basketball player

Chapter 402 Chapter 400: Controlling Popovich

In fact, Danny Green led a three-point frenzy in Game [-] of the Finals.But just like most people believe that Gary Neal will never have another convulsion, most people don't believe that Green can regain that touch.

It's normal for a three-point shooter to feel hot once or twice a game, but even sharpshooters as strong as Ray Allen and Reggie Miller can't keep their hands hot every game.Not to mention, role players like Danny Green.

Therefore, even after returning from the timeout, Danny Green was ordered to score a three-pointer, but this still did not attract the attention of the Spurs and Popovich.

Popovich is still worrying about George, Paul and Leonard at this time, Danny Green?A player whose scoring average will touch the edge of double digits, what is there to be afraid of?Could it be that Henson Joe would let him kill the game?
If Henson could read minds, he would have answered Popovich this way.

"Congratulations, you answered correctly!"

Due to Green's three-pointer, the Spurs' 5-point advantage instantly became only 2 points left.At this time, Ginobili, who started the game, had scored 7 points and 3 assists. That is to say, of the 15 points scored by the Spurs, only 1 goal was not directly related to the Argentine.

If Henson hadn't been replaced by Danny Green, without that rhetoric, this would have been a textbook game between Popovich and Ginobili.It's a pity, a pity.
This time, the Spurs still focused on Ginobili.Henson used George to match Manu and Green to match Jackson.

Ginobili still has a lot of experience in playing George. Although George has outstanding defensive ability and excellent physical condition, he is still a fledgling.

His experience is far less sophisticated than Ginobili's. Ginobili only needs to add some rhythm changes in the breakthrough to get the shot gap.

This time too, after Splitter screened for Ginobili, the Argentine seemed to accelerate towards the side of the screen.In fact, he suddenly stopped suddenly, and turned to the side without cover!
At this time, George was already entangled with Split.The Brazilian is not a good stubble. He used some small moves that were on the verge of violations to get George to entangle himself for a while.

In this way, Manu broke through to the middle distance again.Today, Ginobili's touch in the middle distance is very hot.

"Ginobili seems to be dreaming back to his peak today. He made a mid-range shot! Wait, it's Danny Green. He actively ran over and interfered with Ginobili's shooting! Inaccurate shot, beautiful help defense, Green looks very excited today!"

When Mike Breen saw Ginobili breaking through George, he thought the Spurs' offense was stable.Unexpectedly, Green came out halfway.

As we all know, Green, Leonard and George are all forwards with outstanding defense.But the defense of the three is somewhat different.

George and Leonard belong to the kind of single-defense gates that can suffocate people, and Green's good defense is reflected in his ability to always appear in any corner of the court in time!

Can't run to death and is willing to run, this is the biggest characteristic of Green as a player.This is true on the offensive end, as well as on the defensive end.In many cases, Green's defense is the key to the success of the Pacers' defense.

Not to mention Mike Breen, even Henson thought Ginobili's goal was guaranteed after seeing George's breakthrough.

However, Henson overlooked one point. For a player to enter the peak state, it refers not only to his offense, but also to his defense!

Henson himself was taken aback. Such a Danny Green can play an important role on both offense and defense!This rhetoric is too perverted!

Manu made a solid shot, and the Spurs didn't even dare to grab an offensive rebound, and the whole team retreated directly.If the Pacers get a chance to counterattack because of fighting for offensive rebounds, it will not be worth the candle.

The perfect attack and defense after playing made Popovich start to notice Danny Green.But he still didn't take any special measures against Green, after all, the opponent is just a role player!Occasionally, it is reasonable to perform well in one or two rounds.

But Green obviously didn't intend to stop there. This time, George's breakthrough layup fell to the basket under the interference of Splitter. The players in the ATT center thought that this time the defense was successful, but Green suddenly rushed in, using his enthusiasm to take off the rebound by surprise.

Unlike Popovich, Henson encourages players to go for offensive rebounds.After all, with the speed of the Spurs, they can't make a quick counterattack.

"Danny Green, it's him again. In the past few rounds, Danny Green's name has always been inseparable!"

The Spurs reacted quickly, and Duncan immediately raised his arms under the basket to cover Green, preventing him from laying up easily.But in this way, Horford was missed.

Green did not panic in the crowded penalty area, but calmly passed the ball to Horford who was standing on the right baseline.The latter made an open mid-range shot and made the ball steadily without encountering pressure.

15 to 15, the Spurs' lead disappeared!
20 seconds later, the Pacers made a comeback.In the attack just now, Duncan showed his power and turned over and made a jumper in the paint, rewriting the score to 17-15.

But the Spurs' offense was still too gentle for Henson. This time Green didn't hide anything, and started running wildly just after halftime.

