After the warm-up, when Chen Yan returned to the locker room from the player tunnel, he received warm greetings from fans on both sides.
After all, this is the home court of the Spurs. Most fans are still hostile to Chen Yan and will not let him play comfortably here.
The game between the Suns and the Spurs has always been full of excitement, and the feud between the two teams is also one of the highlights of the NBA.
In last year's playoffs, the two teams were even more tense.
Nash suffered a bloody blow in g1. During the fight with Parker, the bridge of his nose was broken and he needed 6 stitches. He played with a band-aid on during the entire series.
g3 Bowen used his crippled kick and hit Nash's vital part directly. Nash fell to the ground on the spot. From the close-up, you can even see the tears hidden in the corners of his eyes...
G4 was the turning point of that series. The Suns led by 3 points at 18.2 seconds. Holly took a tactical foul and violently knocked Nash into the billboard. This collision also directly changed the trend of the entire series.
Players from both sides rushed to the scene. Stoudemire and Diaw were furious on the bench and left the bench. Since the first game in Auburn Hills, substitute players were strictly prohibited from leaving the bench after the conflict. This rule directly led to the suspension of Diaw and Stoudemire.
, so the Suns lost the G5 King of Kings game, ruining their efforts for a season.
There was a strong desire for revenge in the visiting team's locker room!
The Suns are ready for a hard fight. The Spurs' away games have always been difficult, and the Spurs' coaching staff are too familiar with the Suns' run-and-gun style. They will not let the Suns easily play a mercury-dropping fast break.
After deploying the tactics, D'Antoni specifically told Chen Yan to be ready to attack at any time if the game reaches a stalemate.
In the Spurs locker room, Popovich also emphasized the defensive arrangement against Chen Yan.
As the sun's fast-break knife, in order to prevent Chen Yan from easily scoring points in the counterattack.
Breaking the rookie scoring record with 59 points in a single game, 50 triple-doubles, and two game-winners...
After more than a month of performance, no team will treat Chen Yan just as a rookie.
Popovich asked his players to give up some of the competition for offensive rebounds and retreat to half court immediately after shooting the ball, especially the outside players.
After the pre-game arrangements are completed, players from both sides enter the venue in sequence from the player tunnel.
The starting lineups of both teams were played above the Att Center.
San Antonio Spurs starting lineup: Parker, Bowen, Finley, Duncan, Oberto
After everything was ready, Stoudemire and Duncan jumped the ball in the middle circle!
Duncan had a slight upper hand and clicked on the basketball.
Parker didn't rush to attack after receiving the ball. After he stabilized himself, he started the Spurs' first positional battle!
Parker holds the ball at the top of the key, and Laja Bell is responsible for the defense.
D'Antoni didn't let Nash guard Parker, as that would most likely result in him being eliminated.
Nash follows Bowen. Compared with Parker, Bowen has no independent offensive ability. He only needs to guard the two bottom corner three-point areas.
Parker asked for a pick-and-roll, and Stoudemire immediately switched defenses as soon as Duncan mentioned the high post.
Parker is famous for his speed, and the Suns are unlikely to give him too many opportunities to rush forward in positional battles.
Since 2005, the NBA rules have changed drastically. Breakthroughs have replaced inside singles as the most powerful way to kill inside players. However, the Spurs are top in the league in both inside singles and breakthroughs!
Needless to say, Duncan had an advantage against All-Star post players until 2015. Parker and Ginobili were also two of the most lethal guards in the post in the past twenty years.
This is also an important reason why the Spurs have been able to thrive for so long.
After taking a step laterally, Parker passed the ball back to Duncan, and he shot directly from the high post. The Spurs' attack in the first round was relatively simple.
"Clang!"
Duncan just came on the court and his hand hadn't started yet, so the ball fell out of the frame.
The moment Duncan took action, Bowen, Parker and Finley had already retreated to the backcourt, resolutely executing the tactics Popovich had arranged before the game and not giving the Suns a chance to counterattack.
