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Chapter 732 - 313. The inescapable ’curse’_2

Chapter 732: 313. The inescapable ’curse’_2

On the defensive side, Guy had received better training; Zhang Yang observed from the recordings that Guy no longer took flight at the slightest touch or made blind steals, showing noticeable improvement since his rookie year.

After reviewing the data of several players, Zhang Yang focused his attention on the playing time of the four stars and near-stars of the Spurs—Conley averaged 28 minutes per game, Ginobili 29 minutes, Duncan 32 minutes, and Guy 33 minutes...

Popovich’s march toward becoming a great coach wouldn’t stop just because they lost Parker. Although their offense had ’reversed,’ the ’12-man rotation’ started two years earlier than Zhang Yang remembered—it was supposed to appear in the 09-10 season. This season, the Spurs had as many as 11 players averaging over 10 minutes per game!

Last season’s Finals, the lengthy battle led to a physical crisis for the core players of the Spurs, and they ultimately lost the championship after being overturned. Pondering over the defeat, had Popovich started this earlier?

...

At 8 o’clock in the evening, the Bobcats’ last of four away games in the Southwest Division kicked off against the Spurs.

Starting for the Spurs: Conley, Bowen, Guy, Duncan, Oberto.

Starting for the Bobcats: Felton, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Okafor, Muhammad.

Okafor won the tip-off against Duncan, giving the Bobcats the first possession.

Zhang Yang received the ball at the top of the arc, facing Guy’s defense, broke through with a solo play, shook Guy with a change of pace and accelerated past him.

Guy was quick on his feet and managed to keep up without being thrown off.

Zhang Yang drove to one step inside the free-throw line, stopped abruptly, collected the ball, and stepped back to a distance beyond the free-throw line, releasing a mid-range shot... it went in!

Unlike the previous two games where he was more passive, Zhang Yang started today’s game aggressively.

Guy was the defender with the best physical conditions Zhang Yang had faced in recent games, 203 cm tall with a 221 cm wingspan, more impressive than James Posey and with better mobility than Josh Howard, his explosiveness comparable to McGrady’s before 2005. However, while his defensive fundamentals had improved, they were still weak, allowing Zhang Yang to easily create space for his stop-and-pop jumpers.

Moreover, Guy had a major flaw in his defense—he didn’t like physical contact.

That last play displayed this weakness; defending against Zhang Yang’s penetration, he intended to use his lateral movement to intercept, but his footwork and experience were insufficient. Beaten by Zhang Yang’s change of rhythm, Guy could only try to use his height, wingspan, and jumping ability to disrupt the shot. But against Zhang Yang’s increasingly adept rhythm flow and stop-and-pop jumper, by the time Guy had jumped in front of Zhang Yang, the ball was already shot, making his effort look enthusiastic but ultimately futile.

Popovich was frustrated with Guy’s defensive play; it was the same during the summer league, the pre-season, and after over two months into the regular season.

He had Bowen teach Guy defense, and Guy diligently learned the basics and defensive techniques, but the gritty, sticky, close guarding—Guy shied away from these dirty and tiring tasks.

And Popovich could see that Guy greatly disliked Bowen. Apart from the team’s arranged training, he was reluctant to even talk to Bowen any more than necessary.

This matter angered Popovich so much that he wanted to trade away Bowen... but it was not as if he could trade Guy, could he?

Given that physical quality, reminiscent of McGrady, he was not willing to part with him.

Not only that, Guy also disliked contact on the offensive end...

On the court, Zhang Yang started his ’19-year-old junior upperclassman beatdown on a 21-year-old younger lowerclassman’ mode, thoroughly overmatching Guy.

Zhang Yang took charge of the first 4 plays, shooting 2-for-3, including 1-for-1 from three-point range, plus making both of his free throws, racking up 7 points.

Not only was his offense on point, but his one-on-one defense at the start of the game was also spectacular.

The Spurs’ offense had indeed regressed compared to last season, the coordination was simpler, and it relied mainly on iso plays and distributing the ball, purely depending on the players’ individual skills and passing instincts.

For the Spurs tonight, Guy was the main attacking force. Seeing a crowd inside the paint and Zhang Yang being able to match his steps, he knew he could only make moves amidst physical contact if he drove inside, so he took all three of his shots from beyond the free-throw line, a stop-and-pop jumper, a step-back jumper, and a pull-up three, making only the heavily contested stop-and-pop jumper, 1-of-3 for just two points.

Although he could execute the technical moves, relying on his robust physical fitness, when it comes to shooting, the lack of fundamental skills didn’t support him in maintaining shot consistency while being defended by Zhang Yang.

Including Duncan’s isolation play that got Conley an open 45-degree three-pointer off of Oberto’s screen, the Spurs still trailed by two points behind Zhang Yang with a score of 5 to 7 at the start.

Guy’s offensive and defensive performances were dismal against Zhang Yang, yet Popovich didn’t call a timeout for adjustment. He continued to let Bowen physically wear down Mike Miller, Conley to tightly guard Felton’s shooting, and Duncan to keep a lid on Okafor’s shooting and assist Oberto in protecting the rim.

After the Bobcats’ shootout with the Hornets, their energy issues became apparent against the Rockets, and were fully exposed against the Mavericks. Popovich’s strategy tonight was to target that aspect.

If the Bobcats’ shooters like Felton and Mike Miller encountered stamina issues, they needed to be marked even more closely, worn down with physical play, and pushed into slump mode as soon as possible.

Not letting the strung-out Guy wear down Mike Miller or the defensively stronger Bowen take on Zhang Yang... wasn’t it all because Guy disliked physical contact?

Letting Guy try to wear down Mike Miller would have been futile. So, might as well have Guy face off against Zhang Yang, one of the strongest of the new generation, to experience the harsh reality.