The official timeout ended and the Spurs made a substitution. Michael Finley, who had no performance in the first half of the quarter, was replaced and Manu Ginobili came on.
The GDP trio has all appeared on the field. Together with Bruce Bowen and Rasu Nesterovich, the Spurs' current lineup is their strongest lineup.
The Celtics also changed players. LaFrentz, who was clumsy and unable to defend Duncan at all, was replaced. Al Jefferson came on. Rivers only wanted to treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor.
Even if the newly replaced Big Al can't limit Duncan's scoring, he can still cause some trouble for Duncan on the offensive end.
In the first half of the first quarter, Lin Yu looked average. He hit three goals in seven shots and scored 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
Rivers chose to trust Pierce, who scored 4 points on 2 of 3 shots. After the game restarted, the Celtics still had the ball in Pierce's hands.
The Spurs still used one-man-four defense, and it seemed that Popovich had made up his mind to let Lin Yu play alone.
Pierce broke through the middle, and the Spurs' double attack was a step slower. Pierce found the opportunity directly and drove to the basket.
But then Duncan's layup went wide, and the rebound was picked up by Bowen who was following Pierce. This is the strength of the Spurs' defense. They can miss people on the outside because Duncan and Nestor are on the inside.
Lovich's backup defense.
Lin Yu played a round of soy sauce, but this round of soy sauce did not result in nothing.
Relying on the soy sauce in this round, he deeply understood Ginobili's defensive style. In general, Ginobili's defense is not very good. The last time the two met, Ginobili did not defend with all his strength.
At that time, Lin Yu had little ability to attack independently.
But in fact, in this match, Ginobili's defense reminded Lin Yu of another defender who would make the All-Defensive Team in the future: Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets.
Like Paul, Ginobili's defensive characteristics are fast footsteps and excellent man-to-man defense. More importantly, this guy has a lot of small moves and various hidden elbows.
Just because of his defense in this round, Lin Yu lost favor with Ginobili.
In the next defensive round, Lin Yu's challenge also came.
Ginobili's role in the Spurs is a bit like Lin Yu's role in the Celtics. Both of them are outside the team's overall offensive system.
The Spurs' offense started with the pick-and-roll cooperation between Parker and Duncan.
The Celtics chose to delay the switch and then switch back.
Duncan failed to find a good opportunity to receive the ball. He responded at the top of the arc and then passed the ball to Ginobili.
Lin Yu also rushed over and continued to stand in front of Ginobili.
When Ginobili got the ball, he started to act instantly. He controlled the ball and made a very casual gesture of worshiping Buddha. Lin Yu completely saw through this fake move and was not deceived.
Then Ginobili did another cross step, which still looked like a fake move.
Lin Yu continued to remain motionless, but this time, the fake action turned into a real action in an instant. Ginobili changed direction, brushed away Lin Yu's defense and galloped away. Lin Yu, who was unable to react in time, could no longer keep up.
.
"This guy is so good at playing. Lin's defense attaches too much importance to on-the-spot judgment. A slight misjudgment will result in losing the defensive position. I think we should replace Tony to defend Manu and let Lin focus on the offense."
Watching Ginobili pass Lin Yu and hit a European layup, Lex Kalamian off the court put forward his suggestion.
Rivers shook his head: "It's not time for Tony to play yet, let Lin defend for a while, I believe in him."
On the court, Delonte West controlled the ball to the frontcourt, and Pierce went around to the top of the key to receive the ball.
Lin Yu on the weak side quickly ran back between the penalty area and the bottom corner, and showed a very strong desire to get the ball.
Pierce knew that Lin Yu was going to play an answer-ball, so he helped Lin Yu and passed the ball early.
The Spurs did not double-team. Popovich, like Rivers, also trusted Ginobili's defense.
A reporter once asked Popovich who was the second perimeter defender on the Spurs besides Bowen, and the answer Popovich gave was Ginobili.
In Lin Yu's face-up singles game, Ginobili seemed not to be afraid of being passed by Lin Yu, and pressed against Lin Yu without leaving any space.
Cross-stepping in front of their bodies, Lin Yu and Ginobili looked at each other, and it was at this glance that Lin Yu seized the opportunity.
He immediately turned his gaze to the left, attracting Ginobili to turn to Lin Yu's left side.
Then Lin Yu accelerated, changed direction directly to the right, and accelerated directly towards the basket.
Only after Lin Yu passed Ginobili did he understand why Ginobili was so confident in sticking to him.
Because Duncan is on defense inside, Ginobili doesn't have to worry about him being passed by in one step.
It has to be said that in 2006, the Spurs' outstanding defensive system gave them sufficient confidence. Popovich allowed Lin Yu to play one-on-one, probably because of Duncan on the inside.
Facing Duncan, Lin Yu's singles play was not very good. In one-on-one situations inside, the space was very narrow, and there was no room to even turn around.
If you force yourself, you will most likely be pushed to the floor by Duncan.
Lin Yu knew he couldn't force the ball, so he had only two options, one was to commit a foul, and the other was to pass the ball.
He didn't dare to challenge a league giant, so he could only choose to pass the ball.
Fortunately, Al Jefferson was present. He was an inside player who could shoot mid-range shots with a certain degree of accuracy. Lin Yu passed the ball over.
Big Al caught the ball and made a direct mid-range shot, and with a bang, he made a successful hit!
Sparse applause and cheers rang out from the North Bank Garden. Lin Yu's single plan in this round was considered a success.
Lin Yu was not very satisfied because he failed to score, which was not the result he wanted.
When it comes to the Spurs' offense, they still look for opportunities on the strong side first, with the cooperation of Duncan and Parker, and Ginobili wandering on the flank.
In this round, Ginobili was also in trouble, because Duncan in the middle successfully penetrated Big Al's defense and successfully hit a mid-range rebound shot.
The Spurs once again opened the point difference to 7 points, and Lin Yu could clearly feel the difficulty of this game.
A championship-level team is a championship-level team, and a superstar is a superstar. Although Pierce is also considered a super giant, there is still a gap in grade between him and a super giant of Duncan's level.
And if the Celtics want to win, their only chance is for Lin Yu to put up a super-level personal performance.
In the next round of offense, Lin Yu stood at the top of the key and was about to get the ball. He decided to take over the game from this point on.
"China Lin asked for the ball directly, why didn't he run to the weak side? Delonte West still passed the ball over, and China Lin wanted to play alone..."
Rivers was also a little confused. Lin Yu ran to the weak side, and the opportunity he got after receiving the ball would be a one-on-one opportunity. At most, Duncan would be on the inside to cover up the defense.
But just like the rounds before the official timeout, Lin Yu could have ended the attack before entering the penalty area, thus avoiding Duncan's defensive threat.
If it were a direct singles play at the top of the arc, Lin Yu would have to face the well-structured defense of the entire Spurs team.
Rivers felt that Lin Yu's choice was very unwise, but he is a coach who likes to let star players on the field play freely, so he did not interfere with Lin Yu's offensive choices, but sat on the field and watched silently
Lin Yu directs his teammates.
On the court, Lin Yu first asked his teammates to pull away, and then asked for Al Jefferson's pick-and-roll screen.
Speeding up to bypass the screen, the Spurs switched defense directly. Duncan waved his arms to delay Lin Yu's sprint, and then Ginobili came around from the other side.
The Spurs' defense was very smart, but Lin Yu's response was even smarter.
Duncan delayed, and the moment Ginobili came around, he suddenly moved sideways to the other side, circled again to cover, and then accelerated, both Duncan and Ginobili were left behind by Lin Yu
