The ball changed hands, and it was the Spurs' turn to attack.
Johnson, with the ball, crossed half-court and called for Duncan's high-post screen...
Damn it! After a high-quality screen by the Spurs, Fox was forced to chase Johnson, while He Ximeng was matched up against Duncan!
He Ximeng wanted to quickly get in front to defend, preventing Johnson from passing back. However, Duncan, with a spin and positioning, easily made He Ximeng lose his spot!
Johnson made a quick pass back, and Duncan caught the ball with his hands!
To prevent He Ximeng from stealing, Duncan didn't rush to dribble after catching the ball. Instead, he leaned against He Ximeng, not giving him a chance to come up, and then dribbled for a post-up...
How could He Ximeng, with his small frame, withstand Duncan's post-up drive? He could only defend and retreat, unable to get a steal opportunity. He directly watched to see if Duncan would show any weakness when gathering the ball, giving him a chance to strike... But Duncan was too familiar with He Ximeng and wouldn't give him a chance to strip the ball. With two steps in the post, he drove directly into the paint. Before Horry could double-team, he picked up the ball, turned, and shot a jump shot, hitting it!
He directly bullied the smaller player, not giving He Ximeng any chance to make a move!
Duncan, having gained the advantage, didn't forget to subtly give He Ximeng a look, as if saying: "After a year, it seems you haven't improved much..."
He Ximeng, angered, directly rolled his eyes!
You're a big guy who plays the 4 or 5 position, bullying me, a point guard playing the 1, and you think you're right?
Turning around, He Ximeng used Johnson's speed to his advantage, chasing the Spurs' retreating defense and driving straight into their three-point line. Duncan, working hard to get back, prepared to "welcome" He Ximeng's impact. However, He Ximeng faked a shot, compressed the Spurs' defense, and then turned and passed to Eddie Jones, who had followed up!
Eddie Jones delivered a decisive blow, hitting a three-pointer to open the scoring for the Lakers!
Duncan said helplessly: "Aren't you going to attack?"
He Ximeng sneered: "I'm not stupid! With three muscle men in your paint, am I supposed to run in and get beaten? If you can, defend me outside!"
The game continued, and Johnson again sought Duncan's screen, wanting Duncan to create a mismatch against He Ximeng!
In fact, Duncan matched up against Fox already created a mismatch, but the Spurs were not satisfied and wanted to further expand the mismatch advantage... Was this Popovich's instruction? Or was "Little General" himself causing trouble?
He Ximeng couldn't get the answer he wanted for now.
But facing the Spurs' pick-and-roll again, He Ximeng chose to go behind and chase the defender, not switching. He'd rather risk giving Johnson an open three-point shot than face Duncan alone again... it was too disadvantageous...
Johnson got a direct shot opportunity from three-point range. He immediately pulled up for a jump shot after a stop! Unfortunately, the Lakers' home basket didn't favor the "Little General," and the ball bounced off the rim!
Just as He Ximeng was about to breathe a sigh of relief, David Robinson and Perdo immediately boxed out O'Neal, not giving O'Neal a comfortable chance to jump. Duncan then seized the opportunity, charging in from the high post, overpowering Horry to grab the rebound. He then second-jumped, and with Horry's interference, tossed the ball in!
Damn it! This strategy is a bit like cheating!
With two big men acting as shields, they contained O'Neal, allowing Duncan to roam freely inside the Lakers' paint...
Fox couldn't stop Duncan, and it was also very difficult for Horry to block Duncan.
He Ximeng immediately looked towards Harris on the sideline: "Old Harris, make a decision and adjust! If we don't bring Campbell in to match up soon, our interior will be blown up by the Spurs..."
Harris looked serious, his arms still crossed, showing no intention of making adjustments.
With the head coach not moving, He Ximeng could only control the current lineup and continue with the established tactics.
Harris's pre-game instruction was to pass the ball to O'Neal in the paint, helping him create space inside!
But frankly, this tactical requirement was difficult to achieve, as the Spurs' double-teams were too resolute today.
He Ximeng tried to have Horry set a screen to pull David Robinson out, then pass to O'Neal... But as soon as He Ximeng passed, Duncan would abandon Fox and drop directly to the low post to help Perdo double-team O'Neal.
He Ximeng then tried to have Fox set a screen to pull Duncan out, then pass to O'Neal... As a result, after He Ximeng passed, David Robinson would abandon Horry and also drop directly to the low post to help Perdo double-team O'Neal.
Although these two double-team strategies created opportunities for the Lakers' perimeter players, with Fox or Horry being open, O'Neal, being in the low post, had limited vision and couldn't see or pass. By the time O'Neal passed back to He Ximeng, and He Ximeng wanted to pass to the two open players, Duncan and David Robinson had already rotated back into defense...
Under Popovich's coaching, the Spurs' defensive rotations had begun to form a good rhythm.
It was difficult for the Lakers to find easy scoring opportunities through simple inside-outside coordination... And Old Harris on the sideline was reluctant to make adjustments... No choice, He Ximeng had to use his own method! He passed the ball back to Eddie Jones at the top of the arc, then deliberately squeezed into the paint to find a screen, shake off Johnson, and then suddenly emerged from the other side of the basket, extending his hand for the ball while running!
Eddie Jones was initially preparing to drive against Denagelo himself. Seeing He Ximeng's move, he rationally chose to pass the ball back to He Ximeng!
He Ximeng caught the ball, stopped, and before "Little General" Johnson could fly at him, he turned and shot!
This wasn't Curry's rhythm. Curry liked to stabilize his balance after catching the ball, shake off the defender, and then push for a shot, or drive into the paint, or even pass again. Because Curry was a point guard, he habitually controlled the tempo rather than going all-in.
But Thompson was different! Thompson primarily played shooting guard and focused on a killer instinct!
So for these catch-and-shoot opportunities after off-ball movement, Thompson liked to pull up directly, with a fluid motion...
Purely from the difficulty of the shot, the latter was naturally more difficult!
High difficulty had its disadvantages, such as the shooting percentage relying heavily on touch. Once the touch was off, these difficult shots were hard to make.
But high difficulty also had its advantages, such as relatively ample space to shoot, and good rhythm, which could lead to a "hot streak."
When He Ximeng had the ball, he liked to imitate Curry's shooting rhythm, but when he played off-ball, he preferred Thompson's shooting rhythm!
Since he decided to score, he had to be more decisive and be a colder-blooded killer...
He Ximeng caught the ball and shot, hitting the three-pointer precisely!