Chapter 230 High-Intensity Confrontation

"Excellent teamwork. Both the Celtics and the Spurs showed strong teamwork from the start."

"In the intense competition of the playoffs, the two sides were able to show such excellent cooperation, which is enough to show the strength of both teams."

Coach Zhang also began to worry at this time.

The Celtics' lineup has been in working together for most of the season.

But the Spurs are more experienced!
The game on the court was still going on, and Pierce took the lead in starting the trash talk offensive.

"Bruce, have you figured out how you lost today?"

"Paul, are you talking in your sleep? Do you think you have defeated me?"

"Do you think a wimp like you can win? Kurt, I can't wait to beat you up now!"

Gan!
Bowen glanced at Kurt Thomas, who was eager to try on the sidelines, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

He still remembered clearly the last time he was chased all over the court by Kurt Thomas.

"Paul, you and the Celtics should stop being so arrogant. We will soon completely defeat you!"

"Bruce, don't think the Celtics are the Supersonics. Your little tricks won't work on us."

For a floor-sweeping player like Pierce, the thing he fears least is Bowen's stepping on him.

But Bowen is Bowen after all, and he knows that he is no match for Pierce in the low post.

He started defending Pierce directly to prevent him from receiving the ball in the low post.

Battier and Tony also encountered close defense from Ginobili and Parker.

Seeing this, Lin Yu directly signaled his teammates to move away, and he wanted to play one-on-one against Duncan.

Pierce exited the restricted area, and the fans were now fully focused on watching this confrontation.

Lin Yu faced Duncan and started dribbling the ball between his legs.

The next moment, Lin Yu made a drastic change of direction and then broke through Duncan on the right.

Duncan reacted quickly as well, moving directly to the right to block Lin Yu's breakthrough.

Lin Yu stopped suddenly, bent his knees, jumped up, and pressed his wrist.

Attack directly in mid-air.

Duncan was a step slower, although he jumped in time, wanting to enrich Lin Yu's shooting.

But it is slower, even though the difference is less than a second.

But this was enough for Lin Yu to complete his attack!

Swish!
The basketball drew an arc and entered the net hollowly.

"Oh my God! Lin Yu's move was so fast! Tim's reaction was so timely, but Lin Yu still managed to complete the move!"

Barkley, who was commentating on the scene, also sounded surprised at this time.

As one of the former MVP-level superstars in the NBA, no one knows better than him the difficulty of Lin Yu's shot just now.

Mr. Pi also commented: "Lin Yu's goal is what the fans call a superstar goal. From Tim's defense, this goal was perfect, but Lin Yu was able to score the goal!"

When Popovich on the sidelines saw this scene, his brows couldn't help but frown.

What he was most worried about happened!

The Spurs can't limit Lin Yu!

Lin Yu is one of the most explosive scoring players in the entire league.

And this is the type of player the Spurs fear the most.

Once Lin Yu goes crazy, it's really not difficult for him to score 40 or 50 points in a game.

But the Spurs don't have a player who can match Lin Yu's explosive scoring ability.

The game on the field continues.

"The Spurs started to counterattack. After Ginobili broke through, he used a Eurostep to pass Tony who came to help defend him. He was about to make a layup, but Okur directly pulled Ginobili down."

"I have to say, this is really the finals. The Celtics' defense is really rough. They would rather send their opponents to the free throw line than let them score!"

"Ginobili made both free throws, and the Celtics began to counterattack. Pierce took advantage of Okur's pick-and-roll and broke through with the ball."

"Duncan's assist defense was really great. Pierce was double-teamed. Dayu received the ball and singled out Bruce. Bowen succeeded!"

"..."

As Coach Zhang's voice continued to ring out, the game gradually entered a white-hot stage. Both teams were strong defensive teams in the league, and as they competed in defense, their hand movements gradually became bigger.

Elbow strikes, wrestling, collisions and other actions never stopped during the game.

The Spurs' advantages were also reflected in the game.

The Spurs' trio consists of three players who can handle the ball and attack, while the Celtics only have Lin Yu and Pierce who can handle the ball.

The Spurs also successfully seized on Tony's weakness.

Although Tony has not experienced the serious injuries in the original history, he is still good at dribbling and breaking through.

But the shooting has been inconsistent.

Parker's defense is definitely not that good, but you can't say he is a sieve either.

Parker left Tony open on the defensive end, and then teamed up with his teammates to double-team Pierce and Lin Yu.

Facing a double-team, Lin Yu was better off, but Pierce was indeed severely restricted.

Duncan also encountered similar problems.

In the fans' impression, Duncan seems to be an unstoppable inside player.

Sharks are afraid to defend from the front.

Big Harden lacks explosive scoring power.

After gaining weight, Yao Ming's physical fitness becomes a big problem.

Only Duncan doesn't seem to have any major problems.

In fact, this is an impression flow.

In the original history, the Hornets in 08 once restricted Duncan.

Facing the Hornets led by Paul, Duncan was double-teamed by David West and Chandler throughout the series.

Duncan averaged 15.3 points and 13 rebounds per game, with a shooting percentage of only 42.1%.

Although Duncan was already 08 years old in 32, you have to know that David West was not a defensive stalwart throughout his career!
Strong in offense but weak in defense has always been his label.

Lin Yu's defense is not weaker than Chandler, and it can even be said to be stronger!
Okur's defense is stronger than David West's.

The two teamed up to make Duncan fall into silence on the offensive end.

Popovich also decisively replaced Horry.

As a blue-collar center, Nazr Mohammed has no shooting ability.

This allowed the Celtics to double-team Duncan indefinitely.

But Horry is different. His previous playoff shooting percentage was 44.7%.

With this shooting percentage, leaving him open is really enough to kill the game!
When Popovich called a timeout, Rivers decisively started to make substitutions.

Mourning, Dio and Kurt Thomas were replaced by Rivers.

Pierce, Okur and Battier were replaced.

Mourning had previously been the Celtics' fourth option in the paint.

Dio, Kurt Thomas and Okur are all inside players who can shoot.

Mourning doesn't shoot, and his biggest role is protecting the basket.

The Celtics already have a shooting-defeating Tony on offense.

Here comes Mourning, who is a natural shooter.

Are we still going to launch the attack?
Therefore, Rivers did not give Mourning much playing time in the playoffs.

In the first few rounds of the series, Mourning averaged only 8.2 minutes per game.

But the Spurs are different. They have too many players who are good at breaking through and rushing to the basket.

Ginobili and Parker are both very good at it, and Duncan's low-post ability is also extremely strong.

Aside from Lin Yu, Mourning’s rim protection is the best among the Celtics.

After Horry came on, Duncan did encounter fewer double-teams.

But Ginobili became the Celtics' focus.

(End of this chapter)