dmims Chapter 290 The Spurs' Twin Towers Are Unstoppable! The Pacers' Choice
Chapter 290 The Spurs' Twin Towers Are Unstoppable! The Pacers' Choice
Chapter 290 The Spurs' Twin Towers Are Unstoppable! The Pacers' Choice!
After Lin Tian calmly made the free throw, completing the 3+1 play, the score difference between the two sides narrowed to 3 points. Although the Pacers had not yet taken the lead, there were still 5 minutes left in the game.
However, Lin Tian's explosive 9-point performance in 30 seconds clearly shocked the entire Suns team.
That's too fast, and too exaggerated!
The Suns' morale was also somewhat shaken by Lin Tian's attack. Although they were still in the lead, they could not regain their form after that. Both Robinson and Rogers suddenly lost their accuracy. Those shots that they could easily make in the first three minutes suddenly stopped going in.
With the entire team losing their shooting touch, the Suns managed only a paltry 4 points in the final 5 minutes and 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, including 2 points scored by Kidd after the game was already decided and the Pacers had stopped defending.
The Suns were completely crushed in the final five minutes!
113: 108!
Although the Pacers only won by 5 points in the end, the spirit and tough attitude they showed in the second half of the fourth quarter showed how much they wanted this victory!
其中最大的功臣，当然是30秒内连砍9分，第四节轰下16分，全场比赛33分13助攻7篮板的林天！
韦伯在这个晚上也拿下了20分10篮板4助攻的漂亮数据，另外卡特则是拿下16分5篮板3助攻！
On the Suns' side, Kidd had a bizarre double-double with 4 points, 16 rebounds, 20 assists, and 4 steals. He really couldn't make shots, but he could also find open teammates. However, when his teammates were all defended by the opponent, Kidd's threat level would drop sharply!
Robinson and Rogers, the scoring duo who played 37 minutes of great play tonight and almost dragged the Pacers into the abyss, suddenly went cold in the last 5 minutes of the game, scoring no points!
At this point, Suns fans will inevitably think of Hardaway. If Hardaway were here, perhaps they could come up with some ways to score?
But no matter what, the Suns, who were expected to win, couldn't stop the Pacers. They were brought down from their feet, and the Pacers' winning streak reached 31 games!
This is already the second-longest winning streak in NBA history!
But clearly, neither the Pacers' players, coaches, nor fans are satisfied with this!
Their goal is at least 34 consecutive wins!
Having already achieved this winning streak, no one would want to suddenly lose a game when they are just one step away from victory. This is the greatest winning streak in history, and we must achieve it!
What they will face next is the most difficult and challenging match in the next few games!
Back-to-back away game against the Spurs!
If the Pacers beat the Spurs, they can return to their home court and have three consecutive days of rest before their next game. After the Spurs, the Pacers' two opponents are the Warriors in the West and the Cavaliers in the East.
Two absolute minnows!
So far this season, the Warriors have won 14 games and the Cavaliers have won 16 games, for a total of 30 wins for both teams!
And the Pacers? They've already won 59 games! That's almost enough for both teams to win two seasons combined!
Of course, it's too early for the Pacers to think about the future. If they fall to the Spurs, then everything else will be meaningless.
Now, what they need to do is calm down and focus all their attention on the Spurs!
Because it was a back-to-back game, after playing the Suns, the Pacers went straight to San Antonio by plane and rested there overnight. The next morning, Bird did not arrange any training or have the players gather. Instead, he waited until after lunch before gathering everyone together for the routine pre-game analysis meeting.
The Spurs were a powerhouse in the Western Conference throughout the 90s. Except for the 96-97 season when they deliberately tanked to get the number one draft pick due to Robinson's injury, they made the playoffs in every other season!
Although they failed to reach the finals, they have been a top team in the Western Conference for more than ten years!
After acquiring Duncan, the Spurs finally got their chance. The twin towers of Duncan and Robinson in the paint were incredibly powerful, making them one of the league's top teams on both offense and defense.
Last season, the team made it to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history! However, because the opponent had a Gundam, the Spurs unfortunately lost after a hard-fought seven-game series and failed to win their first championship.
