…
Lin Ying's judgment was correct.
After the game against the Nuggets, Duncan did not go back to the locker room and went directly to the infirmary with the team doctor.
And after simple treatment, he even went to the local hospital in San Antonio for examination.
Although the test results showed no major problems, he actually knew his own body best.
The Spurs are having a hard time this year.
…
The Nuggets flew back to Denver the next day.
There are three days between the second and third games of the playoffs, which will give them sufficient rest and preparation time.
During the training session, the Nuggets players were all in high morale.
In addition to what Lin Ying said before, there is another important reason which is the home field advantage.
After all, Denver is a plateau home court, and the average age of the Spurs is older, which will have some positive impact on the game.
Karl's eyes fell on Lin Ying from time to time on the sidelines, and he couldn't hide the fondness in his eyes.
Generally speaking, the head coach of a team will look for an "eyesitter" among the players so that he can control the team's movements.
For the Lakers, "Old Fish" Fisher is Phil Jackson's spy.
As for the Nuggets, Carter Sr. is the one.
Of course, players also have their own ideas.
Carter Sr. didn't talk to Karl about the players' meeting before because he didn't think it was suitable.
But Lin Ying's "super performance" in the locker room, he still told Karl Lao truthfully.
So it doesn’t matter if Karl doesn’t like Lin Ying.
Even like Barnes, he also realized that Lin Ying actually had potential "leadership ability".
Leadership ability on the basketball court, or leadership ability, is not necessarily the strongest role.
For example, Anthony is not suitable to be a leader.
Therefore, in history, only Billups, the "leader" who is more qualified than him and has championship experience, can lead him to the Western Conference Finals.
From this example you can understand:
A qualified leader should be someone who can stand up when the team is in trouble, help the team rebuild its confidence, generate cohesion, and fight to the end.
There are many ways, such as chicken soup, leading by example on the court, etc., including Lin Ying inadvertently helping the team rebuild its self-confidence on several occasions.
Karl is even more grateful to ESPN for the original scouting report.
In that report, "potential" and "leadership skills" were the two points where Lin Ying scored the lowest.
But after this season, these two points have become Lin Ying's most underestimated points.
This is truly a treasure found.
…
During extra practice that night, Lin Ying practiced for a while when the door of the training hall was suddenly pushed open.
He turned around and looked again with extremely surprised eyes.
This time I didn't see Iverson, but... Anthony!
"What's that expression on your face? Wait for me to warm up, and we'll be one-on-one."
Facts have proved that Anthony is really a casual person.
It's obvious that this year's team's fighting capacity makes him feel that winning the championship is no longer a matter of shouting slogans.
And he himself knows very well that if he had been more accurate, the Nuggets would have won the last game.
Lin Ying didn't refuse either.
Anthony's current one-on-one ability is at least one level better than Durant's, and he is also very close to Kobe.
If it weren't for the fact that Anthony wasn't a training freak like Durant, he would have wished that the opponent would challenge him every day.
Because that's the fastest way to polish his defensive skills.
Soon, all kinds of cries of real men fighting against each other came from the training hall.
Anthony really likes confrontation.
It's no wonder that he started to gain weight as soon as he hit him, because he was good at it.
Commonly known as: The pleasure of using your body to ravage others?
However, this was also to Lin Ying's liking, as he was worried that he had no place to practice his small moves.
Anthony: You are so polite!
…
During the two days when the Nuggets did not play, the league successively announced some other awards for the season.
Byron Scott of the Hornets defeated Doc Rivers of the Celtics and was elected the best head coach of the 2007~008 season.
It was the Scott who would later become the head coach of the Lakers.
The Hornets' lineup has not changed much, but they did not make the playoffs last year and are second in the Western Conference this year. This honor is well-deserved.
You have to know that the best player is called the "best statistical player" and the best coach is also called the "head coach of the most improved team."
After talking about the most improved coach, then there is the most improved player.
Turkoglu of the Magic was selected for his career-best performance averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5 assists per game, with three shooting percentages of 45.6%/82.9%/40%.
It is worth mentioning that JR Smith also received votes and ranked last.
…
Three days later, G3 between the Spurs and Nuggets officially kicked off in Denver.
Before the game, a Denver reporter interviewed Popovich.
Duncan's condition after the last game was not only seen by the Nuggets players, but also by reporters.
"How's Tim doing?"
