670: 234: Take Revenge for the GOAT!
(Asking for Monthly Votes!) 670: 234: Take Revenge for the GOAT!
(Asking for Monthly Votes!) Tim Duncan, a rookie who made the All-Defensive Second Team in his first season and graduated to the All-Defensive First Team in his second, was a defensive monster.
He was always known for his steady and mature defense.
The Celtics were interested in him because Auerbach was convinced he was the next Bill Russell — or rather, a Bill Russell with a stronger offense.
The media said that Duncan’s defensive level in the first two years of his career was something O’Neal could never catch up with in his lifetime.
As a result, such a guy who peaked defensively from his debut, in front of Roger, became as comical as David Robinson in the 1995 playoffs and Joel Embiid 15 years later.
Of course, Duncan didn’t suddenly become foolish.
He was fooled around because Roger made every move threatening on offense.
It wasn’t just Duncan who was humiliated; the entire Spurs’ championship filter shattered during these plays.
This 10-0 start possibly made fans wonder for the first time: why was a championship team with no major lineup changes so weak?
Duncan was in misery as the Hawks’ defense was essentially playing a numbers game, relentlessly focusing their defensive efforts on him, like stacking all the sandbags on the first breach of a dam.
Such a defense should have given other Spurs players, especially those on the perimeter, opportunities.
But Lenny Wilkens wasn’t worried.
The Little General didn’t shoot at all, and while Terry Porter and Mario Elie were accurate, their outputs were limited.
Thus, the Hawks’ lineup was perfectly suited to suppress the Spurs.
The Hawks’ small and mobile defense wasn’t invincible; there were four types of scenarios they particularly dreaded.
If your center could handle the ball like Dream and attack directly from the elbow area, shooting mid-range jumpers as accurately as a guard, then the Hawks’ shorter center would be in deep trouble.
If your guard is as tall as a power forward and can ignore the Hawks’ frontline siege to feed the center, and that center is extremely skilled with long-range hook shots and doesn’t need to dribble before making a basket, then you can also exploit your height advantage to viciously beat the Hawks.
However, Magic and Skyhook were unique in this respect.
If your powerful center is surrounded by four shooters, daring the opponent to double-team or shed blood with confident single coverages, then without a doubt, Big Ben would be beaten by Duncan to the point of questioning his existence.
But now, due to distrust in three-point strategies, the One Star and Four Shooters tactic is hardly used, except by Tomjanovich.
Or alternatively, if you have a strong play on the inside, and another on the outside too, you could counter the Hawks.
Because when the inside play is squeezed to the last 10 seconds, that outside player can handle these hot-potato passes.
Well, the OK duo meets these criteria.
However, the Spurs met none of these conditions.
They had no strengths on the perimeter, no tall, controlling guard, and not nearly enough high-quality shooters.
This allowed the entire Hawks team to collapse on Duncan without hesitation.
In 2005, the Pistons used a similar level of trapping against Duncan, resulting in him scoring only 20 points at a shooting accuracy of 41%.
The Spurs could win at that time because players like Ginobili, Parker, Bowen, and Horry could respond with shooting when Duncan was trapped.
But the current Spurs clearly lacked this capability.
Popovich also had no better solutions at this point; he could only have Duncan receive the ball high to attack.
Next, Duncan had to play the role of Olajuwon.
The game continued, and that turn Duncan received the ball at the mid-range on the wing.
He backed Big Ben down twice, then, as Pippen came up to double-team, passed the ball to Little General Johnson.
Holding the ball high, Duncan could more easily pass to the perimeter during a double-team.
But Little General was no Tony Parker.
If it were an early-career Parker, he would take the ball and storm the inside for points with lightning speed.
If it were a peak Parker, he’d shoot a three-pointer that pierces your heart.
So what could Avery Johnson do?
He could only slowly drive into the paint, throw a floater under Marion’s defense, and in the end, the basketball bounced off the rim.
The Spurs still didn’t score!
They were severely stifled!
Big Ben secured the rebound, and Roger again took the lead in the counterattack.
Amid the pursuit of the Spurs’ players, Roger passed the ball to Pierce, who was coming up from behind.
As Pierce got the ball and drove into the paint, Mario Elie aggressively blocked him.
The two collided heavily, and Roger could clearly hear the sounds of muscles tearing and bones crushing.
Mario Elie knew Pierce was injured and respected Pierce’s decision to return to the game.
But respect is respect, and the game is the game.
He couldn’t imagine anyone attacking the basket in such a wounded condition.
At the moment of impact, the 13 knife scars on Pierce’s body all became hot, as if they were marks preventing him from getting near the basket.
Yet, Pierce still gritted his teeth, leaned on Mario Elie for the jump, and made another basket in the challenge!
I live in the greatest moments!” Pierce exclaimed loudly to himself after making the basket.
He vowed that he would step up when Roger needed him.
Every pass that Roger sent him, he would grasp with all his might!
That past summer, Pierce had strengthened his already muscular body even more.
Joe Abunassar thought, since Pierce wasn’t known for burst or athletic prowess, he might as well take the tank floor flow route, ignoring speed considerations.