The Spurs are the most stable team in the league. Since acquiring "Stone Buddha" Duncan, they have never missed the playoffs, and most of the time, the Spurs are strong contenders for the championship.
From the "Twin Towers" of "Stone Buddha" Tim Duncan and "Admiral" David Robinson to today's "GDP" era.
In Popovich's tactical system, Tim Duncan has always been the core of the Spurs' tactics.
"Stone Buddha" Duncan has strong dominance on both offense and defense. Popovich built the team around Duncan, and the Spurs have won three championship trophies.
Compared to the "unprofessional" Suns, the solid Spurs are a more formidable opponent.
Without Li Yan's parallel time and space, the Nuggets, who have the "golden guns" this season, were swept by the Spurs 4-1 in the first round.
To win the game, Li Yan must pay more.
In the past two series, Li Yan had an absolute advantage in statistics. He successively crushed two star guards, Deron Williams and Steve Nash.
Now, Li Yan is about to welcome his third star defender, "French sports car" Tony Parker.
Tony Parker's performance in the playoffs was even better than in the regular season. He averaged 20.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Parker's statistics are naturally not as good as Li Yan's, but the Spurs don't rely heavily on point guards. Duncan is their offensive and defensive core.
During the regular season, in the direct confrontation between the two teams, the Spurs had an absolute advantage. The Nuggets only won the game when Li Yan took Bowen away with "Lightning Five Whips".
Judging from the head-to-head record, it can be said that the Spurs are the team least afraid of the Nuggets.
Whether Li Yan can continue his "super" performance is also a highlight of the game. The Suns failed to solve Li Yan throughout the series. Can the Spurs' defensive system do it?
Domestic studios.
Director Zhang and Yu Jia are explaining.
"The Spurs faced no resistance in two consecutive rounds, and their path to promotion was very easy. The Nuggets had a fierce battle with the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals for 6 games."
"From the perspective of physical reserves, the Spurs, who have had an extra week of rest, undoubtedly have an advantage, but the Nuggets have the home court advantage."
"With the Mavericks and Suns out, the Nuggets have the best regular season record among existing teams, which gives them home-court advantage."
"The Spurs are very strong, but the Nuggets are not weak either. Especially Chinese player Li Yan is in great form. In the last round of the series, he scored epic numbers of 25+16+9+4+2.
Let us look forward to his wonderful performance and cheer for him..."
…………
The Pepsi Center was packed again.
The entire arena seemed very lively, and the Nuggets' improved record made Denver's ball market continue to rise.
The Spurs players received harsh boos during the entrance ceremony, especially when Bowen entered the stadium.
During the regular season, due to the conflict between Li Yan and Bowen, the two teams were already incompatible; the stars may care about each other in private, but on the court, it is almost impossible to be calm.
After the appearance ceremony, the starters of both teams stayed on the court.
Nuggets: Li Yan, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby;
Spurs: Tony Parker, Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley, Fabricio Oberto, Tim Duncan.
Li Yan did not say hello to the Spurs players. He did not think that the Spurs would be gentler after saying hello.
Before winning the series, Li Yan was not prepared to be friends with the Spurs players.
Of course, if they win the series, Li Yan would be happy to send them blessings.
Before the start of the game, Li Yan still used the old method to relieve stress.
He opened the system panel.
Name: Li Yan;
Bounce in place: 66Cm;
Run-up bounce: 85Cm;
Speed: 78;
Strength: 80;
Possession: 100;
Pass: 100;
Face-to-basket breakthrough: 96;
Throws: 86;
Layups: 88;
Dunks: 72;
Back-to-basket singles: 88;
Hook: 88;
CIC: 80;
Fixed-point three-pointers: 80;
Three-pointers/two-pointers with the ball: 65;
Rebounds: 75;
Blocked shots: 80;
Steals: 85;
Assistance defense: 88;
Single defense: 82;
Physical fitness: 87;
Charm value: 98;
Tactical literacy: 100;
Skills: 1. Ball Master; 2. Cake Master; 3. Flash's Contempt; 4. Wolf King's Roar; 5. Mamba Mentality (Passive); 6. Top Spin; 7. Five Lightning Whips; 8 .Ghostly pace (passive); 9. Pick-and-roll specialization (skill).
Comprehensive evaluation: 90 (facade star).
Li Yan added the remaining two attribute points to his face-to-basket breakthrough. His current face-to-basket breakthrough value reached an astonishing 96.
With Li Yan's current combat power, he is still a superstar even if he does not use the status card. Once he uses the status card, he can reach the level of a superstar.
Li Yan currently has 2 "Restrictions Released", 3 "Eagle Eyes", 2 "Spider Webs", 3 "Infinite Battery Life", and 1 "Time Back".
Against opponents like the Spurs, Li Yan will never save status cards.
Theoretically speaking, after using the status card, Li Yan is on the same level as "Stone Buddha" Duncan.
Iverson and Anthony, as two future 75 players, are definitely stronger than Parker and Ginobili in terms of individual combat ability.
The Nuggets players are all strong enough. They couldn't play well before because Iverson and Anthony didn't suit them.
Later, when Billups arrived, the Nuggets immediately rushed into the Western Conference Finals and played back and forth with the Lakers, the champions of that season.
Compared with the lineup that rushed into the Western Conference Finals, it is equivalent to replacing Billups with himself and giving an extra Iverson.
If he can't win the championship, what's the difference between himself and Billups?
Li Yan couldn't tolerate Duncan saying "the future is yours" to him after winning the series. As a systematic man, he was here to be the protagonist, not to listen to others' preaching.
It wasn't a big problem. Li Yan instantly felt calm and confident.
Of course, from an outsider's perspective, after Li Yan was in a daze, he laughed obscenely again.
Well, everything is normal, and the Nuggets teammates are also used to Li Yan's "little pre-game moves."
The referee blows the whistle and the game begins.
Camby won the jump ball and the Spurs retreated quickly.
There was no chance for a fast break. Li Yan controlled the rhythm with the ball, and the two sides fell into a positional battle.
No surprise, Bruce Bowen stood in front of Li Yan, while Tony Parker defended Allen Iverson.
Looking at Li Yan in front of him, Bowen thought of the pain he suffered in the hospital.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Boy, I won't let you get anything good this time."
"Huh?" Li Yan was amused: "What! Are you going to hit my hand with your belly again?"
