Chapter 259 Start with Full Strength

Time flew by, and the playoffs were about to begin.

The Spurs arrived in New Orleans the day before the game and held a day and a half of closed training.

On April 15th, US time, as the first matchup of this year's playoffs, the Pelicans and the Spurs kicked off the 2017-2018 season playoffs.

The New Orleans Arena was packed.

TNT broadcast the game live nationally, and fans in New Orleans and the surrounding areas who couldn't get tickets could also choose to watch it on Fox Sports.

Compared to TNT, Fox was cheaper, which gave them more users in New Orleans and the surrounding areas.

But no matter how cheap the price, it wasn't as good as buying a ticket and watching the game live.

Although it was the first round, there were many intersections and highlights between the Pelicans and the Spurs.

During the pre-match warm-up, there was a lot of interaction between the players on both sides, and between the players and coaches.

Walker and Parker, Ginobili and Tang Tian, Parker and Tang Tian, Tang Tian and Popovich.

Unfortunately, this was the Pelicans' home court. If it were in San Antonio, Duncan would most likely be at the arena to watch the game.

At that time, Davis and Duncan probably would have had a lot to say.

"Tony and I both want to play for you, if I don't retire next season, I'll definitely go."

Ginobili said some flirty words to Tang Tian, and Tang Tian took the opportunity to pat his head.

The two had a good relationship in private, and Tang Tian knew this was Ginobili's last playoff appearance.

Just like when Duncan patted him before retiring, a pat might be the last one on the court.

Ginobili didn't resist, anyway he was basically done, so it didn't matter if he was patted or not.

"Be gentle."

Popovich said very seriously when communicating with Tang Tian.

The head coach was the clearest about the difference in strength between the teams.

After the Leonard incident, Popovich owed Tang Tian a favor. It seemed that he wasn't trying to fool him, but was telling him the truth.

"I will."

Tang Tian nodded with a smile.

The arena quickly entered the opening ceremony, and the starting lineups of the two teams were released one after another.

The Pelicans sent out their main lineup, still the starting combination of the Hard-Training Four Brothers plus Dedmon.

They were determined to win the championship, and as the outside world speculated, they really wanted to get revenge on Xiao Hua, and win the championship with a complete victory.

On the Spurs' side, Parker and Ginobili did not start.

The outside combination was Patrick Mills and Danny Green, the forwards were Gay and Aldridge, and the center was Gasol.

"How many minutes do you think the Spurs can hold out?"

On the commentary booth, Barkley turned to Smith and O'Neal and asked.

"One and a half quarters."

Kenny Smith said seriously.

"Why one and a half quarters?"

Barkley asked curiously.

"I think the Spurs' starters can hold on for more than half a quarter, and when the substitutes come on, Parker and Ginobili will be there, which can last for more than half a quarter, so added together it's one and a half quarters."

Kenny Smith analyzed very seriously.

But his analysis directly amused O'Neal next to him.

"Five minutes, without Kawhi, they can't last more than five minutes."

O'Neal said with a smile.

Barkley nodded, rarely saying anything.

In fact, both of them were right, the key was whether the Spurs could survive the first five minutes.

If they survived, there was a good chance that they could stalemate until one and a half quarters.

Of course, it would be difficult to last longer. When the main players came back in the second quarter, even if the Spurs were in good shape, their physical fitness would decline, and they would have no chance.

Just as the commentators were talking eloquently, the starting players of both sides finished their pre-match preparations and came on the court one after another.

Tang Tian was the last to come on the court, and still threw magnesium powder as usual.

The emotions of the fans in the arena also reached a peak at the start of the game.

Davis flicked the ball from Gasol's fingertips back to the Pelicans' half, officially kicking off the playoffs.

The Pelicans came up with a Walker-Davis pick-and-roll, and Walker quickly broke through Aldridge and scored a layup.

It must be said that the Spurs' most severely declining player this season was veteran Gasol, whose defensive help speed was very slow.

"Beep!"

Just then, a whistle suddenly sounded from the sidelines.

Popovich, called a timeout!

This scene stunned everyone.

Popovich was staging the opening Hack-a-Shaq operation!

Tang Tian was also surprised, but seeing that it was Popovich, nothing was surprising anymore.

After the timeout, the Spurs made a substitution. Popovich replaced Gasol with Dejounte Murray, putting out a lineup with one big and four small.

This lineup was very strange. Judging from the configuration alone, it was going to give up inside defense!

No one knew what Popovich was up to.

In the Spurs' positional battle, the signature hammer tactic, Gay broke through and passed the ball to Green at the bottom corner, and Green raised his hand for a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

Green's first shot hit.

Popovich's timeout just now was already worth it.

In the Pelicans' offense, Walker directly handed the ball to Davis for a low post one-on-one.

Although Gay was strong, he couldn't defend Davis.

Green on the weak side provided help defense, but Butler had already cut to the basket, Davis passed the ball, and Butler took the ball and flew up for a layup, scoring another 2 points.

As the fans expected, the Spurs' lineup against the Pelicans wouldn't work. Not helping with defense would be too much one-on-one, and helping with defense would give opportunities like just now.

In a nutshell, the inside was a punching bag.

But Popovich looked calm, and rarely got angry because of the team's defense.

Turning around, the Spurs wanted to repeat the trick, but the Pelicans strengthened their defense. Green was marked, and Gay's breakthrough was also blocked by Davis.

With little time left on the shot clock, the ball ended up in Aldridge's hands.

Aldridge posted up Dedmon, and made his signature turnaround fadeaway.

Dedmon's defense was in place, and he reached out to cover Aldridge's shooting angle.

"Swish!"

But the basketball still went into the net.

The Spurs had a very good touch to start the game.

5 to 4, after two rounds of play, the Spurs and the Pelicans were evenly matched.

The Pelicans attacked to the frontcourt, Davis continued to post up Gay, this time the Spurs didn't help with defense.

Davis' shot to the basket was fouled by Gay, and he got two free throw opportunities.

After making both free throws, the Pelicans led 6 to 5.

Turning around, Aldridge continued to post up, and his turnaround jumper missed, but Murray fought hard for the offensive rebound, causing Dedmon to foul on the follow-up.

Also, two free throws.

7 to 6, the Spurs took the lead!

The Spurs played with full effort after the start, and stalemated with the Pelicans!

Tang Tian looked at Popovich again, and couldn't help shaking his head.

He thought that Popovich owed him a favor and changed his personality, but he still thought too much.

Judging from the Spurs' performance on the court, Popovich must have come down hard before the game, asking the Spurs' players to go all out at the start.

The Pelicans attacked to the frontcourt again, this time Tang Tian took the initiative to reach out for the ball.

Since Popovich's words couldn't be trusted, he had to show his cards too.