The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 75 - 73 The Advantage of a Gold Medal Head Coach

Chapter 75: Chapter 73 The Advantage of a Gold Medal Head Coach

How should I describe him?

Well, let’s just say that some players with more aggressive moves are labeled as "dirty," and the name "Bruce Bowen" could define "dirty."

For most perimeter players in the NBA, it’s a name that makes them grind their teeth.

During this period in the league, there were few perimeter players who hadn’t suffered at the hands of Bowen.

Underhanded hits, sticking out feet, sneaky grabs, kicking in the groin...

Basically, whatever dirty tricks you can think of!

The number of players he’s ruined is countless, with Vince Carter being the most prominent among them.

It was his explosive power that disappeared under Bowen’s repeated underfoot sticking.

And what’s most disgusting is this:

At his retirement press conference, Bruce Bowen openly admitted that he did these things on purpose.

Not ashamed, but proud of it!

That was the Bruce Bowen of the lowest kind!

The jump ball segment arrived, and Tim Duncan, with a fake move, deceived little O’Neal and successfully captured the first possession. As a doctor of psychology, little O’Neal, a high school student, somehow seemed a bit simple and naive in front of him.

Tony Parker dribbled past half court, with Tim Duncan directing his teammates into position for him.

What is meant by the "favored son" treatment?

This is it.

As a point guard, Tony Parker only needed to think about how to carry out a breakthrough with the ball. Tim Duncan had much more to consider—besides his own offense, he also needed to organize the runs of his teammates and take care of the pick and roll.

The false "one through five": Kevin Garnett;

The true "point guard to the five": Tim Duncan!

Tinsley was also well prepared for this game, sticking close in defense from the get-go; he knew that physical confrontation was a soft spot for Tony Parker.

The Pacers’ positioning tonight was also very targeted against Parker, very tight.

The "Little Sports Car" from France had strong breakthrough ability but unstable shooting.

Originally prepared to move up for a screen, Tim Duncan abandoned the idea as Manu Ginobili came around from the side to receive the ball. Facing Su Wan, he did not hesitate to show off his unique "Snake-shaped Breakthrough," slipping past like a loach.

This was Su Wan’s first time facing such strange footwork, and he had only one feeling:

Without opening "The zone," there was no way he could stop Ginobili.

So this was the peak "Demon Blade?"

Time to trim it down!

Thankfully, little O’Neal had already formed an intercept under the basket, blocking Ginobili’s "inevitable route" on his breakthrough.

Hmm...

From Su Wan’s angle, it seemed like the inevitable route Ginobili would take on his breakthrough, but Ginobili shifted his feet, twisted his body, and just like that slipped past little O’Neal, just as he had done with Su Wan moments before.

"Swish!"

The opening first attack, easily completed.

Tim Duncan, watching Ginobili take on "1 vs 2," also immediately reached out to ruffle Manu’s head of hair.

Only Popovich was muttering disapprovingly on the sidelines.

He didn’t like Ginobili’s showboating style of offense; just now he could have passed to Tim Duncan, who had an easy scoring opportunity under the basket. But Ginobili always managed to suppress what he was about to criticize with an over-the-top shot.

Even Popovich had to admit:

If the ball goes into the basket, then it’s a good play!

It was the Pacers’ turn to attack, the first being handled by Tinsley.

Tony Parker’s defense was definitely a weak point in the Spurs’ defensive line.

Rick Carlisle’s tactics tonight were also constructed around this point.

Tinsley didn’t let Carlisle down, he smoothly broke through Tony Parker, Tim Duncan moved up to cover, and at that moment Tinsley passed the ball to his left.

Su Wan cuts to the basket and completes the layup to score!

Tinsley’s breakthrough was the first part of Carlisle’s plan.

Then, Tinsley’s pass to Su Wan cutting in from the outside, or Stephen Jackson’s shot, or feeding the ball to O’Neal inside for him to complete the offense, constituted the second part.

This was also an impromptu adjustment, as the original plays—passing to Su Wan cutting outside or feeding O’Neal inside—were too simplistic. Rick Carlisle was troubled by how to add another layer to the offensive strategy, but to his surprise, the League announced Stephen Jackson’s reinstatement at just this moment. Suddenly, with cuts and long-range shots both in play, the Spurs hardly had time to react.

With the tactics set, Rick Carlisle was filled with confidence.

Indeed, things turned out just as he expected. The Pacers fired on all cylinders in their offense from the start, scoring consecutively. Their first miss didn’t come until 4 minutes and 45 seconds into the first quarter, at which point they led by 4 points, 10 to 6.

Popovich looked put out, his droopy eyes almost overflowing with dissatisfaction. He forcefully rubbed his ruddy nose and bellowed, "Switch on defense quicker!"

In fact, the Spurs had initially failed to defend the Pacers’ offense tonight for reasons besides Stephen Jackson’s sudden return contributing to a more diversified Pacers attack.

There was another issue:

Popovich had directed many of tonight’s defensive arrangements against Su Wan. Yet, the Pacers, who had been focused on Su Wan’s iso-plays in recent times, hadn’t set up a single isolation play for Su Wan tonight.

Most of the ball possession was in Tinsley’s hands, and his breakthrough passes had gotten O’Neal 3 points, Su Wan 4 points, and Stephen Jackson 2 points.

It felt terribly frustrating, like punching cotton!

However, as a "Gold Medal Head Coach," Popovich’s advantage came to light. He could blame the team’s lagging on the players’ lack of active movement on the court.

Tim Duncan, seeing him like this, knew it was "that time of the month" again, and as usual, he began to run even harder, setting an example and spurring the entire Spurs defense to action.

From this round onwards, the Spurs’ defensive switches visibly increased.

Tinsley also couldn’t find matchups against Tony Parker as easily anymore.

"Toot!"

During Manu Ginobili’s offensive round, Tinsley, caught off guard, didn’t "swerve" and Ginobili drew an "offensive foul" with a Fake Fall.

"I didn’t even touch him!" Tinsley grumbled as he went back on defense.

Being given an offensive foul due to a Fake Fall was truly aggravating.

"Toot!"

But right after that, Tony Parker, with the help of Tim Duncan’s screen, shook off Tinsley and charged to the basket, where Su Wan suddenly appeared, standing just in front of the white line of the Reasonable Collision Zone. Unable to brake in time, Parker crashed into Su Wan.

Su Wan fell straight back, returning the "offensive foul" favor to the Spurs.

"Nice, buddy!" Tinsley was the first to rush to Su Wan, giving him a big thumbs up with a hearty laugh before pulling him up to his feet. That play had been incredibly satisfying to watch.

On the Spurs side, Tony Parker got a tongue-lashing from Popovich.

But he was used to it; ever since he joined the Spurs, every step of his growth had been marked by Popovich’s spit.

Damn rookie!

Tony Parker chalked up the debt to Su Wan.

He was determined to draw a "defensive foul" on Su Wan in this game.

Yet, before he could settle the score, it was the Pacers’ turn to attack. Su Wan, mismatched against him, barreled down like a high-speed train, pushing past him and finishing with a layup, humiliating him once more.

Why was it humiliating...

Because Su Wan could have simply pushed him away but chose not to do it directly; instead, he "dragged" him along all the way to the basket before knocking him aside.

Only then did Tony Parker realize that Tim Duncan had been right behind him, waiting to provide cover defense, but Su Wan had turned him into a "human shield," making it impossible for Duncan to get in position.

"Thanks!" Su Wan even smiled and thanked Tony Parker.

"Don’t get cocky, kid. You won’t be laughing soon!" Tony Parker retorted angrily.

But Su Wan’s smile only grew brighter.

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