This season, the Spurs are back with a vengeance and only one goal: to win that damn championship!
Popovich and General Manager Buford also learned from their mistakes and realized that the team's interior defense was absolutely fine, boasting the best frontcourt duo in the league. What they lacked was their perimeter defense! Therefore, midway through the season, the team made a bold move, using multiple draft picks and several existing players to acquire two offensive players, Richmond and Jalen Rose!
The Spurs have assembled their Big Four! And the Spurs acquired these two players at low prices without paying too much. Rose is considered a troublemaker and a cancer by the entire league because of his outspokenness, while Richmond has led his team to miss the playoffs for many years. Both of their reputations have reached the lowest point of their careers.
At this point, the Spurs buying them wasn't even a huge gamble; it was practically a buy-and-get-free deal. To put it bluntly, even if the Spurs' big trade plan failed, as long as Duncan was still there, they wouldn't be in any crisis! They would still have the opportunity and resources to make a comeback at any time!
Fortunately, in the two months following the acquisition of these two players, their performance was quite good, and the Spurs' team chemistry was very successful! Both of these guys are very clear about where their careers have reached, and they know that this is their best opportunity.
So whether it's Richmond, who's used to being the big brother, or Rose, who was a bit arrogant before, they both chose to restrain their tempers and play hard without complaint!
In the 30 games since they joined the team, the Spurs have achieved an impressive record of 22 wins and 8 losses, second only to the Pacers in the league during the same period!
In these 30 games, Rose averaged an impressive 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. He took on a lot of the playmaking duties from James and did a great job!
As for Richmond, he accepted the role of a shooter, using his half-court shooting range and unstoppable offensive ability to finish plays in various areas of the court. He did a pretty good job, averaging 14.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in these 30 games.
Both players' stats have declined significantly compared to the first half of the season, but they have achieved the best efficiency and highest winning percentage of their careers!
Both of them have integrated quite well!
The Spurs' gamble has so far proven to be a successful bargain, acquiring two star-level scorers at a low price. The team is no longer as top-heavy as it was last season!
"Richmond's nickname is 'The Rock,' and some say he was the second-best shooting guard of the 90s." After analyzing the Spurs' overall situation, Bird continued to analyze each Spurs player individually.
After hearing Bird say this, Miller, who was sitting in the audience, let out a disdainful snort.
Second-best shooting guard? A guy who only played in the playoffs three times in his career and spent most of his time in the lottery is a second-best shooting guard?
Bird knew what Miller meant, but deliberately ignored him and continued, "Many people say he's just a pure stat padder! But what I want to say is that he may not be a qualified team leader, and his stats are inflated."
"But with the Spurs, he is truly a sharp blade; his shooting and range can really pierce the opponent's heart! Don't underestimate him, and don't give him an easy chance to shoot!"
"As for Jalen Rose, we all know him very well."
As Bird finished speaking, Carter, who was sitting below, couldn't help but laugh and said, "My benefactor, I wouldn't have been able to come to Indiana without him."
"He's also our benefactor. Without him, we wouldn't have you, Vince." Bird smiled and encouraged Carter. He always treated different people in completely different ways. For old men like Miller and Mullin who were very proud, he would let them get angry and hold their breath, full of resentment. That's when they fought the best.
For young players like Carter, Lewis, and Harrington, the focus is on encouragement to help them improve quickly.
When it comes to Lin Tian... well, when it comes to Lin Tian, Bird sometimes asks himself if what he's doing is right.
He always remained humble.
Keeping the arrogant and almost insane Bird humble is something that probably only Lin Tian could do in the entire league.
"Jaylen has taken on a lot of playmaking for the Spurs this season. He's the player who handles the ball the most on the perimeter. Doug, I need you to defend him very tightly and prevent him from moving the ball around!"
"clear!"
"As for their point guard, Jason..."
"I'll beat him to a pulp," Lin Tian said casually. "Or rather, in every time we've faced off, haven't I beaten him to a pulp?"
"There were a few times when I really messed up," Bird chuckled, quickly flipping through his playbook. "Then there's the Spurs, the toughest team to beat, and everyone thinks their twin towers in the paint are invincible, Duncan and Robinson!"
