So, on the Spurs' second possession, He Xi Meng didn't call for the twin towers in the low post, but instead called for Ginobili on the other side, who set a moving screen for him at the top of the arc. After the screen, the Clippers didn't switch, and McGinnis retreated, anticipating that He Xi Meng would break through to the inside. However, after feigning a drive, He Xi Meng suddenly stopped and stepped back, returning to the three-point line and sinking another three-pointer from the top of the arc!
"Whoa!" The Spurs fans gasped again!
"Does this rhythm remind you of last year's playoffs?"
"More accurately, it's Xi Meng after the semifinals!"
"Crazy Xi Meng!"
"The Clippers look like they're going to get wiped out!"
"Starting off by triggering a crazy Xi Meng... the probability of not getting wiped out seems slim..."
On the broadcast, He Xi Meng wasn't crazy yet, but the commentators were already getting hyped.
Turning around, McGinnis, unwilling to be outdone, repeated his strategy, using a teammate's screen to drive into the Spurs' paint, intending to finish with a pull-up jumper.
Duncan, back from a major injury, couldn't fly like he used to, but his top-tier defensive awareness was still there, even improved.
Before McGinnis even broke through, Duncan anticipated his next move and began to shift, lurking near his launch point. The moment McGinnis stopped to shoot, Duncan slid forward and, on his tiptoes, easily swatted McGinnis's jump shot away!
Duncan's athleticism did decline after his major injury, but to compensate for any loss in defensive dominance, he fully engaged his mind, using his exceptional basketball IQ to understand and interpret the game, making various anticipatory plays. It could be said that before his injury, Duncan's style was more about brute force, while after his injury, Duncan truly evolved into the "Stone Buddha" – unmoving and steady, but capable of blocking any intruder, one after another...
Duncan was indeed a prime example of reaching his peak as a rookie and maintaining it for many years. However, Duncan's peak can actually be divided into two phases. One phase was before his major injury, the "talented Duncan," and the other was after his injury, the "balanced Duncan."
If one had to say which Duncan was stronger, He Xi Meng believed it was the latter.
Before his injury, Duncan would occasionally lose control of his emotions, flying and dunking over opponents. After his injury, Duncan largely learned to control himself and favored bank shots from the low post, simple and unflashy, yet infuriatingly accurate.
In this play, Duncan's block wasn't a wild swat; he intentionally angled the ball towards He Xi Meng, enabling him to gain possession immediately and initiate a fast break!
On this play, He Xi Meng used a front-facing "Little Hardaway-esque" fake in the low post, drove past McGinnis with one step, and then raced unimpeded towards the Clippers' basket!
Without any interference, He Xi Meng would have easily scored two points with a one-handed dunk or a rim-level layup. And given He Xi Meng's reputation as "S.A. Big Carter," the probability of a rim-level layup would have been higher than a one-handed soaring dunk.
But as fate would have it, a young Odom, not yet having met the Kardashians and full of energy and defensive intensity, pursued relentlessly from behind, trying to slam He Xi Meng's shot off the backboard before it could go in...
As a top point guard, being aware of everything around him was basic instinct.
Odom's fiery pursuit was naturally no secret to He Xi Meng.
"A block is impossible! Even if the rim rejects it, you won't block me..."
Sensing Odom's serious intent to block his shot, He Xi Meng was forced to become more alert, shedding any complacency. Before Odom's hand could reach the ball, he straightened his arm and powerfully slammed the ball towards the rim!
As they say, great force creates miracles. He Xi Meng's strong exertion succeeded in dunking the ball before Odom's outstretched hand could touch it!
Odom sprinted across the court, only to chase a ghost. Not only that, he tragically became the backdrop for He Xi Meng's one-handed dunk. If nothing unexpected happened, this play would likely become one of the league's top ten plays of the day!
After all, it was nothing unusual to see He Xi Meng make threes, but to witness him execute a Carter-esque explosive one-handed slam was a rare sight, perhaps only seen a few times a season. Misfortune rarely comes alone!
"What did I say? Is Xi Meng crazy?"
"He's even doing explosive dunks, looks like he's really lost it!"
"Absolutely crazy! No doubt about it."
He Xi Meng followed up his three-pointers with a fast-break dunk, scoring 8 points in less than two minutes and leading the Spurs on an 8-2 run!
On the defensive end, seeing He Xi Meng with the ball on a fast break, Duncan pulled David Robinson aside, telling him not to waste energy and to simply stay back on defense with him. He Xi Meng would surely make this fast break.
"What if he misses?"
"There's no 'what if'! See? What did I tell you? You have to push this guy Xi Meng. Just like last year's playoffs, when I wasn't there, wasn't he leading the team well? As long as we're in the paint, if we pretend we can't seal off position, he'll see no passing options and just shoot from outside..."
Duncan tilted his head, whispering to David on the court.
"Isn't that a bit much?" David Robinson was a good old-fashioned honest man, unlike Duncan.
"You coddle these young guys too much! No pain, no gain."
"Uh, Tim, aren't you still young too? You entered the league after Xi Meng?"
"I'm not young anymore, I'm a married man now! Besides, although I joined the league a year later than Xi Meng, I'm several years older than him! I finished four years of college, Xi Meng is just an underclassman who dropped out before graduating..."
The old and the young, the Spurs' twin towers stood with their hands on their hips, whispering while the Clippers' counter-attack hadn't yet developed. Everyone assumed their stern expressions were for analyzing the game situation, including Clippers head coach Alvin Gentry. If Coach Gentry knew that the twin towers' conversation had little to do with basketball or the current game, but instead revolved around age and education, he would likely be so furious he'd vomit blood endlessly...