Chapter 290

The Spurs have always been a strong team.

From the day they acquired Tim Duncan, they established the foundation of a strong team. Although the NBA's definition of a dynasty is three consecutive championships, in a sense, the Spurs, who maintain a pattern of winning titles in odd-numbered years, can also be considered half a dynasty.

The Spurs are still very strong this year. Although Tim Duncan will be 36 next April, Duncan's individual defense, defensive rebounding, rim protection, and playmaking abilities remain top-tier in the league. While his once-formidable post-up game has weakened somewhat, his pick-and-roll defense and mobility have declined even more.

This season, he relies more than ever on pick-and-rolls with Parker and Ginobili, and he takes more jump shots from the two 45-degree angles.

Ginobili is also turning 35 soon, but his efficiency is extremely astonishing; he has consistently ranked in the top ten or even top five of the league's advanced stats for years. His output efficiency is incredible, and he is even the first star in the league to fully implement the "Moneyball" theory that would later sweep the league. He is extremely adept at snake-like drives to the paint to score and shooting from beyond the three-point line; he almost has no mid-to-long-range two-pointers—he either drives to the paint or shoots from the three-point line.

However, this season, Ginobili's sharp, inspired drives are decreasing, while his three-pointers are becoming more frequent and accurate. On the defensive end, he has become more focused, while his signature lightning-fast steals have decreased. His playing style has become steadier, much like his thinning hair.

Among the Spurs' Big Three, compared to Duncan and Ginobili, the younger Tony Parker has played the best basketball of his career. He has entered his true prime and become the Spurs' real core, initiating pick-and-rolls, driving into the paint, hitting mid-range shots, and organizing... all in an orderly fashion.

And beyond this core lineup.

The Spurs' other roster pieces have changed significantly this season.

Richard Jefferson previously played for the Nets, and his skills are quite raw.

Starting power forward Blair is under two meters tall, and his defense is terrible; he is useless for anything other than defensive rebounds. But on the offensive end, he has passing ability, a knack for sneaking in layups, and is very active in chasing offensive rebounds.

Danny Green had only played a total of 207 minutes in the NBA before joining the Spurs; he was labeled as having no isolation ability and being overly reliant on passing, yet for the vast majority of the time, he is the Spurs' starting shooting guard. Why? He can shoot threes, pass, has a clear head, decent individual defense, and is active on the boards.

In addition, Gary Neal, a guy with the height of a point guard and the heart of a shooting guard, is the Spurs' fourth-best scorer because he can shoot threes and is good at some pick-and-roll drives.

Matt Bonner, the legendary White Mamba, the human victory cigar, whose only redeeming quality is his ability to shoot threes.

Plus Splitter, who knows how to flop, James Anderson, who isn't heavily used, Stephen Jackson, who was dumped by the Bucks, and Boris Diaw, the "bandit" cleared out by the Bobcats, forming a team that looks like a group of stragglers.

Yet, this is the team that now sits in second place in the West, having won 28 of their last 33 games, including two 12-game winning streaks.

Popovich is that kind of person; he is too good at teaching according to aptitude and too good at adapting to circumstances. Before 2005, the Spurs played a proper set-offense, using defense to drive offense. But after the "no-hand-check" rule was gradually established in 2005 to encourage offense, he quickly promoted Tony Parker and Ginobili, giving these two low-draft-pick rookies a large share of pick-and-roll possessions, and Parker even won the Finals MVP in 2007.

Last season, when the Phoenix Suns dismantled their "run-and-gun" style out of fear that the Lakers, also in the Pacific Division, were becoming increasingly powerful in the paint, Popovich keenly grasped the new trend.

The Spurs transformed into a fast-paced, mobile three-point shooting team.

Popovich uses Tony Parker to speed up the pace, initiates offense through the two guards most adept at pick-and-rolls, Parker and Ginobili, runs tactics through screens from Duncan, Diaw, or Blair, with three-point shooters standing on the wings...

