Chapter 446 445: I have been thinking about this for more than ten years, but I have never figured it out (please give me a monthly ticket!)

Tim Duncan has always been a low-key competitor.

When people mention Roger’s rivals of this era, they will think of Kobe, James, Garnett, Wade, and Yao Ming.

But Tim Duncan is often overlooked.

He and his Spurs rarely appear in the news.

That team never had any explosive locker room conflicts, and there was no off-court news worth mentioning. On the court? The Spurs players rarely played particularly explosive data, and there were few earth-shattering exaggerated performances.

So much so that the media doesn’t even bother to report on them.

It wasn’t until the Spurs successfully “robbed” Gasol on the trade deadline that the world realized, “Wait, this is a championship-contending team!”

And this low-key championship team and that low-key competitor now appeared in front of Roger.

Tim Duncan looked at the number of championship banners flying over Oracle Arena and felt incredible.

The Warriors now have a total of 7 championships, 4 of which were brought by Roger, and it only took him five years to do all this.

Even without counting his time in Orlando and Atlanta, Roger’s career resume is already terrifying enough.

Pau Gasol also looked up at the Warriors’ championship banners, then put his arm around Duncan’s shoulders and said, “I don’t know where that guy’s courage comes from. Winning all the playoffs? I know he’s done it, but the competitive environment now is completely different from that in 2000.”

Pau Gasol is not a self-deprecating person. He can say without any modesty that the Spurs this season are not weak at all. Since he moved to the Spurs, the Spurs have not only performed well in the regular season, but also defeated the Hornets with Ray Allen and Chris Paul 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs. Facts have proved that this Spurs is a team that can fight tough battles.

A sweep? Pau Gasol doesn’t think that’s going to happen.

Duncan touched the back of Pau Gasol’s head: “Courage? He just cherishes the opportunity. When a person realizes that this may be his last chance, he must cherish every second, every moment, and every day. Because he has no time, no time to waste.”

“Last chance? He’s won 11 championships, this isn’t his last chance. I think your words are more suitable for us, this is our last chance to beat him.”

“Paul, Roger’s needs are completely different from ours. For him, this is the last chance to show his dominance, and he does not allow any flaws, just like a woman values ​​her first wedding. No matter how revealing the wedding dress is, no matter how much money it costs, they will pursue perfection. So be prepared, we are strong, but so are the Warriors.”

At this time, the referee signaled the starting players of both teams to move closer, and Roger walked up to shake hands with Duncan and Gasol.

He had already turned to leave, but suddenly thought of something, so he turned his head back: “Paul, don’t blame me for not reminding you. Stay away from that guy and don’t let him touch your head casually. Look at the guy with long hair on the Spurs (Manu), I really can’t imagine what you look like with a Mediterranean hairstyle.”

Pau Gasol subconsciously touched the back of his head and felt that he was a little bald, then looked at Duncan.

Duncan said indifferently: “Don’t listen to that bastard, Manu’s hair fell out on its own.”

“What about Tony?” Gasol asked.

“Shut up Paul, it’s none of my business anyway.”

Unlike what people imagined, the pre-match meeting between the core players of both sides ended with light-hearted jokes.

But neither Duncan nor Roger were naive enough to think the game would be so easy.

They haven’t forgotten how bloody the battle between the Spurs and Warriors in the 2006 playoffs was.

At that time, Popovich had no choice but to let Raja Bell foul Roger, and then Duncan was also fouled by Matt Barnes and injured his leg.

That was definitely a bloody war.

Roger and Duncan can tell jokes to each other before the game because they have no personal grudges.

But competition in athletics has nothing to do with personal grudges.

There’s only winning and losing here.

At the start of the game, Popovich did not hide anything and showed his most confident style of play in the first round.

Duncan pulled to the 45-degree angle, Pau Gasol sank into the low post, and then Tony Parker lobbed the ball in, allowing the Spaniard to single out Stephen Jackson.

The game between Roger and Nowitzki in this year’s regular season has proved that Stephen Jackson cannot defend against a strong post-up power forward.

He can defend forwards who like to face the basket, but due to his size and weight, he will have a hard time defending a true power forward in the low post.

