Both the Lakers and Spurs have gradually replaced their main lineups.
"Manu, you were too careless just now." Parker said.
"I didn't expect that passer-by to have some abilities." Ginobili looked unhappy. As a veteran who has been in the NBA for many years and is known as the "Demon Sword", he was actually rewarded with a big shot by a passer-by. The hat really made Ginobili feel a little embarrassed.
"That passerby is also a seven-footer after all. With his height, he is facing the breakthrough and can easily be blocked." Parker took the ball and continued: "Look at me later! I will avenge you. Beat that passerby down!"
Parker's breakthrough ability is definitely the best in the world. It can almost be said that he can break through anyone he sees. When Parker was young, others had to take two steps to prevent him from breaking through. The purpose was to prevent him from breaking through. As he got older, Parker's The number of breakthroughs has also been reduced a lot. After all, breakthroughs are a relatively easy way to get injured. As you get older, you won't be as desperate as you were when you were young.
I saw Parker holding the ball, and Split stepped forward to set a pick-and-roll, forming a misplaced defense. Parker directly faced Whiteside, and then Parker rushed past Whiteside in disguise.
Whiteside also quickly caught up, preparing to hit a big block from behind Parker, but Parker also guarded against this. Instead of a direct layup from the side, he went over the basket and made a reverse layup.
"Bang!" A big slap directly hit the basketball on the backboard.
"Parker was also blocked? Was it the guy who just blocked Ginobili?"
While everyone was surprised, Whiteside swung his arm and threw the ball directly into the frontcourt. Zhang Guanze had already started, caught up with the ball and made a layup and scored two points.
Parker also had a somewhat unkind look on his face. The next ball continued with a pick-and-roll breakthrough. This time he did not directly choose a layup. Instead, he passed the ball to Duncan who followed up and made a cooperation.
However, Whiteside followed up again. This time, although he did not cover Duncan, he forced Duncan to increase the arc of the layup, and the ball bounced out of the frame. Whiteside grabbed the rebound.
The ball was handed to Nash, who quickly advanced, and the Spurs' defense was not in vain, and the players quickly returned to defense.
Nash pretended to break through, and then passed the ball to Zhang Guan. Zhang Guan made a three-pointer, but unfortunately the basketball bounced out of the frame.
"Rebound!" Leonard shouted as he rushed forward, and at the same time, Split blocked the white edge behind him.
However, what Split didn't expect was that Whiteside, who was not in a dominant position, jumped up, relied on his long arms to push the basketball into the air, and then took off again to grab the rebound.
Splitter is a very good defensive center. His size, positioning, and excellent defensive awareness are the foundation for his success in the NBA. Moreover, he can play pick-and-roll, which allows him to play in a field full of talents. Received a starting center position in the Spurs.
But compared to jumping, Split is really not good. This guy basically has no jumping ability, let alone a second bounce. And many black insiders like Whiteside are jumping masters.
The most important thing in grabbing rebounds is to get stuck and occupy a good position, which can offset the opponent's height advantage and the opponent's jumping advantage, but it is difficult to offset the opponent's continuous jumping ability. Those who are experts in continuous bouncing can first move the ball into the air to a more favorable position for themselves, and then get the ball through their continuous bouncing ability. From this point of view, Split really can't beat Whiteside.
Whiteside got the rebound and did not attack. He knew that his task was to grab rebounds and block shots, so he passed the ball directly. Nash took control of the ball again, and then used another pick-and-roll to pass the ball to Zhang Guan.
Zhang Guan's touch was not good, and the three-pointer was still a little short, but Whiteside once again grabbed an offensive rebound from the crowd. In this third attack, Zhang Guan finally made a three-pointer.
"I grabbed two offensive rebounds in a row and blocked two shots before. Where did the Lakers find this guy?"
"Whiteside, I've never heard of this name. Where did this guy come from? How can he grab rebounds so well!"
After losing two offensive rebounds in a row, the Spurs' home fans vaguely remembered a boo.