"These two guys led a bunch of perimeter players who aren't even as good as my grandma to the Finals last year, and battled Ewing and Jordan's Knicks for seven games! They practically won the championship!"
"Although Robinson's aging is clearly visible, and his athleticism and scoring ability are far from what they used to be, he's still averaging 17.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks this season! His aging is relative to his own past performance!"
"He's no longer an MVP-caliber star, nor is he a top-ten player in the league, but he's still a superstar. Give him space and opportunities, and he can still put up 20+10 numbers anytime! Underestimating him will definitely cost you!"
"And then there's Tim Duncan! The Spurs' true leader right now, and also the toughest guy on the team to deal with!"
"He's averaging 23.3 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks this season! What's most frustrating about him is that many of his moves are exactly like those in the textbook! He's like a textbook for beginners teaching basic post moves!"
"I've always felt that Duncan's greatest contribution to the league was showing everyone that practicing fundamentals is useful. If you practice well enough, you can become an NBA number one draft pick and an All-Star starter using only the things that elementary school students know."
"Yeah, of course, there are some negative effects too. For example, if you play like him, your fans might suddenly switch sides and support the opposing team when you're about to win the All-Star MVP! They'd rather lose an All-Star game than see a guy like you win the All-Star MVP!"
Bird's last words made the Pacers players burst into laughter. They all thought of the Oakland fans booing Duncan in the final minutes of this year's All-Star Game, as if they were afraid he would win the MVP.
It's so much fun! So interesting!
But as fun and interesting as it may be, everyone on the Pacers team knows just how strong the twin towers duo of Duncan and Robinson are! And before the game even started, they already predicted that they absolutely couldn't stop either of them! They'd be lucky to stop one of them at best!
Bird's next words proved that the players thought exactly the same thing he did.
"I'm not worried about the Spurs' perimeter game at all. Neither Mitch nor Jaylen is worth mentioning. Doug can handle Jaylen, and Vince and Reggie can handle Mitch! It's not difficult."
"But we can't stop the Spurs' twin towers." Bird admitted this very directly: "Or rather, we can only stop one of them at most! So instead of getting caught up in the choice between the two, I think we should determine our game strategy from the beginning."
"Ben, you guard David. Lin and Doug, be ready to help at any time! Although David hasn't scored as many points as Duncan this season, and he's getting older, I think he's more explosive and has a greater ability and potential to score high points!"
"Compared to David, Tim's scoring is more consistent; he almost never underperforms, but he doesn't have many high-scoring games! For example, this season, David has seven 30+ point games, but Tim has only four!"
"So my plan is to defend the one who's more likely to explode! Then, we'll see how many points Tim, this guy who's known for his 'fundamentals,' can score!"
"clear!"
Bird nodded and held out his hand, saying, "So, 33 consecutive wins..."
The players all put their hands on it, and everyone roared together.
"Break it!"
Bird said with satisfaction, "Then, dismissed! See you tonight for the game! Until tonight, do nothing but warm up and shoot some hoops to get a feel for the game. Rest, rest as much as possible, and let the fatigue from the journey and playing back-to-back games disappear from your bodies."
"Tonight, let's give it our all and give it our all against the Spurs!"
At 7 p.m., about an hour before the game started, the entire Spurs team arrived at their home arena in San Antonio. Popovich looked at his players and said calmly, "I think I don't need to say how important this game is."
"If you want to become a stepping stone to the longest winning streak in NBA history, if you want to be mentioned every time someone talks about the longest winning streak in NBA history for the next 20 or even 30 years, then this game is just an ordinary regular season game."
"But that's obviously not right, is it? None of us want to be stepping stones in history, right? What we want is to create history! To become history, not to be footnotes in history, appearing in a corner, being ridiculed time and time again."
"Tonight, end the Pacers' winning streak! They've won enough; it's time to let them relax!"
"Tim, David, against any opponent, you two are our strongest points! From the start, fully utilize your advantage in the paint! Play relentlessly, show your toughness! If they double-team? Pass it out. I believe in your passing ability, and I also believe in Mickey and Jaylen's shooting!"
