NCCnovel Chapter 385 Sharp Knife
Chapter 385 Sharp Knife
Chapter 385 Sharp Knife
Popovich has actually done in-depth research on the regular starting lineup of the 76ers. Although Iverson seldom partnered with Snow after Reed grew up, they were the unshakable back-ups of the 76ers in the previous few seasons. It's not that Popovich's Spurs haven't played against them in the first game, and they know what they have always done.
But now the starting lineup has one more Lewis who likes to shoot from the outside than before. Bell's three-point shooting rate from the corners on both sides is not low, so in Popovich's opinion, the 76ers should continue to hit breakthrough shots. Tactics, at most, make some improvements on this basis. Popovich believes that the habits developed in two seasons will not be easily changed.
But soon he realized that he was completely wrong. The purpose of Lewis and Bell was to contain the Spurs' defense, while Snow was responsible for organizing the offense. blast him!
Parker also discovered this. Since Popovich instructed players to solve problems on the court, he would switch defenses with Bowen every time he faced Iverson, and let the team's number one perimeter iron gate defend this flexible player. little man.But Iverson has already identified him. After switching defenses, he will give the ball to Snow and let the latter direct the offense. He will wait until he is facing Parker again before asking for the ball from the person holding the ball. Just make sure to trouble Parker.
Unlimited defense is not difficult for the Spurs, but their perimeter defender is only Bowen, and strictly speaking, the 76ers have four perimeter players. It is impossible for Bowen to stare at Iverson all the time, and he No matter how fast the legs are, it is impossible to pass the ball faster, so Iverson can always get one-on-one opportunities with Parker.
Iverson didn't play much in the first two games, which made Parker, who is not afraid of tigers as a newborn calf, feel that he is only mediocre.However, in the first real confrontation between the two sides, Iverson showed a breakthrough ability far above the average level.
Iverson also played against Parker before, knowing that the French kid in front of him was equally good in speed, so he did not step on the gas pedal when facing up, but patiently disrupted Parker's defense with constantly changing rhythms .Although Parker was selected for the French youth national team as early as 1998, Iverson's dribbling rhythm can be said to be top-notch in this era. How could Parker, who is still in his rookie season, be able to defend against it? He could only watch helplessly. Iverson goes away.
The next game was a nightmare for Parker. Every time he and Iverson faced each other, the latter could always quickly get the ball from his teammates, and then it was a tragic one-on-one breakthrough.Originally, Smith planned to double-team Parker to relieve the pressure, but Snow also had a three-point shot. After he double-teamed Iverson, Snow made 3 of 2 shots from the open.In order not to take the blame, Smith can only continue to let Parker accept the ravages of Iverson, which can be said to be more than enough.
By the time the main players of both sides left the field one after another, Iverson had already scored 11 points and 2 assists, 9 of which were on Parker's head, and he also caused two personal fouls.Under his leadership, the 76ers also took the lead 28 to 24. Although the 4-point lead is not large, it can be regarded as completing the task assigned by Brown before the game.
Seeing Iverson off the court, Popovich secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly asked Parker to come down to rest, and at the same time let veteran point guard Terry Porter appear.But how could Brown easily let go of this weakness of the Spurs?If the combination of Iverson and Snow still has some rationality and artistry, then the backup backcourt composed of Arenas and Reed is synonymous with simplicity and roughness. There is no way, young people should be young and energetic , and their style of play is very unreasonable.
To a certain extent, the 76ers absolutely do not have the spirit of respecting the old and loving the young. They first used Iverson to blow up the rookie Parker who entered the league last year, and now they are going to use Arenas' momentum to beat the veteran. special.Porter is not an unknown person. He has been selected to the All-Star twice. Although he is only a substitute, it is enough to prove his strength.The reason why Popovich recruited him was to hope that Porter could use his experience to help the team, but he did not expect to become a loophole for the Spurs.
Unlike Iverson, Arenas is taller and more explosive. Although he does not have the absolute speed of Iverson, Arenas can often push the defender with his body, and then use all kinds of incredible The action puts the ball into the hoop.Of course, as a rookie guard, his grasp of the so-called sense of rhythm is still not as good as a player like Iverson who relies on breakthroughs to make a living, but his unyielding energy and innate talent still allow him to walk out of his breakthrough style.
How could such old arms and legs of Porter withstand Arenas' violent breakthrough?Originally, he was a little excited watching Iverson continue to force Parker off the court. How could he not make a breakthrough when he encountered a soft persimmon?Besides, this was specially instructed by the head coach before the game, and I was completely following orders, and I couldn't be happier than this.
Arenas' breakthrough put pressure on the Spurs, and they had to shrink their defense to protect the basket, which gave Reed and Okur ample opportunities to shoot.That's right, because of personal status, Mutombo has been squeezed into the third center position, and he can only play less than 10 minutes per game, but he did not complain about it, but accepted Brown's arrangement very readily For him, as long as he can help the team win another championship, it doesn't matter if he plays the third center.
So now Okur, as a rookie second-round pick, is already the number one backup center for the 76ers, and his role in this lineup is not inferior to Reid at all, although the shooting rate is not as good because he has not undergone special training from Chang Wei. , but it is enough at the tactical level. If he fires from the outside, no Spurs player can threaten him at all.With the joint efforts of these three people, the 76ers took a double-digit lead 42 to 32 at the end of the first quarter.
Popovich was stunned watching from the sidelines. Originally, he thought that Iverson's forced matchup with Parker was just his own idea, but looking at what Arenas did, it was obviously Brown's targeted arrangement.At this time, Popovich even began to hate himself for why he likes to use veterans so much, otherwise he would not have been beaten so embarrassingly by the 76ers.
(End of this chapter)