Chapter 158 Preliminary Test

Author: Feng Yuanhua

Chapter 158 Preliminary Test

David Robinson was highly focused. The moment Wang Hao double-teamed, he had already passed the ball.

However, Wang Hao's defensive response was fast enough.

After Mario Elie got the ball, Wang Hao had already returned to the defensive position before he had time to take aim.

In fact, at this time, Mario has many ways to handle the ball.

The first thing is to break through naturally. Even though Wang Hao seems to have returned to the defensive position, he still has an unstable footing.

At this time, if Mario can make up his mind to break through, he can definitely catch Wang Hao by surprise.

This is not what Wang Hao did in the past.

Even if the breakthrough is not sure, you can still pass the ball back to the inside to David Robinson.

Even Wang Hao couldn't bear the constant back and forth.

Unfortunately, Mario obviously hesitated after catching the ball. He seemed to want to throw the ball directly, but he was a little unsure.

After such a delay, Wang Hao had already adjusted his condition.

Moreover, as a player who has to play against him throughout the series, Wang Hao has learned about Mario.

The defense is not bad, and he has certain shooting and air-cutting abilities, but his ball-holding ability is relatively weak.

This is obviously a defensive player. To attack, you need your teammates to feed the ball to your mouth.

Sure enough, as Wang Hao stepped forward to press, Mario was unable to hold the ball when he had the chance, and passed it out immediately.

Although the ball was not lost, the tactic failed this time.

Popovich suddenly stood up from the coaching bench, looked at Mario and wanted to say something, but endured it.

Because he also understands that this is Mario's strength, and it would be unrealistic for him to ask for more.

As for substitutions, there's no need to think about it. After all, after a whole season has passed, this is the Spurs' best lineup at the moment.

By the time the basketball was in Duncan's hands, there was not much offensive time left, so he had to fight hard.

Duncan still completed a hand-to-hand pick-and-roll with Johnson, and Johnson completed the offense.

It's a pity that although Gary Payton was blocked for a while, he still had his height and covered Johnson from the wing.

Johnson's shot missed, Horace protected the rebound, and it was the Sonics' turn to attack.

Compared to the Spurs' steady offense in every possession, the SuperSonics certainly can't compete with them.

The biggest fear in a game is to get caught in the opponent's rhythm, so the Sonics' strategy is to be as open as possible.

Here, Gary Payton immediately accelerated after receiving the ball and crossed the half court in two or three steps.

Not only him, but also other Sonics players. What stands out is the word "quick".

It's just that Supersonic speed can increase speed, but it's not that easy to play fast break.

Because the Spurs' recovery speed is not slow at all.

As one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, the Spurs allowed only 90.2 points per game in the regular season.

The lowest points allowed in the league and the best defensive efficiency can speak volumes.

Johnson caught up with Gary Payton immediately. Although he was not physically strong, his speed was not slow.

Gary Payton leaned against Johnson with his back. Although he could easily advance with the ball, his speed slowed down.

Not only Johnson, but also Duncan and David Robinson completed their return to defense immediately.

There is no way, we can't play fast break, so we can only play slowly.

It can only be said that Paul Westphal is an old-school coach after all. Although he is not opposed to speeding up, his thinking has not completely changed.

If this were the Suns team a few years later, they wouldn't care if you retreated or not, they would just throw it away if they had the chance.

The SuperSonics obviously can't play like this.

Gary Payton began to direct his teammates to run tactics. As for him, he immediately broke through when he saw the opportunity.

Facing such a small man, he is still very confident.

In fact, what he did was not a breakthrough at all, but a pure use of his physical advantage to run right in.

At this moment, Wang Hao seemed to see Artest playing basketball.

Sure enough, basketball competition is ultimately about the body, speed, and strength, but it is not all about the body.

Seeing Johnson being crushed into the paint little by little, Duncan finally made a move and immediately double-teamed Gary Payton.

Gary Payton didn't dare to be careless and immediately passed the ball.

He actually wanted to pass it to Wen Baker immediately. Because Duncan double-teamed, Wen Baker was definitely the first one to be left out.

However, if Vin Baker can get an open shot and take an easy shot, then this is not the Spurs' defense.

Sure enough, at the moment Duncan was about to help defend, David Robinson had already made a move.

Not only David Robinson, but also the entire Spurs team's defense has changed, and they are making up defense in an orderly manner.

Under the high-speed rotation, not only Wen Baker was guarded, but others also had no chance at all.

I have to say that it is indeed the best defense in the NBA.

There was no other way, seeing that he was about to be completely double-teamed, Gary Payton could only pass the ball out.

Let’s not talk about whether he can assist and score goals. The first thing is not to make mistakes.

Reuben Patterson cleverly cut inside and just received a pass from Gary Payton.

But under Johnson's defense, he missed the mid-range shot!

David Robinson protected the rebound and the offensive power returned to the Spurs' hands again.

This time, Johnson simply gave the ball to Duncan in the mid-range position at 45 degrees.

In this position, Duncan can both attack and organize, shoot directly, and break through.

As expected, Horace chose to take a step back. This was not the first time they had fought. He was well aware of Duncan's attack.

Duncan was not polite either, holding the ball in both hands and making continuous tentative steps.

Of course, Duncan's technique is still very mature. The test step is just a test step, and it will never be a sudden step on the floor.

After testing several times in a row, Duncan took action directly, but Horace was already prepared and blocked it immediately.

In fact, Horace didn't give much space to shoot, but Duncan still made the shot.

0:2

The Spurs took the lead, and the SuperSonics were not polite. After a quick start, they immediately started a fast break.

This time, although the Spurs returned to defense quickly, they were unable to put down their defensive posture.

Gary Payton made a long pass from the backcourt and found Wang Hao. Wang Hao went straight into the paint and Mario couldn't guard him at all.

Although Wang Hao's body doesn't have any advantages among small forwards, he still has some advantages when switching to guards.

After scoring the goal, Duncan returned to defense early and immediately double-teamed him. At this time, Wang Hao passed the ball.

Horace, who was behind the defense, followed up early. After following up, Horace got the ball and dunked.

2:2

Seeing this scene, Popovich frowned slightly, but that doesn't mean he has to defend the Sonics every round.

This is impossible and unrealistic.

It's just that the Sonics score too easily, which Popovich absolutely doesn't want to see.

After all, the easier a defense is to score, the higher its shooting percentage will be.

The meaning of defense is to make the opponent uncomfortable. The more uncomfortable the shot is, the lower the hit rate will be.
Chapter completed!