Stoudemire grabbed the rebound and handed it to Nash.
After Nash quickly advanced through halftime, the Spurs' defense was already in position, and they returned to defense very quickly!
The Spurs are the kind of team that can compete defensively with the Pistons and also compete with the Suns in running and gunning!
Bowen followed Nash and kept harassing him. Just like last year's playoffs, Bowen was still the one to defend Nash tonight.
Although the action is rough and ungracious, against a top point guard like Nash who does not have the physical advantage, there is no problem with this idea of confrontation in large quantities.
At the top of the arc, Nash and Parker also called for a pick-and-roll.
After the pick-and-roll, the Spurs also chose to switch defense.
The Spurs' defensive strategy tonight is still mainly to suppress Nash. Nash is the soul of the Suns and the engine of the team's offense.
Therefore, the Spurs resolutely implemented the strategy of switching defenses against Nash, preferring to let Stoudemire play in misplaced singles rather than allowing Nash to organize freely.
Nash did not choose to pass the ball to Stoudemire in this round. Stoudemire had already stretched beyond the three-point line. In this position, he poses little threat in singles with the ball.
Nash accelerated and chose to move inside!
At the moment when the Spurs' inside line contracted rapidly, Chen Yan made a deft move to get rid of Finley.
The Nash man got the ball and passed the ball behind the back to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan didn't adjust the ball when he caught the ball, and didn't care whether it was a two-pointer or a three-pointer. When the opportunity came up, he just shot it.
"Whoa!"
The basketball hit the back frame and bounced into the net.
2 to 0.
"What a great shot! Chen Yan's shot was very decisive!" Zhang Weiping shouted in the CCTV5 studio.
"Nash and Chen Yan cooperated in passing, and Chen Yan used a long two-pointer to help the Suns get the first two points in the away game!" Yu Jia said.
The Spurs attacked, and Parker pushed the pace past halftime.
Bowen went around to catch the ball, and after several passes, the ball came to Duncan in the low post.
Facing Stoudemire, Duncan hit him twice, then swayed with his back, then turned around at a 45-degree angle and hit the board.
2 to 2.
This is Duncan’s most signature move!
It looks simple and unpretentious, but in fact it is a test of basic skills. Duncan's operation gives people the feeling of being stable in one word.
After the ball was scored, the Suns made a quick start from the bottom line.
Except for Duncan, who just played in the low post, the other four Spurs have retreated to the defensive half.
Chen Yan caught the ball two steps outside the three-point line and looked back, pretending to observe the position of his teammates.
Just when Finlay relaxed his vigilance, Chen Yan suddenly launched the ball!
Pass Finley in one step!
Chen Yan's acting skills deceived Finley, who has been in the NBA for many years.
Then accelerate in the second stage!
Bowen, who was not on a firm footing, was broken through the defense before he even had time to commit a foul.
There was Argentine center Oberto in the penalty area, and Parker also withdrew.
Facing this front-and-back defense, Chen Yan threw out [Devil's Shadow] at high speed!
After taking a long stride to join the ball, Chen Yan dodged and moved in the gap between the two!
The last extreme pull, a right-hand layup!
No matter how complicated the maze is, Chen Yan can find a way!
The fans in front of the TV suddenly became excited. They thought that Chen Yan would not have many opportunities to break through under the Spurs' iron barrel formation today. Unexpectedly, he made a breakthrough with five goals.
"Breaking through four people in a row, this is Chen Yan's personal ability!"
"That's so unreasonable!"
"The Spurs' steel defense suddenly turned into tofu in front of Chen Yan."
"I guess none of the Spurs players thought that Chen Yan would dare to make such a sudden move!"
"Terrifying ability to switch offense and defense! As long as the opponent doesn't have five players in the defensive half at the same time, it's all a fast break for Chen Yan!"