So during the interview before the game, the reporter naturally asked about this.
"Are you asking about Tim Duncan?"
Popovich asked the reporter in return.
After seeing the reporter nodding, he immediately continued:
"I haven't seen this guy have a bad time, but if you count the 20 points, he should have a lot."
Popovich returned the favor.
But if Lin Ying heard this, he would probably find it very interesting.
In G1, he used the provoking method and Popovich was hit. Now in G3, you have learned to use the empty city strategy!
But it's a pity that the Nuggets don't have Sima Yi.
Because it is the home court of the Nuggets, this time the Nuggets will appear behind the scenes.
The lights on the scene were focused, and when Lin Ying appeared on the stage, his exclusive opening moves instantly lit up the arena.
As more and more people understand the meaning of clasping fists, this action has become more and more popular on social media.
And this is a Spurs fight! Use force to make "friends"!
The lineups on both sides have not changed much.
Martin beat Duncan and the Nuggets took the lead in attacking.
Lin Ying came up to organize a wave, and Anthony caught the ball and played singles.
He caught the ball and raised his elbow in a big circle. The moment Bowen dodged his head, he jumped into the paint and scored a dunk before Duncan could help defend him!
Good guy, this is because I was angry with Lin Yingjia because of his little moves before and didn't finish venting it, so I vented it on the Spurs.
But seeing this, Lin Ying was relieved. Anthony's desire to attack is not a bad thing in the playoffs.
And the control of the ball is in Lin Ying's hands.
To use a less vivid metaphor, Anthony is a strong man rowing a boat, and Lin Ying is the one at the helm.
In this rowing competition, as long as you grasp the direction, you can use whatever force you use.
The Spurs' offense still relies on Parker and Duncan's pick-and-roll.
Parker then broke through the pick-and-roll and shot to the basket.
Both teams scored one goal each in the opening game.
The Nuggets attacked in the frontcourt, and Lin Ying continued to challenge Anthony for singles.
Anthony chose to back up this time.
Before gaining weight, Anthony played more face-to-face in singles because that allowed him to use his flexibility.
But the back frame is not without it.
And when he backs up the frame, you will find that he actually makes a lot of small moves.
Especially the non-shooting push after turning around is much more obvious than Duncan's.
It's just that maybe the referee automatically ignored it because his shooting posture was so cool.
This time, he turned around and pushed Bowen away and made a beautiful short-range fadeaway jumper.
"Whoa!"
The basketball silk slides into the frame.
Bowen complained to the referee, but the referee ignored him.
No way, this is the superstar whistle!
Anthony scored 4 points in a row in the opening game and was in hot form.
The Nuggets are taking turns firing in this playoffs!
The Spurs attack in the frontcourt and still use Parker and Duncan's pick-and-roll.
This time, Duncan was blocked and Lin Ying got around early.
After Parker opened the ball and saw Lin Ying's defensive choices, he chose to take a mid-range shot.
"when!"
Unfortunately, he failed to make a shot and Lin Ying turned around and grabbed the rebound.
The Nuggets directly pushed for a defensive counterattack, and Anthony followed up with Iverson's pass and dunked!
After dunking in, Anthony nodded and roared.
Good guy, you are unparalleled here again!
Lin Ying already knew what was going on.
In addition to Anthony's status, he also saw more details.
That detail is naturally related to Duncan.
In fact, Anthony also played a lot in isolations in the Nuggets' last game, which can be seen from the number of shots.
But tonight the Spurs' help defense, or more accurately Duncan's help defense, slowed down.
This is just a detail.
The second detail is the Spurs' offensive tactics.
The same tactic, but Duncan did not follow the pick-and-roll.
His kind of pick-and-roll is completely aimed at blocking.
This change means that the main attack point of this pick-and-roll has changed.
Then there is the third detail.
In the previous two games, when Duncan was on the court, it was difficult for Lin Ying to push the Nuggets' defensive counterattack through a pass.
Because Duncan will press in front of him immediately and prevent him from shooting the ball immediately.
But tonight he obviously wasn't fast enough.
Three details show that Duncan's physical condition tonight is not good at all.
Popovich, what he sang was indeed an empty city plan!
Finley hit the ball in the mid-range after the pick-and-roll, and the Nuggets moved into position without starting a fast break.
Lin Ying wanted to test it again.
At this moment, the Spurs also began to adopt a defensive method of attacking Anthony in advance on the weak side.
