What was even more dire was that such a head-to-head confrontation between top players immediately ignited fervent cheers from the Phoenix fans!
The Suns fans cheered wildly for Kidd and Hardaway, and the frenzied home atmosphere further increased the pressure on He Xi Meng, who was fighting alone.
Popovich obviously saw He Xi Meng's difficulty. With Mario Elie being tightly guarded by Hardaway and Chuckie Brown being locked down by Marion, He Xi Meng was isolated on the perimeter. Therefore, Popovich tried to substitute Terry Porter and Jalen Jackson for Mario Elie and Chuckie Brown, but the Suns had already studied these two scorers from the Spurs' second unit. Thus, Popovich's attempt to break through with this lineup did not succeed.
At the end of the half, the home team Suns led the Spurs by 6 points, with a score of 46:40. Although the score difference was not large, the situation on the court had always been in the Suns' control. If not for He Xi Meng's three-pointers stubbornly supporting them, the score deficit would have long reached double digits, similar to the previous game against the Clippers when he shot 1-of-5 from three.
During halftime, Popovich had a heated discussion with his coaching staff, including Budenholzer and Mike Brown, about how to adjust the lineup in the second half to break through the blockade of the Suns' backcourt duo and activate the vitality of their twin towers in the paint.
Popovich attempted to bring in veteran Steve Kerr. Kerr's role in the current Spurs lineup was as a spot-up shooter in the second unit. He had very little ball-handling authority, with the ball possession in the second unit basically in the hands of Terry Porter and Jalen Jackson.
However, the results of the attempts in the first half had already proven that Terry Porter and Jalen Jackson, under the lockdown of the Suns' backcourt duo and Marion, could not achieve the desired outcome for Popovich.
Therefore, Popovich turned his attention to the spot-up shooter Kerr! Although Kerr's role was somewhat limited, sometimes, such players, when used effectively, could achieve unexpected results.
Just as the coaching staff was repeatedly analyzing the game plan with Kerr on the court, He Xi Meng secretly pulled Popovich aside and recommended that Manu Ginobili from the third unit should help him break through the formation!
By now, the new season had already entered its sixth regular-season game. Ginobili had not had much playing time, mostly appearing in garbage time when the team's victory was assured. This meant that Ginobili was still in the stage of guarding the water cooler and accumulating experience in junk time.
Popovich's primary focus was on evaluating Ginobili's abilities and character during daily training. Compared to the immature Ginobili, Popovich clearly trusted the veteran Kerr more.
"Are you sure that South American kid can help you break through?"
"I'm not sure if Ginobili can do it. But I'm sure Steve Kerr will have a hard time helping me! The Suns won't give Steve open looks... Especially when Tim and David's interior threat isn't strong, Steve will find it even harder to get opportunities..."
"If the veteran Steve, a championship role player, can't find an opportunity, can that long-haired kid who looks like a rock star find one?"
"How can I explain this to you..." He Xi Meng scratched his head. "Steve is indeed a championship puzzle piece, and his spot-up three-pointers are very sharp... However, Steve's ability to create his own scoring opportunities isn't very strong. But Manu, I remember telling you before, he dared to go head-to-head with Kobe of the Lakers three years ago! He possesses extremely strong individual skills, and although his shot selection sometimes makes people wonder, that's just his style of play! There are certain types of people who don't play by the rules, and Manu is one of them..."
Although Popovich trusted He Xi Meng and believed that He Xi Meng recommending Ginobili was definitely for the good of the team, after listening to He Xi Meng's suggestion and analyzing it with his coaching staff, he still decided to put Kerr on the court first to see. Whether it was from experience or individual ability, Kerr seemed more reliable than Ginobili.
In fact, He Xi Meng's recommendation for Ginobili to play with him was not because Ginobili was reliable, but precisely because of Ginobili's "unreliability"!
Today, with no advantage in the paint, the Spurs desperately needed a breakthrough point from the perimeter. He Xi Meng was originally the best candidate for a breakthrough, but unfortunately, Kidd, Hardaway, and Marion were all strong defenders. No matter who He Xi Meng switched with, it was difficult for him to find an open opportunity. It was already remarkable that He Xi Meng shot 3-of-6 from three-point range in the first half amidst their double-teams.
In the second half, as the intensity of both offense and defense further increased, He Xi Meng predicted that if the Spurs couldn't find a second reliable perimeter scorer, his pressure would only increase...
In the third quarter, Popovich still put the starting shooting guard Mario Elie on the court first. Mario Elie still didn't show much improvement. In less than half a quarter, Popovich replaced Mario Elie with Kerr.
However, the effect of Kerr on the court was not much different from what He Xi Meng had predicted. The Suns were indeed prepared in advance and were wary of Kerr, a championship-level three-point shooter. The Suns directly cut off the connection between He Xi Meng and Kerr, preventing Kerr from getting open shots, thus he couldn't display his skill as a championship shooter.
As a result, by the end of the third quarter, the Spurs not only failed to narrow the score but also saw the Suns further extend their lead to 9 points!
Before the start of the fourth quarter, He Xi Meng once again suggested to Popovich that they activate Ginobili from the third unit, even if it meant strategically forfeishing this game...
This time, Popovich agreed with He Xi Meng's opinion. He was also somewhat curious and wanted to see what kind of performance Ginobili, who was highly praised by He Xi Meng, could deliver.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Popovich replaced Brad Miller, Malik Rose, and Jalen Jackson with He Xi Meng and Ginobili!
Ginobili primarily played the small forward position.
And his matchup was Rodney Rogers, the best sixth man off the Suns' bench!
Rogers was an alumnus of Wake Forest University, just like Duncan and He Xi Meng.
However, neither Duncan nor He Xi Meng had been teammates with him because Rogers entered the NBA draft in 1993 and was selected by the Nuggets with the 9th overall pick. In the past six seasons, Rogers played for the Nuggets and the Clippers. In his best season, he averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks.
Overall, Rogers was stronger offensively and was a very good sixth man...