…
Duncan gasped for air. He felt very tired from the half-quarter of the game just now.
"Damn running and gunning!" Duncan cursed in his heart. For the 38-year-old, running around the court like a young man was really too much for his body.
As for the Lakers, Nash's situation is similar to Duncan's. Nash is 40 years old, two years older than Duncan, and has a back injury. In the high-intensity confrontation of this kid in the playoffs, it would be good for Nash to last 20 minutes in a game.
Fortunately, the Lakers have no shortage of defenders. Meeks and Farmar can both serve as point guards. Although Marshall is a defensive vulnerability, he is a player who is very good at bombardment tactics.
The current score is 89 to 83, and the Lakers are temporarily ahead by 6 points. Although the lead is not much, the rhythm of the game is in the hands of the Lakers.
Whiteside grabbed another rebound, and D'Antoni on the sidelines nodded with satisfaction.
"Whiteside is a nice young man," D'Antoni muttered.
In this game, Whiteside has become the key to the Lakers' victory. Although he has made no achievements on the offensive end, he has grabbed 13 rebounds and contributed 4 blocks. With him on the court, the Spurs dare not easily launch an attack inside.
Many fans focus on the three statistics of points, rebounds and assists, and not many people pay attention to blocks. According to NBA statistics every year, the average points per game are often 30+, the average rebounds are 12 or 3, and there are many guards who average 10 assists per game. Compared with the top shot blockers, the average blocks per game are also very high. It's hard to have more than 3. A player like Howard who is more capable of jumping averaged only 2.9 blocks per game in his best season.
Many fans feel that one block only means that the opponent will score two fewer points. Even if there are 3 blocks per game, the opponent will only score 6 points less. Two more three-pointers will make up for it. But in fact, the role of blocking shots cannot be reflected by statistics.
The big center may not be able to block a few shots a game, but he can be a shock when he sits at the basket. For example, when Dayao is on the court, if the opponent wants to break through, he will first carefully consider whether he will be blocked by Dayao's slap. Therefore, in the season when Dayao performed well, he averaged 2 blocks per game, and more often than not, when Dayao was on the court, his opponents did not dare to attack the basket easily.
Whiteside played exactly this role today. After blocking 4 shots, the Spurs players felt a little wary. When they attack the basket again, they will inevitably appear timid. Even Duncan shied away from a shot-blocking master like Whiteside.
A player like Whiteside has outstanding physical talent and passion for playing. As long as he does not commit two mistakes, any team will welcome him with both hands. There are many players of this type in the NBA, such as McGee and Stephenson. When they are not committing two offenses, they behave like all-star players. When they are committing two offenses, they are annoying to everyone and no team wants them. If Whiteside plays solidly during his rookie season, he certainly won't be unable to hit the ball.
Whiteside's sudden display of power broke Popovich's pre-game plan. If Popovich knew that the Lakers had such a shot-blocking leader, he would never choose to focus on the inside. Because of this, the Spurs Losing the first move, the score was always behind.
The game finally entered the last two minutes, and the Lakers still held a 7-point lead, and this time is often the moment for superstars.
So far in the game, Duncan has been on the court for more than 36 minutes. He feels a little tired and can't even keep up with the rhythm when running. Duncan's current state is not suitable for attacking with the ball.
Leonard stood up at this time. When everyone thought that Leonard was just a defensive leader, he showed good offensive ability. It's just that Leonard has the heavy responsibility of scoring points on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, he also has to limit Zhang Guan's scoring, which still seems a little inadequate.
Zhang Guan's three-pointers did not disappoint. At such a critical moment, every three-pointer Zhang Guan hit was like a heavy hammer to Popovich's chest.
"Are we going to lose?" There was a look of unwillingness in Popovich's eyes. As the coach of the Spurs, he certainly didn't want to lose at home with a 3-1 lead.