Popovich also discovered that the screens and positions of the rest of the Pacers were set up entirely to create opportunities for Danny Green!To put it more bluntly, Henson is really using this substitute as the main scorer!

What is the best point guard, what is the team's first scorer, all stand aside!If any other coach did that, Popovich would think he was crazy.But when Henson did this, Popovich had a bad feeling.

After going for a half court, Ginobili has been blocked by a screen.Green catches the ball and shoots, not paying attention to Ginobili who is flying towards him.

Ginobili was really scared by Green's fake moves, so he didn't dare to attack with all his strength.As a result, Green was hardly disturbed, and the feeling of electric shock with his fingers returned!
Ginobili turned his head in despair, only to see the basketball fall into the net!

"Danny Green, his performance in the past few rounds is simply perfect, completely disrupting Coach Popovich's plan! The old man originally wanted to rely on this change and start to gain an advantage. But unexpectedly, Henson also dispatched a player who is as amazing as Ginobili today! Popovich paused. It seems that he is not satisfied with the status quo."

The moment the game was suspended, Henson's hands were shaking slightly.He was so excited, yes, even though the Pacers are only 1 point ahead of the Spurs, Henson is still extremely excited.

He is very clear that Popovich will probably downsize the lineup after this timeout, with one big and four small against one big and four small, seeking to keep up with the speed and offensive rhythm.

what does that mean?This means that Henson is actually controlling Popovich!

In the three years since he became the head coach of the NBA, Henson has controlled countless opponents.Spoelstra, Larry Drew, Tom Thibodeau, etc., but today, Henson's opponent is not in the same weight as those guys before.

However, he still made Popovich his own marionette!
Henson couldn't help shaking his hands when he thought that he had actually controlled one of the greatest basketball coaches in the world.

"Henson, time is running out!" In the end, it was Vogel's shout that brought Henson back to his senses.

"Well, Popovich will definitely change to a small lineup to play against us later. So, Ray Allen, you replace Leonard. The opponent has no fourth position, so we don't need it either. They want to use more mobility to restrict us, go to the court and tell the San Antonio people, there is no way! Continue to use your range and test their defense!"

Henson speaks fast, but the players are used to it.

When the timeout ended, Mike Breen on the commentary stage was taken aback again.Sure enough, Popovich followed Henson into a small lineup!He knew very well that the mobility of the regular lineup couldn't contain the Pacers' offense at all!

Parker, Gary Neal, Ginobili, Stephen Jackson and Duncan, the traditional San Antonio Spurs, were actually forced out of a small lineup by the Pacers!
But Henson was not surprised by this.Because that night two days ago, he had already "seen" this lineup in advance.As Henson thought before, he's running the great Gregg Popovich!

"Ray Allen is playing!? They didn't continue to use Leonard!? Damn it! He guessed it a long time ago!" On the contrary, Popovich looked very angry after seeing Henson's substitution.

The old man has been in the rivers and lakes for so many years, and it has been a long time since he was seen through by others!But today, he was sent to the army early.

After that, the game completely entered the rhythm of the Pacers.Green and Ray Allen soared for three-pointers. These two top pitchers caused the Spurs' three-point defense to be blown to pieces.

Under the incredible touch of the two, the Pacers ended this quarter with a wave of 15 to 2, and achieved a double-digit advantage of 32 to 20 in one fell swoop!
Green hit three three-pointers in the second quarter, and Mike Breen even joked that if the finals were played long enough, Green could even break Ray Allen's record for three-pointers in the Finals.

With 6 minutes and 41 seconds left in this section, after Paul made two free throws and made two free throws, the Pacers took a 47-30 lead by 17 points.The reason why Paul was able to easily break through is simple, because at this time, Popovich finally put his defensive focus on Green and Ray Allen.The space is opened, and Paul's breakthrough is naturally easy.

But for the Spurs, it has become quite difficult to think about the situation now.

By the end of the halftime game, the point difference between the two sides had been widened to 16 points.In the first half, the Pacers made 34 of 21 shots, a shooting rate close to a terrifying 62%!Ray Allen and Green scored 13 points each, and Green made 5 of 4 three-pointers!As Popovich thought, Henson was killing the game with a role player!
George and Paul also scored 11 points each. After Ray Allen and Green attracted each other's defense, the two undoubtedly got a lot of offensive opportunities.

When a role player is playing his peak form, it is also very difficult to mess with!

In the second game of the series, Henson was able to lead the Pacers to complete a miraculous reversal after falling behind by a large score.But the same thing, the Spurs may not be able to do it.

Popovich didn't want to drag the game to the last minute, and he did.But the one who fell behind by a large score was himself.

At halftime, Popovich did not speak to any reporters, and he was not in the mood.

Had the series been 3-1, he'd probably be doing interviews all summer.

(End of this chapter)