Chapter 138 The Problems of the Team

Half an hour before the game started, the players from both sides left the locker room and came to the court one after another.

Paul, Griffin, and Jordan, the Clippers' Big Three, all had smiles on their faces.

Although it was only Griffin who stated it in front of the media, it could be seen that their three brothers had similar ideas, and they all regarded tonight as a night of revenge.

The fans at the scene felt upset when they saw their annoying expressions.

Fortunately, the Spurs players seemed to be in good spirits.

This was a fairly positive signal.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides took the stage one after another.

Both sides had regular lineups.

After the game started, the situation on the court quickly became intense.

Because of the losing streak, the Spurs players' feeling on the court was indeed not as good as before the All-Star Game.

The Clippers were in hot form, and under the leadership of Paul and Griffin, their offense was impressive.

However, defense was still a problem that this Clippers team hadn't solved.

After the first quarter, the score on the court was 29 to 26, with the Clippers holding a narrow 3-point lead.

The game entered the second quarter, and both sides began to substitute players.

The Spurs had an all-bench lineup: Mills and Ginobili on the outside, Green and Diaw on the frontline, and Blair as the center.

The Clippers also had an all-bench lineup: Billups and Bledsoe on the outside, Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes on the frontline, and Odom as the center.

Green's three-pointer in the frontcourt missed, and Odom protected the defensive rebound.

The Clippers attacked the frontcourt, with Crawford holding the ball and Barnes setting a pick-and-roll.

The Clippers had a very standard small lineup on the court. Barnes was playing the three and four positions, and the pick-and-roll quality was average, but the speed was very fast.

Crawford seized the moment when Barnes' pick-and-roll was formed, and directly accelerated to break through, meeting Diaw's switch defense with an emergency stop jumper.

Diaw's speed was obviously a bit unable to keep up.

"Swish!"

Crawford's emergency stop hit steadily.

In the Spurs' offense, Diaw's open three-point opportunity at the arc was also not seized.

Crawford was closely guarded by Green in the frontcourt. He ran off-ball to receive a pass from Billups, dribbled the ball to the basket, and made a layup with a pull-up.

He scored 4 consecutive points at the start of the second quarter!

As a former Sixth Man of the Year, his scoring ability was quite explosive.

If it weren't for his poor defensive ability, Crawford would definitely be an All-Star-level player.

The Spurs finally scored a goal in the frontcourt with Ginobili's serpentine breakthrough layup.

Turning around, Crawford was in good form, facing Green and continuously dribbling the ball outside the three-point line.

The ball seemed to be stuck to his hand.

He was the best player in the NBA at using streetball skills.

With a fake move to break through, his left leg stepped out, but a crossover dribble suddenly pulled the ball back.

Green was tricked.

Crawford directly took a step-back three-pointer.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net.

He scored 7 consecutive points!

36 to 28, the Clippers led the Spurs by 8 points!

The Clippers' bench was in an uproar.

Paul jumped up from the bench and shouted excitedly.

With Crawford on the team this season, they finally didn't have to collapse in the bench transition period like they used to against the Spurs.

The fans at the sidelines were agitated.

As they had discussed on the hotline before, the Spurs' problem was not just Tang Tian's lack of playing time, but the entire team had problems.

Popovich turned around and called Tang Tian.

Ginobili's breakthrough layup in the frontcourt drew a shooting foul from Odom.

The game entered a dead ball.

Ginobili's first free throw missed.

Tang Tian came on to replace Mills.

"Tang is coming on at this time? Is Popovich finally preparing to use Tang more?"

"It's useless. The problem now is not something that Tang can solve alone. The Spurs' state is really a problem."

"Yes, even Manu's free throws can't go in. If the offensive problem isn't solved, Tang coming on won't help."

……

When Tang Tian came on, the fans on the hotline also started a heated discussion.

Ginobili made the second free throw, and the Spurs narrowed the score difference to 7 points.

Crawford held the ball in the frontcourt and saw that the defender was Tang Tian, so he directly step-backed and shot.

He was very confident in his state.

But he obviously underestimated Tang Tian's current defensive state.

Tang Tian's first-time jump interference almost resulted in a direct block.

"Bang!"

Crawford's shot was obviously short, and the ball hit the front of the basket.

However, Odom grabbed the offensive rebound at this time and scored with a second-chance shot.

In the Spurs' frontcourt offense, Ginobili broke through and passed the ball to Blair under the basket. Blair dribbled once and then shot, but was interfered by Odom, who rushed back, and the ball slid out of the basket after it was released!

"See, I told you! The Spurs really have a problem with their state!"

"Yes, Tang may be able to defend a few rounds, but that's just a drop in the bucket."

……

The fans on the hotline were constantly discussing, and the Spurs' defense and offense in the past round were really problematic.

Tang Tian also felt it.

But he wasn't surprised, or rather, he felt that this was completely normal.

Although his reduced playing time was the main reason for the Spurs' losing streak, it would be strange for a team on a three-game losing streak to be in good shape.

His choice was to concentrate.

His teammates could be out of shape, but he had to go all out!

The Clippers played a wonderful cooperation in the frontcourt. Bledsoe and Billups played continuous passes, and Barnes had an excellent scoring opportunity when he received the ball under the basket.

He quickly shot the ball.

"Bang!"

However, at this moment, a figure flew in from behind him and delivered a big chase-down block!

Tang Tian!

He had his dynamic vision fully open and anticipated the Clippers' offense!

After the block, he jumped up again and grabbed the defensive rebound!

The ball was given to Ginobili, and he followed up quickly.

Ginobili dribbled behind his back and turned to get past Bledsoe. He glanced at Tang Tian who was following up, and felt a very familiar sense of intimacy.

Because the team had compressed Tang Tian's playing time in previous games, he hadn't played on the court with Tang Tian for a long time.

A no-look pass.

Tang Tian received the ball and shot a three-pointer in transition.

The ball flew through the air in a high arc.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net.

There was a burst of cheers from the crowd.

Tang Tian's three-pointer was crucial.

Crawford attacked again in the frontcourt. This time, Tang Tian seized the timing and directly jumped to block.

"Pa!"

The ball was blocked back head-on!

In the fight for the loose ball in the mid-court, Green was quick-witted and fell to the ground to get the ball first, then threw it to Ginobili.

Ginobili dribbled the ball and rushed forward, pushing Bledsoe to the basket, then threw the ball to the right 45-degree angle.

Tang Tian followed up quickly and shot another three-pointer after receiving the ball.

"Three points~~"

The eyes of the fans at the scene were all on this shot, and the host at the scene also lengthened his tone.

"Swish!"

"Got it!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound of the basketball entering the net and the commentator's accented shout, the scene was boiling.

Tang Tian scored three consecutive points!

"Huo! So good!"

The fans on the hotline instantly floated a wave of neat rhythm.

ps: Thank you for your rewards, I don't have time to sort them out today, I will make up the thanks later.