However, as time passed by, the Spurs' hope of winning became increasingly slim. The points difference between the two sides always hovered at these numbers of 5 points, 6 points, and 7 points. The Lakers could not widen the score gap. , it was also difficult for the Spurs to catch up with the score.
The cheers of the fans at the scene became louder and louder, and they eagerly hoped that the team could catch up with the score at the last moment, or even take the lead. But facing a team that is bombarding, as long as the opponent's shooting percentage does not drop, all the Spurs can do is maintain a stalemate.
The stalemate means that time is wasted minute by minute. The Lakers wish that time would go faster, but the Spurs cannot afford to waste it.
"Substitution, the Spurs have made a substitution! Danny Green and Mills are both on the court!"
The two new Spurs players have a three-point shooting percentage of more than 40%, especially Danny Green, who averages 3.2 three-pointers per game. The offense basically relies on three-pointers.
"The Spurs are trying their best to shoot three-pointers! But this is normal. They have defended several times in a row but failed to prevent Zhang Guan from scoring, so they can only fight for three-pointers! Oops, Zhang Guan steals and directly attacks the basket. Two plus one!”
The audience booed, but Zhang Guan made the free throw steadily.
"A fatal steal, the key was a two-plus-one, and the point difference suddenly became 9 points. The Spurs needed three three-pointers to tie. And they had to ensure that the Lakers didn't score in three rounds. OK."
"If the Lakers win this game, wouldn't the total score become 2 to 3? The Lakers are only one game behind, and the next game will be played in Los Angeles. The Lakers are likely to tie the score to 3. It’s better than 3! Do you think the Lakers will perform a black eight miracle?”
"It's impossible. The Lakers were behind 0-3 before. No team has ever been able to come back and win when trailing 0-3! Maybe next time we return to Los Angeles, the Spurs will win away!"
Amid people's discussion, the Spurs finally lost to the Lakers at home 103-109. The score in this series also became 3-2, and the Spurs still held two match points.
…
Los Angeles fans never thought that this series would return to Los Angeles. They thought the last game would be the last game for the Lakers this season.
However, the Lakers gave Los Angeles a huge surprise. They defeated the Spurs on the road and delayed the game to Staples Center.
In the last game, Whiteside became famous. At least when he returned to Los Angeles, many people could call his name. This made Whiteside feel that the Lakers were unwilling to renew his contract even after the season. , he can also win several training camp contracts.
On May 2, the sixth contest between the two sides was held in Los Angeles.
From a 0-3 score to a 2-3 score, and then back home, Lakers fans felt like they were surviving a disaster. And when the game started again at Staples Arena, the fans dedicated their most enthusiastic performance to the home team.
The entire Staples Arena is a sea of yellow. All fans are wearing yellow T-shirts. They are waving Lakers flags. When every Lakers player comes on the court, they shout the player's name loudly. .
This scene has not happened for many years. The last time Staples looked like this, it was the 2010 Finals, when the Lakers faced off against the Celtics. The fans at that time were just as enthusiastic.
In recent years, the Lakers have not performed as well as fans expected, and it will be difficult for Staples Arena to reproduce the grand occasion of the year.
But this season, the Lakers, a team sentenced to death, rushed into the playoffs, making every Los Angeles fan feel a miracle. Now, they are looking forward to the miracle happening again!
If we can come back after falling behind 0-3, it would really be a miracle.
Many people don't believe in miracles, but they are looking forward to them, and even more people want to witness a miracle with their own eyes, so they came to the Lakers' home court to witness with their own eyes how the score changed from 0 to 3 to 3 to 3. 3!
"MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP..."
The moment Zhang Guan held the ball, the audience shouted "MVP" loudly, making the whole arena tremble. And the moment Zhang Guan scored, everyone in the audience stood up and shouted loudly.
And this is only the first quarter!
