Chapter 150 You Know Better Than Me

Popovich was taken aback, then smiled and nodded.

"You guy."

Yes, you guy, how do you know more than this old man.

Sometimes in front of Tang Tian, he even felt like his 20-plus years of coaching had been for nothing.

"I think we should play a small-ball lineup and speed up the tempo, playing fast break offense with them."

Tang Tian continued.

"Hmm?"

Popovich looked at Tang Tian quizzically.

What Tang Tian just said was completely contrary to what the coaching staff had been thinking.

D'Antoni was good at offense, at running and gunning, and playing a half-court game with them, suppressing the number of possessions, and restraining their strengths was the right decision.

But Tang Tian was now saying to speed up? Wasn't that playing right into the Lakers' hands, allowing them to exploit their strengths?

"Howard's strength is far from what it used to be after the injury, and you should be clear, Old Man, that he's never been a center who loves to run. Even during his Magic days, he was settling into the paint and fighting for second-chance rebounds."

Popovich nodded, that was right.

D'Antoni's run-and-gun was most successful during his time with the Suns, and besides Nash, there were Stoudemire and Diaw, two inside players who loved to run, flying all over the place.

But Howard was different. Howard could also fly, but he just didn't like to run, just like he didn't like to pick and roll.

Moreover, his strength had declined after a back injury, and he even struggled to play against Splitter.

"And we're younger and have a better defense than them, so we have a good advantage in playing fast breaks. In contrast, the Hammer play has been played for almost two seasons, and the opponents have figured it out, so the efficiency may be lower."

Tang Tian continued.

In his past life, the Spurs' peak was in the 2013-14 season.

Most people only remembered the Spurs' extremely high shooting percentage, but they automatically ignored the fact that it took the Spurs three full years to achieve that kind of tacit understanding.

Just like the hammer hitting the rock in the locker room, the 101st stone break that was presented to everyone was the result of the previous 100 strikes.

Now, if Tang Tian's passing development was included, the Spurs' lineup had only been together for one season, and its lethality wasn't that great.

On the other hand, the defensive strength of him, Leonard, and Green on the three wings had been proven in last year's playoffs.

Popovich listened, thoughtful.

For him, Tang Tian didn't need to make things too clear.

After Tang Tian reminded him, he basically thought of everything.

He finally smiled and nodded.

After the team arrived in Los Angeles, Popovich arranged a closed training session that afternoon.

The content was the three-wing lineup they had used last year.

Because they had played this lineup for a long time in last season's playoffs, the team adapted to it quickly.

After two and a half days of training, they basically regained that state.

The next night, the third game of the series began at the Staples Center.

The arena was packed, and the fans were incredibly excited.

After defeating the Clippers and proving again that they were the kings of Los Angeles, the Lakers' popularity had exploded.

Not to mention they knocked the Spurs off their horse in the last game.

They had a chance to replicate the Rockets' miracle in the 1994-95 season and win the final championship as a team from the bottom half of the bracket.

During the opening ceremony, the Lakers' players' faces were full of excitement, but Kobe looked generally emotional.

Suppressing desire wasn't comfortable for anyone.

The Spurs' starters were introduced first, Parker and Duncan, plus the three wings of Tang Tian, Green, and Leonard.

There was a commotion in the crowd when this lineup came out, and D'Antoni also widened his eyes.

Obviously, no one expected the Spurs to put up such a lineup.

But from the smile on D'Antoni's face, it could be seen that he still liked the Spurs' adjustment.

The Spurs didn't necessarily have much of an advantage in competing with the Lakers in speed.

The Lakers' lineup remained unchanged, still the same starting five as before, Nash and Kobe on the outside, Miles and Artest on the wings, and Howard at center.

"What are the Spurs doing? Have they forgotten that they are already an old team?"

After the opening ceremony, Barkley couldn't help but loudly complain from the commentary booth.

He had a bet with O'Neal at the beginning of the season.

If the Spurs didn't win the championship, he would have to wear a pink dress and perform a dunk in the studio!

Now that the Spurs were messing around like this, he was very flustered!

"Maybe Popovich thinks he's still young."

O'Neal laughed gleefully beside him.

Not only because of the bet, but also because the Lakers were the place of his career glory.

Although the way he left back then wasn't pleasant, just like McGrady with Houston, he personally still hoped that the Lakers could win.

Howard won the Lakers the first offensive opportunity, and Nash organized at the frontcourt.

The Lakers fell into D'Antoni's run-and-gun signature V-shaped formation.

