Only then did Duncan realize that this was the plot.

He also made a rare joke: "I will say that to you after we win today."

The implication is that he said the classic words to James when James lost to them in the finals.

After a few more pleasantries, Lin Tian followed Kobe to the Spurs bench and hugged Popovich.

Popovich is affectionately called "Zhugewicz" by Chinese fans because of his strategizing and resourcefulness on the court.

He is known as one of the greatest head coaches in the NBA, and it is not for nothing.

This can be seen from the fact that the Spurs have never missed the playoffs since the new season.

Lin Tian also had a very fond impression of this old man with white hair.

When the two hugged, Popovich sighed: "Another young talent."

In the studio at this time, although the game has not started yet, the live broadcast interface just recorded the scene where Kobe and others bent down and laughed.

Barkley said in surprise: "It seems that Kobe is very happy today. Did something interesting happen?"

Smith said: "I guess they may have talked about Duncan being ejected by the referee, otherwise they wouldn't be laughing so happily."

…

After the greetings, Lin Tian returned to the Lakers' training half and continued shooting training.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Xiaoxue, a female reporter from Penguin Sports.

Behind Xiaoxue was a photographer carrying a camera.

It seems that they may also connect to the Penguin live broadcast room and project the footage here.

But these are not what Lin Tian needs to care about.

After the warm-up, the Lakers DJ began to introduce the starting players:

"Let's welcome 6-foot-9 Larry Nance Jr. from Akron!"

"Kobe Bryant, 6 feet 6 inches tall, from Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia!"

…

Nance Jr., Kobe Bryant, Hibbert, Russell and Lin Tian took off their training uniforms and appeared on stage amidst the cheers of the audience.

The Spurs' starting five are: LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan.

Among them, Aldridge only came to the Spurs from the Trail Blazers this season. When he was with the Trail Blazers, he scored 20 points in five consecutive seasons.

A luxurious lineup like the Spurs is indeed a big challenge for the Lakers.

The ten players did some simple warm-up moves, then got into position and started jumping the ball in the middle circle.

Duncan was born in 1976. What many people don’t know is that he is actually 40 years old this year! He is several years older than Hibbert and two years older than Kobe.

But when he jumped the ball in the middle circle, he actually jumped higher than Hibbert, and the basketball was shot into the hands of Tony Parker, a French sports car.

Although Tony Parker is only 34 years old, as a point guard, he is no longer in his prime.

Even so, there is no doubt about his ability.

On the first ball, Tony Parker faced Russell's defense and taught the young player a lesson.

He used his extremely fast breakthrough to shake off Russell, and under the cover of Aldridge and Duncan in the paint, he easily hit a layup.

Hibbert served from the corner and passed the ball back to Russell, who dribbled the ball across half court.

Russell was passed just now, and now he also attempted a breakthrough.

But after rushing inside and seeing Duncan and Aldridge, Russell quickly passed the ball to Kobe on the outside.

Kobe caught the ball and shot, bang! Duncan grabbed the rebound.

When the ball was transferred, Lin Tian quickly returned to the backcourt to defend.

He faced Leonard today, and this guy showed super defensive ability from the moment he came up.

His long wingspan amazed Lin Tiandu.

Leonard's wingspan is more than 20 centimeters longer than his height. This is a very scary statistic, which allows him to easily take away the ball when defending.

When defending opponents without the ball, his movement and awareness are also top-notch.

It was because Lin Tian was blocked by Leonard just now that Russell passed the ball to Kobe.

Parker dribbled the ball past half-court. This time he did not attack himself immediately, but looked to see if his teammates had any good opportunities.

Aldridge on the inside got rid of Nance Jr. through movement and reached out to Parker for the ball.

Parker faked a shot, attracted attention, and quickly passed the ball inside.

Aldridge received the ball, took off lightly and put the ball into the basket.

The Lakers served from the bottom corner, and this time Lin Tian reached the ball before halftime.

If he doesn't take action, the point difference will be widened.

As soon as he passed the center circle with the ball, Leonard stretched out two long hands to block Lin Tian.

There was no expression on Leonard's face, and there was no sense of any hostility on his face.

But his nickname of "Facial Paralysis" has long been famous around the world, and Lin Tian cannot be deceived by his harmless expression.

Without Lin Tian's gesture, the Lakers' two inside players spread out, leaving space for the Lakers' inside line.

Russell and Kobe also started moving to confuse their opponents.

But the Spurs are very disciplined and their defense level is spotless.

At this moment, Lin Tian began to admire Popovich more and more in his heart. He let all the players perform their duties and give full play to their best strengths.

At the same time, Popovich has also made the players' shortcomings infinitely smaller.

The former Big Three of the Heat were left numb by his tactics.

There are less than ten seconds left in the attack time.

On the first ball, Lin Tian faced Leonard and started dribbling rapidly.

After dribbling the ball once, he suddenly started to the left, very fast!

Leonard reacted and quickly followed up! However, just as he settled down, Lin Tian dribbled the ball behind his back in a familiar way and shot the ball to the right.

The center of gravity returned to the left foot, and then kicked hard with the left foot, and the whole body shot to the right like an arrow from the string!

Completing such an action with a height of more than two meters is a great test for Lin Tian's ankles.

Likewise, this is even more of a test for Leonard's ankle!

Leonard has watched Lin Tian's game videos many times before and thinks he can guard Lin Tian.

But the video is a video, and reality is reality! When he faced Lin Tian in reality, he was still shocked by Lin Tian's change of direction!

Although his eyes and brain reacted, Leonard's feet could no longer keep up.

He could only symbolically take out the ball and make a last-ditch effort.

Naturally, I couldn't get the ball this time!

When Lin Tianli dribbled behind his back and changed direction to pass Leonard, there was a shocked "crash" sound in the arena.

Leonard is the Spurs' most trustworthy defender. He was passed by Lin Tian before Aldridge and Duncan could react.

By the time the two men shrank inside to cover their defense, it was already too late.
Chapter completed!