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Chapter 534 - 232. Slay demons and butcher Buddhas!_3

Chapter 534: 232. Slay demons and butcher Buddhas!_3

He hesitated for a moment and did not make any personnel adjustments, mainly because he did not substitute Parker.

Popovich was not good at on-the-spot strategic adaptations, in this regard he was deeply influenced by ’genuine heritage’ from Larry Brown.

But when it came to single-round tactical setups, he was quite competent, having inherited this skill from the old Nelson.

After setting up the tactics, Popovich looked across where Rondo had taken off his training gear...

He determined that the guard who was substituted was definitely not Zhang Yang.

He called Horry and Bowen beyond the bench, giving frantic hints.

When called aside, both sensed that the old crook was up to something shady again. After hearing what the old crook had said, Bowen looked up at the ceiling, finding the empty ceiling quite appealing, and Horry looked down at the floor, admiring the patterns on it...

In a regular season game, when the Spurs played against the Warriors in Oakland, Horry heard a legend.

Bad boy Jack had been injured due to someone stepping under his foot during high school, and though he didn’t get back at them immediately, he later took some USC football players to break the ankles of the high school student who did it to him.

The incident caused a sensation across the town and even alarmed the Compton City Hall, but eventually, Zhang Yang’s family settled it with money. There were rumors that Zhang Yang was the eldest son of the owner of an international restaurant enterprise.

About this legend, both believed it very likely to be true.

There was a photo as evidence — Zhang Yang with Tyson Roy, who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 6th round, 7th pick, after graduating from USC.

There was also news of Zhang Yang’s father opening a new ranch.

Popovich, you old crook! We’re just here to win the championship, do you want us to risk our lives?

...

The Bobcats switched to a combination of Rondo, Zhang Yang, Alan Anderson, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, small-ball lineup with one big and four smalls.

After the timeout, the Spurs were on offense.

Popovich stood by the sidelines, his anxiety deepening.

He did not know if those two players understood his hints, as neither responded to him.

But as Parker received the inbound, Popovich could no longer concern himself with whether the two understood his hint — "Little guy, pass the ball!"

Parker, having reached the top of the arc, found Ginobili asking for the ball. Parker gestured for Ginobili to move away; he wanted to do it himself!

His efficiency tonight was 55%, scoring 11 out of 20, wasn’t that stronger than Ginobili who scored 10 out of 22 for a 45% shooting percentage?

Ginobili, with 6 assists and 3 turnovers, was he better than him who had 10 assists and 2 turnovers?

Why let Ginobili initiate the offense when he could just as well feed Horry the ball!

Popovich, standing on the sideline, erupted in curses, but Parker was deaf to them; he wanted to prove himself!

Popovich was about to explode, wanting to call a timeout... He quickly stopped the motion to call a timeout. He had already used all his timeouts. Calling another would result in a technical foul, giving one point to the opposition, equivalent to suicide.

He squatted at the sidelines, covering his head. He had arranged for Ginobili to initiate because he believed not that Ginobili passed better than Parker, but that if Ginobili couldn’t pass, he could still shoot himself.

Deploying Parker was merely thinking that at crucial moments, trust this guy, and if the three-point opportunity wasn’t good, Parker could still make a quick play, then use a fouling strategy or full-court press to make a steal. The small-ball lineup was suitable for full-court pressure.

Ginobili: "I’ve been iron for two games, finally managed to pull out the ’blade’ and stab towards the opponent, and I’m out of balls at the last moment!"

But with Parker not passing, Ginobili opted to calmly handle the situation, voluntarily moving to the sideline. Duncan also came up from the wing, ready to set a pick-and-roll for Parker.

On Zhang Yang’s side, the scene before him made him stunned for a moment. He thought their provocation plan had failed long ago, only to see it take effect at this moment!

Regaining his senses, he immediately clapped his hands toward his teammates, signaling them with a fist gesture.

His teammates received the direction and started adjusting their defensive positioning.

Seeing Ginobili pulling away and Duncan moving up, Parker felt relieved in his heart, his fighting spirit soared, ready to lead the team to victory.

Parker drove past Duncan’s screen toward the inside, and the Bobcats’ defense quickly shifted.

Rondo went to help cover Bowen running high to Horry, moving in front to prevent the catch.

Alan Anderson sticking close managed to cut off Ginobili, Gerald Wallace left Duncan open to rush at Parker. He didn’t close tightly but positioned himself between Parker and the moving Ginobili, assisting Alan Anderson in cutting off Ginobili, completely severing Ginobili’s chances of receiving and shooting from outside.

After driving in, Parker realized he had lost contact with his three teammates who were ready to shoot threes!

As Popovich’s frustration momentarily exploded, he watched Parker drive against Okafor one-on-one, hoping Parker would quickly make a play, then commit a tactical foul to substitute this little guy off.

An even more desperate scene unfolded... Parker didn’t shoot but stopped short, looking left and right, stuck close by Okafor who had stepped forward!

Duncan quickly cut in.

Not having moved into the paint earlier as he wanted to clear space for Parker to make a quick play, watching the opponent’s defensive movement, he knew the three-point play for this round was out of the question.

Parker, seeing Duncan in his field of vision, found his mainstay and quickly passed the ball... A nimble figure from the wing rushed in, circumventing Duncan, and slapped the ball away!

Zhang Yang stole it!

Sticking close to Bowen on the left sideline, he saw Duncan moving inward. He judged that Parker, stuck by Okafor, wouldn’t be able to pass under the basket and could only pass out during Duncan’s cut, by which time the sightline between Parker and Bowen would be blocked by Duncan; he decisively made his move.

He guessed right!

Parker’s pass to Duncan indeed didn’t see Bowen, let alone see him charging in!