The so-called V-shape was Nash's ball-handling at the top of the arc, and the small forward and shooting guard's positioning at the two corners.

D'Antoni's set of tactics originated from European basketball, emphasizing the sense of space on the court.

The tactics were actually very simple, but when there was space on the basketball court, simple passing and cutting could create opportunities.

Howard picked and rolled, and after the pick, Nash made a beautiful pass to Howard, who powerfully attacked the basket and scored a layup.

The execution of this tactic was very successful.

D'Antoni's seven-seconds offense was the most well-known, but his V-shaped half-court tactic was also excellent.

When Kobe wasn't obsessed with scoring, this tactic had room to play.

There were whistles from the crowd, in the last game, the Lakers had relied on this tactic to beat the Spurs.

"Come on!"

Barkley slapped the table in the commentary booth.

The rhythm of this game was very similar to the last one, it looked like the Lakers were going to win again!

He didn't want to wear that pink dress at all, that kind of thing was even more messed up than kissing a donkey's ass.

O'Neal was already laughing beside him.

Serves you right for being smug, you only won the last bet because you were lucky, how could you, Charles "professional face-slapper" Barkley, keep winning!

The Spurs' half-court offense failed to score, and Howard protected the backcourt rebound.

The other four Lakers players all went on a fast break.

This was D'Antoni's most famous seven-seconds tactic.

Emphasizing the absolute speed of offensive and defensive transitions.

And when the players were positioned, they were going for the V-shape.

Kobe and Miles on the left and right sidelines, Nash receiving in the middle, and Artest following up in the back.

This kind of fast-break formation was difficult for opponents to defend against.

After using a small-ball lineup, this Lakers team was like another Suns.

Parker was following Nash like a shadow at this time.

Howard saw that there was no opportunity on Nash's side, turned around and flicked his hand to pass the ball to the right.

The ball flew straight towards Miles.

"Pa!"

But before the ball could be passed, it was intercepted by Leonard!

Leonard intercepted the ball, and the Spurs launched a fast break from their fast break defense.

Tang Tian dropped to the corner to receive the ball and directly shot a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net cleanly.

3 to 2!

There was a commotion in the crowd.

Leonard's speed and timing of the interception were too perfect!

In the Lakers' V-shaped formation, Duncan held off Howard this time, and the latter's straight up-and-down shot bounced off the rim.

Duncan secured the defensive rebound after grabbing position.

Howard's decline in strength was very obvious in this possession, whether it was finishing or second-chance rebounds, he was obviously not as good as during his Magic days.

Duncan protected the rebound, and the Spurs immediately switched to attacking the Lakers on the fast break.

Tang Tian and Green on both wings, and Leonard in the middle, three-line fast break.

After Duncan passed the ball to Parker, Parker dribbled the ball up the court.

D'Antoni's seven-seconds offense was really the simplest tactic, Popovich didn't bother to use it, and what he was using at this time was a more stable modified version.

Although the speed was a little slower, the risk of being intercepted was also smaller.

Parker dribbled the ball to the mid-court and directly flicked his hand to pass the ball to Tang Tian on the right.

Although the Lakers' Nash, Artest, and Kobe were all trying their best to run, their old arms and legs were obviously slower than the Spurs' three-line fast break.

Tang Tian received the ball and was double-teamed by Kobe, who was the first to rush back. He didn't even look at the basket and made a beautiful middle ground pass.

Leonard happened to cut in, and the ball arrived with him. After receiving the ball, he made a gliding one-handed slam dunk.

"Boom!"

A powerful dunk, and the basket shook with it.

5 to 2!

"Woah! Is this the Spurs?"

Barkley swept away his previous gloom at the commentary booth and was excitedly gesticulating.

The Spurs hadn't used this lineup before, but last season it was mostly to stop the Thunder and Heat's fast breaks, and after defending, they still settled into the half court.

This was really the first time he had seen them play fast breaks with their opponents like this.

But the effect of playing like this was very entertaining.

O'Neal was suffering beside him, coughing with a sullen face.

Only Kenny Smith was looking at these two silly guys with caring eyes.

But he also had to admire Popovich's ability.

After losing the last game, Popovich had grasped the Lakers' biggest weakness.

Slow, or rather old.

The Spurs were already old enough, but the Lakers were even older than the Spurs.

Moreover, this starting lineup of the Spurs was not old at all, except for Duncan, they were all under 30 years old.

So the speed could be picked up completely.

