Chapter 234: The Spurs' change of formation and their battle with Popovich

Popovich was indeed well prepared, and he also knew that the second half of the second quarter was when Wang Yan would explode.

So as soon as Wang Yan came on, the Spurs replaced him with Dio to keep close to Wang Yan.

Dio is a French player with a high basketball IQ. He looks chubby but very flexible.

He stuck close to Wang Yan, with Split beside him to provide backup at any time.

In the first offensive round, Wang Yan was indeed restricted. After he got the ball, he was made very uncomfortable by Dio and had to pass the ball to Butler.

But in the next round, Wang Yan changed his strategy. He no longer stood still, but kept running.

Dio was able to keep up at first.

But Wang Yan doesn’t look like a basketball player at all, he is like the wind on the court!
After running back and forth twice, Dio was out of breath.

Then Wang Yan received a pass from Irving and made a long two-point shot, scoring two points.

Next, Wang Yan used all kinds of offensive means.

Super long three-pointer!

Breakthrough layup!

Dream steps + little hook shot!
Pull-up jump shot!

. . . .

Under Wang Yan's attack, the Spurs' impenetrable defense began to fall into chaos.

The Spurs' offense also had problems because the Cavaliers' defense changed to a zone defense.

Double team defense is not scary, but Wang Yan’s double team defense is too scary.

His defensive area is already very large, and now his teammates have good cooperation, which makes it very difficult for the Spurs to attack. Basically, there are no open shots and they can only shoot against opponents.

With 2 minutes left in the second quarter, the Cavaliers tied the score!
Popovich's face turned pale. He knew that as long as Wang Yan got into the right state, it would be difficult to win the game.

He had to call a timeout to interrupt the Cavaliers' offensive.

Wang Yan beat his chest and roared, which was rare, and told his teammates: "Cheer up! Treat this game as the finals!"

In the final stages of the regular season, many players were indeed a little tired.

Therefore, it is inevitable that there will be a slack mentality.

Wang Yan must boost the morale of the entire team.

During the timeout, Popovich did not get angry with the Spurs players, but told them not to worry.

His meaning was very clear, that is, Wang Yan would definitely not be able to defend, but the attack must be launched.

When facing the Cavaliers' double-team defense, you can increase your long shots.

After the timeout, Popovich replaced Belinelli and Ginobili.

All of a sudden, the Spurs have several more three-point shooters in their lineup.

Popovich's adjustments worked.

The Spurs' offense improved, with Belinelli hitting a three-pointer and Danny Green also making two three-pointers.

The score became very close, rising alternately.

At the end of the first half, the score was 62:61, and the Cavaliers temporarily led by 1 point.

It was too intense.

The ratings of this game are also very high, because this game is equivalent to the sharpest spear meeting the hardest shield.

The Spurs' defensive efficiency ranks first in the league, while the Cavaliers' defensive efficiency ranks third in the league.

Although Wang Yan is DPOY, the other players on the team actually have average defensive abilities.

It's all thanks to Wang Yan.

At the start of the second half, the Spurs still adopted a lineup that increased outside shooting.

This is what makes Popovich unique.

Generally, the head coach of a team will replace the starting lineup of the first quarter at the beginning of the third quarter.

Even if you are extremely dissatisfied with a player, you will not replace him.

At most, he is a fake starter and will be replaced after playing for four or five minutes.

But Popovich is not like that. He changes players whenever he wants.

Some starting players appear in the first quarter, but may not be able to play in the third quarter.

Popovich replaced Parker with Ginobili.

Split was replaced by Dio. Although the height was reduced, Dio had a good three-point shot and a good mid-range shot.

This adjustment allowed the Spurs' offense to maintain its firepower.

However, the Cavaliers' ability to win two consecutive championships is not easy.

In addition to the superstar Wang Yan, the team's overall adaptability is also top-notch.

Facing the Spurs' outside attack, the Cavaliers began to expand their defense.

The zone defense is usually around the restricted area. In this case, if the opponent shoots three-pointers, the effect of the zone defense will be weakened.

Unless the opponent is not feeling well, the zone defense will be broken.

The Cavaliers' zone defense has many variations, such as expanding to the three-point line for perimeter defense.

If it were another team, expanding the area to such a large extent, the function of zone defense would be lost, because the teammates would be too far apart and unable to fill in each other's positions.

But with Wang Yan around, the problem was solved perfectly.

Wang Yan's long legs and inexhaustible stamina allow him to fill in everywhere tirelessly.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

In this way, teammates can boldly attack the opponent's outside players.

The Spurs players were all confused.

Can we still play zone defense like this?
The Spurs' three-point shooting percentage plummeted.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, combined inside and outside play and played more and more smoothly.

After a few minutes of stalemate in the third quarter, the Cavaliers quickly widened the score.

Popovich is a smart man. When he saw the Cavaliers use this trick, he was speechless.

He looked at Wang Yan with envy!
Wang Yan's role on the defensive end is comparable to that of Duncan of the Spurs.

Times are different now, the pace of the game is faster, which highlights Wang Yan's greater greatness.

For such a tall guy to be able to run at full speed without getting injured is truly a gifted person.

How could he know that Wang Yan was a special talent and could not be treated by normal standards.

Popovich didn't call a timeout, just shook his head and sat down again.

Is he out of tricks?

Nor is it.

Popovich is a cunning man, he must keep a few secret moves for the playoffs.

The regular season is about to end, and he can't show all his moves.

After three quarters, the score was 89:81, with the Cavaliers leading by 8 points.

The suspense is still there, with an 8-point difference, there is a chance to catch up in the fourth quarter.

Sure enough, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Ginobili led the substitutes to launch a fierce attack.

Wang Yan is resting downstairs, the Cavaliers' bench lineup really can't win.

The 8-point gap was quickly wiped out.

Scott was helpless and turned to look at Wang Yan.

What it means is: You’d better come up, otherwise I really can’t beat you.

Wang Yan had no choice but to take off his coat and stand on the sidelines again, ready to go on stage.

When Popovich saw Wang Yan was about to come up, he immediately sent out a special lineup.

Ginobili, Belinelli, Joseph, Dio, Danny Green. Almost all of them are shooters.

Aren’t you Cavaliers capable of defense?

Then I will replace all of them with players who can shoot baskets, and see how you defend!
This change of formation worked.

Belinelli's first shot was an ultra-long three-pointer.

Then Wang Yan returned the favor.

But Joseph made another three-pointer.

Irving's three-pointer then missed, but the Spurs' Danny Green made another three-pointer.

This hit rate is a bit scary.

No wonder this Spurs team beat the Heat so badly in history.

He can really shoot three-pointers!
Wang Yan felt like he couldn't hold on any longer.

However, Wang Yan thought about it and decided to take a gamble!
(End of this chapter)