Popovich took advantage of this and let Duncan move to the mid-range so that Gasol could torture Stephen Jackson.

If Amar’e Stoudemire double-teams Duncan, he will have an easy shot because Pau Gasol is a very strong passer. Maybe not as good as Chris Webber or KG (Garnett’s passing is underestimated), but definitely top-notch, and fully capable of finding teammates when double-teaming.

The 213-centimeter Gasol faced Jackson in the low post, and he did not waste this huge mismatch.

Gasol’s style is like a middle ground between Garnett and Duncan.

He has a mid-range shot, but not as accurate as Garnett, and not as dependent on face-up shots. Compared to Garnett, he can make an impact in the low post.

But his low-post offense is not as dominant as Duncan, but his mid-range shots are more reliable than Duncan.

With his post-up skills, it is very easy for him to single out Stephen Jackson.

Gasol sprinted towards the basket, then turned and shot a hook shot at the edge of the restricted area.

It was a very Spurs-style offense: simple, basic, and not fancy, but it worked.

Gasol is that kind of person, so he is a perfect fit for this team.

The Spurs’ tactics were successful in the first round, with the traditional twin towers punishing the Warriors’ small lineup.

Stephen Jackson shrugged helplessly at Roger: “Damn it, I look like a kid in a MILF movie when I’m behind Paul!”

Roger sympathized with Jackson, but he had to admit that this was a vivid metaphor.

Al Michaels, who was commentating on the game, wasn’t surprised to see Gasol easily beat Stephen Jackson in the low post.

Pau Gasol is an underrated guy. Yes, he led his team to win no game in the playoffs. But looking at the Grizzlies’ lineup that is comparable to the Development League, it is already very strong that the Spaniard can lead that team into the playoffs.

Facing the shady Stephen Jackson, Gasol will never let Popovich down.

What Al Michaels really couldn’t understand was why Eric Spoelstra didn’t adjust the lineup.

He knew that the Spurs had twin towers but still used a small lineup. Why? With Spoelstra’s level, he couldn’t just sit back and watch.

It was the Warriors’ turn to attack, and Roger held the ball and faced Raja Bell’s defense.

Raja Bell played very tough defense, but he didn’t use too many dirty moves to harass Roger. Since the Golden State gang did not hesitate to retaliate against Duncan in 2006, the Spurs never dared to play tricks in front of the Warriors.

Craig Popovich used to be a coach who liked to play dirty tricks, but now he will emphasize before the game: “Don’t fucking touch Roger!”

See, it’s not that hard to subdue this old agent.

Raja Bell tried to use strong pressure to disrupt Roger’s rhythm, but for someone who had experienced the defense of Pat Riley’s Knicks and the blue-collar Pistons, this little pressure could not really affect Roger.

He withstood the confrontation from Raja Bell, changed direction between his hips, broke through, and shot a jump shot from a mid-range to long-range position outside the defense range of Duncan.

“Damn it, damn it!” The moment Roger shot, Popovich was already cursing on the bench.

In the mid- to long-range, this seems to be a defensive vacuum area that the Spurs can never fill.

This is also the reason why Spoelstra still uses a small lineup even though he knows the Spurs have twin towers.

If a large lineup is used, with Mutombo or Dalembert and Stoudemire starting at the same time, then Gasol and Duncan can just protect the rim and the mid-range respectively.

But now because the Warriors insist on using a small lineup, Paul Gasol has to follow Stephen Jackson to stand near the three-point line, which means that the Spurs’ mid-range assist defense task can still only be given to Duncan, and Duncan’s assist defense is far less abnormal than KG’s, and he cannot radiate to the mid-range and long-range positions.

Therefore, the Spurs’ defensive weaknesses are still the same as in the past few years. They are afraid of mid-range and long-range masters like Kobe or Roger.

As for the Warriors’ defense? Do you believe that Pau Gasol can kill the game or Roger can kill the game.

For the Spurs, this is an unsolvable problem.

To solve this problem, they need a top-notch wing with one-on-one defense ability, but this resource is scarce. You know, Raja Bell’s defense is not weak, but he is still not a top-notch wing defender. And the asking price for a wing player with better defense than him will not be low.