"Speaking of which, Jaylen, this game means something very different to you! You've played against them twice this year, and both times you played terribly! The Pacers' ruthlessness towards you, your old buddies treating you like a clown and a joke, they bullied and humiliated you without any restraint."
"Do you know how to regain your dignity tonight?"
"I know, Coach," Rose nodded firmly. "Stay calm! Absolutely calm! As long as I stay calm and do the right thing, I'm invincible, and we're invincible!"
"Great! That's it!" Popovich clapped his hands twice and said, "Now, let's go! Go say hello to our fans! Go and beat the Pacers!"
"Go and kill them!"
Tonight's game, where the league's top team faces the Western Conference's second-best team, will undoubtedly attract countless fans, regardless of which city it's played in, and tickets will certainly be in high demand.
Tonight, the Spurs' home arena, ATT Center, was no exception. 18300 fans flooded into the arena early, just waiting for the players to enter and begin this crucial game that would determine the course of history!
Across the United States, countless fans were glued to their television sets early on.
Will the Pacers achieve their goal, continue their winning streak, and eliminate the Spurs, the last obstacle on their winning streak, or will the Spurs successfully thwart the Pacers, end their winning streak, and defend their own and the dignity of the entire league?
It goes without saying that the viewership ratings for this match will be extremely high!
TNT successfully secured the broadcasting rights for this match, and they began broadcasting the game before it even started!
"I think everyone knows what tonight means!" Barkley said with a smile. "Tonight, the Pacers could very well break the Lakers' record of 33 consecutive wins! Tonight could very well be a historic moment!"
"Charles, you're not being precise," Kenny said with a laugh. "Even if the Pacers win tonight, they'll only have won 32 straight games. They need to win two more to truly surpass the Lakers and break this almost 30-year-old record!"
"Let's celebrate early, Kenny! We all know that if the Spurs can't stop the Pacers tonight, then nobody can! At least their next two opponents can't stop them! Who are they again? The Warriors and the Cavaliers? I think those two teams would need at least two seasons to win 33 games!"
"They can stop the Pacers? If they can stop the Pacers, I'll eat this microphone right now!"
"That's not necessarily true! The Pacers lost to a weak team like the Wizards this year!" Kenny and Barkley continued to disagree. "Besides, they have to get past the Spurs first! Otherwise, it's all just talk!"
"Then let's wait and see! Let's see who wins tonight!"
With the two commentators cracking jokes, the starting players from both sides took to the field, and the highly anticipated match was about to officially begin!
Neither the Pacers nor the Spurs changed their starting lineups, sticking with their usual starting rosters.
The Pacers have Ben Wallace, Chris Webber, Christie, Vince Carter, and Jeremy Lin, while the Spurs have their "F4" plus "Little General" Avery Johnson!
Hmm, another small guard who's under 180cm tall and has terrible shooting speed.
Lin Tian didn't understand why there were so many weak and short people like this everywhere in the 90s.
But there's no need to understand; he just needs to turn around repeatedly and use his power-based back-to-the-basket moves, devoid of any skill, to overwhelm them.
Lin Tian even decided that even if his back-to-the-basket skills improved to an A or even an S, he would still beat up these short guards in this unskilled way!
For no other reason than to have fun!
Pure brute force is far more satisfying than defeating an opponent using techniques, footwork, feel, flexibility, or anything like that!
So, at the start of the game, when the Spurs used Duncan to post up in the low post and scored a hook shot against Webber, Lin Tian followed suit, turning around after crossing the three-point line and using his butt to block Jameson.
"FUXX!" Jason couldn't help but curse out loud. Before the match started, he had thought that Lin Tian might continue to treat him this way.
But he also had a sliver of hope: maybe after Lin Tian won MVP, he'd become concerned about his image and wouldn't want to fight him in such an ugly way anymore?
As it turned out, he was too naive.
Lin Tian has absolutely no bottom line!
I'm faster than you, better at dribbling, better at driving to the basket, and more accurate at shooting!
But I won't use those advantages; I'll just use my ass to push you!
Jason was truly disgusted. He was furious at Lin Tian's blatant bullying of him because of his short stature and lack of strength, but he was powerless to do anything about it.
