The godfather of basketball started from conquering the NBA

In the two games since coming to San Antonio, the state is obviously somewhat different from the previous two games, especially Josh's state.

He changed his previous combative attitude, stopped holding the ball at the top of the arc and even dribbled less.

From being the team's rhythm master, he instantly transformed into an elite one-on-one player.

He ran from mid-range, received the ball and shot directly, making an indiscriminate explosion on the Spurs' front line.

全场比赛25投19中，拿下44分9篮板2助攻2抢断2盖帽的全面数据。

This game also liberated Westbrook, who scored 19 points and 15 assists. The two of them worked together to help the Timberwolves beat the Spurs 110-91.

Although Popovich also made adjustments next, he did not allow Josh to easily receive the ball in the mid-range.

But Xu Xiao also responded in time. Since you don't let me initiate a one-on-one fight from mid-range, I might as well leave one side empty. This is the classic 18 Rockets position.

Josh is standing in Paul's position, but Josh doesn't need a pick-and-roll, his body is naturally misaligned.

Neither Batum nor McGrady could keep up with Josh's pace, and could only limit his one-on-one situations by double-teaming.

In addition, Josh's offense is mostly completed through mid-range, so it is difficult for Asik and others in the interior to provide effective assist defense.

To block Josh's route, the inside would be completely leaky, which allowed Oden to concede several consecutive baskets in the second quarter. At the end of the first half, the Timberwolves led the Spurs by double digits with 61 to 50.

Helpless Popovich could only let Duncan provide assist defense in the second half, leaving the basket entirely to Asik.

This did have some effect in the third quarter, and the Spurs went on an 8-2 run to narrow the score gap.

The adjustments made by Xu Xiao were also very timely. The Timberwolves found a way to attack by quickly passing the ball, but Brewer and Jeff Green, who came off the bench for the Spurs, suddenly stood out.

Not only did they cause great trouble to the Timberwolves on the defensive end, but the two also showed good vitality on the offensive end.

The two players' cooperation and Ginobili's wonderful pass allowed the Spurs to overtake the score 81 to 80.

Fortunately, Bledsoe hit a long buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, which allowed the Timberwolves to regain the lead and entered the fourth quarter with a slight lead of 84 to 83.

The Spurs have a surprise weapon, and the Timberwolves also have a surprise weapon.

Duncan began to have problems with his stamina while helping defend throughout the court, and to make matters worse for the Spurs, Ibaka suddenly found his shooting touch.

Ibaka is a good mid-range shooter, but he was under a lot of defensive pressure in the first two games and didn't perform well. In addition, the Timberwolves had many scoring points, so Ibaka basically took on blue-collar defensive tasks in the team and didn't have many shooting opportunities.

This often makes people overlook the fact that he actually has a good shot.

第四节伊巴卡在中距离上6投6中，整个第四节8投7中，拿下了14分4篮板。

Ibaka's sudden firing also caught the Spurs off guard.

Neither Asik nor Dio could effectively stop Ibaka from hitting one mid-range shot after another.

"Damn, last year it was DeRozan, this year it's Ibaka. How come they always have someone outside our plans every year? How many cards do they have left?"

Looking at the score of 117 to 109, Popovich could only feel helpless and furious in the locker room.

In this game, Josh scored 29 points and 10 assists, while Ibaka scored 19 points and 8 rebounds. His superb performance in the last quarter made him the biggest contributor to the game.

威少20分8篮板7助攻也是准三双数据，奥登这场则是只有12分10篮板的数据，来到圣安东尼奥的这两场让他有些不开心。

Because the ball is mostly concentrated in Josh's hands, Oden naturally cannot do whatever he wants like in the first two games. More often than not, Oden has to serve as a supporting role for Josh, which is a bit uncomfortable for the arrogant Oden.

Xu Xiao looked at Oden's expression and naturally understood something.

"Greg, how were these two games?"

Xu Xiao chatted with Oden on the plane.

"Fortunately, I feel that my opponents couldn't hold on before I could show my ability. Although GDP is worthy of respect, I have to admit that they are really old."

Oden's answer was very official, and it was obvious that he was a little emotional.

"Oh, really? They are said to be old, but they are strong rivals every year. No one dares to underestimate them. Do you know why?"

Xu Xiao said in a pretentious manner

"Because they will fail, but they won't admit defeat. No matter how many failures they experience, they will stand up. As long as they don't fall down, they are a strong opponent, right, coach?"

"Yes, that makes some sense."

Xu Xiao looked at Oden with satisfaction and said:

"Greg, do you want to be a bad guy?"

"Huh? What?"

"I'm asking, do you want to be the villain who breaks up the dynasty with your own hands? Completely overthrow the Spurs dynasty and beat them so hard that they can't stand up again?"