On the other hand, the Lakers' small-ball lineup was originally intended to speed up the tempo, but no matter how they sped up, they couldn't beat the Spurs.

The Lakers' frontcourt V-shaped offense, Howard received the ball and attacked the basket, and the Spurs directly double-teamed him.

Howard couldn't pass the ball in the double-team and directly committed a turnover.

The Spurs' fast break failed to score, and Howard went back to protect the defensive rebound.

The Lakers counterattacked with a fast break, and Howard made a long pass from the backcourt.

"Pa!"

This time it was Tang Tian's interception, and Green directly caught Tang Tian's long pass at the frontcourt and hit a three-pointer from the corner.

8 to 2!

Besides letting the Lakers score one goal at the beginning, they directly counterattacked with an 8-0 run!

"What a young Spurs team!"

Barkley also understood the Spurs' tactics at this time and slapped the table hard in the commentary booth, laughing loudly.

The Spurs had always been associated with the word old, Duncan was old, Ginobili was old, and Parker was also getting old, but tonight they were playing with unlimited youth!

After half a quarter of the game, the score on the court was 16 to 6, and the Spurs had already gained a 10-point lead.

D'Antoni had already unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, loosened his tie, and kept rubbing his forehead with his hand.

He was suppressed by Popovich in terms of tactics tonight.

Moreover, the biggest difference between him and Popovich's coaching was their philosophy.

Popovich was taking advantage of the situation to maximize the function of each player.

He used a set of tactics to death and then selected suitable players based on this set of tactics.

This was also where Tang Tian complained about coaches like D'Antoni.

With this kind of coaching style, unless you were lucky enough to meet the right players, even if you were also the team's general manager, you might not be able to achieve great things.

The team continued to fail to score, and Howard's temper on the court was also rising. He failed to block shots continuously in defense and was called for a foul.

D'Antoni breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.

Howard's passing was bad, which was actually contrary to his run-and-gun tactics.

If you couldn't pass the ball, or kept making passing mistakes like before, his seven-seconds offense and V-shaped tactics couldn't function to the fullest.

So compared to Howard, he actually wanted to start Gasol more.

It was just that with Howard's personality, he would probably explode if he was put on the bench.

Gasol came on to replace Howard, who had two fouls.

Leonard's outside three-pointer, displaying his Mamba spirit, missed, and Gasol used his body to suppress Duncan and protect the defensive rebound.

The Lakers played a seven-seconds fast break.

Gasol's long pass passed through the Spurs' defense and came into Kobe's hands.

Kobe's pull-up three-pointer hit.

This was also his first shot in this game.

9 to 16!

D'Antoni raised his hand and made a "yes" gesture on the sidelines.

Obviously, this was the Lakers team he wanted in his heart.

While he was gesturing, Popovich was waving his hand to the Spurs' players on the sidelines to make new tactical gestures.

The Spurs advanced to the frontcourt, and Duncan directly dropped to the low post to ask for the ball.

Tang Tian, Green, and Leonard all dropped to the outside to open up space.

Duncan directly posted up Gasol.

Turning around to shoot after posting up.

Gasol's defense was not good in the first place, and when he was young, he could rely on his relative speed to guard the restricted area, but when he got older, his defense was a loophole.

Duncan averaged 17.5 points this season, coming to the nth spring of his career, and his state was still very good.

"Bang!"

Duncan's signature bank shot hit.

18 to 9.

Gasol's free throw line shot in the frontcourt was interfered with by Duncan and didn't go in, and Leonard protected the defensive rebound.

The Spurs attacked the frontcourt, and Duncan continued to ask for the ball in the low post.

It was still a one-on-one opportunity.

The Spurs' three outside shooters all had high shooting percentages, and the Lakers really didn't dare to double-team in the paint.

After continuous turns, a small skyhook.

"Bang!"

The basketball hit the center of the backboard area again and bounced into the net.

20 to 9.

After Duncan scored 4 points in a row, the Spurs once again pulled the point difference to double digits.

D'Antoni crossed his arms, frowned, and didn't know what to do.

Tang Tian's suggestion on the plane had been proven to be an absolute brilliant move, but Popovich's on-the-spot reaction was really fast.

As soon as he saw Gasol come on and the Lakers' fast break was able to play, he immediately told Duncan to go to the low post to eat him.

Kobe glanced at the ceiling of the arena as he ran forward.

He suddenly missed playing under Phil Jackson.

This feeling of running back and forth without being able to shoot was really terrible!