With the Spurs’ habit of brainwashing their players to take pay cuts every day, they simply can’t get such a person.

This is why the Spurs became a championship team directly after selecting Leonard in the 10s and getting the cheap and useful Danny Green, because their defensive vacuum for many years was finally filled.

But now, the aging Bowen and Raja Bell, whose defense is not top-notch, are completely helpless against Roger.

The basketball really went into the net. Roger glanced at Tim Duncan and said, “Sorry, Tim.”

“Why apologize?”

“Because I think it’s too cruel for you to win a single match.”

The game continued, and Pau Gasol played in the low post for the second consecutive round.

Amar’e Stoudemire came to assist in defense, and the Spaniard immediately hit the ball to Duncan.

Duncan raised the basketball and tried to hit the rebound at a 45-degree angle, but Roger suddenly appeared and interfered with Duncan’s jump shot.

The basketball hit the backboard and bounced off the rim, and the Spurs’ offense began to fail in the second round.

But Pau Gasol grabbed the offensive rebound with his height advantage. He jumped on the spot and shot the ball, but missed it due to the tough defense of Stephen Jackson and Stoudemire.

Pau Gasol is 28 years old, but he has not really reached his peak.

His upper body strength is still relatively weak now, which is why he was directly beaten by Kevin Garnett in the 2008 Finals. He can basically only score by cutting and second-chance offense.

To put it simply, Pau Gasol is not strong enough right now, both physically and mentally.

Therefore, when he encountered the tough defense of Stephen Jackson and Stoudemire, he could not get what he wanted by relying on his height advantage.

Pau Gasol does have an advantage in the low post, but how much of it can he convert into points? This is a question mark.

Roger’s efficiency in converting mid-range and long-range opportunities into points has never disappointed anyone.

He personally controlled the ball across half court, then lowered his shoulders and center of gravity, accelerating to break through Raja Bell.

Raja Bell tried his best to block him, but Roger took a step into the three-point line, took a step sideways to create a little space, and then made a direct pull-up shot.

After Roger stepped back, his heels basically touched the three-point line. This shooting position is basically not seen in basketball 10 years later because it is the least efficient shooting area.

But for some people, every area has a reason to exist.

Because Roger had very little space to dribble out, Raja Bell raised his hand and took a step forward to basically cover Roger. But Roger used the height of his jump to throw the ball from Raja Bell’s fingertips. The basketball passed through the Oracle Arena and fell into the net in the fearful eyes of the entire Spurs team.

“brush.”

“Fuck, Fuck!” Popovich almost went berserk. How could he defend Roger from mid-range or long-range? ?

Raja Bell was also extremely frustrated because he had been beaten by the same person in the same way for three years and he could not change anything.

Roger stared at Raja Bell: “Hey, tell Tim this: Find your future with LeBron. Maybe you won’t screw up again this year, but so what? I’m still going to win.”

In fact, there was no need for a message, because Roger deliberately said it so that the entire Spurs team could hear it.

In the following first quarter, Roger scored 16 points from mid-range and long-range shots, helping the team enter the second quarter with an 8-point lead.

In the second quarter, Popovich decided to bet on the Warriors’ three-point shooting, letting Gasol assist in mid-range defense and Duncan guard the rim.

The result was that Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes made a total of 6 three-pointers. Gasol’s mobility was not enough for him to quickly jump back to the three-point line from mid-range, so Jackson and Barnes almost all got open or semi-open opportunities.

The efficiency of three-pointers completely destroyed Gasol’s low-post singles, so the Spurs fell behind even more.

The Warriors’ three-pointer put the Spurs at a 15-point disadvantage going into halftime. At the end of the half, reporters on the scene interviewed Gregg Popovich.

“Coach, how do you stop Roger in the second half?”

Popovich was stunned for more than ten seconds, and finally turned around and left without saying anything.

He had been thinking about this problem for more than ten years, but never figured it out.

In the stands, Warriors fans held up signs that read “FO-FO-FO-FO”.

Yes, the competition this season is fierce and there are many strong teams.

But so what?

After all, the right to define this era lies in Roger’s hands, while others only have the right to be defined.

(End of this chapter)