Chapter 148 Early suppression

The game between the Heat and Spurs was about to begin, and James' pre-match interview was also exposed by the media.

Tang Tian felt a little speechless when he saw the reported content.

James really maintained a good image in front of the media, he could even lie through his teeth.

But maybe for him, he might have forgotten about it.

That's good, he could just remind this "Little Emperor".

The attendance rate at the AT&T Center that night exceeded 80%, and the venue looked full.

Perhaps only a game against the Heat with such a gimmick could bring San Antonio fans to the arena together.

The Spurs had a poor away record and urgently needed a home victory to boost morale.

The Heat, on the other hand, needed an opponent like the Spurs to prove themselves, so this was a must-win game for both sides.

During the pre-game opening ceremony, the fans in the arena cheered.

It was the first time Tang Tian had felt something called passion in this arena.

Perfect timing, location, and personnel, everything was just right.

Others didn't notice, but Ginobili, in a suit and tie, noticed a different look on Tang Tian's face tonight, and he sensed that Tang Tian would be different.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players from both teams took the court one after another.

For the Spurs, the outside players were Parker and Green, the forwards were Jefferson and Duncan, but the center was not Blair but Splitter.

Obviously, Popovich knew this Heat team very well and knew that the inside was their weakness.

For the Heat, the outside players were Mario Chalmers and Wade, the forwards were James and Bosh, and the center was Joel Anthony.

Bosh and Duncan battled for the jump ball, and Duncan tipped the ball back to his own half, winning the opportunity to attack first for the home team.

Parker dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and reached out, ready to signal the team to run a play.

But before the Spurs players could start moving, Wade on the weak side directly double-teamed him.

The Heat chose to double-team the ball-handler right from the start!

Parker passed the ball to Green, giving Green a three-point opportunity.

But just as he was about to shoot, Wade quickly retreated and interfered.

"Clang!"

Green failed to seize the three-point opportunity.

Splitter was being held back by Anthony at this time, and James flew into the inside to grab the defensive rebound.

After getting the rebound, the Heat immediately launched a fast break.

Wade received a pass from James and quickly advanced to the frontcourt, dodging Green's interference in the air and hitting the ball with a layup.

Only 3 seconds had passed on the game clock from defense to offense.

"What a fast counterattack speed!" The commentator on the sidelines couldn't help but exclaim.

Fast break was the most impressive label of this Heat team.

Parker dribbled the ball to the frontcourt again, and the Heat continued to double-team.

The camera focused on Heat coach Spoelstra on the sidelines, and it was clear that this was a tactic he had specially prepared for the Spurs.

Parker's pass was quick, but Green didn't dare to shoot after receiving the ball this time.

James and Wade double-teamed him at the same time, and Green passed the ball to Jefferson.

After receiving the ball, Jefferson broke through towards the basket, but James had already retreated back, and Bosh in the paint also reached out to double-team.

He wanted to pass the ball to Duncan in the paint, but Bosh predicted it, jumped up, and directly grabbed the ball!

The Heat stole the ball!

Bosh passed the ball to James, James quickly dribbled the ball forward, shaking off the chasing Jefferson during the fast break.

After seeing Green help defend, he directly threw the ball forward in the air.

Wade cut in from the wing at this time, jumped up to catch the ball, and directly slammed it in with a one-handed dunk.

James-Wade connection!

After landing from the dunk, Wade squatted down, stretched out his right hand, stared at his open hand, and made a "hand-kissing" celebration gesture imitating O'Neal.

The arena was in an uproar.

In the first two possessions, the Spurs were completely suppressed by the Heat.

During the daytime training session today, Popovich did tactical analysis in addition to daily training.

After James joined the Heat, this team had two very obvious characteristics.

One was that the lineup was deformed, and they didn't have a reliable center for a long time.

The other was their style of play, playing fast break after oppressive defense.

Popovich was an S+ level coach, and his analysis and response before the game were the most appropriate.

Starting Splitter to use his height advantage to create inside offense and second-chance rebounds;

Playing positional offense to ensure success rate and not giving the Heat too many fast break opportunities.

But it seemed that the old man was also faked out by Spoelstra on the other side this time.

The Heat's starting lineup hadn't changed, but the defensive strategy had.

Not giving you a chance to play positional offense at all, infinitely double-teaming your ball-handler, forcing you to make passing errors like just now.

This tactic was actually very simple, and a bit risky.

But it had to be said that Spoelstra knew Popovich very well, and he was using a surprising move in front of the old man.

This coach, who stood behind the Heat's Big Three and had always been inconspicuous, had been underestimated.

In the Spurs' offense, Parker directly passed the ball to Duncan in the paint, and Duncan passed the ball to Jefferson on the outside after being double-teamed.

Jefferson had a three-point opportunity, but his shooting speed was obviously not fast enough, and he was interfered by the retreating James, and the shot went wide.

Joel Anthony and Bosh had a very clear idea at this time, and they didn't jump, they just held back Duncan and Splitter to prevent them from getting into the restricted area.

Wade cut back to the inside at this time, jumping high to grab the defensive rebound.

The Heat launched another fast break, this time Wade returned the favor, passing the ball back to James after breaking through, and James directly slammed into Jefferson and scored a layup.

The Heat took the lead, directly scoring a 6-0 run against the Spurs.

Tang Tian sat on the sidelines, lost in thought.

Spoelstra's tactics were actually very simple, and really risky.

If the Spurs' outside players made open shots, it would be a fatal blow to the Heat's defensive confidence.

But it had to be said that Spoelstra had the capital to take this risk: the Heat had Wade and James.

Wade and James were both in their prime at this time, and their double-teaming and retreating speed were very fast.

The seemingly open opportunity a second ago was interfered with when the Spurs players were about to shoot.

Green's first shot at the beginning and Jefferson's shot just now were both like this.

The Heat's talent was at that level, which gave Spoelstra more room to play than Popovich.

But in fact, this kind of tactic was also very simple to break.

As long as the open players shot fast and accurately enough, and made those shots, the Heat would naturally not dare to double-team the ball-handler like this again.

It should be known that for the Spurs, with Parker, they didn't have to worry about not being able to pass the ball out.

In the Spurs' zip tactic, Jefferson's open three-pointer at the corner still missed. After James rushed to grab the rebound, the Heat pushed for another fast break.

Wade's layup drew a pulling foul from Green.

After making both free throws, the Heat had a dream start of 8-0.

Popovich turned around and walked back to the bench at this time, calling Tang Tian and Leonard up.