Playoff-level defense is so "bloody" and "cruel". It doesn't have the tenderness of the regular season, but every defensive round is a real fight, holding on to every inch of ground.

When the Blazers players were beaten to death under the iron wall of the Spurs, they suddenly realized that their first-round battle with Team R was like playing house in terms of confrontation level.

Lillard also used the pick-and-roll with Zhang Feng early in the game, but although the offensive effect was there, it was definitely not as great as imagined. The offensive opportunities created after the pick-and-roll were simply not the same as usual.

compared to the competition.

Whether it is Lillard's personal attack after the pick-and-roll, or Lillard's pass under defensive pressure, Zhang Feng's follow-up attack after receiving the ball will be difficult for the two of them to get as easily as they did against Team R.

space to take action.

The first is the quality of the cover provided by Zhang Feng. The confrontation with Duncan during the movement and cover, as well as Parker's own alertness and flexibility, made it difficult for Zhang Feng to complete the perfect pick-and-roll cooperation before in the game.

After the pick-and-roll is completed, the Spurs players' defensive movement ability is extremely strong. When the two men press Lillard with the ball, other defensive players are also very fast to cover up, and generally they will not let Lillard pass the ball.

, other Blazers players easily created easy shooting opportunities.

Even though Stotts thought that this away game in San Antonio would be very difficult, he never expected that the game would be so difficult.

From the beginning of the first quarter, the Spurs completely took the initiative on the court and did not give the Trail Blazers the slightest chance to complete a counterattack here.

The Spurs first used their excellent playoff-level defense to establish a double-digit lead in the first quarter.

Later, when the Trail Blazers woke up from a dream and began to strengthen their defense and increase the complexity of their offensive tactics in order to create easier offensive opportunities, the Spurs began to show their excellent stability.

The scoring ability of the GDP combination is too stable. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili, these three All-Star players, usually do not pay much attention to their scoring ability on the court, but once they arrived, the Trail Blazers managed to score some consecutive points.

, before it has evolved into a small climax, the GDP combination will immediately stand out.

Especially for Duncan, because Adelaide consumes a lot of physical energy on the offensive end, Stotts simply did not let Adelaide defend Duncan. Instead, he forced Duncan to play the 5th position, allowing the two teams' two sets of insiders to play.

Both ends of the offense and defense maintain the same matchup.

But Duncan is not Howard. If Howard relies on his own strength to completely crush the opponent in the game, then Duncan has too many offensive methods.

The sudden reveal of his hand caught Zhang Feng off guard.

Among the GDP combination, Duncan is the most active one in this game.

If the Trail Blazers scored two goals in a row, and other players on the Spurs side failed to score, Duncan would immediately step up and ask for tactics, and play singles against Zhang Feng.

Zhang Feng's offensive moves against Duncan were really hard to guard against.

As a veteran of the league, one of the best No. 1 picks in history, and one of the best inside players, Duncan plays in the league not by his physical fitness, but by his skills and body.

Combined with his basketball IQ.

For Zhang Feng, although he is in the center position against a power forward like Duncan, Zhang Feng cannot take much advantage in the real low-post defense.

Duncan's own physical confrontation ability is not weak. Although he cannot reach the level of Howard who was defended by Zhang Feng in the last round of the series. He can swing his arms and walk sideways in the paint, but it is not something that Zhang Feng can push with his weight.

.

Moreover, Duncan's back-up skills, in terms of various footwork and use of body force techniques, combined, are definitely on Howard's level.

In low post defense, the pressure on Zhang Feng was no less than when he defended Howard last time.

Zhang Feng only learned this after Duncan showed his strength and forcibly hit Zhang Feng twice on the back.

Those two post-up plays were when the Trail Blazers were chasing points in the second quarter. Taking advantage of the Spurs' consecutive failed attacks, the Trail Blazers reduced the score to 9 points, no longer double digits.

Then Duncan's eyes suddenly lit up, he changed his sleepy look before, and started to attack the ball.

Those steps, that secret elbow swing to open the way, and the softness of the wrist in the final inside shot left Zhang Feng who was defending him unable to do anything.

And when Duncan scored twice, bringing the point difference back to double digits, and the Trail Blazers began to help defend and double-team Duncan, Duncan's passing ability and scene reading ability were also better than before.

Howard is much better defensively than Zhang Feng.

Howard mostly passes to players in his field of vision, and the angle and strength of the passing are actually limited. But Duncan is different. His passing is always full of overall perspective and can find the open teammate with the best opportunity on the field.

, allowing teammates more time to complete adjustments and take action.

The Spurs' small climax led by Duncan in the second quarter destroyed the first wave of Blazers' counterattack.

In the third quarter, the Trail Blazers actually relied on Lillard's consecutive difficult shots from the outside to further narrow the point difference to 10 points, barely leaving the game suspense in the fourth quarter.

However, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, "Stone Buddha" Duncan once again stood up. During the game, when Zhang Feng concentrated on defending Duncan's inside attack, Duncan took advantage of Zhang Feng's position slightly behind.

Opportunity, he showed off his excellent shooting ability, and his iconic lateral rebound shot made Zhang Feng very difficult to guard against.

You can guard against going out. Duncan will directly rely on his body to break through you and hit you from behind. Don't guard against going out. Duncan's crosshairs are really accurate and will make you doubt your life.

In addition to Duncan, Parker's advancement in the counterattack, "Demon Knife" Ginobili's breakthrough and outside shots all, to a certain extent, curbed the Blazers' attempt to complete the momentum and put the Blazers in the game.

Suppress it firmly.

In the end, in the first round of the Western Conference semifinals, the Portland Trail Blazers lost to the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 95 to 112.

Throughout the game, the Trail Blazers never took a lead, even once. They were completely suppressed by the Spurs from the beginning until the end of the game.

The experienced Spurs used a big victory to teach the young Trail Blazers a valuable lesson, that is, the intensity of the playoffs is definitely not just a little bit stronger than the regular season. The Trail Blazers need to do something
Chapter completed!