When he reached out to block, he couldn't even touch Lin Tian's elbow; their physical abilities and physiques were simply too different!
In every respect, these two are not in the same league as players!
Popovich reacted very quickly. After Jensen was bullied by Lin Tian for a round, he immediately made a defensive rotation, switching Rose to guard Lin Tian and letting Jensen guard Carter.
Although the height difference between Jason and Carter is still very large, even exceeding 20 centimeters, at least Carter's strength is not that great, and when he shoots over Jason, his accuracy is not as high as Lin Tian's.
Hmm... I hope it's not that high.
At this point, Popovich had no other option but to pray that Carter missed the shot.
Well, it's not entirely hopeless. He could have Jason mismatch guard Christie and then pray that Christie misses the shot...
Anyway, when facing a team like the Pacers with such a terrifying offensive ability, as long as Jason is on the court, he will be a weakness and a loophole. Given the Pacers' tactics and execution, they will definitely target Jason and make him unable to hide until he can no longer stay on the court!
So, the Pacers' strategy for the first few minutes was basically that whoever Jason was guarding, that person would have the ball and attack, just relentlessly attacking this little guy who was less than 180 centimeters tall!
If you don't leave the field, we'll keep fighting until you do!
Tonight, Jason is destined to be taught a lesson by the Pacers' big men!
Popovich changed his defensive strategy and matchups, but Bird showed no intention of changing his defense.
Despite Duncan scoring several points against Webber in the early stages of the game, there was no double-teaming or help defense; Duncan was simply allowed to dribble and isolate! Popovich felt that given Webber's defensive level and ability, if the Pacers hadn't adjusted their game strategy today, Duncan could have scored at least 35 points!
On the contrary, David Robinson, the Spurs' current second-in-command, received the ball in the low post twice, preparing to attack one-on-one. But every time he was about to attack, not only was Ben Wallace huffing and puffing and fighting hard against him from behind, but Christie, Lin Tian, and Carter would also seize the opportunity to come over and harass him.
This prevented Robinson from having a comfortable playing style.
In addition, he's gotten older and no longer has the same mentality as before, where he would do anything to score points for a scoring title. So when Robinson sees a double team, he shows a calm and mature attitude. He never holds onto the ball or forces a mindless attack. His passing skills are superb!
Whether it's Richmond or Rose receiving the ball, they can get some space to launch their own attacks. If the opportunity isn't good, they will immediately start passing the ball around, trying to get it to Duncan on the other side so that he can go one-on-one with Webber.
Yes, when this kind of game starts, Duncan is incredibly adept at it, making easy wins, moving like the wind, and playing with impeccable skill and fairness...
It's just so relaxing!
After the initial probing in the first quarter, both coaches had a clear understanding of each other's tactics and strategies for the evening!
The Pacers' strategy was to relentlessly attack Jason and double-team Robinson, preventing him from scoring easily and forcing Duncan, who didn't seem to have much scoring explosiveness, to take as many shots as possible and score!
Meanwhile, the Spurs used Johnson to test the Pacers' outside shooting touch, to see if anyone was having a bad night or not in good form.
What should I say after the first quarter?
Both coaches' strategies were somewhat unsuccessful.
For the Spurs, Jason was completely outplayed. Whether it was Lin Tian, Christie, or Carter, they were all able to score easily against Jason, and their efficiency was not low. It can be said that as long as Jason was on the court, the Pacers' offense was very easy!
As for the Pacers, they did indeed keep Robinson scoreless in the first quarter. Richmond and Rose's performances were just average, but Duncan, who was almost completely unleashed by the Pacers and allowed to dominate, racked up an impressive 15 points and 4 rebounds in the first quarter.
If he keeps doing this, this guy will definitely not just get 35 points tonight, he'll most likely be aiming for 50!
24: 27!
In the first quarter, the Pacers were down by 3 points!
During the second quarter, both coaches began to make minor adjustments to their lineups.
Popovich brought in the team's backup guard, Terry Porter, who is 191 cm tall.
That's Terry Porter, who later became the head coach of teams like the Bucks and Suns.
With his 191cm height and abundant experience, Popovich believed that the Pacers wouldn't be able to beat him up, but clearly, Popovich's thinking was a bit simplistic.
