The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 354 - 190: The Depressed Shaquille O’Neal_5

Chapter 354: Chapter 190: The Depressed Shaquille O’Neal_5

Rick Carlisle watched the Spurs’ defense and the more he watched, the more familiar it seemed. Wasn’t this damn thing just a replica of the Pacers’ Su Wan, Artest, and young O’Neal?

The Spurs had actually stolen this move.

In that instant...

Rick Carlisle was lucky he didn’t have a tail.

Otherwise, his entire tail would have been wagging.

Back then, he considered Popovich an idol, but now Popovich was stealing his defensive lineup.

No way, no way, he needed to pose with hands on hips, feeling pretty epic!

But at that moment, Rick Carlisle made another change of formation, pulling out Power Forward Dior and replacing him with Millsap.

In terms of ball handling and various offensive strategies, he was inferior to Dior.

But under circumstances where he was locked down beyond the three-point line, his rebounding ability under the basket, Second Attack capability, and three-point shooting ability were actually stronger than Dior’s.

At the same time, the ball was now concentrated in Su Wan’s hands, and he started constantly attacking the Spurs’ basket.

With Tim Duncan on the Spurs, Su Wan’s Breakthrough shouldn’t have been able to puncture the heavens.

Even though Su Wan now had a Breakthrough Ability of 92 points, ranking as top-tier in the league.

But the opponent was still Tim Duncan after all.

You can’t deny his shot-blocking ability just because he’s a "historical backdrop."

Another meaning of "historical backdrop" is:

Energetic in protecting the basket, dedicated in defense!

If everyone defended like a certain person, indeed there would rarely be any backdrops, but no one cares about his defense.

However, Millsap’s spacing made Tim Duncan quite uncomfortable.

And the guy was shooting three-point shots from the corners, Su Wan’s "Breakthrough pass" didn’t really need any Field of View, if Tim Duncan dared to block him, he would just throw it toward the three-point line at the corner.

Tim Duncan tried letting Millsap shoot one, and after seeing him score easily, he didn’t dare let him shoot freely again.

Besides, Su Wan wasn’t only passing to Millsap; there was also young O’Neal charging with him towards the basket.

With more options available, the Spurs’ basket defense started to falter.

It was only then that Popovich suddenly realized he had been greatly fooled by the media.

This Pacers team seems to win games with three-point shooting, but in reality, the decisive moves at crucial moments were still attacks toward the basket.

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When Popovich first saw the Pacers’ crazy three-point shooting in November, he was puzzled, questioning whether, in the last season of three consecutive championships, they really intended to win with such a wild approach?

Both the Phoenix Suns and the SuperSonic Team have proven that three-point shooting has immense lethality when it gets going, but it also bears greater uncertainty—feeling cold at a crucial moment of a match could directly ruin the game.

Now Popovich knew that the Pacers’ November madness of three-point shooting was just a facade, or perhaps the November teams hadn’t pushed the Pacers to reveal their true form, letting the rest of the league believe they had become an enhanced version of the Phoenix Suns.

When it actually came to the critical moments of a match, they wouldn’t bet on three-point shots but would use their most skillful tactics.

And...

They clearly knew how to maximize the effectiveness of the three-point shot.

Take the current Spurs for example.

Though the Pacers’ earlier three-point offensive had been extinguished, who knew how many "sparks" would flare up into a widespread blaze once they lowered their guard?

If they wanted to defend against this team’s three-point shooting, they should have disrupted their rhythm from the start of the game.

Not wait until they had nearly finished shooting before stepping up the intensity.

Popovich had figured it out, but it was too late.

With continuous attacks by Su Wan and young O’Neal, the Pacers successfully widened the gap by 14 points, ultimately winning 110-96 and taking the victory from San Antonio.

Tim Duncan tried to step up at the crucial moment, but the defensive effort tonight had also taken its toll on him.

Although the Spurs learned the Pacers’ "sweeping defense," during its implementation they must have realized just how severe this kind of defense drains the physical fitness of players, especially the interior players.

If it weren’t for young O’Neal’s weight loss, no longer holding the ball for low post iso plays, he wouldn’t have held up in the defensive role now required within the Pacers.

Tim Duncan was also now a "Physical Monster."

But to have him play young O’Neal’s role while also needing to step up in key moments...

It was somewhat difficult for him!

Besides, Tim Duncan had already turned 30 unknowingly, and though he was in his prime in terms of experience and form as an interior player at this age, the only thing that really couldn’t match his younger self was his physical fitness.

In the post-match interview, Popovich had realized the true form of the Pacers and didn’t hold back from saying it, directly facing the camera: "Everyone was misled by the Pacers’ massive three-point shooting. Their decisive blow at critical times is still an attack on the basket!"

This was the reason Rick Carlisle, even though they won against the Spurs, wasn’t very happy.

Recently, everyone had been talking about the three-point shot, which had thrilled him, thinking the focus would continue on the three-point shot for a while longer, but unexpectedly, by December’s first match, Popovich had exposed it.

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