The Miami media began to complain about the format: "We obviously have more wins, but this format seems to be so beneficial to the Spurs, no matter who has three consecutive home games in the Finals, it is a very good thing, the Spurs don't see the burden of losing the first game at all, there is part of the reason, even if they lose all two away games, I believe that they will not have any change in mentality." Why? Because they have three home stadiums waiting for them! ”

But no matter how they complain, it's useless, what is in front of the Heat team is the next "three consecutive visitors"!

(End of chapter)