If Terry Porter were only 27 years old this year, his presence on the court would certainly be a valuable addition.
The problem is, this guy is already 37 years old, which in some parts of the US is even considered grandfather age, and his legs are...
His effectiveness in defending the Pacers' perimeter was exactly the same as Jason's!
Right now, Buckner, Miller, and Carter are still taking turns beating him up! It's just that they've changed from using their height to pull him up when they were dealing with Jason to using their speed and athleticism to overpower him!
In any case, Porter remained a weak point on the team's defense after he came on, and the Pacers continued to exploit him!
Fortunately, the Spurs still had Robinson in the paint. With him guarding the rim, the Pacers' finishing efficiency under the basket was greatly reduced. Although Porter was beaten like a sieve, the Pacers did not score many points under the basket.
Of course, it's also because Lin Tian wasn't on the court at the beginning of the second quarter! If Lin Tian were on the court right now, who knows what kind of mess he would have made of Porter and Robinson!
However, precisely because Lin Tian was absent, Popovich was not in a hurry to remove Porter again. At this moment, both sides were in a mixed rotation period of substitutes and starters. Both sides had obvious weaknesses in their lineups. Therefore, although they were able to exploit each other's weaknesses, neither side could really widen the score gap.
As time passed and after a flurry of substitutions and lineup changes, with five minutes remaining in the second quarter, both coaches finally brought back their strongest lineups!
The Pacers still had Ben Wallace and Chris Webber on the court, while Miller joined them on the perimeter. Along with Lin Tian and Carter, the team's four highest scorers were all on the court at the same time!
As for the Spurs, all four of their stars were on the court, and for the last player, Popovich chose the fourth overall pick in 1997, Antonio Daniels!
When Daniels was drafted, he was considered a prodigy with All-Star level potential. However, in the years since he was drafted, his skills have not improved much, and everything is pretty much the same as when he was drafted.
He remains an inefficient one-on-one player and a pure finisher who can't pass the ball.
When a player possesses both of these labels, their career can essentially be predicted.
That boils down to two words—mediocrity!
But Daniels also has his advantages, namely his height of 193 cm. This height is a bit short for the shooting guard position, which he prefers to play. However, if you treat him as a pure workhorse, not responsible for organizing and passing, but only to fight against the opponent's point guard, then his effect on the court is actually quite good!
At the very least, he is the only one among the Spurs' current guards who can match Lin Tian in terms of size, speed, and physique.
Of course, it's just a touch; if it's meant to be destroyed, it will still be destroyed!
But at least, he's much better than Jason, who's 178cm tall, and Porter, who's 37!
And most importantly, the Spurs don't need him to orchestrate the offense right now!
The other four players on the Spurs all have good ball handling and passing abilities, so Daniels can confidently be his pure finisher in this lineup!
41: 40!
The Pacers are down by one point with five minutes remaining in the first half. The game continues!
Lin Tian calmly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and his reaction to the aggressive Daniels was remarkably composed.
He observed the situation on the field, thinking about how to play to give the team the advantage as quickly as possible.
At this point in the game, Duncan has already scored 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. With the Pacers' "indulgence" tonight, he's bound to put on a beastly performance.
The good news for the Pacers is that Robinson has been severely limited tonight, with only 5 points and 7 rebounds so far!
It's not that the Pacers don't want to defend both players at the same time, but rather that the Pacers' current resources are clearly insufficient to defend both Duncan and Robinson simultaneously.
Since we can't prevent them from playing at the same time, then we shouldn't let them play at the same time!
After recalling the technical statistics he had looked at before going on stage, Lin Tian silently made a decision!
He first patted his head, signaling to Ben to come out and provide cover for him!
After Ben Wallace held Daniels firmly in place, Lin Tian suddenly accelerated and charged towards Robinson in the paint!
Robinson naturally spread his arms wide, ready to defend against Lin Tian's breakthrough.
With a loud 'bang,' the two collided for the first time at the edge of the three-second zone. Lin Tian suddenly took a big step to stop his charge, then swung the basketball towards the basket with both hands. He then spun half a circle on his left foot before turning back and making a fake shot.