On the defensive end, due to age and physical reasons, Duncan focuses more on the basket and no longer flies out to help defend, which causes the KPI of this famous NBA "posterized king" to skyrocket. Furthermore, on defense, guys like Blair, Diaw, Splitter, and Green are always ready to rush into the paint to grab rebounds; in many cases, they ignore the opponent's perimeter shooting to focus on rebounding.

Once they get the rebound, they quickly launch a counterattack.

This style of play isn't something just any team can pull off; it usually requires a very, very master-level point guard to orchestrate such complex offensives. But the Spurs are different; under Popovich's coaching, their discipline is too strong, and they are the team with the best ball-movement ability in the league—many things were rooted in their team DNA back in 1998.

By contrast, the Clippers are one of the teams with the weakest ball-movement ability in the league.

The Clippers don't run many pick-and-rolls per game, and even fewer if Nash isn't on the court.

Because Fan Xi lacks mid-range jump-shooting ability, the Clippers' interior players basically have no shooting ability either—Griffin barely had it before, but this guy's pick-and-roll quality is average, and after receiving the ball, he likes to dribble it again.

Therefore, the Clippers' pick-and-roll is usually Fan Xi using a center's screen to drive to the basket for a direct attack, or passing to a shooter outside the three-point line while on the move.

This is very easy to defend.

In the last game, it was only after Fan Xi gained Stephen Nash's talent for small-space assists in the paint that his pick-and-roll methods became enriched.

Facing Tony Parker's defense, Fan Xi gave the Spurs a warning right from the start.

Fan Xi drove straight into the paint, faced Duncan, and exploded upward. Duncan hurriedly turned to block and interfere; he was experienced, but he didn't expect Fan Xi to have eyes in the back of his head, passing directly to DeAndre Jordan.

DeAndre Jordan caught the ball and immediately took flight, full of explosive energy, and ferociously slammed the ball into the rim with both hands.

Boom!

On the very first play of the game, the Spurs' paint was breached.

When Popovich puts Duncan and Blair on the court at the same time, he must face a dilemma: once they run into a team with strong interior strength, they are blind... their current style of play is harder to execute in the playoffs than in the regular season.

Last season they surged to first in the West, only to be taken out by the eighth-seeded Grizzlies. The reason is simple: it wasn't about underestimating the opponent, but that they truly couldn't withstand the Grizzlies' "Black and White" twin towers. This season, Duncan gained weight specifically to hold his own against opponents in the playoffs. But he is old after all; he needs a strong interior partner.

The Spurs launch a fast break.

Sitting in front of the TV, Dirk Nowitzki is nervously watching the movements of his new team. He and the Spurs are old rivals; both in the Southwest Division, they face each other frequently every season, and in the playoffs, they fight until they are bloodied.

Every "Mavs-Spurs" battle is a festival for fans. Since the new century, they have played five playoff series; the Spurs won 3 times, and the Mavericks won twice.

Therefore, Nowitzki knows very well how strong the Spurs are.

He hopes his new team can take down the Spurs so that after he joins, he can focus wholeheartedly on competing for the championship.

The Clippers' transition defense is very fast; DeAndre Jordan and Kwame Brown are not slow at all, and they quickly get into defensive positions.

Tony Parker and Duncan run a screen; he quickly drives to the free-throw line and passes back to Duncan.

Duncan shoots from seven feet away from the basket... Swish!

He hits a long-range two-pointer.

DeAndre Jordan didn't defend out.

Turning back, Fan Xi launches a fast break alone, drives in from the wing, and passes to Kwame Brown. Kwame Brown forces his way past Blair in the post, but is called for an offensive foul on the layup.

Nowitzki furrows his brows.

He realizes his new team has encountered an old problem.

The Clippers' interior defense can't expand outward, and their interior offensive methods are too crude.

Doing it this way won't beat the Spurs.

He is very anxious.

The Spurs also hurry to speed up.

But this time, they don't succeed.

Tony Parker is blocked by Fan Xi's screen navigation; he passes to Richard Jefferson. Jefferson forces a shot under Leonard's defense... Bang!