…
Duncan wiped the sweat from his head and looked at the audience around him with some despair. At this moment, he seemed to have returned to the 2001 playoffs, which was the second year of the Lakers dynasty. The OK combination at that time was unstoppable. That year, the Lakers only lost one game when they faced Iverson in the Finals. The rest of the way to promotion was a sweep, including a 4-0 sweep of the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
That year, the Spurs were ranked first in the Western Conference in the regular season, but they were unable to fight back against the Lakers. Duncan only remembered that at the Lakers' home court, neither he nor David Robinson could stop a brutal player. O'Neal. In that game, he and David Robinson scored a total of 33 points, while O'Neal scored 35 points alone!
This is what Staples Center looked like at that time!
At that time, Duncan was just a young boy who was just starting out, but now Duncan has entered the end of his career. But the Lakers home court 13 years ago still lingers in his mind. He didn't want to recall the scene when he was swept, but the fans at the scene forced him to recall that scene.
"These people may be fans at that time, or they may be children of fans at that time... This is the home court of the Lakers!" Duncan took a deep breath, but the air was filled with the desire of Lakers fans for victory!
…
On May 2, the Lakers defeated the Spurs 111-107 at home. Zhang Guan scored 51 points, and six Spurs scored in double figures. The two sides fought until the last minute to decide the winner.
The total score between the two sides also became a 3-3 tie, and then they will enter the seventh decisive game. If the Lakers win, it will create a "black eight miracle."
In the history of the NBA, there have been five black eight miracles. In the 1994 playoffs, the Nuggets defeated the SuperSonics; in the 1999 playoffs, New York defeated the Heat; in the 2007 playoffs, the Hornets defeated the Mavericks; in 2010, the Grizzlies defeated the Spurs; in 2012, the Grizzlies defeated the Spurs. The 76ers beat the Bulls. Among them, the first two black eight miracles were the best of five games in the first round of the playoffs at that time, which was much less difficult than the best of seven games.
But there has never been a comeback from a 0-3 deficit. The closest thing to a comeback was the 2003 playoffs. The Mavericks led the Trail Blazers 3-0, and the Trail Blazers caught up to 3-3. However, the Trail Blazers lost to the Mavericks in the seventh game and fell short.
In terms of strength, being able to get 3-0 in a series shows that the strength gap between the two sides is relatively large. If you lose one or two games at this time, it may be due to luck, but if you lose four games in a row, theoretical analysis is basically Not likely to happen.
A black eight miracle and a 0-3 comeback, the next game between the Lakers and Spurs carries too much and is destined to attract the attention of the world.
…
The game hasn’t even started yet, but the media has already started warming up.
ESPN asked some experts to conduct a survey. Among the 18 experts, only Magic Johnson voted for the Lakers, and the other 17 experts all voted for the Spurs. Magic's vote is because he was once a Lakers player, so he will support the Lakers.
Yahoo Sports launched a popular vote. Among the more than 3,000 fans who participated in the vote, less than 300 supported the Lakers, and almost all of them were Los Angeles fans.
Obviously, neither experts nor ordinary fans are optimistic about the Lakers.
…
"There are many objective factors for the Lakers' ability to pull back three games in a row. First of all, two of these three games were the Lakers' home games. We all know that the Lakers' record at home this season is very good. As for that time The win in the away game was entirely because the Lakers sent out the surprise player Whiteside, and Popovich's tactics happened to be restrained. Returning to San Antonio this time, I think Popovich will play steadily. Once the Spurs stabilize, the Lakers are afraid No chance!"
In the studio, Barkley ruthlessly "poisoned" the Spurs.
"But after all, the Lakers have a super scorer like Zhang Guan. He scored 51 points in the last game and helped the Lakers defeat the Spurs!" the host asked.
"In the first few rounds of the playoffs, Kobe also scored close to 50 points in San Antonio. Didn't the Lakers still lose miserably to the Spurs?" Barkley asked confidently.
In front of the TV, Zhang Guan pressed the pause button.
"If you can't win with 50 points, then 60 points! If you can't win with 60 points, then 70 points! At worst, I'll score 81 points too!" Zhang Guan sighed softly.
Even later, sorry.
(End of chapter)