After the game started, Bird didn’t even assign Gan Guoyang to guard Robinson one-on-one, but let Sabonis face off against this old rival throughout the match.
No matter how Robinson scored from the low post or mid-range, the Trail Blazers didn’t care, didn’t double-team, and didn’t provide defensive support, because Bird was certain that Robinson alone couldn’t defeat the Trail Blazers.
The Spurs adopted an extreme defensive style, managing to hold the Trail Blazers’ score below 100 points in their victory against the Trail Blazers.
Popovich built a defense system centered around David Robinson, with a lot of collapsing, piling up players on the strong side, using a dense formation and slow pace to drain the opponent’s offensive energy, forcing the game into a deadlock.
Moreover, the Spurs just happened to have a group of players adept at playing in deadlock games, who were resilient in character, with an unadorned style—ultimate pragmatists.
So it’s no wonder Popovich chose the seemingly ordinary Billups over the flashy Fan Huo’en after missing Duncan, as Billups better fit the team’s tactical and stylistic requirements.
However, tonight the Trail Blazers didn’t want to be dragged into a deadlock, nor did they want to fight a messy battle with the Spurs at the Alamodome.
In the first quarter, the Trail Blazers started running, running non-stop, attacking the basket, and shooting threes.
Chris Mullin, who was quiet on the outside for a while, became active again, quickly hitting two three-pointers and helping the Trail Blazers open up the game.
The Trail Blazers never slowed their offensive pace because they were playing a Twin Towers lineup; on the contrary, the Twin Towers kept running alongside other players, serving as the offensive command tower on the court.
This is Bird’s forward-thinking aspect; if it were a conservative coach, with Gan and Sabonis as two Twin Towers, not completely revolving tactics around the high-low Twin Towers? Do you still want a job and achievement?
But Bird didn’t think so, and there were some elements of luck, because at the season’s start, Bird fell ill and was hospitalized, and Rick Carlisle took over the coaching reins.
Carlisle wasn’t a rigid conservative; he had many ideas. He continued promoting his Flow offense, injecting a different gene into the Trail Blazers.
When Bird returned, he found Carlisle’s setup quite good, reminiscent of the old Celtics’ frontcourt iron triangle.
Like the early and mid-80s Celtics, considered a tower lineup, with three tall frontcourt players, theoretically they had a strong inside advantage.
But in reality, the Celtics were the league’s team with the most movement, passes, assists, and fast breaks.
Because of Bird’s weaknesses in holding ball offense, they would instead suffer in slow positional plays; at crucial moments, the common scene was Dennis Johnson clanging shots at the arc’s top.
But there was no choice; if Johnson didn’t make a move, other Celtics couldn’t cleanly digest possession in positional plays, so the task fell on this inefficient shooter.
Now it’s different for the Trail Blazers. As the season deepens, game after game, Bird continually pushed Gan Guoyang to the three position. He realized he was forming a new "super Celtics," with Ah Gan as the enhanced version of Larry Bird himself.
In the first quarter, the Trail Blazers executed fast-paced offenses, raising the tempo.
Tonight, no one had diarrhea or slacked; their shooting accuracy returned to normal levels.
The Spurs resisted for about seven or eight rounds but slowly began to fall behind.
Their offensive efficiency was nowhere near the Trail Blazers’, and their defense couldn’t contain the Trail Blazers’ offense.
Mullin and Brellock, the two outside gunners, were quite precise in shooting, while Gan Guoyang and Sabonis kept creating opportunities for them.
The Trail Blazers easily avoided the positional game; although the Twin Towers were tall, they weren’t cumbersome at all, playing lightly and flexibly.
On the contrary, the Spurs seemed overly bulky, chasing behind the Trail Blazers, entirely out of their comfortable rhythm zone.
By the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers led the Spurs by 12 points at 33:21, which showed any keen observer that the Spurs were done.
The Spurs struggled offensively, and trailing by 12 points would be very hard to catch up; if the Trail Blazers were trailing by 12, that would be different.
And the Trail Blazers showed no sign of letting the Spurs off easy, intending to avenge the end of their winning streak.
Though losing that game didn’t leave any resentment towards the Spurs; instead, there was some gratitude.
But reputation demands revenge, otherwise, how would one mix in the league’s world later?
In the second quarter, the Trail Blazers’ substitute lineup continued the firepower, with Kobe, Little O’Neal, and AC Green playing quite smoothly.
Especially Kobe, unfazed by the Spurs’ tight defense, continually spinning and shifting, using agile footwork to find shooting space.
This kid now has a really good mid-range practice; any opportunity within two steps of the three-point line and he would shoot, capable of consecutive hits when feeling good.
Even though he sometimes shot consecutive misses, being able to score consistently amidst changing defense—this is a basic quality of a superstar.
Regular role players or star players easily quieted down after being targeted by the opponents for a few impressive rounds.
Only a superstar, in a good state, is unstoppable by any defensive targeting.
This basic ability, superstars often possess from a very young age; it’s not just about technique or physical quality but also confidence.