Missed.

The rebound is pocketed by Kwame; Blair doesn't have a chance.

Turning back, Fan Xi attacks the paint and scores on a layup.

In a sense, Fan Xi is also a pioneer of "Moneyball"; his main scoring is also concentrated in the 0-3 foot range at the basket and beyond the three-point line. His mid-range shooting from three to seven feet is very rare.

This is probably why those commentators always question and criticize him; after all... there are very few perimeter superstars in the NBA who are neither good at pick-and-rolls nor take many mid-range shots.

Most importantly, Fan Xi doesn't actually get many free throws. Which perimeter superstar in the NBA doesn't draw seven, eight, or nine free throws per game? But Fan Xi, so far this season, averages 3.9 free throws per game.

And he is a player who is good at attacking the rim.

From another angle, there is truly too much room for Fan Xi to improve.

Nowitzki sits nervously in front of the TV, and what doesn't surprise him is:

Although the Spurs have the advantage, the game is not one-sided.

The Clippers always manage to stay in the game in strange ways; the Spurs show no signs of pulling away.

With 3 minutes left in the first quarter, the Clippers sub in Yao for DeAndre Jordan.

As soon as Yao enters the game, he catches a pass from Fan Xi and completes a mid-range jump shot; Duncan can't defend it, and Blair can't reach it at all.

Although, after Yao enters the game, the Clippers' defensive speed slows down.

But the defensive combination of Fan Xi, Butler, Leonard, and Kwame Brown means the Spurs don't get any benefits on the offensive end either.

The Clippers' individual defensive quality is very high; under Mike Brown's integration, the Clippers are already a top-ten defensive team in the league, and are rapidly marching toward the top five or even top three. This is just around the corner.

The first quarter ends.

33:30.

The Clippers lead by 3 points; Yao's entry makes the Clippers take off instantly.

Nowitzki watches quite happily in front of the TV; if a Yao who has lost 70% of his peak power can help the Clippers gain a strategic advantage, once I go there, won't they take off even more?

The second quarter begins quickly.

The Spurs sub in Ginobili.

This has an immediate effect. Ginobili's ability is no small matter; he and Tony Parker join forces—one a French sports car, one a Pampas Eagle—one with incredible speed, one with an uncanny style. They have great chemistry. The perimeter combination of Fan Xi and Butler cannot contain them; they are eaten alive on defense, and on offense, Butler is also left feeling somewhat bewildered by Ginobili.

The score is quickly caught up.

And the Spurs form a counterattack, expanding their lead.

This situation continues until the sixth minute of the second quarter, when the Clippers sub in Billups, and Fan Xi moves to the shooting guard position.

According to Nowitzki's formula, Billups probably has about 60% of his peak power left, and with full stamina, he can have 75%.

This is already not the strength of an average league starter.

However, Billups can contribute to the defensive system, and his passing is quite good, his three-point threat is significant, and he has pick-and-roll ability.

This is enough to mobilize the Spurs' defense. Once the Spurs are mobilized, Fan Xi finds gaps to exploit from the shooting guard position.

The whole world should understand that when Fan Xi appears at the shooting guard position and plays off-ball, he is a sharp killing weapon.

Although his off-ball movement ability isn't as strong as Hamilton's, it's enough; plus he has a certain passing ability, his attacking ability is extremely strong, and his post-up technique is top-tier... except he doesn't make the shots very often.

Swish!

The first play after Billups enters is Fan Xi hitting a three-pointer from the corner. As he runs into the paint and loops out, Kwame Brown and Leonard set a "gate" for him; he easily runs to the corner and hits the shot off a Billups pass.

Hamilton stands up and applauds.

He has run off-ball his whole life; he didn't expect it could be run like this. In his era, off-ball players served the ball-handling players; now, when Fan Xi runs off-ball, he mobilizes two teammates to help him set a gate... this is serving the shooter whether he has the ball or not.

Hamilton can't help but sigh that a new era is coming.

He even feels a bit regretful: I was just born at the wrong time.

…