Hearing Xu Xiao say this, Oden was immediately overjoyed. Who wouldn't want to be a villain like this?

"I am willing to coach. I am very willing. Are we going to tear them apart next?"

The conversation between Xu Xiao and Oden also attracted the attention of many people, especially when Xu Xiao asked whether they wanted to be the villain who broke up the dynasty, everyone was already outraged.

Who wouldn't want to do something that would go down in history?

"Okay, then everyone listen to me. Tomorrow's game will be a game that will go down in history. It will not only be the final chapter of our series with the Spurs, but also the end of the GDP era."

"Tomorrow we are going to show these old guys in the Spurs that the future belongs to the young people."

Time quickly came to the fifth game of the series, with the Minnesota Timberwolves playing at home against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs were fully prepared for this game, and Popovich believed that they were going to win the game because he had found Josh's flaw.

After all, Josh + Paul are not Kobe, and their scoring explosiveness is incomparable, so Dio will start in this game and replace Asik.

Dio had a good effect against Josh as soon as he came on the court as a starter. Josh's one-on-one attack was unsuccessful in the first round, which gave the Spurs an opportunity.

And Dio's passing is also a very important part of the Spurs. Led by Dio, the Spurs started with a 5-0 lead.

But then the Timberwolves woke up.

Westbrook and Josh kept playing pick-and-roll with Oden, making Duncan sweat profusely in the first quarter.

What made him even more tired was that Jimmy Butler repeatedly broke through McGrady's defense and attacked the aging Duncan again and again.

Popovich had to make a substitution early, replacing him with Ginobili, and the situation improved.

But the Timberwolves didn't give him a chance to breathe and immediately sped up.

The formation was stretched out very far, and Xu Xiao specifically instructed the players on their positions on the field, requiring them to leave space even when they were not in formation.

Originally, the Spurs wanted to give up Ibaka's shooting, but Ibaka's heroic performance in the last game made Popovich a little afraid, so he didn't dare to let go too much in this game.

In this way, the Spurs players can only deal with the Timberwolves' space lineup by constantly running.

This is indeed a torture for the aging Spurs.

Fortunately, Ginobili, Brewer and brother-in-law Green, who came on the bench, were able to provide timely firepower after coming on the court, otherwise it would be useless even if the Spurs made substitutions in advance.

The Spurs relied on the substitutes to chase points and chased the score to 24-31 at the end of the first quarter.

The Timberwolves' substitutes were not to be outdone. Represented by two young players, Bledsoe and Wroten, they showed excellent offensive firepower and defensive pressure at the beginning of the second quarter.

Bledsoe stole the ball, Rothen made a layup 2+1, and Bledsoe grabbed the backcourt rebound and made a three-pointer, once again helping the Timberwolves expand the point difference to double digits.

However, the role players on the Spurs side were able to respond, and Mills also hit a three-pointer, allowing the Spurs to stabilize the score.

But role players are role players after all. It is worthy of their price if they can perform in this level of game. It is unlikely to expect them to save the team.

A match of this level ultimately depends on the main players, and they must maximize their playing time.

For example, Duncan only rested for 4 minutes in the first half, which allowed the team to trail by only 57 points at 67 to 10 at the end of the half.

In the second half of the game, the Timberwolves' tactics were also very simple, which was to shoot and grab.

At this point in the game, Popovich has also realized that Xu Xiao is playing against him openly, just to beat you because you are old and slow.

Use the youth and running and jumping abilities of their players to punish you.

If Popovich had been bolder and gone all out to directly put the Spurs on the bench and start a direct attack, then perhaps the Spurs would have had a chance. After all, in this game, the Spurs' substitutes did perform well. Brewer, Green, Dio and Mills all put in good performances.

But it is obvious that Popovich still does not have the courage.

Continue to maximize Duncan's playing time, continue to believe in the main players, and believe in defense.

The result of this was that the Spurs' physical strength declined in the third quarter, and their shooting percentage dropped, allowing the Timberwolves to take the opportunity to widen the gap to 15 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves' shooting rate also dropped, but they could not stop the Timberwolves from grabbing shots.

Throughout the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves grabbed 9 offensive rebounds in a single quarter, almost grabbing an offensive rebound in every attack.

On the Spurs side, Duncan could only watch helplessly as the young Timberwolves grabbed offensive rebounds over his head again and again, but he was powerless to do anything.

There was no other way. After all, he was 38 years old. In addition, he was constantly attacked in the first three quarters. He was needed to make up for the defense and to be the axis of the offense. Now he really had no other choice.

I don’t know if Duncan now misses the omnipotent self he was ten years ago, but time is unforgiving after all, and he was ultimately defeated by youth.