He had previously discussed with Budenholzer how to increase the success rate of positional attacks.

With a high success rate in positional warfare, the Thunder would have fewer opportunities to launch fast breaks.

This was a correct approach.

But what Tang Tian said was a different approach, and a more effective one at that.

You want to be fast? I'll just stop you from being fast.

You're young? My three wings are young too!

And putting aside the offense, the defense is just as good.

"The weakness of this lineup is positional warfare. I think we can choose to start Tony and Tim," Tang Tian added.

Popovich couldn't help but cough twice at this point.

It seemed that Tang Tian had said everything.

He had nothing to say!

Parker + Green + Tang Tian + Leonard + Duncan.

Parker's organizational skills were no weaker than Ginobili's, and Duncan's support was no less than that of Diop.

This lineup could be said to be an upgraded version of the Clippers' three-wing lineup.

And considering the Thunder's lack of independent offensive ability in the paint, there wouldn't be any major problems on the defensive end either.

Although he didn't want to admit that his thinking was a little behind a rookie, Tang Tian's suggestion was indeed very pertinent.

"You kid, you're making me feel like I'm really getting old."

Popovich wasn't like Calhoun. He didn't have any stubborn ideas and directly laughed self-deprecatingly.

"At most in the next game, you'll think of it too, Old Man, and this three-wing lineup is also your idea."

Tang Tian gave a wave of mutual flattery.

Popovich couldn't help but laugh when he heard that.

Tang Tian really didn't seem like a 20-year-old.

After chatting a few more words, he called Budenholzer back after Tang Tian left.

The two of them perfected the tactics overnight.

In the next day's training session, he directly moved the new tactical thinking to the team's training session.

It seemed that there was only one change in the starting lineup, but the tactical ideas were completely different, so training was necessary.

Fortunately, the players were familiar with the main tactical ideas and adapted quickly.

After two days, they basically mastered it.

"Don't let the efforts of the first two games go to waste. I'm watching you guys."

At the end of the last training session before the game, Popovich said to the players seriously.

The next game was very important for both sides.

If the Thunder won, the overall score would be 2-2, and everything would return to the starting point.

If the Spurs won, the score would be 3-1, and they would directly reach their match point.

This would directly determine the trend of the entire series.

It wasn't just Popovich who was serious. In the Spurs' locker room before the game, even Ginobili didn't say any more trash talk.

The Chesapeake Energy Arena was already packed.

Winning the last game greatly boosted the confidence of the Oklahoma City fans.

The TNT Big Three also appeared on the sidelines for this game.

Compared with the melee between the Heat and those old guys in the East, this was obviously more eye-catching.

"Shaq, who do you want to win this game?" Kenny Smith asked.

"Want? Of course, I want the Thunder to win, not because I'm their fan, but because I want this series to go on longer."

"So you can make more money commentating on more games?" Barkley immediately said from the side.

"Don't explain, Shaq, I know you're retired now, you're not a rich man anymore." Before O'Neal could answer, he immediately spoke again.

Barkley's words made both O'Neal and Smith laugh.

This was very Barkley, always able to find some absurd entry points.

"I actually want the Spurs to win." Smith expressed his opinion at this time.

"Not because I'm the Godfather's nephew." Smith had been with Barkley for a long time, and he had learned to snatch words at this point.

Barkley was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but spread his hands and laugh.

"If the Thunder win this game, then the series will be dragged to 6 or even 7 games, which is not a good thing for a team like the Spurs with an older average age."

Smith was the most serious of the three, after all, and when he said this, Barkley and O'Neal nodded in unison.

In fact, looking back at the playoffs in the past two years, this was indeed a problem for the Spurs.

After the average age went up, as long as they were dragged into a seesaw battle, they had a hard time winning in the end.

This was also one of the reasons why they hadn't entered the Finals for a long time.

In other words, this game was probably more important for the Spurs than most people thought.

After the pre-game warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony.

The Spurs' starting lineup was the first to be introduced.

When this new starting lineup came out, Brooks on the Thunder side was caught off guard, and the Big Three in the commentary booth were also greatly surprised.

"They don't have a center in their lineup. This is a small-ball lineup," Smith said sharply.

"Is Popovich learning from Spoelstra next door?" Barkley joked with a smile.

"Maybe they're already preparing to play the Heat," O'Neal picked up the words.

No one guessed the Spurs' real intention right away.

However, while the Spurs made starting lineup adjustments, the Thunder also made adjustments on their side.

Harden replaced Sefolosha in the starting lineup!

"Woah, this game is really interesting!" O'Neal couldn't help but roar after seeing the Thunder's starting lineup.

"Yes, it seems that Brooks doesn't want to waste time and wants to finish the game directly at the start!" Smith nodded in agreement.

The Four Young Masters were all on the court, preparing to seize the opening and not give the Spurs too many opportunities.

And it was also a disguised form of competing in physical strength.

Youth was capital!

Both sides made adjustments to their starting lineups, which made the emotions of the fans at the scene even higher.

This was an intense match that could be foreseen even before it started.

Tang Tian wasn't too surprised to see the Thunder's starting lineup.

The Thunder had widened the score in the last game when the Four Young Masters were on the court, so Brooks' adjustment was reasonable.

But in this way, it was actually beneficial for the Spurs.

The Thunder's Four Young Masters in the starting lineup were like the opponent showing their sharpest blade at the beginning.

But as long as they blocked its initial sharpness, the sword's momentum would become weaker and weaker.

Ibaka won the jump ball against Duncan, kicking off Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.

Durant caught a pass from Harden in the frontcourt and hit a mid-range shot.

The Thunder looked to be in very good condition.

"Defense! Defense!"

The fans at the scene also seemed particularly excited, cheering in unison from the start, directly pushing up the atmosphere of the game.

The Thunder's defensive intensity on the court was very high. Leonard's breakthrough layup was interfered with by Ibaka and failed to score.

Ibaka grabbed the defensive rebound, and Harden and Westbrook had already broken down the court at the first opportunity.

However, Ibaka's pass failed to get out.

Green guarded Westbrook, Tang Tian guarded Harden, and Leonard delayed Durant.

The Spurs' three-wing lineup directly cut off all of Ibaka's passing routes forward!