The regular season awards are all settled, and the playoffs' second round is heating up again!
The Spurs' second-round opponent is the newly rising Mavericks!
This season, the Mavericks poached Juwan Howard from the Wizards, forming a three-big lineup of Bradley, Howard, and Nowitzki! Coach Nelson wanted to free up Nowitzki from the paint and unleash his offensive potential as much as possible.
The objective of this adjustment was clear: to target the Spurs' twin towers.
On the Spurs' side, there were differing opinions on what tactics to employ.
Mike Brown believed, "Stillness is better than movement. No matter how the Mavericks adjust, we just need to play our own game and continue with the twin towers strategy... We've played like this all season; there's no need to change the lineup..."
Byron S. Scott, however, argued, "We have enough capable big men on our bench. Since the Mavericks want to play three bigs, we'll play three bigs with them! Whether we move Brad Miller to the starting lineup or Malik Rose, we can perfectly counter the Mavericks' three-big offense. This will also free up Duncan to continue matching up against Nowitzki, preventing Elliott from facing Nowitzki, which would be too disadvantageous..."
Gregg Popovich was hesitant and privately sought He Xi Meng's opinion.
He Xi Meng supported Scott's suggestion: "Play three bigs! We can't indulge the Mavericks, we can't let Nowitzki get into a rhythm. Also, playing three bigs will relieve Tim's offensive pressure..."
"You think the twin towers can't handle the Mavericks' three bigs?"
"Not necessarily. Juwan isn't Tim's match. Even with Nowitzki helping on defense, those two can't stop Tim! But whether they can stop him or not, having Tim play against two of them will inevitably consume more energy..."
"Isn't David there to help? Besides, I'm worried that if we also play three bigs, there will be six big men on the court at once, which will be too crowded! It might hinder Tim's movement in the paint..."
"If you consider it from that angle, it does make sense..."
"There's another point to consider. If Tim and David can hold their own against the Mavericks' three bigs in the starting lineup, then during the rotation, the Mavericks' interior strength will be significantly weakened. At that point, with Brad and Malik going hard, we might very well break through their paint..."
"A strategy like 'Tian Ji's Horse Racing'? Alright, it seems you've made up your mind..."
Ultimately, Popovich did not change the lineup, sticking with the Spurs' starting five for the entire season: David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Sean Elliott, Bruce Bowen, and He Xi Meng!
The first two games of the semifinals unfolded as Popovich had predicted. Duncan, in the starting lineup, played against two, exhausting Juwan Howard and Nowitzki, consuming a lot of their energy and making it difficult for them to provide much support to the reserve unit.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks' reserve big men, Bubba Wells and Greg Ostertag, couldn't handle Brad Miller and Malik Rose, along with Manu Ginobili and Steve Reed... The Mavericks barely held on against the Spurs during the starters' minutes, but when the reserves came in, the score was gradually pulled away. The Mavericks lost both these games due to their bench. This greatly angered head coach Don Nelson.
The Mavericks now had two options: First, abandon the three-big lineup and shift Juwan Howard or Greg Ostertag to the reserve unit to improve their resilience. Second, intensify the offense and defense of the starting lineup, aiming to gain a scoring advantage during the starters' minutes, thereby compensating for the weakness of the reserve unit.
Returning to Dallas with a 0-2 deficit, Coach Nelson, after much deliberation, chose the latter: to further bolster the starting lineup!
To improve the offensive and defensive efficiency of the starting lineup, the primary task was to contain Duncan's effectiveness in the paint. And to contain Duncan, the player who needed to exert the most effort was his direct matchup, Juwan Howard!
Thus, in Game 3, to help the Mavericks win, Juwan Howard played with extreme effort on defense, even risking injury...
Yes, during a defensive play, while trying to stop Duncan's drive, Juwan Howard accidentally collided knee-to-knee with Duncan. Both players fell to the ground, and both were out for the season!
Don Nelson was stunned: "I told you to go all out, but this... this is too much all out..."
Gregg Popovich was also bewildered: "I've seen players go for low blows, but never for low knees... Besides, old Ju, you're a top player earning 16 million, will the Mavericks pay you more for playing this hard?"
As the two big men writhed in pain on the floor, players from both teams and the thousands of Dallas fans were left stunned.
Such a catastrophic collision-style injury was extremely rare. Not only the Spurs but also the Mavericks did not want to see it. After all, Juwan Howard was acquired by trading half the team from the Wizards. The Mavericks' roster depth was already insufficient, and with Juwan Howard injured... the Mavericks would truly be in a desperate situation. Even if they somehow managed to defeat the Spurs in the semifinals, they would certainly not be able to advance in the Western Conference Finals...
Therefore, when Juwan Howard and Duncan fell to the ground simultaneously, the coaching staff of both teams were filled with anxiety.
The medical team immediately rushed onto the court and carried both players to the locker room for examination. The initial examination results were not optimistic. The on-site medical team directly called for an ambulance to transport them to a specialized sports medicine hospital for more detailed checks.
Duncan's test results came back: "Torn meniscus, out for the season!"
He Xi Meng had originally thought that with his arrival and Popovich's rest strategy, Tim Duncan would be able to play at his peak for at least three to five seasons. He didn't expect that history would have its own way of correcting itself... Duncan's meniscus tear was only delayed by one season, occurring just as in the original history...
The demon of the aerial game was ultimately destined to become the stone Buddha of the ground game...
As the culprit, Juwan Howard also faced a grim fate. The examination results showed a torn meniscus, and he was also out for the season, just like Duncan... Howard's speed was already not fast, and after this injury, it was likely to become even slower...
This unexpected injury had a significant impact on both teams. However, its impact on the Spurs was particularly profound.
Prior to this, all of the Spurs' tactics and strategies were centered around Duncan. With Duncan out for the season, the Spurs had lost their most crucial and important defensive player. Popovich immediately moved Brad Miller to the starting lineup to replace Duncan, attempting to maintain the original tactical approach...
The result was that Brad Miller was not Duncan; he couldn't replace Duncan's role or bear the burden of the Spurs' original tactics. The Spurs lost two consecutive games, and the Mavericks tied the series at 2-2.