This time, Lin Tian finally tricked Robinson into focusing his weight! But he only lifted his body slightly and didn't jump to block the shot!
Although Lin Tian managed to dodge Robinson with a step-back move and score 2 points, Robinson's feet were almost rooted to the ground, and his defensive style of not jumping left Lin Tian somewhat helpless.
His goal wasn't just to score 2 points; his goal was to get Robinson out of the game! To force Robinson, who already had two fouls, to commit another foul and go to the bench early!
But Robinson was clearly aware that he had already committed two fouls and would become the Pacers' next target, so he was fully focused and controlled his footwork and movements perfectly on defense.
It can effectively disrupt the Pacers' players who are breaking through, while also controlling the number of fouls, preventing the fouls from continuing to increase and accumulate!
Robinson knew that if he could keep his foul count low in the first half, he could do more for the team in the second half!
So in the next few minutes, even though Lin Tian used screens, drove hard, or cut to the basket, he kept attacking the paint and challenging Robinson's defense, Robinson just stood still, arms outstretched, refusing to push down, jump, or try to tackle Lin Tian.
Even though Lin Tian had made three consecutive layups just by driving to the basket, Robinson just wouldn't foul! He perfectly controlled his body, not fouling, not jumping to block, he wanted to stay on the court!
Lin Tian could only admire Robinson's choice: You're really good at enduring!
However, Lin Tian quickly discovered the blind spot. Since this "Admiral" was holding back from committing a foul, then... why didn't the whole team charge towards the inside?
So, after Lin Tian gathered the entire Pacers team and gave them a few simple instructions, the Pacers' offense changed once again.
It turned into a situation where, apart from Ben Wallace desperately trying to block Duncan, preventing him from getting close to Robinson and from participating in help defense, Duncan was completely shut down.
The rest of the team, whenever they had the ball, would charge straight at Robinson! It was all about attacking, about drawing fouls, like they wouldn't give up until they got Robinson to three fouls in the first half!
Robinson was extremely pleased with himself at that moment!
Heh heh, I knew you bunch of bastards were going to try and get me to commit my third foul, make it impossible for me to continue playing on the court in the first half, and get me into foul trouble.
Very smart, but unfortunately, not as smart as me!
With just a few moves, I can stabilize the situation, make you leave empty-handed, and control my own foul count!
Robinson's smugness lasted for about 3 minutes. He felt that he had completely seen through the Pacers' tactical purpose and completely broken the Pacers' tactics!
He felt that his intelligence had given him a high vantage point, allowing him to overlook the entire stadium from the highest vantage point!
"FUXX! David, what the hell are you doing?! FUXX!" With one minute left in the first half, Popovich finally couldn't hold back anymore! He felt the situation on the court was unbearable to watch, and he had also discovered a blind spot!
He yelled at Robinson, "Don't you want to see how many times you've been beaten? Don't you want to count how many layups the Pacers have made over you in these last few minutes? They've turned you into a sieve! And you're still laughing? FUXX! You're still so smug? What the hell are you thinking?!"
"So you're not going to play defense just to avoid fouls? Didn't you see those Pacers bastards chasing you around?"
Popovich's roar made Robinson realize something!
be cheated!
Robinson's smugness vanished in an instant. He then realized that his supposedly brilliant insight had actually become the very point of attack, and he had been completely overwhelmed!
In the past few minutes, almost all of the Pacers' points have come from the paint! They've all been layups or close-range floaters that went right up to him!
54: 50!
The Pacers have now taken a 4-point lead! They've regained control of the game!
"David, you finally realized it?" Lin Tian dribbled the ball, advancing towards the frontcourt once more, and said to Robinson with a smile, "You're even dumber than I thought!"
"What did you say?" Robinson's eyes widened; he was furious with Lin.
"Or rather, much dumber than I imagined! Ten times dumber! I thought you had at least a high school student's IQ, but now it seems you're only at the elementary school level."
"Kid! I'm your opponent!" Daniels felt ignored and was very annoyed!
You're facing me directly, but you're trash-talking others? How is that any different from a two-timing scumbag?
No difference!
Pah! You scumbag!
(End of this chapter)