After signaling to pull away, he chose to hit Duncan with the ball at the three-point line!
Because of his limited ability, he was still very cautious, but he soon had the answer.
Although he failed to get past Duncan, that was because Duncan got in early.
This is due to lack of confidence in one's own movement speed.
Lin Ying signaled Anthony to move to the high post, passed the ball to him, and then started a pick-and-roll tactic for him.
In a solid confrontation, Bowen was blocked by Lin Ying.
Anthony took advantage of the pick-and-roll, but Duncan still retreated.
Anthony saw it and made a decisive mid-range pull-up.
"Whoa!"
4 for 4 in the opening game!
This melon is sweet tonight!
8 to 2!
The Nuggets had a perfect start tonight!
Although Popovich doesn't want to admit it in his heart, it is obvious that if there is a problem with Duncan's current tactical system, the entire team will have a problem.
Popovich...of course he knows.
But there was nothing he could do.
Because at this stage he has not yet developed the legendary "hammer tactics", when Parker hits the frontcourt angrily, he really feels like a hammer.
He turned around and called Ginobili from the bench.
When you don't know what to do, just ask someone who can organize it.
This wave of adjustments is still quite possible.
Ginobili came up and used Duncan's pick-and-roll to hit a three-pointer.
Moreover, in the next round, he used Duncan's pick-and-roll to hit a mid-range shot.
This wave of individuals scored 5 points in a row, allowing the Spurs to stabilize their position on the court.
"Parker is a Buddha in good times and bad times, and a demon sword kills gods and demons in desperate times!"
When the Buddha fails in adversity, this is a desperate situation that has arrived early!
And from Ginobili's performance after coming on the court, we can also see that he is better than Parker. Not only is he organized, but he also has stable shooting!
That is, he is short.
If he wasn't shorter, he wouldn't be called "20-minute Jordan".
This is not a real hammer, a coffin board to stare at.
And Ginobili also has an obvious weakness in his defense.
On the defensive end, he often relied on drawing offensive fouls to sustain himself.
To put it nicely, this is a game based on the brain. To put it more realistically, it means that the physical fitness cannot withstand high-intensity confrontation.
It's very useful against players with average offensive ability, it feels like veterans bullying newcomers.
But if you are caught and beaten, it will be more uncomfortable.
Of course Lin Ying also knew this.
So after Ginobili scored 5 points in a row, Lin Ying organized a pick-and-roll for Iverson and Anthony to catch Ginobili.
Either from the front or from the back, whichever position is more comfortable.
Even if he can't score, it's okay to let Ginobili consume his energy!
Ginobili: Are you really polite?
Lin Ying: I am so polite to my brothers, of course I am even more polite to you!
Ginobili had to attack and defend at the same time. He was surrounded by enemies from both sides and was attacked from both sides. He was unable to do what he wanted and surrendered.
And as the game progresses, it feels a bit like G1.
Ginobili's physical strength was exhausted too quickly, and Duncan was unable to do what he expected. After three quarters, the Spurs were clearly defeated.
In the fourth quarter, the physical fitness of Gaoyuan's home court became the last straw for them.
In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Spurs 103-83 at home, changing the score to 2-1!
Duncan played the worst game of his career in the playoffs, making 1 of 9 shots, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks.
Spurs fans had mixed feelings watching this.
You must know that the Spurs have always been able to control the point difference very well in the past because they were very strong on both offense and defense.
For example, when they played the Cavaliers in last year's Finals, it always felt like the Cavaliers always had a chance, and in the end they lost by only single-digit points.
But now, after three games, the Spurs have already lost two!
At the end of the game, live footage showed Popovich.
Popovich's face was not ugly, but he was a little confused.
It was obvious that he was thinking about how to face the predicament before him.
At this time, Prime Minister Guda rushed over quickly, and an article titled "NBA·Spurs·Popovich Biography" was published:
During his 19th year in power, Popovich raised 100,000 troops to besiege Denver again, but the attack continued for several months.
His general, Tim Duncan, fought to the point of exhaustion.
People at that time said: If Denver does not go down, it is not because of the king's inability, but because of God's will!
Bobo had no choice but to stop his troops and return to the capital.
Before leaving, I knew that I was too old to come back. Looking at the little Denver not far away, I became sick from long-term boredom and couldn't help shouting:
Denver!Denver!
Chapter completed!