However, even though the slow-motion replay showed that Horry did indeed touch Qin Yue’s arm while he was guarding the ball, Popovich still insisted that since Horry didn’t harm Qin Yue, why should Bavita blow the whistle for him?
On the free-throw line, Qin Yue made both shots.
And since both shots swished through the net, on his way back to defense, Qin Yue couldn’t help but tease Duncan, "That’s a perfect free throw!"
Seeing this, Duncan didn’t argue with Qin Yue.
But soon, Brown took the brunt of Duncan’s anger in Qin Yue’s stead.
Is Duncan the type of player to hold grudges?
This is a difficult question to answer.
However, on the court, having been switched onto Duncan again through a Spurs tactic, Brown clearly felt that Duncan was intentionally increasing the intensity of his physical play during post-up offense.
Spin, fake, one-handed slam.
At that mont, even though Brown defended diligently, he was unfortunately made a backdrop for Duncan’s move after being tricked into jumping by Duncan’s fake.
Whap—!
Luckily, just as Brown turned with a look of grievance preparing to inbound the ball, Davis gave him a solid slap on the back.
"You defended well, keep it up!"
On the basketball court, as long as you try your best to defend, it can be called effective defense.
After all, a superstar who can be completely shut down isn’t much of a superstar.
After encouraging Brown, Davis dribbled past half-court.
At this mont, Davis noticed Qin Yue gesturing to him to "stay calm."
Having developed great chemistry with Qin Yue, Davis knew this was Qin Yue’s signal after observing the opponent focusing on the zone defense.
As a textbook example of NBA zone defense of this era, the Spurs’ zone defense was different from other teams’.
Since Duncan retained a strong ability to sweep the inside before entering his twilight years, this made the Spurs’ zone defense far more powerful than other teams’.
Additionally, their excellent tactical discipline ensured that when using different types of zone defenses, the Spurs could quickly switch their defensive formations and fill in the gaps that inevitably appeared during zone defense.
To crack such a zone defense, patience is necessary.
At the top of the arc, after drawing the Spurs’ defensive attention with a hand-off pass, Qin Yue suddenly stopped near the free-throw line.
Seeing this, Davis made a tily pass back, and Qin Yue hit a jump shot from the free-throw line.
This was a perfect lesson on breaking a zone defense.
However, on the sidelines, the Warriors’ usually least noticeable coach Mike Montgory frowned.
There are many ways to break a zone defense.
During the regular season, the Warriors, centered around Qin Yue, had cracked countless zone defenses.
Therefore, at this mont, Montgory wasn’t worried that the Warriors couldn’t break the Spurs’ zone defense.
Instead...
Even to break a zone defense, Qin Yue must rely on his teammates.
Montgory understood clearly that this was the bait the Spurs deliberately threw to Qin Yue and also a test for the other players on the Warriors.
In the next offensive possession for the Warriors, this test fell to Richardson.
Because of Qin Yue’s easy shot monts ago, the Spurs’ wing defenders were more alert, so after Qin Yue hand-off passed to Davis, Richardson then got a shot opportunity that wasn’t quite open but he could take.
From a God’s-eye view, Richardson could choose to shoot after receiving the ball or pass and allow the team to reorganize the offense.
But actually, Richardson had only one choice tonight.
Because Qin Yue is the cornerstone of breaking the zone for this Warriors team, if Richardson chose to pass, it would an wasting the energy Qin Yue expended during the process of cracking the zone.
On the Warriors’ bench, at the mont Richardson caught the ball, Montgory felt his heart beat faster.
Fortunately, in the next second, Richardson showed decisiveness.
As Finley rotated defensively in front of him, Richardson pulled back the bow and shot with precision!
Swish—!
And after making the shot, Richardson intentionally made an arrow-shooting gesture, shooting a "shot" at Old Finley’s chest.
This "shot" was the positive change Qin Yue brought to the Warriors this past season.
As the star player of this team, Qin Yue’s always decisive nature constantly influenced every teammate around him.
During the Spurs’ offensive phase, facing Parker who flashed past him, Davis imdiately made a decision and interrupted Parker’s imminent attack on the Warriors’ inside with a foul.
This decisive tactical foul successfully neutralized an easy scoring opportunity for the Spurs.
Then, it was still the Spurs’ ball.
However, compared to before, where did the Spurs have such a previously clear avenue of attack?
In the low post, noticing the Spurs’ offensive low, Duncan settled down in position and, under strong interference from Qin Yue, turned sideways and banked in a hook shot.
This was a shot that fully showcased Duncan’s personal ability.
But Popovich was very unsatisfied with the Spurs’ offense this ti.
If the Spurs had to rely on Duncan’s aggressive takes to resolve battles from the start...
Then with three quarters still to go, who could the Spurs rely on?
Parker suffered for it.
Due to Popovich’s extre disdain for Parker’s timid performance when the Spurs reorganized their offense, Parker was unsurprisingly subjected to Popovich’s furious yelling as he retreated on defense.
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