He Xi Meng saw Duncan's rhythm and immediately understood what Duncan meant. No problem, the current Spurs team, playing in positional offense, was not afraid of any other team in the league.
He Xi Meng slowly pushed the ball up. This time, He Xi Meng did not call for David Robinson's screen, but instead had David Robinson receive the ball at the edge of the paint! David Robinson attempted to post up Shaq… Of course, David Robinson currently had no advantage against Shaq one-on-one.
Shaq knew it, and David Robinson knew it too!
So, David Robinson didn't force it. While backing down, he kept an eye on Duncan's movement. Duncan didn't disappoint David Robinson's expectations, successfully circling around and boxing out AC Green! David Robinson passed the ball inside to Duncan, who turned and made a short scoop shot, successfully sinking the basket!
Following He Xi Meng's explosive start, the Spurs' twin towers began to show their strength. With their inside and outside game open, the Spurs put the Lakers in a passive position early on. Even with the OK combination firing on all cylinders, they couldn't gain any advantage against He Xi Meng and the twin towers. As the first quarter drew to a close, the Spurs took the lead, 30:25, up by 5 points over the Lakers!
Although the Lakers were not far behind, this was happening with both O'Neal and Kobe playing at full strength! In such situations in the past, the Lakers would likely be leading by a large margin, or at least dominating their opponents. This current situation was quite rare for the Lakers recently.
However, before the end of the first quarter, as the rotation lineups came onto the court, the Lakers' second unit successfully helped the starters erase the deficit.
Da Zhi received an assist from Fisher's drive and hit a corner three-pointer.
Horry rotated to help defend and blocked Brad Miller's turnaround layup. Fox then initiated a fast break and scored on Terry Porter...
In the final two minutes of the first quarter, the Lakers' second unit went on a 5:0 run against the Spurs' second unit. The score was tied at 30:30, bringing the game back to square one.
The Spurs' second unit saw Jalen Jackson elevated to the starting lineup due to Chuckie Brown's injury. Ginobili benefited from this, moving from the third unit to the second. However, in the last two minutes of the first quarter, Ginobili contributed nothing, barely touching the ball. The Spurs' possessions were all controlled by veteran Terry Porter.
During the break between quarters, He Xi Meng quickly suggested to Popovich, "If we want to utilize Manu's strengths, we need to give him the ball… at least, give him some of the ball..."
Although Ginobili could play off-ball, his threat level off-ball was nowhere near his threat level on-ball.
Popovich also saw the problems with the second unit. Terry Porter, Kerr, Ginobili, Malik Rose, Brad Miller… While the overall strength of the Spurs' second unit was not comparable to the Lakers' second unit, they shouldn't have been dominated like this.
Terry Porter played hesitantly. In his matchups against Fisher, he was frequently disrupted, leading to very stagnant Spurs offense. Consequently, Ginobili, spaced out on the wing, couldn't get his hands on the ball.
He Xi Meng advised Popovich to give Ginobili more ball-handling opportunities and responsibilities. But Popovich was also wary of Ginobili's inconsistent performances, unsure when to trust him and when not to. Popovich was not like He Xi Meng, who knew that Ginobili would eventually become a star! All the current struggles were just precursors to future brilliance…
Popovich's judgment of players' futures was based on their game-by-game performances. Ginobili's "streaky" performances most tested a head coach's vision and resolve.
Fortunately, He Xi Meng constantly urged Popovich to give Ginobili more chances to "make mistakes." Otherwise, according to Popovich's original intention, Ginobili was indeed immature and needed to continue "laying low" in the third unit, working hard to prove his consistency before he could handle more responsibilities for the Spurs…
Therefore, facing He Xi Meng's suggestion, Popovich chose a compromise: "You're so confident in Ginobili? Come on, you play during the rotation time. You lead Ginobili. Let me see how well Ginobili can perform…"
This meant staggering He Xi Meng and the twin towers! He Xi Meng would lead the second unit for the first half of the second quarter, and Terry Porter would partner with the twin towers for the latter half of the second quarter! Such an adjustment was a good option for the current Spurs.
He Xi Meng rested for two minutes and then returned to the court. His assignment was Derek Fisher.
Chinese fans watching from afar saw He Xi Meng enter the game early in the second quarter and assumed Popovich had deliberately created an opportunity for He Xi Meng and Da Zhi to compete on the court, immediately exclaiming "Chinese Derby" and "Brotherly Battle"…
In reality, Da Zhi and He Xi Meng were currently on different levels in terms of position, team role, and individual skill. Even if there was any confrontation between them, it was unequal.
As soon as He Xi Meng took the court, Malik Rose主动 came up to set a screen for He Xi Meng, bringing Da Zhi with him.
The Lakers fans in the arena started to cheer, wanting to see a confrontation between He Xi Meng and Da Zhi. However, He Xi Meng did not fulfill their wish, nor did he embarrass Da Zhi. After creating a mismatch, he didn't use his dribbling skills to overpower Da Zhi. Instead, after shaking off Da Zhi, he spotted Ginobili cutting to the basket and, with a no-look bounce pass, delivered the ball to Ginobili!
Before the end of the first quarter, Ginobili had a similar cutting opportunity, but due to a lack of chemistry with Terry Porter, the passing chance was fleeting and difficult to convert. However, with He Xi Meng, Ginobili didn't need to overthink. As long as he could shake off Horry, He Xi Meng would be able to get the ball to him.
On this play, Ginobili used a sudden cut after an out-of-bounds play, leveraging his superior mobility to Horry to create separation!
The ball arrived as soon as the player did. He Xi Meng immediately passed the ball to the running Ginobili. Ginobili didn't catch the ball, worried that if he stopped it, Horry would catch up and block it… After all, Horry's defensive ability among forwards was quite outstanding… Since he couldn't stop the ball and had to take three steps to the basket, Ginobili could only rely on limited adjustment time and space, twisting his body to avoid John Salley blocking him, and finishing with a reverse layup, spinning the ball into the hoop.